Martial Arts Tournament, a Carefully Scripted Play

The next day, Tianyuan City Arena.

This massive structure, capable of holding thirty thousand people, stood in the northern part of the city. Its gray-white stone walls soared into the clouds, with a ten-meter-tall warrior statue standing on each side, swords in hand as they overlooked the entire plaza.

A huge light screen floated above the arena, broadcasting every match in real time so that those who had failed to secure seats could still watch from the plaza.

By the time Jiang Chuan arrived,

the plaza outside the arena was already packed with people.

He pushed through the crowd and entered the arena. Three tiers of circular stands rose one above another, enclosing the round central arena.

The stands were filled to the brim, divided into three clearly distinct groups according to status.

At the very front, seated in a row of chairs draped in red silk, were Tianyuan City's dignitaries.

At the center sat City Lord Lu Qingshan. He was in his fifties, fair-skinned and clean-shaven, dressed in a dark blue official robe. He carried himself with calm composure as he held a teacup and spoke to someone beside him.

To his left was Imperial Censor Zhou Yuan, wearing gold-rimmed glasses. He looked refined, like a schoolteacher.

The seat to his right was empty.

Further to the right sat Yuan Ziyi.

She had once told him

that four people in Tianyuan City represented absolute prestige.

City Lord Lu Qingshan, Imperial Censor Zhou Yuan from Skywatch City, Chen Duhu of the Darkmoon Battle Group, and herself, backed by the Yuan Family.

Of the four, three were present. It was obvious who the empty seat belonged to.

Chen Duhu hadn't come?

Jiang Chuan lightly rubbed the pebble in his hand.

That shouldn't be the case. He would definitely show himself at an occasion this important. It was only a matter of when.

Jiang Chuan shifted his gaze from the VIP section and swept it across the second tier of stands.

That area was occupied by young people.

They were impeccably dressed.

They carried themselves with extraordinary bearing.

One look was enough to tell that they were the privileged children of Tianyuan City's major powers.

They gathered in small groups, vaguely forming several circles. Chen Ping, Su Yao, and a few young people Jiang Chuan had never seen were all central figures in their respective circles.

Xu Yinyin was there too.

She sat near a corner of the second tier.

Quite a few boys surrounded her, each more attentive than the last. Some offered her water, others snacks, their ingratiating smiles nearly overflowing from their faces.

That was only natural.

She was an S-rank prodigy from Stellar Crown Academy in Skywatch City.

In terms of status, she was even more distinguished than those in the first row. She was only not seated there because of her age.

To Tianyuan City's so-called privileged heirs, getting on her good side was practically a path to the heavens. Men and women alike naturally crowded around her with all their might.

Xu Yinyin dealt with them politely, though impatience hid in her eyes.

Her talent had already risen to SS-rank. At present, only Jiang Chuan knew that.

An SS-rank genius was treasured even at Stellar Crown Academy.

In Tianyuan City, one was utterly unprecedented.

Those boys orbiting around her probably had no idea that this quiet, gentle-looking girl could casually pin them to the ground and grind them into the dirt.

Jiang Chuan withdrew his gaze and continued searching through the crowd.

Had that old bastard really not come, or was he hiding in some dark corner, waiting to watch this fine show reach its conclusion?

Just as he was thinking that,

the light screen above the arena suddenly lit up.

City Lord Lu Qingshan rose to his feet and walked to the edge of the stands. Holding a loudspeaker, his voice spread throughout the entire arena.

"Everyone, welcome to Tianyuan City's annual Martial Arts Tournament. This year's rules are the same as always—king-of-the-hill matches, no restrictions on weapons or professions. Any first-rank professional under the age of thirty may participate. The last person standing on the arena will receive an admission spot at Stellar Crown Academy!"

He paused and looked around, his tone growing heavier. "Everyone knows the rules. I only have one thing to add: stop when appropriate during the competition. Deliberately injuring others is forbidden. Violators will be disqualified and expelled from the arena!"

With that, he returned to his seat.

A buzzing wave of discussion rose from the crowd. A referee stepped onto the arena, a middle-aged man in his forties.

He was broad and powerfully built, his voice loud and clear. "After registration closes, we will determine the order of challengers by drawing lots."

"Now then, who is willing to be the first to take the stage and defend the arena?"

The crowd fell silent for a moment.

Then, a white figure leaped down from the stands. Like a snowflake carried by the wind, she landed lightly in the center of the arena.

Ling Aoshuang.

Today, she wore light gray armor, her long hair tied into a high ponytail. In her hand was a silver-white spear, and the frost gathering around its tip lowered the surrounding temperature by several degrees.

She stood in the center of the arena, holding her spear horizontally as her gaze swept over the entire venue, cold as frost.

"Ling Aoshuang, S-rank talent. Please advise."

The entire arena fell quiet for an instant before erupting into tremendous uproar.

An S-rank talent—the strongest awakened one in all of Tianyuan City this year.

Everyone had been waiting for this moment.

Leaning against a wall, Jiang Chuan's gaze rested on her.

Her expression remained as cold and proud as ever, without the slightest emotional fluctuation.

No one knew

just how intense the torment in her heart was at this very moment.

The first challenger quickly stepped up. He was a burly young warrior gripping a massive battle-axe in both hands. Every step he took onto the arena made the bluestone floor boom.

He was a strength-oriented C-rank professional. That was respectable among ordinary people, but before Ling Aoshuang, he did not even have a chance to make a move.

The starting whistle had not even finished sounding.

Ling Aoshuang had already moved.

Her figure flashed, and her spear shot forth like a silver serpent emerging from its lair. The spear tip traced a frigid arc through the air, carrying bone-piercing cold as it struck the warrior's axe handle.

The warrior felt an irresistible force surge through the handle. His grip went numb, and the battle-axe flew from his hands, embedding itself into the light screen at the edge of the arena with a dull boom.

The spear tip stopped three inches from his throat, perfectly steady and utterly unmoving.

"Thank you for letting me win."

Ling Aoshuang withdrew her spear and returned to her original position.

The warrior stood stunned for two seconds, then picked up his battle-axe and slunk off the arena in embarrassment.

Deafening cheers erupted from the crowd.

One strike to defeat the enemy.

Clean and decisive.

That was the strength an S-rank talent should possess!

The second match,

the third match,

the fourth match.

One challenger after another stepped forward, yet not a single one lasted more than three moves against Ling Aoshuang.

Some were swept off the arena with a single strike, some had their limbs frozen stiff by her frost power and surrendered immediately, while others could not even get close before the cold radiating from her spear forced them back to the arena's edge.

There was nothing flashy about Ling Aoshuang's fighting style.

It was simply fast, precise, and ruthless.

Relying on the overwhelming power of an S-rank talent, she swept every opponent from the arena, paying no regard to the consumption of her mana.

After seeing this, Jiang Chuan vaguely guessed what was going on.

Given her status,

there had been no need for her to be the first to take the stage.

The Martial Arts Tournament used a king-of-the-hill system. The first person to take the stage was at the greatest disadvantage, unless they possessed the power to crush everyone.

Yet she had deliberately adopted this desperate fighting style, heedless of the cost.

Her purpose was already clear.

Her taking the stage

was to clear away every competitor for the final victor.

Once her condition declined to a certain point, the true "protagonist" would appear, defeat her in one stroke, and take all the glory.

These people did not merely want to use Ling Aoshuang as Su Yao's stepping stone—they wanted to squeeze every last bit of value out of her!

And that "protagonist" was currently sitting in the stands, leisurely watching the matches on the arena.

Su Yao's expression was calm, even carrying a faint smile.

There was not a trace of guilt or unease in her eyes.

In her view,

all of this was only natural.

Everything she possessed had been obtained at great cost by her father. It was only right that it belonged to her!

So what if Ling Aoshuang had an S-rank talent?

With neither power nor influence,

she could only serve as a green leaf to make Su Yao stand out.

The fourteenth match,

the fifteenth match,

the sixteenth match.

Under Ling Aoshuang's overbearing style, her breathing soon grew ragged, but her spear remained steady.

After every match, she stood where she was and lightly closed her eyes.

She used those brief dozens of seconds to recover as much strength as possible.

Then she faced the next opponent.

Jiang Chuan stood among the crowd, watching her fight alone on the arena as the fire in his heart burned ever hotter.

The seventeenth match.

The eighteenth match.

The eighteenth challenger was an assassin with B-rank talent. He was fairly fast, but his attack power was too weak. Ling Aoshuang swept him off the arena with a single strike.

But after that strike, the frosty chill swirling around her spear completely dispersed.

Su Yao set down her teacup in the stands.

She stood up.

She glanced at the boy beside her. He nodded and quickly walked toward the referees' area, whispering a few words.

The referee nodded, then announced loudly, "Next match, challenger—Su Yao, A-rank talent. Please prepare!"

Discussion immediately broke out throughout the arena.

Ling Aoshuang had fought eighteen consecutive matches, and her stamina was already exhausted. Su Yao, meanwhile, had been resting and conserving her strength. Though her talent was a full rank lower, the difference in their conditions was enough to erase that gap.

Was Ling Aoshuang going to lose?

At that moment,

Ling Aoshuang was also searching the stands with her eyes.

Her gaze passed over the first tier, where she saw the empty seat. It then swept over the circle of privileged heirs on the second tier, where she saw Chen Ping silently smiling at her.

Ling Aoshuang lowered her head and looked at the spear in her hand. She fell silent for two seconds, then let out a deep breath.