Born Almighty Warrior
Chapter 158 They Both Stay Here

Ivan would probably not believe that Ricky got an incomplete spiritual meridian; however, suchrumor could not be just some gossip that circulated among the common people. If the rumor wastrue, then that would mean Ricky's spiritual meridian was definitely damaged before.

Spiritual meridian could be the strongest part of a warrior, yet it could also be the weakest. It couldmake or break a warrior. On the other hand, the spiritual meridian itself was so fragile that a strikewith just a little applied force could destroy it. Over the years, warriors had come up with ways toprotect it from getting harmed, though those protective measures would still fail at times.

But Ricky could make it today with his spiritual meridian--despite it suffering from a big blow--together with his mysterious manual thanks to the incredible gift he had obtained. Without it, hewould have faced deeper problems and his life would be at stake. Nevertheless, this incredible giftcould not be possessed by just anyone.

Knowing how powerful that gift was, Ivan had his eyes on it. He believed that if he took it fromRicky, he would be the best warrior with casting and martial arts skills in the Realm of Wildness.Even the top talents from the Realm of Wildness could not compete with him and should achallenge be issued, he would not break a sweat at all.

'lvan looks pretty powerful. It seems that he spends as much time and energy on martial arts as hedoes on casting, * Ricky thought to himself. “And the warrior that followed him may be even morepowerful than Ivan. This battle is going push us to our limits.’

At this time, the man behind Ivan began to make their move. He walked towards Ricky, Ivanfollowing suit in a steady pace. The two men surrounded Ricky and Ivan made no gesture to stopwhat was happening.

He had seen Ricky's power. He had felt it within the tremor in his muscles and the air that wentthrough his lungs. Ricky emanated power wherever he went even when he was trying to keep it low.Ivan knew that beating Ricky was an extremely difficult task to overcome, let alone killing him. If hewas honest with himself, there was a big chance that it was him who might end up dead

As cowardly as it might seem to other warriors, Ivan and the other man decided to fight Rickytogether. Two against one. It wasn't the most honorable strategy, but if they won, who would careabout how they did it? All the people would remember was the fact that they beat Ricky andnothing else. Ivan could care less about his reputation. What mattered was the gift and how hecould take it from Ricky. If he could just get his hands on it...

"They have both reached the ninth grade of Blood Purification. And they're not rookies, either.Looks like things are going to get ugly for Ricky," several people commented as they watched thescene unfolding before them.

"Indeed, it is impossible for Ricky to challenge two warriors of the ninth grade of Blood Purificationno matter how strong he is now. A warrior reaching the ninth grade is no ordinary warrior, as itmeans he reached a level that greatly sets him apart from average warriors. The ninth grade isn't aneasy feat, after all.”

"Yes, there may be only some slight differences between the seventh grade and eighth grade, butit's an entirely different story between the eighth and ninth grade. The gap is so apparent that aneighth grade normally wouldn't stand a chance in a fight.”

"Although, I have to say, Ricky is not an easy opponent either. He would still be able to land astrong--possibly deadly--blow to one of his opponents. Sure, he might lose in the end, but he isdefinitely not going down without a fight. Whatever happens, though, it will be good for us sincewe won't have to deal with whoever loses here. There will be one less strong opponent to battle.""Come on!" Ivan shouted as he made the first move. He leaped, flames covering his right feet, andaimed a fiery kick towards Ricky.

At the same time, Ivan's follower also struck. He moved as fast as Ivan and threw a punch acrossRicky's face.

With two strikes coming at him at different directions, Ricky had nowhere to hide. He only had oneoption and that was to withstand both hits.

Ricky readied himself for the blows. He channeled the Fourth Degree of Nine-degree Body RefiningFormula and made sure every inch of his body was reinforced with power. The people watching thefight gasped as they felt sheer power emanating from him while his two opponents gritted theirteeth, trying to ward off the invisible force.

Despite Ricky's strength, he still found it difficult to fight two warriors who reached the ninth gradeof Blood Purification. He could exchange blows and defend himself from some of the lethal ones,but after a few rounds, his body started to feel heavy with every move. Since he had to deal withtwo strong opponents at once, his energy was drained faster than normal. He took a step back,trying to catch his breath.

Ricky was well aware that with his sixth grade of Blood Purification, he could fight with two or threewarriors of the eighth grade of Blood Purification. Now that he reached the seventh grade, he wasexpecting that he would be able to fight two warriors of the ninth grade with relative ease, but itwas not the case. As much as he hated to admit it, beating the two was proving to be difficult.Such was the power of the ninth grade. Even if the warrior himself was not as talented as he was, heshould not be underestimated. After all, the warrior had reached the peak of Blood Purification.“Maybe I've underestimated the warriors of the ninth grade a little too much, * Ricky thought tohimself.

But Ricky was not the one to panic. He fought with a cool head, making up strategies along the way,trying to figure out the best way to land his blows without suffering a fatal counter. He also had atrick under his sleeve--his trump card. He was not worried about losing because he had a differentsource of strength. He may not be a ninth grade, but he had regained his spiritual meridian and theChaos Manual.

One moment, his opponents thought Ricky was already faltering, but the next, Ricky was coming onto them with eyes as sharp as his resolve. His opponents wavered for a second, and he took thatopportunity to use his Fifth Degree of Nine-degree Body Refining Formula.

Boom! Boom!

But, at this very moment, the Ragged Iron Pagoda transformed again. The windows alight with BeastFires suddenly opened, appearing in front of them in all its glory.

The open windows were big enough for any warrior to enter.

"It's open! It's open! The Beast Fire is mine now!"

Soon, the attention of all the warriors was drawn onto the Ragged Iron Pagoda. Their eyes werewide with wonder, greed, and everything in between.

Wasting another second was not an option. Immediately, most of the fighters raced to the windowsof the pagodas first floor. It took less than a minute for over twenty windows of the pagoda's firstfloor to be filled with fighters.

And after these fighters got in, the windows immediately closed. The fighters were so close to theBeast Fire that they would either succeed in collecting it or end up burning to death with no escape."Damn it! What unfortunate timing. How could this Ragged Iron Pagoda open at this time?" Ivanhissed as he watched the fighters cramming themselves into the open windows.

He had to make a choice. If he wanted to get the chance to take the Beast Fire, he must give up hisfight against Ricky. But this might be his last chance to kill Ricky and take his gift.

Ivan already had one Beast Fire, however, getting more of something so precious was one of hisgoals, too. He couldn't settle with just one. The more Beast Fires he got, the more power he wouldpossess.

Besides, could he really take the gift and the mysterious manual from Ricky after killing him? Therewas no guarantee. Ricky might have kept his cultivation and manual in his mind, not written it onsome paper or beast hide. Ricky was smart. Surely, he wouldn't leave his cultivation and manuallying around his dead body if someone managed to kill him, right?

Ivan knew the odds of him getting Ricky's gift was against him, so he decided to go for the BeastFire instead.

Otherwise, he ran the risk of not getting any Beast Fire since all the warriors here were after thesame thing and the Beast Fire would run out by the time his fight with Ricky was finished.

With a wink at Andrew and the others, he turned around and headed for the tower.

They understood his signal and tried to get out of the fight at once.

What they didn't expect, though, was that Ricky would get in the way. A mocking smile went up tohis lips as he stopped them from running towards the pagoda. Seeing what Ricky just did, Pompeoalso went in front of them to stop them in their tracks.

"Ricky, what are you doing? If you keep me here, I'd miss the opportunity to get the Beast Fire, andso will you,” Ivan said coldly as he glared at his opponent.

He could not believe that Ricky would stop them than get his share of the Beast Fire. And even ifRicky didn't care about it, Ivan doubted those four guys behind him felt the same way. They wantedthe Beast Fire, too. He was sure of it.

"Of course, I want it. But they must stay, or you and I will not get the Beast Fire today," Ricky repliedwith a sneer as he pointed to Ellen and Tyler.

Ellen and Tyler shivered whenever they looked at Ricky. Ever since that day they almost died in hishands, they couldn't shake off the feeling of cruelty that he emitted. Even though they tried hard tohide it, they were still terrified of him.

Ellen then turned to Marcel and stared at him with puppy eyes.

Resisting the urge to scoff and roll his eyes, Marcel turned to Andrew and Ivan instead. It wasobvious. She was just a cheap chick and he was not the least affected. He didn't care for her at all.The decision was up to Andrew and Ivan

"Ricky, come on! Do you really want to waste time with me here?" Ivan exclaimed in horror, his eyesreflecting a little bit of panic and anger.