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墨書 Inktalez
"In the next match, Zhang Yuru will face Fu Ziqiang. Please have both competitors enter the arena."
Zhang Yuru floated down onto the Arena like a pure white lily, while Fu Ziqiang approached holding the Qimei Staff. After both competitors took their positions, Zhang Yuru did not draw her Water Piercer from her back; instead, she donned a pair of silver gloves. The gloves shimmered with a dazzling silver light under the sunlight, indicating they were anything but ordinary.
These gloves were personally crafted by Zhuque and given to Liu Guanfeng. They were made from thousand-year-old ice silkworm silk, which was mixed with some silver venom silk during the weaving process. This silver venom silk is produced by a creature known as the Fire Silver Spider, which is large and extremely poisonous. However, its silk can resist all poisons and is tough enough to withstand blades.
These gloves were also woven by Zhuque for Li Xiaohan and Wang Jiao, demonstrating her care for these two apprentices in pharmacology. When preparing medicines and refining elixirs, they sometimes needed to handle toxic herbs. With these gloves, it would be difficult for them to be harmed by even the most poisonous plants. Due to an ample supply of materials, Zhuque made a total of four pairs of gloves, giving one pair each to Li Xiaohan and Wang Jiao, while the remaining pair went to Liu Guanfeng.
Today, after crafting a pair of Water Piercer for Zhang Yuru, Liu Guanfeng feared she might injure herself due to unfamiliarity with the weapon, as the Water Piercer has sharp edges on both sides and pointed tips that could easily cause harm if mishandled. Therefore, he gifted these gloves to her.
Upon seeing the silver gloves, Zhang Yuru was very pleased. After Liu Guanfeng explained their functions, she was even more delighted. She took her “Water Vein” and lightly drew it across the surface of the gloves, excited to find that what she thought was an incredibly sharp “Water Vein” left no mark at all on the gloves.
Now standing in the Arena, after putting on the gloves, Zhang Yuru did not draw her weapon but simply gazed quietly at Fu Ziqiang across from her.
Once both competitors stood in the center of the Arena, Ma Xianglong announced, “I declare the match officially…”
“Wait,” interrupted Fu Ziqiang, who was participating as an ordinary member in this competition, demonstrating his loyalty and strength within the guild.
“Do you have something to say?” Ma Xianglong turned to look at him with displeasure.
Fu Ziqiang bowed deeply to Ma Xianglong and said, “Thank you, Butler Ma, for trusting me to participate in this match. However, my life was saved by Big Leader. If it weren't for him, I would likely have met the same fate as my parents at the hands of that old scoundrel, Severe Winter. From the day I was rescued by Big Leader, I vowed never to raise my hand against Leader or his family, not even in a sparring match. Therefore, I voluntarily concede here; I will not lay a hand on Miss.”
After speaking, Fu Ziqiang held his staff with both hands and bowed towards Zhang Diba below. When he raised his head again, tears filled his eyes; everyone understood that he was moved to tears seeing his benefactor, Zhang Diba, in her current state.
Below in the Arena, Zhang Diba nodded at Fu Ziqiang. Standing aside, Liu Guanfeng admired him; it was not easy for a young man to reach such a level of loyalty and restraint towards his benefactor.
After bowing and rising again, Fu Ziqiang retreated along the same path he came from while holding his staff. In the center of the Arena, after looking at both Zhang Yuru and then down at Zhang Diba, and receiving confirmation from her, Ma Xianglong announced: “Due to opponent's concession, the winner of this match is Miss Zhang Yuru.”
Zhang Yuru clasped her fists towards the audience and directly turned to leave the Arena.
Next up was the match between Pei Langhai and Zhao Yue. Pei Langhai, also the son of a Leader, wielded a Great Axe, which was merely a larger version of a regular chopping axe with a longer handle. His opponent, Zhao Yue, a boy of ordinary status, used a Greatsword.
After Ma Xianglong announced the start of the match, the two engaged in battle. In terms of strength, there was a noticeable gap between them. As the child of a Leader, Pei Langhai had plenty of training partners and had access to medicinal herbs that Zhao Yue could not compare to. This disparity in power indicated that the outcome of the match was not a Foregone Conclusion.
After exchanging blows for over ten rounds, Zhao Yue's Greatsword was knocked away by Pei Langhai. Pei Langhai's Great Axe was now pressed against Zhao Yue's neck.
Zhao Yue smiled wryly at Pei Langhai and said, "I admit defeat. Young Master Pei is truly skilled; I admire you."
Pei Langhai withdrew his axe, cupped his hands in thanks towards the audience, and then turned to leave the Arena.
By this time, it was already noon. Ma Xianglong stepped onto the Arena and announced, "I declare today's matches concluded. The next matches will take place in the afternoon. Please take some time to rest."
With the morning matches over, Zhang Diba was carried away on a stretcher, followed closely by Liu Guanfeng and Elder Yu.
The midday break ended quickly, and like in the morning, everyone arrived at the training ground with excitement. Although the morning matches had concluded, the afternoon promised strong confrontations.
There were two matches scheduled for the afternoon: the first match was between Pei Langhai and Chu Jiang Tian, while the second match featured Zhang Yuru against Fang Tianlong.
At this moment, the two participants of the first match stood on the Arena. Both were children of Leaders and were relatively familiar with each other.
Pei Langhai said to Chu Jiang Tian, "Brother Chu, please go easy on me during our match."
"Young Master Pei, don't worry! Your Great Axe is not easy to deal with either. I hope you will take it easy on me as well," Chu Jiang Tian replied.
"Let the match begin," Ma Xianglong announced as both sides prepared for battle.
When the match began, Chu Jiang Tian and Pei Langhai immediately put away their smiles, each holding their weapons and watching the other warily. After glancing at Pei Langhai, Chu Jiang Tian made a quick advance, understanding that he was at a disadvantage due to the length of his weapon. He needed to close the distance to better utilize the power of his dual blades and counteract the advantages of Pei Langhai's longer weapon.
Seeing Chu Jiang Tian rush forward, Pei Langhai let out a cold laugh and used his Great Axe to push off the ground, jumping back to evade Chu Jiang Tian's dual blades. Once he steadied himself, he swung the axe horizontally towards Chu Jiang Tian. In response, Chu Jiang Tian executed an Iron Bridge move, causing the Great Axe to sweep over him. After getting back on his feet, he performed a forward roll and ended up at Pei Langhai's feet, swinging his dual blades towards Pei Langhai's legs.
Pei Langhai planted the axe handle on the ground and used both hands to lift the Great Axe with force. His entire body leaped into the air, kicking towards Chu Jiang Tian. Chu Jiang Tian quickly raised his left-hand blade, blocking Pei Langhai's kick as it struck the blade's surface.
Chu Jiang Tian was knocked aside by the kick, while Pei Langhai regained his footing and swung the Great Axe at him. The two engaged in a back-and-forth battle. Knowing that his Great Axe was vulnerable in close combat, Pei Langhai had focused on training for such encounters over the years, leaving Chu Jiang Tian momentarily unsure of how to deal with him.
In no time, the two young men had exchanged over fifty blows in the Arena. They were somewhat familiar with each other's fighting styles; however, in terms of strength, Chu Jiang Tian had a slight edge over Pei Langhai. Gradually, Pei Langhai began to show signs of fatigue.
Noticing Pei Langhai's waning energy, Chu Jiang Tian suddenly accelerated his offensive pace. He crouched low and charged towards Pei Langhai with a flurry of strikes—one after another from various angles—executing over thirty cuts around Pei Langhai in an instant. This technique was one that Chu Jiang Tian had developed himself and named Whirlwind Blade Technique due to its speed and fluidity.
Caught off guard by this sudden barrage of fast strikes and hindered by the close range of Chu Jiang Tian's attacks with the Great Axe, Pei Langhai soon found himself with a deep cut on his right arm. The pain caused him to loosen his grip on the Great Axe. Almost immediately after, another strike landed on his left hand where he held the axe. With a clang, the Great Axe fell to the ground as Chu Jiang Tian swiftly turned and positioned his left-hand blade next to Pei Langhai's waist, ready to split him in half with just a little more force.
Watching this from below the Arena, Pei Langhai's father felt a jolt of fear and sweat poured from his palms. However, seeing that his son was unharmed allowed him to exhale deeply as he wiped away the cold sweat from his forehead.
"Brother Chu is indeed impressive; I admire you," said Pei Langhai.
"Not at all; Brother Pei has made remarkable progress as well. Just now, I almost lost to you," replied Chu Jiang Tian.
"This match goes to Chu Jiang Tian. Next up is the second match; please welcome Zhang Yuru and Fang Tianlong."
After putting away their weapons, Chu Jiang Tian and Pei Langhai turned and walked off the Arena while Zhang Yuru and Fang Tianlong approached from opposite sides.
The situation was different this time; Zhang Yuru carried a Water Piercer on her back and wore silver-thread gloves on her hands.
In contrast, Fang Tianlong approached empty-handed.
Ma Xianglong saw Fang Tianlong without a weapon and asked, "Fang Tianlong, why are you not bringing a weapon to battle? Do you want to compete with the young lady in hand-to-hand combat?"
Fang Tianlong shook his head, "Butler Ma, I am not here to compete with the young lady."
"Then what are you here for?"
Fang Tianlong smiled foolishly, "The reason is simple, I concede."
Ma Xianglong was taken aback by this statement, "You are conceding too?"
Fang Tianlong nodded, "My father told me that he was also adopted by Old Leader. Old Leader treated him like his own child, which makes the young lady my sister. How can a brother strike at his sister? Moreover, my father also said that I am too foolish to become Leader. So why should I compete with the young lady? Therefore, I have decided to concede."
After saying this, Fang Tianlong cupped his fists and bowed deeply to Zhang Diba below the arena, then cupped his hands in respect to Zhang Yuru before turning and leaving the arena.
Zhang Yuru stood stunned in the arena. Among the children of the Leaders, the most outstanding in strength were Fang Tianlong and Chu Jiang Tian. Fang Tianlong's mount was a Fifth Tier magical beast, while Chu Jiang Tian only had a Fourth Rank one. Thus, if they faced each other one-on-one, it would be an even match; however, with the mount involved, Chu Jiang Tian's chances against Fang Tianlong would be less than forty percent.
Therefore, Fang Tianlong's concession surprised Zhang Yuru: What is going on today? Everyone is conceding. She wanted to try out her Tidal Piercing Technique; it seems she will have to wait until tomorrow.
Since Fang Tianlong had conceded and left the arena, Ma Xianglong had no choice but to announce, "The winner of the second match is the young lady Zhang Yuru. Tomorrow morning will feature matches for third and fourth place as well as first and second place. In the afternoon, there will be knight battles. Please watch on time, and I hope all participating contestants can rest well to better prepare for tomorrow's matches."
After Zhang Diba left the arena, all the branch Leaders took their followers and left one after another. The once lively arena fell silent in an instant.
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