Chapter 38: The Commencement of the Martial Arts Competition

There was a sea of people at the large practice arena in the City Master’s residence. All of the seats under the battle arena were occupied.

The influential powers of Luosang City and figures with fame and prestige occupied the front rows while the back seats were occupied by smaller powers and onlookers.

Opposite the arena was a platform that was approximately a meter taller than the arena. Stationed on the platform were the judges for the Martial Arts Competition. There were seven judges in total.

All of the seats reserved for the judges were filled, except for the empty seat in the middle, which belonged to the City Master, Ouyang Cheng.

The audience was on the edge of their seats as they waited eagerly for the City Master to set foot onto the platform and commence the Martial Arts Competition.

Some people in the audience couldn’t wait any longer as they started murmuring non-stop. “Why isn’t the City Master out yet? The time is almost up!”

“What’s the rush? Isn’t he arriving?” someone responded immediately.

“Oh, there he is. It’s really him! That’s great!”

The spectators became ebullient. They shifted their gazes onto the City Master, Ouyang Cheng, as he stepped onto the platform.

Ouyang Cheng’s appearance differed from everyone’s expectations. Those who could become a City Master were usually powerful, bold and imposing, yet he seemed like a scholarly and refined school teacher.

Ouyang Cheng stood on the platform and projected his gaze at the crowd below, smiling elegantly. He opened his mouth and spoke with a booming voice.

“Everyone, today is the Martial Arts Pre-Selection Test, which occurs only once every three years. This event is the focus of everyone in Luosang City. Furthermore, it is the day for our young talents to showcase their abilities and attain the glory that they deserve. Who will become the brightest star? Who will represent Luosang City and fight in the Capital? Let us all wait and see!”

Ouyang Cheng paused for a while before he continued.

“To ensure that the competition is fair and just, we invited those of noble character and high prestige within Luosang City as judges. I will now introduce them.

“The first person to my left is the best Tool Refiner in Luosang City, Master Tie Shou! The first person on my right is Luosang City’s top Pill Master, Master Gu Chen!”

These two were renowned within Luosang City. No one would object if they were appointed as judges.

“The second person seated on my left is the head of the Dugu Family, Dugu Congyun; and the second person seated on my right is the head of the Qin Family, Qin Zong! The third person seated on my left is the master of Modao Hall, Mo Tianwang; and the third person seated to my right is the master of Hidden Sword Mountain Villa, Li Nanshan!”

The people Ouyang Cheng had just introduced controlled the helm of Luosang City and were all first-class forces that were highly influential. Secondary forces that were inferior to them didn’t qualify to be on the platform, such as the head of the Lu family, Lu Jing.

“Other than these judges, the Capital has sent two officials, Official Wu and Official Song. They will oversee the entire Martial Arts Competition to ensure that the competition is absolutely fair. Now, let’s invite both judges onto the platform!”

As Ouyang Cheng finished his speech, two middle-aged men stepped onto the platform. They held their heads high and advanced with long strides. Those who were sent by the Capital really seemed to have a domineering influence. Behind the two, a few officials hoisted two high-legged chairs and set them down beside the judges’ seats.

“Please take a seat,” Ouyang Cheng said courteously to the officials.

The two officials grunted. “Hmph!”

“City Master Ouyang, we may now commence the competition!” After making the announcement, the two officials sat down pompously. Fragrant tea of high quality was immediately served.

Ouyang Cheng nodded and turned toward the crowd.

“I believe that everyone is aware of the competition’s rules so I shall not elaborate any further. All that I’m going to emphasize is that if anyone attempts to go against the rules or cause chaos, as the City Master, I will not tolerate it!”

Despite looking like a refined man, Ouyang Cheng spat out the last statement with a deadly aura, stunning the crowd.

“I hereby commence the opening of the Martial Arts Competition!” The end of his statement was immediately followed by thunderous noises that came from the spectator stands. The audience was extremely excited. It was finally happening!

Amidst the thunderous noises, the grand arena divided itself into three parts before lining up to form three smaller arenas which were labeled one, two and three respectively, from left to right.

Upon the formation of the smaller arenas, Ouyang Cheng's loud voice resounded through the air once again.

“Now, may all of the competitors step onto the arena that corresponds to the number which you have drawn. After two hours, there should only be ten competitors in each arena. If the number of people left in the arena exceeds ten, everyone within that arena will be eliminated!”

The final rule was merciless because it forced every competitor to eliminate others.

“Competitors may now ascend onto their respective arena!”

Under Ouyang Cheng’s command, the young competitors jumped onto the arenas according to the number they had drawn beforehand.

Qin Yu stood within the crowd of spectators. Suddenly, he realized something extremely problematic. He hadn’t drawn any lots and therefore had no number, thus he had no idea which arena he was supposed to go to.

However, he was in no hurry. This was merely an elimination game. The round which followed would be the legitimate Pre-Selection Test. It wouldn’t be too late if he entered the competition then.

Since he had chosen to participate later, Qin Yu planned to remain as a spectator in order to watch the fight. As he watched, he saw Lu Wushuang jump onto the second arena. She was followed by Qin Zhao.

Qin Yu frowned. Lu Wushuang was really still alive and she could even fight others at close quarters. Was he seeing things or was the power of his strike too weak?

She couldn’t be a ghost since it was still early in the morning. However, Qin Yu was quite certain about the strength of the strike he used on her. He gave it his all.

She had either worn some armor which protected her or she had received a top-notch pill which could resurrect the dead—or both.

As Qin Yu was pondering, murderous shouts emerged from the arena. The angry shouts echoed throughout the entire area as bloodcurdling auras were released.

“Get the hell off this arena!”

The sudden and explosive roar from the second arena shocked the audience and drowned out the sounds coming from the other two arenas.

Qin Yu’s gaze sharpened and fell upon the man who had released that roar. It was Qin Zhao. He was currently radiating a terrifying aura and was attacking in all directions. The competitors in his vicinity were all thrown off the arena while the remaining competitors were so terrified of him that they flinched upon seeing him. It was almost as if they were avoiding the God of Death.

Qin Yu’s facial muscles twitched. “Immersion Realm Beginning Stage?” He never imagined that within such a short period of time Qin Zhao was able to break through to a new realm. It wasn’t only him. In fact, the other two arenas radiated auras that indicated the presence of other Immersion Realm Beginning Stage cultivators.

Apart from Qin Yu who was surprised, the number of Immersion Realm Beginning Stage cultivators also stunned the people of Luosang City. The competition had been hosted for hundreds of years, yet this was the first time such a large number of Immersion Realm Beginning Stage cultivators appeared.

Inheritance… the inheritance of the Immortal Realm Cultivator!

Qin Yu thought of the corpses that littered the ground when he left Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain. He also thought of the cave Ye Siyu buried, which belonged to the Immortal Realm Cultivator.

It seemed like quite a number of people had received the inheritance. No wonder they fought so mercilessly in the mountain.

As an influential power, the Qin family most likely obtained a larger amount of the inheritance to give to Qin Zhao, which was why he was currently so powerful. It was certain that this year’s Martial Arts Competition would be more intense than previous competitions.

On the platform, Ouyang Cheng had not expected that there would be so many young talents in the Immersion Realm. His refined features displayed a hint of surprise, as well as anticipation. He anticipated this Martial Arts Competition would be able to select the strongest talent to represent Luosang City at the Capital and boost his prestige as the City Master.

The officials from the Capital were also shocked to see so many competitors in the Immersion Realm. They had heard that the three Ancient Luo Cities produced many geniuses, and were pleased to find that this was true.

Two hours quickly passed as the competitors fought. The results were already out for the first and third arenas since only ten competitors were left standing.

Eleven competitors remained in the second arena.

Out of the eleven remaining competitors, Lu Wushuang was undoubtedly the weakest competitor. If Qin Zhao hadn’t taken care of her, she would have already been eliminated.

In the final moments of the competition, a competitor noticed that she was the weakest of the lot. It was natural for him to choose her as his first target. The competitor closest to her attempted to stab her with his dagger. He aimed for her waist at lightning speed.

Based on Lu Wushuang’s ability, it was impossible for her to evade the attack. It was too late for Qin Zhao to help her too. As the audience watched, some people immediately screamed, however, something strange happened.

Without a doubt, the dagger had struck Lu Wushuang’s waist. But what shocked the competitor clad in black was that the dagger could not pierce through her.

What happened?

Before he could make sense of what was happening, cracking sounds came from above his head. The long and slender fingers of Lu Wushuang suddenly spread out and morphed into sharp claws as she struck the back of his head.

“Ahhh!!!” His shrill screech pierced the air, resembling the sad howling of a ferocious ghost, as it rang throughout the area. The audience had goosebumps from listening to his scream as chills ran up their spines. It was horrifying.

“You’re courting death!” A ruthless smile emerged on Lu Wushuang's face as she drew back her fingers from the competitor’s head. A mixture of red and white substances hung from her fingertips.

The competitors close to her glanced at her fingertips. They saw the substance dangling from it as shivers ran down their spine. They intuitively backed away from her, glad that they didn’t attack her. Otherwise, they would be the ones who were dead.

“Get the hell off!” Qin Zhao yelled expressionlessly as he kicked the corpse off the arena.

“What sort of martial art does this young girl practice? What a vicious skill!” the spectators beside Qin Yu exclaimed.

“Not only are her strikes vicious, but she also seems to be wearing some sort of treasure. The man’s dagger couldn’t even harm her!” someone else pointed out.

“Legend has it that the Lu family has a family heirloom, which is the Golden Silk Armour,” another spectator stated.

This answered Qin Yu’s doubts and cleared up his confusion. No wonder she survived the attack. She was definitely wearing the Golden Silk Armour that day!

Judging from the way she stretched her hand, especially the way she struck and dug out the competitor’s brains just now, it seemed like she had used the Nine Yin White Bone Claw technique he had heard about years ago. She most likely inherited that from the Immortal Realm Cultivator.

They gained quite a few things through the trip to Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain.

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