Chapter 1080 - Asking for an Explanation

Hu Qi reacted quite quickly.

Three seconds later, he answered coldly, “We’re on the Roland Star. If you have any questions, ask the King of Elves.”

“Hee-hee.”

The long-faced man sneered. He turned to look at the King of Elves and said, “I suggest that our group should compete again. Only this time, we shall do it without Pang Zhanlong.”

“Swish!”

Hu Yuan, who had been resting with his eyes closed, abruptly opened his eyes and gazed at the King of Elves with a lukewarm face.

“Rules are made by people, so people can amend them as well. I said before that participants shall be below 50 years old. However, if the participants have some special circumstances, their guardians are allowed to take part in the competition on their behalf. Now that the first two groups have already finished their game, the dust is settled for them. However, if anyone in the remaining eight groups likes, he can make the changes accordingly.”

The remark the King of Elves made with a calm look almost caused the long-faced man to lose his temper.

“Ha, hahaha! Good, very good. What a smart King of Elves!”

He darted a hard look at the King of Elves before he wheeled around and left.

The Elf King raised his brows, wanting to say something. But he took a deep breath and uttered no words in the end. It was as if he wanted to teach this junior a lesson, yet he was magnanimous and chose to remain silent.

“The one in the second group that seized the ball is Hu Qi.”

The King of Elves spoke nonchalantly, “The contest for the third group, begin.”

“Swoosh!”

Nina’s countenance altered.

She closed her eyes.

“Father, you know what kind of person Hu Qi is. Have you decided to abandon me so thoroughly? You even have the heart to push me into a living hell?”

She was heartbroken.

She was also bitterly disappointed with her unfeeling father, who made no effort to protect her.

Nina’s mother died decades ago. Since then, there had been no one to watch over her. To the outside world, she was the most beautiful Seventh Princess and was also favored by the King of Elves. Yet, she knew that she could not compare with her sisters.

“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!”

The third group was the one Li Mu was in.

Many contestants looked back and picked their substitutes.

Seeing this, Li Mu looked as if he had just eaten poop.

He felt the urge to shout swear words.

Originally, he was very confident about winning. But now, his confidence had been dashed.

“Nina, I can only help you this much. Whether or not I succeed will depend on fate,” Li Mu sighed inwardly.

“Begin!”

The white embroidered ball flew out of Nina’s hand.

“Whoosh!”

In an instant, the 300 people leaped into the air and soared rapidly toward the embroidered ball.

“Sword strikes like a ghost python!”

Li Mu glanced at the old man more than 10 meters away beside him and thrust his sword. A huge python swiftly lunged at the old man.

“Oh? Young Master Li, you have such solid cultivation? You are indeed an elite at the Yuan Ying Realm Early-Stage. Unfortunately, you are still too naive to deal with me.”

The old man laughed and raised his left hand.

“World within the sleeve!”

“Buzz!”

The python’s energy was completely sucked into the old man’s sleeve. He then threw a punch. From the light blue palm print, one could tell that the energy he used was exactly the energy that Li Mu just cast.

“A deflecting attack?”

Li Mu’s eyes narrowed slightly.

He put on his defense and quickly flew forward with the help of the impact of energy.

This was a competition among 300 people, not just between him and the old man.

The old man knew this as well. But he was more collected. He stayed at the back of the crowd, showing no trace of anxiety.

In fact, with a single glance, he noted that all of the substitutes from the older generation were at the back of the crowd.

Why was that?

Because the ones who rushed to the front had to face the most intense attacks. It was not worth the effort. At the last moment of the game, someone at the rear would swoop in and seize the ball.

Rumble.

This was indeed what happened.

At the forefront, Li Mu, Zhong An, and others felt that they had to handle more than a dozen attacks every second.

They were under a lot of pressure.

If they were not careful for a fraction of a second, they might end up getting injured.

“Hiss, wheeze…”

“Time to display the Highest Clouds Sketch!”

Li Mu took a deep breath, and two rays of bright light suddenly darted out from his eyes.

The color of the sky changed. Giant clouds emerged, which then rotated madly, forming a whirlpool in the sky.

Seeing this, on the other end of the field, Hu Yuan opened his eyes slightly and frowned.

“It seems that the Cloud Shadow Sky has obtained the Highest Clouds Sketch.

“It is said that Zhang Hanyang passed it on to them. Does Zhang Hanyang have something to do with the seniors of the Cloudy Shadow Sky? If he is a member of the Cloudy Shadow Sky…”

He began to ponder.

The Tiger Talisman Royal Family was roughly on par with the Cloud Shadow Sky. The latter was a little bit stronger.

But Zhang Hanyang had killed Hu Bin and Hu Qiang. This was the greatest insult the Tiger Talisman Royal Family had ever received over the past century. It was impossible for them to not be bothered by it. In the past few months, they had uprooted some small forces that had been constantly ruffling their feathers. Their huge fleet had swept half of the Sea Dragon Star Area. Still, they had not done enough to wash out this stain.

This stain could not come off unless they killed Zhang Hanyang and his people.

“If he doesn’t dare come and cowers in his place, then our Tiger Talisman Royal Family can do nothing but wait.

“But once one day he dares to show up, he will die.”

Hu Yuan was determined to kill Zhang Hanyang.

He had conversed with the king of the Tiger Talisman Royal Family on this matter and made up his mind. The worst case would be to wage war against the Cloud Shadow Sky.

He didn’t think of it as a big deal anyway. The Sea Dragon Star Area had been peaceful for a hundred years. It was time to make some waves.

On the field, Li Mu performed the Highest Clouds Sketch, which made the nearby contestants retreat with a slightly shocked look.

“Young Master Li, you are amazing. Now you’ve grasped the Highest Clouds Sketch, you have boundless prospects ahead,” the old man who had exchanged blows with Li Mu earlier chuckled and complimented.

Although they competed, they were not enemies. Many members of different forces would stop before they did real damages and hoped to maintain a friendly relationship with one another.

After hearing the praise, Li Mu looked quite proud of himself.

With his hands clasped behind his back, he controlled the Highest Clouds Sketch with his mind and make it drop before turning into clusters of auspicious clouds.

“What a brilliant secret skill!”

“It is worthy of being called one of the three top-secret skills of the Cloudy Shadow Sky. Just this attack alone is stronger than many people’s supernatural powers.”

The attack fanned out. It did not bring about much trouble to the other contestants but just blocked their way and slowed them down.

In the meantime, many people exclaimed in admiration.

“Everyone, I’m so flattered,” Li Mu said gracefully.

But his speed was picking up fast.

“Hahaha, it’s a pity that this is a competition with only one winner. My young master also wants to have Princess Nina. Young Master Li, please excuse me,” an elderly man in the crowd suddenly spoke.

His aura grew fierce at once. Instantly, he turned into a streak of light and dashed over like an unstoppable flying sword.

Such earth-shattering momentum caused many people present to turn slightly pale.

“He and his sword have combined into one?”

“Ma Dong has comprehended the unity of man and sword. This move is one of the exclusive techniques of the Humu Way of Sword.”

“The game is over. Ma Dong is near the Yuan Ying Realm Middle-Stage. Now he has cast this strike, no one here can withstand it.”

“It seems that among those in our group, Ma Dong is going to win.”

As soon as an expert made a move, it was clear whether he was capable or not.

As soon as Ma Dong made this move, many people immediately quit the game.

Li Mu did not look happy either.

With his speed, he had had the time to observe the strike Ma Dong launched. He then concluded that he was unable to block Ma Dong’s attack.

“Elder Ma, other than letting you win, I’m more willing to see Li Mu have the embroidered ball. So, Li Mu, I’ll lend you a hand.”

To everyone’s surprise, at the critical moment, Zhong An stepped up and calmly informed the others. Next, he launched an attack at Ma Dong.

“Huh?”

Li Mu was slightly taken aback.

Seeing that Ma Dong slowed down, his eyes sparkled with exultation. He immediately stroked with his sword and then bolted forward at an extremely fast speed.

One second, two seconds… 10 seconds later–

Li Mu was barely an inch away from grabbing the embroidered ball.

“Sadly, success slips away because of the lack of a final effort,” Ma Dong said with a soft sigh.

Everyone thought that he had given up. However, to their astonishment, Ma Dong suddenly emitted a mysterious power.

“Whoosh!”

A certain kind of red energy wrapped around Li Mu.

He was imprisoned in the void. He then tried to break free with his energy attacks. But at this precise moment, Ma Dong dissolved Li Mu’s and Zhong An’s attacks. Before Zhong An could react, several shadows appeared.

A total of eight shadows dashed toward the embroidered ball at the same time.

Zhong An lifted his palm and sensed with his soul sense that all the eight shadows seemed to be Ma Dong’s real self.

He dropped his hand helplessly and shook his head.

“Swish!”

Ma Dong clenched the embroidered ball in his hand and smiled merrily at Li Mu, who had just freed himself. “Young Master Li, thanks for letting me win.”

“We were in a fair competition,” Li Mu said with a hollow laugh. “Now you proved your skills were better, I admit my inferiority.”

“Hahaha, Young Master Li, you’re too modest. You’ve comprehended the Highest Clouds Sketch. Given time, you’ll become a great cultivator.”

After exchanging a few courtesies, the third group exited the field.

Ma Dong was the only one who remained at the edge of the square, standing by Pang Zhanlong’s side.

Of these three groups, the second group ended the contest fastest. That was thanks to Pang Zhanlong, who competed on Hu Qi’s behalf. The three contests took a total of five minutes.

At this time, the sun had set. It seemed that dusk would fall in one or two hours.

The exciting part of sending the new couple into the bridal chamber was about to begin.

After all, the game had to end sometime.

Hu Qi was extremely fired up at this moment. His eyes were fixed on Nina, who was floating in the air in a white dress. Even his breathing slightly quickened.

As far as he knew, Princess Nina would become his woman tonight.

“The fourth group, start!”

“Throw out the embroidery ball!”

“The fifth group, it’s your turn.”

“The sixth group, get started.”

“…”

Everyone watched those groups fight for the embroidered ball in turn.

The nearly 100,000 people around had a real eye-opener.

Watching this sort of competition was like watching a great drama. Such a grand event was quite rare. There was seldom a chance to see about half of the great figures in the Sea Dragon Star Area gather together.

“Every one of them is amazing.”

After seeing all this, Liu Qingfeng was deeply shocked. Each of those people could soar in the sky and hide in the ground. They could cast mysterious strikes, which were so powerful that he could feel the enormous pressure despite the protection of the energy cover.

“The Sea Dragon Star Area is truly a vast world.

“There are the Elf Clan, the Dark Shadow Clan, and all kinds of other races. I’m completely dazzled.

“There are also all kinds of absurd plants and strange beasts.

“Turns out that the Cultivation World is the real great world.”

Liu Qingfeng felt massively motivated as he watched the competition. He was not thinking about cultivating. Instead, he was more and more determined to start a company here.

“I’m gonna run a company in the Cultivation World.”

Liu Qingfeng’s eyes lit up as he continued, “The first step is to set up a company in the Sea Dragon Star Area. It’s time to make plans.”

“Xiao Ling…” He looked at the delicate woman beside him and said, “record this as comprehensively as you can.”

“Yes, I’m on it.”

Xiao Ling nodded. Having been Liu Qingfeng’s secretary for so many years, she certainly knew what he was thinking.

“Sister Mengmeng, the sun is setting. It’s dusk now. The view at dusk is very beautiful. Shall we go take some photos?” Chen Chuan had had too much to eat and wished to take a walk. Thus, he pestered Mengmeng to go with him.

“Sit still. The most critical moment is about to come. Don’t add to the trouble, or we won’t bring you with us next time,” Mengmeng immediately reminded him.

“Oh, okay, I won’t cause more trouble.” Chen Chuan instantly behaved.

“This little fellow…”

Zhou Fei was amused. Chen Chuan was quite naughty. But when Mengmeng was around, he was completely tamed.

After all, two years ago, Mengmeng was the leader of all children on Mount New Moon. Having been tricked by her many times, her younger brothers and sisters were all afraid of her.

It was not until Mengmeng went to junior high school that she became less mischievous.

But the impression she gave them was engraved in their minds.

Chen Chuan, who had often been bridled by Mengmeng, was already used to it.

“Daddy…”

Mengmeng said nervously, “It’s already the turn of the tenth group. After this group is done, the 10 champions will compete for the colorful embroidered ball.”

“Well, just wait and watch.”

Zhang Han caressed Mengmeng’s head, indicating that she should rest assured.

Mengmeng was confident in her father because he had never let her down. She leaned against the rattan chair, causally swaying her legs, waiting for the last moment to come.

From the fourth group to the tenth group, the seventh group was the one that had the fiercest round.

Most of the members of the seventh group were young talents at the Yuan Ying Realm Early-Stage. This group was the only group that had no substitutes.

However, the contest this group had turned out to be the most cut-throat. All kinds of strikes emerged one after another. Since most of them were at the same level, it was not until the contest lasted half an hour that the battle turned white-hot. After three minutes of intense fight, dozens of people were seriously injured and withdrew from the game. One of them even nearly lost an arm.

In truth, at that time, no one cared about the embroidered ball. The members of several opposing forces had let the urge to kill get the better of them. The 300 people then wound up in a dogfight.

In an instant, more than 100 people quitted out of fright.

This kind of desperate fight was too terrifying.

Then, a dramatic scene occurred. In the place where the most intense fight was going on, when no one was looking, a man with an injured arm stealthily approached the embroidered ball.

“Bang, bang, bang, bang…”

All kinds of violent energy waves burst out. The spectators felt that their scalps had gone numb. Some members of the forces watching the battle outside the arena couldn’t sit still anymore. The whole place was suffused with hostility.

What was more, the two forces sitting adjacent to each other outside the arena, which amounted to nearly 100 people, almost got into a big fight.

The King of Elves watched all this with fright. He desperately wanted the battle to end.

At last, the person who secretly edged toward the embroidered ball snatched it at lightning speed.

“The seventh match is over!”

“Stop fighting!”

The King of Elves hurriedly cast a spell that carried his voice through the entire battlefield.

Nevertheless, no one listened to him. The dozens of people still battling were from five different forces. It was as if they were having a life-and-death battle.

At this moment, the old man surnamed Guang showed interest in his eyes. He enjoyed the fight very much.

Hu Yuan half-closed his eyes as if he was taking a nap.

He was scanning the field with his soul sense.

Neither of the two showed any sign of stopping the fight on the ground.

The King of Elves became anxious.

Seeing that the forces behind him were about to go down and join in the fight, he put on an angry face and unleashed the Divine Tree’s Source to isolate the battlefield.

“This is the royal palace of our Elf Clan. If you want to fight, go to the void of the universe outside,” snarled the King of Elves.

That finally put an end to the competition for the seventh group.

Seeing this, the audience’s blood started to boil. This sort of fight somewhat resembled a show of beasts fighting. The surrounding enchanted cover had turned the battlefield into a cage, hadn’t it?

However, no one dared to make such a comment. They were not qualified to go fight on the battlefield. If someone overheard them say so, it would not do them good.

The people in the eighth group were also staggered by what they saw.

Because of that, when it was their turn to battle, the energy waves they produced were much weaker. None of them wanted to sustain unnecessary injuries.

The contests for the ninth group and tenth group were relatively uneventful.

The three groups finished their contests in no more than half an hour.

The sun was setting in the west. Dusk seemed to be coming to an end. On the opposite side of the sky, a bright moon was slowly rising.

The show seemed to be heading to an end.

“Victory has been decided in each of the 10 groups.”

The King of Elves announced in a booming voice, “Next, the 10 champions will fight over the colorful embroidered ball. The winner will be Nina’s fiance.”

Before he could say more, Hu Qi asked eagerly, “According to your clan’s rules, will Nina and her fiance share a bed tonight after becoming engaged?”

His voice immediately invited roars of laughter.

It was something one should keep to oneself. It was a little tacky to ask about it out loud.

But this was what Hu Qi was like. He was quite a womanizer.

His substitute, Pang Zhanlong, was also the strongest among the ten champions on the field. If the others did not team up, Hu Qi would be able to marry Princess Nina.

“Would the seventh princess of the Elemental Elf Clan be defiled by that lustful Hu Qi?”

Many people thumped their chests and stamped their feet.

They felt sorry for Nina. Nina was such a pure, wonderful girl. Thinking about it, they all felt life was unfair.

Faced with the question, the King of Elves looked a little dazed. He wanted to change the subject, but he knew he couldn’t because of his poor strength.

“Yes,” he replied.

Then, he gazed at Nina, who was floating 100 meters above the ground and seemed in a trance.

It was the first time he’d seen Nina show such a numb expression. She now looked like she was a stone statue.

“Hiss…”

The King of Elves closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and sighed in his head.

After opening his eyes, he looked at the 10 people and said, “According to the previous rules, you can also find someone to compete on your behalf. You have a minute to decide.”

Hearing those words, some of them became a little tempted.

“Hahaha, go ahead.”

Just as some were about to ask for substitutes, Hu Qi guffawed and said, “If I have to, I’ll invite Uncle Yuan to enter the arena. I’ll be the one to final winner whatsoever.”

Hu Qi could no longer sit still. He leaped forward and arrived at the edge of the square.

He glanced around at everyone present as he arrogantly declared, “I, Hu Qi, will get Nina. Those who want to find substitutes had better think it over first. Once my Uncle Yuan takes action, his targets will either be dead or crippled. I think you have all heard of my Uncle Yuan. Think carefully, everyone.”

This was a threat, an undisguised threat.

The expressions of many people present altered slightly. Some were even enraged.

Li Mu was one of the furious people.

But he had to admit that Hu Yuan’s attacks were ruthless indeed, and it wasn’t exaggerated to say that his targets would either be dead or crippled.

Indeed, the strong had a larger say in everything.

Of the 10 forces backing the 10 champions on the field, the Tiger Talisman Royal Family was the strongest.

None of those with high status like the Cloud Shadow Sky’s Li Mu was among the 10 champions.

This was to say that the people that Hu Qi was threatening were at a lower ranking.

Undoubtedly, Hu Qi knew whom he could trifle with and whom he could not.

The expressions of the people on the field kept changing. Finally, the time was up.

“Since you haven’t chosen any substitutes, let’s get started.”

The King of Elves also appeared rather reluctant to see Nina fall into Hu Qi’s hands. But now that things had gone so far, there was no turning back. He acted according to the pace of the competition, not daring to violate the rules.

Just at this time, Hu Yuan suddenly looked at Nina in the air and asked, “I heard that Zhang Hanyang promised to attend your Coming of Age Ceremony. Now, the ceremony is about to end. But where is he?”

“Swish!”

Nina’s face turned slightly pale.

“They were here. There was no doubt of that. I already met Mengmeng earlier. However, they haven’t made an appearance here. This might mean that they are unable to turn things around. Or rather they’d been sent to a safe place by Uncle Mo Wen and are waiting for an opportunity to make a move at night?”

She had her guesses. But she could not say anything at the ceremony.

She gritted her teeth and strived to calm herself down.

Then, she replied, “I don’t know.”

The more she wished she would not give himself away, the more violently her voice trembled.

The pressure Hu Yuan imposed on her was so strong that she felt she couldn’t breathe.

“Generally…” Hu Yuan spoke in a slow and deep voice that revealed no emotion, as though he was relating some dry facts.

“People with high status attach great importance to the promise they’ve made. Now that Zhang Hanyang doesn’t have the nerve to come here, then I shall ask your Elemental Elf Clan to account for Hu Bin’s and Hu Zhiqiang’s deaths.”