WHOOSH!
A harsh lashing of the air could be heard as the hissing thorny ropes shot towards an unprotected Chen Zhiyu who was at the centre. Chen Zhiyu gave an awkward groan as he forcibly held back tears, clearing his mind in readiness to endure the pain which came from the whipping of the thorny ropes.
The thorns were like blood thirsty leeches as they stabbed into Chen Zhiyu's shoulders, back and chest region all at the same time. As the five men tried to pull out the thorny ropes, the thorns on its surface drew a gash but they took quite a time to escape his bloodstream as it was blocked by his veins.
Chen Zhiyu's face slowly turned a bit green afterwards, a indication of the reaction from getting stung by the thorny ropes.
This was a demonstration of the annoying misfortune he had to endure all these years and it contributed immensely to his stagnant martial cultivation as these hidden injuries after accumulating for a while made his already imperfect body, a ruined vessel...hence he could not cultivate true qi.
After three minutes, the thorny ropes successfully pulled out of Chen Zhiyu's flesh after leaving series of centimeter wide gashes that continuously dripped dark blood from time to time.
Chen Zhiyu's blood had long began coagulating and he could even feel it boiling strangely.
It was likely he had been poisoned... again!
He was not familiar with this poison, but judging from the speedy rate that it was corroding his body, Chen Zhiyu felt it would be a miraculous wonder if he could live for the rest of the day.
The five black robed men then withdrew the ropes, bowed in Chen Xizi's direction with a solemn demeanor before shooting towards his side.
They had fulfilled their role as the first entertainers. Judging from the wide smile on Chen Xizi's face, it was totally possible that they could even earn twice their remunerations.
...
Right there and then, the next set of entertainers stepped on stage. There were four fellows in ashen white robes, they all held short blades and their movements showed a high level of coherence just like the five black robed men from earlier.
After their entry, they didn't delay at all and pounced once again in Chen Zhiyu's direction like a pack of wolves to an unprotected lamb.
Chen Zhiyu tried to retreat but he had already been locked onto by the four blade-wielders. Not to mention that he was still wrestling at death's door due to the lethal poison.
Chen Zhiyu's expression changed and he felt his body shudder at the thought of what Chen Xizi might be up to. The tips of the blades were coated in a strange liquid that was apparently another weird poison. A wild guess crossed Chen Zhiyu's heart, causing him to go pale with shock.
The past humiliation rituals happened in the same format but they only served to severely weaken him. There was never a time when he was continuously inflicted with poison but it seemed like they were plotting something this time around, to have him poisoned twice in a row.
The others could not tell what it was that was going on with Chen Zhiyu. And even if they knew, their reactions would still be totally indifferent to his woes.
Besides, nobody felt concern towards the wellbeing of a trash master like Chen Zhiyu who was only sullying the nobility of Young Masters. It was all his fault for being bullied and dragged around like a pile of dung rather than upholding his dignity, he even consented like a fool to it.
Unfortunately, Chen Zhiyu who always seemed to be less concerned with the issue of being humiliated and had even grown numb to it, actually reacted today. He was not willing to swallow the black pill today.
Chen Xizi's grin even intensified on seeing Chen Zhiyu's struggle, moments like that was what made this 'games' worth it. It would not be as interesting or engaging if Chen Zhiyu remained still through the entire session.
To the awe of the audience, Chen Zhiyu actually began retreating.
One step.
Two steps.
Three steps.
He continued to retreat at a calculated pace despite the depiction that his retreat would only pull him in the direction of the fourth blade-wielder behind him.
He was carefully deducing how he could survive the encirclement by the masters who wanted to collectively trap him at once. And though this situation was life threatening for him, to the bladewielders, it was like toying with an insect–very relaxing indeed.
While he retreated, he aroused the amusement of the four bladewielders and they couldn't help but grin at his clumsy act. No matter how he ran, he would no doubt fall under their encirclement –it was inescapable at this point in time.
Chen Zhiyu who was initially retreating, suddenly paused as soon as he arrived at the convergence of the four bladewielders. Despite being in anguish from the injury earlier, his expression remained calm and his eyes searched for a loophole with breakneck speed.
Maybe he was lucky or it was probably due to the fact that they had confidence in their skill, but they actually left a narrow loophole. It was almost invisible but in a moment of desperation, Chen Zhiyu was able to find a means of escape.
By making an energetic twist, he managed to narrowly shake off the stab of the fourth blade-wielder behind him. He escaped a quick stab to his spine and caused the other three to lash sideways as they were avoiding coming in direct contact with the fourth blade-wielder.
Chen Xizi's eyes rippled with calm rage, his hand tightened its grip on the armrest following the act of escape that Chen Zhiyu was able to successfully make.
PFFT!
Chen Zhiyu suddenly coughed out a mouthful of blood even after dodging the fatal strikes from the three bladewielders at the dying minute.