In the middle of that cage, the winners live on and the losers die.
It was indeed like on a battlefield.
In the Continent of the Nine Clouds, cultivators were respected and admired. Cultivators took cultivation very seriously as it was a way of life. That is why they didn't hesitate to risk their lives to improve their cultivation abilities. The path of cultivation was full of personal challenges and determination was the key to success.
"What are the rules of the Prisoner Arena?" asked Lin Feng.
"The one in charge of the cage declares who will fight against whom. Of course, he always matches people with other cultivators or ferocious beasts of a similar level, otherwise the battles would be meaningless slaughter." explained Wen Ao Xue.
Lin Feng slightly nodded. If one wasn't assigned to fight against someone of the same level, many people wouldn't dare to enter the cage at the risk of fighting someone much stronger."
"By the way, if you lose a battle in the cage then death is inevitable but if you win, you can get a massive amount of purity stones. That is why many of our fellow disciples come here to fight and then go back to the cultivation tower at the academy, use their purity stones and come back here again etc. That enables them to boost their cultivation speed to the extreme… of course it is also extremely dangerous."
"Challenging death over and over again is, indeed, often the best way to become stronger. In dangerous situation, death and fortune coexist." said Wen Ao Xue sounding solemn.
Lin Feng was stupefied. Wen Ao Xue sounded like he often visited this place. It was hard to imagine that this boy would go to such a place when looking at his beautiful girl-like face.
They were still walking and at the same time Lin Feng could clearly see the inside of the cage from where he was.
The inside of the cage was incredibly huge and the cage which covered it looked like it had fallen down straight from the heavens and trapped the people inside.
Inside the cage was divided into two: one side was for cultivator versus cultivator battles while the other side was dedicated to fights between cultivators and ferocious beasts.
The two sides were separated by viewing platforms. People were free to choose what kind of battle they wished to watch.
At that moment, a group of silhouettes in front of Lin Feng turned around and looked at them.
As if Wen Ao Xue had expected it for a long time, he took out six purity stones of medium quality out of his pocket and handed them over to the man who moved aside and let them pass.
"The price for the ten first rows is quite expensive but they are also the best place to clearly watch the battles." said Wen Ao Xue. Lin Feng was stunned: "One purity stone of medium quality per person?! That's horribly expensive! Way too expensive!"
One purity stone of medium quality was enough to practice one month in the cultivation tower of the Celestial Academy, from the fourth to the tenth floor. That wasn't a low price.
"No, it's not expensive at all. It's even cheap. Think for a while, what kinds of people will come here and sit on the best rows on the viewing platforms?" said Wen Ao Xue while shaking his head.
"Those who wanted to enter in the cage to fight and the wealthy who already had a lot of purity stones to begin with." said Lin Feng.
"You're right. Besides, if they win a battle within the cage then they will win at least ten purity stones of medium quality. If they lose, they will not need any purity stones anymore as they will be dead." said Wen Ao Xue. He then pointed at the third row of the viewing platform and said: "Let's sit there."
"Alright." said Lin Feng while nodding. There weren't so many people sitting in the first ten rows. After all, those who wanted to enter the cage as well as those who had enough purity stones to waste were hard to find.
When Lin Feng sat down, a battle had just finished.
Inside of the cage, one of the slaves inserted his hand into the chest of his opponent and ripped out his heart. The scene was sanguinary and bestial. Blood was dripping everywhere as the slave held the heart high in the air.
But the crowd was used to watching such spectacles. They suddenly started shouting in excitement when they saw the scene unfolding.
Liu Fei and Jing Yun frowned, they felt nauseous. Lin Feng looked calm but on the inside he also felt slightly grieved while watching the scene. In that world, there was no space for the weak. The weak were worthless and could be disposed of. This was something Lin Feng was still trying to adapt to.
"If you are not entirely confident in your own abilities then it is useless to enter the cage." thought Lin Feng while shaking his head.
"Lin Feng, considering your opponent would be of the same level as you, would you prefer fighting against a ferocious beast or a cultivator?" asked Wen Ao Xue who was extremely curious.
"Ferocious beast." replied Lin Feng without hesitation.
Wen Ao Xue was surprised by Lin Feng's answer but smiled and immediately replied: "You're right. Many people think that, if the opponent is of the same level, a ferocious beast would be stronger than a cultivator but it is not the same in the cage. A cultivation slave doesn't know when he'll die. Cultivations slaves are even more cruel and sanguinary than the ferocious beasts. They are even more terrifying than the monsters of nightmares."
"Sometimes, you may think that you are stronger than your opponent but in the cage, it's different, you think that you're stronger but you might not necessarily be the last one standing in the end."
To stay alive, some people were ready to do anything.
Lin Feng shook his head and said: "You're right but my choice to fight against a ferocious beast has nothing to do with that."
"What? Really?" asked Wen Ao Xue very surprised.
"Really." replied Lin Feng and then added: "Cultivation slaves might be slaves… but after all, they are still people who deserve the basic human rights and to me they are still innocent people who have not provoked me."
Wen Ao Xue was surprised by Lin Feng's reply and had a strange expression on his face.
"You think that the cultivation slaves are extremely cruel and heartless but if they kill those who enter the cage, it is only because their lives are really threatened… and the worst is those who enter the cage and fight these cultivation slaves to the death do it for only a few purity stones… As far as I am concerned, I couldn't kill anyone if I didn't hate them for something they have done to me or my friends. Otherwise, I would have a very guilty conscience." Lin Feng didn't think that he was a good person or that he could save the world alone but there were certain moral values and principles which were engraved into his heart and he would live by them. On the path of cultivation, Lin Feng thought virtue was just as important as determination.
After hearing Lin Feng's words, it was the first time that Wen Ao Xue had felt that there was something wrong with this place. Even though these people were cultivation slaves…. they were still people….
They were people but in this world, few people felt compassion like Lin Feng. After being born into this environment it has shaped many people to be just as brutal and bloodthirsty as the world around them.
The great majority of people only had the goal to become stronger, no matter what the cost. For that purpose, they unscrupulously killed other people. Killing people was a normal thing for them.
"You may be right… In the future, I will only battle against ferocious beasts." said Wen Ao Xue while smiling. At that moment, a voice came from behind them.
"Military Students, since when did you start disliking the state of the world and adopt a compassionate tone? How ridiculous." Wen Ao Xue and Lin Feng turned around and saw a group of people wearing magnificent clothes. They looked extremely arrogant.
"Political students!" Lin Feng frowned. Amongst them, Lin Feng recognized a fellow student… He had already slapped him once… Bai Ze!