THE MARTIAL KING, VOLUME 6 - Season 14 Episode 97

This man’s pride was steep and could not allow him to accept the fact that his opponent was a mere fifth-level Life and Death Realm warrior.

And could his opponent even be called a warrior? In front of him would be no man, but a mere kid. The burly man couldn’t help but scoff in disbelief. However, he was also reminded of the fact that this kid was still a talent of the thirteen palaces. Was it really wise to look down on him this early in the fight?

It also did not escape his attention that this kid had made it past the twenty-four rounds that were pre-requisite to facing him. Only those who managed such a feat could be considered a top existence within the thirteen palaces.

How in the world was he only at the fifth-level of the Life and Death Realm?

“Don’t underestimate him. I’ve been watching him for the past twenty-four rounds and I’m certain that this guy hasn’t even shown us half of the stuff he can do,” Adrian advised him. “If I had a guess, I’d say he was only using around thirty-percent of his true strength.”

“Thirty-percent? Against several warriors of the Soul Sea Realm?” the burly man remarked in surprise.

“That’s why my suggestion for you is to choose that woman,” Adrian told him. Zen and Layla had both emerged victorious in all twenty-four rounds. They were like battering rams that rushed unimpeded against all those who stood in their way. Adrian’s slight change in tactics gave them a bit of trouble but the two still managed to emerge victorious.
Zen was a low-key fighter who preferred to use his long sword as his primary weapon. Layla, on the other hand, preferred flashy movements and unique martial art techniques, filling the crowd in awe with epic scenes on the battlefield.

This dynamic told a lot about these two. Because of Zen’s low-key nature, Adrian realized that he was most probably hiding a lot of his strengths and techniques which made him an unpredictable opponent. Layla, on the other hand, showed all her skills off but this might also backfire on her since predictability was never an advantage in battle.

The palace leaders shared his view, even the Sunset World lord thought the same.
These people were all ranked higher in terms of strength and knowledge but Adrian’s intuition amazed them.

Unfortunately, the burly man did not heed Adrian’s advice.

“Nah, I think I’ll go with the boy,” he snickered. “A warrior who possesses such strength while still at the Life and Death Realm is worth my attention.”

Adrian’s face darkened at his words. Truth be told, he wasn’t at all interested with these so-called talents. His to-do list was already full: defeating Layla, freeing the burly man, and excavating the secret treasures of the Dark World.

The entire point of this trial was for them to win, no matter what. Zen was obviously a hard opponent and Adrian wasn’t that confident of their victory against him.

He was about to talk him out of fighting Zen but the burly man huffed angrily at him, “I’ll make sure to win the battle but I choose my own enemy. Got it?” His words immediately silenced Adrian but the burly man wasn’t done, “I am someone who almost got into the Gauze Pavilion. I’m not going to chicken out in front of a junior and go fight with a little girl. What will that make me? I’m not willing to become a laughingstock for everyone to point at after this trial. You know what I’m going to do? I’m going to pick that young boy and I’m going to defeat him so you can just sit back and clap along with everyone else once I win!”

Adrian couldn’t help but sigh. This fellow was too arrogant for his own good. If not for his cockiness back then, he wouldn’t have been chained up and imprisoned in the Villain World before being sentenced to death…

Still, Adrian couldn’t really do anything. This burly man was the key figure in his whole plan. The only thing he could do was to sit back, relax, and clap along with everyone else once he won, just like the burly man advised him to.

‘If he won.’ Adrian couldn’t be sure. He looked away and took a good long look at Layla and then towards the other cages beside him.

For these men who had been sentenced to death, the chance to earn their freedom by winning this battle was like a golden ray of hope in their dark, dreary lives. However, this golden ray of hope was held by one person: Adrian. Those who sincerely wanted to fight Layla would have to prove themselves to him.

“The ultimate trial… How many opponents will appear?”

Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Zen was a picture of calm and determination. This was his last trial in the Illusion Space.

Layla, on the other hand, was also quietly waiting for her final opponent not too far away.

The past trials had made her quite unhappy. Despite leaving behind those other warriors from the thirteen palaces, the fact that Zen still managed to hold his ground and enter the final round with her irked her.

That wasn’t all, Zen managed to pass the trials faster and faster. In the last couple of rounds, he passed them twice as fast as she did which upset her. Layla hadn’t been able to keep up with him and raise her own pace, not even by a little bit.

But she couldn’t be discouraged. Since they entered the final round almost at the same time, there might be a draw between them after the fight.

She could only hope for a stronger opponent on his battlefield in the final round. The thought was enough to cheer her up a little.

Shortly after…

A faint ray of light coalesced on the battlefield and unveiled Layla’s opponent.

Her designated foe was a man, sporting a prominent scar on his forehead and dressed in tattered rags. A sinister aura emanated from his whole body and Layla did not miss the way he looked at her as if he was a starving beast and she was a piece of bloody meat.

“A warrior who cultivates on an evil path?” she remarked and slightly raised her guard. She knew that this fight wasn’t going to be easy since this kind of opponent would definitely have some unique skills that might catch her off-guard.

“I’m such a lucky guy to get a little girl as my opponent,” the man said through gritted teeth.

For this trial alone, seven prisoners were chosen and sent in from the Villain world. However, only two of them had the privilege to fight. The burly man had already chosen Zen so this scarred man decided to go with Layla since he figured the little girl would be easy to deal with.

He had already spent quite a bit of fortune gaining the privilege of fighting from Adrian, so he was definitely going all out against his opponent.

The man’s aura was frightening but Layla remained unfazed. She reminded herself that this was going to be the last round of her trial and if her opponent was this strong, then Zen’s was most probably going to be at the same level.

Her opponent might look strong but it wasn’t going to be impossible for her to defeat him.

Just as she summed up her strategy in defeating this scarred man, she couldn’t help but look towards Zen’s direction, ‘What about him? Who did he get?’

she thought to herself just as a burly man appeared in front of him. Her eyes immediately widened at the sight.

Layla couldn’t help but yell out something that caused a huge shock to everyone afterwards. The burly man had stepped into the battlefield and confirmed that his opponent was indeed a kid at the fifth-level of the Life and Death Realm.

Still, he couldn’t really look down on him. Zen had, after all, passed the trials and was able to last until the final round which meant he wasn’t ordinary in the slightest.

Besides, measuring an opponent’s power just by looking at his cultivation base was not wise. However the burly man was once a proud genius of the alliance so he couldn’t help but be cocky. As he mentioned earlier, he was someone who almost reached the Gauze Pavilion before his life was turned upside-down and he was sent to the Villain World. For his whole life, he chased power and challenged those stronger than him. Yet, this time, it was the other way around.

Today, he faced a kid who ranked lower than himself.

His cultivation base had remained stagnant in the Villain World given its scarce resources but he did not fear a mere Life and Death Realm warrior.

He looked Zen up and down and tried to size him up while Zen did the same to him.

To Zen, the burly man’s cultivation base was quite firm and powerful but he also sensed a strong level of pride in him.

There was no doubt that his opponent was a hardcore fighter with formidable strength! Zen sighed. ‘This is going to be a tough fight, ‘ he thought to himself.

However, just as the two looked at each other’s eyes, a yell was heard from the battlefield right next to them, “Brother!”

Zen was astonished by Layla’s scream as were the audience who watched with agape mouths as the scene in front of them unfolded.

The burly man gazed at Layla in confusion. He knew he had a sister but he left her ten years ago after being sent to the Villain World. She was only around seven or eight years old at the time which was why he didn’t recognize her at first glance.

“Brother! It’s me! Layla!” she shouted, her heart bursting with anxiety on whether he remembered her or not.

Her declaration of her name cleared the remaining doubt on the man’s face and replaced it with a kind of light that had evaded him for a long time.

The little girl whom Adrian had mentioned was actually his sister…

And to think that she had grown up to be such a powerful warrior, the feelings rushed over him like a tidal wave as he tried to process this piece of information. He couldn’t believe that he almost faced against his very own sister!

Even the Sunset World lord sat in shock, also not expecting this kind of coincidence to occur in this ultimate trial.