Outside of the forest, all were unaware of the sudden change in events. They discussed heatedly their favourite contestants, with some even going as far as to make huge wagers. Following Gaaro"s defeat, many had now placed their bets on Taf and May finis.h.i.+ng fourth and fifth. They were now seen as possibly the strongest compet.i.tors with strengths below the Half-Step Lords.There weren"t many arguments against such bets, in fact, they were the favorites for the position. However, a few gamblers went as far as pegging them to take it all. These were some persons who had "inside" information. They were the members of squad Malgrey who knew there were more surprises to be had.
With what they knew, why not try cas.h.i.+ng in on some of the winnings? How often would such opportunities come along? It was basically collecting free stones without lifting a muscle. Some of squad Malgrey members even began to tally their winning. Of course, they had bet it all with this being a sure win.
"In the past moments have come along where I hated that "pal" of mine, but times like these I just want to hug him." Lovren laughed out loud when calculating his winnings. He had 620 LQS in his pouch, and he bet it all on Taf and May securing second and first position. With odds of 1/1000, he was guaranteed 620k LQS.
"Pipe down will you. Do you want to ruin everything? Keep talking and I"ll tell Taf all about your gamble. What do you think would be his terms knowing you profited off his sweat and blood?" Selena swiftly reprimanded him. She had also put out quite the sum on the two but with Lovren"s outburst, they started to garner stares.
The last thing she wanted was for the bookies to suddenly get a whiff of the corner they were in at the moment. Thankfully with her words, Lovren got ahold of himself. Truthfully of all he heard from Selena, the one thing he truly feared was Taf finding out. With his personality, he would probably take 90% of the profits and expect him to smile in the process.
Watching it all unfold were the other members of the squad they saw the two"s desire to gain from the situation yet did nothing to stop. What was the harm was the general consensus. They too could have profited from such gambles but choose not to on differing grounds.
For Ava who was always so prideful, she would never want to admit any success earned from others. Especially Taf who had a knack for getting under her skin. While for Malnor, Magrey, Luke and Cameron though they weren"t against gambling they choose not to in these circ.u.mstances.
Of course, even with both May"s and Taf"s groundbreaking performance, there was no one outside of the group who thought it possible for the two to create any more surprises. With the top three being Half-Step Lords their positions were as good as cemented in place.
The preliminaries final stage had begun and at the moment only sixteen disciples remained active in the forest. Some spots were already a surety but for the tenth position which was highly competed. The current compet.i.tors were the dark horse Niesha, the previous year"s #13th ranked Zenki and #16th Aria. Honestly, these were the only positions that were constantly looked at on the board.
The three currently were within a few thousand marker points of each other. Which meant more than likely the next person to gain a victory was a.s.sured a place within the top ten. As different arguments raged on however a few persons realized an odd occurrence.
Simultaneously three names became dimmed and their marker points disappeared. Previously the board stated:
Rank #4 - [Marker Points - 29700] - Gendry s.h.i.+noda - Squad s.h.i.+noda - Active
Rank #2 - [Marker Points - 38910] - May Grace - Squad Malgrey - Active
Rank #1 - [Marker Points - 42400] - Tafari - Squad Malgrey - Active
Now:
Rank #4 - [Marker Points - 29700] - Gendry s.h.i.+noda - Squad s.h.i.+noda
Rank #2 - [Marker Points - 38910] - May Grace - Squad Malgrey - Disqualified Indefinitely
Rank #1 - [Marker Points - 42400] - Tafari - Squad Malgrey - Disqualified Indefinitely
What was going on? Why were the top two contestants suddenly disqualified? It was also indefinite which meant the two had no recourse on the matter.
To have this tagged to their names meant that they had done something quite appalling within the forest. They going on so well dominating the board and just like that bar. As for s.h.i.+noda, there was no reason as to why his name became dim.
Just when all thought there were no more surprises to be had, this occurred. Soon however they saw the names not only dim but completely disappear from the board as if they never were. Marker points everything, poof, gone. This of course caused an uproar from the ma.s.ses. These were three ma.s.sive compet.i.tors yet they disappeared from the board without any explanation.
"Hey, I paid a hefty sum on that Mouse gaining fourth, now he is disqualified indefinitely." After his shock subsided a man fumed as he saw all of his stones disappear. With him being disqualified it was basically as though he came last.
Another disgruntled gambler also concurred with the previous man"s sentiment while adding some of his own,
"Yes, what the heck could he and May have done to get themselves disqualified at this stage? They were poised on top of the board for crying out loud. There was no need to conduct any dubious act at this juncture.
As for s.h.i.+noda, there wasn"t even anything besides his name hinting the reason his name became dimmed."
Eyes hurriedly s.h.i.+fted to the volunteers who currently were lost for words. They had no idea what had unfolded inside and the one person who could provide the information Elder Zen had vanished moments before the names became dimmed.
Amidst the change of event, there were none more ecstatic than the bookies. with so many of the favorites now out of the tournament, their payouts would be but minimal.
Many faces became pale and none more than Selena and Lovren. They had gambled away all of their saving on what thought was a sure bet. Yet both Taf and May got themselves disqualified.
"Just when I usher him praises he curses me to the pits." An enraged Lovren raged throwing his empty pouch to the ground causing a puff of dust to be raised.
In his state, he didn"t even think of keeping up appearances for Sheila and her friends a mere few feet away.
As for the other members of Squad Malgrey, they too like all the ma.s.ses wondered what might have unfolded. Of all the persons gathered they knew best Taf and May were no saints, especially Taf. Yet with their status, the two surely must have truly crossed the sect bottom line for such an outcome.
??????
While he was been incessantly cursed out by Lovren and Selena, Taf"s mind was far removed from their plight. Currently, he watched as May with a smile gave Lisa the good news. Though it became somewhat emotional so he readied to distance himself when tears started to fall from Lisa"s eyes.
She has dreaded Darwin finding her and doing what he pleased with her body. Though she was never one who would wish death on anyone, for what he put her through mentally she truly wished he burned in h.e.l.l. With grat.i.tude in her heart, she thanked the two knowing that there much be great ramifications for their actions.
"For this, I will prepare you both something special. I have been practicing non-stop and with your step by step recipes May, I am sure you will both enjoy what I have in mind,"
An ecstatic Lisa now truly rejuvenated and feeling like herself of old, uttered as she ran in the kitchen.
"Quick May stab me with a dagger. At this point use a brink and smash it against my head. Anything but the tortured of her cooking." Taf pleaded for his stomach knowing there was by no means the meal prepared by Lisa would be satisfactory.
May could only awkward respond,
"Come on Taf it"s not that bad. You"re telling me you would rather face down and elder than eat Lisa"s cooking. Beside this is her only real means of thanking us."
"An elder I can contend with but my stomach cries injustice when it has to ingest such quality food. Even the floor has more flavor."
Taf pleaded his case and as much as May wanted to disagree with him, it was indeed true. There are many things that Lisa was capable of doing but one thing was for certain cooking was not in her repertoire.
"Enough about Lisa, what will we do next. Odds are we will be expelled from the sect. We have only been here a few months after all." May then s.h.i.+fted the topic while watching Taf rub his chin.
"I"ve been thinking, is that really such a bad thing? This tournament has let me rethink somewhat our stance. While we were within Braveman"s Graveyard we were challenged to be at our best and reap the rewards. Within a year or cultivations soured having to be on our toes at every minute."
Having understood Taf"s underlined meaning May then interjected,
"You"re saying we stalled somewhat and it"s all due to the lack of incentives to be stronger while being in the Dark Abylis Sect."
"Yes, that is indeed what I am saying, there are many variables outside of the sect. For instance, devils plotting in the shadows, yet with our current strength, we are minuscule in the grander scheme of things.
I for one do not like the idea of being weaker than anyone. This was the case when I was mortal and it will be the case as a cultivator. We are conquerors May, we knew before we joined that a sect was never meant for us. But we were in need of knowledge so we joined."
Taf with an unyielding determination made his case. Having heard his thoughts May paused somewhat a.n.a.lyzing all that was said. If the strength showcased by the disciples of the Dark Abylis Sect was anything to go by then the sect on a whole perhaps doesn"t have that backbone to rely on.
Even if they did this confide lifestyle though had its benefits with guaranteed resources when need did not suite them whatsoever. She then shared her thoughts on the matter,
"True any structure or system we are apart of, the only ones making the decision should be you and I. So why wait for some tribunal to decide our fates when we are the only ones that should have that kind of power. I say we venture lands even further than the Axus Country."
With enthusiasm in her voice, May charted a course. For someone who grew up in a small mortal city, the Dark Abylis Sect was truly confiding. The world was a far grander place with new discoveries to be made.
Hehe!
"Look at you getting all excited. I"m glad you also share my budding desires. However, how about we journey through the Chu Country first?"
Seeing her expression Taf could only grin as he too was a bit curious about other lands. They had never even been outside of the Fu Province and only journeying a fraction of its lengths.
"You know that is what I meant, brute." May poked out her tongue as Taf made fun of her enthusiasm.
Unedited Version
To be continued...
?Please note that this chapter might be split in two after editing with it being close to 2k words as it is now. I will indicate this by having a "2" on the newly created chapter following the split. So skip if this is the case and save your coins. ?
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