Chapter 1178 – Let"s Go Drink
Zhao Hai was calmly sitting on the arena"s stand. In the middle of the stadium was a huge platform. Its length and width exceeded 200 meters. It was made out of something that looked like bluestone. But actually, this bluestone was called bluesteel. It was a mineral that was very hard and heavy.
Ordinarily, this stadium was used for sports events. Although a lot of people cultivate magic and battle qi here, there were still some people who devoted their lives into sports. However, these sports weren"t ordinary sports. The sport was either formations or some wrestling matches. In addition to Mage and Warrior-related sports, there were also some compet.i.tion about Mechs. These Mech compet.i.tions were quite popular in the Machine Field.
And since Mech matches happen here, the stadium needed to be very big. And this time, the realm qualifiers would be held here.
As for seeded partic.i.p.ants like Zhao Hai and the others, since they wouldn"t fight in the first rounds, they had been given seats by the committee. These seats would be reserved for them so that they could watch from the sidelines and then understand the strength of their opponents.
Zhao Hai sat on his chair with Xiong Li next to him. Xiong Li looked for Zhao Hai several times these past few days. But every time he went to the Ashley Family"s building, Zhao Hai was in closed-door cultivation. This was the first time the two had met since Zhao Hai went out of the s.p.a.ce.
Seeing that Zhao Hai was staring at the platform, Xiong Li opened his mouth and said, "Brother, there"s nothing else to watch here. I can beat all of these people with one hand."
Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, "That"s true. Hahaha. Brother, let"s head out a get a drink."
When he heard that Zhao Hai was asking him to drink, Xiong Li"s eyes shone as he said, "Good, good. Let"s have a drink. Right, wait for me here, I"ll introduce you to someone." Zhao Hao nodded. Then Xiong Li left. Before long, Xiong Li came back alongside another person. Upon seeing the person Xiong Li brought along, Zhao Hai couldn"t help but gawk. He knew this person.
It was one of the ten great experts, Fire Dragon Sword Dongfang Yu! The person famous for his fire dragon sword as well as his fire dragon technique. It was said that every time this person went out for a mission, the result was complete destruction of the surrounding area. It was even rumoured that the money he gained from the mission wasn"t enough to compensate for the damage he did.
Upon seeing Dongfang Yu, Zhao Hai immediately gave his salute and said, "So it"s brother Dongfang. This one is Zhao Hai."
Dongang Yu was a slim person. He wore Warrior clothing that was longer than average. His face was also quite dark, perhaps because of his long exposure to fire.
Dongfang Yu also returned Zhao Hai"s gesture as he laughed and said, "Hahaha, I"ve been hearing good things about Brother Zhao Hai from Brother Xiong Li. Brother Xiong Li rarely praised others. It seems like you"re also someone with real skill." His voice was loud and clear. His straightforward manner of talking makes other people look favorably towards him.
Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, "Brother Xiong Li is overly praising me. Let"s go and have a drink." Then Zhao Hai led their group out of the stadium. Naturally, Zhao Hai"s group of three weren"t able to leave the area without being spotted. The other people looked at the three with gazes filled with envy, jealousy, and disdain. As for those partic.i.p.ants who weren"t seeded, they couldn"t help but look at the three in envy.
At this time, a voice was suddenly heard, "Mister Zhao Hai, please wait." Zhao Hai turned his head and saw that it was unexpectedly Fire Saint Sun Fei. The two didn"t have any friendly relations.h.i.+p. They also were no longer hostile to each other. The Ashley Family didn"t seek revenge since Sun Fei now belonged to the Fire Temple. The Fire Temple was also depending on Sun Fei to help them regain their strength. If the Ashley Family decided to retaliate against Sun Fei, then the Fire Temple would interfere. And it wasn"t a good time to have a conflict in the Machine Field.
Therefore, Cadjo told Zhao Hai that if he met Sun Fei, then he should spare his life unless it was under extreme circ.u.mstances. Not only Sun Fei, he was also told to spare the other 20 seeded partic.i.p.ants. If he killed ordinary talents, then their families might let the matter go. But if a seeded partic.i.p.ant dies, then it would be equivalent to breaking the benefits of their family. And naturally, the affected family would retaliate. However, if Zhao Hai was provoked, then he would certainly be impolite.
Zhao Hai didn"t care much about this matter. Moreover, Sun Fei didn"t have a grudge against him, only the Ashley Family. In essence, this matter doesn"t have anything to do with him.
Therefore, upon seeing Sun Fei, Zhao Hai said, "So it"s brother Sun. Does Brother need anything from me?"
Sun Fei bowed towards Zhao Hai and said, "Mister Zhao Hai, I have offended you back in Yellowsand Planet. Please excuse me."
Upon hearing Sun Fei, Zhao Hai couldn"t help but laugh as he said, "Brother Sun is too polite. At that time, you and I are under the command out our families. After all, we"re from the External Halls. What authority do we have to disobey orders? Brother Sun doesn"t need to apologize, it"s nothing."
Upon hearing Zhao Hai, Sun Fei gave Zhao Hai a bow. Meanwhile, Xiong Li and Dongfang Yu sighed deep inside. This was because Zhao Hai just said what was inside their hearts. They were outsiders to this realm and they could only obey the commands of their patron. They were treated like weapons by their families, weapons that can be discarded at any time.
After Sun Fei gave a bow, he stood up. Then he looked at the three and said, "If you don"t have anything to do, then how about having this little brother treat you to a few drinks?"
Upon hearing Sun Fei, Xiong Li couldn"t help but laugh as he said, "Kid, Brother Zhao Hai just beat you. Since this is the case, then you might as well come with us to share a few drinks. Let"s go."
Upon hearing Xiong Li, everyone laughed before they walked out of the stadium. Seeing the four men, those who saw them couldn"t help but stare.
People already knew about Zhao Hai and Xiong Li"s friends.h.i.+p. As for Zhao Hai and Sun Fei, they two didn"t have any form of friends.h.i.+p. When Sun Fei nominated Zhao Hai to be a seeded partic.i.p.ant, Zhao Hai was still closing up at that time. It can be said that the two didn"t have any friends.h.i.+p up until now.
And now, they were together to have a drink? This was the question on everyone"s mind.
Zhao Hai and the others proceeded to leave the stadium"s area. Outside, a car was waiting for Zhao Hai. This was a car that Cadjo had given Zhao Hai to use.
Once they got into the car, Zhao Hai turned to Xiong Li and said, "Brother Xiong, do you know of any place that has very good wine in the area? I have been closed up for a long time, I need something good to drink."
Xiong Li laughed and said, "Since you asked me, then let"s go to Delin"s Barbecue. You need to taste their barbecue and liquor."
Zhao Hai nodded and said, "Alright, then let"s go with Brother Xiong"s suggestion. Take us to Delin"s Barbecue." Zhao Hai didn"t tell the instruction to the car. Instead, this car actually had a driver. It was an a.s.sistant that was a.s.signed to Zhao Hai in order to cater to his needs.
The driver nodded and then drove the car towards Delin"s Barbecue. Dongfang Yu looked at the driver before he turned to Zhao Hai and said, "It seems like Brother Zhao is the most comfortable out of all of us. Not only do you have a car, you even have an a.s.sistant. I"m truly envious."
Dongfang Yu wasn"t wrong at all. One must know that most families would only treat their core members like this. Members from the External Hall wouldn"t be treated like this. Unless you lead a battalion, is a Camp Lord, an Elder of the Family, or a functioning core member, you won"t get the same treatment as Zao Hai.
Upon hearing Dongfang Yu, Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, "I"m just borrowing this in the meantime. Right, is this the place?" Zhao Hai looked at the building outside the car. The small building was made entirely out of wood. It looked much like a cabin in the forest, but much larger at four stories high.
Xiong Li nodded and said, "Right, we"re here. Their barbecue is roasted on top of high grade charcoal. It"s flavor is completely out of this world. It"s very delicious."
Zhao Hai nodded and said, "Alright, let"s go have a taste." Then the group got out of the car and then entered the building. Upon entering, they were immediately welcomed by someone. Much to Zhao Hai"s surprise, they weren"t served by a robot. Instead, it was a real person who met them. This made Zhao Hai even more curious about the owner of the establishment.
It was clear that this wasn"t Xiong Li"s first time in this place, so when he saw the waiter, he immediately said, "Prepare a private room for us." The man nodded before leading the group further into the building.
The first and second floor of the building were public areas. The private rooms were placed on the third floor. These private rooms weren"t large. And since there were only four people in Zhao Hai"s group, they were settled inside a smaller private room.
After entering their room and then ordering their food and liquor, Xiong Li turned to Zhao Hai and said, "Brother Zhao, I heard that you"ve just ascended recently. Also, I heard that you"ve snagged a lady from the Ashley Family. And that you might become a core member of the family in the future. Are all of these true?"
Zhao Hai Hai smiled and said, "It"s true, I"m currently in a relations.h.i.+p with the Ashley Family"s Miss Margaret. She"s Patriarch Thunder"s daughter. But since her relations.h.i.+p with her father wasn"t good, she doesn"t rely on the family for her income. Therefore, she became an instructor at the Ascender Academy. She used to be my instructor, but now she"s my girlfriend."
Xiong Li sighed and said, "You really move fast. Hahaha. But you are also talented. Who would expect you to reach level 4 in such a short time."
Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, "It"s nothing. I just have an innate talent for magic formations. Moreover, I already have strong spiritual force when I ascended. This is the reason why I improved so fast."
After Zhao Hai said that, a disturbance was suddenly heard outside. Zhao Hai and the others couldn"t help but stare. One must know that they were in Machine Field Planet. Who had courage big enough to cause a huge disturbance here?
Chapter 1179 – Rampant Machine Field Army Soldiers
Xiong Li also stared, then he frowned and said, "What"s happening? Someone actually dared cause trouble? I heard that Delin"s Barbecue is backed by the Fire Temple. Sun Fei, aren"t you from the Fire Temple? Do you know anything about this?"
Sun Fei shook his head and said, "I don"t know. I haven"t been in the Fire Temple for long. But Brother Xiong is correct. The major churches have businesses in the Machine Field Planet."
Zhao Hai nodded and said, "It"s very likely that Delin"s Barbecue has a powerful backer. The area it covered isn"t small. Moreover, it has four stories fully made out of wood. It"s impossible to do this if they didn"t have any backers. Let"s head out and see what"s happening. If the Fire Temple is in trouble, we"ll try our best to help."
Xiong Li and the others didn"t object and just nodded. Then they all stood up and walked out. Just as they exited their room, they heard sounds coming from the second floor. As the group went downstairs, they saw people in military uniforms. These people didn"t have any imposing aura around them. However, they all stood straight and it seems like they knew some fighting techniques.
When Zhao Hai saw these people, he couldn’t help but raise his brow. Then he said, "Aren"t they Mech soldiers? Why are they causing trouble?"
Xiong Li and the others also looked over. When they saw the Mech soldiers, they couldn"t help but gawk. No ordinary person in Machine Field Planet would dare offend those from the Machine Field Army. The status of these soldiers were higher than Mages and Warriors.
Zhao Hai listened in on the conversation. After some time, he finally understood. These mech soldiers were here for a meal. But while they were ordering their food, one of them tried to hit on the waitress. Unfortunately, this waitress was the irritable type. As the soldier continued to flirt with her, the waitress gave him a slap. This caused the soldier to hit the waitress, causing the current disturbance.
Upon understanding the situation, Zhao Hai"s expression sank, then he coldly snorted. Zhao Hai"s snort wasn"t loud, but it was heard clearly throughout the floor. It was like a thunderclap on everyone"s ears.
Even Xiong LI and the others were shaken by Zhao Hai"s little snort. They couldn"t help but faintly smile. They didn"t expect Zhao Hai to be this strong.
Naturally, these mech soldiers were also shaken. When they got their bearings back, all of them turned to Zhao Hai. Their leader was a burly man with short hair and was also wearing a military uniform. He looked quite strong. However, there was a slap mark on his face, which ruined his image.
This mech soldier looked at Zhao Hai and said, "Kid, what are you snorting at? Do you have indigestion? Why don"t you mind your own business?"
Zhao Hai looked at the mech soldier, then he smiled and said, "I was just eating upstairs and then I heard some wild dogs barking. It disturbed my appet.i.te so I came down to see what is going on. Now I know that it"s not just dogs barking, but one of them actually tried to seamlessly extend their paws to someone else. Only wild dogs would dare bully a woman. It seems like the quality of the Machine Field Army soldiers are getting lower and lower."
After Zhao Hai said that, Xiong Li and the others laughed out loud. The Mech soldier"s face turned red. But just before he was about to say something, a person behind him whispered something in his ear. The mech soldier"s face changed and he s.h.i.+fted the way he looked at Zhao Hai.
Upon seeing the soldier"s change in expression, Zhao Hai coldly smiled and said, "What? You know us? Why don"t you report us and see if your brothers will retaliate. If they would, then that"s fine. We can just report this matter and say that the law and order of this planet isn"t very good. There"s no guarantee for us to partic.i.p.ate in the compet.i.tion and we"ll just quit. You can find our replacements and I wish that they can get good results."
The more these mech soldiers heard Zhao Hai, the more sweaty their backs became. They were mech soldiers who had higher status that ordinary Mages and Warriors, but who were Zhao Hai and the others? They were Machine Field"s highly-valued seeded partic.i.p.ants. They would represent the Machine Field and compete against the other partic.i.p.ants from the other realms. There were only 20 people in this seeded list. It can be said that Zhao Hai"s group of four weren"t people anyone could offend right now. If Zhao Hai and the others really did what Zhao Hai said, then these mech soldiers would be dead.
While he was thinking about this, the mech soldier wiped sweat off his face. Then he calmed down as he looked at Zhao Hai and said, "So it is MIster Zhao Hai, Mister Xiong Li, Mister Dongfang Yu, and Mister Sun Fei. I"m a soldier from the 9th squad of the 4th company, 3rd battalion, 36th regiment, 2nd Division, 5th Corps of the ascender army, Wan He. It"s a pleasure to meet you gentlemen."
The man gave Zhao Hai a greeting but he also expressed his ident.i.ty. This caused Zhao Hai to raise an eyebrow. Then he said, "So you"re from the Machine Field Army. No wonder you"re so rampant. So you people came here to humiliate us now that the Church Alliance has been weakened? Do you know who opened this shop? This is the Fire Temple"s establishment."
These mech soldiers were truly unaware of the owner of this shop. After all, they were just ordinary mech soldiers, they didn"t have any significant background. So after hearing Zhao Hai, they knew that they were wrong. The leader looked embarra.s.sed, then he quickly said, "Please excuse our actions. We really don"t know who this shop"s owner is. We are willing to compensate for any damages we caused."
Zhao Hai looked at their expressions and knew that they were truly clueless. If they knew that this was Fire Temple"s establishment, then they wouldn"t have any courage to cause any trouble.
Zhao Hai waved his hand and said, "Since you"re not aware, I"ll let this matter go. I"ll leave it to you to settle things with the restaurant"s manager."
The soldier quickly replied, "Of course. Please excuse us for disturbing your meal." Then Zhao Hai nodded before he left along with Xiong Li and the others.
Once the group had returned to their room, Xiong Li smiled and said, "Brother Zhao, you"re good. Those mech soldiers are usually very prideful. But this time, they had to retreat. They looked like small puppies. Hahahaha. It"s satisfying!"
Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, "They aren"t afraid of me, they"re just afraid of our current reputation. We"re seeded partic.i.p.ants of the Machine Field. In the eyes of the higher-ups, one of us is more important than one hundred ordinary mech soldiers. They"re too scared to offend us. Hahaha."
However, Sun Fei frowned and said, "Brother Zhao, we"ll have to thank you for your efforts. But I"m afraid that now that you have offended them, you"ll have more trouble in the future. After all, mech soldiers have great status in the Machine Field."
Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, "It"s true that he"s a mech soldier. However, he is just an ordinary mech soldier. Meanwhile, I"m an important member of the Ashley Family. He cannot do anything to me."
Dongfang Yu said, "There"s no need to be afraid of those mech soldiers. But Brother Zhao, you have truly slapped their faces today. If they head back and talk to their brothers, I"m afraid those from the Machine Field Army would cause you some trouble. This time, 15 of the 20 seeded partic.i.p.ants are from the Warrior a.s.sociation and the Church Alliance while 5 of them are from the Machine Field Army. Moreover, those five aren"t weak. I"m afraid they will try to make trouble for you."
Zhao Hai seemed to not care, he just smiled and said, "I"ll just hope that they won"t bother me. After all, all of us are from the same realm. But if they did come looking for trouble, then I"ll have to teach them a lesson."
When Zhao Hai said this, he let out some of his killing intent. This caused Dongfang Yu and Sun Fei to stare. Then they felt the hair on their backs rise up. They had killed people before, moreover, their slaughters were quite frequent. Therefore, they were sensitive to killing auras. Because of this, they were able to feel Zhao Hai"s killing intent. The thickness of Zhao Hai"s killing aura was something that they had never seen before.
Actually, Sun Fei and Dongfang Yu still had some doubts about Zhao Hai"s strength. When Zhao Hai met people, he was very casual and didn"t have any imposing aura at all. If he wasn"t wearing mage robes, then people wouldn"t even think that he was a Mage. Additionally, Zhao Hai spent most of his time closing up. In their opinion, Zhao Hai was an ascetic Mage who didn"t have rich combat experience.
But after Zhao Hai"s short release of killing intent, Sun Fei and Dongfang Yu began to think that not only were they wrong about Zhao Hai"s lack of experience, they were also made aware that Zhao Hai had killed more people than they expected. Being able to hide his aura to an untraceable level was a very fearful ability to have.
On the other hand, Xiong Li wasn"t surprised. Xiong Li had much more experience in combat compared to Sun Fei and Dongfang Yu. He knew very well how dangerous of a person Zhao Hai was.
Just as Zhao Hai said that, the group suddenly heard someone call him out from outside, "Zhao Hai, come out here!"
Zhao Hai stared, then he looked at Xiong Li and the others as he smiled faintly and said, "Interesting, let"s head out and take a look." After he said that, Zhao Hai stood up and left their private room for the second time.
After going down the stairs, Zhao Hai discovered a person on the first floor. His stature was tall and big, making him look strong. However, this person was actually wearing mage robes. He looked 40 years old with his beard and ferocious face. This was the person who was shouting out his name.
Zhao Hai looked at the man and said, "This one is Zhao Hai. Are you the one looking for me?"
The huge Mage looked at Zhao Hai and said, "You"re Zhao Hai? Kind, you"re quite arrogant, aren"t you? Do you even put our Machine Field Army in your eyes?"
Zhao Hai looked at the Mage and said, "The Machine Field Army hasn"t done anything worthy of my notice yet. And who are you? You didn"t even introduce yourself. You don"t have the qualifications to call me out."
As soon as the Mage heard this, his killing aura couldn"t help but flare up, then he coldly snorted and said, "Kid, listen carefully. I"m Captain Tao Ke of the Machine Field Army"s External Hall"s Spear Camp. Now tell me whether I have the qualifications to call you out."
Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, "So it is Captain Tao. So does being a captain give you the qualifications to call me out? Am I someone from the Machine Field Army? Am I your subordinate? If not, then you don"t have the rights to call my name out loud."
Tao Ke paled from anger upon hearing Zhao Hai. He thought that bringing up his status would make Zhao Hai afraid. He didn"t expect Zhao Hai to actually retort.
Zhao Hao looked at Tao Ke"s expression and said, "Captain Tao, you"re asking me if I placed the Machine Field Army in my eyes? Let me ask you this. Your people ate at this restaurant and then bullied the waitress. Your Machine Field Army is truly magnificent. I didn"t expect you to act like s.p.a.ce pirates. Why would you want to bully a waitress? Now ask me again why I don"t place the Machine Field Army in my eyes. Also, Captain Tao, I don"t know if your brothers told you about the background of this restaurant. I really respect your loyalty to each other, but you"re just used as a tool. This isn"t something that a mere captain like you could shoulder."
Tao Ke looked at Zhao Hai and then coldly snorted and said, "So what? Isn"t this place just a business of the Fire Temple? What"s so great about that? Are you saying that my Machine Field Army should be afraid of the Fire Temple?"
Zhao Hai seem to stare when he heard Tao Ke. Seeing Zhao Hai"s reaction, Tao Ke laughed and said, "What? You think the Fire Temple is anything in the eyes of the Machine Field Army? Let me tell you, Zhao Hai, we aren"t afraid of the Fire Temple. Even if someone from the Fire Temple is here, I still wouldn"t be afraid of them!"
"Really?" A calm voice was heard. Zhao Hai looked at the source of the sound and saw people wearing red robes walk in from outside. The one who just talked was an old Mage. He looked close to 100-years old, and his hair was fully grey. However, one could see that the old man"s eyes were still as sharp as the eyes of an eagle.
The old Mage arrived in front of Tao Ke. He looked at the Machine Field Army Captain, then he sneered and said, "Little External Hall Captain, what gave you the courage to be so arrogant in my Fire Temple"s territory? Do your words represent the Machine Field Army? Are you the commander-in-chief? And since you aren"t afraid of the Fire Temple, then does that mean that the Fire Temple should be afraid of you?"
Tao Ke stayed in place as he stared at the old Mage. Sweat began trickling down his cheek. This was because he recognized who this old Mage was. This person was a Bishop of the Fire Temple, famously known as Blazing Condor Ma Fenglei. This Bishop wasn"t exactly known as an amicable gentleman. All those who offended him ended up dead. Moreover, he wasn"t afraid of anyone. It was even rumored that he cursed the Machine Field Army"s Commander-in-Chief right to his face. He caused headaches to anyone he encountered. A person like this wasn"t someone a small Captain could offend.
Tao Ke immediately felt his throat dry up. Cold sweat began building up on his back. He didn"t expect that such a trivial matter in a small Fire Temple shop would cause this grandfather to appear. Tao Ke couldn’t help but think about his dark days ahead!