While Xu Qing was observing the environment of the fighting area, the clamor from the spectator stands could be heard. Inside the Beast Fighting Arena, where Xu Qing's group had just walked through, a huge wooden door fell down with a bang.
It landed heavily on the ground, causing dust to fly everywhere.
This sound was like a horn being blown, causing the surrounding scavengers to become even more excited.
Xu Qing also noticed that on the high platform in front of him, there was a middle-aged man wearing a brocade robe. He was accompanied by a group of people and was sitting at the head of the platform.
Due to the distance, his appearance was a little blurry.
However, it was clear that this person's identity was not ordinary.
Even though they were so far away, Xu Qing could feel that the fluctuations of spiritual power on this person were extremely dense, surpassing anything he had seen before.
This made Xu Qing vigilant, and at the same time, he guessed that this person was most likely the camp master of this camp.
Because beside the camp master, Xu Qing saw that the man with the mustache from yesterday was bending over, as if he was carefully reporting something.
As the camp master sat down, the man with the mustache stood on the high platform and made a gesture to the people below.
Soon, at the edge of the beast arena, another wooden door opened. Without the obstruction of the wooden door, the roars of ferocious beasts could be heard even more clearly.
Following the roars, a group of scavengers appeared.
They were divided into four small groups, each group of three people. They each carried a huge iron cage and slowly walked out.
Within the iron cage, the ferocious beasts roared and jumped around, as if they wanted to tear the cage apart.
Xu Qing quickly looked over and swept his gaze across the four iron cages.
He saw that there were two huge wolves, one big and one small, but both had sharp teeth. Their bodies were pitch-black, and their eyes were bloodshot.
Large amounts of saliva dripped from the corners of their mouths. When they looked at Xu Qing's group of five, they revealed a ferocious look.
There was also a red bear with red fur. Its thick arms were longer than an adult's thighs. Its expression was filled with irritation as it constantly shook the iron cage.
The three scavengers who carried it over were all having a hard time.
As for the ferocious beast in the last iron cage, its aura was clearly much weaker.
It was a gibbon.
Its entire body was covered with pustules, as if they would explode with the slightest touch. It seemed to be in great pain as it constantly banged against the iron cage, causing the pustules to shatter. It was a shocking sight.
Their appearance caused an uproar among the spectators.
The faces of the two youths beside Xu Qing instantly turned pale. The little girl's eyes were also filled with extreme fear. Even the youth who was originally a scavenger was clearly nervous at this moment.
"Why are there four?" Xu Qing looked at the open wooden door in astonishment.
The moment he looked over, the four roaring and struggling ferocious beasts suddenly quieted down, as if they were intimidated.
At the same time, an enormous iron cage nearly twice the size of the one they were in was slowly lifted out of the wooden door by six scavengers.
Following the appearance of the iron cage, the spectators all around immediately exclaimed in surprise.
"Giant Horned Python!!"
"This time, the camp chief actually got a Giant Horned Python. But that's to be expected. In the camp chief's eyes, this thing isn't worth much."
"To these little bastards, whoever draws this thing will die. Even if we encounter it in the wild, it will take two people to kill it."
The ferocious beast inside the iron cage was shockingly a huge python.
Its body was as thick as an adult's waist. Its entire body was grayish black with dark patterns. If one looked closely, those dark patterns seemed to depict horn-like mountain peaks.
It coiled motionlessly in the cage, its huge head slightly raised. Its yellow vertical pupils were cold as it looked outside.
Under its gaze, both the giant wolf and the long-armed ape were trembling.
Only the red bear let out a low growl when it was provoked. It seemed to be resisting, but in reality, its body was slowly retreating until it reached the edge of the cage.
"Please don't draw it, please don't draw it …"
Behind Xu Qing, the two young men were trembling and praying softly. Xu Qing's eyes flickered with a bright light.
He knew about this Giant Horned Python. When he was in the slums, he had seen people in the city bring back the python's corpse after hunting it.
At that time, he had also heard from the experienced people around him that this python was very strong. Once it coiled around a large tree, it could break it. The python's skin was very thick.
However, its body was clumsy and its speed was relatively slow.
Its gallbladder had very good medicinal properties. It could dissolve the body's pollution to a certain extent. At the same time, the snake meat was very nourishing.
Thinking of this, Xu Qing recalled Captain Lei saying that he liked to eat snakes.
As for snakes, he had caught many when he was young. Hence, he licked his lips.
In addition, as he cultivated, the mutation points on his body became darker. Yesterday, when he cultivated, he could feel a faint stabbing pain.
Xu Qing pondered that if he could eat the python's gallbladder, it should be able to dissolve a lot.
As he stared at the Giant Horned Python, the drawing of lots began.
Following the arrangements of the three-leashed mustached man, the scavengers brought over five bamboo lots. Each bamboo lot had the name of the ferocious beast to be fought.
The youth was the first to draw. After seeing what he drew, he clearly heaved a sigh of relief.
Following him were the two youths and the little girl.
After the first two drew the bamboo lots while praying, their expressions were somewhat bitter. However, when the little girl looked at the bamboo lot in her hand, her eyes were filled with despair.
She had drawn the Giant Horned Python. As for the last lot, it was the wolf cub. This was also the weakest of the five ferocious beasts.
Xu Qing held the bamboo lot and frowned slightly, muttering to himself.
Soon, after the scavengers retreated, the trial-takers were arranged in a corner. After a simple blockade, the spectators cheered as the first trial began.
The one who was arranged to go up was one of the two youths.
He trembled as he walked out. The ferocious beast he was fighting was the thick red bear.
The process of the battle was very fast. The youth was not the red bear's match at all. After a few exchanges, he was pounced on by the red bear. In his despair, his body was directly torn apart.
Blood splattered everywhere, ushering in an uproar. It was accompanied by remorseful curses.
This scene frightened the other youth to the point of his body trembling. He, who was supposed to be the second to go up, suddenly shouted that he wanted to give up the trial.
Hence, amidst the boos, Xu Qing watched as the youth was taken away by the scavengers. The outcome was obvious.
The third was the youth who was originally a scavenger.
He drew the larger black wolf. His experience as a scavenger caused him to be more vicious than the average person.
After a soul-stirring battle of life and death, he was injured and panting as he killed the wolf, becoming the first person to succeed in this trial.
The door opened. He clutched his chest and left freely.
The fourth … was the little girl.
When the iron cage that held the Giant Horned Python was opened, the little girl clenched her teeth and walked past Xu Qing in despair.
But at this moment, Xu Qing suddenly spoke.
"Let's swap."
The little girl was stunned. Before she could react, Xu Qing had already swapped his bamboo lot with hers.
After taking away the bamboo lot with the Giant Horned Python carved on it, he ignored the little girl's grateful gaze and walked towards the Giant Horned Python.
As he entered, the surrounding scavengers had obviously seen the order and started to jeer.
But besides those who bet on him and the little girl, no one else would care about this. They wouldn't care, and neither would the camp chief. Everything was left to fend for itself.
In the arena, Xu Qing calmly walked towards the iron cage. The Giant Horned Python looked coldly at Xu Qing as it slowly crawled out.
When its thick body came out of the iron cage, its scales scraped against the iron bars of the cage, giving off an ear-piercing screech.
Its animal instincts allowed it to sense that the youth in front of it was different from the prey it usually encountered.
So after it crawled out, the Giant Horned Python didn't attack immediately. Instead, it coiled up outside the iron cage, its head held high and vigilantly stared at the approaching Xu Qing.
This scene aroused the interest of the surrounding spectators, and the jeering lessened.
Xu Qing's expression was normal as he approached step by step. Perhaps it was because he walked into the Giant Horned Python's attack range, or perhaps it was provoked by his aura, but the Giant Horned Python's vertical yellow pupils became even colder. It slammed its tail on the ground, giving off a roaring sound.
As the sound echoed out, it borrowed the force of the explosion to charge forward. It opened its mouth in midair, revealing razor-sharp fangs that emanated an unpleasant stench. It charged toward Xu Qing, intent on swallowing him whole.
Xu Qing's eyes narrowed as he looked coldly at the rapidly approaching Giant Horned Python. The moment it got close, he dodged to the side. He didn't choose to take advantage of the situation to attack, nor did he pay any attention to the huge python's head that passed by him. Instead, his eyes shone with a sharp light as he closely observed the python's abdomen like a hunter.
Under his observation, the Giant Horned Python missed. It let out a low roar and twisted its body. Suddenly, its tail whipped violently behind it, giving off an ear-piercing screech as it whipped towards Xu Qing.
Hunting instincts caused the Giant Horned Python's head to turn forcefully. With its tail in front and back, it seemed to form a circle as it rushed towards Xu Qing, as if it wanted to entangle him.
Xu Qing was silent. His gaze was still on the Giant Horned Python's abdomen. When the snake tail neared, he suddenly clenched his right hand into a fist and punched out.
Bang!
Although Xu Qing had only cultivated the first level of the Sea and Mountain Incantation, the power it brought to his fleshly body was significant. Now that the serpent's tail had been struck, it was sent spinning backward, unable to connect its head to its tail. As for the Gargantuan Python, it was clearly in pain, but it wasn't a fatal injury. Eyes bloodshot, it lunged forward viciously to bite Xu Qing.
However, Xu Qing's eyes narrowed, and they glittered brightly. He had finally found what he was looking for. Instead of retreating, he advanced, closing in on the Giant Horned Python's upper torso.
He clenched his right hand into a fist and punched out viciously. One punch, two punches, three punches ….
Punch after punch.
The force of Xu Qing's attacks caused the Giant Horned Python to fall back. Its roar grew louder as it attempted to entangle Xu Qing. However, the power of Xu Qing's punches made it impossible for its head and tail to touch.
As for its abdomen, its scales were relatively weak. After a few punches, Xu Qing's punches caused cracks to appear on its abdomen. Blood oozed out, indicating that its toughness had been damaged.
Seeing this, Xu Qing didn't wait for the Giant Horned Python to change its position. His eyes flickered coldly.
He immediately pulled out the dagger tied to his calf with his left hand. Amidst the cold gleam of the dagger, he swiftly and violently stabbed it into the Giant Horned Python's flesh.
In an instant, the dagger pierced through the flesh.
Blood splattered everywhere. Amidst the Giant Horned Python's mournful hiss, a shocking wound was opened on its abdomen, revealing the snake's gallbladder.
This snake was huge, but it was obviously mutated. Its gallbladder was as small as an egg.
Xu Qing didn't hesitate at all. He reached his right hand into the snake's abdomen and grabbed the snake's gallbladder. Amidst the Giant Horned Python's mournful hiss, he pulled it out.
Blood sprayed out, dripping onto the sand.
Ignoring the blood, Xu Qing held the snake's gallbladder. His eyes shone with a strange light. In front of the surrounding scavengers, he put the gallbladder into his mouth and swallowed it.
Amidst the calm swallowing, the Giant Horned Python, whose gallbladder had been taken out alive, struggled madly in pain. It roared mournfully and its body slapped the ground with all its strength, stirring up dust as if it wanted to vent its pain.
Its head slammed violently towards Xu Qing. Its red eyes were filled with madness, and its mouth was wide open as if it wanted to swallow Xu Qing whole.
Xu Qing looked at it coldly. The moment it closed in on him, he suddenly leaped into the air, once again dodging its head. While still in midair, he waved his right hand, and a black metal skewer appeared.
As he lowered his head, killing intent flashed in his eyes. His body sank down heavily. Using his strength, speed, and weight, he pushed the metal skewer's momentum to its limit. It pierced viciously towards the snake's heart.
The snake's scales were shattered, and the metal skewer pierced through like a hot knife through butter.
With a boom, the Giant Horned Python's entire body trembled violently, as if it had lost the strength to support its body. Its head and tail fell heavily onto the ground, and its mournful hiss came to an abrupt end. Only the sound of its tail slapping powerlessly on the ground could be heard.
After a while … as the dust settled, the surrounding scavengers who had been watching the battle were all shocked.
Many of them stood up and stared solemnly at the Colosseum, at the teenager who was currently pulling out the metal skewer from the snake's corpse.
If an adult had killed a Giant Horned Python in such a manner, they wouldn't have such expressions on their faces.
But for a skinny and small child to be able to so cleanly and cleanly remove the snake's gallbladder and then kill it with a single strike, his expression was cold and indifferent, without the slightest change in expression.
This was an extremely rare sight in the outpost.
Off to the side, the wolf cub and the red bear were clearly frightened, and were trembling in their cages.
This didn't seem to be a trial by fire, but a hunt.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the teenager put away the metal skewer, placed one hand on the Giant Horned Python's wound, and walked toward the Colosseum's gate.
Behind him, the Giant Horned Python's blood was dragged out in a red line, a ghastly sight to behold.
Next to the gate, Xu Qing turned his head to look at the platform.
It didn't take long for the bearded man on the platform to come to his senses. Fear still lingering in his heart, he immediately made a hand gesture. Soon … the gate rumbled open.
Outside, Captain Lei leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. He had been waiting for a long time.
He smiled at Xu Qing.
Xu Qing dragged the snake's corpse and looked up at Captain Lei. "Can I stay at your place now?"
"Sure," said Captain Lei with a smile.
Xu Qing nodded, then tossed the snake's corpse over.
"Since you like to eat snakes, I'll treat you to this."
Captain Lei stared blankly for a moment, then laughed loudly. He caught the Giant Horned Python's corpse, then led Xu Qing away.
It wasn't until they were far away that the Colosseum burst into an uproar.
Amidst the uproar, in a corner of the crowd sat an old man in a long violet robe. Next to him was an expressionless middle-aged man who looked like a servant. On the middle-aged man's forehead was a totem of a five-pointed star.
They sat there, and although their clothes and bearing clearly didn't fit in with the surrounding environment, no one seemed to be able to see them.
Even the Camp Commander didn't notice them at all.
The old man's face was ruddy, and his eyes seemed to contain lightning that could destroy anything. He was an extraordinary person. As he sat there, looking at Xu Qing's departing figure, he couldn't help but laugh.
"This kid is interesting."