~ 1 week later ~
After several meetings with Patriarch Liu it was decided that the challenge would be chosen entirely by Liu Liang, she was smart enough to know how to bring victory to our side.
"So you are brave enough to show your face," said the former suitor of liu liang with contempt. He was surrounded by women who were cheering for him. Sighing, I decided to ignore him and go to my spot on the stage. Annoyed by my action the ex asshole took my arm "how dare you IGNORE ME?" He said emphasizing the last words "Do you know who I AM?"
"No," I said simply looking at him coldly.
"Well, listen," he continued arrogantly. "I am the second son of Emperial Minister Li," he continued ominously.
"Oh," I said calmly, "how interesting, but," I said, pausing, "who asked you?"
"You ... " I realized that again his face was red with anger.
"Besides," I said, removing my arm from his hand and moving a few steps away from him, "I would be grateful if you didn't touch me," I said, looking his way in disgust. 'I don't want to risk getting contaminated with your stupidity." I ended up heading for my desk as I wiped the sleeve of my clothing. At that moment the asshole tried to attack me but was prevented by one of the guards present.
"Sir," said one of the nonchalant guard, "I recommend that you keep your disputes after the competition."
Deciding that it was not worth facing the guard because of me, the asshole returned to his desk and grunted as his followers tried to level him. It wasn't long before Liu Liang showed up and the event started. After a brief presentation of each opponent and explanation of the rules of the challenge liu liang made the theme revelation.
"This is the first competition," she said, snapping her fingers as a vase and some gardening utensils appeared in front of us. "You'll plant a flower for me."
"What stupidity is that?" Said the ex li angrily "A person of my level bury cadavers, do not plant flowers," he said arrogantly.
"And what benefits dead people have for me?" said liu liang sarcastically "If you do not want to plant it then admit your loss at once" when hearing this the asshole protested and liu ling said "Then close the hole where the words come out and let me explain the challenge."
With anger and shame asshole li finally shut up and liu liang went on with her explanation. Apparently we'd get randomly drawn flower seeds and have a week to grow them and blossom into bloom. After one week each plant would be evaluated for its properties. You could not use a pot other than the one provided for plants and the seed for not to be disqualified. Seed change was also punishable by declassification. Participants would have specific, safe areas to grow the flower, they could not be removed from the site after planting and any aid objects had to be evaluated before being used. After we agreed she spun the roulette (very Chinese lottery style) and the first seed was drawn to the asshole. Apparently it was from a prismatic ice flower, from the surprise of the audience and liu liang's explanation I realized it was a very rare flower, but to cultivate it was not easy. When she returned to spin the roulette I closed my eyes to calm down,
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ROSE BLOODY THORNS
Rarity: A
Uses: replenish qi / ki (petal), camouflage (stem), hallucinogen (roots), poison antidote (leaves).
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I was excited about what I read and looked forward to Liu Liang announcing the flower, but, to my surprise, when she analyzed the seed an expression of concern quickly appeared on her face. When she finally announced the name of the seed was not what I expected to hear, instead of 'rose bloody thorns' she said 'crystal red grass'. Confused by the result I read the seed description again and noticed an observation.
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NOTE: If the planting is done improperly there is a high chance of the plant becoming red crystal grass.. Herb used by alchemists to stabilize their rank 4 pills.
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Meanwhile ling liu kept talking about the seed.
"It is a common plant to meet, and has the characteristic of preventing the growth of other plants near your site. This is why it is commonly known as the plague. Its use is unknown." Liu liang finished in a voice without emotion.
"Ha Ha Ha" laughed the asshole "You are not very lucky" he said laughing "besides the seed not being a flower it is basically useless." He ended with a smile of 'victory-is-mine'.
[In fact all the information on this plant was lost after an era when alchemists ruled. Being a plant of great benefit in the composition of pills it was almost extinct in nature. Although the masters had private herb gardens, after the calamity they were destroyed, along with various knowledge and methods of composition and refinement. That's why the plant is considered useless today]
[The host has two options: first use stocked medical kis to upgrade the system and get more information about the seed. The second is using accumulated ki to release seed information.]
[Upgrade: 700 medicinal qi, Info: 400 medicinal qi, total amount of qi: 1000]
[Sis recommends upgrading, not only for enabling new features, as the price of plant information drops to more than half]
Thinking back and forth I finally decided to upgrade. The system told me it would take two days to complete the upgrade. During this time liu liang came to talk to me about changing the seed. I politely declined and asked her to help me find any information about the grass. After two days searching I had found some useful information. As if the grass grew abundantly in places that had buried magic beasts, that it stole the qi of medicinal plants increasing the time for their evolution, among others. When the system finished the upgrade I finally took all the information I needed and started growing my flower.
~ 5 days later ~
Everyone in town was in front of the stage. The plants were on the table covered with cloth. Asshole Li was totally in a good mood, thinking the victory was already won. Before liu liang opened the end of the competition he tried again to talk to me.
"Hey wimp," asshole li began, "as I'm kind, I'll give you one last chance. If you bend over, apologize, and hand me the ring I'll forget everything that has happened so far, " he said with a smile on his face." After all, we both know it's impossible to win with this plant."
"Thank you for your generosity" I spoke with my best poker face " but I must refuse. After all we don't know the results yet. Maybe we all have a surprise in the end."
Upon hearing my answer the ass shrugged and returned to his plant, muttering an 'I tried' while sighing. Liu liang opened the finals and after a brief explanation of what had happened she motioned for her opponents to show their plans. Ashole li went first and when he took off the cloth several people exclaimed in surprise when the flower about six feet in height was revealed. Sunlight bounced off their crystal petals and was refracted, often creating mini rainbows, and there was a cool breeze around their surroundings. After the judges inspected the flower they returned to their locations.
"Please proceed, opponent xu ze," said Liu Liang.
Taking my vase I took it to the exhibition table in the center of the stage.
"Ha ha ha ha," the ass began to laugh, thinking I had failed. Liu liang and his father adopted worried expressions while the audience was confused, after all my plant was not a flower.
But I didn't notice any of that, my eyes were glassy studying the grass leaves and if I didn't have to keep a proper character I would be jumping for joy.
"Good if you can analyze judges," said liu liang in a neutral voice.
"Wait," I said firmly, "I didn't say my plant was fully grown." Saying that, I removed the vial and put almost everything in the plant. When the blood touched the plant it came to life. Everyone watched in amazement as the leaves of the grass grew, crowded, twisted, and at the end a flower bud the size of my fist appeared. After a moment the bud opened, petal by petal as it gave off a sweet and mysterious smell. When it finally opened completely everyone saw the magnitude of the rose in front of her, a deep red color so vibrant it resembled blood. After the initial surprise the judges came almost running to analyze the plant, and were more surprised when they saw its effects (they also had the skill inspect). After asking me how I had grown the plant they went to talk to liu liang in private. Some minutes passed and she returned to announce the winner.
"The winner is Xu Ze" she said and the audience clapped and whistled while the young master liu was red shouting that the result was unfair and that I should have stolen "The young master liu thinks the result given is unfair?" asked liu liang, and seeing the assurance nodding, "well, your prismatic flower was actually a rarer flower than Xu Ze's, but it was not cultivated properly, diminishing its effectiveness. It would still win if Xu Ze had not discovered a new method of cultivating red crystal grass, as the flower obtained is far rarer than prismatic ice crystal. He did not cheat because the pot is an object that records all the information that has occurred with the seed since it was planted." said liu liang giving a fox smile "Now if mr. Li insisting that xu ze cheated we will investigate both plants thoroughly to make sure there was no cheating in this tournament." When liu liang finished speaking asshole li showed a forced smile and reluctantly agreed to my victory. After we got home Liu Liang told me that the asshole had cheated and traded the plants in his pot.
~ A few months later ~
Having beaten asshole li I thought I would be free of competition in the future. I have never been so deluded by myself in my life. Not only had I participated in more competitions, but the number of people wanting to compete with me increased with each victory. Liu liang continued to choose the themes, which were somewhat effeminate. When one of the opponents complained that he was a man and did not need to know such matters liu liang replied coldly.
"I need a husband who completes my skills. I'm already quite proficient in fighting and strategy, so I don't need it. Now in dance, poetry, literature, etc. are subjects that I do not exceed, so it is natural that my future husband is good at these topics to help me and not be a useless."
After this sermon none of the contestants complained about the subject of the tests.
Seeing that the number of competitors did not decrease liu liang, patriarch liu and I decided to have a tournament where liu liang's hand would be first prize. It would be divided into 3 parts: painting, cooking and sewing. The last part had a hidden stage that allowed it to earn more points. Whoever got the most points won the competition. When the day of competition arrived thousands of people showed up. Using my knowledge of the modern age I was able to come second in painting and first in cooking. If I won the last stage, even without the bonus, I would be the winner. Walking around as I waited for the last stage to be ready, I felt an arm grab me from behind and press me against the wall. When I was able to focus on the person who had pinned me, I almost got scared to death. It was one of the lords of the carriage, the one who where wearing red.
"Look what I found again," said the black-haired, red-eyed man as he glued his body against mine. "It's the kitten that ran away from its nest," he said with an almost sinister smile.
"I-I didn't run away from my nest," I said after a little stammer, "I was running away from the people who were chasing me," I said, rolling my eyes. "Not that it's any of your business," I said, struggling, trying to make him let me go. After all I have a tournament to win.
"Hmm it seems that the kitten has not yet learned for those who show your claws to," he said as he grasped my neck and bit down hard. "The kitten needs to be trained," he said, smiling after biting me, and I could see some blood on his teeth.
"You crazy man," I said loudly, slapping with all my spiritual energy on his face. Caught off guard he let me go and sticking my tongue out at him I turned and ran back to the stage for the last competition.
In the last competition we had to make a clothing set that liu liang liked.
"Who dares to make this mess in the Liu family competition" said the patriarch Liu a little angry.
"I," said a man with big black hair and red and gold robes, who walked among the crowd that opened to make room for his passage." Can't I?" Said the being with a smile.
"O-Of course you can, Lord Asmontis," said the patriarch Liu as he stammered a little, "what can I do for you?"
"Well," Asmontis began, opening his fan and fanning herself quietly. "I heard you were having an interesting competition from the Liu family, and I decided to come," he said as he smiled. "I hope I didn't arrive too late."
"O-Of course not Lord Asmontis," said the patriarch Liu, sounding a little, "in fact we are judging the last stage yet," the nervous patriarch continued, "there is still time for your majesty to participate."
"Excellent," said Lord Asmontis, snapping his fingers and walking toward the stage.
"I'm so fucked up", I thought as I saw that everyone around me was trying hard not to show fear. He was definitely someone powerful that was hard to deal with. My confidence to win the competition has gone down to nonexistent. When one of the Lord's servants placed the box on the table and opened it all people arround me choked. From the box came a garment set worthy of an immortal, there was no doubt that this set could be considered a national treasure. After the judges quickly inspected the set, they spoke hurriedly to liu liang who returned to the stage with a tight smile to announce the result.
"With a total of 1000 points" she said in a cheerful voice "the winner is Lord Asmontis. Please go to the liu family home to withdraw the reward."
"I don't need to drive to the liu family house," said Lord Asmontis, smiling quietly, "after all what I want is present here," and set his predatory eyes on me.
"What does the lord want?" asked Liu Liang shaking.
"Xu ze," said a melodic, mesmerizing voice of Lord Asmontis, "come."
Unable to control my body, I moved toward Lord Asmontis like a doll. Getting close enough Lord Asmontis took my hand bringing me closer to his side.
"That's the prize I want," he said, taking my hand that had the ring and kissing it. The moment his lips touched my hand, the liu family ring was destroyed and its pieces fell to the ground while everyone looked on in fear. "Now you have nowhere to run, kitten," Lord Asmontis whispered in my ear as, holding me by the waist, he returned to his carriage. Turning back I made contact with liu liang and conveyed the most important message I thought at the moment 'take care of the children', she nodded understanding. A little relieved, I sighed, staring straight ahead as Lord Asmontis led me to the carriage and a new challenge.