Chapter 2115 — The Sixth Match

This procedure was already second nature to the three of them present. Had it been any other competing family, there might have been a flurry of activity, since the participants varied from contest to contest. But on the Hidden Han family's side, the same three took the stage for every single match.

They arrived at the Zhao family's council hall in due course. Han Tianba registered Wei Zhao's name, paid the stake, and then sat down in his own seat to wait for Old Master Zhao to announce the rules of the contest.

"Very well, everyone is here, so I shall begin by explaining today's first match: the endurance contest! The so-called endurance contest is quite simple. The contestants stand right here and receive blows from Yellow-rank, Mystic-rank, Earth-rank, or even Heaven-rank strength. Whoever withstands the highest grade of attack wins!" Old Master Zhao declared. "Of course, if you lack such ability, do not choose a grade that is too high. As the saying goes, if you don't have the diamond drill, don't take on the porcelain work. If you're not up to it and force yourself to step up anyway, we take no responsibility if you're beaten to death!"

Old Master Zhao had phrased it cleverly, yet his words leaned somewhat in favor of the Golden Bell Sect. His hint was plain enough: this match was the diamond drill's dish; those without the strength had best not even try, lest they lose their lives.

"Here we have a testing device borrowed from an ancient sect. It has a dial on it, and by turning the dial you can set different levels of strength, from the early Yellow rank all the way to the peak of the late Heaven rank—every minor grade is strictly delineated!" Old Master Zhao continued. "As before, I, Old Master You, Old Master Yu, and Old Master Tang will infuse true qi to make the device operate. Of course, the grades on it are strict, so there is no possibility of cheating. That is to say, if we infuse too little true qi, the device will not work; if we infuse too much, it is useless, because the device will still unleash an attack of the preset grade, and the surplus true qi is simply wasted! As for the peak of the late Heaven rank, we are not capable of triggering that either, so there is no need for you to choose it! Of course, you are not limited to a single choice. For instance, after choosing the early Yellow rank and finding you can withstand it, you may still raise it a bit and choose a higher attack. But I would not advise doing so: each blow you endure inflicts a certain degree of injury and consumes a certain amount of stamina, which is detrimental to what follows. So everyone had best be judicious and choose a safe grade! And one more thing—no magic treasures or props may be used!"

Because he had been criticized last time for the business of temporarily raising the pressure in the formation, Old Master Zhao was more cautious this time. Above all, he could not afford to offend the Fire Wolf Gang again, and still less could he afford to offend the Golden Bell Sect along with them.

The final clause had been added specifically for Wei Zhao's sake. Wei Zhao had procured a low-grade Golden Cicada undergarment set; once worn, he would be invincible below the Earth rank. How could they let him wear such a thing? So the use of magic treasures and props was banned outright, forcing Wei Zhao to compete on his own.

"Not bad, that's fair enough!" Han Xiaopo nodded after hearing it and found nothing objectionable. As for Han Xiaopo, it had not occurred to him either that the ban on magic treasures and props was a clause added on the spot.

"Fair or not, you may not win! This is a matter of meeting the blows squarely with your own body. Choose wrongly, and if you die, you die for nothing!" Old Master Zhao said blandly. "Does anyone still have objections?"

"None. Let's begin," Wei Zhao said faintly, as though the whole match had been arranged for his sake—which put Old Master Zhao in a foul mood.

Still, he paid Wei Zhao no mind. In his view, Wei Zhao was merely quick with his tongue; how could Wei Zhao possibly win this match? Wei Zhao had never trained in any external martial art of endurance. He even treasured a low-grade Golden Cicada undergarment set as if it were a prize—what endurance could a man like that possibly have?

"Good. Now, contestants, please draw lots, and come forward one by one in the order drawn!" Old Master Zhao said.

Hearing Old Master Zhao's words, the contestants stepped forward to draw. Wei Zhao glanced at his lot: he was fourth in line.

"I withdraw." The first to take the stage, the Hidden Tang family's contestant, chose no test grade at all and conceded outright. This was the strategy Old Master Tang had settled on beforehand; this endurance contest was an entirely different matter from the stamina contest before.

In the stamina contest, one could withdraw upon reaching one's limit. Here, reaching one's limit meant death outright. The Hidden Tang family had no hard, head-on martial skills, nor any fine treasures to ward off attacks. So rather than choosing the Yellow rank, taking a painful blow, and still failing to win, they might as well concede outright.

"I withdraw as well!" The second to take the stage was the contestant from the Qianshan Sect. The Qianshan Sect was a sect that raised spirit beasts and had never trained in endurance at all; in battle, they mostly relied on their spirit beasts to fight, so their individual strength was not much to speak of.

"I withdraw too!" The third to take the stage was the contestant from the Hidden Pi family. Earlier, the Hidden Pi family had tried to obtain that low-grade Golden Cicada undergarment set from the Golden Bell Sect precisely in order to compete in this endurance contest—but Wei Zhao had snatched the treasure away, so what was the point of competing now? A strong fist did not mean a body that could take a beating.

Moreover, Old Master Zhao's last-minute clause banning magic treasures had rather delighted Old Master Pi. Wei Zhao had gained a treasure for nothing and yet could not use it—he must be dying of frustration, surely?

Little did he know that Wei Zhao had never intended to use that low-grade Golden Cicada undergarment at all! He had taken it back for someone else to use, and besides, anything worn by another had to be washed and disinfected before Wei Zhao would put it on—how could he be wearing it now?

"Our Hidden Zhuang family withdraws as well!" The Zhuang family's contestant made a token appearance on stage, went through the motions, and said the same.

It was plain that these disciples of the hidden families were no fools. One after another they kept their distance from a contest so prone to injury and death—and so it came directly to Wei Zhao.

This left Wei Zhao somewhat vexed. He had meant to see what grade the Golden Bell Sect's contestant would choose, so that he might raise or match it as he saw fit. But Wei Zhao had not expected that his fifth position would in fact make him first.

There was no help for it; Wei Zhao could only step up onto the testing platform, glance at the options displayed above it, and say, "I choose the mid Earth rank!"

A blow from a mid Earth-rank expert was something Wei Zhao could still withstand. Back then, the man in black of Earth-rank strength had used a martial technique, and even that had not killed Wei Zhao!

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