Chapter 469: When in Rome

After Hua Jinsong gave his word, Old Tu, River Elder, and the others grew serious and began selecting disciples from their villages to take part.

The martial artists from Zhao State and the Rong tribe were all somewhat puzzled.

What exactly were these Fourth-Rank Grandmasters from the Star-Sea Fishing Alliance doing?

“Strange. Since they’ve come to Fire Flood Dragon Island, shouldn’t they be taking care of business? Why are they wasting time here instead?”

“Could it be… they’re waiting?”

Yang Ling glanced around out of the corner of his eye.

Many disciples of the Star-Sea Fishing Alliance were searching all over the Crimson Refined Fire Flood Dragon Sect.

“Either they’re looking for that entrance, or they’re waiting for someone, or something.”

Yang Ling thought to himself.

Going by the markings on the map, he had actually found the building with the entrance as soon as he arrived.

But with so many Fourth-Rank Grandmasters watching him, he could barely move, let alone find an opportunity.

“What on earth is going on with Xie Jinjia? Why did he lock up Eunuch Xu and the others…”

While the other side was still selecting disciples to compete, Yang Ling opened the Divine Realm Communication Channel.

Zhang Wei’s messages kept popping up:

【Zhang Wei (Private chat): What on earth is going on? What’s your situation over there?】

【Zhang Wei (Private chat): Why aren’t you replying? Are you out of Silver?】

【Zhang Wei (Private chat): This is bad! Godfather has already been taken away. His life or death is unknown!】

【Zhang Wei (Private chat): I might die too. If you survive this, kill that Xie Jinjia!】

Seeing this, Yang Ling immediately sent a reply:

【Yang Ling (Private chat): I’m not dead yet. Things are a little complicated here. The Star-Sea Fishing Alliance’s experts are all here, but they don’t seem intent on killing us】

【Yang Ling (Private chat): Keep watching. If you really are about to die, tell me who killed you. If I get the chance, I’ll avenge you】

【Zhang Wei (Private chat): Why did you take so long to reply? Godfather was taken away a while ago. Is Prince Pingrong all right?】

【Yang Ling (Private chat): Prince Pingrong is safe for now】

【Zhang Wei (Private chat): You absolutely have to keep Prince Pingrong safe. He’s our foundation in this world. Even if something really happens to us this time, as long as Prince Pingrong is alive, we’ll have a chance to get revenge】

【Yang Ling (Private chat): OK】

“All right, we won’t take advantage of them. Since both their sides have thirty Sixth-Ranks, we’ll each pick thirty Sixth-Ranks too.”

River Elder smiled as he pointed to the disciples he had chosen.

“These are the thirty from our Green Wave Fishing Village.”

Old Tu said, “We’ve picked our thirty from Iron Anchor Fishing Village too.”

“Thirty Sixth-Ranks from Returning Fishery Village are ready.”

“Seaview Fishing Village…”

Before long, all seven or eight fishing village chiefs present had finished choosing their Sixth-Rank experts.

A trace of disdain flashed deep in the eyes of the Sixth-Ranks from Zhao State and the Rong tribe.

A few of the Sixth-Rank experts from these fishing villages certainly had an impressive bearing, but most were clearly below par.

They guessed that the handful who stood out were likely the personal disciples of these Fourth-Rank Grandmasters.

“There seem to be a lot of people. How are we supposed to win consecutive rounds like this?”

Hua Jinsong mused.

Chu Ling furrowed her brow. If she only had to face those thirty opponents from Zhao State, then even with Yang Ling being a little difficult to deal with, she would still have a decent chance of winning consecutive rounds and claiming the Golden Dragon Treasure Fish.

But now she suddenly had so many more opponents. That made things difficult.

“That’s easy. Why don’t they fight among themselves first and pick the strongest one? Then the strongest disciple from each side can fight.”

River Elder smiled.

“Whoever wins in the end will be the one most worthy of consuming the Golden Dragon Treasure Fish, won’t they? That way, this treasure, seen only once in a hundred years, won’t go to waste.”

Everyone paused. They were supposed to fight among themselves first and choose the strongest?

“River Elder’s suggestion doesn’t sound bad. It’s fair enough.”

Old Tu smiled. “Brother Hua, let’s do it that way?”

The other Fourth-Rank Grandmasters exchanged glances and all agreed with River Elder’s proposal.

“Honored seniors… the Golden Dragon Treasure Fish is actually most effective when consumed by a Fifth-Rank martial artist…”

A Fifth-Rank martial artist gathered his courage and said,

“If you only let the Sixth-Ranks compete for this treasure fish, isn’t that… unfair to the rest of us?”

His words drew agreement from dozens of Fifth-Rank martial artists present.

Hua Jinsong gave a faintly amused smile.

“How many of you had Perfect Vital Qi when you were Sixth-Rank?”

That question immediately silenced quite a few of the Fifth-Ranks.

Hua Jinsong looked again at the Fifth-Rank who had spoken.

“You’re a little over a hundred years old this year, aren’t you?”

The man forced a smile and nodded slightly.

“One hundred and three…”

One hundred and three? Everyone looked surprised.

Yang Ling’s eyes lit up. This one-hundred-and-three-year-old Fifth-Rank looked only to be in his forties. Did advancing to Fifth-Rank slow the aging process too?

“It’s already a struggle for you to keep your Vital Qi locked within your body. Your ability to regenerate flesh and blood will also steadily decline as you age.”

“In other words… you have no chance of advancing to Fourth-Rank Grandmaster. So why are you competing with a bunch of youngsters for the Golden Dragon Treasure Fish?”

Hua Jinsong smiled.

The man was at a loss for words. He felt humiliated, but didn’t dare show it in front of a Fourth-Rank Grandmaster. All he could do was reply respectfully,

“You’re right.”

“Brother Hua, my junior brother may be a little old, but at least show him some courtesy for my sake, would you?”

River Elder was somewhat displeased.

Hua Jinsong immediately apologized, and the other man finally let the matter drop.

“Then we’ll do as you’ve suggested. Let them choose the strongest among themselves first, and then compete for this Golden Dragon Treasure Fish.”

Hua Jinsong smiled.

The Sixth-Ranks from the various fishing villages marked off areas for the matches.

The thirty Sixth-Ranks from Zhao State looked at one another, but for a moment, none of them moved.

The Rong tribe, on the other hand, had already begun. Chu Ling was actively choosing an opponent and was now fighting.

“Are we really going to let them lead us around by the nose like this?”

He Tongchen said slowly.

When Zhao Zheng saw Hua Jinsong looking over, he immediately glared at He Tongchen, then smiled at everyone.

“When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Shall we have a sparring match?”

“I have no problem with that.”

Qin Kunlun said slowly.

Then he looked at Yang Ling.

“Chief Constable Yang, why don’t you and I spar first?”

What a sly one. Yang Ling had just finished a fight and barely had a chance to rest, yet Qin Kunlun was taking the opportunity to challenge him?

“That works.”

Yang Ling had no hopes of getting the Golden Dragon Treasure Fish. He only planned to play along for now, then look for a chance to go to Devour Heaven Palace and advance to Fifth-Rank.

The two sides entered the arena. Qin Kunlun didn’t waste any words. He activated the Divine Path Heart Sutra and the Giant Spirit Mountain-Shaking Art at the same time, and his Base Attributes immediately soared.

First, his Strength and Agility each received a Boost of 60 points.

Then his Strength surged by another 130 points!

Yang Ling watched closely. Based on what he had learned earlier,

he judged that the Divine Path Heart Sutra, at the Skilled level, boosted both attributes by 60.

The Giant Spirit Mountain-Shaking Art, meanwhile, was a pure Strength-focused Internal Technique. At the Skilled level, it boosted Strength by a full 130 points!

At that moment, Qin Kunlun’s Strength reached: 340!

His Agility reached: 209!

He still had two Transcendent Martial Arts Techniques he had yet to use.

Compared to this Upper Sixth-Rank, Mingxin from back then had been no better than a barnyard chicken or a stray dog.