Phoenix Destiny Chapter 144-145

Chapter 144 - Preliminary

Lu Mingshu entered the Heavenly Wheel.

After the past few days at the arenas, the debt had decreased from a thousand to seven hundred points.

"Xiao Sang."

"Yes?"

"The Qilin Festival is tomorrow. Can I exchange for something?"

"You still owe points, so the functions are temporarily out of service," Xiao Sang replied.

"I'm aware, but there should be some exclusions for special circ.u.mstances, right? You let me borrow points during the Heavenly Door compet.i.tion, which is why I'm in debt in the first place."

Xiao Sang remained unmoved, "You were at a disadvantage back then."

"I'm at a disadvantage right now too," Lu Mingshu tried to convince her. "There are many powerful people at the Qilin Festival. Moreover, I've only just entered the Harmonization Realm. Even if I'm skilled, my basics aren't as strong as everyone else's. How will I be able to pay my debt if I'm eliminated early? And if I am unable to pay, I will be banned - in other words, all my benefits will go down the drain."

After a moment of silence, Xiao Sang's voice rang again; "We have a.n.a.lyzed your situation, and you will be given a strengthening seal twice a day until you pay back your debts."

"For free?" Lu Mingshu was pleasantly surprised.

"No, on credit."

Lu Mingshu sighed. "Stingy."

Xiao Sang replied in monotone, "If you're unhappy, we can cancel this benefit."

"Of course not! I'm very satisfied!"

A strengthening seal cost two points per seal. Competing at the arenas already earned her around two hundred points, and there will definitely be more during the festival.

Lu Mingshu had gotten the hang of the Heavenly Wheel's point allocation during the past few days; the more impact she had on the real world, the more points she would gain.

For example, during the Heavenly Door compet.i.tion, she changed the structure of two clans of the Nine Jade Palace, which got a hundred points. She also led the rune-carving industry to a brighter future, which also earned her a hundred points. However, the arena at the pharmacy only gave her five points, which was relatively fewer compared to the martial arts arenas - it seemed that the more spectators an arena had, the more points she would gain.

If that was indeed how it allocated points, then she would earn quite a lot if she managed to get into the New Generation Ranking. The Qilin Festival was the largest martial arts festival in China. Getting into the New Generation Ranking would make her famous world-wide. For this, being in debt was nothing.

During the Heavenly Door compet.i.tion, she exchanged for a st.u.r.dy strengthening seal. Lu Mingshu initially thought it was useless, but it also increased her accuracy, which was one of the main reasons she was better than all the others.

After the Heavenly Door compet.i.tion, there was a rumor going around in the sect - "Don't ever compete with Lu Mingshu if you want to keep your sword intact."

However, it was a pity that the strengthening seal only lasted for twelve hours, and it was a one-time-use item.

The wooden wheel swiveled slowly. When the Miscellaneous Goods Section opened up, all the other items were gray expect for the strengthening seal.

Lu Mingshu closed her eyes for a moment, and the strengthening seal was soon in her hand.

Strengthening seal: increase one's defense.

Strengthening seal: increase one's attack by 2%.

Before she could ask, Xiao Sang started, "The first strengthening seal can be used on tools to increase their defense, such as your combat gear. The second one can be used on your weapon, and your own ability will rise too."

Lu Mingshu's eyes shone. The second strengthening seal's effects may seem negligible, but in reality, to achieve such a small increase otherwise would require blood, sweat, and tears. However, for the first seal, she didn't quite understand it.

"Xiao Sang, how much defense does it add? It can only be used on defensive tools?"

"The amount can't be quantified. You can also use it without a defensive tool, but the result won't be as good."

Lu Mingshu pouted and felt pity for herself. I'm so poor, how could I afford a defensive tool? She had earned some money by going to the arenas for the past few weeks, and if she could get into the New Generation Ranking, not only would she get the prize from the officials, she would also get some money from State Master Jia Yan as well.

"These can be saved for the future, right?" she asked a last question.

"Yes. As long as they are unused, they won't expire."

Lu Mingshu exited the Heavenly Wheel, and she was on cloud nine.

The next day, the various sects' tents were crowded.

A spell had been casted on the roof; rings of mystic lights enclosed the rooftop.

At seven in the morning, a middle-aged man in a red cloak jumped onto the roof. He turned to the audience and bowed, "I'm Lin Zixin, the palace's adjutant. I'm honored to be selected as the host of this magnificent event."

Lin Zixin was someone who the Nine Jade Palace disciples knew. He was the one who stopped the fight between themselves and the barbarians when they first arrived.

After the opening ceremony, Lin Zixin started the briefing, "Today, we'll have the Harmonization Realm disciples compete with each other. The top ten will enter the New Generation Ranking - the best disciples in the world!"

He then proceeded with the rules.

The Qilin Festival was different from normal arenas; there were more rules, and it was much more complicated.

The first few days were the preliminaries. One could only proceed if he or she won at least one fight.

A clerk was a.s.signed to every tent. Disciples who were interested in taking part had to sign up with the clerk. The names would then be sent to the host and randomly chosen.

Disciples who managed to get onto the New Generation Ranking during the previous festival didn't need to go through this procedure.

The actual compet.i.tion duration was unlimited. One could choose their opponents freely, and the final result was determined by points. When the compet.i.tion starts, each compet.i.tor would be given ten points each. The winner would get 20% of the opponent's points. The ten people who acc.u.mulated the most points would be the New Generation Ranking.

If someone just finished a fight, one couldn't issue a challenge. An hour of resting time was given after a fight.

The preliminary wasn't the main deal. The actual compet.i.tion afterward was difficult and challenging, and the most difficult part of the compet.i.tion was its freestyle nature. It challenged not only one's ability, it also tested resilience and intelligence. In order to make the top ten, one must figure out the proper amount of fights and who to choose. One couldn't fight too little or they wouldn't get enough points, and one couldn't fight too much or they would be too fatigued and risk losing. You also couldn't fight only weak opponents or you wouldn't get enough points, so even if Lady Luck was on your side, you had to have true power to reach the top ten.

In conclusion, it could be said that first place may not be the most powerful, but anyone who could reach the top ten would be truly capable. The New Generation Ranking was very prestigious, and it was recognized all around the world.

As soon as Lin Zixin finished explaining the rules, almost every disciple in the Nine Jade Palace signed up for it.

Generally, everyone would have two chances to prevent any talents from being eliminated if they were just unlucky.

If someone drew a strong opponent twice, then they would just be incredibly unlucky.

After signing up, the clerk sent the name-list to the roof.

"The barbarians are partic.i.p.ating too!" Tan Yubing whispered.

A clerk was also sent to the barbarians' side, and the clerk came back with a name-list for them as well.

Tan Yubing was filled with worries. After the fight between the harpy and Yu Kuang, she could see how strong they were. Even though Yu Kuang won, it was because he was crafty. Furthermore, what he did was something that only he could do because others didn't have such precision and control.

"Don't worry," Shao Zhengyang rea.s.sured Tan Yubing. "They do not have many people, while we have around two hundred. The probability of meeting one is small."

After half an hour, Shao Zhengyang wanted to slap himself.

Shao Zhengyang had jinxed himself - he met a harpy!

Chapter 145 - The Unlucky Shao Zhengyang

The clerks transferred the names onto a set of cards and placed them inside a box.

Lin Zixin would then draw out names for each round in front of everyone.

In no time, the contestants for the first round were selected.

Both went up to the roof and bowed to each other formally, but both contestants looked stiff.

It should be their first time competing in front of such a big crowd. The thought that every move of yours would be seen by a thousand people turn someone without experience into a bundle of nerves.

Lin Zixin gave the cue and the compet.i.tion started.

The round wasn't an interesting one. Both contestants were shaking from nervousness, and their moves were stiff. The Heavenly Sea Pavilion disciple won because of his better cultivation.

The following rounds were the same too.

The other disciples felt embarra.s.sed watching the fights. This kind of standard is even worse than our sect's internal compet.i.tion!

Disciples who had partic.i.p.ated in the Qilin Festival previously felt nothing at all. "It's always this way during the preliminary. The only interesting part is the challenger's fight, which is held after this. Only then will rarely-seen experts emerge.

For the Nine Jade Palace, the person to be called up first was Shao Zhengyang. The other disciples all cheered for him.

Shao Zhengyang went up confidently, but as soon as he heard his opponent's name, he was dumbfounded. The confidence that he had was long gone.

It was a harpy barbarian.

Dear Lord, are you kidding me? I just told Tan Yubing that it's almost impossible to get a harpy as an opponent, and now… what is this nonsense?

However, Shao Zhengyang had no choice but to fight.

He braced himself and went up the roof.

However, before he could start with the formal greetings, the harpy threw his stone hatchet at Shao Zhengyang.

Shao Zhengyang was thunderstruck. He hurriedly pulled out his sword.

What the h.e.l.l? Don't they do formal greetings? Oh, wait - they're barbarians, of course they don't.

The harpy ignored Shao Zhengyang's internal roasts. As soon as the compet.i.tion started, he immediately showed his true colors. The harpy slashed toward the ground, and shockwaves dashed toward Shao Zhengyang.

This sent chills down Shao Zhengyang's spine. Just a simple movement of slas.h.i.+ng his sword could create shockwaves as if it was an explosion. The brutal strength of the harpy created several mini tornadoes in the surrounding area.

Met with such a crisis, Shao Zhengyang did not have time to think. He used his sword-light to try to block the shockwaves.

Seeing that, the harpy roared and proceeded to slash his hatchet to the ground continuously. Shao Zhengyang dodged the attacks with lightning-like speed and occasionally blocked the shockwaves when he couldn't dodge. He even attacked the harpy's weakness when he could.

The spectators' attention was fully on the fight.

After so many rounds, there was finally a fight worth watching.

"Junior Nephew Shao is in an unfavorable situation!" Tan Yubing whispered to Lu Mingshu.

The barbarians lived in the Yin Mountains, which was a huge desolate wasteland. The place was surrounded by powerful demonic beasts. If one wanted to survive in such a place, they had no choice but to fight for their life every day.

Within the harpies' blood was a powerful force that would only ignite when they reached a certain age. As soon as it was ignited, they would be able to cultivate, and they would possess extraordinary strength. Mankind was always at a disadvantage when fighting with them. Back during the war, many people lost their lives because a single harpy could only be killed with teamwork.

At the moment, Shao Zhengyang was being controlled by the harpy. If he were to fight directly, the harpy would be too strong for him, but he couldn't properly counterattack because the shockwaves were limiting his actions.

A thought popped up in Lu Mingshu's mind as she observed the fight closely. What if this happened to me? She then put herself in Shao Zhengyang's shoes and started to think of strategies.

"Too strong…." she mumbled. Putting herself in Shao Zhengyang shoes, she marked out a huge area to represent the range of the harpy's strength. If this continued and Shao Zhengyang couldn't find a good weak point, then he would definitely lose.

It had only been four years since Shao Zhengyang entered the Harmonization Realm. His basics were nowhere near profound and he had no particular advantage against the opponent. Shao Zhengyang was good at continuous sword attacks, but as soon as the harpy attacked, Shao Zhengyang was under the harpy's control and was unable to utilize such a skill.

"Such a pity." If Shao Zhengyang had attacked first and gained control, it would have been an easier fight.

"Junior Niece Lu, if it was you, how would you get out of this mess?"

"I'd break apart his continuous shockwaves, then seize a chance to take control. Even though the barbarians are extremely strong, they aren't very skillful. Once they lose the upper hand, it's hard for them to get it back."

That was the way Yu Kuang fought and it worked.

"But how do you break the shockwaves?" Tan Yubing thought long and hard, but she still couldn't figure out a method.

"Use his own spear to attack his s.h.i.+eld," Lu Mingshu said without even considering.

Tan Yubing stare at her blankly. What's that supposed to mean?

On the roof, Shao Zhengyang had already been forced into a corner. Seeing that he was going to be defeated, he counterattacked anyway even though it would put him in a dangerous situation.

The audience could only see him rush toward the shockwave with his sword pointing at the harpy.

Despite being hit by the shockwaves, he gritted his teeth and dashed at the harpy. The harpy once again slashed his hatchet on the ground and clashed with Shao Zhengyang's sword-light.

Mutual destruction? This popped up in Lu Mingshu's mind. No, it shouldn't be.

It wasn't necessarily impossible, but the price would be too high. He still had a second chance even if he lost. If I was in his shoes, I'd just change the direction of the shockwaves back toward the harpy so that they would cancel out. Shockwaves weren't like mystic light; they were harder to control, and anyone could control them regardless of who created them. This was what she meant by "Use his own spear to attack his s.h.i.+eld."

But Shao Zhengyang did not have the ability to calculate things like her, so his current action was the best option for him. However, regardless of the outcome, he'd end up injured.

After forcefully taking on the attack from the shockwaves, Shao Zhengyang finally seized the chance to display his strength. The continuous sword attack trapped the harpy.

Tan Yubing finally smiled, "There's a fifty percent chance he'll win now."

Lu Mingshu nodded. This was the first harpy that came up to fight; if Shao Zhengyang lost, he'd lose face for humanity.

Sword-light shone brightly as he dashed toward the harpy. The shockwaves also dashed at Shao Zhengyang again. They clashed and exploded.

When the explosion dissipated, neither of them could stand up straight.

Lin Zixin came up and checked on both of them. He smiled widely and turned to the audience.

"Both of them are exhausted, so we'll stop here. It's a draw then."

The Nine Jade Palace members heaved a sigh of relief. It's fine as long as he doesn't lose. Yu Kuang had already won a round, so if Shao Zhengyang lost, he'd lose face for his sect as well as humanity.

When Shao Zhengyang got back to the tent, his face was pale.

Kang Tian went forward to check his injuries. "There are internal injuries. Please go and get some rest," he instructed.

A disciple came up and escorted Shao Zhengyang away.

"He can't attend the challenger's fight if he doesn't get a win, right?" Tan Yubing asked.

"Yeah, but he still has one chance left…."

Lu Mingshu felt sad for Shao Zhengyang. He was just plain unlucky with his draw, and he had no choice but to fight. Now he had to fight the next round with injuries, and it was his last chance.

The fights continued.

Quite a number of disciples from Nine Jade Palace had gone up, and the results were mixed.

Tan Yubing was the first to score a win for Nine Jade Palace.

Lu Mingshu still hadn't been called up yet. The preliminary would take up to three days before proceeding to the next stage.

When night came, Lin Zixin announced the end of day one.