Jiaolong Plain.
The vast arena fell utterly silent. More than two hundred thousand spectators stared at the ring beneath the Ascension Stele, where Yang Chengzhi, ranked three hundredth on the Dragon Ranking, was about to face Xiaoyaozi, ranked first.
No one had expected Yang Chengzhi, ranked at the very bottom of the Dragon Ranking, to challenge Xiaoyaozi, the top-ranked fighter. Just looking at their rankings, the two were worlds apart. And Xiaoyaozi was a rising star on the Azure Dragon Continent, one whom Cangmang Academy was eager to recruit.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call Xiaoyaozi the greatest of Chu Kingdom's younger generation.
"Do you know what you're doing?" Xiaoyaozi asked, watching Yang Chengzhi step onto the ring with a cold gaze.
A trace of surprise colored Xiaoyaozi's voice. He truly hadn't expected Yang Chengzhi to challenge him in a place like this.
"I'm actually a little nervous. My legs are shaking." Yang Chengzhi let out a soft breath and loosened up his arms and legs. Then he turned to Xiaoyaozi. "Challenge you? I know."
"Do you think I don't dare kill you?" Yang Chengzhi's casual demeanor stirred a nameless fury in Xiaoyaozi.
What gave you the right, Yang Chengzhi, to keep provoking me again and again? Did you think entering the Spirit Sect realm meant you could beat me? Or were you counting on the fact that we're both students at Zhenguan Academy, thinking I wouldn't dare kill a fellow student?
Though Xiaoyaozi had spoken quietly, hardly anyone who came to watch the Dragon Ranking Tournament at Jiaolong Plain wasn't a cultivator. His words reached almost everyone's ears.
The influential figures wore impassive expressions. Vice Dean Zhou Wuji, however, furrowed his brow slightly, though he said nothing. The spectators in the stands, meanwhile, began whispering among themselves.
"Did you hear that? Xiaoyaozi's going to kill Yang Chengzhi."
"He was probably just angry. The academy has rules against killing fellow students. Anyone who breaks them will be severely punished."
"Hard to say. They have a deep grudge between them. Xiaoyaozi might use his talent and resources to kill Yang Chengzhi by force. Zhenguan Academy might not be able to do anything about it."
"But this is the Dragon Ranking Tournament! If Xiaoyaozi kills Yang Chengzhi in front of everyone, then no matter how talented he is, the academy will have to punish him."
The spectators had been discussing all sorts of things, but their conclusions all came down to one question: would Xiaoyaozi really kill Yang Chengzhi, and would he be punished if he did? Not one person questioned whether Xiaoyaozi could actually kill Yang Chengzhi.
"Sign the life-and-death agreement!"
As everyone discussed the matter, a call rang out from the ring.
Xiaoyaozi and Yang Chengzhi were actually going to sign a life-and-death agreement for their match!
A ranking challenge had turned into a fight to the death!
"My heavens! Yang Chengzhi actually signed!" A spectator in the stands saw him sign the life-and-death agreement and cried out in shock.
A life-and-death agreement meant that, with a witness present, the two parties could fight without bearing any responsibility for accidents that occurred during the match. In other words, if one of them was killed, the other would face no consequences. Even the deceased's family couldn't seek revenge. Their fates would be decided by their own abilities.
Once both parties signed willingly, all restrictions were lifted. If either of them died, it wouldn't count as breaking Zhenguan Academy's rules.
"Let's settle things today." After signing the agreement, Yang Chengzhi faced Xiaoyaozi and spoke calmly.
Xiaoyaozi had grown serious. Yang Chengzhi's signing the agreement filled him with an inexplicable unease. No one was a fool. If Yang Chengzhi had signed so decisively despite knowing the danger, and his cultivation had risen so quickly, Xiaoyaozi had to consider him an equal.
"I don't know how you broke through to the Spirit Sect realm in just a month, but you've certainly put a lot of pressure on me. This time, I won't hold back."
Xiaoyaozi had made up his mind to eliminate Yang Chengzhi in this match.
"It's nothing, really. I just read books for a month, and my cultivation broke through." Yang Chengzhi spoke casually. Then he pulled the cape off his back and pointed at the large characters on it. "Here, this is the Mysterious Bookstore. It really is amazing. One book was enough to help me break through to the Spirit Sect realm."
Xiaoyaozi looked at Yang Chengzhi doubtfully. If Yang Chengzhi hadn't looked so sincere, Xiaoyaozi would have thought he was making fun of him.
"Reading books can improve your cultivation?" Xiaoyaozi clearly didn't believe him.
"Wow, did you hear that? Yang Chengzhi said he broke through to the Spirit Sect realm by reading a book."
"Seriously? Is he messing with Xiaoyaozi?"
"The Mysterious Bookstore? Is it really that amazing?"
"Who knows? It's written on the back of Yang Chengzhi's cape, isn't it? It's in Dubian Town. We can go check it out if we get the chance."
Whether they believed it or not, the name Mysterious Bookstore spread across Jiaolong Plain in an instant.
"It's done!" While the spectators throughout Jiaolong Plain discussed the Mysterious Bookstore, Ma Feifei had been keeping an eye on the quest's progress. In that instant, the 10,000-point popularity quest was completed!
"Now all that's left is the readership." Half the main quest was already done, and the side quest was almost finished. Just thinking about it made Ma Feifei happy.
"Big Brother Ma, aren't you worried at all?" Zhou Zhuling couldn't help asking when she saw him like this.
"I'm not worried at all!" Ma Feifei was telling the truth. Yang Chengzhi had read all of The Legend of the Condor Heroes and learned a few techniques and martial skills from it. But Xiaoyaozi was considered the greatest of Chu Kingdom's younger generation, so there was no doubt about his strength. Ma Feifei wasn't so overconfident as to think that reading one book would let Yang Chengzhi crush Xiaoyaozi.
But whether Yang Chengzhi won had nothing to do with Ma Feifei! He wouldn't gain anything if Yang Chengzhi won, and he wouldn't lose anything if Yang Chengzhi lost. So what was there to worry about?
He and Yang Chengzhi were simply using each other. They couldn't even be called friends.
The book he'd written had indeed been based on Yang Chengzhi, but that didn't mean he couldn't finish it if Yang Chengzhi died. The story had already reached its ending. If Yang Chengzhi won, Ma Feifei would give him a good ending. If he lost, he'd get a tragic one.
After all, plenty of books in his previous life had ended with the protagonist's death and still done quite well. Sometimes, killing off the protagonist even added depth to a story and turned it into a classic.
As for the publicity quest, Yang Chengzhi had done his part, too. His sudden leap in strength was plain for all to see. Whether he won or not, the Mysterious Bookstore was sure to get a surge of customers.
Huh... When he thought about it that way, didn't he seem a little like someone who'd slaughtered the ox after it had done its work?
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