0047: Competing!

By the time he left Water Cloud Pavilion, it was already dark.

Five Horse Street was still bustling with activity.

All kinds of colored lanterns adorned the streets and pedestrians.

After bidding farewell to his senior brother and his family.

Lu Changfeng led Chun Zhu toward the martial arts school's arena venue.

"Changfeng, where are we going?"

Lu Changfeng smiled. "Don't you always say that our martial arts school has never opened for business and is struggling to make ends meet? Starting tonight, we'll make a name for ourselves!"

Soon, the two of them arrived at the center of Five Horse Street on foot.

A circular, two-story building stood there—the martial arts school's arena venue.

A constant stream of commoners could be seen coming to buy tickets.

There were not only men, but also entire families of four or five dragging their relatives along to watch the arena matches.

Arena matches generally did not draw blood. They stopped at the point of contact, so even children would enjoy watching them.

Lu Changfeng led Chun Zhu straight to a registration booth with far fewer people.

There were very few people at this registration booth.

That was because registering for the martial arts school's arena matches was only troublesome the first time, when one's information had to be recorded.

After that, the martial arts school would assess one's strength based on one's performance and reputation, then automatically arrange opponents.

"You're here to register for the matches, right?" An old man at the registration booth asked with a kindly smile.

These martial artists competing for the martial arts schools were the venue's source of income, so naturally, they had to be treated courteously.

"Yes." Lu Changfeng nodded slightly.

"You know the requirements, right? You must be a Martial Artist from a martial arts school on Five Horse Street."

"Understood."

The old man nodded. "Good. Give me the name and address of your martial arts school, as well as your position within it. Don't make anything up. Later, our venue will send people to verify it."

Lu Changfeng spoke up. "Changle Martial Arts School. The address is No. 18, Xianghe Ward, Five Horse Street."

"I'm the schoolmaster of Changle Martial Arts School, Lu Changfeng. My cultivation is Blood Tempering Sixth Level!"

Lu Changfeng did not conceal his cultivation level.

Although he possessed the [Heavenly Body Tempering Blade Technique] and the inheritance of the 'Giant Elephant Woman,' he would probably still need to linger in the Blood Tempering Realm for quite some time before reaching the goal he had set for himself: Blood Tempering Ninth Level!

Therefore, reporting himself as Blood Tempering Sixth Level would actually make him seem less conspicuous.

"Blood Tempering Sixth Level?"

"Are you trying to imitate those scions of great clans and advance to Blood Tempering Seventh Level before breaking through to the Muscle Tendon Realm?"

"Your courage and spirit are commendable!" The old man nodded approvingly.

"Tell me what martial arts you specialize in, so I can arrange an opponent for you!" the old man said again.

"I specialize in sword techniques." Lu Changfeng answered briefly.

The old man rustled his brush across the paper as he recorded it.

"All right, your registration is complete. From now on, when you come to compete, just report here first. Then you can go inside and wait."

"Are you competing today?"

Lu Changfeng nodded. "That's exactly why I'm here."

"Good!"

The old man wrote another slip of paper and handed it to a young attendant beside him. The attendant carried it into the venue.

"You can go wait in the competitors' seats!"

"Under normal circumstances, an opponent will be arranged within an hour."

"Oh, right. Each competitor is allowed to give two spectator seats as gifts."

The old man handed over two tickets made of bamboo strips. Extremely intricate patterned seals were printed on them.

They had been made by a renowned patterned-seal master from Jiangzhou, and the serial numbers were updated every day to prevent counterfeiting!

Lu Changfeng nodded and accepted the tickets, then handed one to Chun Zhu.

"All right, watch carefully from below. In the future, when disciples come endlessly to the martial arts school, you'll be responsible for collecting the fees. I'll leave the school's accounting duties to you!" Lu Changfeng instructed Chun Zhu.

Although she knew that arena matches were generally safe, Chun Zhu still reminded him, "Be careful. Your own safety comes first in everything."

Lu Changfeng nodded slightly. After watching Chun Zhu enter the spectator seats, he finally stepped into the venue.

Following the passage inward, Lu Changfeng soon arrived at the competitors' seats.

The arena venue had been arranged with great ingenuity.

The first floor held ordinary spectator seats, while the second floor contained private boxes with more expensive tickets.

The competitors' seats were between the first and second floors, facing all the spectators.

Quite a few people in the spectator seats could be seen holding up placards for their favorite competitors and cheering them on.

Hmm, the martial arts atmosphere really is quite good, Lu Changfeng thought.

Lu Changfeng walked toward the competitors' seats. Several dozen competitors were already there.

Lu Changfeng deliberately circled the competitors' seats, scanning every person's talent and bone structure.

Not bad. Quite a few had Grade A bone structures, and the worst were Grade B Upper.

Most astonishingly, two-thirds of the competitors possessed Martial Talent.

Thinking about it carefully, it made sense. Only Martial Artists with the corresponding Martial Talent would possess more outstanding combat strength among those at the same level.

Naturally, they would also be more likely to be recommended by their martial arts schools to participate in the arena matches.

What disappointed Lu Changfeng was that he did not find any superior swordsmanship talent.

Other talents were certainly good, but they still could not compare with the allure of a Heroic Bone Structure.

Lu Changfeng still decided to temporarily keep his copying opportunity and use it to copy Zhao Xingtian's Grade A Upper Bone Structure.

After all, once Zhao Xingtian completed his Jade Bone, he would certainly leave Lu Changfeng's side.

However, the competitors participating in the martial arts school's arena matches were different every day.

Perhaps he would make new discoveries the next time he came.

The rules for the arena matches were one round every five minutes.

If no winner had been decided within five minutes, the match would be forcibly stopped, and three referees would determine the winner by scoring.

Thus, the arena matches proceeded extremely quickly.

Lu Changfeng watched several matches.

Ordinary matches did not separate competitors by cultivation level and were interspersed with one another.

The Blood Tempering Realm Martial Artists who took the stage were generally at least at the third level.

There were even Martial Artists from the Muscle Tendon Realm.

The martial arts school operated until midnight.

As midnight approached, the martial arts school would welcome the day's headline main match.

They were all star competitors with winning streaks.

That was when the entire venue became liveliest.

The venue staff could earn quite a bit by selling alcoholic drinks in the spectator seats.

The matches onstage proceeded rapidly.

Because of the five-minute limit.

As soon as the competitors took the stage and made a brief probe, they would quickly unleash their full strength.

The fighting was extremely intense, but the competitors did their best not to injure anyone.

The venue's arrangements were also quite reasonable. Most of the competitors had similar cultivation levels and strength, so their clashes on the arena were extremely fierce. Victory was often decided in the end by the slightest, hair's-breadth difference.

Martial Artists nurtured through this kind of arena competition might not be skilled at risking their lives, but they were certainly extremely adept at seizing opportunities.

Lu Changfeng felt that this was something he needed to learn.

He had been in the spectator seats for less than an hour.

At last, it was his turn to take the stage.

The announcer called out the identities of both sides.

"Competitor A: Ye Zhi Qiu, schoolmaster of Autumn Moon Sword Hall! Blood Tempering Fifth Level! Record: four wins and one loss!"

"Competitor B: Lu Changfeng, schoolmaster of Changle Martial Arts School! Blood Tempering Sixth Level! This is his first match, with a record of zero wins and zero losses!"

Lu Changfeng's Blood Tempering Sixth Level cultivation attracted everyone's attention.

In Jiangnan Prefecture, most Martial Artists would also choose to condense Internal Energy once they reached Blood Tempering Sixth Level.

After all, not everyone possessed sufficient bone structure and resources.

Lu Changfeng ascended the stage. His opponent, Ye Zhi Qiu, had probably come to compete with the same goal of making his martial arts school known.

The man's expression was slightly bitter. Clearly, he had also realized that Lu Changfeng's Blood Tempering Sixth Level cultivation would suppress him, so he would have to act more cautiously onstage.