The Nature of the Martial King Cup

Si Ming didn't care at all. After standing up, he put his index and middle fingers together and condensed a Sword-Ray half a foot long. Although it contained a strong Evil-Slaying Sword Intent, it did not reveal any killing intent. It was as if it were just an ordinary object that could blend into nature and make people feel no threat.

"If I were to face the Beast King Anye now, Tathagata's Indestructible Body, I could dismantle his Unity of the Sacred and Evil."

Of course, thinking is one thing, but if he hadn't fought the Beast King Anye to the death, Si Ming wouldn't have been able to deduce the Evil-Slaying Sword Art to this extent. This is a paradox. Unless he can meet a second King of Monsters has achieved the Unity of the Sacred and Evil, there is little use for it.

However, Si Ming did not come away empty-handed. Although he could not deduce the Ten Thousand Slaughters Primordial Art from the Evil-Slaying Sword Art, after he touched the essential attributes of the Evil-Slaying Sword Art, he applied it to the Blazing Yang Battle Art and successfully broke through the level limit of this internal Internal Cultivation. According to his estimate, it can now reach a maximum of level sixteen - the level of Internal Cultivation of many Spirit Transformation Grandmaster.

"Next, we need to shift our focus to Internal Cultivation—"

As Si Ming dispelled the Sword-Ray and his will relaxed, a wave of intense fatigue washed over him. It was the result of twelve hours of continuous simulation that had exhausted his mental strength, causing a backlash. His brain was throbbing with pain as if it were being drilled, and he desperately wanted to lie down on the bed and sleep.

However, for martial artists, the best way to rest is never to sleep. Relying solely on the body's instincts to recover is extremely inefficient. So, despite the excruciating pain in his head, Si Ming circulated the mental Mnemonic and incantations of the "Mysterious Extreme Divine Firmament Art" to replenish his depleted Soul Essence, gradually calming his spirit.

As the sun gradually set, a knock sounded at the door. Si Ming, whose consciousness had entered a dormant state, did not sense any danger and continued to meditate to recover, showing no reaction to the knocking.

A moment later, the knocking became more and more urgent, revealing the knocker's anxious state of mind. After a brief pause, the lock was forcibly broken, and a figure rushed in—it was Huang Tu.

His face was full of anxiety. He breathed a slight sigh of relief when he saw Si Ming. Then he looked around and saw the room that had been dug up. Combined with the exhaustion that Si Ming could not hide, he immediately made a guess.

"Sure enough, he was seriously injured while saving me and is currently recovering."

The thought that they were merely nodding acquaintances, having only met twice, and even initially being bitter rivals, was heartbreaking. Yet, when he was in danger, the other person not only didn't abandon him but also risked their life to save him.

Huang Tu was deeply moved and sighed, "It is said that the Mohist School would go through fire and water without hesitation, and today I know that this is no exaggeration... Well, since you have saved me, I have no face to mention revenge anymore. If I am fortunate enough to meet you in the Martial King Cup in the future, I will voluntarily admit defeat."

Looking back on all the blood and sweat he had shed in his quest for revenge, and how it had all ended in this way, Huang Tu felt a pang of regret, yet also the Unseen that he had made an incredibly wise decision.

Chapter 632 The Nature of the Martial King Cup

When Si Ming woke up from his hibernation, he was startled to see Huang Tu's warm and caring face. When he discovered that Huang Tu had been guarding his room all night, he was almost scared out of his Primordial Spirit. Huang Tu's subsequent concern and concern for him gave him goosebumps.

I did save you once, but it was just a casual gesture. Why the drastic change? It's like you've become a completely different person. Are you trying to repay me with your body? Are you planning to steal the lead role?

If Si Ming hadn't known that Nation of Valor was the most masculine country in the world and had the strictest treatment of homosexuals, he would have fled in panic.

Huang Tu, seemingly oblivious to Si Ming's embarrassment, kept pulling him into casual conversation, expressing his closeness to him, and inviting him to visit the palace. Si Ming hurriedly refused, reflecting on when he had triggered the wrong event.

Could it be that I fell asleep and ended up in some weird parallel world?

Fortunately, judging from his subsequent performance, Huang Tu did not show any signs of becoming like Longyang Jun. His words and actions were still in the manner of heroes respecting heroes, which relieved Si Ming.

In fact, this is the traditional Huaxia way of life. It is completely different from the era before I traveled back in time, when the gay culture was so popular. Now, the saying is that brothers are like hands and feet, and women are like clothes. If you have a good relationship with your wife, you should treat her with respect. If you have a good relationship with your brothers, you should sleep in the same bed and touch feet together.

In short, looking at the practices of the ancients from a modern perspective, it means treating one's wife like a brother and one's brother like a wife. Of course, if the ancients looked at the practices of modern people, they would have the same questions.

Si Ming was determined to avoid trouble, so he naturally did not accept Huang Tu's invitation. Not to mention that Huang Tu himself was being targeted by Spirit Transformation Grandmaster, and being with him would only bring trouble. He would not go to the palace, a place that sounded like it was full of conspiracies and intrigues.

As is often the case, once he arrives at the palace, some foolish individuals will inevitably jump out and seek to be humiliated. For example, other imperial grandsons might want to take advantage of Huang Tu, choosing Si Ming as their target and mocking his commoner status. Or they might use Si Ming's Mohist School background to their advantage, intending to incite conflict between the two families, or deliberately set a trap for Si Ming to get lost and lead him to forbidden areas.

Even if he were lucky enough to bump into a princess and have a wonderful encounter without knowing each other's identities, Si Ming would still find it troublesome and would rather not meet her.

While the saying "Beauty women bring disaster" may seem like an attempt to shirk responsibility, just as the strong are more likely to stir up trouble, beautiful people are more likely to attract trouble. To use a whirlpool as a metaphor, the attraction of a beautiful woman is clearly greater than that of an ugly one.

However, even if Si Ming wanted to avoid trouble, he couldn't really stay in his room forever. After all, he had a mission on this trip, not a retreat for seclusion and cultivation.

Another day later, Xing Daozhuang finally finished all his social engagements and was going to take Si Ming and Yu Shuying to register for the Martial King Cup —it was called registration, but it was really just a formality, a chance to scout out the place and get familiar with the competition environment.

As the elder leading the team, Xing Daozhuang seemed to be less than responsible. Under normal circumstances, he should have taken Si Ming and Yu Shuying to meet various bigwigs and expand their network. This is a common way for elders to mentor younger people. However, in the three days after arriving in Nation of Valor, apart from dealing with the president of Sun Wu University on the first day, he took Yu Shuying to the meetings the rest of the time.

Of course, Xing Daozhuang did not intend to sideline Si Ming. In fact, whenever someone invited him, he would send someone to deliver an invitation to Si Ming, leaving it to Si Ming to decide whether to go or not. However, Si Ming refused all invitations, partly to recuperate his soul and partly to avoid trouble.

On the surface, Xing Daozhuang fulfilled his responsibilities and was beyond reproach. However, if it were any other elder, even just out of consideration for his relationship with Yan Jinghong, they would have come to remind the younger generation of the importance of expanding their network. But he did not do so.

However, this fits Xing Daozhuang's character perfectly. Everyone knows he has an unapproachable temperament, so no one finds it strange. They can't help but lament that Yan Jinghong entrusted the wrong person to, and feel sorry for his disciple.

The Martial King Cup was held in a military camp. After all, if you're looking for the most suitable place for masters to fight, it's naturally the military training ground. No matter how well-made the arenas in gymnasiums or martial arts halls are, they can't compare to the training ground. As the saying goes, "People boast of their graceful appearances, horses shed blood, they begin to compete on the training ground, and quickly mark their place on the golden track."

Moreover, once a martial artist reaches the level of approaching the Spirit Transformation stage, the arena is ultimately too small. Not to mention anything else, once a martial artist unleashes their ultimate move, it can destroy half of the arena and easily injure the audience. Even the referee cannot stop it unless a Spirit Transformation expert is sent to act as the referee.

That day, Si Ming got up very early and followed Xing Daozhuang to the West Garden Military Camp, which was the permanent military camp of the Nation of Valor Feathered Forest Army. At this time, it was still Mengmeng, the cold moon had not yet set, and the sun in the east had already risen impatiently, releasing bright red clouds that dyed the deep blue sky a bright red.

Si Ming arrived at the command platform in the training ground. Looking up, he saw that the distant, rolling hills were barren, the ground slippery with frost, and the open training ground was unobstructed, allowing the fierce west wind to rage back and forth. Occasionally, wild geese flying overhead would let out a few mournful cries. If this scene were painted, it would surely be filled with a chilling atmosphere.

"We're too early," Si Ming said helplessly.

Xing Daozhuang stood with his hands behind his back, ignoring the cold wind, exuding an air of aloofness. He said, "Instead of making others wait for us, we might as well take the initiative to wait for them. Besides, there are advantages to arriving first; you can observe each of our opponents one by one."

Si Ming thought for a moment and understood Xing Daozhuang's meaning. If he came in midway, everyone else would have already arrived and found someone to talk to, making it difficult for him to join the conversation and observe everyone. On the contrary, if he arrived first, he could carefully observe each contestant and choose to talk to whomever he wanted.

The early bird catches the worm, and even if the worm doesn't taste good to you, it's still a benefit.

Since it was an elder's good intention, Si Ming couldn't just casually refuse with the excuse that "Laozi can take on ten people at once." Besides, he didn't want to cause trouble right now. As the saying goes, "The tallest tree in the forest is bound to be felled by the wind," so it was safer to pretend to be an inconspicuous ordinary person.

At this moment, Si Ming felt incredibly envious of Liu Qingqing's talent.

Unfortunately, no Cultivation Method can currently influence one's presence. The state of Unity of Heaven and Man might have a similar effect, but in the eyes of martial artists of the same level, it will only attract more attention. It's like a transparent color suddenly appearing in a painting made of various colors, making it hard to go unnoticed.

"Speaking of which, if the competition venue is set up in the training ground, doesn't that mean there won't be many spectators?" Si Ming asked doubtfully.

The training ground stretches as far as the eye can see, which certainly allows martial artists to fight freely and unleash their full potential, but there are no high platforms nearby, which means that there won't be many spectators watching the battle.

This is why martial arts competitions prefer to hold their events in stadiums. They're not unaware that the ring limits a martial artist's performance, but stadiums attract more spectators and generate more ticket revenue. For this reason, they can only apologize to those extravagant martial artists.

Yu Shuying glanced at Si Ming and sighed, "Just how uncaring are you about this competition? Didn't you even know anything about the nature of the Martial King Cup beforehand?"

On second thought, given Si Ming's strength, he really didn't need to care about the nature of the competition. In any competition, the core is ultimately one's own strength. If the two are evenly matched, the one who is more familiar with the battlefield will indeed have a better chance of winning. But if the two are too far apart in strength, then even if the battlefield is set up as a mountain of knives and a sea of fire, it will still be a negligible secondary factor.

Si Ming didn't think too much about it, and scratched his head sheepishly, saying, "I was too busy before and didn't have time to investigate. Later, I had a sudden inspiration in my cultivation and found a way to break through the bottleneck. I've been staying in my room these past few days trying out this method."