Chapter 118: Chapter 118
Zhao Letian cast a distant glance at the current situation and, without saying another word, stowed away his Cloud Piercing Boat ahead of time, descending among the crowd of the Zhao Family as he quietly awaited the start of the martial competition.
"The time has come; let the martial competition begin."
Suddenly, from the camp of the City Lord Mansion, a figure in a purple robe seated on a throne, Shentu Yuanba, spoke in a deep voice.
As his words fell, an elder in grey robes from the City Lord Mansion's camp, a high-level True Martial Realm martial artist, leapt onto the arena.
"Representatives from the four great families competing, along with those of smaller families and loose cultivators, all come forward to the stage. Stand at your respective corners first, and listen to me announce the rules of the competition," the elder declared loudly.
Immediately, from the camps of the four great families, three young individuals each stepped forward and positioned themselves in their respective family's corner of the arena. In comparison, from the camps of smaller families and loose cultivators, a total of twelve representatives came forth. Their number equaled that of the four great families, occupying the last corner of the arena. Hеlp us оut by rеаding оn М|V|LЕМ5РYR.
Zhao Letian naturally also went to the Zhao Family's assigned corner of the arena, scanning the venue with his gaze, observing the competitors participating on behalf of all parties.
On the Zhao Family's side, apart from himself, Zhao Lingfeng naturally occupied another spot. There was also a youth slightly older, precisely twenty-five years old, who had just entered the True Martial Fourth Realm, the highest level of cultivation among his age group in the Zhao Family, apart from Zhao Lingfeng.
On the side of the Sun and Liu Families, Sun Shuhao and Liu Yidao were naturally present. Behind them followed two older youth with cultivation levels not inferior to theirs. Zhao Letian did not recognize them and had no interest, quickly moving his gaze to look towards the side of the City Lord Mansion's Shentu clan.
"Shentu Yuanbao? He really came," Zhao Letian's gaze sharpened upon seeing the leading figure from the City Lord Mansion. The man was a young male dressed in armor and wielding a spear, of burly build and firm features, exuding a strong aura of murderous intent and eagerness to fight. His demeanor was vastly different from ordinary martial artists, clearly a man battle-hardened from many campaigns, none other than Shentu Yuanba's youngest brother and Shentu Yu's uncle, Shentu Yuanbao.
This person gave Zhao Letian a very strong sense of threat and was likely to be his strongest opponent today.
"Who would have thought the City Lord Mansion would call Shentu Yuanbao back from War King City for this year's competition? It seems that the rumors might be true—Shentu Yu has indeed been killed by Zhao Letian."
"Shentu Yuanbao is considered a powerful contender of the former generation. With him here, the likes of Zhao Lingfeng will probably be suppressed."
The crowd discussed among themselves.
At the same time, Zhao Lingfeng, Sun Shuhao, and Liu Yidao were all intently watching Shentu Yuanbao with deep wariness in their eyes. Before the Four Young Masters gained their fame, Shentu Yuanbao had already become a well-known figure in Qingzhou City. Afterwards, he went to War King City and joined the army to defend the borders, continually subjected to the baptism of bloodshed and slaughter. His current strength would undoubtedly be superior to before.
In contrast, although Zhao Letian had killed Shentu Yu, Zhao Lingfeng and the others did not witness it with their own eyes and maintained doubts about this news. Therefore, while they were cautious around Zhao Letian, they did not quite harbor wariness towards him.
At the moment when everyone's gaze converged on Shentu Yuanbao, Shentu Yuanbao's own gaze was fixed deadly on Zhao Letian—he was determined to make Zhao Letian pay with his blood for the death of his nephew, Shentu Yu.
Zhao Letian, with his hands clasped behind his back, faced Shentu Yuanbao's gaze without any hint of fear. His grudge with Shentu Yu was not something he intended to take out on other members of the City Lord Mansion, but if Shentu Yuanbao insisted on seeking his own death, Zhao Letian did not mind obliging him.
Aside from Shentu Yuanbao, there were others in the audience paying attention to Zhao Letian; for instance, Zhao Lingshan, Zhao Shijie, Zhao Hongyu, and others. Their looks towards Zhao Letian were filled with envy, jealousy, and resentment. They were reluctant to admit it, but the gap between them and Zhao Letian was getting ever wider. By now, Zhao Letian was even able to stand toe-to-toe with the previous generation of geniuses, while they could only look up to him from below.
"Today's battle will surely make Letian brother's name resonate through Qingzhou City once again." Among the crowd from Liu Family, Liu Wei admired the Zhao Letian on the stage, her beautiful eyes showing a hint of adoration.
Due to Zhao Letian's warning, people from the Liu Family had not troubled her family for the time being. Nevertheless, just in case, she had given her family some Primordial Stones to seek refuge with distant relatives, and after today, she planned to no longer stay in this cold and ruthless family.
"Zhao Letian, will you be able to leave here alive today?" In front of the Liu Family crowd, Liu Fei, who followed behind the Patriarch of Liu Family, looked at Zhao Letian with a venomous gaze. Although Zhao Letian did not publicly expose her affair with Shentu Yu nor settle accounts with her, as long as Zhao Letian was alive, she could never be at ease.
At the same time, in the distance, atop the towering pinnacle of Ten Thousand Treasure Tower, Ji Hongling in a red dress leaned against the railing, looking in the direction of the City Lord Mansion.
"Zhao Letian, this servant believes that after today, the people of Qingzhou City will once again extol your fame. This small remote city can hardly contain you after all, and this servant will strive harder, looking forward to meeting you on a broader stage." Ji Hongling gazed at Zhao Letian's figure in the distance, her beautiful eyes shimmering with fascination. Perhaps Zhao Letian was unmoved by her charming beauty, but she, without knowing it, had fallen for his demeanor, and she was determined to follow in his footsteps, even if it meant being only a confidante to him.
The square in front of the City Lord Mansion gradually quieted down.
"The rules for the martial arts tournament are the same as in previous years. There is only one battle, a chaotic melee without rules. On the fighting platform, life and death will not be taken into account—the only way to save oneself is to admit defeat and jump off the platform. The tournament ends when only one person remains, and the final rankings will be determined based on the order in which the participants leave the platform. As long as a participant doesn't die, they will receive a corresponding reward. The better the ranking, the more generous the reward. That's all the rules—let's begin." The old man loudly announced, then stepped down from the platform.
In reality, there was an unwritten rule he didn't mention: the rankings achieved by the representatives of the four great families, when added together, the family with the higher cumulative ranking would gain a greater share of the city's benefits for the coming year.
Of course, with the warfare between the four great families potentially breaking out at any time, some families may not even exist next year, so this rule was better left unsaid.
After the old man finished speaking, the atmosphere on the platform immediately became tense. The individuals from the five factions looked at one another, while at the same time, the spectators' emotions around the platform also surged with excitement. The large-scale melee involving these five powers was going to be extremely thrilling.
"Zhao Letian, don't you drag us down later. You better be smart, and if you get surrounded, I won't come to save you," Zhao Lingfeng suddenly glanced at Zhao Letian before the battle began, speaking coldly.
"Just take care of yourself," Zhao Letian replied, without even looking at Zhao Lingfeng, indifferently.