The packed stands in the arena held thousands of people and they shouted out the names of martial artists who had some level of fame within the city. Many were top disciples of local sects and clans though some were known thugs and bullies.
When Liang walked onto the stage, it struck him how large it actually was. He did not take note during the battle he witnessed the day before; however, from end to end it was close to 100 meters. In his mind, he played out a battle between two opponents approaching from opposite sides and though it was quite humorous.
Taking a few moments to scan his opponents, he noticed most were weaker than he was but there were a few powerful cultivators, including the brutish man with the hammer. Using the old man’s advice, he worked out a general strategy where he would avoid most of the difficult fighters and wait until the crowd thinned before making a move.
Because he was not a cultivator, he would appear to be an ordinary mortal unless his opponent could sense essence. However, he was not able to activate the array that masked a cultivation on him. After arguing with the old man they decided to mask his cultivation level as initial core formation. It would not make him look overly powerful, but most weak martial artists would not bother him.
The night before he was able to manifest qi for the first time, but it was difficult to maintain and shape the way he wanted. He could activate the shield array to offer some amount of additional protection and the sword array to extend a qi blade but the old man warned him not to use it during the free for all.
There were close to 100 martial artists on the stage for the 15-20 age group and only eight would have the opportunity to advance to the sect competition. Because of this, the atmosphere on stage was extremely tense. For most, entering a sect was a lifetime goal, a goal Liang shared at one time.
After dinner, the old man had him practice a simple front kick, jab, and several other barehanded techniques behind the inn. He observed Liang for several hours before stopping him to say, “Don’t lose your weapon.”
The night was an intense lesson on techniques to hold back as well as depth control and how to avoid vital points. The old man told him, “There are no blood feuds between you and anyone on the stage. Unless you feel your life is lacking excitement don’t kill or severely injure someone.”
As more people crowded the stage, he found many of them turning towards him and squinting their eyes. Almost everyone who stood within 20 paces judged him carefully. However, he believed they checked his cultivation to avoid him, as he was much stronger than they were.
After all of the competitors arrived, an elderly man with a long white beard and white hair standing on a booth began yelling the rules. Liang was close so he was able to hear but most people were too far. Soon many of the fighters began yelling at him to speak louder and even the crowd started shouting.
The elderly man’s face grew bright red when he realized what was happening. He turned and slapped the short man beside him and grabbed the cone from his hands. Several breaths later, he brought the cone to his mouth and shouted out the directions in an agitated voice.
“On behalf of the City Lord I welcome all of the challengers to the five year competition. The rules have not changed from the last competition.” Feeling no need to elaborate further the elderly man pushed the cone into the short man’s chest and left the podium, clearly still upset.
Liang saw the corner of the short man’s mouth twitch but he cleared his throat and further explained, “Umm…, yes, the rules have remained the same. Only eight from each group will advance to the sect competition. Unless it can be proven to be accidental, the murder of another contestant will be severely punished, this applies to crippling an opponent as well.”
“If you remain on the ground for 10 breaths time you will be disqualified and you can forfeit at any time by announcing you give up. There are no limits on weapons but you cannot bring spirit beast companions. When the bell rings the competition will begin.”
When the announcer spoke about spirt beasts Liang remembered the Spotted-Tiger cub at the auction. He imagined having a companion to battle with him but the old man told him it was a stupid idea and asked, “What are you going to do when it becomes too weak for you?” Still, he liked the idea and wondered if the sect battles allowed them.
There was very little news about the sect battle other than the rewards, which the old man said were trash. Every one of the rewards had an incredible sounding name from weapons to herbs. Although his view was still limited, Liang was beginning to think the old man despised anything with a fancy name.
When the bell rang, immediately six people charged towards him, each much weaker than he was. It was unexpected and their movements were clumsy and slow. They all had weapons, but none were able to manifest any form of qi and Liang was able to beat them with simple movements.
Using only his shield and a front kick, he was able to knock down the two attackers in front quickly. He twisted his body left slamming an opponent in his shoulder and using a backhanded swing, he chopped an opponent to his right.
Spinning on his left foot, he turned his body and blocked a blow from an opponent’s sword while chopping his Khopesh on another boys shoulder. With a kick, he broke the other boy’s leg and within a few breaths, the group was defeated.
The confrontation confused Liang, as the boys were too weak to offer any resistance. The old man said weaker martial artists would avoid him due to his high cultivation mask. However, this exchange convinced him the old man was wrong. He was certain weaker martial artists teamed up to take on those stronger than they were.
Throughout the entire free for all, Liang faced one opponent after another, and most were one on one fights. They were mostly weaker than he was and he only had one decent battle with a boy whose strength was not much different than his was.
A boy with brown hair and dark eyes attacked Liang ferociously. He picked off several weak opponents and chose Liang as his next victim. His strikes were quick and held enough force to push Liang back several times when he released qi from the spear point.
The spears length made it difficult for Liang to approach until he blocked an overhand strike, which allowed him to slide forward and point his blade into the boy’s sternum. Unhappy, the boy indignantly gave up and walked off the stage by himself.
After the time it takes to eat a meal the final eight were decided. Each was in the core formation stage including the brute with the massive hammer who nobody challenged. Out of the 100 fighters, 19 challenged Liang and lost, which was completely opposite of what the old man told him.
Not a single person stood near the brute carrying the large hammer, but he turned to Liang and gave him a curt nod. Moments later, a young woman with shoulder length black hair, large green eyes, and jade like skin walked up to him and spoke in a condescending manner, “Hiding your cultivation, do you enjoy fighting against weaklings such as these?”
Liang did not know what to say so he only shrugged his shoulders, which clearly agitated her further. However, before she could say anything else, the short announcer ended the match and handed out eight red cards to the qualifiers. They were to return early the next morning and wait for the sect competition rules.
Not bothering to follow up with the young woman, Liang left the stage looking for the old man. Several moments later, he found him talking to one of the bookmakers with a huge smile across his face. Instead of walking over, he stood to the side and listened to the conversation to see why the old man was so happy.
“Old man you must have stepped in a huge pile of lucky dog s*** to make a bet like that and win. To think that boy would be the one who defeated the most opponents, you must have used up 18 generations of your ancestors luck.” Scoffing at the words the old man replied, “This grandfather has always been lucky, blessed with amazing talent and excellent looks. Now enough talk, pay the agreed amount.”
The bookmaker looked upset but he still handed the old man a bag with 1,000 medium grade spirit stones, which he quickly placed in his ring. Liang watched the old man leave the booth before walking up to him, showing he had heard the entire conversation.
Combining the stones and the question on the stage, he understood what happened. The old man told him free for all battles are normally people picking off the weak early on. Throughout the entire fight, opponents charged towards Liang relentlessly. Meaning only one thing.
The old man activated a cultivation mask that gave him a low level then wagered 1,000 spirit stones Liang would defeat the most opponents. Understanding there was little he could do, Liang tried to convince himself the old man wanted him to gain experience and this was not for gambling.
When he saw Liang, the old man cleared his throat and told him, “Ahem, well, you’ve made it to the next round where the real competition begins. But these were low-level thugs and ruffians with no talent or skill. After we eat, I will be taking you to train. This time you won’t be playing with beast’s boy.”
