Jiangxi's Dragon Tiger Mountain, a cultural scenic area.
"Tickets, tickets! I'm talking to you! You there in the vest, hurry up and buy a ticket!"
The chubby ticket seller shouted from inside the booth. It was so hot today!
"So this is Jiangxi's Dragon Tiger Mountain. A surging crowd and the same old snack stalls..."
He wandered through the cultural scenic area with the crowds of tourists. He had never visited this sacred Taoist site in the real world, and it seemed pretty nice.
He bought some snacks and took in the scenery, then followed the guide from the Tianxia Association toward the back mountain.
"Everyone, if you don't have any other way across, you can use these ropes..."
From a distance, he saw a young Taoist standing beside a cliff, explaining the first trial to the Otherworldly People who had arrived.
Zhang Chulan and Feng Baobao were also by the cliff. He had arrived a day early, and had been waiting for the protagonist.
"San, Si, see you on the other side!"
The Deng brothers, Deng Youfu and Deng Youcai, bickered as they put their arms around their girlfriends and flew off the cliff.
After nodding to Xu San and Zhang Chulan, he headed toward a burly man.
"Big brother, hold on before you start tossing the kids. I'll give you 300,000. How about throwing me across first?"
He had been waiting for this family of three. Since he didn't know exactly when they'd show up, he used Zhang Chulan as a point of reference to work out their entrance.
"300,000?! Sure. My account number is... Mm, got it. Hang on tight, little brother. Off you go!"
In this version of The Outcast, with the same setting, 300,000 was no small sum. The man looked like he was going to watch the matches too. A rich kid, then!
The burly man looked at the money that had just landed in his account, grabbed Wang Changle, and tossed him with a "biu!"
Woohoo!
A soaring rise!
"T-this is allowed?"
Zhang Chulan watched Wang Changle, who had bought a "human flight" ticket, then looked in astonishment as the young Taoist from Dragon Tiger Mountain nodded. What the hell, people could actually do this?
He shot into the air, feeling the breeze rush past him. Flying felt amazing.
Mm, that 300,000 was well spent!
"Whoosh!"
"I'm confiscating that 300,000! If you toss your daughter again, I'll never forgive you!"
A red figure flashed past him. The woman in a red suit held the little girl in both arms and raised a hand to slow his fall. He landed safely.
"Big brother, so this is what you meant by 'the wise man has a plan'?"
Feng Xingtong and Feng Shayan emerged from the side, their faces awkward.
Feng Shayan shot him a scornful glance without saying anything, then tossed him a list of the contestants.
"Right, right. Sorry to embarrass you, Xingtong. Thanks for this. I've got something to do, so I'll head off."
He glanced back at the cliff, where two people and Jia Zhengliang were still hanging, then took the list and turned to leave.
"Well, look who it is—the folks from Nato Tong! And Feng Baobao, too! Gah-gah-gah! Remember me? Feng Xingtong, the guy you scared so badly he wet himself and didn't dare lay a finger on you!"
"Hmph! You're bringing that up again?"
"Hey, Miss Feng, what are you doing here too..."
"..."
Hearing them strike up a conversation behind him, he quickened his pace and headed deeper into the crowd.
He took out a Life Essence and began absorbing it slowly. He couldn't eat much blood-rich food up on the mountain, so Black Hoof could only absorb his life force each day.
That was why he had prepared six Life Essences in advance over the past ten-plus days.
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Life Essence
Origin: The Outcast
White: 7
Type: Recovery item
Effect: Restores 42% of health over a short time. (For Constitution above 10, the effect is reduced by 50%; for each additional 5 points, the effect is reduced by 25%. At Constitution 20 or above, restores a fixed 4.2% of health.)
Life Apostle: Immediately restores 10 points of life force. (Ineffective after two modifications.)
Description: Master X's beef cattle—strong and sturdy. You deserve to own one. (Can be modified twice.)
Price: 800 Paradise Coins
He scanned the list while recalling the contestants from the story. For the most part, there weren't any surprises.
"Everyone... sorry to have kept you waiting..."
"Besides the customary rituals, the Luotian Grand Ceremony has always been an opportunity for us who cultivate qi to exchange knowledge. I, too, was once young and full of vigor..."
Old Celestial Master Zhang Zhiwei stood on the raised platform, full of energy and speaking with a strong voice.
The crowd below buzzed with discussion, eager and excited.
"Please come up one by one and draw a slip..."
He glanced at the red box on the platform, then followed the others up the steps.
"Take a look at the slips in your hands! Because space is limited, the heavenly stems will indicate the order in which you enter the arena. There are four of each animal, and those who draw the same animal will compete together."
After a brief exchange with Tian Jinzhong, Old Celestial Master rose and explained the rules to everyone.
"Only one person will advance to the next round!"
At his words, everyone looked over their slips, then asked the contestants around them about the rules.
That meant they had to defeat three opponents to advance. His slip read: Ding Baihe.
After confirming it, he took out his Lion Head Shield. He had picked it up for 200,000 at a convention. It was a silver tower shield with a lion's head.
It was still mostly for show, but it was made of solid steel, so it ought to be somewhat useful.
"Hey, big brother Ode, what did you draw? I got Bing-Green Turtle, Zhang Chulan got Yi-White Tiger, and Baobao got Jia-Spotted Deer!"
Feng Xingtong pulled Wang Changle over to Zhang Chulan and introduced them enthusiastically.
"Hey, Feng Xingtong, who's this?"
Zhang Chulan stared at this so-called big brother Ode, completely at a loss. Wasn't this the "300,000 flying man" from earlier?
"Oh, I'm a Tianxia Association executive. Young Master Feng, I drew Ding Baihe, so I'd better go to my match."
Dodging Feng Baobao's gaze, he unfolded his slip and laughed awkwardly before heading to another arena.
Zhang Chulan watched the "flying man" leave and couldn't help wondering if the guy seemed a little afraid of Baobao.
"That person might be pretty strong. Be careful."
Feng Baobao suddenly turned to Zhang Chulan and said that, then headed for the arena too.
Just as expected, Zhang Chulan, Feng Baobao, Feng Xingtong, and the others finished their fights quickly. After watching several powerful opponents compete, they all gained quite a bit of insight.
"There are quite a few skilled fighters here. But Zhang Chulan, you're famous now."
"Sister Baobao, didn't you come watch my match...?"
"No. There was no need. You've taken enough punches from me."
"Sister, you said Big Brother Ode? Okay, I'm coming!"
Feng Xingtong hurried toward the arena. He had been eager to see what the man could do, and Zhang Chulan and Feng Baobao followed along curiously.
By the time the three of them arrived, quite a few people had gathered in the stands. Fat Dragon, Zhi Jinhua, Xu San, Xu Si, and even Lu Jin were there.
In the arena, only Lu Linglong and an Iron Armor fighter remained.
"Big sis, what's going on?"
"See for yourself. And think about what you'd do if you were in her shoes."
Feng Shayan pointed toward the arena, particularly at the Iron Armor fighter in the corner.
"That woman is Lu Linglong, Lu Jin's granddaughter. The Iron Armor fighter is an executive from the Tianxia Association. They've been fighting for an hour."
Xu San pulled Feng Baobao over as he explained the situation in the arena.
"This guy sure knows how to put on a show!"
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