Chapter 19 – Competition

“Shixiong, I’m going!”

Fang Yang had an eager expression on his face as he called out to Feng Ye.

Feng Ye smiled and made a cheering gesture: “You can do it.”

After he said this, Fang Yang turned and jumped onto the fighting stage with swift movements.

The stage was a stone platform about half a meter above the ground and twenty meters wide. It wasn’t large, but it was big enough to display one’s fighting prowess.

There were 16 stages of the same size in the arena, and the competitions were conducted separately on each stage. Some were faster and some were slower, so the progress across those 16 stages was not consistent.

The assignment of opponents was completely random, and the loser was eliminated without a second chance.

This was a great test of luck. After all, if one were like the person fighting against Fang Yang, and encountered a champion-level player in the first round, they would definitely have no chance to enter the Floating Island Secret Realm.

Fang Yang was already standing onstage when the referee shouted three times: “Zhou Liang? Is Zhou Liang here? Zhou Liang! If you don’t come up, you automatically forfeit!”

Once this ultimatum was given, the junior disciple named Zhou Liang appeared and slowly climbed up on the stage with a look of reluctance on his face.

“He’s at the fifth level of Qi Refining. He had a chance at a spot, but was unlucky enough to hit a wall in the first round. What a pity, ah.” Hao Chen said sarcastically, fanning himself.

Hearing this, Feng Ye chuckled faintly with a hint of disdain.

Hao Chen heard the disdain in his laughter and couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow, asking: “Has Fellow Daoist Feng Ye found something wrong with what I just said?”

Feng Ye looked at the dilly-dallying Zhou Liang who was reluctant to compete onstage, and replied with a shake of his head: “He knows how strong his opponent is, so he doesn’t have the courage to fight. Even if he did go to the Floating Island Secret Realm, there is a high probability that he would die there, so it’s better that he doesn’t go. There is nothing to pity.”

Hao Chen actually agreed with Feng Ye’s words. The gap between the fifth and seventh levels of Qi Refining was not absolute, and Zhou Liang was fully capable of competing with Fang Yang.

But looking at the situation onstage, Fang Yang and Zhou Liang had already begun to fight. Zhou Liang likely felt that he had already been defeated, so his moves were very passive, and he didn’t even take the initiative to attack. He didn’t have the slightest drive to win.

He had not been destined to lose, but his cowardice cemented his loss in stone.

Although he thought this way, Hao Chen felt that such an overly childish competition between junior disciples was too boring, and couldn’t help but argue with Feng Ye. He said with hidden meaning: “If you know how powerful your opponent is, sometimes retreat is the better option.”

Feng Ye’s gaze shifted from the martial arts arena to Hao Chen, and he nodded in agreement instead of refuting.

Hao Chen suddenly felt a little bored. The whole reason he was interested in Feng Ye was that this person could compete with him on equal terms in areas other than strength, providing him with the excitement of having a worthy rival.

But once Feng Ye stopped arguing with him, he just felt confusingly empty and bored.

This sort of mentality was generally called “masochism” in the outside world.

Just when Hao Chen had somewhat lost hope, Feng Ye suddenly changed the subject: “However…..”

Hao Chen’s eyes immediately lit up. Not only because Feng Ye was refuting him, but because of the man’s expression at that moment.

His facial features should have been ordinary, but his eyebrows rose like small swords when he spoke and his black eyes flashed with something between confidence and arrogance. Like fireworks exploding in the night sky or the scorching sun breaking through the clouds, his entire being lit up in Hao Chen’s eyes.

“No matter strength or weakness, the battle comes first.” One corner of Feng Ye’s lips rose as he spoke, three parts unruly and seven parts arrogant.

That raised arc was like the edge of a sword, arousing Hao Chen’s fighting spirit while also poking him lightly in the heart.

He wondered what this fellow looked like in his original form. This notion that had nothing to do with the topic at hand suddenly popped into Hao Chen’s mind.

After thinking about it, he tapped his fan with some regret. If the body this person possessed was a bit better-looking and met his minimum standards, he might have been attracted to him just now.

Prime Minister Turtle would probably cry his eyes out if this fossil-level North Sea bachelor was finally no longer single.

Unfortunately, there was no ‘if.’ No matter what Feng Ye’s original appearance was, Hao Chen really couldn’t be moved by the face he currently possessed. He was vain not only in regard to himself, but also in regard to his partner. 

Feng Ye had no idea that Hao Chen was inwardly criticizing him. His mind had already run tens of thousands of li away.

He continued to watch the match in the ring. Just as he’d expected, Zhou Liang adopted a defensive stance, and although it took some time, Fang Yang found an opening and eliminated him with one blow.

“Fang Yang wins!” The referee announced.

“Shixiong, I won!” After his victory, Fang Yang immediately jumped down from the ring to tell Feng Ye the good news.

Feng Ye actually had a lot to say. He wanted to say that Zhou Liang had revealed his weakness long before, and that Fang Yang could have ended the battle faster. Dragging it out for so long was a complete waste of time.

But he glanced at Hao Chen to the side, who had his head down thinking about who knew what, and could only inwardly lament the trouble this piece of sticky candy was causing him.

In the end, Feng Ye could only compliment him contrary to his convictions: “Very impressive.”

Fang Yang thought he really was that impressive, and happily displayed his big white teeth.

It had been almost a shichen since the competition had begun. Almost all of the junior disciples who signed up for the competition had finished their first round matches, and the number of people was reduced by half. Most of those remaining possessed some ability, and at least wouldn’t just be eyesores taking up space.

Right then, the two most distinguished people in Lingxiao Sword Sect, Sect Leader Ji Chengyue and Elder Zhou Zhiqing finally arrived late.

As soon as they arrived, they took their seats on a nearly five-meter high platform on one side of the arena, where they had a sweeping view of all sixteen rings.

Ji Chengyue and Elder Zhou sat to the left and right. There were two others accompanying them, namely Sect Leader Ji’s personal disciples, Xue Ren and Cao Zirui. 

Xue Ren had an easygoing appearance. His looks weren’t particularly outstanding, but because of the humble smile always hanging at the corners of his lips, he seemed very approachable. This caused people to like him quite a bit, and he was also good at dealing with others.

When Sect Leader Ji and Elder Zhou sat down, Xue Ren saw that there was no tea on the table and immediately told a disciple beside him to prepare some. And seeing that the sun was so intense today, he also diligently asked someone to procure an umbrella for shade.

And Cao Zirui, who had been standing aside with his sword in his arms, seemed much more indifferent in comparison. He neither took the initiative to serve tea or water to the two elders, nor did he worry about whether his shifu and elder would get hot in the sun.

Although he was a genius in cultivation, when it came to dealing with people, he likely wouldn’t even receive passing marks. To put it politely, he had a cold personality. To put it bluntly, he had no manners and didn’t know how to respect his teachers and elders.

But contrary to expectations, Sect Leader Ji had a completely different viewpoint than the average person. When he saw Xue Ren busying around, not only was he not pleased, but he was actually somewhat angry. He scolded with a frown: “That’s enough. You are not a servant, and what you’re doing is a waste of time. When you have time, learn more from your shidi and put more effort into your cultivation.”

Xue Ren’s originally cheerful face momentarily stiffened, and the hands hanging by his sides clenched tightly.

And Cao Zirui turned a deaf ear to his shifu’s criticism of his shixiong and praise of himself. He just stood there silently with an indifferent expression.

Elder Zhou saw that the atmosphere was a little awkward and tried to smooth things over: “It’s not a waste of time. I’m thirsty, so a cup of tea is just right.”

Sect Leader Ji stopped talking when Elder Zhou interrupted him, but he didn’t give Xue Ren a good look either.

Xue Ren waited for the tea to be served, and after personally presenting it to Elder Zhou and his shifu, he stood quietly aside.

Whether intentionally or not, he specially chose a position far away from Cao Zirui.

---

Consider donating via Kofi here.

Chapter 18 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 20