Chapter 408: Hidden Arena

Chapter 408: The Hidden Arena

After the Shadow Servant took over Netero's body,

its power increased dramatically.

Even if it couldn't fully unleash the white Netero's strength,

even if it could only exert forty or fifty percent of that power, it was still immensely formidable.

In terms of combat ability, Netero’s fighting prowess had undoubtedly reached the peak of the sixth tier.

Whether in speed or raw strength—

Li Wei deliberated for a long time before deciding to send the Shadow Servant disguised as the white Netero out to eliminate some of the competitors.

To reduce the number of rivals.

Upon receiving Li Wei’s command, the Shadow Servant controlled Netero’s body and walked away into the distance.

After a while, the Shadow Servant gradually adapted to Netero’s strength and speed.

Its movement became faster and faster.

Suddenly, the entire figure seemed to vanish into thin air.

Li Wei’s eyes flickered slightly, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his lips.

The Shadow Servant had successfully activated Netero’s Silent Domain.

Without the Silent Domain, the success rate of Netero’s surprise attacks would drop significantly.

“Judging by this, the Shadow Servant seems capable of wielding sixty or seventy percent of Netero’s strength.”

“That should be more than enough against most people.”

Li Wei looked forward to good news from the Shadow Servant.

With the white Netero dealt with, Li Wei could finally focus on cultivation without worry.

Meditating to restore his mana.

Under Li Wei’s deliberate control, the Shadow Servant, disguised as the white Netero, swept through the surrounding area.

For an entire day, Li Wei encountered no challengers.

Anyone who approached was attacked by the Shadow Servant.

Very few could actually defeat the Shadow Servant in possession of Netero’s body.

Simply escaping its assault was already considered remarkable.

Li Wei stood up and gazed into the distance.

“The sun is setting.”

As twilight descended, the sky blazed with red clouds.

Burning clouds dotted the heavens like fiery red blossoms of the sun.

Li Wei’s eyes flickered slightly as he noticed something unusual about those crimson clouds.

He focused intently and realized that the numerous burning clouds seemed to form a circle.

He stared at the center of the ring.

“A natural phenomenon? Or is there something else?”

After much thought, Li Wei flew into the sky.

Only after ascending to great heights did he see that the center around which the burning clouds revolved was the stone bridge between the Twin Peaks.

A thought stirred within Li Wei—he seemed to recall something.

Without hesitation, he swiftly flew toward the stone bridge.

By the time he arrived at the bridge, several figures were already present.

It wasn’t just Li Wei who had noticed the anomaly in the sky.

As he drew closer to the bridge, Li Wei saw red light ribbons descending from the burning clouds.

They looked like celestial fairy scarves drifting down to earth.

These ribbons appeared to be mere optical illusions caused by water vapor refraction.

But instinctively, Li Wei sensed it was far from simple.

Spatial fluctuations emanated from not far away.

Li Wei turned toward the space mage standing among the group—he was casting a spatial spell.

Under the influence of the spell, the descending ribbons all converged at the center of the stone bridge.

There was a hole there.

It looked like an ordinary stone cave.

But once illuminated by the red light ribbons from the burning clouds,

the cave began to emit a red glow.

The red light quickly spread outward from the cave, forming in an instant a massive circular magic array.

Seeing the familiar formation, Li Wei was momentarily stunned.

“This is… a challenge arena!”

Li Wei was greatly surprised—he hadn’t expected the hidden arena to lie right at the center of the stone bridge.

The first space mage to activate the hidden arena instantly teleported onto the arena platform.

He claimed the arena and became its master.

Seeing the effect of the hidden item, the space mage’s face showed shock—as if deeply startled.

Everyone, including Li Wei, looked at him with curiosity upon seeing his expression.

Just what had he seen?

Keep in mind, when the hidden arena first appeared, he hadn’t shown such surprise.

What exactly could have startled him so much?

Some grew curious and began walking forward,

preparing to issue a challenge.

Rumble!

Suddenly, the entire stone bridge trembled.

Everyone’s figures swayed back and forth, on the verge of falling.

Seeing this, Li Wei immediately flew into the sky.

Leaving the ground behind to avoid being knocked over.

Once airborne, he saw the water level in the strait rising.

Li Wei fell into deep thought, seemingly guessing what would happen next.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The seawater surged skyward in towering geysers.

Columns of water encircled the stone bridge, forming a barrier and creating a massive arena.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

Giant sea beasts emerged from the ocean depths, advancing toward shore.

Their colossal forms exuded overwhelming pressure.

Yet at this moment, their faces were filled with terror and panic.

As if fleeing for their lives.

Li Wei gazed into the distance, murmuring softly, "They're here."

A figure slowly emerged from the sea.

Its identity was revealed by the enormous bird-like beak upon its face.

A Giant Netero.

Though standing only twenty meters tall—seemingly smaller than the sea beasts—

it instilled fear into every one of them.

They scrambled desperately to flee from its presence.

Netero walked toward the stone bridge.

Each step left an imprint behind.

The space mage atop the bridge showed alarm, instinctively glancing around as though seeking help.

Last night's encounter with Netero had left too deep an impression on everyone.

Li Wei looked toward Netero's left arm.

The severed limb had fully regenerated, without even a trace of injury remaining on its body.

In less than a day, Netero had healed completely, returning to peak condition.

Having previously witnessed the vitality of the White Netero, Li Wei found this unsurprising.

It could clearly be foreseen that should they fail to kill this Netero now,

its strength would only grow more terrifying over time.

Eventually, Netero halted at the edge of the stone bridge arena, not stepping within its boundaries.

From afar, it stared intently at those gathered upon the platform.

Then turning away, it headed toward the nearest arena in another direction.

It was about to resume hunting Purple Star Stones once again.

Seeing Netero depart, the space mage let out a sigh of relief.

Others also visibly relaxed after watching it move away.

"Oh no, why is it heading in that direction?!"

One summoner cried out in shock.

That area housed a platform occupied by his companion.

He hastily summoned a flying creature and soared off toward the arena, intending to warn his ally first.

Others exchanged glances; some hesitated while others strode forward boldly, issuing challenges to the arena masters.

Li Wei himself wondered curiously what kind of hidden item lay concealed there.

He stood aside observing the battles unfold.

The challenger proved to be an illusionist.

Hardly had he stepped onto the stage when chains materialized from thin air, binding him tightly.

Whoosh!

Struck by the ethereal chains, the illusionist dissolved instantly into mist and vanished.

The space mage did not appear surprised.

He manipulated the spectral chains to sweep across the area, wrapping them around empty space ahead.

While illusionists might deceive visual perception or sensory awareness,

they could never alter how their existence affected surrounding spatial dynamics.

Much like how soft sand yields beneath human feet, leaving visible indentations,

so too did the illusionist subtly distort nearby space itself.

These minute spatial deformities remained imperceptible except to those possessing extremely refined spatial sensitivity.

(End of Chapter)