Chapter 288: Imperial Martial Tournament – Part 7 (1/2)
”I guess we're too late. They've already started the tournament,” Luo Cheng sighed as he gazed at the crowd in the stadium.
”It doesn't matter. With our status, Dong Zhongying will make a room for us.”
Xu Xiuying snickered. As she was aware of Dong Zhongying's secrets, she was confident that the fat minister would make an exception for them.
Among the following disciples, a white-haired little girl had been clinging on Luo Cheng's arm. She was his daughter, who was the core disciple of Xu Lanying.
Luo Song was a 15-year-old 140cm-tall Halfling, who inherited her father's dwarf bloodline and a human cultivator's bloodline. However, Xu Lanying had transformed her into a variant succubus, and she had been practicing a unique cultivation technique.
Among all four succubi here, Luo Song was the strongest.
Her cultivation base was the peak of the 5th-stage! Her strength and her combat prowess were even superior to Xiong Zhenzhen!
Her silver fluffy messy hair had a trace of burn as she often practiced blacksmithing with her father. The thick, blistered palms and fingers contrasted with her pretty face.
Despite having the charm of a succubus, Luo Song always wore black long-sleeved robes with a long skirt and covered her face with a thick black veil, so nobody could see her toned arms and legs. However, the robes were always oversized, so it looked baggy.
Meanwhile, the other three young succubi wore bright and revealing clothes, showing a lot of their skin and thighs. They smiled and waved at the men in the stadium, seducing them as soon as they arrived.
Li Wenyou, the aide of Dong Zhongying, rushed out to receive them as he didn't want Xu Xiuying to cause a scene.
After all, demons and cultivators were still enemies.
At first, Li Wenyou thought about capturing Xu Xiuying and her disciples to please Dong Zhongying. However, when he discovered her current strength, he broke a cold sweat.
Xu Xiuying's cultivation base had reached the nascent soul realm!
This breakthrough was huge. By obtaining a domain power, a dangerous succubus like Xu Xiuying could easily slaughter careless core pillar realm cultivators. Unless a team of experienced 6th-stage cultivators brought a massive number of meat shields, artifacts, talismans, or heaven-grade weaponry to fight, none of them would ever stand a chance against a 7th-stage Xu Xiuying.
”Greetings, Fairy Xu. I'm Li Wenyou, the patriarch of the Li Clan. I shall guide you to your seats.”
Li Wenyou took a step back and showed a friendly attitude, hoping to avoid a direct conflict.
The current capital was weak as no 7th-stage cultivator remained to protect it. Wang Yun, Ma Ping, and Jia Shan might be able to defeat Xu Xiuying, but there was no guarantee that they would help Dong Zhongying.
Cultivators were selfish creatures. Unless they baited them with benefits and wealth, none of them would offer a helping hand.
Xu Xiuying snorted, ”We're not here to just sit here and watch. We're here to let our children play in your tournament.”
”T-This…” Li Wenyou was unable to reply as her demand shocked him.
”Isn't this tournament for ANYONE? Well, since you stated that ANYONE, ”ANYONE UNDER THE AGE OF 20” can join, I've brought my kids here to join, too!”
”B-B-But the qualification round ended yesterday. Y-You are a day late-”
Before Li Wenyou could finish his sentence, Xu Xiuying activated her domain power. Pink gas instantly appeared and clouded the entire stadium.
Everyone accidentally inhaled the pink gas!
”If you don't want me to massacre all humans here, do as I said.”
Li Wenyou wanted to retort, ”WHY DON'T YOU JUST ROB US INSTEAD!? WHY DO YOU HAVE TO JOIN THIS TOURNAMENT!?” However, he valued his life over his pride, so he kept the thought to himself.
In the end, Li Wenyou yielded. He bowed, ”Then, I shall test the abilities of your disciples.”
”Go ahead,” Xu Xiuying grinned. She secured a place for her disciples to exert their strength to the fullest and test their limits. If they were lucky, they could catch a few men to drain their yang essence.
”Then, excuse me for a moment. I shall consult with my lord and prepare the test.”
Li Wenyou retreated in a hurry. But before he left, he asked an unfortunate elder to guide them to a VIP box seat, which they had prepared for Wang Yun, Jia Shan, and Ma Ping.
…
Several clan leaders and their elders arrived afterward, but the center of attention was on Xu Xiuying's group. Everyone was wary of Xu Xiuying, who was the infamous demoness of this continent.
Half of the spectators left the stadium in a hurry. Most of them even fled from the city as they had expected that this place might become a war zone soon.
The ones remaining were daredevil cultivators, noble clansmen, and people with a strong background. They insisted on staying as they had faith in the mysterious background of Dong Zhongying and the unknown nascent soul cultivators that flew over the city yesterday.
The Yan Clan was also terrified by Xu Xiuying's presence. They took their favorite daughter, Yan Jiao, who came to see the tournament, and left this city.
Their patriarch even contacted one of their strongest elders, who had just come back from the holy land, to provide them a place to stay.
Yan Zhao, the grandfather of Yan Jiao, was a withered old man with wrinkle skin without any trace of muscle or meat. From a glance, he looked like a boney terminal cancer patient, who was waiting for his life to end.
Despite his look, he was a 5th-stage cultivator. He made a phone call to Yan Liang, who had been recently employed to work under the Yuan Clan.
”Liang'er, are you free?”
[Uncle? Well, yes. I'm free. Is there something I can help you with?]
”What's your strength right now? I'm curious.”
[Ah, I haven't told anyone yet, but I'm at the early 8th-stage.]
”Nice! Nice! When have you advanced to the 8th-stage?”
[Last month. The Yuan Clan is very generous with its resources. Thanks to them, I've managed to refine my dao physique. My sworn brother also broke through!]
”That's amazing! By the way, your niece, Yan Jiao, also has an extreme yin physique, and she has opened 108 meridians. Her future is limitless! With both of you as the cores of our clan, we can finally thrive!”
[Really? Well, that's very good! But uncle, you didn't call me just to brag about Yan Jiao's physique, do you? You sound… troubled.]