Chapter 235 – Legend of the Masked Children (V)

Chapter 235

Legend of the Masked Children (V)

The competition began, yet I could hardly concentrate on any of it; my eyes kept darting between Long Tao, who’d closed his eyes to meditate, and the ‘Lady’ whose head stayed at a persistent tilt, gazing northward. With each passing second, it felt like my BPM went up a notch, and if the tension inside continues, I genuinely believe I’ll start breaking some long-standing records.

I’d only been drawn away from the anxiety when one of the kids stepped out on one of the stages. It was Xi Zhao, but… well, he was wearing a weird mask, and if I just didn’t intuitively know it was him, I wouldn’t actually be able to tell. The mask did hide both his face and the ‘general’ nature of his Qi, but how well it did so, well, I don’t really know.

Regardless, his opponent was a boy around his age, and he likely threw out a few taunts–though of what sort, I couldn’t hear–before the judge signaled that the match should start.

The other kid was merely at the eighth stage of Qi Condensation, though Xi Zhao did actually… struggle.

Our acting lessons from way back in the day when we tried extorting the traitorous Elder Zhang were paying off, as, if I didn’t know any better, I’d totally buy that he was struggling.

Also, for some reason… he was using an axe. Like a proper lumberjack axe.

The bout lasted for about two minutes, actually, when Xi Zhao managed to ‘finally’ land a ‘decisive’ blow and just ‘barely’ squeak out a victory. At the end, he was bent halfway forward, panting, and seeming like he’d struggle to beat a mouse right now.

In an actual competition, I imagine this ‘strategy’ would work for a round or two before everyone picked up on the fact that the person was acting. But if my feelings are true, and this competition will quickly turn into a bloodbath once someone attacks, then it might really be enough to fool the audience’s eyes.

It just so happened that another kid wearing the exact same fox mask came onto the stage–Light. That’s right, I’ve sent out a seven-year-old girl to compete in a martial arts tournament.

If shame could manifest, it’d be a freakin’ Mt. Everest.

In fairness, it’s not like Light is just an ordinary seven-year-old girl, but still. Unlike Xi Zhao, though, she didn’t bother pretending; her opponent was some teen who, understandably, went a bit easy on her, swinging down with the sword half-heartedly. She easily dodged it, shot past and behind him, and kicked upward with all her might.

There was a collective gasp as the boy collapsed with a yelp, holding onto his balls, and I felt my heart skip a beat.

Light?

Well, she simply sauntered off the stage, as though it was the most ordinary thing in the world.

It wasn’t long before another fox-masked kid walked out, and even if I couldn’t discern all (or most, really) convos around the stands, I imagine that a good number of them were about the weird, masked kids.

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This time around, it was Wan Lan–except she was using a sword. Like Xi Zhao, she pretended to struggle against some kid at the ninth stage of Qi Condensation, trading blows and even drawing blood a few times, before finally managing to overcome the challenge and best her opponent.