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Chapter 71: Ghostbane, the Thousand-Slayer

Rumors that the dark-haired thug dumped Lan Yu for a new love and then raped Magina spread through the academy like wildfire.

Magina’s top suitor, the freshman king Warrior Menlo, flew into a rage and posted a bounty outside the academy library, promising 1,000 Academy Points to anyone who could give information on the dark-haired punk!

While the gossip grew more and more outrageous, Jin Ze, Arthur, and Angelo sat in Dormitory 138’s lounge all afternoon, staring anxiously at one another.

Ever since they heard the news about the dark-haired kid that morning, the three brothers had run back to their dorm in unspoken agreement.

They dared not leave the room all afternoon, pulled the curtains tight, and kept peeking outside to see whether anyone suspicious was loitering at their door.

All three guessed that the dark-haired thug had to be their third brother Ashura, yet they still could not believe Ashura would do something so insane!

For them, forcibly kissing one of the academy’s top-10 beauties was the stuff of dreams, yet Ashura had actually done it and, rumor said, even copped a feel.

Now they worried that Ashura might have gone mad while cultivating some Martial Technique and developed perverted ideas about harvesting yin to replenish yang!

Angelo asked timidly, “Boss, can we go out tomorrow?”

Jin Ze forced down the rye bread in his hand and counter-asked, “How much food do you still have in your storage space?”

Angelo gave a bitter laugh, while Arthur clasped his head and said, “What on earth is Ashura doing? I’m scared that if he comes back he’ll be beaten to death!”

After another round of discussion they decided to stay indoors for 3 days and gauge the situation; if anyone asked about Ashura, they would claim he had gone home on urgent business and had been away for quite a while.

In low spirits, Ashura spent another 3 days on the road and returned to Puro City.

He could only laugh wryly; every time he went back to school, any contact with a girl brought disaster, and who knew how long this farce would last, so it seemed he had to stay away a good while before returning!

Once he made up his mind, he did not visit Daifei’s shop; he merely watched the busy girl from afar, then went into the street to find Hughes and asked him to purchase another standalone courtyard for his temporary residence.

He also worried that someone might trace him to Daifei’s shop; that fragile girl was now family he wished to protect.

In truth he also feared Daifei would ask why he had run back so soon again, and even his thick skin could not bear to tell her the truth!

Living alone in a courtyard would also let him focus on cultivating Martial Techniques.

From then on, every 3rd night a black-haired Warrior wearing a demon-face mask appeared in Pagoda Palace’s arena and challenged fighters of Grand Martial Master rank, one tier above his own!

Ashura’s plan was simple: within the Grand Martial Master-1 tier he would start from the bottom of the credit rankings and challenge each contestant present that night.

On most nights he fought 1 opponent; when he felt good he fought 2.

Because he wore Caban’s Prison, his displayed level still read Martial Master-3, so when he challenged a Grand Martial Master-1, the other side had no right to refuse!

The first few Grand Martial Master-1 fighters he faced puzzled Ashura, as they seemed weaker than the very first opponent, Valay!

Yet an elderly Grand Martial Master-1 soon taught him a lesson.

After he battered the old man… who was about his grandfather Adolf’s age… until he coughed blood and flew backward, Ashura softened when the elder knelt and begged for mercy and turned away, ready to spare him.

Yet the instant he turned, a flying knife shot from the elder’s pleading hands; had his reflexes been any slower, the blade would have slit his throat!

The knife grazed his cheek, chipped off a piece of his mask, and warm blood dripped to the floor; Ashura whirled, shocked and furious, to glare at the resentful old man.

The elder dusted himself off and stood up, clearly having held back earlier.

His plea for mercy had merely been a ploy to lull the youngster, exploiting Ashura’s inexperience with the arena’s cruelty.

Ashura wasted no words, unlocked the second seal of Caban’s Prison, unleashed the Tower Ascension Sword Art, and hacked the treacherous old man into 8 pieces before stopping.

As he left the arena, the scantily clad clerk who had not teased him for a long time sneered mercilessly; he gave no retort and merely nodded lightly.

In this fashion Ashura fought to the death in Puro City’s Pagoda Palace for half a year, pouring his all into every bout.

The fighters who survived in Pagoda Palace were anything but ordinary, and their myriad Martial Techniques and sinister tricks opened Ashura’s eyes.

He often won by a hair, and even when battered and bloody he never released the third seal of Caban’s Prison.

Along the way his levels rose to Grand Martial Master-2 and Grand Magician-2, and he recently swept the entire Grand Martial Master bracket so completely that no one else in that tier dared enter.

Martial Masters feared ranking up, Grand Martial Masters feared signing up, and the audience had long since been won over by the black-haired Warrior who fought every match behind a demon-face mask.

Whenever he entered, the arena erupted like a tidal wave, the exact opposite of his reception when he first arrived!

Bettors made fortunes by wagering on his victories, especially Hughes, who had known him the longest and had become a minor celebrity merchant in Puro City, greeted respectfully as Lord Hughes by the commoners.

Ashura’s bouts were always cross-rank challenges, especially when he appeared to be merely Grand Martial Master-1 yet fought Grand Martial Master-3 opponents.

The crowd’s fervor nearly blew the roof off the underground arena; on King’s Continent, people ever worshipped the strong!

At this point Ashura held an exquisite silver badge, the token awarded when one’s Pagoda Palace credits reached 1,000.

For holders of this badge, the announcer prefixed their names with the resounding title “Thousand-Slayer” each night.

The moniker “Ghostbane, the Thousand-Slayer” echoed through Puro City’s underground pits; Grand Martial Masters from other cities came to Pagoda Palace seeking fame by defeating Ghostbane, only to become yet more credits on Ashura’s badge!

Ever since Ashura claimed the silver badge, the scantily clad receptionist never teased him again and always greeted him as “Lord Ghostbane.”

She repeatedly offered to provide him with gourmet food and beautiful women, even volunteering herself to satisfy any desire he might have.

Ashura refused every time, afraid that his still youthful face would be revealed beneath the mask.

As for his 1,000-plus credits, he was in no hurry to spend them, because with 10,000 credits he could trade for a superior Yellow-Tier Martial Technique far rarer than the common kind.

Possessing 10,000 credits would also earn a gold badge and an even louder title: “Ten-Thousand Nemesis!”

Reportedly, throughout all the Pagoda Palaces on King’s Continent, only 10 fighters had ever become Ten-Thousand Nemeses!

Reaching that rank compelled Pagoda Palace to grant the fighter a superior Yellow-Tier Martial Technique.

This was Ashura’s sole avenue to a Yellow-Tier Martial Technique for now, and he would devote every effort to it.

After countless battles Ashura felt that, at the Grand Martial Master level, none of the academy’s golden sons could defeat him.

That confidence had been forged in repeated fights between life and death!

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