Chapter 389: Tournament Rules (2/2)
Lan Jue grunted. “I’ll get in touch with A-Li. Should we get together tonight?”
This caused Chu Cheng’s eyes to light up. “Call those two ladies! Right, I forgot to ask – where’d Su Xiao Su come from? How the hell did you get so lucky, anyway. You’re always running in to these gorgeous female powerhouses. If five is finally enough for you introduce the next one to me. I’m marrying age now, according to the family, so they’ve got me set up on all these blind dates 1. Since our powers are genetic, the family makes to make sure I start on the next generation. Of course, now that I’m supposed to be getting married I’m not supposed to be meeting just any lady. Xiaosu is definitely not a bad fit. Introduce me, I’m serious!”
The look on his face confirmed his words.
But Lan Jue had long since grown immune from his friend’s false assurances. “Cut the shit. If you want something, take care of it yourself. But don’t say I didn’t warn you – if you do shack up with Xiaosu, you’re in for a world of trouble. You’re already locking horns with the Prince of Darkness, and if you make things worse than even the Conclave might not be able to shield you.”
Chu Cheng looked stunned. “What do you mean? Does she have some sort of connection to the Pontiff’s Citadel?”
“Have you heard of the Moonfiend Empress?” He asked.
He nodded. “I’ve heard of her. The pirate lord out there in the Shattered Starfields, right? Don’t tell me Su Xiaosu is the Moonfiend Empress! The hell are you doing with a pirate lord at your heels?”
Lan Jue laughed. “Pirate? If only it were that easy. She has another name: the Morningstar.”
Chu Cheng’s mouth fell open.
“You… you sure love to stir shit up! You’ve been back for what feels like a few days and already half the West wants to murder you. I’m starting to see a pattern – screw it, you can keep her. I suddenly feel a great deal of pity for you. They may look like beautiful women, but they’re all time bombs!”
He wasn’t wrong. These five women had more caustic baggage than a nuclear waste disposal truck. Every one of themwas trouble waiting to happen.
Back when they were all hiding away in the Avenue, lost in their life of decadence, then there weren’t any problems. No one would come to the Avenue to cause trouble, even if they’d had known they were there.
But once Lan Jue started coming out, his identity was becoming more widely known as was his location. Plenty of people already knew where he laid his head. All of his old rivals and new enemies would never be far behind.
Chu Cheng’s face changed again as he remembered something important. “A-Jue. Are you going to participate under your real name or your title?”
“Zeus,” he replied. “If I hide my face behind a mask, at least it’ll afford me some level of mystery.”
“You aren’t going to participate with the Avenue team?”
Lan Jue nodded. “I won’t be competing on their behalf. The Conclave has given me a good enough excuse as a competitor. Hopefully it’ll protect me from getting assassinated.”
Lan Jue said it like a joke, but it was only half in jest. As the once-Mercenary King he’d made quite a number of enemies. It was just as true for the Conclave as anywhere else. After all, he’d taken both Lin Guoguo and Ke’er from their clutches.
Chu Cheng’s face darkened. “That’s nothing to joke about, bro. You better remember that your name is damn near the top of the conclave’s blacklist.”
This earned a shrug. “What can I do about it? I know what I’m doing – and I’m going in as Zeus.”
1. This is still a common practice, even in big cities in China. It often falls on the parents (read as: they take it upon themselves) to find ‘appropriate’ mates for their children. For men, this means finding a beautiful and obedient woman who will make a good mother. For girls, they want a man who is a) tall b) rich c) well-connected and d) respectful to family. This needs to be achieved by twenty five. Anyone – especially women – over 28 is considered spoiled goods.