Chapter 46: Fame, One Battle is Enough
Five battle platforms were situated in the center of the martial arts arena, with eight figures stepping onto each platform. The City Lord’s Mansion, led by the Nalan family, occupied the highest central main platform, looking down upon the crowd. The other four platforms, facing east, south, west, and north, were taken by the Gu family, the Lin family, the Wen family, and the scattered cultivator faction led by Qiu Lan.
At this moment, on the Nalan family’s side, an old man beside City Lord Nalan Xiong stood up, his gaze falling upon the battle platforms.
“Today’s martial gathering is meant to test the strength of the outstanding youths of Yangzhou City. Therefore, there is no need to hold back. Those who are defeated and cannot continue may concede, and the battle will end. If one refuses to concede, the fight will continue until one side falls completely, regardless of life or death.”
As the old man’s words fell, a stir rippled through the crowd. Refusing to concede meant no regard for life or death—how ruthless.
Some proud martial artists valued their reputation highly, especially looking down on conceding in battle. Thus, few would willingly admit defeat. Even if outmatched, they would continue fighting to defend their honor, finding glory even in defeat.
But the old man’s words forced them to reconsider. This essentially meant no restrictions on killing. If two evenly matched opponents both refused to concede, it would become a fight to the death, sowing deep-seated hatred.
“Clever,” many praised inwardly. The old man was clearly speaking on behalf of Nalan Xiong. This approach only benefited the Nalan family, since they were the hosts. No one dared to kill the City Lord’s people in his own mansion, but the other factions were different. Fierce life-or-death struggles could easily arise, sparking feuds between families.
Nalan Xiong wanted to use this martial gathering to stir conflict among the other major families. Though the three family heads understood his intent, they had no choice but to go along. Each wanted their own family to stand above the rest, to be looked up to by others. So their instructions to their disciples were naturally to strive for victory at all costs.
Moreover, the old man had said that if outmatched, one could concede and end the battle. The rules seemed reasonable, making it hard to object. Who would openly admit their family’s disciples were inferior to others?
“For this martial gathering, I have obtained the list of all participating disciples. I will decide all battle arrangements. Do any family heads have objections?” The old man’s gaze fell upon the three family heads.
“Heh, since it’s the City Lord’s arrangement, I naturally agree,” Gu Qing, the head of the Gu family, said loudly, appearing completely unconcerned.
“In previous gatherings, City Lord Nalan has also presided. This time should be no different,” Wen Renyue, the head of the Wen family, also spoke up.
“I have no objections either,” Lin Badao naturally wouldn’t oppose.
“Then this old man, on behalf of City Lord Nalan, thanks the family heads.” The old man smiled at the three and announced, “The martial gathering begins with the first round as elimination battles. The defeated withdraw, and the victors advance.”
“Now I will announce the matchups. Those whose names are called will remain on the platforms. Others will wait below. Main platform: Nalan Feng of the Nalan family versus Wen Xin of the Wen family. East platform: Gu Yun of the Gu family versus Lin Wu of the Lin family. South platform: Lin Yu of the Lin family versus Wen Feng of the Wen family. West platform: Nalan Zhu of the Nalan family versus Feng Qian. North platform: Duo Ming versus Gu Qing of the Gu family.”
With five battle platforms, ten people could fight at once. Forty people would need only four rounds to finish, eliminating half and leaving twenty.
Those whose names weren’t called stepped down from the platforms, while the ten named ascended to their respective platforms.
“Heh, Wen Xin of the Wen family is really unlucky. She ran into Nalan Feng in the first round. Even though she’s not weak, she can only accept defeat and be eliminated.”
“I heard Lin Wu of the Lin family is quite strong, already at the Ninth Layer of Qi Martial Realm. It seems the east platform’s victory is surely his.”
“The south platform should be won by Wen Feng, and the west platform by Feng Qian. As for the last north platform, even though Duo Ming is very mysterious and wears a mask, facing Gu Qing is his bad luck. There’s no chance of victory.”
Before the battles even began, the crowd had already decided the outcomes. After all, they knew something about these young talents of Yangzhou City and understood their strength gaps.
As for Duo Ming on the north platform, he also drew the crowd’s attention. This silver-masked martial artist named Duo Ming was someone they had never heard of. He seemed to have an extraordinary bearing, but unfortunately, he was up against Gu Qing. Defeat was already sealed. Gu Qing’s strength was at the peak of the Qi Martial Realm, and below the Spirit Martial Realm, few could match him. An unknown figure in Yangzhou City naturally couldn’t defeat Gu Qing.
The crowd’s predictions were quite accurate. Wen Xin, facing Nalan Feng, conceded before the battle even began. Though reputation was important, conceding to Nalan Feng wasn’t shameful. Fighting her would have been asking for death.
On the east and west platforms, battles gradually concluded. The victors matched the crowd’s expectations: Lin Wu, Wen Feng. On the west platform, Feng Qian completely suppressed his opponent, and the battle would end soon. Only the north platform remained, where the fight hadn’t even started, leaving people speechless.
Gu Qing, in particular, didn’t even regard Duo Ming as an opponent. He treated him like air, his gaze fixed on the other platforms, watching their battles. After all, he would soon advance to the next round, so naturally he wanted to familiarize himself with the others’ strength.
“I can’t beat Nalan Feng. I hope I don’t run into her. Lin Wu and Wen Feng are easy to defeat. As for Feng Qian, he seems stronger than before, but I can handle him too. Meeting any of them in the next round won’t be a problem,” Gu Qing murmured to himself, completely ignoring the silver-masked Duo Ming, already planning for the next round.
Finally, Feng Qian landed a palm strike on his opponent, Nalan Zhu. Nalan Zhu had no strength left to fight and conceded. Everyone’s gaze fell upon the north platform.
“It’s over. That was fast,” the crowd thought. The first round seemed to be ending just like that.
“Gu Qing, stop wasting time,” Gu Qing, the Gu family head, said coldly, his tone arrogant, as if demonstrating his disciple’s strength—able to finish the opponent at any moment.
“Yes, family head,” Gu Qing replied. He looked at Lin Feng and said indifferently, “Get off yourself. I can’t be bothered to move.”
Lin Feng stood with his hands behind his back, wearing a silver mask that only revealed one eye and half his face, his expression unreadable.
Like Gu Qing, he had been observing the battles. Since the other party wasn’t in a hurry, why should he be? As for Gu Qing’s arrogance, Lin Feng was already used to the faces of those self-righteous so-called geniuses.
“Didn’t you hear me? I told you to get off. If I make a move, you might not even have the chance to roll. I’ll take your life directly,” Gu Qing said, frowning when he saw Lin Feng’s lack of reaction.
The major families had always looked down on so-called scattered cultivator talents. Without family backing, how could they amount to anything? Someone as unknown as Lin Feng was even more contemptible in his eyes. So Gu Qing dismissed him entirely.
“Before I change my mind, get lost,” Lin Feng spat out, stunning everyone. Then some sneered, wondering if this guy had gone mad.
Only those who had come with Qiu Lan didn’t laugh. Lin Feng was mysterious in their eyes, incredibly strong—even Wu Xiao had been no match for him.
“Gu Qing, you’re in for it,” Feng Qian, who had just won, thought as he watched the scene. In his view, Gu Qing was asking for death.
But at that moment, Gu Qing’s face darkened. He couldn’t believe some nobody dared to speak to him like that. He was the second strongest of the Gu family, one of the few below the Spirit Martial Realm, valued by his family.
“Finish him,” Gu Qing, the family head, barked coldly, making everyone’s expressions tighten. It was clear he meant for Gu Qing to kill Lin Feng.
“Alright,” Gu Qing replied, hearing the anger in his family head’s voice. His figure flashed, moving with incredible speed, not even giving Lin Feng a chance to concede.
“Wild Fierce Fist!” Gu Qing roared. His fist wind howled, terrifyingly powerful, as if tearing the very air apart.
But Lin Feng remained as still as a mountain. Just as the Wild Fierce Fist was about to reach him, a brilliant radiance overshadowed everything. Sword light descended from the heavens.