Chapter 211 - The Second Day Begins!
It was the evening of the first day of combat of the Southern Royal War Academy tournament. In one of the VIP rooms on the academy castle's top floor, three figures were seated on armchairs - they were Hu Luoyang, Feng Qing, and Principal Long Jing. At the moment, the three of them were drinking hot tea isolated from the ongoing chaos on the ground floor where the canteen was located.
The students were, in fact, eating in the canteen, and with them, there were also young people from important families who came with their elders and family heads. After all, the tournament was an excellent opportunity to show one's strength and make the younger generation socialize with each other.
Fortunately, the VIP rooms dedicated to teachers and leading figures who came for the tournament were all equipped with soundproofing arrays. Therefore, they were excluded from all the noise generated by thousands and thousands of young people.
“Dean Long Jing, the situation is more serious than expected. We are talking about two new bloodlines. And they aren’t normal pure bloodlines, but royal bloodlines. This could generate a great deal of commotion among the forces of the Empire if not managed." Feng Qing said in a serious tone.
The three had withdrawn from the time to talk about the tournament on purpose. They decided this soon after Lian's fight when they realized that the young woman also had a royal bloodline.
"Indeed. If it were only one, it would be a different story, but here we are talking about two royal bloodlines in the hands of two young people from the same place. It's too much to pass as a coincidence." Hu Luoyang added.
“I know what you are saying - did something happen in the Forgotten Ocean that caused royal bloodlines to appear, or have they always been there? I think the first hypothesis is more credible given that during the Human Civil War, the Forgotten Ocean was turned upside down in search of resources to exploit." Dean Long Jiang answered.
“Did something happen? And what if ever? How could two royal bloodlines appear out of nowhere? Divine beasts don't have such a long lifespan, not to mention that spirit beasts can no longer reach that rank. Therefore there is no way to generate new divine beasts." Hu Luoyang was perplexed; he couldn’t understand how Hei and Lian had managed to obtain their bloodlines.
“The reason should be related to the destruction of the Spirit Artifact who dwelt in the Forgotten Ocean. As you know, the Spirit Artifact left there wasn’t of high quality and had long since been unimportant. Of course, its size was considerable, but its functions were limited, as was its power." Long Jiang deduced.
“The Spirit Artifact? Dean Long Jiang, are you saying that-” Feng Qing said before Dean Long Jiang completed his sentence and confirmed his hypothesis.
"Yes. In the Forgotten Ocean, no one can hurt the Spirit Artifact, much less destroy it. If it was destroyed, it should be because it tried to open a spatial rift to a Secret Dimension and suffered the backlash, eventually being destroyed. Spirit Artifacts have a conscience of their own. It wouldn't surprise me if it were trying to get merit outside of its ordinary duties. In the end, more than death, the Spirit Artifacts fear being abandoned without ever being used again."
“If so, then it might make sense that the two youths from the Forgotten Ocean have royal bloodlines. If the link between the real world and the secret dimension has collapsed, likely, the secret dimension has also met the same fate. If I'm not mistaken, there are precedents in history regarding this event, and sometimes some objects end up falling back into the real world rather than getting lost in the unknown space forever." Hu Luoyang's expression relaxed when he came to a plausible hypothesis of events.
“If so, then there is another question to ask. Does anyone else in the Forgotten Ocean have a royal bloodline, perhaps even not absorbed as they were incompatible? Or do Hei and Lian have other bloodlines on them?" Feng Qing immediately analyzed the deriving consequences from the hypothesis of the Secret Dimension.
“Even if that were the case, it wouldn't change much. What are the chances that there are other bloodlines? We don't have the luxury to start a treasure hunt in the Forgotten Ocean, nor can we force two young promises to deliver them. Do you really want to risk two talents like the one possessed by the two youths for a vague chance? The most sensible thing to do instead is to provide them with the resources they need and let them develop calmly.
I am well aware that you have agreements with the other factions of the imperial family, and during the day, I have already said that it is fine. Therefore, you can make as many offers as you like, but you have to accept it if they refuse you. However, make these offers only after the tournament is over."
The two family heads, Hu Luoyang and Feng Qing, nodded their heads in understanding. While it was tempting to acquire more new royal bloodlines, the things Dean Long Jiang had said made sense. Not to mention that forcing two young martial artists to reveal their secrets using their power would be a stain on their honor.
*
Hei and Lian's room.
At the moment, the two youths who, unbeknownst to them, had been the subjects of an important conversation were busy preparing tomorrow's battle plan. They knew the name of their opponent, and they also knew what techniques they employed. However, this was also true of their opponents, and therefore they had to decide well how to proceed.
“Pablo Cortés is a beast tamer with four spirit beasts - a Condor, a Luciferase Tree, a Giant Pangolin, and a Sea Lamprey. In terms of power, they are quite similar, but they are different in terms of danger. The Sea Lamprey's parasitic ability is worth keeping an eye on, but the most fearsome element is the crowd control ability of the Luciferase Tree. Following is the Condor which has the aerial advantage while the Giant Pangolin is the last as it used direct attacks." Hei gave a summary of the information about Pablo Cortés in his possession.
His little sisters, Ye and Xing, sat on the bed listening to him intently. Since it was a beast-tamer battle, tomorrow they would fight alongside Hei.
'That Sea Lamprey is no problem for me. I can take care of it as well as the Giant Pangolin. My scales are hard enough not to let the lamprey's bite penetrate the flesh, thus nullifying its parasitic ability. As for the Giant Pangolin, I can keep it busy with my tail. Once the Lamprey is taken care of, I'll deal with the pangolin.' Ye promptly gave her opinion.
She had carefully observed the progress of the fights that took place during the day, especially that between the spirit beasts of Pablo Cortés and the corpses of Hyong Yong-Sook. She hadn’t participated in battles against multiple spirit beasts in a long time, and her fighting spirit was boiling.
'I can block the Luciferase Tree. My spiderwebs can bind its branches and undermine its crowd control ability. I can do the same for the Condor even if its aerial advantage has to be considered. In addition to that, we cannot even use our Elemental Laws. So Ye, don't expect an easy battle.' Xing also intervened.
As always, despite feeling the same excitement as Ye as a spirit beast, Xing didn’t let her mood affect her ability to reason. As a result, she immediately revealed the difficulties of the fight.
“As for the Condor, leave it to me. Pablo Cortés is a pure beast tamer. Therefore his battle skills aren’t as elevated as pure attack martial artists. On top of that, according to today's fight, he should be fighting on his Condor tomorrow as well, making it difficult to face him alone.
Xing, you rather take care of binding the Luciferase Tree and, when you are done, provide support to Ye. After that, we will deal with Pablo Cortés and his Condor by exploiting the numerical advantage, thus taking our victory."
With the battle plan set, Hei glanced at Lian sitting next to them. At the moment, Lian was meditating. However, Hei knew that Lian wasn’t cultivating, but it was a simple meditation waiting for Hei, Ye, and Xing to finish organizing.
“Lian, how do you feel about tomorrow? Have you found a suitable strategy to counter Hide?
Hearing Hei's question, Lian opened her eyes from her meditation. Her sapphire blue eyes looked straight into Hei's dark brown ones.
“Hide possesses the Specter Law of the Ghost Law. Therefore it will be difficult to immobilize him with my ribbons. He can also transform only part of his body, and his mace, the Morning Star, possesses a strong destructive power. However, while he can traverse my ribbons whenever he wants, he cannot reuse the specter state after he materializes. I already have a plan on how to move; the unknown is being able to grab him long enough to score it."
To Lian’s answer, Hei replied with a nod. He had absolute faith in Lian and didn't need to hear the complete plan. If Lian already had an idea, then there was no reason to worry.
"Let's go to sleep. Tomorrow will be another long day. We have to be full of energy. "
*
The second day began similarly to the first. Normal spectators were already waiting early in the morning to queue to enter. After the exciting battles of the previous day, they wanted to see more breathtaking challenges as soon as possible. On the other hand, the VIP spectators were in no hurry; after all, their seats had already been reserved. Therefore they could take it slow and enjoy the finest cuisine prepared by the Academy.
In the fighters’ room, the sixteen qualified students waited for the people to finish taking their seats. Each of them looked calm and composed as if they weren’t at all agitated. But that was only because they were concentrating on the impending start of the second round of fighting.
“Welcome to all of you from the audience. Since you've all taken your seats, it's time to start this second day of the tournament. Today's challenges will be only 8, half of yesterday. However, the fights' quality will undoubtedly be as good as the previous day if not higher. That said, let's officially start the second day." Song Yazhu announced before clearing his throat quickly to build suspense before the challengers were announced.
"The first two fighters to take the field are the winners of the first two fights yesterday - the Hu Family representative, Hu Jie, and the representative of the Wani Family, Wani Garrett."
As Song Yazhu predicted, the first challenge was already of a very high level. There was no question about Hu Jie's skill while Wani Garrett was also a highly talented martial artist. There was also the rivalry between families for the number one Metal Law family. After all, anyone from the Southern Region knew how much the Wani family wanted to outdo the Hu family.
“Hahaha, the time has finally come. I have been waiting for this moment for a long time. I'll show you who the best of us is. Today the crocodile will eat the tiger."
Wani Garrett displayed a euphoric smile as his Spirit Metal's teeth and nails glinted menacingly in the sunlight. If one also considered the scars that decorated his body, then Wani Garrett looked just like a crocodile with a human form.
“Ahahah! Garrett! Don't you know that tigers hunt crocodiles? Do you really think your teeth are strong enough to break my diamond body?" Hu Jie replied in the same euphoric tone as Wani Garrett. Evidently, he too was eager to fight.
"Let the fight begin!" Song Yazhu announced, giving the go-ahead of the first match of the second round of the tournament.
Thanks for the batch release ☺️