Chapter 9: The Iron-Blood Pits and the Unbreakable Slave
The transition from the serene, jade-tiled peaks of the Eternal Divine Sacred Land to the soot-choked atmosphere of the Iron-Blood Empire was like moving from a dream into a fever.
Ye Chen sat in his Void-Crossing Carriage, which now hovered silently above the clouds of the Southern Continent. Below him stretched a land of jagged obsidian mountains and sprawling, industrial cities that bled black smoke into the sky. The Iron-Blood Empire was a nation built on two things: tempered steel and the broken backs of millions.
"Master, the air here is... unpleasant," Su Qingchan remarked, her silver eyes scanning the horizon. She sat cross-legged, the Nether-Void Rapier resting across her lap. Beside her, the Nine-Tailed Moon-Fox, Yue'er, was curled into a ball, its silver fur standing on end as if sensing the pervasive cruelty of the land below.
"It smells like burnt copper and misery," Lin Feng added, his hand resting on the hilt of his Solar Flare Blade. After forty years in the Tower of Eternal Kalpas, his patience for "injustice" had grown thin, even if his Master's patience for "effort" remained non-existent.
Ye Chen, draped in his usual white robes with Xiao Hei snoring on his chest, cracked an eye open. "It's a 'War Empire,' kids. They believe that Spiritual Energy is best harvested through conflict. If you aren't a soldier, you're a slave. If you aren't a slave, you're a corpse."
He waved a lazy hand, and a system map flickered in the air.
"We're looking for a place called the Abyssal Pit. It's a gladiatorial arena where the Empire throws its 'rebellious' captures. Our third recruit is currently the reigning champion of the death matches. Not because he wants to be, but because they haven't found a sword, a spell, or a beast that can actually leave a scratch on him."
The Continent Within a Floor
As the carriage descended, Ye Chen's mind wandered back to the Tower of Eternal Kalpas. He had realized something during the disciples' training: the tower was far more than a building. Each of its 1,000 floors was a self-contained dimension, a continent-sized expanse of varied terrain.
Lin Feng had trained on a floor that was an endless desert of solar fire, while Su Qingchan had occupied a floor that was a silent, frozen ocean of void-ice. The tower didn't just bend time; it provided the space of an entire world for a single soul to grow.
I really need to find more disciples, Ye Chen thought, yawning. Having continent-sized floors for only two people is a massive waste of real estate. It's like owning an empty skyscraper and only using the broom closet.
[Ding! System Notification: Approaching Target Area.]
[Target: Han Tie.]
[Physique: Indestructible Vajra Body (Dormant - 12% Awakening).]
[Current Status: 4,000th Consecutive Match.]
The Abyssal Pit
The Abyssal Pit was a colossal crater carved into the earth, lined with seats for half a million screaming spectators. In the center was a floor of blood-soaked sand, reinforced with ancient runes to prevent it from collapsing under the weight of high-level combat.
At the edge of the pit, a group of "Iron-Blood Overseers"—all at the Dharma Phase or Celestial Body realm—watched with sadistic glee.
"Send in the Earth-Crushing Rhinos!" the High Overseer, a man in spiked plate armor, barked. "Let's see if this 'Iron Ghost' can still stand after his tenth match today!"
In the center of the arena stood a young man. He was massive, his skin the color of old bronze, covered in scars that looked like they had been etched by lightning. He wore nothing but tattered trousers and heavy, rusted manacles on his wrists and ankles.
His eyes were dull, filled with a deep, soul-crushing fatigue. This was Han Tie.
Three massive, Spirit-Beast rhinos, each the size of a house and at the Peak Foundation Establishment level, charged from the gates. They were living battering rams.
Han Tie didn't move. He didn't even raise his hands.
BOOM!
The first rhino slammed its horn directly into his chest. The sound wasn't the breaking of bone, but the chime of a heavy bell. The rhino's horn shattered into a thousand pieces. The beast recoiled, its skull caved in by the sheer rebound of hitting something so solid.
Han Tie didn't even stumble. He simply reached out, grabbed the second rhino by its horn as it reached him, and with a grunt of pure, raw strength, flipped the multi-ton beast over his head, slamming it into the third.
"Amazing!" the crowd roared.
"He doesn't use Spiritual Energy!" a spectator yelled. "He's just... hard!"
The Arrival of the Immortals
High above the arena, the clouds suddenly spiraled. A pillar of starlight descended, and the Void-Crossing Carriage appeared, hovering directly over the center of the pit.
The screaming of the half-million fans died instantly. A silence so heavy it felt physical smothered the arena.
Ye Chen stepped out of the carriage, floating downward as if walking on an invisible staircase. Lin Feng and Su Qingchan followed, their auras held in tight check, yet still leaking enough pressure to make the Celestial Body Overseers turn pale.
"Who dares interfere with the Empire's Games?!" the High Overseer shouted, drawing a heavy broadsword. "This is the territory of the Iron-Blood Emperor! State your name or be executed!"
Ye Chen didn't even look at the man. He landed on the blood-soaked sand, standing ten feet away from Han Tie. Up close, the "Vajra Body" was even more impressive. The kid was a walking mountain of potential, though his spirit was flickering like a candle in the wind.
"Master, he's... he's built like a fortress," Lin Feng whispered, genuinely impressed. "I can feel the heat of his blood from here."
Ye Chen looked at Han Tie. "They tell me you've fought four thousand matches and never lost. They also tell me you've never smiled once."
Han Tie looked at Ye Chen, his voice deep and raspy from years of disuse. "Why smile? The world is a cage. You win, you fight again tomorrow. You lose, you find peace. I am too strong to lose, so I am denied peace."
"That's a very dramatic way of saying you're bored," Ye Chen said, pulling a spirit fruit from his sleeve and taking a bite. "How about a new deal? I break those chains, you come sweep my floors. In exchange, I'll give you a world where 'peace' isn't about dying, but about being so strong that no one dares disturb your nap."
Han Tie looked at the rusted manacles on his wrists. "These are 'Void-Iron' chains. They are engraved with the Emperor's own Seal. Even a King Realm expert cannot—"
Snap.
Ye Chen hadn't even moved his hand. He had simply looked at the chains with a slight frown. The Void-Iron, a material supposedly indestructible in the Southern Continent, turned into fine gray dust and blew away in the wind.
The High Overseer's jaw hit his chest. "The Seal... the Emperor's Seal was erased?! GUARDS! KILL THEM!"
Hundreds of Iron-Blood soldiers, mounted on flying drakes and wielding enchanted spears, swarmed from the edges of the pit. This was the elite "Iron Legion," a force that had toppled kingdoms.
"Lin Feng, Qingchan," Ye Chen said, turning his back on the approaching army to focus on his new recruit. "The High Overseer is a 2nd Stage King. The guards are mostly Dharma Phase. Don't make a mess, but make sure they understand that the Eternal Divine Sacred Land is currently 'conducting business.'"
"Yes, Master!"
The 1.5 Realm Limit in Action
The High Overseer roared, his King-level Spiritual Energy erupting in a blast of crimson light. He swung his broadsword, sending a thousand-foot-long crescent of blood-red energy toward the group.
"Nine-Suns: Solar Wall!"
Lin Feng stepped forward. As a 5th Stage Celestial Body cultivator with a God-grade physique and fifty years of "Continent-scale" training, his Spiritual Energy was far more refined than the Overseer's.
The gap: 1.5 Major Realms (Celestial Body to King).
The crimson blade-qi hit the golden wall and shattered. Lin Feng didn't even sweat. He drew the Solar Flare Blade, and the temperature in the arena skyrocketed.
"You call yourself a King?" Lin Feng sneered. "I've fought shadow-phantoms in the Tower that were more intimidating than you."
Meanwhile, Su Qingchan vanished.
The soldiers on the drakes didn't even see her move. They only saw silver lines appearing in the air. Their spears were sliced in half, their drakes' wings clipped, and their armor unraveled. Su Qingchan, a 2nd Stage Dharma Phase, was moving through the Celestial Body guards like a hot knife through butter.
The gap: 1 Major Realm.
She wasn't killing them—she was "deconstructing" them. Every strike was precise, disabling their movement and shattering their weapons without taking a life.
The Awakening of the Vajra
Han Tie watched the chaos with wide eyes. He had never seen anyone move like this. He had never seen someone block a King's strike so effortlessly.
"You see that?" Ye Chen asked, pointing at Lin Feng. "He's my first disciple. He was a beggar in a mud hut a month ago. Now he's swatting Kings like flies."
Ye Chen reached out and tapped Han Tie's chest.
[Ding! Initiating 'Vajra Awakening'.]
[Expending 0.00001% Eternal Divine Aura...]
A golden light, far brighter than Lin Feng's sun-fire, exploded from Han Tie's heart. His bronze skin turned a deep, shimmering gold. His muscles didn't just grow; they became dense as neutron stars.
The "Indestructible Vajra Body" didn't just awaken—it roared.
The shockwave from the awakening sent the remaining guards flying to the back of the arena. Han Tie looked at his hands. He felt a power that made his previous "strength" feel like a child's toy.
"Master..." Han Tie whispered, the dullness in his eyes replaced by a terrifying, golden light.
"Don't call me Master yet," Ye Chen said, yawning. "You haven't seen the stairs. But for now... you see that High Overseer? He's the one who's been feeding you rhinos for five years. Why don't you show him what a real punch looks like?"
Han Tie turned. He didn't use a technique. He didn't use Spiritual Energy. He simply took a step, the sand of the arena turning into glass beneath his feet, and launched a simple straight punch toward the High Overseer.
The Overseer, a 2nd Stage King, raised his broadsword to block.
BOOM!
The broadsword shattered. The King's armor exploded. The High Overseer was sent flying through the stone walls of the arena, through three neighboring buildings, and finally came to rest in a heap a mile away.
Han Tie stood there, his golden skin glowing.
"I... I like this," Han Tie said, a small, terrifyingly sharp smile finally appearing on his face.
"Good," Ye Chen said, hopping back into the carriage. "Now, pack your nothing and let's go. I've been in this smoke for twenty minutes and my robes are starting to smell like a blacksmith's shop."
[Ding! Third Direct Disciple Recruited: Han Tie!]
[Issuing Rewards...]
1. Sect Infrastructure: The Divine Refinement Forge.
2. For Han Tie:
• Physique: Indestructible Vajra Body (100% Awakened).
• Technique: Eight-Desolations God-Crushing Fist.
• Weapon: The Earth-Quake Gauntlets (God-Level).
• Pet: The Stone-Eater Behemoth (Hatchling).
• Protector: The Iron-Blood General (God Emperor - 9th Stage Peak).
As the carriage ascended, leaving a ruined arena and a stunned empire behind, Ye Chen leaned back.
"Three down," he murmured to Xiao Hei. "Seven to go. Maybe the next one can be someone who knows how to make a decent cup of tea."
End of Chapter 9