Chapter 201 - 106: My Man Is Being Bullied, and You Want Me to Drink Congee? (Part 2)

Chapter 201: Chapter 106: My Man Is Being Bullied, and You Want Me to Drink Congee? (Part 2)

Once the geniuses of the great families form their Lifebound Divine Patterns, they will unlock all kinds of Divine Techniques.

They must not be underestimated.

This is also why many chosen Mansion Officials often lose to unaffiliated challengers. It’s not that they’re weak, but that their peak period hasn’t arrived yet, or their cultivation methods simply aren’t suited for single combat.

It was worth observing closely.

There were benefits to be had.

And so they watched, on and on, until the sun began to set.

The arena grew livelier and livelier. The Martial Scholars’ faces were flushed with excitement; they had likely gained significant insights.

But after it was all over...

Zhao Ci felt a familiar frustration. He was certain none of the three mansions had held back in these duels—there was no way the Ninth Prince’s Mansion and the Heir of Prince Ying’s Mansion had conspired to throw their matches. Even so, by the end of the first day, the Heir of King Lie’s Mansion had already won seven bouts.

If they won just one more match tomorrow, then even if he chose the applicant with the highest score, he still wouldn’t be able to make it into the top three.

"Ah, hell!"

As he left the Heir of King Lie’s Mansion, Zhao Ci stretched languidly, overcome by the kind of helpless feeling a soccer fan gets watching their national team fumble its way through the World Cup.

He had planned to leave quickly, but a voice called out from behind him.

"Lao Shi!"

"Oh? Brother Huang."

"Mm..."

Zhao Yong seemed much more at ease than before. He felt the competition was a foregone conclusion. ’Even if Zhao Ci really does have some ruthless, untraceable trick to give people diarrhea, there’s no point in using it now.’

Despite this, he didn’t adopt a mocking expression.

Instead, he said with some gravity, "You know, you really didn’t have to get involved in this mansion competition."

"Hm?"

Zhao Ci was a little surprised and glanced at the text floating above Zhao Yong’s head.

[Zhao Yong’s Current Wish: Give Zhao Ci a piece of advice to assuage his own guilt and avoid having nightmares. Reward for Completion: Comprehension +10, Nightmare Talisman x1.]

Zhao Ci: "..."

’Son of a bitch!’

’Get a grip.’

’Your ’mistake’ was plotting to have me killed.’

’And you think giving me some self-righteous advice is going to make up for it?’

’You’re way too good at forgiving yourself, you bastard!’

Zhao Ci pursed his lips. "Oh? Brother Huang, you’re still so deep in merit debt. Why are you telling me not to join the competition?"

Zhao Yong’s expression darkened, but he maintained a calm tone. "I admit it! You possess astonishing talent in many areas, talents that I lack. But when it comes to judging character and managing people..."

He glanced at Yang Mo and Feng Kucha, the corner of his mouth twitching. "I mean no offense, but I just feel that your sort is better suited for the free-spirited life of the martial world, or maybe heading to the frontiers to slay enemies like Zhao Qian. The imperial court... it isn’t for you. With your dispositions, it would be very difficult for you to make any real contribution to the Great Yu."

At these words, Yang Mo’s face instantly darkened, and a flash of malice crossed his eyes as he glared at Zhao Yong.

Feng Kucha rolled up his sleeves, looking like he was about to say something.

But Zhao Ci stopped them. "Brother Huang’s words are quite reasonable. It would indeed be difficult for us to make effective contributions to the Great Yu."

Zhao Yong froze for a second. "Ah! So you agree with me..."

Zhao Ci’s tone shifted. "But to stir up a mountain of negative-merit-point disasters like you have, Brother Huang? That would be even harder. On second thought, maybe the Great Yu really does need talents like you."

"You!"

Zhao Yong was so furious he nearly blacked out. "If you’re going to be so ungrateful, then we’ll let our results do the talking! I’d love to see what comes of you recruiting Mansion Officials with your ’poverty alleviation’ methods. We’ll see where you are in three years. Hmph!"

With that,

he flicked his sleeves and stormed off. He was both angry and amused; he’d spoken from the heart, or so he thought, and the little brat hadn’t taken in a single word.

He had barely left,

when another voice spoke up behind Zhao Ci. "Tenth Prince, to say such a thing was truly going too far!"

He turned to see,

it was none other than the Heir of Prince Ying, Zhao Xie.

Zhao Ci regarded him with interest. "Oh? Does the Heir of Prince Ying have a different opinion?"

"Of course!"

Zhao Xie said with a smile, "For the Tenth Prince to remain loyal to old friends even in prosperity, what a magnanimous gesture! Why should it be measured by a vulgar metric like ’future prospects’? It’s like today’s duels. Being able to participate with a few good friends is a wonderful thing in itself. Why bother with winning or losing?"

Zhao Ci scoffed. "If you’re just here to be passive-aggressive, you can leave."

He’d had little contact with Zhao Xie, but that didn’t stop him from knowing the man couldn’t stand him.

’After all, he’s one of the Fourth Prince’s men. Why would he be friendly to me, someone ’highly suspected of vying for the throne’?’

’Besides, his cultivation is quite impressive. He may have conceded during our duel, but he didn’t fall into the slightest disadvantage during our exchange. With four powerful generals under his command, it’s only normal for him to act superior.’

Zhao Xie smiled faintly. "This is the Heir of King Lie’s Mansion, so of course I’ll be leaving. But I wanted to remind Your Highness that this competition is only the first of many. Please, be prepared."

Zhao Ci sneered. "You should thank the Imperial Clan Court for letting you surrender. Otherwise, I’d have run you through and popped your shit bladder."

As he spoke, he brandished the longspear in his hand.

Zhao Xie’s face stiffened. He quickly led his men away, tossing back one last line: "There won’t be many more chances for one-on-one duels like this. We’ll settle things for real next time!"

One of his Mansion Officials turned back and made a throat-slitting gesture.

"A bunch of losers. What’s there to be so smug about!"

Zhu Li grumbled, shaking her arms in frustration.

Feng Kucha, however, was quite composed. He turned to Yang Mo instead. "Lao Mo! Didn’t you just say you’d come to terms with things? Why do you still look so pissed? That son of a bitch who made the throat-slitting gesture at us... he’s from your Yang Family, isn’t he? You have a grudge against him?"