"Show them, Zhanxian. Let these simpletons experience something new. Let them see how a skeleton can drink!"
Upon receiving the order, Zhanxian picked one of the vials presented to him.
"This isn't poisonous or something, right?" he wondered aloud. "I swear, boss, if you're using me as your poison tester, I'll...I'll steal all your money."
Usually, Zhanxian's threats never bothered Han Xuhan. But this one made his hair stand up straight.
Heavens, these minions were beginning to grasp his weaknesses!
He hurriedly explained the situation, ignoring the numerous looks of disdain being cast at him for being so weak that even his own minions didn't respect him.
"Look at Madam Yi, Zhanxian. She's gonna drink from the other vial too. Of course it's not poisonous! In fact, this is a precious opportunity that Tun Shi Tian would die for! Just drink it and see!"
Assured by that, Zhanxian 'gulped' the yellow liquid down. As there was no throat below the oral cavity, the liquid splashed into his cervical vertebra and began to seep into the red bones, defying physics like any normal day.
Everyone, even Han Xuhan watched the process attentively. Despite having witnessed Zhanxian's eating technique before, Han Xuhan still got a kick whenever he saw the liquid being absorbed into the bones. For solid food, the case was a bit different. Zhanxian put solid food and resources inside various sockets of his body, such as the eyes, nostrils, and even the vertebral foramen, where they were digested at a much slower speed than the liquified food.
Right when the last drop of the yellow liquid passed through his ribcage and got absorbed into a groove in his waist, Zhanxian let out a hiccup end fell on his back like a dead log, seeming to have fallen unconscious.
A bit worried, Han Xuhan waited with the rest of the audience, watching Zhanxian's limbs occasionally twitch like someone was giving him the shock therapy in the hallucination he was going through.
Ten minutes passed that way. Suddenly-
"Noooo! Don't leave meeee!"
Zhanxian yelled out at the top of his lungs, jumping to a sitting position with his arms stretched forward, coming face to face with a startled Han Xuhan.
"Fuck! Not you! Where is she?!"
Zhanxian looked around like a skeleton possessed, obsessed with whoever this lady in his hallucination was.
"She's not real! Stop searching for her!" Han Xuhan slapped the top of his skull and rattled the skeleton back to cruel reality.
"Tell us what you saw in there, aside from this woman. And who is she, by the way?"
"He saw our Guildmaster, of course. She's a renowned beauty. Reactions like this are normal whenever she reveals herself to men," replied Qing Ya from a corner of the deck.
"She must have created a new memory sequence by reiterating the concept of the technique herself to give the recipient of the message get a good understanding of it. Your skeleton minion should feel honored."
"Well he's feeling something, alright. It sure as hell ain't honor, though." Han Xuhan laughed vulgarly and turned to look at the distraught skeleton.
"Get over it, Zhanxian. You don't have what it takes to chase after the Master of Abyss Guild. Heck, you don't have what it takes to chase after ANY woman. Kill your dreams!"
His harsh words seemed to do the trick. Zhanxian snapped back to his senses, beginning to calm down slowly. Han Xuhan felt rather curious to know how the mere sight of a woman could reduce his minion to this state. Was she really that good-looking? Was she perhaps one of those country-toppling jade beauties waiting to be conquered by an underdog protagonist?
If that was so, then it'd be in his best interest to never, ever, go near that woman in the future. Mu Ran could no longer be trusted as a protagonist. So he couldn't rely on that guy's potential to try anything he felt curious about. If he, Han Xuhan, lost his rationality like this minion in front of him upon meeting that lady, it would draw the curtains to his short life right there.
"What did you learn, Zhanxian?" Xuhan asked once again after a minute, seeing that his minion looked more stable than before.
"The treasures that each sect is supposed to protect and rob from other sects are actually not something that belonged to the three organizer sects. Back when the Archipelago was discovered, countless sects from around the world were attracted to it, prompting them to send their experts to explore its secrets. These treasures were found lying all over the Archipelago, as if someone had intentionally thrown a number of them in each folded region of the archipelago. But nobody could figure out what the purpose of these treasures was. Each of them appeared different from the rest, and the only clue connecting them was the aura. The treasures were very easy to track down because each treasure had a terrific aura emanating from it that any cultivate above the Physique Transformation realm could sense easily.
"The Guildmaster who was in charge of Abyss Guild at that time wanted to use this opportunity to test his disciples who had just begun cultivating. The current guildmaster of Abyss Guild was one of those disciples. In order to win her master's favor, she desperately ran many experiments on the nature of these treasures, and created a tracing technique in the end.
"While preparing for this tournament, the Beasthaven sect suggested that every sect use the treasures in their hands as a wager. Whichever sect managed to rob the treasures this round gets to keep them, no matter how many or how few. All the sects agreed, because there isn't really much use for the treasures, except for that aura which can at most, be used for decoration. The Guildmaster agreed with more enthusiasm than the rest, because she knew that many of her disciples were familiar with the treasure. Her sect could use this technique to win the round."
Zhanxian's, or more accurately, the Abyss Guild's master's introduction to the technique sounded pretty interesting. Han Xuhan's entire attention was on his minion, but Luo Yi suddenly interjected herself into it.
"You know, now that I really think about it, this is bordering on the rulebreaking line. Sects aren't supposed to help each other like this, and neither is it allowed for a sect master to teach a precious technique to-"
"Madam Yi, please remember that this is being done to settle a dispute peacefully. Once the dispute is settled, one side will clearly be labeled as the wrongdoer and be penalized for their offense. Do you think any sect would get into this situation willingly? At least let us solve the problem peacefully, or do you want the current stalemate between Abyss Guild's attacking team and Crimson Snow sect's defending team to last till the end of the tournament?"
Han Xuhan was so irritated by her interruption that his reply became loud enough to reach the assembly sitting impatiently below on the floating island. Instantly, countless voices began to shout, infuriated. Luo Yi grimaced, but her defiant expression didn't recede.
"The deal was to let one person from the Crimson Snow sect learn the essence of the technique to judge its authenticity. I would act as the impartial judge as well, and a decision could be reached after that. Now, one person from the Crimson Snow sect has already been taught. I don't see why he needs to reveal it to you, kid."
"Zhanxian isn't a person," Han Xuhan said.
"He sure is! We at the Abyss Guild even consider our pets as persons. The rulebook of the Tournament also judges summoned creatures as a member of the summoner's sect, a rule which has settled many disputes in the past. So that qualifies your minion, regardless of your opinion. Hahaha, you really thought you were going to fool me by abusing the notion that a minion can't be considered a person? What an idiot!"
Hollering disdainfully, she gestured at Zhanxian to continue the explanation, saying,
"Since your master deemed you capable of representing the Crimson Snow sect, he can't go back on his words now. You don't need to repeat anything you learned inside the dream. Just tell everyone what you think. Is the technique authentic or not?"
Zhanxian nodded slowly.
"My judgment says it is. A fairy so mesmerizing cannot possibly lie over an issue so mundane! She has to be a free spirit, untouched by the filthy schemes of evil men, beyond petty conflicts of interests; a goddess, pure and simple!"
"....Zhanxian, you're embarrassing me, man," Han Xuhan said in a choked tone.
Luo Yi laughed victoriously. She seemed even happier than the attacking team of Abyss Guild upon Zhanxian's admission.
"Now, my turn."
Taking the remaining vial, she gulped its contents down in one go and sat to meditate. Unlike Zhanxian, she only took half a minute to break out of the hallucination, her composure a bit pale, but unreadable.
Han Xuhan deeply suspected whether she had seen the memory sequence at all. It seemed pretty evident that she might not even care about the authenticity of the technique if that allowed her to get back at the Crimson Snow sect.
After regaining her senses, Luo Yi jumped up on the side rails of the ship, looking down at the mass below on the island. Many disciples were still clamoring down there, pointing fingers and shaking their heads. Laughing at them in scorn, Luo Yi shouted her judgment.
"We have reached a clear conclusion, with both votes in favor of Abyss Guild! I hereby declare the Crimson Snow sect guilty of cheating in the first round of the tournament!"