Chapter 180 – Goodwill
The balloting began; and Bi Fan started to pray.
Ultimately, Bi Fan pulled out his lucky number; twelve.
The second round of tenth day was the last set of the third and final round. The following day was scheduled to be a resting day, and the day after that, would be used to carry out the tie-breakers, following which the final rankings would be announced.
The contest was resumed without any further a-do and since Ji Ying Lan had pulled out the first number, he embarked onto the stage, and prepared to face the Eastern Aristocracy’s Zi Feng.
Even though Zi Feng was a woman, she was awfully strong in terms of physical strength.
Zi Feng’s weapon of choice was a machete; a very heavy machete, which looked very contrasting to her pet.i.te and delicate figure.
Zi Feng fought the match effortlessly, while Ji Ying Lan seemed to be running from pillar to pole. The fight ended in less than ten minutes, with Zi Feng notching a comfortable victory.
“Why is the Eastern Aristocracy so violent in their fighting style? Brother Blue Dragon also always seems to be slashing his scimitar as if he wants to injure his opponents, and now this girl, Zi Feng, is also violently rampaging around the rings like a mad-bull…. Do they have a hereditary problem?” Jing Feng laughed.
“Brother Jing Feng, you should ask Brother Blue Dragon about this, or perhaps Zi Feng….” Bi Fan shook his head as he forced a wry smile.
“Oh just forget it; Brother Blue Dragon doesn’t like talking about his family….” Jing Feng replied.
“You are also friends with Blue Dragon ah? Blue Dragon is really powerful! He’s just lost one game so far…” Mo Nan was a bit surprised.
Jing Feng explained: “Previously, Brother Bi Fan and I met outside the Devil’s territory and made plans to go in together for training. Brother Blue Dragon also joined us there, and we became good friends. Back then, Brother Blue Dragon wasn’t very strong, but Brother Bi Fan knows about this recent change in his strength and power better than I do….”
“Brother Blue Dragon is indeed very strong, and apart from Wu Ji Xuan and me, the others will have a hard time against him.” Bi Fan stated.
“… and here we go again….” Lou Sheng commented in a cold tone.
He was finally getting a chance to say something, so he obviously wasn’t going to let it slip by.
Bi Fan didn’t take his words to heart and continued: “Xuan Yuan Xiao Yu’s strength and abilities are still unclear to me, but I believe that she may also be able to defeat Brother Blue Dragon.”
Soon, it was Mo Nan’s turn to take the stage. This time, his luck seemed to be testing him a bit, and he ran into Xuan Yuan Yun.
Xuan Yuan Yun had only lost two fights so far, so he was obviously quite strong.
“Brother Mo Nan, you must defeat Xuan Yuan Yun. We cannot let the Wu Ji Sect out do us.” Jing Feng stated.
“Don’t worry Brother; I’ll beat him for sure.” Mo Nan was full of confidence.
Xuan Yuan Yun had already lost his beast pet, so Mo Nan had no extra opponents to worry about.
The two men coldly glared at each other as they ascended to the stage. The hatred between the Quinyang Sect and Wu Ji Sect was deepening with every pa.s.sing match, and the disciples of the two factions were fighting each other out of sheer hatred.
“Mo Nan, I’ll beat you, and then we’ll end up with the same points. Then, I’ll beat you again in the tie-breakers and then I’ll be ranked above you.” Xuan Yuan Yun laughed.
“I’d like to see you try.” Mo Nan challenged in a cold voice.
“The Yin Yang Sword!”
Xuan Yuan Yun cast out his martial skill, and a network of sharp sword charged towards Mo Nan.
“The Sword of the Land!”
Mo Nan straight away cast out his best skill, and his graceful sword-play gave rise to a vast network of blades, which covered the entire scope of the stage as it charged towards Xuan Yuan Yun’s network.
“Boom!” the two attacks collided, and Xuan Yuan Yun’s attack was crushed in an instant.
Mo Nan’s attack was obviously much stronger and fiercer than his opponent’s.
Mo Nan took his opportunity and started to press the play.
‘The Sword of the Land’ was an extremely imposing attack, almost as if an emperor was gracing commoners with his presence.
Xuan Yuan Yun wasn’t even able to use his entire strength against Mo Nan’s imposing attacks, and finding it very difficult to cope up.
However, Xuan Yuan Yun wasn’t yet ready to admit his defeat and continued to retaliate.
The Wu Ji Sect disciples were known for their arrogance and pride, and wouldn’t allow themselves to be outdone with ease. But speaking in their merit, they did have a very strong desire to win.
Xuan Yuan Yun cast out his sword-play with all his strength in the hope of suppressing Mo Nan.
But Mo Nan wasn’t weak either and raised his game as well. Mo Nan’s imposing display of ‘The Sword of the Land’ was outdoing Xuan Yuan Yun’s each and every attempt to gain a foothold in the battle.
In the blink of an eye, the two men had exchanged hundreds of strokes, and Mo Nan was really beginning to dictate his will at this point in the contest.
Xuan Yuan Yun gritted his teeth as Mo Nan continued to increase the ferocity of his attacks, anxiously trying to defeat the man.
“Brother Mo Nan is really good! We’re going to win this!” Jing Feng observed.
“Fortunately everyone worked with the same mindset and eliminated the Wu Ji Sect’s pets earlier.” Ji Ying Lan stated.
Xuan Yuan Yun was also thinking the same thing: “If I still had my pet besides me, then this Mo Nan would have never been able to beat me.”
Mo Nan’s attacks were becoming more and more ruthless with every pa.s.sing move, and Xuan Yuan Yun seemed a bit scared since he was being completely dominated at this point.
“I…. I give up….” Xuan Yuan Yun was running out of options and was forced to admit his defeat.
“And now you’ll be ranked way below me.” Mo Nan smiled.
“Humph!” Xuan Yuan Yun eyed Mo Nan covetously, and then turned around to exit the stage.
The moment Mo Nan returned to the dressing room, the other disciples surrounded him and started to celebrate his achievement.
Mo Nan had only lost one match in the entire tournament, which meant that he’d be ranked very highly in the final list.
Mo Nan also seemed very happy since he hadn’t antic.i.p.ated that he’d be able to get such a high ranking, and was thanking his stars for shinning some light on his fortunes.
Jing Feng hadn’t been able to restore his energy completely since the rough and enduring contest in the morning, and was only at about eighty percent of his full capacity at the moment.
Soon, it was time for Jing Feng to take the stage, and he seemed quite nervous and was afraid that he might run into a strong opponent.
In his present state, Jing Feng wouldn’t be able to contest against the likes of w.a.n.g Feng or Hong Yun Tian.
“Brother Jing Feng, I wish you good luck!” Bi Fan patted him on the shoulder.
“As long as I don’t meet Wu Ji Xuan, or someone as sick as you; I’ll win.” Jing Feng laughed.
“Yes well, what if you run into Brother Blue Dragon, do you think you’ll win?” Bi Fan contemplated.
“Brother Blue Dragon is sick, but not as sick as you.”
“Number 10, Jing Feng and Zhao Yun Fei, please report to the stage.”
“Brother Jing Feng, you’re in luck! Zhao Yun Fei isn’t very strong, and you’re going to win for sure.” Bi Fan laughed out.
“For sure.” Jing Feng finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Although Jing Feng would be fighting injured, he knew that his condition wouldn’t affect the outcome of this match.
Once the two men had ascended the stage, the referee announced the start of the fight.
Suddenly, Zhao Yun Fei spoke up: “Brother Jing Feng, the Quinyang Sect is really powerful; you, Bi Fan, Mo Nan…. I really admire the three of you.”
“Brother Yun Fei, what do you mean?” Jing Feng was somewhat confused.
Everyone wants powerful friends, but this was a contest; not a banquet.
“What do I mean? I just want to be friends with you guys.” Zhao Yun Fei smiled.
It didn’t sound like he was joking, in fact, Zhao Yun Fei sounded very sincere.
Jing Feng was extremely surprised and couldn’t help frowning his face, as he tried to understand his opponent’s true intentions.
“Referee, I abdicate this match; I concede my defeat.” Zhao Yun Fei announced loudly.
“Brother Yun Fei, thank you for this gift.” Jing Feng was genuinely grateful.
Both men descended down the stage, but made sure that no one was able to make out that the two men had secretly forged a friendship on the contest stage.