The Throne of the Devoured God

The Crimson Tournament

The wealthy do not come to the slums to see a fair fight; they come to see how beautifully a poor man can bleed.

The heavy scent of roasted meats, expensive perfumes, and burning incense drifted down from the newly constructed VIP balconies, completely overtaking the usual stench of rusted iron and stagnant water. Silken drapes of deep crimson and gold hung over the jagged stone ledges, shielding the upper district nobility from the grime of the lower pit. Down below, thousands of regular slum dwellers packed into the lower tiers, their frantic shouting blending with the high pitched laughter of the aristocrats lounging above them. The grand tournament had finally begun, and the atmosphere was thick with the promise of unprecedented violence.

"Look at them up there," the lead overseer hissed, adjusting the polished brass buckle on his leather vest as he stood near the heavy iron entrance gate. He looked down at Lu Feng, his eyes gleaming with a mixture of terror and intense greed. "The lords from the floating palaces have doubled the starting bets for this match. They did not come to see your little ghost movements, boy. They came to see a slaughter. If you fail me today, I will personally skin you alive."

"You should spend less time worrying about my failure and more time preparing my payment," Lu Feng replied, his voice entirely flat as he adjusted the rough linen wrappings around his right fist. He did not look at the overseer. His vacant gaze remained fixed on the massive iron gate directly across the sand, where the heavy thudding of giant footsteps could already be heard. "Who is the giant?"

"That is Skull Smasher," the overseer whispered, a cruel grin returning to his scarred face. "The reigning champion of the upper tier cages. He is a beast man from the northern wastes, twice your size, and he has not lost a match in three years. His heavy curved cleaver has split fifty men right down the middle. Do not try to block his strikes, or you will end up as a pile of broken bones in the dirt."

"A big target is just easier to hit," Lu Feng said quietly.

The heavy brass trumpets sounded from the royal viewing platforms, signaling the start of the main event. The massive iron gates groaned as a team of slaves pulled the heavy chains, lifting the barriers to expose the blinding light of the central arena. The crowd erupted into a deafening roar that shook the very foundations of the subterranean tunnels.

"Get out there, monster," the overseer shouted over the noise, giving Lu Feng a rough shove into the open sand. "Make them scream."

Lu Feng walked forward into the bright, hot arena floor, his bare feet sinking into the blood stained sand. Across the wide circle, a massive figure stepped out from the opposite tunnel. Skull Smasher stood nearly eight feet tall, his upper body covered in thick, dark fur and jagged iron plates bolted directly into his skin. He carried a massive, rusted cleaver that dragged along the ground, leaving a deep groove in the dirt. The beast man let out a terrifying, guttural roar, slamming his free fist against his chest armor as the noble spectators cheered wildly from their comfortable balconies.

"You are the little worm who killed Hog?" Skull Smasher growled, his voice sounding like grinding stones as he lifted his massive weapon. He stepped forward, his heavy weight causing the sand to shift violently. "You look like a stiff breeze could snap your spine. I am going to paint the walls with your insides before the nobles even finish their wine."

"You talk too much for a creature about to die," Lu Feng said, shifting into a low, relaxed stance. He allowed his left arm to hang loosely at his side, his fingers twitching slightly as he tapped into the combat instincts of the assassins he had killed over the last few months. "Come and try."

With a sudden explosion of speed that disproved his massive size, the beast man lunged forward. The heavy cleaver whistled through the air, aiming a brutal horizontal strike directly at Lu Feng's neck. Lu Feng did not try to parry the massive weapon; instead, he utilized his ghost style footwork, slipping beneath the path of the blade by a fraction of an inch. The wind from the strike whipped past his face, but his expression remained entirely blank.

"You are fast, little rat," Skull Smasher roared, instantly reversing the momentum of his weapon and bringing the heavy pommel down toward Lu Feng's skull. "But you cannot run forever in a circle."

Lu Feng calculated the trajectory in an instant. He knew he could avoid the strike entirely, but doing so would prolong the fight and allow the beast man to adjust his defense. Using the absolute numbness in his veins, Lu Feng made a sudden, horrific choice. He intentionally stepped directly into the path of the following blade strike, choosing to sacrifice his own flesh to create a fatal opening.

The heavy edge of the cleaver tore into Lu Feng's chest, slicing through his shirt and cutting a deep, crimson gash across his pectoral muscle. The sound of tearing meat echoed through the immediate area. The crowd gasped in shock, expecting the boy to collapse in screaming agony as the blood began to flow down his stomach.

Yet, Lu Feng did not even blink. His face remained a vacant mask of perfect calm. The total absence of pain allowed him to remain completely steady, using the split second where the giant's weapon was embedded in his flesh to lock his right hand onto the beast man's massive forearm.

"What... what kind of freak are you?" Skull Smasher stammered, his amber eyes widening in pure terror as he realized the boy was not falling. He tried to pull his weapon back, but Lu Feng's grip was like an unyielding iron vise.

"The kind that does not care about a scratch," Lu Feng whispered.

Before the beast man could react further, Lu Feng reached into his sleeve with his free hand, pulling a concealed iron spike he had taken from the scrap floor weeks ago. With the flawless, cold precision of a professional executioner, he drove the sharp metal point straight into the side of Skull Smasher's exposed throat.

With a brutal, continuous twist, he ripped the weapon sideways, cutting the champion's throat completely open.

The massive beast man dropped his cleaver, his hands instantly flying to his neck as a torrent of dark blood spilled through his fingers. He stumbled backward, his knees buckling under his immense weight before he crashed heavily into the sand, motionless.

The entire arena fell into a stunned, absolute silence for a single heartbeat before the lower tiers exploded into a frenzy of shouting and throwing coins. Above them, the wealthy nobles leaned over their crimson railings, clapping their hands in wild delight at the unexpected turn of events.

Lu Feng did not look at the dead champion at his feet, nor did he acknowledge the cheering crowd. He stood perfectly still in the center of the bloodied sand, his right hand dripping with the giant's blood as his cold eyes locked instantly onto the most luxurious royal box in the center of the VIP tier.

Sitting comfortably in the center of the grand royal box was the wealthy, heavily jeweled noble who had purchased Wei Xuan from the slave traders years ago. The aristocrat was laughing heartily, his fat fingers casually flipping the exact same silver coin that Lu Feng had dreamed of destroying every single night of his captivity.