Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 332 - 332 0257 Arent We Just Throwing Stones into

Chapter 332: Chapter 0257: Aren’t We Just Throwing Stones into the Water? Chapter 332: Chapter 0257: Aren’t We Just Throwing Stones into the Water? Chapter 0257: Aren’t I Just a Sitting Duck Then?

Qi Tian didn’t leave just because the gatekeeper rejected him repeatedly. He continued to ask, “Please, I really need spirit stones. If I don’t earn enough every day, people will kill me.”

The gatekeeper sneered, saying, “What does that have to do with me? Leave, now.”

Seeing that he couldn’t get into the arena as an audience member, Qi Tian had an idea. He said, “Are you guys short on fighters here? Can I apply?”

The gatekeeper scanned Qi Tian up and down, saying, “Kid, looking at you, you’re not very old. You must have some resources at home, right? You haven’t seen the bloodshed of the Cultivation World, have you? If I were you, I’d send a Message Paper Crane to my elders at home, have them come over, and negotiate with the powerful person controlling you. Pay a ransom, and maybe they’ll let you go. Why are you trying so hard to earn spirit stones for others every day?”

Qi Tian smiled bitterly. Who could he get to redeem him? Have the Imperial Master Mansion come to retrieve him? Apart from whether the Imperial Master Mansion would send people, assuming they did, getting the Ape King Sun Xiaotian to let someone go would mean having the Master of Imperial Master Mansion, Xiao Xiaowu, to personally mediate. Yet, how could Xiao Xiaowu personally intervene for him by venturing into Chi Di territory? Besides Xiao Xiaowu, there is probably no one else in the Imperial Master Mansion that could afford to mess with Ape King Sun Xiaotian.

Qi Tian made a sincere gesture of respect towards the gatekeeper and said, “Sir, I have compelling reasons for doing so. Could you please ask your superior, see if I could get a chance to be a fighter here?”

When Qi Tian saw that the gatekeeper wasn’t going to move, he took out three spirit stones and placed them in the gatekeeper’s hand.

The gatekeeper looked at the spirit stones in his hand, and finally said, “Alright, for your sincere offering, I will go ask.”

After not too long, the gatekeeper returned with a late stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, “Elder Brother, this is him. Kid, this is the admin of our arena, Cheng Cai, you should pay your respects quickly.”

Qi Tian immediately paid his respects to Cheng Cai, saying, “Zhang Liming pays his respects to Manager Cheng.”

Cheng Cai scrutinized Qi Tian carefully, then frowned, “First Level of Foundation Establishment, you are too weak.”

The gatekeeper said, “Brother Cheng, don’t underestimate this kid. Although his cultivation level is low, he’s young and undoubtedly a genius. He would be an attraction on stage. We can advertise a battle against a genius. Wouldn’t our seats sell out quickly? Would we need to worry about not selling the tickets?”

Upon hearing this, Cheng Cai chuckled, “Wei Hongtao, it seems we are underutilizing your talents by having you as a gatekeeper. But you have a point. Beating a genius would indeed pique interest. Zhang Liming, you may stay. Let me explain the rules. You need to participate in at least three matches per day here, and we will arrange the opponents. Now, I can offer you two payment plans: three spirit stones per fight; or a percentage of the profits from each fight. Since you’re a newbie, I can only offer you one point. But once you become famous, we can increase your percentage. Currently, the best fighter here can earn ten percent. You choose.”

Qi Tian asked, “Does this place allow bets on fighters? Can I bet on myself winning?”

Cheng Cai responded, “Of course. But you must remember, although you can bet, the arena’s cut won’t be reduced.”

“I understand. Another question, I’m only at the First Level of Foundation Establishment, the arena wouldn’t make me fight a late stage Foundation Establishment or higher, would it?” That was Qi Tian’s greatest concern.

Cheng Cai laughed heartily, “You truly think of yourself as a genius, don’t you? It’s already quite an achievement to progress to the First Level of Foundation Establishment at such a young age, and you even want to challenge fighters at a late stage of Foundation Establishment. You really think highly of yourself. Don’t worry, it’s too expensive to hire late-stage Foundation Establishment or peak fighters, I won’t invite them for just anybody. Even if I did, it wouldn’t be just for you.”

“Fine, I understand. I’ll go with the first plan, earning a fixed income for each match.” Qi Tian let out a sigh of relief, and then responded.

“Good.” Chengzhang took out a contract and had Qi Tian sign it. The contract was simple and void of any Spells or runes, a simple gentlemen’s agreement. If either side breaks the contract, there won’t be severe punishment. However, this also shows that Chengzhang and his backers probably don’t consider this arena a long-term business venture and might be ready to abandon it at any given time.

Qi Tian signed the contract with the name “Zhang Liming.” After Zhang Liming kept the contract, he asked, “Manager, can I start today? To be honest, I’m short on spirit stones.”

Chengzhang responded, “Normally, you would start tomorrow, but if you insist on stepping into the arena today, it’s not impossible. But you need to be clear, if you go up on the stage today, we won’t be able to prearrange your opponents. You would likely face tough adversaries right away. Are you prepared for that?”

Qi Tian nodded his head.

Chengzhang added, “When I asked if you are prepared, I meant are you prepared for everything, including life or death. Our arena allows deathmatches. If I arrange a deathmatch for you, would you accept?”