Chapter 1533 - 1530: The Duel Begins

Ye Qiu and Fang Wushang arrived at the place where the duel had been arranged, and the scene was already incredibly lively. No one knew who had spread the news, but people from all over the world had come just to watch this duel.

The street was built from white limestone blocks cut into quadrilateral shapes and stacked up. Along with the Divine Hall–style buildings and the broad waterways, one of the town's symbols was a huge arena standing right in front of the teleportation gate. Ye Qiu's duel with Long Yijian had been decided to take place here. However…

"Freshly popped popcorn, only ten bucks a cup, only ten bucks!"

"Ice-cold pure dark beer, beer...!"

At the arena entrance a bunch of merchants and other people were lined up with their stalls neatly in rows, each shouting at the top of their lungs, hawking highly suspicious-looking food to the spectators waiting in a long, long line.

"...Wh-what the hell is going on here..."

Shocked by the sight in front of him, Ye Qiu had no choice but to ask Fang Wushang at his side.

How was this a duel? It was obviously some kind of festival celebration, right? Ye Qiu was seriously wondering if there was some other event scheduled here today!

"Uh... I'm not really sure either..."

"Only the people of the Lantian Clan should know about this, right!"

"The people selling tickets should also be from the Lantian Clan. Did someone mix something up? How did this turn into such a huge festive event?"

"About that..."

"Don't tell me Long Yijian's real goal is to make money?"

"I don't think so. No matter what, the Clan Leader shouldn't be that kind of person. It's probably Mr. Yamato's doing. He's our clan's accountant..."

In front of the ah-ha-ha–laughing Fang Wushang, Ye Qiu felt utterly drained.

How did things end up like this? Ye Qiu could only grumble helplessly in his heart!

"How about... we run away together, Wushang? Find some place with no people and just farm the land together...!"

"I wouldn't really mind..."

Fang Wushang spoke with an expression that said it had nothing to do with him.

"But if we run now, everyone's going to call you a coward who bailed at the last second!"

"Ugh, damn it..."

"Hey now, this is the mess you made yourself. Who told you to agree to a duel with the Clan Leader. Ah... Mr. Yamato."

He looked up and immediately saw a man who couldn't be less suited to wearing the Lantian Clan's blue uniform. The fat man was wobbling his plump belly as he walked over.

"Wushang, really, I'm so grateful to you, Ye Qiu!"

He piled a wide grin onto his round face as he spoke to Ye Qiu.

"Thanks to the help from you guys, we've made a killing! Honestly, if we could do this kind of event once a month, that'd be perfect!"

"Who the hell would agree to that!"

"Come on, come on, let's head to the lounge and get ready first. This way, this way..."

Feeling completely drained, Ye Qiu followed behind the man who'd started walking off at a sluggish pace. At this point Ye Qiu had already decided to stop thinking about it and just go all in.

The lounge was a small room facing the arena. After escorting the two of them to the entrance, Yamato said he still had to go adjust the betting odds and promptly vanished, and Ye Qiu no longer had the energy to curse him out. The spectator seats seemed long since packed, and the muffled roar of cheers seeped into the lounge.

Once only Ye Qiu and Fang Wushang were left, Fang Wushang finally grabbed Ye Qiu's wrists with both hands, his expression serious.

"...Even if it's a one-hit-decides-all duel, taking a solid heavy blow head-on will still be dangerous. Especially since the Clan Leader's sword has too many unknowns. The moment you feel something's off, surrender immediately, got it? If you go crazy like last time again, I won't forgive you!"

Ye Qiu could see that Fang Wushang was genuinely worried about him, and at the same time fully acknowledged Long Yijian's strength!

"You should be worrying about Long Yijian instead!"

Ye Qiu smiled, and gave Fang Wushang's shoulder a firm slap.

The announcement to begin the duel echoed in, mingled with a roar of cheers like distant thunder. At the same time Ye Qiu slightly drew the sword crossed on his back, deliberately letting out a sharp clang, then slid it back into the scabbard. Then he stepped forward into the square beam of light that looked as if it had been cut out and dropped there.

The tiered stands encircling the circular arena were packed with people. There had to be more than a thousand spectators. In the front row, he could see the general store owner and Kleek, shouting dangerous things like "Cut him down!" and "Kill him!"

Ye Qiu walked to the center of the arena and stopped. Right after, a deep-blue figure emerged from the lounge on the far side. The cheers at the venue grew even louder.

Long Yijian's usual Lantian Clan uniform was white with blue patterns, but now he was wearing a short coat in the exact opposite scheme: blue base with white trim. Like Ye Qiu, he barely wore any armor, but the huge pure white Cross Shield held in his left hand drew every eye.

The sword seemed to be stowed on the inner side of the shield, since at the top of the shield a cross-shaped sword hilt was jutting out.

Long Yijian sauntered up to Ye Qiu with an air of ease, glanced around at the crowd, then let out a wry smile and said:

"I really must apologize, Ye Qiu. I had no idea it would turn out like this."

"Eh, like this I can at least charge an appearance fee."

"No... after the match you'll be a member of our clan. I'll treat this duel as one of your tasks."

With that, Long Yijian put away his smile, and the brass-colored pupils in his eyes burst forth with an overwhelming aura. Ye Qiu couldn't help but feel intimidated and stepped back half a pace. The distance between them wasn't close, yet Ye Qiu could clearly sense that aura from the other man, something that could only be called killing intent.

Ye Qiu switched his mind into combat mode and met Long Yijian's gaze head-on. The deafening cheers seemed to recede from him bit by bit; whether his senses were already accelerating or not, Ye Qiu even felt that the colors of the world around him had subtly changed.

Long Yijian shifted his gaze away from Ye Qiu, then backed up roughly ten meters. After that, he raised his right hand.

The countdown had begun. The cheers around them faded until they were like the sound of small waves.

The blood in his veins began to flow faster. Pouring all his focus into suppressing his urge to fight, Ye Qiu faced an opponent he could only hope to beat by going all-out from the very start.

Long Yijian drew the slender sword from within the shield and assumed a battle stance.

With his shield facing Ye Qiu, exposing only his upper body, his posture looked relaxed and natural, as if he wasn't using any unnecessary strength at all. Ye Qiu knew that trying to predict the enemy's first move would only cause more confusion, so he resolved to attack with full force right from the beginning.