Volume Two: Travels in the State of Qi Chapter 137: A Bye, An Unexpected Turn

This was the true Imperial City Tournament. Wu Hong was still serving as its host. When the great figures saw him appear, they all rose and bowed respectfully.

Zhang Heng was utterly astonished.

Had the Alchemy Pavilion truly grown this powerful?

Whether sects, clans, or kingdoms, all treated the Alchemy Pavilion with the utmost reverence. What kind of existence was it, exactly?

Wu Hong held such a lofty position, yet he had willingly come to take on this thankless task. Could it be that he and Emperor Qi shared some indescribable relationship?

Wu Hong delivered an impassioned speech from the arena, and most of the people listened with respectful attention. Zhang Heng alone was distracted, carefully observing the influential figures present.

Although Zhang Heng now had overwhelming confidence that he could destroy the Yin God Sect, he still wanted to ensure absolute certainty. If possible, he intended to find a few more allies.

Having spent so long in the Qi Kingdom, Zhang Heng had learned about several powerful sects within its borders.

The strongest sects in the Qi Kingdom included Heavenly Feather Manor, the Spirit Feather Palace, the Yin God Sect, the Joyous Union Sect, and the Primordial Unity Hall. As for the Alchemy Pavilion and the Treasure Appraisal Pavilion, neither belonged to the Qi Kingdom. It was said that their headquarters were extraordinarily powerful, and that they had branches in all seven ancient kingdoms.

As he looked around, Zhang Heng spotted quite a few familiar faces: Shi Chen, patriarch of the Body-Refining Shi Clan; Chen Beicheng, sect master of the Joyous Union Sect; Vice Sect Master Li Qiuyue; Ye Wuji, sect master of the Yin God Sect; and Ling Tian, Grand Elder of the Spirit Feather Palace.

Shi Chen, patriarch of the Body-Refining Shi Clan, was only at the ninth level of the Void-Returning Realm. He was far too weak. The Shi Clan was probably nothing special either, so Zhang Heng did not consider him.

As for the Joyous Union Sect, anyone could tell from its name that it was an unorthodox sect. Zhang Heng was already being generous by not destroying them, so naturally he had no intention of cooperating with them.

The Spirit Feather Palace was under Ling Tian’s control, and that old man would certainly stand unconditionally on Zhang Heng’s side.

Thus, Zhang Heng focused his attention on the people from the Primordial Unity Hall. He had originally expected their representative to be a heavily muscled, burly man. To his surprise, it was a woman—a woman of considerable allure.

When she noticed Zhang Heng looking at her, the woman smiled seductively, her expression overflowing with charm. Zhang Heng nearly lost his composure and hurriedly turned his gaze elsewhere.

After Wu Hong finished spouting some empty pleasantries, he finally got to the main point.

He leaped into the air and hovered above the arena. Under the gaze of hundreds of thousands of spectators, he shouted, “I now announce that this Imperial City Tournament officially begins!”

The instant those words left his mouth, cheers erupted from below. Everyone was filled with excitement.

At last, they would be able to witness battles between peerless geniuses.

“Today’s rules are very simple. Inside the chest in front of us are thirty-three slips of paper.”

Following Wu Hong’s gesture, everyone looked over and indeed saw a black wooden chest.

Wu Hong continued, “In a moment, each of you will draw one slip. Each slip bears a number: two slips marked one, two marked two, and so on. The two people who draw the same number will enter the corresponding arena and fight. The victor advances to the next round, while the loser is eliminated immediately.

“Additionally, since there are thirty-three participants, there is only one slip marked seventeen. Whoever draws number seventeen may advance directly to the next round without fighting.”

“Does anyone have any questions?”

As soon as Wu Hong finished speaking, the crowd began murmuring among themselves.

This was the Imperial City Tournament, a battle between peerless geniuses—and yet the rules were so careless.

What if two peerless geniuses drew the same number? What would happen then? For instance, if Qi Xuan and Mu Wanqing were matched against each other in the very first round, would it not be extremely unfair for one of them to be eliminated immediately?

And whoever drew number seventeen could advance without fighting? Was that really allowed? By those rules, someone would receive a bye in both the second and third rounds as well. Would whoever drew the corresponding number advance directly too?

After announcing the rules, Wu Hong flew away without paying any attention to the crowd’s objections.

As soon as he left, the geniuses all gathered around the chest.

They were each prodigies of their respective factions and had complete confidence in their own strength. Thus, the rules did not matter much to them. If they were truly unlucky enough to encounter Qi Xuan, Mu Wanqing, or one of the heirs of the major sects in the first round, they could only blame their poor fortune.

Zhang Heng could not fly, so he had to walk over. By the time he arrived, everyone else had already drawn a number, leaving only a single slip inside the chest.

Zhang Heng took it out and opened it.

To his surprise, it was number seventeen.

He even suspected that those geniuses all wanted to fight and show off their abilities, and had deliberately left the bye for him.

Soon, sixteen arenas rose from the center of the martial stage. The participating geniuses then flew to the arenas corresponding to the numbers they had drawn.

Zhang Heng alone remained standing there in a daze, but he did not dwell on it. Advancing without having to fight—what could be better?

The spectators also watched the geniuses draw their numbers. When they saw that Zhang Heng had received the bye, they were all puzzled.

Those who had attended previous events knew that Zhang Heng was acquainted with Qi Xuan, the Eighteenth Prince of the Qi Kingdom. This inevitably led them to speculate.

When Emperor Qi and Wu Hong saw that Zhang Heng had drawn the bye, they merely thought that his luck was exceptionally good.

Wu Hong knew Zhang Heng’s strength, so there was no need to arrange anything special for him. Zhang Heng had drawn number seventeen purely by chance.

Since he had no match, Zhang Heng could only enjoy watching the others. He casually found a seat, then began observing the battles while sipping spiritual wine.

It was merely an ordinary spiritual wine. With so many people around, Zhang Heng naturally did not dare to take out his own spiritual liquid. It would be too easy for trouble to arise.

Just as everyone was eagerly preparing to watch the geniuses fight, an unexpected development occurred.

One of the participants in Arena Thirteen forfeited and withdrew from the match. No one had anticipated this.

After all, everyone who had made it this far possessed at least some ability. Surely they all wanted to test themselves against geniuses of the same generation. How could anyone give up so easily?

Seeing this, Wu Hong flew down.

“Liu Quan, are you certain you wish to forfeit?” Wu Hong asked.

“Yes, Elder Wu.” The eighth-level Core Formation genius Liu Quan bowed respectfully. Then, ignoring the gazes of everyone present, he silently left the arena.

Although the situation was somewhat strange, Wu Hong did not think much of it. He raised his voice and announced, “Since Liu Quan has forfeited, the Young Lord of Heavenly Feather Manor on Arena Thirteen—”

Before he could finish, the other person on Arena Thirteen interrupted him.

It was Wu Ba, the Young Lord of Heavenly Feather Manor. He addressed Wu Hong respectfully. “Alchemy Master Wu, I have not yet fought. Since someone has forfeited, then according to the rules, the person who originally received the bye should take his place.”

Wu Hong looked at Zhang Heng in confusion. It was obvious that Wu Ba wanted to fight him.

Zhang Heng understood at once. This fellow Wu Ba had deliberately picked a fight. But since he wanted to play, Zhang Heng would gladly play along.

He nodded.

Seeing that Zhang Heng agreed, Wu Hong said nothing more.

Youthful arrogance and a desire to compete were perfectly normal. He therefore announced loudly, “Since Liu Quan has forfeited, Zhang Heng, who originally drew number seventeen, will take his place.

“Arena Thirteen will now host a battle between Wu Ba of the eighth level of the Core Formation Realm and Zhang Heng of the third level of the Sea of Qi Realm.”

With that, Wu Hong flew away.

Under the gaze of everyone present, Zhang Heng slowly stepped onto Arena Thirteen.

When Zhang Heng entered the arena and exchanged a look with Wu Ba, neither had yet made a move before an intense roar of cheers erupted from below.