Chapter 291: Imperial Martial Tournament – Part 10
"That…"
Miaomiao wanted to scream [Yes, please!] out loud, but it might arouse suspicion. He pretended to inspect Lu Fengxian's constitution and his cultivation base.
"I'm sorry if I might sound rude. As much as I would like to receive tuition from you, I would like you to clear some of my doubts. Could you tell me how the great you get stuck in that body and your cultivation regressed back to the 3rd-stage?"
Hearing Miaomiao's direct question, Lu Fengxian burst into laughter.
"I knew it! You're smart! Well, if you have the guts to ask, I'll tell you. A few months ago-"
As Lu Fengxian was about to explain and tell Miaomiao's party of what had happened to his original body during the past few months, Wang Yun teleported to the arena, bringing Xu Xiuying, her disciples, Luo Cheng, and Dong Zhongying with him.
Xu Xiuying was still under the debuff spell of Jia Shan, and Wang Yun had captured her with his shadow skill. Dark tentacles, extended from Wang Yun's shadow, bound her torso, legs, and hands, draining her demonic essence and disabling her domain power.
Dong Zhongying was in a better state. Wang Yun released the fat minister and let him walk on two legs. As for the others, Wang Yun released them, too.
After releasing Dong Zhongying, Wang Yun cupped his fist and bowed toward Jia Shan and Ma Ping, but he only glanced at Lu Fengxian in bemusement.
"I'm sorry that I have to interrupt you again, but could I have a bit of your time? I'll explain everything about our world crisis in detail. In the meantime, we can allow our children to have fun in the tournament to distract the crowd."
"…"
Ma Ping glared at Wang Yun. This elder had been getting on his nerve recently, and he didn't trust him.
As for Jia Shan, he didn't know what to do after Ma Ping insisted that he should pay respect to Lu Fengxian. A senior like him didn't want to bow his head to a weak man.
Now that Wang Yun showed up and interrupted their conversation again, Jia Shan's patience reached its limit, "How about I kill you here along with Xu Xiuying?"
Wang Yun snorted, "Then, everyone on this planet will be enslaved by Kishin Douji and his demon friends."
Miaomiao's ears perked when he heard the name of a certain Oni God. He rushed to Jia Shan's side and seized the latter's right arm, which was holding the soul sword.
"Master, please stop. Let's listen to him first, then we can decide what to do with them," Miaomiao looked at Wang Yun. "If possible, could I ask senior to hand over Xu Xiuying and their disciples to us and prove your sincerity? If you keep interfering with our businesses, we can't help but think that you're assisting our enemies."
Wang Yun paused for a moment and looked at Xu Xiuying and her disciples. He tilted his head to the side, falling in deep thought.
10 seconds later, Wang Yun agreed with Miaomiao's request and handed Xu Xiuying to Jia Shan's group. However, he also had a condition.
"As long as you don't kill her, you can have her."
"May I ask why?" Miaomiao probed for more info.
"We might need their ancestor's help in the future. We can't harm her children if we want her cooperation."
"Oh?"
Miaomiao's face turned into a bad pokerface as he wasn't sure if Xu Chu might be the ancestor that Wang Yuan was talking about. Although he was tempted to ask further, Miaomiao decided to keep quiet, hiding his secret.
Meanwhile, Lu Fengxian's face turned dark as he found the idea of cooperating with Xu Chu disgusting and unacceptable. Still, he admitted that Kishin Douji's strength, his Oni Army, and his colleagues were indeed troublesome.
It was impossible to fight these gods and immortals alone, which was the reason why Lu Fengxian had the idea of nurturing youngsters and create his own army.
Lu Fengxian whispered to Ma Ping, "Get more information from him and try to be cooperative. As for Xu Xiuying, she is powerless without her miasma domain. Just seal her in an enclosed container with a strong domain sealing talisman. Do you still remember how to inscribe a seal talisman?"
Ma Ping had a wry smile on his face, "I think I do. I'll try."
…
Wang Yun, Jia Shan, and Ma Ping dragged Xu Xiuying with them. The four nascent soul cultivators left the stadium and went out somewhere to talk in private.
Dong Zhongying, Luo Cheng, and four other succubi were left alone.
After the hot-blooded elders went away, the stadium atmosphere became awkward. Everything was silent for a few minutes.
Ju Shoufen, Ku'er, and Ma Moxi entered the arena without having anyone to announce their names or showing them a way to their seats. They stood in the middle of the ring, standing next to Miaomiao.
Everyone remained quiet since the situation wasn't clear. Lu Fengxian also didn't start a conversation as he was busy scanning the newcomers' foundation with interest.
30 seconds later, Hua Xiong brought his men over to oversee the situation. His men surround the stadium, trapping the succubi children.
As soon as help arrived, the crowd cheered and got noisy. The clan patriarchs started shouting, commanding Dong Zhongying's men.
"OVER HERE!! KILL THE DEMONS!"
"Kill those wenches! They're the threat to humans!"
"Crippled their meridians and tie them to a wall! We will use them as a public toilet!"
"That's right! Let's use them as public toilets!"
"Public Toilet! Public Toilet!"
The clan patriarchs and spectators' outbursts disgusted Ju Shoufen, Ku'er, Ma Moxi, and Lu Fengxian. The group regretted that Jia Shan didn't let Xu Xiuying kill these people.
When Xu Xiuying was fine, they begged Jia Shan and Ma Ping to help them, refusing to fight against the former. When all of them were gone, they were mute.
Yet, when Xu Xiuying was no longer here and help arrived, they acted domineering and overbearing, demanding the military soldiers to do their bidding. Again, they didn't dare to do it themselves.
These cowardly crowds angered Miaomiao's group. They glared at the loud clan leaders, whose cultivation base was not weaker than Luo Cheng, Ju Shoufen, or Ku'er.
Everyone wanted to argue [Come down here and do it yourself!], but they were wary of Dong Zhongying's men in the sky, who had come to oversee the commotion.
"What's next, Miaomiao?"
Surprisingly, Ju Shoufen asked for Miaomiao's opinion instead of stepping up to deal with the situation at hand. She treated him as a temporary group leader when Jia Shan and Ma Ping weren't around.
"Wait and see for now."
Miaomiao admired the crowd's idea of using succubi as sexual toilets. He had never thought of such a method since he wasn't into S&M or torture.
Still, sharing women was not his kink. Moreover, the four succubi were still underage girls, including Luo Song, the loli dwarf.
Miaomiao might enjoy bullying legal lolis, such as Zheng Liqin or Ju Shoufen, but he never touched a legit little girl like Zhao Yun. His perversion principle didn't allow him to lay his hand on the innocent maidens.
Because of this principle, he hated the crowd's idea. It disgusted him to the point that Miaomiao understood what Thanos had thought. The universe was overly populated with these idiots, and they needed to be erased.
"But if any motherfucker come down to capture these little girls, we'll raze this city to the ground."
Miaomiao whispered to Ju Shoufen, but his friends, Lu Fengxian, Luo Cheng, and the succubi could hear it. Although the idea was too extreme, they approved of flipping the city upside down if they were to attack them first.
Luo Cheng's eyes met with Miaomiao. Both men recognized each other as they had a bit of history together.
Luo Cheng slightly nodded at Miaomiao as a greeting while the latter bowed his head and cupped his fist, showing that he didn't forget about the elder.
As Miaomiao's company, Luo Cheng, Lu Fengxian, and the succubi glared at the spectators, thinking of what they should do when the fight started, Dong Zhongying communicated with Hua Xiong via text messages.
Hua Xiong received Dong Zhongying's command. He frowned for a moment and bellowed.
"Xu Xiuying is under arrest for threatening the good people of Red Sun City! As for her demonic disciples, they are also under arrest and shall be transported to the imperial palace after the seniors have concluded their meeting. Thirdly, the tournament event shall continue!"
The crowd laughed and cheered although some of them sighed in disappointment since they couldn't get to taste these underage succubi.
Dong Zhongying licked his lips while he leered the young girls. What he texted Hua Xiong was, "I want those girls as my concubines! Bring them to my palace and cripple their cultivation!"
Stadium elders, guards, and imperial soldiers entered the building and surrounded Miaomiao's group. They pointed their weapons at them.
"Please hand over the girls, and we'll leave."
A hundred 5th-stage imperial soldiers didn't care about Ju Shoufen, Ku'er, or Luo Cheng's cultivation base. They demanded the girls under their watch.
Ju Shoufen snorted, "These girls are our captives. You have no right to take them away from us."
"…"
The soldiers didn't dare to offend Miaomiao's party since they had come with Jia Shan and Ma Ping. They reluctantly looked at Hua Xiong and Dong Zhongying, asking for their advice with their eyes.
Dong Zhongying had the urge to scold his soldiers for not taking the initiative and become the scapegoats for him. Still, he didn't dare to verbally order them since both hot-blooded 7th-stage old men might use this pretext to take over the imperial city.
Without a 7th-stage backer on their side other than Wang Yun, Dong Zhongying got cold feet. He waved his hand and chased the soldiers away.
"Go back! You guys go back and maintain order. We'll continue with the tournament."
"…"
The soldiers heaved a sigh of relief. They withdrew and exited the building.
As for Hua Xiong, he still hovered over the stadium, watching Luo Cheng and the girls from afar.
Miaomiao and others were also relieved and glad that Dong Zhongying didn't have the balls to offend them. They stopped circulating their elemental Qi and lowered their weapons.
Luo Cheng looked at Miaomiao and Ju Shoufen, appreciated what they did, "Thank you."
"You're welcome. We'll talk later."
"Sure."
…
Dong Zhongying's men were swift when he worked hard. Within 10 minutes, they restored order and appeased the crowd. They also guided Miaomiao's party and Luo Cheng's group to Xu Xiuying's previous VIP box room.
Lu Fengxian tagged along with them as well. On the way, he chatted with Ma Moxi, coaxing this protagonist to be his disciple. He also persuaded Ju Shoufen and Ku'er, but the girls declined the offer.
The fat minister used this opportunity to begin the tournament. He started drawing lots and put the names of all contestants on the tournament bracket board.
It took hours to sort all participants and arranged their names, and the result was as the followings.
Number 1, Hua Bohai
Number 2, Cao Mao (Miaomiao)
Number 9, Dong Bai / Forfeited
Number 15, Jian Yi
Number 16, Ma Chao (Ma Moxi)
Number 37, Wang Diaochan (Liu Bian)
Number 56, Ding Tong
Number 64, Ding Bu (Lu Fengxian)
Miaomiao and others checked the bracket to see their names and their friends' names.
It seemed that Miaomiao would face Ma Moxi in the semi-final. Both men glanced at each other and grinned.
"Too bad. I thought we would have met in the final."
Ma Moxi was looking forward to having another rematch. He snickered and teased Miaomiao.
On the other hand, Miaomiao only shrugged it off. His attention was on Ding Bu, the regressed powerhouse protagonist, whom Ma Ping respected so much.
'I guess I'll get to test this protagonist's ability in the final. Well, this shitty tournament is pointless anyway.'
Miaomiao left the VIP room and flew toward the arena stage as his match would begin first.
When Miaomiao landed on the only round arena stage at the center of the field, Hua Bohai was already there, waiting for him.
The young master bitterly smiled when he saw that Miaomiao could fly. Hua Bohai was aware that he just a 3rd-stage cultivator with no essence energy, so he was clearly no match against Miaomiao, who was an abnormal late essence gather realm expert that could fly.
Still, Hua Bohai had the pride of the eldest son of Hua Xiong. He needed to show his courage and skills, or he would be ridiculed as a coward.
Showing his respect, Hua Bohai cupped his fist while he held a sheathed sword in his hand.
"My name is Hua Bohai, the son of General Hua Xiong! I know that I'm no match against you, but I shall do my best! Please give me some pointers, senior Cao!"
His voice was so loud that the crowd in the stadium could hear it. Even his father, who had been floating above the building, was impressed by his son's courage.
Miaomiao nodded and revealed a faint smile. This was the perk of being stronger than other contestants in the middle of a protagonist's tournament arc – All villains had no choice but to give him some face and respect.
"One minute," Miaomiao crossed his hands behind his back. Without introducing himself, he imposed a handicap on himself. "I won't move from this point. If you can land a hit on me even once within the time limit, I'll admit my defeat."
"!!!"
Hua Bohai was taken aback by the sudden handicap. Though he was glad that Miaomiao went easy on him, it offended his pride.
His face turned bright red. Blood veins bulged under his facial skin, and his eyes were bloodshot.
Hua Bohai was enraged, but he had no choice but to accept this humiliation.
"Alright. If senior Cao gives me this much face, I shall oblige!"
As the two contestants finished the introduction, Li Wenyou officially started the tournament.
"Begin!"
Hua Bohai brandished his earth-grade sword. He closed the distance and thrust his weapon forward. They were 10 meters apart!
Miaomiao stared at the telegraphed weapon joust and sighed. Hua Bohai was too weak. Still, he revealed a bit of his skill to intimidate other contestants.
The air in the radius of 6 meters around Miaomiao distorted. The wavy air turned into an illusion dome that covered Miaomiao's body like a barrier shield.
Hua Bohai ignored the domain. He and his sword went through the distorted dome.
As soon as he entered the dome, the young master saw something within the strange domain.
Hua Bohai had a vision of himself being beheaded. The experience was so realistic that Hua Bohai had believed that he had just been killed.
Because of the shock, Hua Bohai stopped moving and collapsed on the ring floor. His eyes were white, and he stopped breathing.
Plop!
"…"
Just like that, Hua Bohai fell unconscious within a few seconds after the match had begun.
Li Wenyou checked Hua Bohai's pulse and Qi. The latter was still alive, but he needed medical attention right away.
Several elders jumped onto the stage and brought Hua Bohai to the field infirmary. As for Li Wenyou, he announced the result of the first match.
"WINNER, CAO MAO!!"
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢