Chapter 89 – Fighting Stage No. 8
The appearance of a dark horse is always satisfying to watch. The spirits of the people in the Whirling Sun Square was boiling. The young man whose name was Jiang Chen had just created a miracle. At the same time, many people were starting to worry for Jiang Chen’s safety. It was obvious that Jiang Chen had offended Nan Bei Chao and Liang Xiao, and neither of these two men are someone who can be easily dealt with, especially Nan Bei Chao, a rising star of the Qi Province who is both prideful and arrogant.
All the disciples of the four big sects were looking at Jiang Chen with mixed emotions. Jiang Chen’s performance had made them all lose face. The Qi Province competition had been held for so many years, and this was the first time that the first place had been taken away by an outsider.
The first round of the competition had been concluded, and the second round was coming. The intense competition would take place on a fighting stage, and this is what most people were looking forwards to, because the real genius would be able to become the king of the fighting stage. Although Jiang Chen had taken first place in the first round, when it comes to the fighting stage, no one was optimistic about him. Being able to resist some pressure doesn’t really mean that you have great combat strength.
“The first round of the competition has ended. All top 30 participants proceed to the fighting stage.”
Nan Bei Chao opened his mouth and spoke. The four big geniuses moved their bodies and flew up into the air, then they landed on a high tower in the center of the square. In front of the tower, fifteen 2 meter tall fighting stages had been built, just enough for the 30 participants.
These fighting stages are designed and prepared exclusively for the Qi Province competition, and the program for the Qi Province competition is the same as the previous years. 30 participants will be fighting each other on the fighting stage 1 on 1. The 15 fighting stages is enough for 30 participants.
30 participants who stood near the Stairway to Heaven all walked together towards the fighting stages. All of them were in high fighting spirits.
Being able to stand out amongst hundreds of disciples, all of them were Late Mortal Core warriors with the exception of Jiang Chen who was an Early Mortal Core warrior. But now, Jiang Chen was stronger than he was before he started walking the Stairway to Heaven. The additional 6 Dragon Marks had made his combat strength jump up another level, and his cultivation level had reached the peak of the Early Mortal Core realm. He was just a single step away from the Mid Mortal Core realm.
On the tower, Liang Xiao took a step forward and spoke with a loud voice, “The Stairway to Heaven was just a warm up, therefore, don’t mind the rankings too much. First place and 30th place has no difference, the first round was just a filter for the second round. Only those who has outstanding performance in the second round will be able to win the final rewards.”
It was obvious that Liang Xiao’s words were directed at Jiang Chen. The meaning was clear, the first place for the first round meant nothing, and the second round is what mattered the most.
“Senior Disciple Liang, may we know what the rewards are this year?”
Someone from Heavenly Sword Sect asked.
“That’s right, let us know first, that way our motivation will be greater!”
Another person said. Not only did the participating disciples look up with anticipation, even the spectators were filled with expectations. The Qi Province competition was prepared by the four big sects, the reward would surely not be lousy.
“Fine, I’ll tell you the rewards now. The first place will be rewarded with three treasures: One mid-ranked combat weapon, one storage ring, and one Thousand Year Old Earth Fruit.”
Liang Xiao’s voice was loud, and everyone in the square could hear him clearly. When they heard about the three rewards, the crowds immediately started boiling.
“Awesome! Truly something only the four big sects can do! A mid-ranked combat weapon, even if it’s the four big sects, only inner circle disciples has a chance of obtaining one, and now it has become one of the rewards for the outer circle disciples’ competition!”
“The storage ring is even more precious! It is much more advanced than the storage bag we regular people are using! The storage ring is small and convenient to carry, and it can imprint a person’s Divine Sense, making it so that only the owner can use it!”
“The Thousand Year Old Earth Fruit is even rarer, I heard it is really difficult to grow one, and it requires strict landscape conditions! It keeps absorbing earth energy, and it has the earth energy’s essence! This is a huge reward!”
…………
Shocked voices could be heard everywhere. To ordinary people, these three treasures are incredibly rare, they can’t even obtain it in their dreams. It can be imagined that now that these treasures have been announced as rewards, it will surely ignite the disciples’ fighting spirits. The battles on the fighting stages would be even more intense.
Jiang Chen still had a calm expression. With his experiences as the once greatest Saint in the world, there was nothing he hadn’t seen before, so he didn’t take the mid-ranked combat weapon to heart. But, the storage ring is something good, he was now using a regular storage bag, so if he could get that storage ring, then it would be much more convenient for him to store his items in the future.
But what really attracted Jiang Chen was the Earth Fruit. This kind of natural treasure was rare. The Earth Essence contained within the Thousand Year Old Earth Fruit wasn’t much, but it was still enough for him as he was right now. With Earth Fruit combined with the benefits he received earlier, Jiang Chen was now 100% confident that he could break through to the Mid Mortal Core realm, and even go further.
Among the crowds, Big Yellow was happily calculating his harvest while ignoring all the malicious gazes surrounding him.
“Big yellow dog, can you guess what position that young man will achieve in the second round?”
Someone asked.
“Do I need to guess? Of course he will be number one!”
Big Yellow said casually.
“Number one? What a joke! Big yellow dog, do you dare bet one more time?”
The man immediately continued. He was scared that Big Yellow would say no. If that happens, then all of his Mortal Restoration Pills would be gone forever.
“Of course! What about all of you? But, this time the ratio won’t be 1 to 10, it will be 1 to 2!”
Big Yellow said with a serious tone. Nobody noticed, but deep down inside this dog’s eyes, there was hidden a cunning look.
“Haha, this dog must be afraid! 1 to 2 ratio, it looks like he doesn’t have too much confidence in that young man! That brat is only an Early Mortal Core warrior, I’m sure he is not match for the Little Devil King and Li Wu Shuang! It’s impossible for him to be the number one! I’ll bet the rest of my money, 100 Mortal Restoration Pills!”
“That’s right! This big yellow dog has lost his confidence, he lowered the ratio down to 1 to 2! He’s scared that if the young man is defeated in the competition, then he will lose all his fortune! Let’s bet, what’s there to be afraid off?”
“I’ll bet too, damn it, your father wants to win it all back!”
At this moment, those who came too bet were even more than the first round. Those who had lost in the first round were hoping they could win it back in the second round, and those who didn’t bet in the first round didn’t want to lose this opportunity. Nobody really believed that Jiang Chen could be number one. In fact, being able to resist some pressure and being able to defeat the Little Devil King are two different things.
Looking at what happened, Big Yellow’s mouth opened wide until its corners reached the back of his ears. This evil-minded dog once again succeeded with his plan. He purposely lowered the betting ratio, letting other people think that he was nervous, then making them feel that it was safe to hand over their Mortal Restoration Pills.
“Kaka, I am really clever! This kind of easy business thrills me to the max!”
Big Yellow was feeling proud of himself. He felt that he was the most brilliant being in the world, there were no beings cleverer than himself. If there was a mirror in front of him, Big Yellow would kneel down in front of his own image.
All 30 participants were ready, they were now just waiting for Nan Bei Chao’s command.
Nan Bei Chao took a step forward. He casually waved his hand, making 30 plates made from green wood fly out in line. Each plate’s back faced each participant.
“Here’s 30 plates, on top of them there is a number from 1 to 15. You will choose one randomly. Participants who gets the same number will be fighting against each other on the stage.” Nan Bei Chao explained. This was the same rules as the previous competition, many people were already aware of it.
“Brother Jiang, if we pick the same number, don’t hold back your strength!”
Han Yan said with a smile.
“Of course.”
Jiang Chen responded with a smile.
“The rewards for this competition are only for the one who ranks first, but your performance and ranking in this competition will be known by all sects. Your sect will reward you individually depending on your results, therefore, everyone has to fight with all of their strength.” Guan Yi Yun said loudly. These words were mainly aimed at the disciples of the Black Sect.
“Alright, let’s begin.” Nan Bei Chao said.
30 participants walked up and chose a plate. Amongst these 30 participants, the number of disciples from the four big sects was pretty equal. Eight from the Heavenly Sword Sect and the Burning Sky Pavilion, seven from the Black Sect, six from the Valley of Happiness, and Jiang Chen as the only outsider.
Jiang Chen flipped the plate in his hands, ‘eight’ was written on it. This means that the other person who had ‘eight’ on his plate would be his opponent, and they would be fighting on the eighth fighting stage.
The draw looked fair, but it was secretly being controlled. In a normal situation, those from the same sect wouldn’t meet each other on the stage, and they would only be fighting people from other sects. If it wasn’t like this, then the competition would lose its meaning.
“I’ll tell you all once more about the rules on these fighting stages. The fights will be deathmatches, and the only way to escape death is to surrender. I won’t talk too much about the relationship between the four big sects, but if you have the ability, then kill your opponent without even giving him the chance to surrender.” Nan Bei Chao said with a cruel expression.
This was the rule of the Qi Province competition. There’s only life and death on the fighting stage, and the only chance for the loser to survive would be to surrender.
“I’m number 9, who is my opponent?”
“Father is number one, fuck it, who is father’s opponent? Come die quickly!”
A muscular man jumped up onto the first fighting stage and shouted out arrogantly. He was from the Burning Sky Pavilion, and he was a Late Mortal Core warrior. His face was filled with arrogance, but the next second, when he saw who his opponent was, the arrogance disappeared from his face, and his imposing aura immediately disappeared. It felt like his bitter face was about to drop to the floor.
Because, the man who stood in front of him was none other than the Little Devil King.
“Damn it, father’s luck is really bad…. I surrender.”
The muscular man cursed, then he turned around and jumped down from the fighting stage. The speed was even greater than the speed of him jumping up to the stage. Although he was arrogant, he still knew his limits. Fighting the Little Devil King, that’s no different than committing suicide.
The Burning Sky Pavilion lost one man. The rest of the men started jumping onto the fighting stages. On the eighth fighting stage, a disciple who wore a Heavenly Sword Sect uniform jumped onto the stage.