Chapter 259: Life and Death Arena

Su Mu had no intention of saving them. Even if those worthless fools survived here, they would only die in the Nightmare World anyway.

Since the Royal Family had chosen a trial of this difficulty, the area where Supreme Heaven was located had to be even more treacherous.

He kept walking, planning to find an isolated spot to enter a dream state and use his abilities to locate a Mithril Token and the maze's exit.

Before that, however, he had one matter left to handle.

Su Mu abruptly stopped, turned toward the darkness behind him, and said flatly, "Come out."

The darkness remained dead silent. No one answered.

"Heh." Su Mu chuckled. "You have the nerve to follow me, but not to show your face?"

Thud, thud, thud...

Heavy footsteps echoed from the shadows as a figure slowly stepped into view.

It was Yan Wu, his face twisted in a dark scowl.

Yan Wu kept his head bowed, his gaze locked strictly on Su Mu's lower body. He didn't dare make eye contact. He looked utterly ridiculous—like an elementary school student called to the teacher's office after getting in trouble.

But that dark, murderous expression made it look as though he wanted to eat the teacher alive.

"Su Mu!" Yan Wu spat through gritted teeth.

"Looking for revenge?"

"You deserve to die!" Yan Wu's face twisted into a vicious snarl. "You humiliated me in public. Today, we're settling that score."

"You don't actually think you can avoid my Illusion Technique just by staring at the floor, do you?"

"Hmph!" Yan Wu scoffed. "Don't treat me like some clueless rookie. I've survived the Nightmare World ten times! You think I've never dealt with petty Illusion Techniques before?

"The eyes are the easiest point of invasion. As long as I guard my vision, no matter what other methods you use to cast your Illusion Technique, its effectiveness will plunge!

"If you hadn't ambushed me before the match even started last time, do you really think I would have fallen for it?"

"So, that's why you couldn't wait to come throw your life away?"

"We'll see who emerges victorious! To deal with you, I took a Mind-Clearing Potion in advance. I want to see just how much power your Illusion Technique has left now. Honestly, I should thank you. Because I took the Mind-Clearing Potion early, I was able to easily shake off those specters.

"As thanks, I'll tear you to pieces with my own two hands. In a hellhole like this, a few dead bodies won't raise any suspicion from the Law Enforcement Bureau anyway."

As he spoke, Yan Wu abruptly jerked his head up, staring straight into Su Mu's eyes with a cruel smirk.

"Oh?" Su Mu was mildly surprised. He hadn't expected the man to actually meet his gaze. Was he that confident in the Mind-Clearing Potion?

"Hahaha... This distance is perfect!" Yan Wu burst into maniacal laughter.

In an instant, a blinding white light erupted from the ground beneath their feet. The light expanded wildly, rapidly forming into a massive octagon that completely enclosed the two of them.

Su Mu studied the octagon with interest. He noticed the design looked suspiciously like a mixed martial arts cage.

"Su Mu, why do you think I wasted all that time talking to you? Did you think I was giving you time to cast your Illusion Technique? Hahaha... You fell right into my trap!"

"Oh, and then what?" Su Mu gave a casual nod. His utterly dismissive attitude instantly set Yan Wu off.

Yan Wu sneered. "Haven't you realized it yet? You can't use your Illusion Technique anymore! Go ahead and savor the helplessness of having your powers sealed, hahaha... Are you shocked? This is my Silver Law, the Life and Death Arena!

"It exists completely outside any known Sequence. Inside the Life and Death Arena, all Laws are suppressed. We can only rely on our physical strength in a forced one-on-one duel to the death. The arena will only vanish when one of us dies!"

"Right, and?"

Yan Wu's laughter caught in his throat, veins bulging on his forehead. "And it means you're going to die! Fear me! Tremble! Savor my wrath! I'm not going to let you die easily! I'll tell you one more thing: in the Life and Death Arena, the victor permanently steals a portion of the loser's physical attributes.

"When I'm done with you, I'll be even stronger! Does that fill you with despair?"

Hearing this, Su Mu cracked a smile. "I see. Thank you for going through all this trouble just to deliver your power to me."

Yan Wu's face grew utterly venomous. Ever since the humiliation he had suffered at Su Mu's hands last time, he hadn't gone a single second without plotting revenge. He'd fantasized about Su Mu kneeling before him, begging for mercy. It was the only way to wash away the burning shame in his heart.

Yet here Su Mu stood, a fish on the chopping block, entirely unbothered. It robbed Yan Wu of all the pleasure of his revenge. He had never just wanted to kill Su Mu—that was letting him off too easily. He wanted him to die utterly humiliated!

"Fine! Perfect! Let's see if you can keep acting so calm once I beat you half to death!"

Yan Wu stepped forward, advancing on Su Mu one slow step at a time. He deliberately dragged out his approach to relish the vengeance, aiming to crush Su Mu beneath the oppressive tension.

But to Su Mu, his dramatics were nothing but a joke.

The corner of Su Mu's mouth twitched upward into a smirk. "With all due respect, Mr. Yan, even with my Illusion Technique sealed, I actually know a bit of martial arts myself."

He flexed his hands, feeling the immense physical strength coursing through his body, and his smile widened.

Ever since becoming a Transcendent, he had rarely fought hand-to-hand, relying almost entirely on his Illusion Technique. Now that it was sealed, switching things up with a simple brawl sounded like good fun.

A Law outside any known Sequence—the Life and Death Arena was certainly interesting. He guessed that Yan Wu had built up his sheer physical strength by continuously winning fights inside this exact cage.

"Hahaha..." Yan Wu burst into laughter at Su Mu's words. His face was plastered in mockery, as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the world.

"What did you say? You know a bit of martial arts? Do you even hear yourself right now? An Illusion-type Transcendent claiming he knows how to fight?

"Do you have any idea how many Transcendents I've butchered so far? Their deaths paved the way to my current strength! Back in Star City, I've even killed a Silver 2! And you, a pathetic Silver 1 Illusion Transcendent, have the balls to boast in front of me?

"My physical attributes are easily on par with a Follower of Strength! Combine that with the sealing power of the Life and Death Arena, and it's practically like wielding two Silver Laws at once. What do you possibly have to fight me with?"

"Is that it?"

A flash of disappointment crossed Su Mu's eyes. He had assumed Yan Wu would actually be a challenge, given how ridiculously broken an ability like the Life and Death Arena was, but he hadn't expected the man to be this weak.

He had actually planned to rely on the lethal combat techniques he had spent a century honing in his dreams, combined with his Undying Body and Mithril Body, to slowly grind Yan Wu down.

But his opponent wasn't even giving him the chance to try!

Yan Wu being this weak meant that even after killing him, Su Mu wouldn't plunder that many attributes.

It left Su Mu feeling like he had gotten his hopes up for nothing.

Yan Wu had no idea what was running through Su Mu's head. All he knew was that he was being severely disrespected!

He considered himself a genius among Transcendents. He not only possessed a growth-type Law like the Life and Death Arena, but he could even kill people above his level. If that wasn't genius, what was?

Since when was it the place of an Illusion-type Transcendent to mock him like this?

He couldn't hold back any longer.