Chapter 203: It seems like the other side knows me well, I’ve always lived in their shadow!
The next day, the martial competition began.
Due to the unprecedented victory in the literary competition, the people of the capital were ecstatic.
Tens of thousands of people gathered outside the martial arts arena, hoping for a glorious victory in the martial competition as well.
Inside the massive arena.
“The rules of the martial competition are very simple!”
The referee announced, “There will be a total of 5 rounds! In each round, both sides will send out a warrior to engage in combat! If one side becomes incapacitated or is knocked out of bounds, they will be judged as the loser!”
“If there is no clear winner within the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the winner will be determined based on the condition of both sides’ injuries!”
“In short, the martial competition follows a best-of-5, 3 wins format!”
“Now, both sides have half an incense stick’s time to prepare!”
“After half an incense stick, the martial competition will officially begin!”
On the side of Great Yan.
“These rules don’t restrict us much! We have one fourth-ranked warrior and four fifth-ranked warriors, while they only have three fifth-ranked and two sixth-ranked warriors. The difference is too obvious, like night and day! So…”
Third Prince said viciously, “During the martial competition, beat them hard and preferably make them all bald. Otherwise, it won’t ease the pain in my heart!”
“Yes, Your Highness!” the others responded.
On the side of Great Wu.
Lin Beifan smiled and asked, “Everyone, how is your preparation going these past few days? Are you familiar with their tactics and moves?”
“Mr. Principal, after days of hard training, we have become familiar with all their tactics and moves, and we’ve developed countermeasures! If we engage in battle, I have an 80% chance of winning!” said one fifth-ranked warrior of the Innate Realm, filled with confidence.
The other two fifth-ranked warriors felt the same.
Lin Beifan nodded in satisfaction, “Very well, we’ll see your performance later!”
Then, he turned to the two sixth-ranked warriors beside him and encouraged them, “You two, give it your all as well. Outstanding performances can lead to promotion!”
“Yes, Mr. Principal!” they responded.
The half incense stick’s time quickly passed.
“The time is up, the martial competition officially begins!”
“For the first round of the martial competition, each side should send out a representative!”
On the side of Great Yan,
Third Prince appointed, “Liu Feng, you go first!”
Liu Feng, ranking second among their representatives, had already reached the peak of the fifth rank in strength.
With his current strength, he could basically sweep Great Wu.
Third Prince wanted to send him out to achieve an impressive victory.
“Yes, Your Highness!” the other party responded, with a confident stride, stepping onto the martial arts arena.
On the side of Great Wu.
Without Lin Beifan needing to appoint anyone, a sixth-ranked warrior took the stage.
Third Prince looked and chuckled softly.
They sent out a peak fifth-ranked powerhouse, while the other side only had a lowly sixth rank. Even if the other side possessed extraordinary martial arts skills, it would be difficult to bridge this immense gap.
They had already won this round!
As expected, not even three rounds had passed before Great Wu’s warrior was knocked out of bounds, losing the round as Third Prince had predicted.
“For the second round, Zhou Jiannan, it’s your turn!” Third Prince pointed confidently once again.
Zhou Jiannan was ranked fourth among their representatives in the martial competition.
Although ranked fourth, his strength was undoubtedly one of the best in the Great Wu delegation.
Winning this round wouldn’t be difficult.
“Your Highness, I’m ready!” Zhou Jiannan said, gripping a sword and confidently stepping onto the martial arts arena.
On the side of Great Wu, without Lin Beifan having to say anything, a fifth-ranked warrior took the stage.
Zhou Jiannan looked and felt a hint of contempt.
Because even though both sides were fifth-ranked, there was still a significant difference.
If the fifth rank were divided into three stages, he was in the upper stage while the opponent was in the lower stage.
A warrior like him could easily handle two opponents like the one he was facing!
Third Prince noticed this and felt relieved.
The opponent they sent out was named Wang Dao, currently 29 years old, and he was already their second strongest fighter.
However, there was still a noticeable gap between him and their fourth-ranked warrior.
This round was already determined.
“Please teach me!”
“Please!”
The two sides took their positions and fought with all their might.
Sword energy filled the air, and the arena was filled with the shadow of blades!
Zhou Jiannan, representing Great Yan, completely dominated the representative from Great Wu.
Every move and technique pushed Wang Dao back!
Wang Dao struggled to keep up, his grip on the sword causing his palm to crack slightly, revealing a trace of blood.
Zhou Jiannan relentlessly pursued him, intending to knock him out of bounds and end the duel.
“Ha! Witness my Four-sided Annihilation!”
The opponent used his ultimate skill, dividing himself into four shadows that seemed both real and illusory, attacking from four directions.
Wang Dao’s eyes gleamed, it was the perfect timing!
He condensed a terrifying sword energy, abandoning all defense and launched a desperate attack towards one of the illusions!
“Boom!”
The ground within several zhangs cracked!
All four illusions vanished, and Zhou Jiannan appeared in his original form, looking somewhat disheveled.
“Cough, how did you see through it?”
Without wasting any words, Wang Dao immediately pursued his advantage!
Because he knew that right after the opponent had used his ultimate move, when his old strength had faded but his new strength hadn’t emerged, it was crucial to press the advantage and expand the fruits of the battle!
Wang Dao’s every move was fierce, completely risking his life!
However, Zhou Jiannan, despite being stronger, was forced to retreat step by step, dodging and evading in a very disheveled manner.
Regret filled his heart, wishing he hadn’t used his ultimate move!
His trump card was indeed powerful, not only capable of confusing enemies but also delivering a lethal blow!
But it also had a significant weakness, it consumed too much energy.
It would take the time it takes to brew two cups of tea to fully recover and continue fighting.
Usually, this wasn’t a problem.
Since his move could confuse anyone except for grandmasters, even fourth-ranked warriors were no exception.
Once confused, he would have time to calmly recover.
However, now, he was unexpectedly recognized by the opponent, interrupting his execution of the ultimate move. And before he had fully recovered, he was entangled by the opponent, preventing his qi from replenishing, greatly reducing his strength.
After 10 rounds, he was unexpectedly knocked out of bounds by the opponent, losing a round.
“Haha! We Great Wu won a round!”
“Turning defeat into victory, a beautiful win!”
“That was amazing!”
…
On the Great Wu side, they applauded and celebrated, elated.
The Empress had a smile on her face. “Well done!”
Third Prince was dumbfounded. “We… actually lost this round?”
The other representatives from Great Yan couldn’t believe what they were seeing.
All of Great Yan’s strong fighters were knocked out of bounds by their opponents. The round they should have won, they actually lost!
Zhou Jiannan, who walked down the martial arts arena, looked ashamed. “Your Highness, I’m sorry for disappointing you.”
Third Prince adjusted his mindset and waved his hand. “It’s alright. You did your best. We can only say that they were too cunning! We still have three more rounds, we will win them back!”
“Thank you for your comfort, Your Highness!” The opponent sheathed his sword and quietly stood in the back.
“Mohu, it’s your turn!” said Third Prince.
Mohu was their strongest fighter, with a fifth-level strength ranking and ranked third.
His strength was even stronger than Great Wu’s strongest fighter and could easily defeat their representatives.
Third Prince wanted to use him to win this round and boost morale.
At this moment, Great Wu sent out their strongest fighter – Wu Dao.
He was also a skilled swordsman and held a position in the Six Doors. He had a good relationship with Lin Beifan and they had even had a drink together.
“Master Wu, I’m counting on you next!” Lin Beifan smiled.
“Mr. Principal, rest assured! I will definitely win this round for you!” Wu Dao said confidently.
“If we win this round, I will treat you to a drink after the martial competition is over!” Lin Beifan added.
“Thank you, Mr. Principal!” Wu Dao was overjoyed.
Now everyone knew that the drinks in Mr. Principal’s house were the imperial palace’s tribute wine, which was excellent.
Even their Chief Catcher was very envious and often found excuses to visit and show his politeness, just for a few sips of the wine.
Now, I have this opportunity too, haha!
Wu Dao walked onto the martial arts arena as if he had been injected with chicken blood.
Great Yan’s Mohu vs. Great Wu’s Wu Dao!
In this round, the difference between the two sides was not significant, so they fought evenly from the beginning.
But to everyone’s surprise, Wu Dao, who was supposedly inferior by three points, actually pressured Mohu, making it difficult for him to retreat or advance.
The representatives from Great Yan were dumbfounded.
“Why does Mohu… seem to be struggling?”
“He clearly has strong strength, why does it seem so difficult for him?”
“We won’t lose this round, right?”
…
“Don’t panic, everyone! How could Mohu possibly lose? The opponents are probably just pretending and luring us in! So, we have to believe in Mohu and not lose our composure!”
Third Prince pretended to be calm and reassured them.
But at this moment, Mohu couldn’t say what was in his heart.
The opponent seemed to understand him very well.
Every move, every technique he used, the opponent had a countermeasure.
Even anticipating the first move, the opponent had already struck his weak point before he could even attack.
It made him feel like he was fighting with his hands tied, very uncomfortable.
On the other hand, Wu Dao became more and more excited as he fought!
Because the countermeasures taught by Master Jingtai were indeed effective, every move caught the opponent off guard, attacking when they were unprepared. The effect was too obvious!
So he fought even more fiercely, and his chances of winning were gradually increasing!
In less than half an incense stick’s worth of time, Mohu was knocked out of bounds, and Great Wu’s Wu Dao won.
“We won again, haha!”
“5 rounds, 3 wins. We have won two consecutive rounds!”
“Just one more win and we’ll win!”
…
Great Wu cheered once again.
The representatives from Great Yan were stunned, watching this outcome in disbelief.
Mohu, who was up next, had a ashamed expression on his face. “I’m sorry, Your Highness, and everyone. I’ve disappointed you!”
Third Prince asked in a daze, “Mohu, you’re stronger than him, how did you lose?”
Mohu felt even more ashamed, “I’m sorry, Your Highness, I don’t know why either! It’s like the opponent knows me so well, predicting every move and technique I make. I’ve been living in his shadow…”
Third Prince shook his head.
Although the opponent lost, they had already given their all. With numerous injuries on their body, what more could be said?
“You rest up, leave the rest to us!”
“Thank you, Your Highness!”
Having lost two rounds already, if they lose one more, it will be completely over.
Third Prince never imagined that Great Yan would lose so badly in the literary competition, to the point where even the martial competition became dangerous.
A horrifying thought appeared in his mind: “Could it be… that I’m going to lose again?”
He shook his head immediately, getting rid of this dreadful thought.
No! It’s absolutely impossible!”
“We can’t lose the martial competition, I can’t lose!”
“We must win the martial competition!” exclaimed the prince.
