Chapter 344 - Cheng Hai

Chapter 344: Chapter 99 Cheng HaiTime flew by; the battle for the top 50 was close at hand.

However, Earl Bacon arrived with his daughter, Xiao Hui, for a visit, which Anna cordially welcomed inside.

Lu Hong came out from the inner room upon hearing the news and asked in confusion, "Lord Earl, what brings you here?"

"Lu Hong, you have truly caused me great distress." Lu Hong had been fighting bravely, his invincible stature had dominated the headlines of the Seven Layers Realm, which had certainly changed Bacon’s view of him. Initially, Bacon had only hoped that Lu Hong would smoothly make it into the top 500; that would have been sufficient. But to his surprise, Lu Hong had defeated Bo Ge and advanced into the top 50. Knowing that Bo Ge was a hot favorite to win the championship, being eliminated in the top 100 spoke volumes about Lu Hong’s strength.

"Please, have a seat." Lu Hong invited both to sit down. Xiao Hui managed a strained smile: "Xiao Hui greets Brother Lu Hong."

Yet, Lu Hong could sense that this little girl had grown distant from him since that night.

Anna passed two cups of tea and then naturally sat next to Lu Hong, wrapping her arm around his.

"May I ask what matters you have come to discuss?"

Earl Bacon’s expression was somewhat complicated: "Lu Hong, my young friend, there’s something I hope you will agree to."

"Lord Earl, please speak freely, I’ll help wherever I can."

"Then..." Bacon hesitated, finding himself unable to say the words he had intended.

Xiao Hui boldly spoke up: "Father wishes for you to withdraw from the competition of the Eagle’s Quest."

Lu Hong was taken aback: "Isn’t it good that I represent the Bacon family and advance to the finals?"

Earl Bacon gave a bitter smile: "My friend, you might not be aware, but my family is barely acknowledged within the entire alliance. Advancing into the top 500 of the Eagle Alliance had already brought considerable honor to the Eastern Alliance."

Earl Bacon took a deep breath and continued: "If it had ended in the top 100, it might not have mattered much. But you defeated Bo Ge and advanced into the top 50... Now, my Eastern Alliance is being targeted by other nobles in these Seven Layers Realm, and it’s been tough."

Anna rolled her eyes: "A bunch of dirty, despicable creatures!"

"I’m sorry," Lu Hong said helplessly, "but I can’t afford to lose; I must claim the championship."

"Win the championship?" Xiao Hui’s eyes widened, then she laughed: "Am I hearing things? Do you think that defeating Bo Ge makes you invincible?"

"I don’t know about being invincible," Anna couldn’t stand Xiao Hui’s insolence towards Lu Hong and coldly said, "But if my man wants to win the championship, he definitely can—I believe in him." She didn’t mention that he was actually a Baron Yitian, fearing it might be too much for Bacon and Xiao Hui to handle if they knew.

"Lu Hong, my young friend, I’m begging you," Earl Bacon pleaded again: "If you continue to win, my Eastern Alliance might be relentlessly targeted by other nobles. We already have three Marquis families causing trouble; I... I can’t hold up anymore."

Seeing Bacon’s dejected face, one could only wonder what he had gone through in this past half month. Not only was there no praise within the Eastern Alliance, but blame filled their eyes. And outside, a few Marquis had people watch his house, clearly aiming to capture him for questioning. It had been a struggle for him to find an opportunity to see Lu Hong.

"I’m truly sorry, but I have my reasons to win this championship." Lu Hong also hadn’t anticipated that the Eagle’s Quest would have ramifications this complex.

"Ah!" If he really couldn’t be persuaded, what could Bacon do? He resignedly said: "Then I’d better return home early. If I continue to stay here, my life might be in danger."

Xiao Hui stamped her foot, huffing coldly as she supported her father to leave.

Lu Hong shook his head; he simply couldn’t withdraw from the competition. Upon further thought, it seemed he only had one option left—to ask Qing Ling for help and see if she could devise a plan to support Earl Bacon with her identity as a Judgment Knight.

The competition proceeded as planned the next day. Lu Hong once again stood on the enormous arena, cheers for him echoing from the audience—it was clear that his previous duel had conquered the spectators.

As the opponent ascended the stage, the referee, learning from past mistakes, sparing no expense surrounded the formation with an abundance of high-quality Crystal Stones, which clearly evidenced how severely he had been reprimanded after the last match.

Lu Hong, right?" The referee announced the start, but his opponent didn’t immediately attack, didn’t even draw a weapon, as if he came for a chat rather than a fight.

"Indeed, and you are?" Lu Hong answered with a hint of disdain at his opponent’s casual approach.

"I?" The man laughed: "I am from the Nuoshan family, sent to stop you."

Hearing this, Lu Hong also found it somewhat amusing: "My friend, you are quite upfront."

"My grandfather insisted I come; I had no choice but to show up for the formality."

Lu Hong glanced at the spectator seats, where the Duke of Nuoshan was now too embarrassed to turn his head away, restraining himself from rushing down.

Lei Shan leaned in closer, "Is this clown your grandson?"

Nuoshan replied irritably, "If I had such a grandson, I’d be infuriated to death. It must be my good-for-nothing brother’s doing."

"Are you the grandson of Duke Nuoshan?" Lu Hong asked the same question.

"No, no, no, Duke Nuoshan is my great-grandfather. I’m the grandson of the second elder, Cheng Hai."

"Oh?" Observing carefully, Lu Hong noticed that Cheng Hai truly harbored no intentions of a sneak attack and promptly lowered his guard, "So, how do you plan to stop me?"

"Is there any chance we could not fight?" Cheng Hai shyly replied, "I know saying this might make you think I’m shameless, but I sincerely hope you can give up; otherwise, my grandfather will kill me when I return."

"Do you think I’m a pushover?" Lu Hong chuckled lightly, "Do you think I would willingly admit defeat?"

"Then I’ll have no choice but to be ruthless toward you," Cheng Hai said seriously. "So far, none who have dueled me has remained sane. So, if you insist on this, don’t blame me for being merciless."

Chen Hai’s tone was extremely calm, not sounding like he was lying.

Lu Hong paused, then asked, "What profession do you belong to?"

"I don’t mind telling you, I’m an Illusionist." Cheng Hai said somewhat proudly, "Just a step away from becoming a Grand Illusion Master."

"Illusionist?" Lu Hong blinked, then burst into light laughter, having thought it was some formidable hidden profession, only to find out it was merely an Illusionist. Back on the Yuanhua Plane, he had torn Grand Illusion Masters to shreds. Now with the Divine Eye at his side, all illusionary techniques were mere decorations in his sight, a natural counter to such a rare—rare to the point of SSR-level—profession.

"Must be hard becoming an Illusionist?" Lu Hong curiously asked. He was also quite curious about this profession.

"Of course." Cheng Hai opened up and babbled on quite a bit. Essentially, he explained that as an Illusionist, he had scoured ancient ruins for a long time before discovering a broken altar. After some repairs, it barely managed to function once more, allowing Cheng Hai to shift to the prestigious role of an Illusionist.

Although rare, it must be admitted that Illusionists are incredibly powerful; a powerful Illusionist can make one unable to distinguish reality from illusion. Someone like Cheng Hai, who could drive people mad, must have placed something extraordinary in the illusion.

Moreover, when an Illusionist reaches the Third Transition Peak, they master an eerie and formidable ability to materialize virtual creatures and objects from illusions while also able to virtualize real entities.

"Cough, cough!" After Cheng Hai’s passionate elucidation, Duke Nuoshan couldn’t listen anymore and left the scene. Duchess Xinlei wasn’t present today, whereas Lei Shan and Duke Chen Hui were quite interested in watching this clown perform.

Initially prepared to scold, the audience, upon hearing that the young man’s grandfather was Nuoshan’s second elder, dared not utter a word. They could only endure sitting there listening to him babble.

"Overall, you’re definitely no match for me. I suggest you just admit defeat," Cheng Hai put on a cryptic demeanor. "Even the number one violent girl at the Holy Academy took three steps back when she saw me."

Lu Hong figured out that the ’violent girl’ must be Anna, the headmaster’s female disciple mentioned in the documents given to him.

"If that’s the case, come at me. I’d like to see what an Illusionist is capable of."

"Huh?" Cheng Hai widened his eyes, "Are you sure?"

"Very sure." Lu Hong nodded, "Hurry up, I’m in a rush to go shopping with my wife."

"Wait!" Cheng Hai suddenly exclaimed, then took a rushed breath, "You have a wife?!"

"What about it? Don’t you have a girlfriend?" Lu Hong asked, surprised, "I mean, you’re not that ugly."

Cheng Hai knew he wasn’t ugly, but his studies in Illusion Techniques involved terrible, revolting subjects. It had spread among the upper echelons too, so no noble lady wished to come close to him. Low-ranking noble daughters attempted to attach themselves to him, but all were blocked by his second grandfather, citing mismatched social standing. Over time, Cheng Hai tragically remained single.

Therefore, he harbored a particular resentment toward those who were in relationships, his eyes reddening as he shouted at Lu Hong, "How can you have a wife! Damn it! Damn it!"

God, why did having a wife concern him? Lu Hong was speechless; this guy was like a madman. How could such an issue trigger madness?

"I will burn you at the stake on behalf of the Singles’ Alliance!" Exclaimed Cheng Hai, and an invisible wave of sound, as if alive, surged violently towards Lu Hong.

What the fuck! Physical attacks just for this? Lu Hong hastily readied his giant sword, cautiously awaiting assault, only to witness the surrounding scenes twisting and changing.

In an instant, he found himself in a huge amusement park, devoid of any joyous atmosphere and filled with dead silence.

Then, a giant face appeared in the sky—it was Cheng Hai’s face, horrifying with blood tears streaming down his cheeks and mouth ripped to his ears, terrifyingly.

"Welcome to my Horror Park!"

"So..." Cheng Hai’s voice deepened, continuing, "begin your ’enjoyment’!"