Chapter 82 80- Bribing Disciples To Participate

“HEY!! What the hell?! Stop shoving!”

“Move! Move! Move! Get out of my way!!”

“Bastard! Where are you pushing?!!”

“Hey! W-who the hell just grabbed my butt?!”

Several disciples in the crowd looked at that disciple with strange expressions. That disciple had a mortified look on his face as he realize everyone around him were male disciples.

Asides from strange cries like this, several more were coming from the crowd of disciples as they barged their way into the Battle Colosseum Arena.

All of them were heading for the second stage where the excitement would unfold.

On the second stage in the Colosseum Arena, Xi Shen was seated cross-legged on the far half of the stage.

His face would twitch ever so often, as the yells and furious shots of the disciple around the stage echoed out.

He knew he would draw attention, but not this much that it seemed as if every Inner Disciple was here in the Colosseum Arena to watch him battle five opponents. Though this outcome was good as well since it would make his plan go more smoothly.

‘They must have found cultivating and training too repetitive, that a little amount of anything else would cause them to become frenzy and fill with curiosity.’

As Xi Shen said that to himself, he suddenly heard the commotion of the crowd amplified, and listening closely he heard shouts of one of his opponents approaching the stage.

Xi Shen opened his closed eyes, just in time to see a well-dressed youth no more than fifteen sixteen leaped onto the stage. Soon after another wave of commotion erupted as four more youths around the same age walked through the parted crowd before leaping onto the stage.

Xi Shen remained seated and examined the four male disciples and one female disciple. One fact he realized was that only one of them, the male disciple to the far left, was wearing a division attire, specifically the red robe of the Blade Pavilion.

Xi Shen had come to realize that most of the Outer Disciples who had succeeded in becoming an Inner Disciples would choose not to join a Division.

This was because of many reasons, but the main one was likely because they would be bullied and tormented by the more talented disciples that had Sky-grade innate talent. He could even see that male disciple slightly distancing himself from the rest, and he seemed aloof and dismissive of their presence.

This fact was good for Xi Shen as it made it easier to find members for his Faction instead of trying to poach disciples from other divisions.

As the crowd below quite down somewhat, Xi Shen glanced at the five disciple’s faces that were filled with confusion and some annoyance and then said, “I’m going to have you guys participate in a competition.”

When those words left Xi Shen’s lips, the crowd of disciples was taken aback, including his five opponents.

Immediately after Xi Shen said that he waved his hand and took out his Zither. He then pluck one of its strings, and as that note reverberated over the crowds chattering, a formless sword visible to the naked eyes shot out thirty meters in front of him before carving a dull but visible horizontal line across the stage.

Upon seeing this, the crowd of disciples exploded into an uproar. Surprise exclamations echoed in the Colosseum when they saw Xi Shen using Soul Arts.

“So the second prince has actually taken to becoming a Soul Cultivator? Haha, what a befitting scenario for him, the useless prince becoming a useless Soul Cultivator. It's like a match made in heaven!”

After the initial surprise, jeering towards Xi Shen suddenly being identified as a Soul Cultivator become common amongst the crowd below.

“Wait! He isn’t planning on battling using Soul Arts, is he?! That would be too hilarious!”

A disciple suddenly exclaimed, and this caused everyone who hear to have amused expressions.

Xi Shen listen to the jeering towards him, and he only frowned slightly but didn’t say anything. These disciples could only voice their opinions because they were anonymous in the crowd. They wouldn't have dared otherwise.

“Second prince what is the meaning of this? Why have you arranged this ridiculous match?”

The disciple from the Blade Pavilion said extremely annoyed.

This arrogant-looking youth was in the 995th rank on the Inner Disciples Rankings and was also a member of the Fei Clan, one of the Seven Major Clans.

He was the only one who openly showed his displeasure for being in this current situation, while the other four disciples remained silent. Though they were feeling the same way as him since they were called away from their cultivation for something that seemed pointless thus far.

Xi Shen didn’t answer the youth and only said, “As I was saying, you guys would be competing in a competition. If you manage to cross that thirty-meter line and approach me, it’s my loss. If not, then it's my win.”

“….”

“…..??!?”

The crowd became eerily silent for a moment before disciples in the crowd started to look at each other to confirm whether they had heard Xi Shen right.

“Huh? Isn’t this prince a bit too arrogant?”

“Not even that, he sounds completely stupid. What is he even talking about? Is he taking the Rankings for a joke with this stunt of his?”

The crowd of disciples who were once eager to see the happenings of this event had their excitement doused with a bucket of cold water. There were some who were even planning to leave after seeing this ridiculous scene.

They wouldn’t even entertain the idea of what Xi Shen had just said and only take it as him making a humorless joke at his own expense.

ON the stage, Xi Shen’s five opponents were standing there not knowing what to do. Ranker’s 1000th to 994th were staring at each other with confusion, but the Blade Pavilion disciple suddenly snorted before turning around to leave the stage.

“I don’t care if I fall in the rankings, I have no time to waste on something so ridiculous.”

Xi Shen was still seated at this time, and was thinking to himself, ‘It’s not like I expect nothing less of this reaction. It’s understandable since their views about me as well as Soul Cultivators are at rock bottom, but that’s not a problem. They just haven’t seen a Soul Cultivator in action yet, so I’ll just show them.’

A glint flickered in Xi Shen’s eyes as he saw the somewhat hesitating looks on the four remaining disciples' faces.

He had to be able to test them somehow, and he couldn't do that if they aren’t willing to take on his challenge.

Xi Shen had thought this through, and he had a plan going about this from the very beginning when his mother had given him the idea to participate in the Inner Disciple Rankings.

One of the male disciples on stage suddenly asked, “Second prince, why should we participate in this competition of yours, what’s in it for us if we win?”

Xi Shen smiled at this, and he was waiting for this question to be asked.

Waving his hands, Xi Shen brought out a wooden box.

This drew the attention of the crowd and the four participants.

Xi Shen then opened the lid of the wooden box to show a simple blue pill inside. Every eye in the Colosseum Arena was now trained on this one pill, but as they looked at it, their eyes widen a bit before laughter erupted from them.

“Is that a Sea Expansion Pill?! Is the second prince actually expecting anyone to be interested in a Sea Expansion Pill?!”

“He really is a miser, why is he even suggesting this challenge if he isn’t going to bring out something of value?”

“Right! Now I’m thinking it was better if they just fought, instead of this laughable situation occurring. I definitely wasted my time coming here, I’m leaving!”

Several disciples voiced their disinterest, and even the four disciples on stage were thinking of leaving. They only stayed cause they were curious about what Xi Shen was up to, but seeing that he wanted them to compete for some common Sea Expansion Pill, they were more than insulted.

As everyone was laughing at Xi Shen’s actions, he only remained calm and was about to explain what the pill actually was, but a disciple at the front of the stage who had on the Alchemy Division’s yellow robes, suddenly looked at the pill closer and then his eyes suddenly bulge out of his head before he cried out in alarm, “O-oh my god!! That’s isn’t a common Sea Expansion Pill, that’s a Nine Revolution Sea Expansion Pill!!”

As the disciple practically screamed that out from shock, his expression suddenly changed to one of desire and greed. He was even starting to salivate at the thought of getting his hands on that precious pill!

The disciples in the crowd who heard his shout were taken aback before they wore confused expressions. They haven’t heard of a pill like that, but those disciples were those from the lower background. All the disciples from mid or large clans, all stared wide-eyed at the pill in the box.

All of a sudden, they wish they were the ones on stage competing for that pill.

“Hey? Can you explain what that pill is? Some of us aren’t from an affluent family so we don’t know much about pills and elixirs?”

A disciple nearby asked the Alchemy Disciple that had yelled earlier.

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Word Count: 1603