Chapter 5

The Observing Heaven Pavilion was the most renowned tower in Taizhou City. It had seven stories and was under the jurisdiction of the Four Directions Association. The top floor was named for observing the heavens and divining the stars. With vermilion beams and painted rafters, green tiles and flying eaves, the structure was exquisite and the building majestic. Behind it was the location of the Four Directions Association.

On the third floor, facing the direction of the arena, there was an observation deck. Standing there, one had an unobstructed view of the scenery below the tower.

Jiang Ming Yue’s gaze swept lightly over the surging sea of people below. The dark depths of his eyes showed not a ripple in response to the fervent or greedy gazes that fell upon him.

“Young Master Ming Yue truly lives up to his reputation as the number one beauty. Your appearance seems to have overshadowed even this competition.” Ye Xi Feng, also dressed in white robes, sat beside him with a smile playing on her lips. She looked at the man’s perfect profile as if joking with him.

“Young Master Ye jests. Everyone is here for the competition; Ming Yue is merely a spectator,” the man’s voice was like a frozen river beginning to thaw, innately carrying a hint of coldness.

Ye Xi Feng was unfazed and looked at him with even more interest. “Oh? Could it be that Young Master Ming Yue does not intend to participate in today’s competition?”

Jiang Ming Yue’s cold eyes shifted slightly. Instead of answering, he asked, “Ming Yue has a question. I heard that the Four Directions Association went to great lengths to obtain the Deer Skin Map, losing quite a few capable individuals. Why are they now using the Deer Skin Map as the treasure for this competition?”

Sitting on the other side were the elders of the Four Directions Association. Seeing the conversation turn in this direction, the elder’s cloudy eyes looked toward the two. The wrinkles on his already creased forehead deepened. He lightly coughed, wanting to interrupt their conversation, but heard Ye Xi Feng laugh naturally, “That was a matter from my mother’s generation. Now, this Deer Skin Map is of no use to our Four Directions Association. It’s better to give it to someone who needs it.”

She raised her lips, eyes carrying a hint of laughter, half-jokingly saying, “If Young Master Ming Yue wants it, giving it to you is no issue.”

Jiang Ming Yue turned his face slightly, his eyes like a bottomless abyss. He quietly looked at the woman for a moment before lightly shifting his gaze away, the corner of his lips curling into a hint of disdain. “Ming Yue appreciates Young Master Ye’s kind intentions.”

Ye Xi Feng’s smile remained unchanged as she propped her chin on her hand, unabashedly staring at him until a middle-aged woman in a gray robe walked up behind her and said in a low voice, “Young Master, it’s time. Shall we begin?”

Ye Xi Feng waved her hand and only then sat up straight. “Begin.”

“Yes.”

The weather was already sweltering, and with the added crowd, some people had long grown impatient. Quite a few had already begun cursing, but even so, no one left.

A middle-aged woman in a gray long robe walked onto the vast arena and used her internal energy to transmit the rules of this grand competition to everyone’s ears.

“This grand competition will be conducted in two rounds. The first round is divided into five small arenas. Each arena is divided into two stages of competition. Each stage will have only one victor. Each small arena will have two victors who can enter the second round. Competitors may bring weapons but are not allowed to use hidden weapons. Life and death are not of concern…”

In the outermost tree, Shen Yao Xing was currently leisurely munching on an apple. Hearing about life and death not being of concern, she furrowed her brow. “Isn’t the Four Directions Association supposed to be righteous? How can they disregard life and death even in a martial arts competition?”

Upon hearing this, Meng Xin Yi, who was sitting against the tree trunk, looked at her, seeming somewhat unable to comprehend her words. “Blades and swords have no eyes. Isn’t this very normal? If everyone was concerned about life and death and held back, wouldn’t this grand competition be a farce? Moreover, this is not an ordinary martial arts competition. The participants should be prepared for the price of defeat.”

Shen Yao Xing felt very uncomfortable hearing this. She felt the apple in her hand was no longer sweet. What she disliked most was how these ancient people regarded human lives as worthless, as if the weak had no value in existing.

The person on the arena finished stating the rules and left. Soon after, the ground began to tremble slightly. With the main arena at the center, five small arenas slowly rose from the ground. They were some distance away from the main arena. The small arenas were not circular but oval-shaped with pointed corners. When viewed from above, they looked like blooming lotus flowers.

When they had fully risen, the scene was quite spectacular.

“I didn’t expect the Four Directions Association to activate the Lotus Platform!” Even the typically calm Meng Xin Yi was somewhat excited, gripping the tree trunk.

“Lotus Platform?”

“It’s said that the Lotus Platform was created by the most famous master in the world of mechanisms. The last time it was used was thirty years ago.”

It indeed looked very high-tech. Shen Yao Xing propped her chin on her hand, holding the half-eaten apple, her gaze sweeping over the equally excited people in the arena. They were like people who hadn’t eaten pork in eight hundred years suddenly seeing a pig running past them, so excited they wished they could hug and kiss it.

The competitors were randomly assigned to a small arena and divided into two waves to take the stage. Each wave had around a dozen people. Although it was called a small arena, over ten people standing on it had more than enough space.

Most of the participants were women, but there were also a few men. However, once on the arena, who cared if you were male or female? They wouldn’t hold back just because you were a man.

Blood sprayed on the arena while the spectators below watched with boiling enthusiasm. The few who couldn’t bear to watch were unwilling to leave. Blood, screams, and roars mixed together, comparable to a human purgatory.

Shen Yao Xing’s face was unsightly. She hadn’t expected the martial arts competition to be fought in this manner. This wasn’t a martial arts competition but clearly a killing game.

Among them, the one who struck the heaviest was a woman wearing black and red clothes with a giant ax on her back. Her face and body were already stained with blood. Her features were rough and her arms extremely thick. Even without weapons, she could smash people to the point of vomiting blood with just her fists and feet. She didn’t aim to kill, only beating people half to death before kicking them off the arena. Those who were beaten, even if they didn’t die, would likely have to spend the rest of their lives in bed.

In stark contrast to her was a black-clothed man on another arena. His skin was extremely pale and he wielded a sharp sword. His movements were clean and decisive, not dragging things out at all. His body techniques were strange, each strike fatal. He was like a specter, not even giving his opponents any chance to beg for mercy.

His arena was the fastest to determine the victor.

The black-clothed man stood expressionlessly in the center of the arena, holding a dripping blade, corpses strewn at his feet. The entire arena was dyed red.

Those with a poor tolerance among the spectators had already vomited. Even those with a strong tolerance had their faces drained of color, especially those closest to the arena. They would likely never forget this scene that would only appear in nightmares.

“The victor of arena three has been determined. Will the winner please proceed to the advancement platform.” The middle-aged woman’s voice trembled slightly as she gritted her teeth and announced.

Outside the arena, Meng Xin Yi’s brows furrowed slightly as she looked at the black-clothed man on the arena. She said in a heavy voice, “He was the one who injured me that night.” Having said that, she suddenly smiled bitterly. “It seems he was already quite merciful at that time.”

Otherwise, she would have long been a corpse.

Shen Yao Xing’s complexion was very poor right now. From a distance, she could already smell the stench of blood. Since coming to this world, it wasn’t that she hadn’t seen dead people, and had even seen more horrific states of death. She was just shocked that this person could kill so many people without changing his expression, as if he was just cutting vegetables.

Shen Yao Xing placed one knee on the tree trunk, covering her eyes with one hand. She adjusted her breathing slightly before lowering her hand.

“Do… do you want to return to the inn first?” Meng Xin Yi looked at her with concern.

Shen Yao Xing shook her head. With slightly trembling hands, she brought the apple to her mouth and took a bite. A faint bloody smell assailed her nostrils. She felt that what she was chewing was not an apple but…

“Blegh!” Shen Yao Xing couldn’t help but vomit. Fortunately, the arena was quickly cleaned up. She jumped to the top of the tree and breathed in the fresh air for a while before the nausea subsided a bit.

She exhaled and stood on a tree branch at the top of the tree, glancing toward the arena as she continued eating the apple in her hand.

Suddenly, her sharp eyes caught sight of a familiar figure on the arena, a slender youth in an apricot-colored long robe. He was holding a long whip, brandishing it with some skill.

Wasn’t this the little boy who had his clothes stripped off that night? She hadn’t expected him to also participate in this inhumane competition.

However, fortunately, there was no one in his arena who was extremely ruthless. Most of them were actually men. Perhaps because he looked too weak, no one took him seriously. No one actively attacked him, but instead, he lashed quite a few people with his whip.

Compared to the other arenas, this was simply a breath of fresh air. Shen Yao Xing watched with great interest. Those men seemed to have a telepathic agreement, uniformly attacking the few women on the arena. In the end, they actually succeeded in knocking those women off the arena.

“Ha!” Shen Yao Xing laughed out loud. She had heard of the saying “a few women make a play” before, but now it was “a few men make a play.” She saw the apricot-robed youth wielding his whip with ease among the few men, his body nimble. After a few rounds, only three people remained on the arena. Two men were fighting as if they were fencing, completely ignoring him. The youth stood foolishly behind the two, somewhat at a loss.

Seeing the two fighting near the edge of the arena, he hurriedly lashed out his whip, striking the man’s back. With a startled cry, the man turned his head and glared. How could he have known that the person in front of him would try to launch a sneak attack? The man hurriedly dodged and lifted his foot, wanting to kick the person off, but his ankle was grabbed. The two fell off the arena together just like that.

Inexplicably, only the youth was left on the arena.

He stood on the arena with a dumbfounded expression, his deer-like eyes wide open, as if he himself couldn’t believe it.

Not only was he dumbfounded, but the spectators who had seen everything were also stunned.

“This… this little runt won?”

“What’s going on? How could there be a little kid in there?”

“Could it be that he used some underhanded trick? His teeth haven’t even fully grown in, how can he have the face to stand up there?”

…

The crowd rebuked furiously, not knowing what they were angry about. They just felt that such a person shouldn’t be the one standing on the arena. But with this outcome, no matter how discontent they were, it was useless.

Shen Yao Xing, who had watched the entire process, laughed so hard she almost fell out of the tree.

This twist was really damn amazing.

It wasn’t until the afternoon that the competition ended. The second round of the competition was set to take place two days later.

Shen Yao Xing glanced at the youth closely following behind her and couldn’t laugh anymore.

She turned her head back with a fierce expression. “Don’t follow me.”

The youth pursed his lips and took a deep breath, mustering up his courage to ask, “That day… was it you who saved me?”

…