The Fighting Pits. A hidden underground arena located deep within the thirteenth district of the Sun Furnace outer sect.

  This is a cavernous space carved out in the raw sandstone, a pce that reeks of gritty determination and barely contained chaos.

  The fighting ring itself is a roughly circur depression in the center of the chamber, surrounded by a jagged, white jade-pted wall that bears the marks of countless skirmishes.

  The ground is stained with the remnants of past battles—dark patches of dried blood, scattered fragments of scorched earth, and occasional tufts of other bodily fluids ripped out in the heat of combat happening right at this moment…

  A burly figure punched his fists together, igniting them in a bze of crimson fmes that reflected his explosive temper.

  "You ready to get scorched, Lian Ke? Or are you just here to dance around?!"

  Opposite him was a lithe and agile fighter whose fmes danced as elusively as he did.

  "We'll see who gets burned, Jia Liang. Don't cry if your beard gets singed."

  "Real men aren’t afraid of fire!” Jia Liang snarled and hurtled toward Lian Ke with fists swinging, "Stop dodging if you have the balls!"

  Lian Ke obviously wasn’t so stupid to take the angry bull head on.

  He simply sidestepped and pulled away, his hands whipping up a fme that trailed around in an elegant arc.

  "Is that all you got, big guy? I've seen better fire from a candle! Now, eat mine if you’re a man!"

  Driving his hand forward like a spear, Lian Ke sent the stream of fire snaking towards Jia Liang! "Fire Style: Fme Serpent!"

  Seeing the incoming attack, Jia Liang did the only thing a bullish man would do… dodge of course.

  Real men aren’t afraid of fire, but te-stage Qi-refiners were still not at the level of bulldozing right through fmes...

  Of course, a light burn or two didn’t matter to those surnamed Jia.

  Roasting was an art that held no shame. As long as he can win, so what if he ate his own words?

  Nothing was stopping him from capitalizing on all opportunities to close the gap with his opponent.

  Thus, a brilliant chase of light and heat ensued… a battle that literally heated up the atmosphere.

  “Fight! Fight! Fight!”

  "Come on, Jia Liang! Show him the true meaning of barbecue!"

  "Lian Ke! We don't want roast pork tonight! Give him a lesson in hot footwork!".

  The chants for glory were mixed with screams of obsessive fervor.

  Surrounding the edge of the ring, crude white jade framework supports a mesh of formations, behind which the sandstone were chiseled to rise up yer by yer like stairs, forming the stands where the bravest or most reckless spectators can perch for a better view of the action below.

  Here in the audience, a motley crowd of outer disciples and other interested parties gathers, their faces a mixture of excitement, apprehension, and… greed.

  “Beat him! Beat him hard!” “Knock him out already!”

  “Lian Ke, I’ve bet my everything on you! You can’t lose!”

  Like always, most of the time, it was all about the money.

  So, it wasn’t surprising that bets were pced all around, and small fortunes change hands in the shadows like no tomorrow.

  Just another gambling spot, some coming with their wealth, others... coming with their lives.

  Here, grudges are settled in the most direct manner possible, and reputations are forged or shattered in the span of a single bout.

  For many outer disciples, it is also a proving ground—a “legal” pce where they can test their limits, hone their murderous skills, and earn some extra spirit stones.

  Yet only the strong and brave chose this route.

  After all, the fighting pit is a brutal, unforgiving pce where only the strongest survive.

  But there are special days where the fervor for brawling spreads to each and every disciple, even those that normally prefer peaceful cultivation.

  The Outer Sect Exchange. Held once every year.

  This was the ultimate point of convergence for all outer disciples who thought they were ready for more.

  All their aim was the same: catching the eye of the powerful patron in the sole viewing box that sat a story above the rest of the viewing ptform!

  This spot was the usual makeshift throne for the pit master, but during the Outer Sect Exchange…

  This was the spectating seat for a golden core elder – the presiding manager who came to handpick geniuses to fill the quota for the inner sect challenge!

  Here, his word is w and his favor can mean the difference between life and death on the real stage. Like in the current fight...

  Jia Liang grunted, sweat pouring down his face.

  The fmes conjured on his fists was flickering out, but he could only intensify his assault.

  Deflecting a fist, Lian Ke spun away by borrowing the momentum and kept up his kiting while taunting, "Already turning down the heat, Little Liang? I'm just getting warmed up!"

  Jia Liang's frustration was reflected in his fmes growing wilder and more erratic. "Stop dancing around and fight me, coward!"

  Lian Ke ughed, his x voice a melodic contrast to his opponent's gruff exhaustion. "Catch me if you can, slowpoke!"

  Seeing the inevitable end, the audience was already in stitches.

  "Looks like Jia Liang's fire is all smoke and no roast!"

  "Careful what you say. It’s just a bad match-up. You know what his lineage is truly famous for!"

  "So what if he’s got beef. You’ll still drink the west wind if you can’t touch the enemy!"

  The snubbing from the audience gnawed on Jia Liang’s pride. “Arghhhh!”

  Drawing upon his anger and what was left of his Qi, Jia Liang smmed his fists onto the ground, causing a wave of fire to surge towards Lian Ke! “Sun Elephant Fists!”

  As... Lian Ke confidently leaped into the air over the rolling inferno tide, letting it pass and lick the formation protecting the audience stands, causing the front rows to shield their faces from the heat.

  "Nice try, but just give up now if you can’t do better than that!"

  Lian Ke wasted no time after nding. Lightly tapping the ground, he rushed forward while gathering energy in his lungs.

  Closing in on the exhausted Jia Liang who showed no signs of giving up, Lian Ke’s eyes fshed viciously.

  Let’s see how he dodges this! Fire Style: Torch Blowing Technique!

  Lian Ke’s mouth spewed out fire, its mass growing and transforming into a bzing fireball that completely engulfed Jia Liang in size!

  Seeing this scene, the ruckus from the keen observers erupted.

  “That- it can’t be! It’s adept stage! It’s really adept stage!”

  “What?! For real?! I heard it’s hard to achieve without foundation realm! As expected of a genius like Lian Ke. Jia Liang will suffer this time!”

  Their evaluation wasn’t wrong.

  Bearing the brunt of the heat, Jia Liang immediately wanted to evade, but the gushing inferno stalked him just like its owner did!

  The Fire Torch technique was like a fmethrower. Wielded by a mobile fighter, it was hard for others in the same cultivation realm to escape!

  Jia Liang could only cross his arms, ready to count on his body toughened through countless medicine!

  Just when the inferno was about to scorch Jia Liang into charcoal, fmes wrapped around him like a protective cocoon!

  The fmes colliding with the shield simply melted away like water poured into a ke!

  Lian Ke’s eyes narrowed at the sight, quickly letting his fire-breathing die out.

  Panting heavily, Lian Ke looked at the masked, handsome man standing tall next to the unharmed Jia Liang. “Pit master, what is the meaning of this?”

  The pit master raised his hand to dispel the fme barrier, silencing the crowd with a cold decration, “The fight is over.”

  Though the ending wasn’t to his liking, Lian Ke squeezed out a smile and politely saluted, “Then, pit master, his wager…”

  The pit master coldly shut him down, “Is the elder’s recognition not enough for you?”

  Lian Ke’s smile froze. He knew… he wasn’t going to get what he wanted.

  Before the fight, the other demanded for him to serve as an essence bank for a year, and, in turn, offered a pricey stake.

  The pits was a chaotic pce, but the reputation is still credible. The stakes usually don’t btantly get ignored like this.

  Yet, the difference in status between a grassroot genius and that of a powerful cn member who only came out to fight for a quota was clear as day.

  As, there was nothing Lian Ke could do about it.

  It’s not like he dared to argue against the core disciple serving as the pit master, let alone the elder above.

  In the end, Lian Ke could only suppress the fire in his heart and bow his head. “As pit master wishes.”

  The Pit Master gave Lian Ke another cold gnce before announcing, “Winner. Rank two on the Sun Snake List, Lian Ke.”

  The winners were determined and so were the losers.

  Nobody in the stands cared about the indignation of an outer sect genius. Instead, there were more cursing him for their loss.

  “Your mother! I thought a genius from a big cn can overturn the boat. Why can’t that jerk just release some water?!”

  “Right! His odds are so low. Why can’t he think about the rest of us poor folks and help us out? It’s only a year of confinement isn’t it? No problem for a genius like him!”

  Listening to those extremely colorful remarks around him, Bubai could only ment inwardly about the unity of the outer sect, but didn’t dwell on it for long.

  Like the masses, this wasn’t something he cared about. He only cared about his own interests. This time around, it was first-hand intel regarding the outer sect geniuses.

  “So, that’s the level of the second-rank genius forged in the blood and fire of the fighting pits.”

  Watching Lian Ke leave the ring below, Bubai reran the fights he had seen, quietly reaching a conclusion.

  He was really hoping to see some colorful battles from these so-called geniuses, but so far, all he got was fire and… more fire.

  Merlin’s burnt beard, why do all these cultivators seem like they’re stuck as single-element fire benders?

  Or was this a tactic to hide their trump cards?

  Right at this time, the Pit Master’s booming voice brushed over everyone like the winter’s howl.

  “Next up. Sun Snake List. Rank 13. Zhao Ming Versus... Rank 1 on the Sun Snake List, Rotten Ya!”

  Rank 1? Rotten Ya? Bubai’s eyes fshed with interest.

  Perhaps this top-rank outer sect fighter can shed some light on the true strength of the Sun Furnace Sect’s Qi refiners?