After setting the general direction, Lu Yao made some detailed adjustments.
The 4th Martial Arts Conference would introduce invited participants, with the Psi-Ghost Realm and the Bamboo Reed Kingdom each holding one slot, and inviting strong individuals from both countries to participate in the event. This matter was communicated to the two apostles by Ambassador Saltguy.
Both divine kingdoms expressed their honour and delight at being invited.
And so on the opening day, two brand new participants appeared in Sand City.
Lu Yao looked at the characters sent by the two countries and was a bit speechless in his heart.
I invited you guys to come over and have a good time, but you’re just going to come over and compete with me, aren’t you?
The Spectre Realm had sent Apostle Hobbard, and the one who appeared on the side of the Bamboo Reed Kingdom was Apostle Bamboo Man.
The two Apostles who respectively represented the strongest battle power of the Divine Kingdom personally participated.
Was this the two Godly Kingdoms giving face or smashing the scene?
Lu Yao couldn’t say.
In short, the situation wasn’t quite what he thought it would be.
But it wasn’t a big deal either.
If you had the ability, come and take the title, and none of the rewards that should be given would be missing.
Originally, Lu Yao’s aim was to add some new participants to increase the motivation and participation of the two divine kingdoms, as well as to give the Yao Transcendents some more real-world opponents.
Unexpectedly, people directly sent two Apostles over, directly pulling full strength.
Slymod proposed, “Lord God, is it necessary to send an apostle to ensure that the ultimate winner is the Yao Race?”
Lu Yao indicated that there was no need.
In a way, Lu Yao was kinda expecting the Divine Kingdom Apostles to win.
If they could take the title, they themselves could logically reward them with a day trip to the Yao Race’s world, saving them the trouble of finding excuses.
The five-yearly Martial Arts Conference unfolded as scheduled, and this time, the total number of participants reached 89.
Basically, the group of LV20+ martial cultivators was this volume. Excluding some who were absent due to various circumstances, as well as those who were naturally attenuated by various battles, the total number was at the beginning of a hundred.
Apostle Hobbard appeared in his first battle.
He met a tough opponent, the second champion Ice Troll Ice Fist.
Now that Ice Fist had come to LV31, he was equal to Hobbard in terms of rank.
Both sides fought a particularly gruelling battle, the ghouls and ice trolls were both gifted in their flesh and blood, one with toxins and the other with thick skin.
However, Ice Fist had a crucial special ability.
……
[Ice Fist]: fist attacks have a small probability of triggering a [Frozen] effect, slowing down the enemy.
……
When in a physical fight, Ice Fist was a powerful skill.
Both sides swung their fists and passionately beat each other, both gave up on defence, the more Hobard fought, the slower his attack speed, the more Ice Fist fought the fiercer …… It didn’t take long for Hobard’s life value to fall to the bottom, already on the verge of death.
He fought red-eyed and refused to admit defeat, and was finally forced to be taken off the field by the Knowing Monk, declaring Ice Fist the winner.
After the defeat, Hobard sat in a hidden corner, a mess floating above his head. He hadn’t been able to come to terms with the fact that he had only just made his debut and was eliminated.
Lu Yao couldn’t do anything about it either.
Athletics was just so cruel, and the only thing one could say was that they would do it again next time.
On the other hand, Bamboo Man’s path to promotion was smoother.
This battle-experienced Apostle was an LV35 himself, with an intensity that far exceeded most of the contestants, and made it all the way to the semi-finals. At this stage, he finally encountered a formidable opponent.
The opponent was a LV30 Corrupted Guard.
The Rotten Guard was an advancement of the Corruptor, and not only did it possess the [Stubbornness] that could restrain spells, but it also had an additional ability that was extremely powerful in actual combat.
……
[Firmament]: innately possesses a high level of defence.
……
The flexible and explosive Takeo versus the defensive and counter-attacking Rotten Guard, the battle became extraordinarily stalemate and long. The result was that Takeo had a narrow advantage and stood to the end.
In the final, Takeo’s opponent was Rose Envoy Huang Lie.
The Ice Fist that had previously eliminated Hobald was eliminated by Huang Lie.
Lu Yao remembered that Huang Lie was a member of Pinkman’s florist team and was only at the beginning of level 20 when he was initially seen. An era had passed, and this Yellow Rose Envoy’s level had actually come to LV33, a growth rate that was quite excellent.
Slightly inferior in terms of level, but in actual combat, Huang Lie fought toe-to-toe with Bamboo Man.
Unlike before, the opponent Bamboo Man encountered this time was of the same type as him.
This fight was different from all the previous ones, both sides were cautious and prudent, spending a lot of time observing each other and keeping their distance, like two light-footed fighters, both testing each other’s attacks.
Both sides are extremely explosive, both dexterity and speed, each attack is between life and death.
After five punches, Bamboo Man lost his ability to fight and conceded defeat.
Huang Lie’s killer technique is a flower grammar technique.
……
[Flower Language XVI – Golden Praise]: a Flower Language spell where the greatest respect for the enemy is to give praise, locking the enemy in place and thus increasing the specific damage the enemy does to each other. For each damage dealt or taken, the Golden Tribute continues to stack the gain effect.
……
Golden Salute is an amplifier that synchronises the increase of both the enemy’s and our attacks to see who can’t hold up and get killed first. Especially when you cross levels, it works wonders when used properly.
Bamboo Man lost because he didn’t want to die, but Huang Lie wasn’t afraid to die.
Lu Yao is just a little bit sorry.
An Ice Troll and a Yellow Rose, they didn’t do it lightly. The excuse he had just thought of couldn’t be used, so he could only think of another excuse.
Huang Lie won the Fourth Martial Arts Conference Championship, and Lu Yao promoted him up a level.
Rose Envoy Huang knelt down to thank him, but he didn’t choose to transfer to become a Sand Walker. He was proud of his status as a Rose Envoy and had no plans to travel to other Divine Kingdoms.
He had competed because of his avid love for fighting.
Then Huang Lie challenged the eighteen Calamity Beasts, he won the first one and fell at the feet of the second.
But even so, he was the first Transcendent to break through the Calamity Beasts under the Knowing Monk.
Satisfied, Huang Lie returned to the Valley of the Gods and continued to follow Pinkman to plant roses.
……
Both of the Apostles invited to participate were demoralised, with clouds and turbulence floating above their heads.
Bamboo Man and Hobbard sat in the shadows of the walls, left and right, without saying a word.
Slymod’s doppelganger walked up to them, silver cane in hand.
“Mr Two Apostles, it’s not easy to come to Sand City once, so how about I lead the way and introduce Sand City for you?”
Exclamation marks appeared above the heads of the two apostles and they quickly stood up.
Compared to a personal win or loss, it was still the interests of the divine Kingdom that were more important.
“That would be troublesome.”
“Please also lead the way.”
After conducting the usual briefings, Slemod stood still and said, “As the mayor of Sand City, I have not entered into the landlord’s honour this time, and I’m really ashamed to have caused the two guests to encounter a small storm.”
Both apostles were speechless.
“As compensation, I have an idea, I wonder if you two, are interested in visiting other cities?”
The two apostles’ heads lit up with giant exclamation charms.
“Please!”
“Yes!”
“This is an idea I have, but it concerns other cities, and I still need to communicate with the prophets and mayors of other cities ……”
Slemod said, “Please wait a moment.”
The two apostles waited nervously.
After a while, the dialogue box appeared on the door of the statue-like Slemod’s brain, “Unfortunately, Yao City has been very busy recently with testing the [Brass Furnace Dragon] and improving the steamboat, and Prophet Long Ji politely declined the visit.”
“Over in Salt City, the [Salt City Baths] is being expanded, the city guard’s [Armour Bearer] legion is conducting large-scale practical exercises, and the roads in the city streets are being refurbished……. Prophet Shibao and Mayor Botu have discussed the matter and felt that this is not a good time to welcome a visitor.”
Sighing emoticons popped up above both Bamboo Man and Hobard’s heads.
Slemod’s words changed, “However, the two cities of Crystal City and Udar City would welcome you two to come”
“These two cities can both have Lord Yao God’s subordinate gods in attendance, Lord White God and Lord Uzi King respectively, and they are also two large cities that are flourishing. Sand City is not yet comparable to them.”
“I wonder which city you two are looking to choose?”
Bamboo Man and Hobald discussed it.
They decided to move together, going to Crystal City in the morning and Uda City in the afternoon.
A soybean sweaty expression appeared on Slemod’s brain.
“Both of you …… these two cities are not close at all. If you want to see more scenery, it would be better for you two to split up, but of course touring together is definitely more comfortable.”
In the end, Takeo chose Uda City, and Hobald was going to Crystal City.
Apostle Zhunan couldn’t help but ask, “Does the Yao God agree to outsiders like us entering the Yao Clan’s world?”
A smiley face lit up above Slemod’s head, “It would be a great sin for such a small matter to bother Lord God, but this is in line with the oracle that Lord God has sent down – the world of the Yao Clan welcomes the goodwill of friends as well as the challenges of enemies. This is a thank you to all of you for taking care of the people of the Yao Clan such as Salt Long.”
“If you all oblige, I am also very curious about the two divine kingdoms and would like to go over and pay a visit in order to look for the possibility of further exchanges and co-operation between the cities.”
Lu Yao looked soothed in his heart.
A master is a master.
