Lin Shu entered the arena and immediately noticed the change.
There were more people than usual—far more. Fighters, spectators, and hopeful newcomers filled the space, all trying to seize a chance to replace someone, to rise, to be noticed.
He moved through the crowd until he spotted Aoyan and Kai waiting at their usual spot for Yanqi.
Kai noticed him first and waved enthusiastically.
"Li! Over here!"
Aoyan smiled at Kai's energy as Lin Shu approached and sat down beside them.
"So where have you been?" Aoyan asked. "We didn't see you yesterday."
"I was looking for a weapon that suits me," Lin Shu replied calmly. "Unfortunately I didn't find anything that complemented my techniques and fighting style."
Aoyan nodded.
"You could ask Master. He's been a lot softer on you two lately. He's not as stingy as he used to be."
Kai burst out laughing.
"True, but he's still cheap. I asked him how to learn a flame path, and he fell asleep while I was talking. When I tried to wake him up, he kicked me out of his place. So yeah—still a stingy old man."
Lin Shu didn't disagree. Yanqi had become more open over the years, but that didn't change the fact that he guarded his knowledge like treasure.
As he listened, Lin Shu was already thinking ahead. If he could gain even half the trust Yanqi placed in Aoyan, many doors would open for him. Until then, patience was his only option.
Aoyan glanced around the arena.
"Have you noticed how many people are coming in lately? It's like a flood."
Lin Shu nodded. The arena's fame was growing rapidly—both a blessing and a threat.
"As long as people keep coming," he thought, "there will always be ways to make money. But this place will start attracting real monsters soon. I'll need to grow stronger fast—or take as much of the spotlight as I can while it lasts."
"Oh, right," Kai suddenly said. "Aoyan, we should tell him what Elder Yanqi told us."
Aoyan nodded.
"Yeah. We tried looking for you yesterday, but you weren't at your place."
Lin Shu looked interested.
"What did he say?"
"He was called into a meeting by Kuang Baotu, the arena master," Aoyan explained. "Along with the other top fighters and executives. They discussed changing some of the rules."
She paused, then continued.
"With the increase in popularity and fighters, they want to maximize profits. For example, they're considering reducing the number of matches needed to rank up—maybe even halving it."
"That's not all," she added. "They also talked about introducing new requirements for ranking up. They haven't decided yet, but Master said it'll be something big. It'll probably take a month or two before anything is finalized."
Lin Shu's interest deepened. If the system changed, reaching the gold rank could become much faster. And gold rank was where real rewards began—where aether shards flowed.
"That does sound interesting," he said.
Kai stood up with a grin.
"Oh, looks like it's our turn. I wonder who we'll fight this time."
The three of them rose and headed toward the fighters' entrance, passing through the long corridors until they reached the waiting area.
Lin Shu scanned the room, his gaze sweeping across the gathered fighters.
Then he heard raised voices to his left.
A chubby boy was pointing angrily at a rough-looking youth whose scarred face and neck-length hair gave him a savage appearance. The boy's grin carried both arrogance and confidence. Beside them sat a large, quiet man with an axe strapped to his back, unmoving and silent. Nearby, a boy with orange hair and matching eyes was arguing heatedly with the other two.
"Just stick to the plan for once," the chubby boy snapped. "We lost last time because this idiot didn't listen to the rules."
"It's not my fault," the scarred boy shot back. "I broke three of our opponents' legs. You three couldn't even destroy a single statue."
"And you walked right past the statue without destroying it," the orange-haired boy snapped. "We could've won, but now people are laughing at us like fools."
"Well, we are fools," the chubby boy shouted, "for accepting this barbarian as our leader!"
The scarred youth merely scratched his head, unfazed, and ignored them.
Lin Shu's eyes narrowed slightly as he watched the scene unfold.
"What are these idiots doing here?"
Lin Shu looked ahead, his gaze settling on the group.
"That's definitely Xu Jin… and Xie Lang. The big one has to be Zeng Shiyang. And that last one…"
Behind his mask, Lin Shu's lips slowly curved upward.
"So it's Yun Qiu. That bastard is here."
He hadn't forgotten their last encounter. Back in the Azure Crystal Mines, Yun Qiu had grown jealous after Lin Shu surpassed his mission ranking. For reasons known only to his wounded pride, the man had tried to humiliate him.
"I'll pay him back for that," Lin Shu thought calmly. "Later."
The sight stirred memories he hadn't revisited in years—memories of the institute. He wondered what had become of it after Lu Heng was exposed as a demonic cultivator. There had been no news since then. Perhaps everything had been buried, forgotten. Or perhaps the truth had been erased along with the people who knew it.
Lin Shu's gaze sharpened.
"I should change the color and form of my armor," he decided. "It's common knowledge that I can create steel armor. But there are countless techniques that manifest armor and weapons from different materials."
As long as his ivory remained coated in steel, he wouldn't stand out.
And more importantly—he wouldn't be recognized.
Lin Shu turned away. He didn't like the fact that they were here—but he wasn't about to leave over it. The chance of them recognizing him was negligible. Flyers bearing his old face had long since been torn down, forgotten, and erased by time.
"It's our fight now. Let's go."
Kai's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. Aoyan stood up as well, calling out softly. Her Infernoheart Salamander slithered forward, heat rippling through the air around its scales.
Lin Shu moved with them as they entered the arena grounds.
Then he noticed something that made his steps slow.
The next opponents being announced were none other than Xie Lang and his group.
Lin Shu frowned beneath his mask.
"Wait… this is the first time I've seen them here. I'm almost always around the arena. How are they fighting us—a silver-rank team—when they should still be bronze?"
Xie Lang walked forward with a grin, flanked by Xu Jin, Zeng Shiyang, and Yun Qiu.
Lin Shu glanced sideways and asked quietly,
"Aoyan, do you know who they are? And what rank they're at?"
Aoyan followed his gaze, her expression sharpening.
"I think I do," she said. "They're new recruits who joined a gold-rank team. I believe it belongs to someone called Qing Lanyue."
Lin Shu's interest deepened.
"She's an Aether-rank fighter," Aoyan continued, lowering her voice. "Just like Master. Infact they know each other—but they're not on friendly terms. So If we lose this fight, Master will definitely be furious and say that we embarrassed him and shamed his reputation."
She paused, then added with a small frown,
"I don't think he knows they're our opponents. Otherwise, he'd be here just to spite her."
Lin Shu processed the information quickly.
"So they're part of a gold-rank team," he said, "but individually they should still be bronze, right?"
Aoyan nodded.
"Normally, yes. But being part of a gold-rank team lets them fight under its banner. Still, the arena limits them—they can only fight up to the silver rank when entering as a team."
Lin Shu's eyes narrowed behind his mask.
Behind his mask, Lin Shu thought calmly,
"I suppose this will be a good test—whether they recognize me or not."
Xie Lang walked forward with a relaxed smile. Xu Jin followed, looking thoroughly bored, while Zeng Shiyang moved in complete silence. Yun Qiu, however, kept his eyes fixed on Lin Shu, then shifted them to Aoyan and Kai.
He frowned slightly and said,
"Wait… isn't that girl from the Chi Clan?"
Xu Jin glanced at Aoyan and her Infernoheart Salamander before nodding.
"Yeah. Definitely. Didn't Miss Lanyue mention someone named Aoyan?"
Zeng Shiyang spoke in his usual blunt tone.
"She did. Told us to crush their team whenever we ran into someone with that name."
Xie Lang chuckled.
"Well, I was going to do that anyway. Doesn't really matter."
Yun Qiu's expression remained serious.
"Still, don't get careless. They're not weak. From what miss lanyue told us Their top fighter—Behemoth—isn't someone you can ignore. And the fight conditions haven't been announced yet. We don't even know if this match is pure combat."
He glanced at Xie Lang sharply.
"So don't rush in and forget the objective."
Xie Lang waved him off.
"Yeah, yeah. I get it."
Xu Jin crossed his arms.
"You better. I don't want to lose again. Living and cultivating here isn't cheap."
Xie Lang raised a brow.
"Don't I pay for our lodging?"
Xu Jin scoffed.
"And who negotiated the deal? Without me, you'd be paying twice as much. Besides, it doesn't matter who pays—the point is it's expensive. I'm training hard to save your money, as a good friend should."
Xie Lang laughed as they continued walking, soon stopping face-to-face with Lin Shu's team.
The announcer's voice echoed through the arena, calling out their names and titles.
Lin Shu stood directly opposite Xie Lang. Xu Jin and Yun Qiu positioned themselves in front of Aoyan, while Zeng Shiyang stared down at Kai.
Kai didn't flinch.
His face remained unreadable—though with the burns covering it, it wasn't as if it could show much emotion anyway.
The arena fell into a brief, heavy silence.
The match was about to begin.