"Are all of us going to fight?" Feng Qi asked elder Yu Ene.
"No, that is where the competition's real point arrives. Not all of you are gonna fight, but only three of you will be fighting."
"Then, it should be me, brother Qian Fa and brother Bang Ju. I think we should be the ones to fight." Feng Qi thought for a moment before saying.
"No, you are not going to fight, the competitors for this competition have already been decided."
"Who are they?"
"Yang Zhai, Si Kim, and Ai Hao are the ones who are going to fight."
"Hmm, are you serious?!" Feng Qi looked at Yang Zhai and the others and was lost in thought after hearing this.
"But, elder, don't you think that Hyun should have been the one to fight instead of me? I am not good at fighting." Ai Hao hurriedly said to the elders.
"Again no, this cannot happen because it was decided by both the clans that only rank 1 cultivators are allowed to fight in the first round, and from there on, these three will be fighting all of the three rounds." Elder Yu Ane began to speak,
"These three cultivators will have to fight the second round as well. This is where the real twist comes: all three of you will be fighting all of the three opponents in three rounds. Such as, if Yang Zhai fights an opponent in the first round, then in the second round, he will be fighting a second opponent, someone apart from the first opponent and the same goes for the third round. And if one of you dies before the second round, the victory will automatically go to the Ma clan."
"That is not the real battle, the real battle is whether you will be able to advance between the time of the two rounds. Because if any of you fails to advance and your opponent advances before the second round, then it could be said that you lost the battle before it even started. And it doesn't matter whether you are rank 3 or rank 1 in the second round, you will have to fight, no matter what."
"And what's more is that if one of you dies —whether during the battles of the competition or outside the competition— we will not be allowed to substitute the competitor, and would have to fight with only two competitors. So, you do realize what does this mean, right?" Elder Yu Ane spoke and looked at the disciples' anxious expressions.
"It… means… that there will be continuous attempts of assassinations on them." Til Gen looked at the three rank 1 disciples after he heard what elders told him.
"Right, it means that their lives will always be in danger and the competition will not remain within the boundaries of the rings."
"Which… means that… we might even die while walking or…sleeping." Ai Hao's face was covered with sweat after hearing this and was extremely anxious. She could not even speak clearly and was stuttering.
"Elders… this is not a competition… but you guys just hired a whole clan to kill them. What were you even thinking when you decided this?" Feng Qi said with trembling hands. Even he, who was not involved in the battle, got shivers after hearing this, let alone the three competitors who were basically pulled into this.
"Sigh, I know this." Elder Yu Ene sighed.
This battle is not between the six disciples, but two whole clans. In other words, we are just pawns being played around with: one clan will try to kill us and the other will try to keep us alive: Yang Zhai thought to himself. Others might have not realized it, but Yang Zhai understood the more in-depth meaning behind it.
From the earth's point of view, this could be considered a chess game. And two players playing the game could be said to be the two clans. Everyone, including the two clan leaders, will be involved in this competition. There were six pieces in the chess game, and losing one piece will leave one side with only two pieces.
This was how the world worked. Higher-ups and the people in power were considered the players and the weak were considered chess pieces. This was the rule of the world: Humans ate fish, big fishes ate small fishes, and small fishes ate shrimps.
They did not care about whether the chess pieces broke or not, but for the benefits. And for benefits, the six chess pieces had to stay intact, and after the game was over, it would not matter whether the chess pieces break or stay intact. Both clans will try to keep their six disciples alive, and after the game is over, they would not care whether they die or not. Others might see this as a simple competition, but in reality, it was not.
Right now, the competition had been pulled out of the boundaries by the rules. Now, the game of death and chess had started. Only the best player would win. Pieces were about to be broken and cheating in the game was about to begin. A march of death had started. Many lives were about to be lost, the limit would not remain at only six pieces.
"A game of death, built upon many lives
Two characters with many arrives
The breachment of boundaries
To envelope many allegories
The fall of the pieces into the wells
Rings the tone of the bells
A hidden lake with many fishes
Spoke of many wishes
To be buried into ditches
The lives of many ceases
To smite for only a few inches
They can do whatever they wishes"
Yang Zhai composed a poem in his mind after thinking of the current situation and how the world worked. He knew that the best player was going to win.
He also understood why the time between the two rounds was increased to many months.
Yang Zhai knew that with danger also came benefits. Both of the clans will try to develop their disciples chosen for the competition. Of course, benefits could not make up for life. But, so what if life was more valuable than the benefits? Were Not many wars fought for many reasons? If someone wanted something, they would not care to put others' lives at stake. And of course, it was a completely different situation when there was no way but to go to a war.
Even Yang Zhai, the known blood demon of the previous life, was not spared.
"Elder, is there no way to quit?" Si Kim asked. Even though he became the clan leader in Yang Zhai's previous life, he was still a kid. How could he not fear the dealing of dying at any moment?
"No, the competition and the competitors have already been decided." Elder Yu Ene stated. He understood and did not scold Si Kim for even saying this.
"And you Yang Zhai, don't you have anything to ask?" Elder Yu Ane asked Yang Zhai.
"I don't, elder, you have already explained everything clearly." Yang Zhai said with a calm face, his eyes not even blinking from fear.
"Oh, I mean, are you not scared?"
"I was already about to die during the class competition and was saved. And if it's for the clan, I am ready to die." Yang Zhai said with a determined look on his face. Of course, everything was made up by him. When was he saved? And what was for the clan? He might be a pawn to the others, but to him, even the clan was just a stepping stone.
He knew there was no way out of this now and there was no meaning in trying to get out of this, everything was decided and the clan would not go back on it. So, he just had to play the game.
However, others were amazed and shocked after seeing Yang Zhai's calm expression. Even the ones who were not involved in this competition got shivers down their spines, yet Yang Zhai who was directly involved was calm. It could be seen how much he was determined to die for the clan. His determination to sacrifice himself for the clan was shining like a light on his face from others' perspectives.
"A sage," Ai Hao muttered after seeing Yang Zhai's determination.
*****/*****