Chapter 332: Chapter 307: Betting on the Map_1
Wuzu Garden, it was said that the Martial Ancestor in his youth found the true path to enlightenment beneath an old tree here.
From then on, this place became a sacred ground of martial arts that all martial cultivators long to explore.
World Bank chose to build a city here for this very reason.
Of course, five thousand years have passed and the old tree beneath which the Martial Ancestor found enlightenment has withered, but his name echoes through eternity, enduring through time.
Wuzu Garden sits across an enormous area with a lake at the center. The lakeshore lies next to a spacious flat ground where tables and chairs have already been set up at this moment.
On the tables, a dozen or so different martial foods, all delightful in aroma are placed.
The lowest level is Rank Three, with a majority being Rank Four martial foods.
Lu Yan and Shen Yinuo picked a table near the edge and sat down, receiving glances from every direction.
There are over three hundred people present and almost all are existences beyond the True Body Realm. Furthermore, the majority are high-ranked True Bodies.
"Wow, there are a lot of True Bodies."
Lu Yan sighed.
But, it’s only natural upon thinking about it.
A single honorable Feudal Lord could only hold a Rank Three Blood Land Vein, thus limiting the number of True Body Realm individuals he could support.
While now, the cream of the crop from almost the entirety of Da Chu is gathered here.
Aside from the fact that no one from the royal family of Da Chu has arrived, it can be assumed that the majority of powerful entities have sent representatives.
This includes not just the eighteen large feudal princes, but also those who hold only a province’s worth of land or forces similar to the Shengxuan Sect. All of them are present.
Therefore, it’s quite normal to see a high number of powerful individuals.
"Commander Xiang..."
Lu Yan’s gaze flinches.
He spotted Xiang Chongyang among some familiar faces from the Mansion of King Ming.
The next moment, his gaze froze as he noticed another familiar face.
Fang Xuansha from Fang Family of Jinzhou.
A little while later, almost every seat at the event was occupied.
"Ladies and Gentlemen."
Two figures rose and moved to the lakeside.
Everyone’s gaze fell on the two.
Both of them were very young-looking, seemingly only around thirty years old.
The one on the left was slim and tall, with a head of purple hair fastened with a purple gold crown. He wore a purple robe and a jade belt around his waist - the epitome of nobility.
As a son of the Ji Family, he truly lived up to the word ’noble’.
That’s because the Ji Family was once hailed as the world’s second most prominent family, with the first, of course, being the Da Chu Royal Family - the Chu Family.
The other young man was robust with a bear-like stature. His black hair carelessly hung loose, and his eyes scrutinized everything like that of a hawk. A powerful and horrifying aura of ferocity enveloped the entire area.
He was the prestigious son from the Shengwu Sect, a legendary martial arts prodigy renowned for possessing invincible strength amongst his peers.
"I, Ji Wuxiu, feel truly honoured by your esteemed presence. The polite formalities aside, let’s directly get to our main purpose. Today, we gather here mainly for the map of the ’Heaven-reaching Ruins’."
"The terrain inside the Heaven-reaching Ruins is very complex. Some areas are guarded by formidable alien beasts, and some areas are full of dreadful ’Will Power Patterns’. The slightest carelessness might lead to absolute disaster. 300 years back, our Ji Family entered the ruins and painstakingly explored a portion of the area, marking a map spanning more than 250 miles."
"On the map, we have marked dangerous areas and potentially opportune places where Immortal Demon Fruits might grow."
Ji Wuxiu’s voice resonated.
"A map spanning 250 miles?"
Many eyes heated up at this revelation.
The Heaven-reaching Ruins covered an immense area, stretching over a total of 4,000 miles. However, it’s bisected into two sections, and they could only explore half of it.
The other half, even if they wished to explore, was beyond their capability due to their True Body Realm cultivation level.
Even half of 250 miles was a lot.
With this map in their hands, they could obtain a head start while venturing into the Heaven-reaching Ruins.
"Our Shengwu Sect also has a map that spans over 200 miles."
Wu Hao then succinctly stated his claim.
"Many of the people from various forces entered Heaven-reaching Ruins 300 years ago. I believe that you all have maps, to some extent. Thus, Wu Hao and I wish to propose a wager today."
Ji Wuxiu declared.
"A wager? How would this take place?"
Someone asked.
"Wu Hao and I will take turns in defending the stage and accept your challenges. If anyone can last 30 moves against me, I will gift out 50 miles from our Ji Family’s map."
"Of course, the prerequisite for challenging me is that you must own a map. If you cannot last for 30 moves, you must give me your map. Don’t worry though, I won’t ask for the original. We’ve invited some top-level artists who can quickly create a copy of your map."
Ji Wuxiu explained.
"If the map in my possession does not cover 50 miles, can I still challenge?"
Someone else queried.
"Yes, you can. If you can hold on for 30 moves, I’ll still offer you a map covering 50 miles. If you can defeat me, I’ll offer you all the maps in my possession."
Ji Wuxiu supplemented.
"My rules are the same as Brother Ji’s."
Wu Hao succinctly conveyed his intentions.
"Then, I shall start."
Ji Wuxiu stepped onto the lake. "Today, let this lake serve as our stage. Who is ready?"
The crowd’s eyes began flickering.
Many attendees were the top-ranking experts of their own forces. It wasn’t lacking Kings with True Bodies.
Their renown in their respective forces was unrivaled among their peers, and they held a great deal of confidence in themselves.
However, as Ji Wuxiu had a quite prestigious reputation, it was impossible that it’s unmerited. He must undoubtedly have some real skills. Thus, many people were unsure of their chances of success. They all wanted someone else to make the initial move so they could observe Ji Wuxiu’s abilities and martial arts in order to devise a strategy for defeating him.
Hence, the area fell silent for a moment, and no one came forward.
"Is there anyone willing to enlighten me?"
Ji Wuxiu asked again.
"Well then, I shall step forward to have a contest with Brother Ji."
A figure leaped up, crossed the empty sky, and landed on the lake, standing opposite Ji Wuxiu.
"It’s Cao De, the number one True Body from the Cao Family."
Someone recognized him.
The Cao Family is one of the eighteen strongest feudal lords.
"Please."
Ji Wuxiu gestured with his hand.
Bang!
Like two streaks of light, the two collided. Their powerful inner strength stirred the lake water up to a hundred meters high.
Then, an intense fight ensued between them.
"True Body Seventh Refinement."
Lu Yan thought to himself.
The cultivation level of both was True Body Seventh Refinement. Of course, their battle power was extremely dreadful, far surpassing the average True Body Seventh Refinement.
The grade of their True Bodies was even higher than the common King’s True Body.
If one were to phrase it in Master Level terms, when they were at Master Level, they could definitely compare to beings with more than twenty-five strands of inner strength.
Moreover, both had mastered Divine-level Martial Arts.
However, after more than a dozen moves, Cao De was evidently losing. After dealing a blow with Ji Wuxiu, his figure retreated rapidly.
"Immovable God Mountain."
Cao De roared lowly, his abdomen glowed and a mountain peak flew out, rapidly growing into a majestic mountain, descending upon Ji Wuxiu.
Ji Wuxiu, his face calm, also had a purple long spear fly out from his glowing abdomen into his hand.
Be it the god mountain or the long spear, neither were Divine Weapons or Spiritual Treasures, but the divine marks of the two of them.
Without a doubt, both were Internal God-men.
With the spear in his hand, Ji Wuxiu’s aura surged. The purple spear shadows rose to the sky, stabbing into the mountain.
Bang!
The mountain shook greatly and reversed its course.
Ji Wuxiu stepped on the lake surface, launching a fierce attack with the spear, forcing Cao De to only use the mountain as a shield, unable to mount a counterattack.
However, Cao De’s defense was indeed formidable.
Now, it seemed like he had extinguished the thought of defeating Ji Wuxiu, and strove to endure past thirty moves, only seeking to avoid errors and fully focusing on defense.
After Ji Wuxiu attacked more than ten moves continuously and the number of exchanged moves reached twenty-eight, he was getting slightly impatient as he wasn’t able to defeat Cao De, his attacks becoming more aggressive.
But Cao De defended with the mountain single-mindedly, a steady as Mount Tai, blocking Ji Wuxiu’s last two moves.
Ji rapidly withdrew, put away his spear, his face looking somewhat unsightly.
However, after a while, he still revealed a smile, and said, "Brother Cao’s strategies are steady and tough, admirable. It seems that I have underestimated the heroes in the world. As a man of my words, here’s the map of fifty miles."
Ji Wuxiu waved his hand, took out a scroll from his Sumi Mustard Seed Bag, and handed it to Cao De.
"I have already ordered many maps to be drawn. Brother Cao can have a look and verify their authenticity."
Ji Wuxiu said.
Cao De opened the map, his face full of smiles, saying, "Thanks be to Brother Ji."
Then he leaped down.
"Now is Brother Wu Hao’s turn."
Ji Wuxiu descended from the lake. Wu Hao landed on the lake and asked, "Who will exchange moves with me?"
"I will."
Immediately, a figure leaped up and landed on the lake. Undeniably, it was another expert from one of the top feudal prince’s family.
Without wasting any words, the two of them started fighting.
As soon as Wu Hao made his move, his techniques were extremely domineering and his power was unparalleled.
A few moves later, the challenger was clearly losing. He seemed to understand Wu Hao’s might and immediately adopted the same strategy as Cao De, focusing solely on defense and adeptly circumventing Wu Hao using his superior body techniques.
In the end, the challenger gritted his teeth and made it past thirty moves with Wu Hao, managing to win a map of fifty miles from him.
"It seems, Ji Wuxiu and Wu Hao, although strong, are not overwhelming."
"It’s not that they are not strong, it’s just that the challengers are all extraordinary individuals. They are the top True Body Realms among the top feudal princes. Some of them are even rank one among True Bodies. If an average True Body Seventh Refinement were to go up, they would probably be defeated in a single move."
"That’s true."
"It seems, this map is not so hard to obtain."
Many people whispered among themselves.
Wu Hao left, and it was Ji Wuxiu’s turn again.
"Brother Ji, I’ll give it a try."
Since two people had successively obtained maps from Ji Wuxiu and Wu Hao, others were greatly moved. Before Ji Wuxiu could even speak, someone was already leaping onto the surface of the lake.
"Please."
Ji Wuxiu waved his hand, the purple long spear flew out, pointing at the opponent like a purple lightning.
It seemed that he had learned his lesson from the previous round, and this time Ji Wuxiu launched a full-on aggressive attack as soon as he made his move.
The challenger also wanted to mimic Cao De, focusing entirely on defense, but unfortunately, he was defeated on the twenty-eighth move, with Ji Wuxui’s spear pointing at his throat.
"Brother Ji, I only have a map of forty miles."
The challenger said somewhat reluctantly.
"No matter. You can take it out, and I will have an artist do a copy."
Ji Wuxiu put away the spear and said.
Under the scrutiny of the crowd, the challenger had no choice but to honor his bet. He produced his map and Ji Wuxiu immediately had an artist copy it.
Next, it was Wu Hao’s turn. Someone went up, but was defeated after more than twenty moves, handing his map to Wu Hao.
"Who is willing to teach me a lesson?"
Ji Wuxiu landed on the lake again.
"I’m coming."
A burly figure stepped onto the water. With each step he took, the water automatically rose, like a ladder for him to step on.
This was someone skilled in the manipulation of water.
