Chapter 818: Four Wins

After Meng Jingzhou announced the competition rules, Luotian Forest fell into a dead silence. Everyone stared at Lu Yang, who was tied to a chair, like a pack of wolves in the dark, their eyes glowing green.

Lu Yang felt his scalp tingle from being stared at. It was one thing to see invitations piled high on tables at the Meng family's residence, but quite another to have those invitations transform into a dense crowd of real people standing before him.

“Master, just how many people did you offend in Imperial City? You’re already at the Tribulation Transcendence stage, why aren’t you coming to eliminate these enemies?”

In the incredibly perilous cultivation world, one must be decisive in combat to ensure self-preservation.

Meng Jingyu sat in the tree canopy. On a plate to her left were fruits transported from the East Sea and pastries from Tianxiang Tower. To her right was juice pressed from fruits brought from the Demon Realm. These were all the rewards she received for her efforts in tying up Lu Yang, packaging him into exquisite boxes, and discreetly disposing of him at the right moment.

Meng Jingyu watched the scene below with great interest. This was far more entertaining than cultivation or studying.

“According to my brother, seeing how cultivators fight will be greatly beneficial for my future cultivation.”

“Even if Father asks, I can say that practice leads to true knowledge.”

With that thought, she happily continued to watch, feeling very excited as this was her first time doing something like this.

“Lu Yang is right here, why are we having a competition? Let’s all go at him!” someone shouted from the crowd. He carried his family’s hopes, intending to avenge their previous humiliation, and had no time for such drawn-out formalities.

“Lu Yang is my future elder brother! I’d like to see who dares to lay a hand on him!” another person in the crowd yelled. He too carried his family’s hopes, wishing to acknowledge Lu Yang as his elder brother to lower the standing of Daoist Buyu.

“What kind of skill is it to gang up on him? That’s not fair! Defeating Lu Yang in a one-on-one fight is the proper way!”

“Nonsense! You’re at the Soul Transformation stage, of course you have the nerve to say you can fight him alone! Try lowering your cultivation to the Nascent Soul stage and fighting Lu Yang then!”

“Quiet, everyone, quiet.” Meng Jingzhou had anticipated such a situation.

“If anyone dares to shout again, I will, on behalf of the Meng family, declare your family to be our Meng family’s best partner!”

Meng Jingzhou stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at the crowd below. Wherever his gaze fell, people bowed their heads, not daring to meet his eyes, fearing they might become the Meng family’s “partners.”

“That’s better. Any more objections? If not, prepare for the competition.”

In truth, everyone was quite happy to have a competition. Imperial City was vast, and they rarely had the chance to gather for one-on-one battles.

Those who dared to challenge Lu Yang were confident in their own cultivation, not merely relying on accumulated elixirs.

Even outside Imperial City, among cultivation sects, they would be considered disciples from first-rank or even top-tier sects.

“Come, come, time to draw lots.” Meng Jingzhou brought out a large box filled with paired number tags. Whoever drew matching tags would be opponents.

The box was also treated to block divine sense, preventing any cheating through spiritual perception.

The young masters obediently lined up as instructed by Meng Jingzhou to draw their lots, praying they would encounter a weaker opponent.

Some rejoiced, some worried, and some were absolutely confident in their strength, believing they wouldn’t lose.

“Oh no, my opponent is Sun Chuanxian!” someone exclaimed, his face turning pale, knowing he couldn’t possibly win.

Sun Chuanxian, son of the Minister of Works and one of the Four Young Masters of Imperial City, was renowned for his martial prowess.

After Sun Chuanxian received his number tag, he didn’t even bother to check who his opponent was.

His cultivation was entirely the result of diligent training, without the aid of elixirs. Regarding cultivation, few present were qualified to be his opponents. He was confident he would win and ultimately face Lu Yang!

“An Nan’er is here too?”

Another person unluckily drew one of the strongest cultivators among their peers in Imperial City.

An Nan’er, granddaughter of the Duke of Zhenguo, was rumored to have been born amidst an extraordinary phenomenon. Had it not been for the Duke’s intervention, the entire Imperial City might have been enveloped by the anomaly.

Besides them, there was Luo Wushuang, son of the Minister of War, known as the ‘Peerless One’ for his exceptional talent in both civil and martial arts. There was also Zhong Yi, son of the Grand Secretariat, whose meticulous mind reportedly allowed him to acquire anything he desired.

Sun Chuanxian’s match progressed swiftly. He conjured a frost dragon that breathed icy air, freezing his opponent into a block of ice and tossing him out of the arena.

Ning Fan, son of the Censor-in-Chief, watched Sun Chuanxian fight so cleanly and decisively. He looked up at the sky, realizing that at this pace, he might not even make it to the end.

Putting aside the fact that the ultimate prize was Lu Yang, Sun Chuanxian had bullied him several times in the past, relying on his fighting prowess. Ning Fan really wanted to defeat Sun Chuanxian, but unfortunately, his strength didn’t permit it.

“Ning Fan, do you want to win?” Meng Jingzhou quietly walked up to Ning Fan, smiling.

“What guidance do you have for me, Young Master Meng?”

“Guidance is too strong a word. I have a little something here that might be of help.”

“What ‘little something’?”

Meng Jingzhou pulled out a small wooden puppet from behind his back. It was three inches tall, unpolished, and without a painted face, appearing extremely crudely made.

“This is a wooden puppet I just plucked from a tree.”

“In your next fight against Sun Chuanxian, you won’t need to lift a finger. Just throw out this puppet, and it will fight for you. This puppet can perform at a similar cultivation stage to yours, and it’s not against the rules. So, what do you say, interested?”

“There’s such a good thing?” Ning Fan was overjoyed.

“Five hundred thousand spirit stones to rent it once.”

“That expensive?” Ning Fan was startled. Unlike Li Zhuo, he came from a family with particularly strict upbringing and didn’t have that many spirit stones.

“Perfect, we also offer loan services here.” This was the Meng family’s old trade. Meng Jingzhou skillfully pulled out a bag of storage rings, containing high-grade spirit stones, along with a loan contract.

“Since we know each other, the annual interest is only ten percent, not too much, right?”

“This…”

“Oh, come on, you’re about to break through to the Soul Transformation stage. Once you reach it, won’t you be able to come up with five hundred thousand?” Meng Jingzhou wasn’t swindling Ning Fan; families typically gave rewards of at least five hundred thousand spirit stones upon reaching the Soul Transformation stage.

“I’ll buy it!” Ning Fan gritted his teeth and said. He borrowed five hundred thousand spirit stones from Meng Jingzhou, then handed five hundred thousand back to Meng Jingzhou to rent the small wooden puppet.

“Can this thing really fight?” Ning Fan skeptically held the small wooden puppet, not seeing anything impressive about it.

“What kind of talk is that? Although my reputation isn’t great, I’ve never sold fake goods.”

Ning Fan thought back, and indeed, it was true.

Soon, the first round ended, and it was time for Ning Fan’s match against Sun Chuanxian.

Everyone knew of Sun Chuanxian’s strength and didn’t hold much hope for Ning Fan.

However, as soon as the match began, instead of casting any offensive or defensive spells, Ning Fan simply threw out the small wooden puppet.

The three-inch-tall puppet brandished its wooden sword, making sounds like “heh heh ha ha,” as if trying to intimidate Sun Chuanxian.

Sun Chuanxian burst into laughter at the sight, unimpressed.

Suddenly, the small puppet unleashed a terrifying sword qi, startling Sun Chuanxian into retreating while simultaneously blocking with an ice dragon, narrowly avoiding injury.

Sun Chuanxian now treated the puppet as a formidable foe, adopting a combat stance and no longer daring to underestimate it.

From the platform, Lu Yang diligently controlled the small puppet, fighting Sun Chuanxian.

This small wooden puppet was created by him using his wood clone ability combined with the Spatial Shrink technique. Lu Yang felt that as such a significant prize himself, earning some extra cash wasn’t excessive, which is why he conspired with Meng Jingzhou to pull off this stunt.

Sun Chuanxian got his wish to fight against him.

Ning Fan would be able to defeat Sun Chuanxian.

Lu Yang earned five hundred thousand spirit stones by renting himself out.

Meng Jingzhou acquired a five hundred thousand spirit stone IOU.

This was a win-win situation for all four parties.