Beggar Cultivation System

Apollo nearly fell from his seat as the intensity of the fight below escalated. There were moments when he was certain one of their attacks would land, but the other would always surprise him, managing to block it at the last second!

Close calls happened one after another in mere seconds. A single mistake, and one of them could have fallen off the stage or been seriously injured. The fight was so visually captivating, it felt like watching a live-action movie, but what was happening on the stage was far more incredible!

The second standoff between the participants brought a hush over the stadium. With floating swords surrounding Bel and the murky dark smoke enveloping Arke, Apollo decided to stand, just like the other participants from the other room. In fact, most people were already on their feet, their eyes fixed unblinkingly on the platform.

"This would be better with popcorn!" Apollo muttered in disappointment. Should I suggest that to Filly? Come to think of it, where is she? He glanced around and spotted her on one of the viewing decks, standing beside Gail, both of them watching intently with worry evident on their faces.

It wasn't surprising since they were close friends with Bel.

Turning back to the stage, Apollo noticed that the two combatants were ready to resume their fight.

"This is exciting!"

…

Arke laughed for a moment before his eyes turned cold, a dangerous smile curling on his lips. "Sigh… when was the last time we fought? Oh right, it was when you protected those weaklings at school. What's so great about protecting them? Anyway, I thought that fight would finally decide who's really stronger between us. But…"

"I defeated you," Bel smirked. "Like always, I end up on top."

"Oh, you're right," Arke said, unfazed by his repeated losses. "But would you believe me if I told you the only reason you beat me is because I let you?"

Hearing this, Bel's instincts flared. What does he mean by that? He could've defeated me but chose not to? No, that's impossible. In all our fights, he gave it everything he had. Shaking her head, she stared at her opponent coldly.

"You're just saying that to save face."

"No, I'm saying this because I want you to know I can defeat you whenever I want!" Arke shouted, charging toward her!

Bel swung her wooden sword, sending the floating, glowing broadswords hurtling toward Arke.

They moved fast, closing in on him in an instant, but with his movement technique, Arke narrowly dodged them, stopping right in front of Bel.

He threw a punch with his smoke-covered hand, but Bel met him with a horizontal slash, forcing him to step back. Instead of being discouraged, though, a confident smile spread across his face.

Bel quickly conjured another set of five or six copies of her glowing wooden broadsword. Without wasting a moment, she sent them flying at Arke, who was already closing in again.

But she wouldn't let him have his way. Activating her movement technique, Bel engaged Arke in close combat, all while distracting him with the floating broadswords surrounding them.

"Got you!" Bel exclaimed, a wide smile spreading across her face as one of the floating swords struck Arke's back! Seizing the opportunity, she gathered Qi around her wooden sword, and the roar of a serpent echoed. With a powerful slash, the Great Serpent projection surged forward, attacking Arke head-on!

"Haha!" Arke laughed, crossing his arms in front of him, allowing the Great Serpent projection to slam into him!

The impact sent water splashing into the air, and Arke's body tumbled across the ground. After rolling several times, he pushed off with his hands, flipped mid-air, and landed squarely on his feet. His hands ached, but he still laughed and dashed forward again!

Seeing this, Bel was stunned. What's wrong with this guy?

But this worked in her favor, so she didn't hesitate. Conjuring more duplicates of her glowing broadsword, she kept sending them toward Arke, who dodged and blocked as best he could.

Whenever Arke got within a meter of her, one of the floating swords would find its way to his body, disrupting his movements and giving Bel the chance to strike with her sword.

Once again, Arke rolled across the ground, but it was as if he didn't feel the blows at all. He sprang to his feet and charged at her, desperate to get as close as possible.

Arke was practically sacrificing his body just to land a hit! But it was a foolish tactic, as his body kept taking damage over and over. If this continued, Bel would surely win!

Even the audience was perplexed, unable to understand what was happening.@@novelbin@@

Another Great Serpent materialized, attacking Arke and nearly pushing him off the platform. He barely managed to use his movement technique to close the gap between them.

This cycle repeated several times, until Arke's face was covered in blood.

Bel gritted her teeth. Like the others, she couldn't understand what was going on. Arke was smarter than this! What the hell is wrong with him? This was practically suicide! She didn't feel sorry for him, but she worried she might accidentally kill him, which she didn't want.

"Hahaha!" Arke laughed, his bloodied face just a foot away from hers. Bel punched him with her free hand, but he came back, his mouth full of blood. "I've decided I don't care anymore! This is the real me!"

Bel frowned as her instincts screamed at her. Something was very wrong.

With another loud bang, Arke was slammed to the ground again, but like before, he got back up as if nothing had happened. The dark, murky smoke surrounding him made him look like a devil.

"But don't blame me! I can't control this! Hahaha!" Arke cackled as another slash hit his chest.

I need to end this madness now, Bel thought, the unease inside her growing stronger with each passing moment.

"You've gone crazy, Arke," Bel said, gripping her wooden broadsword with both hands and positioning it in front of her. "I don't know what's gotten into you, but as always, I will defeat you!"

"Then do it!" Arke shouted, though this time he paused to allow Bel to prepare for her attack.

Bel took it as a challenge. The glow on her wooden broadsword intensified, rippling like water, while the roar of the Great Serpent echoed as its projection materialized above her!

"Take this!" Bel raised her wooden sword high. Using the Great Serpent Sword technique to its fullest, she swung down with all her might.

At the same time, Arke made his move, his confident smile never faltering. "Hahaha!"

A loud bang echoed across the arena, and the audience, on the verge of cheering, suddenly froze, their eyes widening in disbelief at what they were witnessing.

Meanwhile, Apollo frowned.

"Why didn't she fully commit to her technique?" he muttered to himself.

Back on the stage, Bel rolled across the ground several times before managing to stop by stabbing her wooden sword into the platform. It glowed faintly, flickering before it finally broke as she steadied herself.

Bel coughed up a mouthful of blood, and when she saw the color, her eyes widened in shock. "You poisoned me?"

"Did I?" Arke raised an eyebrow, feigning innocence. "I already told you, I have the Poison Body. Getting too close to me is bad for your health."

"Don't give me that b*llshit! I know about your Poison Body!" Bel spat, wiping her mouth as she stood up. "We've fought before, and your poison wasn't strong enough to harm me. But this time, you did something different."

Arke shrugged, a playful gleam in his eyes. "I don't know. Maybe."

"Tsk," Bel gritted her teeth. She raised her broken wooden sword and pointed it at him. She tried to gather Qi to brighten the broadsword again, but it didn't take long before she realized something was terribly wrong. She coughed up another mouthful of blackened blood.

"Too bad," Arke said, appearing in front of her in an instant and punching her square in the chest!

Bel was sent flying once more, crashing into the stage and raising a cloud of dust.

Before Arke could rush toward her again, the dust cloud swirled, and the broken wooden broadsword flew at him! Smirking, he casually tilted his head, letting the weapon sail past him.

"It's futile! Now it's my turn!" Arke shouted. He dashed toward her, his fist colliding with her crossed arms as she barely managed to block in time. However, the tables had turned—Bel was clearly weakened. His black, murky smoke-covered fist broke through her defense, forcing her to spit up another mouthful of black blood.

As she was flung into the air, Arke appeared beside her and struck her again, slamming her into the ground.

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A thunderous explosion rocked the stage, causing the platform to crack!

Dust clouds billowed, obscuring Bel's condition, but the sound of fists clashing continued to echo from within.