Li Xing notices me among the crowd and glares at me.
...
Directly to my left is a stair leading to a taller mountain.
They left the district and climbs up the mountain beyond.
"Let's go." Says Xu Lou. "The registration is at the taller mountain over there."
We follow them.
--------------------
"1 gold coin for participating, 1 silver coin for spectating."
I place a gold coin in his hand as Xu Lou place 2 silver coins. The person pockets it and writes something on the book he carries.
He then takes a wooden plate and hands it to me, a number "46" is carved on it.
"Please wait until your plate is called, in which you must enter the arena." He says.
I nod and we go past the man through the gate. A gush of breeze blows us and reveals seas of humans gathered throughout the mountain. From the top, it might seem like artwork with all the colourful robes, coats or shirts.
The taller mountain has a concave structure, allowing spectators to watch the fight.
A large wooden platform, about the length of a soccer field, is built on another mountain not too far from where I am standing, I assume that is the arena.
Several floating structures and infrastructures constructed on thin but tall mountains are only occupied by VIPs, most of them are exerting a domineering aura at a single glance.
The Patriarch of the Majestic Array Sect is here as well as members of the Heavenly Divine Dragon sect. The black-haired disciple who I met at the inn standing beside an old man sitting on a throne chair in one of the floating structures. Is that person the Patriarch of the Heavenly Divine Dragon sect?
Most of the glares and stares are directed at Xie Mo, who currently sighs as he digs his ears.
...
I see one man with long black hair stiffening as he glares at Xie Mo. "Bastard. Bastard. Bastard. Bastard." He repeatedly says.
His eyes are red with two huge eye bags.
What the fuck did Xie Mo do?
Looking behind, I see about 5 more mountains and 2 floating islands filled with spectators. This tournament is very popular for one that involves just beating people up.
"Hey! The tournament is starting!"
An old man jumps onto the platform wearing a white Taoist robe and snaps.
!
A suffocating shockwave emits from his snap which silences everyone.
...
"The Tournament will begin shortly. As for the participants, remember 2 simple rules: Killing and cheating are prohibited. I am Chief Lin of the Kunlun school squad from the Murim Alliance and we will observe your every move. We will step in whenever necessary. There are three ways to win, the first is by knocking your opponent out, the second is by forcing them to surrender, and the third is to hit your opponent out of the arena." He says.
...
I frown.
Those rules...have too many loopholes, or are they intentional?
"Now then, we will start the first round by drawing lots."
A floating box materialises in front of Chief Lin as he puts his hand in. Shortly after, he pulls out two papers and unfolds them.
"Number 16 and number 41!" He shouts.
...
A woman standing behind Xie Mo jumps onto the platform. She has long black hair, part of it is pinned up to a circular braid resting behind the ears. Her attire consists of a red robe worn with a pale orange skirt. That is the hairstyle waitress wears back at the inn...
A small mole below her lips with her black eyes, her glare scares all the male audiences looking at her charm.
Another small and slim man jumps onto the platform, he is using a weapon that attaches blades to his fingertips. With his slim figure, he bends forward and prepares to charge at the woman.
"We have here, Luo Yi and Jia Mei! The match now begins!"
...
Despite the chief saying that both are on high alert, waiting for the other to initiate an attack.
...
This intense awkward atmosphere continued for several minutes until the man, Luo Yi, decide to dash in. He leaps towards Jia Mei and slashes at her, but the one he slashed is an afterimage.
"What-"
Jia Mei was already behind him as she whacks him with her palm from behind.
He was propelled to the edge of the platform but his sharp claws prevented his disqualification.
"You..."
Jia Mei sighs. "Boring." She says.
Luo Yi notices a sword on Jia Mei's hips, she has no intention to use it. Luo Yi's face contorts in rage and shame as he attempts to make a comeback.
He instantly appears in front of Jia Mei and slashes at the ground.
Jia Mei jumps back to prepare for the attack but Luo Yi swings his claws up, causing some claw marks on the ground directly below Jia Mei to appear.
!!!
Instantly, the claw marks leave the ground and eject up, inflicting three cuts on Jia Mei. Bits of blood splattered on the floor.
"Y-You!"
Jia Mei clenches her fist and faces Luo Yi head-on. Luo Yi blocks her punch but was pushed back.
Suddenly, Jia Mei appears behind Luo Yi and thrust her hand at his spine.
!!
Luo Yi turns his body in time to block the thrust using his hand.
"Argh!!"
But the thrust struck his left wrist before he flies back from the impact. He crashes into the platform, coughing blood as he grasps his arm.
"Fuck... You are still not using that sword?" Says Luo Yi.
"I don't know to use it against trash." Replies Jia Mei harshly.
"Bitch! I will not go down so easily!!!"
Luo Yi roars as his body emits a subtle red glow. His left-hand recovers as he jumps in and slashes at Jia Mei.
!!
Jia Mei, although didn't draw her sword, used the sheath of the sword to guard. However, four slashes suddenly appear behind Jia Mei.
"W-What-" She exclaims before Luo Yi thrust his claw at her chest.
Through seer reaction time, Jia Mei manages to deflect his claws away and kick Luo Yi back for some distance.
Luo Yi smirks. "Still not going to use the sword?"
Jia Mei grits her teeth. She can't even stand properly due to the deep wounds on her back.
I open my eyes in delight. No wonder there are so many spectators, the fights are pretty intriguing and educational. Luo Yi in that one instance decided to use that claw attack from the ground but at a smaller and precise length, cutting through Jia Mei's back.
"Fine. You ask for this!" She shouts.
Jia Mei draws her sword, the blade is orange in colour. Her body starts to emit an orange glow as the aura around her changes.
"What..." Luo Yi puts his guard up the highest as he gets into a defensive stance of positioning his claws to defend his vital areas.
Jia Mei takes a deep breath and closes her eyes.
...
In an instant, she appears in front of Luo Yi and does a simple thrust.
!!
Luo Yi attempts to deflect the sword away but the moment he touches the tip, a destination of fire explodes.
"ARGH!!!"
He falls charred to the ground unconscious.
!!!
"I-Is he dead?"
"What a cruel method."
Chief Lin jumps onto the platform and checks for vitals in Luo Yi. He gives a thumbs up when he confirms that Luo Yi is still alive.
"WOAH!!"
Most spectator starts to cheer. It was a nerve-wracking short battle.
Jia Mei should be in the 7th stage of Qi Condensation while Luo Yi was in the 8th Stage.
Miraculously, the chaos and destruction left behind at the arena were fixed in an instant with just a snap from Chief Lin.
I throw a glance at Xu Lou, he is staring at Jia Mei intensely. He doesn't seem to be interested in her... His stare is hostile.
The match begins soon as Chief Lin pulls put two more papers from a box.
"Number 46 and number 32!" He shouts.
!
That's me...
I grab Azrim and jump onto the platform. On the other side of the platform is Zhu Li.
!!!!
Zhu Li widens his eyes to see me. To think he, a blood sect disciple, is participating on behalf of the Majestic Array sect.
...
"On the left, we have Wang Ji, and on the other hand, we have Zhu Li from the Majestic Array sect. The match will now begin!!"
"That's Wang Ji? He is the one who wreaks havoc at Jiangxi and managed to get away with it."
"What? The Patriarch of the Xi family is at the peak Core Formation Realm and most of the Xi family are also at the Core Formation Realm. How is this possible?!"
The audience mumbles and it became quite noisy.
Zhu Li draws his sword as he trembles, I draw Azrim and stiffen the muscles in my leg.
I instantly appear in front of Zhu Li and our swords clash. However, the clash created an energy that expands out to the audience. Surrounding cultivators attempt to deflect the energy for the safety of everyone.
"Go all out, that's an order" I whisper to Zhu Li and kick him away.
I look at the Patriarch of the Majestic Array Sect. His mouth is wide open as his face turns to a shade of purple.
"H-How is he still alive..." The Patriarch of the Majestic Array Sect mumbles.