v4c60: Something Afoot

The crowd erupted into utter pandemonium at the Young Master’s words. Bi De watched as the once confident competitors turned meek. In one instant the Young Master had changed the course of the entire tournament.

Zang Sheng’s eyes bored into the crowd, daring anybody to say a word. Everyone whom he stared at averted their eyes… except for Bi De.

Zang Sheng’s eyes narrowed, and with a burst of speed he was standing before him on the edge of the raised platform.

He needed the platform, otherwise he would have had to look up to look Bi De in the eyes. Green met blue as the intent of one in the Spiritual Realm bored down on Bi De.

Bi De remained standing, his eyes focused on the man before him. He could see a spark, a desire to crush Bi De for his impudence. Sheng wanted to hurt him.

Yet that glow in his eyes faded after a moment. “So, you’re the gardener, hmm? I shall allow you to retain the use of your hands, despite looking at me with those impudent eyes,” he stated, and then turned his back on Bi De.

Bi De said nothing, simply looking at his back.

This man… was strong. Stronger than Bi De was.

And yet… he felt his blood start to pump. His soul could not deny the challenge that had been thrown this way from Zang Sheng.

They would meet in combat, that much was certain.

Bi De went to his seat as the first names were called, and as lightning began to fly—

He was rather surprised. His friends had said the initial bouts were rather boring, but this was anything but. He found himself quite engrossed as the crowd began to holler and cheer.

“Twenty silver coins on Jian Feng!” Yushang called, grinning at Bi De.

And that was how he started gambling.

And taking a lot of Yushang’s money.

==================================

“Finish wrapping that burn. Poultice changes every two hours,” Ri Zu commanded her aide as she finished her work on one of the injured combatants. Electrical burns were something Ri Zu had a wealth of experience of beforehand, from Tigu, Xiulan, and Wa Shi’s “tribulation training”. That had turned out to be a boon today.

Her aide bowed while Ri Zu took a breath and reviewed her work in her mind, finding nothing wrong with what she had done. The patient would make a full recovery in three days time, if all went well.

Satisfied, Ri Zu went to wash her hands, looking around the ward. The beds were empty, but prepared; Ri Zu, as the most junior doctor, had been the one to deal with the first patient of the day.

Finished with her duties, she walked back into the extremely well-appointed break room in their little underground bunker. The cushions were extremely comfortable, and the table was laden with food and drink for the Medical Pavilion disciples on standby.

The rest of her fellows were watching the tournament on a crystal that took up an entire wall. Yuanzi, their most senior member, had the control, and they could zoom in on certain sections of the event as he directed.

“Anyone else?” Ri Zu asked her Senior Brother.

“Just some walk-offs,” he replied. “How’s our cherry-boy doing?”

“Three days, but he shall be fine,” Ri Zu replied, and Yuanzi nodded. “Have Bi De or Yushang been called yet?”

Her Senior Brother shook his head, and Ri Zu went to the table to sit down just as another bout ended. Unlike the Dueling Peaks with its preliminary rounds, this tournament went straight to focusing on one combat round at a time. Ri Zu studied the crystal and winced as a blow landed.

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“Ooh, that one had to hurt,” Hutao said as she ate another custard bun.

“Definitely some liver damage. He’s going to be pissing blood for a week,” Kuang Dan chuckled as he sipped some juice—lcohol was banned for everyone on duty.

“Nothing a pill won’t fix,” Yuanzi replied, yawning. “Walk-off.”

“Walk-off,” the others agreed.

There was the sound of chalk on a board, and another tally was added to “walk-off”.

Next to those was the single mark under “critical” and the two empty columns of “broken cultivation” and “death”. It was probably rather morbid to keep a tally, and even moreso to bet on the outcomes, but Ri Zu knew that at some point one had to laugh or they were going to cry or break.

The bout did indeed end as the disciple simply walked off an injury that would have slain a mortal, looking mildly annoyed with his defeat. A few disciples gave the arena a once over to make sure nothing was too badly damaged, and then the announcer bellowed the next two names as the crowd cheered or jeered.

“What do you guys think? Equal cultivation, but Shu has three years more experience than Lidai,” Yuanzi asked.

There were several moments of muttering before the answers all came in, with “walk-off” being the most popular. Kuang Dan voted “critical,” while Ri Zu herself also said a “walk off”.

And then the bout began immediately with blasts of lightning and fire.

If there was one thing Ri Zu noticed in particular about this tournament compared to the one at the Dueling Peaks, it was the sheer amount of techniques thrown around.