Strongest Lord by Opening Blind Boxes

Chapter 276 - 229: Mutant Cao Dalang (2)

But raising his loyalty any higher than 81 was proving difficult.

’So No-Damage Attack doesn’t raise loyalty anymore? I’ll probably have to give him a salary, a house, and find him a wife just to get it to go up. Making it exceed 100 won’t be easy, I imagine...’

Wang Yi rubbed his chin, lost in thought.

Just then, Li Longyu said, "We’re almost at the end of the Cloud Sky Runway!"

"Good!"

Wang Yi nodded, then gave Cao Dalang a quick kick. "Cao Cao, turn your head. You’re not allowed to look at my wife!"

Cao Dalang scratched his head in confusion but walked over to greet Wang Bushi and the others with a bow.

Hu Miaosuan glanced at him and nodded. "You’re a cook, aren’t you, my friend?"

Cao Dalang replied, "I make steamed buns!"

"Excellent, excellent. There’s a good chance you’ll be working at the First Dining Hall then, my friend. We’ll be colleagues! I hang around the Dining Hall too. Let me tell you, our First Dining Hall is full of crouching tigers and hidden dragons..."

Hu Miaosuan pulled Cao Dalang aside to chat.

By then, the Galaxy Airship had already begun to slow down for its descent.

About two minutes later, the Galaxy Airship touched down. Wang Yi stored it away and led the group straight toward the exit.

As they neared the exit, he received a system notification: "Ding! You have reached the final destination. Station cleared. Reward: one Floating Cloud Boat. You may now proceed to the next Station."

Along with the notification, a small boat descended from the sky, swiftly landing before Wang Yi.

The boat wasn’t large—about seven or eight meters long and nearly two meters wide, with enough room for seven or eight people. It was held aloft by clouds and mist, equipped with oars, and looked crude and simple, but it was a flying vessel nonetheless.

Wang Yi checked its information panel. He discovered its top speed was 360 kilometers per hour. It had unlimited power, and its oars could be used to adjust its direction and speed, but it could only fly in the "sky," not enter the Starry Sky.

’Not bad. I’ll store it for now and reward it to one of my subordinates when I get back to the territory.’

Wang Yi tapped his Starlight Bracelet, storing the Floating Cloud Boat, then turned his attention to the three orbs of light before him.

[Exit 1: Proceed to the Six-Star Station: the Great Echo Temple in the Zen World. Chance to obtain Buddhist Sect items such as Kasaya Fashion.]

[Exit 2: Proceed to the Seven-Star Station: the Sea of Cyan Profound in the Northern Netherworld. Chance to encounter the world-traveling Daoist Cang of the Mystic Sect.]

[Exit 3: Proceed to the Five-Star Station: the Fantasy Grand Arena in the Fictional World. Participate in the Fantasy Grand Melee to win random rewards.]

Wang Yi quickly made his choice, leading everyone through the third exit. In an instant, they found themselves on a floating spectator stand overlooking a massive battle arena below.

"Ding! Your journey has brought you to the 13th Station!"

"Ding! You have arrived at the Fantasy Grand Arena in the Fictional World. Here, you can dispatch your subordinates to participate in fantasy battles. Each subordinate may only enter the arena once. If defeated, they will be sent back to their original territory!"

"Ding! The fantasy battles will assess a contestant’s potential and grant them a corresponding amount of growth flux. During the arena battle, this can allow them to instantly reach their final Evolution, become fully unsealed, or enter their late-stage form."

"Ding! The Grand Arena has already hosted 36 matches. The current champion is the Strong Bull Demon. Challenge and defeat the champion to receive one Golden Chaos Blind Box."

"Ding! Reminder: If you do not wish to participate in the Fantasy Grand Melee, you may proceed directly to the next Station via the exit!"

Wang Yi listened to the system notifications while surveying his surroundings. He saw many floating stands, and figures were seated on several of them. ’They can’t all be new Players,’ he thought. ’Some must be from previous generations.’

In the arena below stood a contestant: a humanoid Demon, the Strong Bull Demon.

Its appearance was similar to the Minotaurs of the Beastman race, but the two were entirely different species.

’This Strong Bull Demon doesn’t look that tough. A Golden Chaos Blind Box is very tempting. Maybe I should fight one match?’

Wang Yi glanced over the people around him.

’Who should I send in? This competition seems to be a contest of potential. The contestant can instantly reach their final Evolution or ultimate form. I’m curious to see the effect!’

Wang Yi made his decision. First, he had the Undead musician, Beruna, step forward. He said to her, "Beruna, you go fight a match. If you get sent back to the territory, go to Eggshell Castle and find Jelena. Have her get the piano loom for you. You can study music and weave at the same time."

Beruna was quite obedient. She immediately walked to the orb of light at the front of the stand and was quickly teleported into the battle arena.

"Ding! Arena Announcement: Contestant Beruna has stepped forward to challenge."

"Ding! Granting equal amounts of growth flux to the Strong Bull Demon and Beruna. The Strong Bull Demon evolves into the Great Strength Bull Demon King, possessing Celestial God Level combat power! Beruna remains unchanged. The battle will begin shortly..."

Following the system notification, Beruna remained unchanged in the center of the arena. However, the Strong Bull Demon across from her suddenly swelled, transforming into the Great Strength Bull Demon King, now towering to a height of nearly twenty feet. His physique was burly and magnificent, and he now gripped a Trident in his hand.

The moment the battle began, the Great Strength Bull Demon King struck Beruna with his Trident, turning her into a flash of white light.

"Ding! Your subordinate, the Necromancer Beruna, has been sent back to Huaguo Mountain!"

Wang Yi felt nothing as he heard the system notification.

In truth, he’d had no hope for Beruna to begin with and had intended for her to be sent back. She wasn’t much help in the Corridor of Chaos anyway. For her, continuing through these trials was just torture; she was better off back in the territory, playing the piano and weaving.

"Cao Dalang, you’re up next!"

Wang Yi ordered Cao Dalang into the arena, thinking to himself that it wouldn’t matter much if this guy was sent back to the territory either.

But when the battle began and the so-called evolution flux was granted, it somehow caused Cao Dalang’s loyalty to surpass one hundred, gave him a full complement of sixteen wives, and granted him Celestial God Level combat power!

Wang Yi quickly looked down at the battlefield.

The Great Strength Bull Demon King was tall and brawny, holding a long-shafted weapon. Cao Dalang was bare-fisted and couldn’t even reach the king’s knees if he jumped.

The two of them quickly engaged in battle. There were no fancy moves, just a stationary brawl. It was a simple trade of blows—you hit me, I hit you—with neither side dodging or evading. The impacts rang out, CLANG, CLANG, like blacksmiths hammering iron, making for a completely uninteresting spectacle.

After five minutes of this, it was the tall and brawny Great Strength Bull Demon King who was defeated. His body crashed to the ground with a THUD and then dissipated into white light.

Incredibly, Cao Dalang had won.

Wang Yi received a system notification. Cao Dalang was now the champion, and a Golden Chaos Blind Box appeared before him.

’I got a Golden Chaos Blind Box that easily?’

Wang Yi was pleasantly surprised, and he began to see Cao Dalang in a new light.

’This Cao Dalang, with over 100 loyalty and a full complement of sixteen wives, can win a slugfest against the Great Strength Bull Demon King. He’s an absolute stat monster. If I give him some Skill Books and let him learn Combat Skills, he’ll be even more incredible...’

Wang Yi mused to himself.

Just then, a new match began.

This time, Cao Dalang was the champion. The one stepping up to challenge him was, of all things, Godzilla!

When Wang Yi heard the system announcement, he thought he’d misheard. But one look at the arena made him jump in shock. It really was Godzilla, looking almost identical to the King of the Monsters from the movies, and towering over a hundred meters tall.

Of course, this was Godzilla under the effects of the growth flux.

Standing before it, Cao Dalang looked no bigger than a tiny bug.

When the fight began, Cao Dalang threw a punch at Godzilla, managing to knock off one of its toenails. Then Godzilla stomped on Cao Dalang, lowered its head, and unleashed a furious torrent of Atomic Breath for three minutes. The battle ended. Cao Dalang was defeated and sent directly back to Huaguo Mountain.

’This fight isn’t balanced at all. Oh well, if Cao Cao gets sent back, he gets sent back.’

Wang Yi waved to Wang Bushi. "My son, send Pan Taiji in. Let’s see a battle between an Atomic Kui Dragon and an atomic dinosaur!"

"As you command!"

Wang Bushi bowed in acknowledgment. Then, with two fingers, he picked up Pan Taiji, who was less than a centimeter tall, and tossed it into the orb of light at the front of the stand.

And so, Pan Taiji became the challenger, its tiny body appearing in the center of the arena.

As the system announced that the match was about to begin, Pan Taiji’s body began to grow visibly larger as its level rapidly increased.

"Ding! The challenger, Pan Taiji, has temporarily broken through to LV6, evolving elytra and a pair of wings, thereby gaining the ability to fly."

"Ding! The challenger, Pan Taiji, has temporarily broken through to LV10 and obtained the Nest Battle Armor!"

"Ding! The challenger Pan Taiji’s level has been raised to LV99, granting it Celestial God Level combat power. The match is about to begin!"