The open-air venue covered an enormous area.
It had been enclosed with wooden stakes and hemp ropes.
Commoners could only watch the competition from outside the hemp ropes.
A bonfire had been lit every five paces—about six meters—inside the venue.
By the blazing light of the bonfires, the commoners could clearly see the contestants' movements. Shen Tang had also curiously squeezed toward the front row—she would have to stand on tiptoe in the back, which made for poor viewing—and inside the venue, a pair of contestants were currently wrestling on a thick wooden board.
Both were burly, powerfully built men.
One arm was as thick as an ordinary commoner's thigh. When they exerted themselves, their muscles bulged, making the spectators green with envy.
However—
"They're still a little short of Gongxi Chou and the others." With Gongxi Chou's build, tsk tsk, who wouldn't praise it after seeing him? Shen Tang practically wanted to twist his head off and replace it with her own.
But she dejectedly squeezed her biceps and sighed.
Let alone Gongxi Chou, she could not even beat the contestants below the stage. She was destined never to have such a beautiful physique.
Just as she was lost in thought, one man threw the other to the ground.
The surrounding commoners erupted in cheers.
The victor waved with a smile.
At the same time, he courteously pulled his defeated opponent to his feet.
"Who else wants to come up and challenge me?"
He stood on the hastily erected wooden platform.
With confidence ringing in his voice, he challenged the other contestants.
Even after asking three times, no one came up to accept.
Shen Tang knew at a glance that this was one of the "hot favorites to win."
Curious, she asked the commoner beside her, "Who is he?"