Chapter 254 - The Maddening Demon Wind

Chapter 254: Chapter 13: The Maddening Demon Wind"Speak, what reward do you desire?"

Despite Lu Hong’s exhaustive efforts to explain why he had forcefully kissed Princess Chen Xi, and the King of Cang striving to believe him as much as possible, there was still a certain suppressed anger in his tone.

"Your Majesty the King of Cang, I only wish to safely get through tomorrow. And then, there is the Magic Potion related to soul recovery; saving Her Highness the Princess has greatly depleted my energy."

After listening to Lu Hong’s requests, the King of Cang smiled slightly, "Are you afraid of the revenge of the Disaster Church?"

"I’m not afraid, I just don’t want to initiate a final battle prematurely." Honestly, after switching to the Angry Blood Warrior profession and reaching below the Third Transition, no one would be his match. As long as he stayed in the Second Transition, he would be unmatched in his level. What was this about the Disaster Church—it was all about overpowering them, wasn’t it.

"Your requests have been noted. Tomorrow I will send a Magic Potion to nourish your soul. Although such items are not particularly precious, the herbs for soul recovery are rare. Despite our country’s many years of accumulation, we only have a mere hundred bottles. As for tomorrow’s selection battle, you only need to attend; I assure you that you will not encounter any trouble." The night had grown late, and the King of Cang was quite fatigued, so he turned to Li, an elder at his side, and said, "It’s late, Elder Li, please arrange a room for this representative from Qingxiao City to rest."

Having Lu Hong stay in the Imperial Palace was also a kind of protection from the King of Cang; after all, the Disaster Church had appeared earlier that night, and they might still be lurking outside the palace waiting for an opportunity. S~eaʀᴄh the Novelƒire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"As you command, Your Majesty." Elder Li patted Lu Hong on the shoulder, "Kid, follow me."

This time, Elder Li did not whisk Lu Hong away at full speed but leisurely strolled with him within the palace walls, seeming to have something to say.

"Your name is Lu Hong, isn’t it?" After a long walk, Elder Li finally spoke.

Not daring to neglect, Lu Hong quickly replied, "Yes, Elder Li, do you have any instructions?"

"You’re quite impressive," Elder Li said with satisfaction, looking at Lu Hong. "Princess Chen Xi’s curse has always been a thorn in His Majesty’s side. Your ability to help His Majesty with such a big problem and not be greedy for wealth and honor is truly commendable. Rest assured, as long as you are in the Cang Kingdom, it is impossible for anyone to harm you."

"Thank you for your care, Elder Li." The efforts of the night were not in vain; Elder Li’s protection would become his greatest asset while walking in Ambla.

"Take this," Elder Li tossed a small jade pendant. "Enclosed within is the full force of my prime strike. Use it on a profession reaching the Great Perfection of the Third Transition secret technique if you don’t want to waste it."

Great Perfection! Lu Hong’s heart pounded wildly; he had never realized that Elder Li was a being equal to Vili.

Above the Great Perfection was the Divine Enthronement, and such a powerhouse being merely a servant in the palace in Ambla explained why the empire had never invaded this plane for thousands of years.

"Thank you for your generous gift, Elder Li." Only a fool would refuse such an item; Lu Hong happily accepted the Jade Pendant.

"Alright, come rest with me, it’s getting late. Although His Majesty has excused you from fighting tomorrow, you still need to attend."

Elder Li took Lu Hong directly back to his own inner courtyard and provided him with a bedroom, "Tomorrow, follow me to the Cangdu Arena."

The night passed without incident, and the following morning, after having breakfast in the Imperial Palace’s royal kitchen with Elder Li, they arrived at the Cangdu Arena located to the west of Cangdu City ahead of the King of Cang.

When the Disaster Church saw Elder Li beside Lu Hong, his expression drastically changed. Could this masked man have some relation to Elder Li?

"Young City Lord," an underling from Yinmo City approached Disaster Church and whispered, "I’ve looked into this kid’s background. He seems to have appeared suddenly near Qingxiao City; he’s probably not a native of Ambla."

The underling’s words slightly reassured Disaster Church, "Since he’s not from Ambla, then he must have nothing to do with Elder Li. Everything will proceed according to last night’s plan!" It must have been a coincidence that they entered the arena together.

"Yes!"

Now, what the Disaster Church had arranged the previous night was quite simple—spend hundreds of thousands of Gold Coins to bribe the judges in charge of drawing lots to ensure that Lu Hong would face Disaster Church in the first match.

Ten minutes later, the King of Cang walked to the central viewing platform of the arena with Xixi, "Has everyone arrived?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, all participants from the thirteen cities of Cang Kingdom are present," the referee respectfully bowed to the King of Cang.

"Good, let us begin then. Let me see the strength of the Cang Kingdom warriors," commanded the King of Cang.

Following the King of Cang’s instructions, the referee carved the names of the participants from each city onto bamboo slips and placed them into a sealed wooden box.

"Do you think that Lu Hong will encounter Disaster Church in the first match?" Leng Yue’s eyes, cold and sinister, looked at Lu Hong, seemingly very eager for his demise.

"Perhaps, I heard that someone carrying a heavy purse knocked on the door of Master Wu An last night." Wu An was the referee in charge of this selection battle, and Leng Yue’s teammate laughed, "I also heard you were thrown to the ground by that kid, is that true?"

Before the words were finished, Leng Yue’s fair palm clasped the other’s throat, "Piber, be careful what you say next time; it might be the last thing you say in this world."

"Ugh~!" Piber, silenced by Leng Yue’s grip, was panic-stricken and struggled, but it took other teammates to step in before Leng Yue let go.

Collapsing to the ground, Piber was drenched in cold sweat, too frightened to utter another word.

No wonder Disaster Church fancied her; her strength was formidable.

In no time, the list of matches was announced by Wu An.

"This...," Disaster Church’s eyes widened more than copper bells, "How is this possible?!"

Wasn’t it agreed that Lu Hong would face him in the first match?

Why did this kid get a bye? A bye! Can you believe it?!

Yes, with twelve cities each having sent seven members, they were perfectly matched for battle, making Lu Hong the one extra contestant, advancing directly.

"What’s going on?!" Disaster Church grabbed the underling who worked for him last night, about to question when a sudden chill behind him awoke his senses. Turning around, he saw the stern gaze from the King of Cang; frightened, he hastily dropped his servant and bowed his head in silence.

The King of Cang shifted his gaze away, and the battles could now commence.

As it happened, Disaster Church was indeed the first to enter the arena, but his opponent was a Second-Transformation Peak Mage from the seventh city of Cangdu.

There was nothing spectacular to mention, simply a crushing victory. In just one minute, the opponent was beaten down, lying on the ground unconscious.

"Magic Wind wins, advancing to the next round!" Wu An declared the result after confirming that the Mage had lost the ability to fight.

Seizing the opportunity, Magic Wind quietly inquired, "Lord Wu An, about the matter I entrusted to you last night..."

Unfortunately, Wu An paid him no attention, not even letting Magic Wind finish his sentence, "Please ask the representative from Yinmo City to exit the arena. Next up, Kundari from Half Mountain City will battle Lani from Yu River City."

"Lord Wu?!" Wu An’s disregard infuriated Magic Wind, who bellowed in a low growl, "Have you forgotten?!"

Wu An glanced coldly and kicked Magic Wind out of the arena with one foot.

Helping Magic Wind kill Lu Hong? Even the king of Cangdu City commanded his protection in secret; Wu An wouldn’t dare cause trouble even if he had a thousand times the courage. He even feared that the king might be displeased by last night’s bribery from Yinmo City.

Lu Hong, who had a bye in the first round, sat quietly in the stands, enjoying the performances of Cangdu’s top Second-Transition warriors.

He found that although they were all at the Second-Transformation Peak, the differences between each person were still vast. Take Magic Wind, for instance, who dealt with his opponent so quickly it was startling, whereas others often came to a deadlock, unable to determine a winner for quite some time.

The second person Lu Hong took notice of was Leng Yue. This woman was extremely deadly; while Magic Wind was wild, he still spared his opponent’s life. Leng Yue, on the other hand, would not stop until she had dug out her opponent’s heart with her lethal moves.

To provoke such a woman was also Lu Hong’s bad luck.

The first round of selection battles lasted for three days, followed immediately by the second round’s draw.

"This time that kid must meet his match, right?" Magic Wind fixed his gaze on Wu An’s right hand, drawing lots.

Soon enough, the pairing for the second round was announced, and unsurprisingly, Lu Hong still had a bye.

"I object!" Magic Wind stood up angrily, unable to fathom what Wu An was thinking. Three consecutive days of knocking on the door, aside from returning the heavy gold, Wu An gave no response.

"Your Majesty!" Magic Wind bowed to the king of Cangdu City, "Lu Hong has had two byes in a row. There must be something fishy going on; surely Wu An has taken bribes from the other party early on, daring to deceive in front of Your Majesty."

Wu An crossed his arms and lifted the corner of his mouth in a cold smile, completely ignoring the accusation.

The king of Cangdu City nodded slightly, "The objection is invalid. Wu An is a veteran minister of my court. He has made foolish mistakes, but I trust that he would not blunder on such important matters. Isn’t that right, Wu An?" He turned his gaze toward Wu An with a hint of chill.

Wu An kneeled with a thud, his voice trembling, "Yes... Yes, Your Majesty entrusted such an important matter to your minister, how could I fail to live up to Your Grace?" He knew the king was expressing his discontent about the bribery from Magic Wind.

"Good, the selection shall continue."

The king set the tone; who would dare dispute? Magic Wind could only swallow his frustration, glaring at Lu Hong with pent-up rage that he couldn’t vent.

With the end of the second round, the bamboo slips in the wooden box became pairs. Magic Wind continued to pray earnestly, hoping to face that detestable masked man in a direct confrontation.

And Lu Hong also anticipated this. The king of Cangdu City had said he wouldn’t take the field once during the selection battles. Now that the number of contestants was even, surely no one would have a bye, right?

Wu An reached into the wooden box, drawing the first lot - Lu Hong.

He drew the second lot – Magic Wind!

"Ha ha ha, blessings from the heavens!" At this moment, Magic Wind laughed wildly, "Truly the blessings of the gods!"

At this moment, Magic Wind felt completely energized, extremely exhilarated.

Wu An glanced at Magic Wind and said indifferently, "These two will have a bye and advance."

Lu Hong: ...

Magic Wind: ...

The rest of the people: ...

The king of Cangdu City and Xixi shared a quiet smile on the viewing platform; this old rogue’s maneuver was sheer genius!

"Your Majesty?!" Magic Wind almost spat out a mouthful of blood, "How could there possibly be two byes at the same time? This is clearly Wu An protecting Lu Hong!"

"Is this the case, Wu An?" The king of Cangdu City couldn’t admit that he was the one protecting Lu Hong, so he quickly threw the question to Wu An.

Wu An knelt swiftly, beginning his explanation, "Your Majesty, your servant was only considering the next round. This way, the next round will also be even, and no one will have a bye. As we approach the final selections, we cannot allow any byes."

"Ah...," the king of Cangdu City barely restrained a smile. Such a lame excuse, yet said with such thick skin. He continued, "Wu An’s considerations do have merit; let it be so."

What did he mean by "let it be so"? Magic Wind’s eyes widened, a million metaphorical grass-mud horses thundering through his heart. Had the king gone mad today? How could he believe such nonsense?

Leng Yue, on the other hand, sensed something; Wu An dared to shield Lu Hong so brazenly, surely the king was instructing him.

Could Lu Hong be the king’s illegitimate son? Leng Yue looked at the masked Lu Hong with curiosity; it was very likely.

The mask was meant to hide a face that looked eight parts like the king’s. My goodness, she thought, how fortunate that she hadn’t moved against the boy. Otherwise, she’d be in a real predicament.

Convinced of her conjecture, Leng Yue’s attitude toward Lu Hong underwent a 180-degree turn. She strategized on how to mend their relationship.

"Young City Lord, this matter is quite peculiar." Another competing warrior from Yinmo City leaned into Magic Wind’s ear, "Please do not confront His Majesty head-on; instead, report to the City Lord tonight and then make a decision."

It was true, what his comrade said. Magic Wind took several deep breaths before he managed to stand up and return to Yinmo City’s camp with great effort.