Chapter 1079 The Confrontation
“That’s right.” An old man sitting alone on the left also opened his eyes and looked straight at Hu Yuan, saying, “The Tiger Talisman Royal Family is powerful, but not the most powerful one. I came here to watch the show, so this show must go on. If you two could really settle this matter just with a few words, then wouldn’t we have come here for nothing? Are you sure you want to do this?”
As soon as the old man spoke, Hu Yuan no longer looked aloof but finally gave a response.
He glanced at the old man, nodded, and said, “Now that my friend Mr. Guang has said so, let’s forget my proposal. The selection shall proceed according to the normal procedure.”
He eventually chose to show the old man respect.
This scene shocked many people present.
“Hu Yuan actually agreed?”
“Good heavens, who is that old man? He made Hu Yuan change his mind. He is really something.”
“Who is he?” Li Mu frowned slightly and pondered, “The old man is surnamed Guang. Could he be a member of the Guang family on the North Ice Star? That can’t be, can it? Have some members of the Guang family on the North Ice Star traveled here?”
Li Mu’s pupils constricted. He was obviously astounded.
The North Ice Star was located in the northern margin of the Sea Dragon Star Area. It was an inconspicuous planet. The environment there was inhospitable. The void of the universe in that area was fraught with danger, such as Ion Storms, wormholes, strong energy pressure, and even some strange beasts living in the void. In that place, no fleets could travel through secondary s.p.a.ces. After pa.s.sing through the void, there were still numerous difficulties waiting ahead. Thus, it was a famous forbidden area for the living.
It was said that there was a Guang family living on the North Ice Star. Although they were few in number, they were remarkably strong. Most of them were in the Yuan Ying Realm. Li Mu remembered that more than 70 years ago, a man surnamed Guang in his twenties was picked on by a famous mechanical force. He was on the run for two years and eventually fled to the North Ice Star.
Unexpectedly, 10 days later, dozens of people appeared with remarkable powers and wiped out that mechanical force. That event shocked the entire Sea Dragon Star Area.
Li Mu could still recall that the leader of those people was called Guang Qitian. It was said that he had reached the G.o.d Transformation Realm, and he had dozens of Yuan Ying Realm Peak-Stage cultivators under his command. He and his team triumphed over that mechanical force without effort.
After leaving behind a shocking legend, they returned to the North Ice Star.
Now that even Hu Yuan listened to the man surnamed Guang, Li Mu suspected that the man might come from the North Ice Star.
“If he is really a member of the Guang family from the North Ice Star, I’m afraid few in the entire Sea Dragon Star Area would dare to confront him in person.”
Li Mu had a solemn look in his eyes.
He looked at the old man and murmured, “Has the terrifying Guang family on the North Ice Star appeared in public again? Gee… I feel like I can’t keep the situation in check by myself. What should I do? Can Nina still be saved? When will Senior Zhang arrive?”
Hu Yuan’s words brought the uproar to a white-hot point.
There were many murmurs of discussions. The crowd suddenly realized that the old man sitting alone at that table might have a great background.
It should be noted that the technological force that had been destroyed back then was basically as strong as the current Tiger Talisman Royal Family.
If one thought about it carefully, one would know there were very few forces that could rival the Guang family.
Even the King of Elves felt his scalp go numb.
“How come Seventh Princess’s Coming of Age Ceremony has attracted such a magnate?”
Originally, facing the Tiger Talisman Royal Family alone already put him under enormous pressure. Now, he found that the Guang family had also attended the ceremony… “Dear Lord, I feel that I have to walk on eggsh.e.l.ls and measure every word I say in my own territory. I’m not in charge anymore.”
“The Guang family?”
Zhang Han glanced at the old man calmly.
“The Guang family on the North Ice Star is considered a powerful force that has withdrawn from the world in the Sea Dragon Star Area. Over the years, there have been no more than 10 forces as strong as the Guang family,” Yue Wuwei informed.
“Okay.”
Zhang Han nodded slightly and said, “It’s kind of interesting. There is a special kind of wine on the North Ice Star called Ice Sea Wine, which is quite expensive.”
“You even know about the Ice Sea Wine?” Yue Wuwei was taken aback. He looked at Zhang Han in disbelief.
“What else is there that he doesn’t know?”
Zhang Han smiled but did not say anything. “I can’t really tell him that when I made my comeback, Patriarch Guang crossed billions of miles to deliver about 50 kilograms of good wine to me in person, can I?”
“The Ice Sea Wine? I wonder if I will ever have the chance to taste it.” Zhang Guangyou narrowed his eyes.
He and Gai Xingkong looked at each other. Among all the people in their group, they were the two most interested in wine.
“I’m sure you’ll.”
Zhang Han smiled and gave a positive answer. On second thought, he added, “Dad, I’ll take you to taste all kinds of world-famous wine in the future. Just wait.”
“Hahaha…” Zhang Guangyou laughed.
He was deeply gratified.
“What about me?”
Now, Mengmeng got jealous. She pouted and stared straight at Zhang Han.
Zhang Han chuckled and said, “My little princess, of course, I’ll take you to travel around the whole Cultivation World and visit all the fun places.”
“Hee-hee, love you, Daddy.” Mengmeng immediately laughed with satisfaction.
“Then what about me?” Zi Yan smiled and asked Zhang Han.
“Well, we’ll certainly be together during all the trips. I’ll show you all the beautiful sceneries in the world,” Zhang Han said with a smile.
“What about me, Master?” Mu Xue couldn’t help but ask.
“You?”
Zhang Han glanced at Mu Xue, deliberated for two seconds, and then said slowly, “You go wherever you like.”
Mu Xue was bereft of speech.
“Humph!”
She could only snort to express her dissatisfaction.
Instructor Liu originally wanted to ask the question as well. But after Mu Xue got her answer, he thought he’d better give up.
“I should watch my tongue. Otherwise, I might be sent flying by Boss’s punch just like the last time.”
He knew very well that his boss would not take the occasion into consideration and would do whatever he liked.
“Hahaha.”
Seeing that the joke was on Mu Xue, Mengmeng kept giggling. She then said, “Aunty Xue, Mummy and I are the only two favored by Daddy. You can’t enjoy the same privilege.”
“Humph.”
But Mu Xue had her own solution. She looked at Sect Leader Mu, who was beside her, and said in a delicate, sweet voice, “Dad, where are you taking me to have fun later?”
“Ahem,” Sect Leader Mu coughed softly and said, “you’re too much for me to take.”
Mu Xue’s face darkened. She wrinkled her nose in disgruntlement.
“Daddy,” Mengmeng looked Nina’s way and said, “when shall we take her away?”
“Taking her away is not the best way to solve the problem.” Zhang Han thought for a moment and said, “Let’s wait and see what the rules are for the fiance compet.i.tion.”
“Oh, okay,” Mengmeng responded meekly and nodded.
At this moment, the King of Elves could not make up his mind. No one spoke anymore. “Should I proceed with the traditional rules or make a different decision?”
“King of Elves,” Hu Yuan spoke again. His voice was still detached.
“Now that Brother Guang wants to watch the show, you can let things roll according to the rules.”
He said that as if giving an order.
Upon hearing those words, many elves revealed furious looks. However, the King of Elves did not say anything to protest. Instead, he even nodded slightly in agreement.
“Uncle Yuan!”
Hu Qi became anxious. He ran to Hu Yuan’s side.
However, Hu Yuan paid no attention to him. He waved gently and used his oppressive aura to directly push Hu Qi more than 10 meters away.
Seeing that Hu Yuan was in action, Hu Qi did not dare to say anything.
He directly ran to a middle-aged man with a pointed chin and whispered, “Uncle Pang, please go to the stage on my behalf in a while…”
Even though this matter could not be settled so soon, he also had his backup plan. At worst, he could find someone to partic.i.p.ate in the compet.i.tion on his behalf. Anyway, it would suffice as long as the final fiance was him. This way, he could also get to spend the night with the beauty. At the prospect that he would be able to relish Nina’s appealing body, Hu Qi felt an unbearable tickle inside him.
“According to the traditions of our Elemental Elf Clan, the princess who is to marry into a foreign clan will throw an embroidered ball to the stage, and all the partic.i.p.ants will fight for the ball. Here are the rules. The partic.i.p.ants’ age ranges from 15 to 50 years old. Their cultivation should be above the Elixir Realm Last-Stage. Also, the partic.i.p.ants must not be some no-names. They must have a certain force backing them. If anyone is interested, please step onto the stage.”
The King of Elves gave a brief account of the rules.
That immediately caused a stir in the crowd.
No one jumped onto the stage at first. They were all waiting for those big shots to take action.
“Eh? Hall Master Zhong An actually went on the stage! He is very frosty. Didn’t he always say that he had no interest in women?”
“Cut the c.r.a.p. Princess Nina is no ordinary woman, okay? If one can marry Princess Nina and starts the Pair Cultivation with her, one’s cultivation will improve greatly.”
“Young Master Li Mu has come onto the stage.”
“Prince Ao stepped up as well. Seems that the compet.i.tion is bound to be fierce.”
“Prince Hu Qi doesn’t have the nerve to go up. Compared with those on the stage, Hu Qi is just a small potato.”
“Wait, that old man next to Hu Qi has gone onto the stage. He must be over 50 years old, right? How could he have the face to go there? That’s against the rules!”
“But the King of Elves didn’t say anything. He didn’t even look at that old man. This means he’s tacitly approved of it. Ha, this is quite funny. If that old man got the ball, some questions would be raised and the thing would get interesting.”
“…”
With murmurs of discussions, people came to the stage one after another. Most of them were young men in the upper cla.s.s of the Sea Dragon Star Area.
Irene, who was in the crowd, flickered her gaze to Zhang Han.
“Why haven’t they taken any action yet?
“Is Zhang Hanyang just here to watch the fun? I don’t think so.
“If they’re to make a move, then they may be able to dash the morale of the Tiger Talisman Royal Family.”
Irene’s mentality had changed even with her realizing it. She even looked forward to seeing Zhang Hanyang and his people display their power.
That was because… the Tiger Talisman Royal Family had been too overweening.
They had made the Elemental Elf Clan look very bad, though it was largely due to the King of Elves’ att.i.tude.
In just five minutes, about 3,000 men had gathered on the stage. There were not only famous figures like Li Mu and Zhong An. Most of them were from small forces. Although those forces were not particularly powerful, they still had some talented people. Many of them were even at the peak of the Elixir Realm. There were also some young disciples in the Yuan Ying Realm who wanted to make their names known through this battle and win the beauty’s heart.
Many elders of the major forces, such as Hu Yuan and the elder of the Guang family, were watching the compet.i.tion. If they performed well, they could easily become famous all over the world. That was also what they all wanted.
“There are a total of 3350 partic.i.p.ants.”
Ten minutes later, the King of Elves did the headcount.
Then, he announced, “Based on the tradition of our clan, there will be a preliminary selection first. The 3350 partic.i.p.ants will be put into 10 groups, and only one person in each group can get the white embroidered ball thrown by Princess Nina.
“After 10 rounds, the ten champions who have the white b.a.l.l.s will partic.i.p.ate in the final contest. At that time, Princess Nina will toss a colorful embroidered ball. The one who gets it will be Nina’s fiance.
“Now, I’ll divide you into 10 groups according to the position where you’re standing.”
The King of Elves waved the wand in his hand. Rays of faint green energy split the crowd into 10 groups. Each group consisted of about three hundred people. The groups were not exactly the same in number, for the slight difference would not affect the overall contest.
“Alas.”
Li Mu looked at Zhong An, who was not far away from him, and rubbed his forehead. “I never thought we could be placed in the same group. In the upcoming fight, let’s stop at where it should, shall we?”
Zhong An glanced at the hundreds of people behind him. He only knew some of them. But he was confident that he and Li Mu should be the strongest in this group.
After thinking for a while, he nodded slightly.
“Okay.”
Their behavior inspired disgruntlement among many of the people around.
“Why bother putting on a performance?
“I’ll make blood squirt out of your mouth in a moment, don’t you believe me?”
The other nine teams all had some well-known members.
Thus, no one could guess which one would win.
“Never thought we would get to watch them fight.”
Mu Xue had some fruit and said casually, “There are more than 3,000 partic.i.p.ants. In each round, about 300 people will fight for one ball. That may be rather chaotic. I guess it would still be the mightier ones who get the embroidered b.a.l.l.s in the end.”
“Not necessarily.” Chen Changqing shook his head and said, “The goal is to s.n.a.t.c.h the embroidered ball. In this game, people like s.h.i.+ Fenghou can get the ball in an instant.”
“Among the partic.i.p.ates, some know illusions, some use machinery, and some can perform magic. There are many ways to s.n.a.t.c.h the ball. Whether one can get it or not, it mostly depends on luck.” Deep Flame laughed softly and said, “I bet some quite powerful figures will be harshly eliminated, too.”
“Let’s wait and see.” Zhang Mu stretched his legs and said flatly, “When Nina throws the colorful embroidered ball, it’s time for us to take action. Mengmeng, Chen Chuan, if there is still something you want to eat, dig in now. Because there will be no food to eat in a while.”
“Grandpa, you make it sound like I need you to fight in person,” Zhang Han said with amus.e.m.e.nt.
Zhang Mu was lost for words.
“Don’t you need me to?”
“With him here,” Zhang Han pointed to Yue Wuwei and said nonchalantly, “in fact, none of us need to resort to violence.”
“You cunning little devil,” Yue Wuwei curled his lips and said, “have you long planned this out? I’m Mengmeng’s butler. I have nothing to do with you. Don’t even think about commanding me.”
“Huh?”
Mengmeng put down the snacks and immediately said unhappily, “Grandpa Yue, I always listen to my daddy. After Daddy tells me what to do, I’ll then tell you. The result is the same, only the process is a bit different. Thus, I think it’s better to just let Daddy tell you what to do.”
“Uh-huh.” Yue Wuwei felt resigned. He touched his beard and fell silent.
“Mengmeng is right,” Zi Yan smiled and echoed. “But I don’t think we can trouble Elder Yue all the time. If the situation requires, I’ll just show them my fan here.”
Yue Wuwei did not know what to say for the moment.
“You want to use your fan here? Wouldn’t that simply smash this Roland Star into mush?”
Zi Yan’s attack was highly destructive. If she kept striking with the fan, the Roland Star would probably collapse under the pressure.
“Why do I have to deal with your family?” Yue Wuwei sighed.
The daughter was the Heavenly Lord. The mother was someone his Old Master knew, who was not subject to the rules of the world. And the father was the most mysterious one with incredible talents. He couldn’t see through him at all.
“What the heck? How come your family is so favored by G.o.d?”
Yue Wuwei was puzzled. He had not seen a family like this one for many years.
“Hahaha.”
Zhang Han laughed and said, “Let’s play it by ear.”
Then, everyone focused their attention on the center of the square again.
Nine groups were already standing at the edge of the square. The remaining group of around 300 people was in the square.
“Divine Tree’s Enchanted Formation!”
The King of Elves flicked his wand. The plant energy in the entire royal palace became interconnected at once. Against the shadow of the Divine Tree, a light-colored cover was formed that isolated the square from the outside world.
“Throw the embroidered ball.”
The King of Elves looked at Nina, who was hovering in mid-air. He casually hurled out a white embroidered ball, which soared into Nina’s hands.
“I…”
Nina wanted to say something, but she couldn’t find her voice.
She heaved with a long sigh and then threw out the white embroidered ball.
“Swoos.h.!.+”
To everyone’s surprise, the white embroidered ball flew incredibly fast. It instantly turned into a streak of light and bounced back and forth within the enchanted cover.
“Get rolling!”
The partic.i.p.ants rapidly chased after the ball. Some who were crafty kept launching strikes to attack the ones with relatively weak defense around them.
“Bang, bang, bang, bang…”
Of the around 300 partic.i.p.ants, some soon retreated to the lower alt.i.tude. The attacks coming from all sides were too intense. They felt it was life-threatening, so they temporarily backed away.
They were relatively cautious. At least they knew that compared with becoming Nina’s fiance, their lives were more important. No one risked their necks rus.h.i.+ng over to get the ball.
When they could not achieve the goal in one vigorous effort, their morale would decline on the second try and droop to the bottom on the third.
Just like this, in this group, fewer and fewer members were fighting for the white embroidered ball. In the end, there were only dozens of people that were still pursuing the ball while attacking one another.
Partic.i.p.ants at the same level somehow got stuck together.
When the fierce battle had continued for five minutes, eight people were still in the fight, all of whom were in the Yuan Ying Realm.
The strikes became more and more aggressive.
In the end, a man in white defeated the other seven partic.i.p.ants. In a flash, he leaped up, leaving a string of shadows in the air. He caught up with the streak of white light and finally seized the embroidered ball.
The contest for the first group was over!
“Young Master Cui from the Gleaming Star Sect has seized the embroidery ball.”
“The second group, get in motion.”
At the moment, the King of Elves was high-spirited and vigorous. He sent the orders as if he were a lord commanding the world.
The second group went onto the stage.
Contrary to everyone’s expectations, in this group, the man that Hu Qi called Uncle Pang directly conjured up his mechanical troops with a wave of his hand after Nina tossed the white embroidered ball. The extremely strong firepower limited the speed of the others. Then, Uncle Pang leaped to the front, quickly approached the embroidered ball, and grabbed it.
The entire round only lasted seconds.
“This isn’t fair!”
Someone shouted, “He is Pang Zhanlong from the Tiger Talisman Royal Family. He is at the Yuan Ying Realm Middle-Stage and is more than 200 years old. Why can he partic.i.p.ate in this compet.i.tion?”
There were several people from large forces in the same group as Pang Zhanlong. They immediately began to mock the King of Elves.
“Hey, the King of Elves, you are at the Yuan Ying Realm Middle-Stage after all. Can’t you tell his age?”
“You break the rules at will. Is this the way with the Elemental Elf Clan?”
“Whoos.h.!.+”
The around 100,000 people in the surroundings instantly burst into an uproar.
“Even though the Elemental Elf Clan is at a disadvantage, you can’t openly allow others to break the rules like this.”
“This King of Elves has brought shame to their entire clan.”
“Hehe, can’t you tell? For the sake of survival, the King of Elves no longer cares about his dignity.”
“…”
The discussions became more and more heated. The situation seemed to be going out of control.
The King of Elves looked at Hu Yuan. Deep down, he felt extremely helpless.
“Are you saying that you have a problem with the Tiger Talisman Royal Family?”
Hu Qi’s face fell. He demonstrated his Elixir Realm Peak-Stage strength with his thunderous voice, which rumbled out in all directions.
The daunting reputation of the Tiger Talisman Royal Family plus the fact that many of its allies were here immediately halved the hubbub.
“So, what if I am?”
In the crowd, a long-faced man sneered and said, “If it were Hu Yuan who made this remark, I wouldn’t refute at all. But it’s you, Hu Qi, who said that. Don’t you know what a lemon you are?”
With a powerful force as his backup, the long-faced man was not intimidated by the Tiger Talisman Royal Family. When he heard a junior like Hu Qi speak, he couldn’t help but ridicule him.
“I also have mighty elders backing me up, so what is there to be afraid of?”
“What do you mean by that?”
Hu Qi frowned and said in a booming voice, “You want to start a fight or what?”
“Haha, you have a too high opinion of yourself. I take issue with you, not the matter. I just can’t stand you, Hu Qi. I don’t have any problem with the Tiger Talisman Royal Family. I dare you to come down here and fight me,” the long-faced man derided. “Do you have the guts?”
Hu Qi’s complexion changed slightly.
The other party’s words were really nasty and wounding!
“You clearly know that I’m no match for you. Now you’re arrogantly challenging me to a fight?”