By the time Sun Fei emerged from the world of Diablo, it was already around 2 PM.
With the Empire's most important Martial Combat Competition about to begin the next day, the Twenty Mile Subordinate State Garrison was bustling with activity that afternoon. The fifty sword-testing platforms would be the stage for duels between masters from various countries during the Martial Combat Competition. Therefore, at the last minute, the Imperial government dispatched a large number of royal magicians and craftsmen, under the protection of soldiers, to repair the sword-testing platforms and set up magic arrays to ensure that the platforms could withstand the damage caused by the duels and to ensure that no spectators would be injured during the duels.
The camp was bustling and prosperous.
Each of the vassal states was also making its final preparations in an orderly manner before the start of the competition. In accordance with the conventions of the Imperial Martial Combat Competition Martial Combat Competition, all participating countries were divided into five major war zones: East, West, South, North, and Central. The competition process in each major war zone could be divided into two stages.
The first stage is the ranking competition.
In this ring exchange, each vassal state of a war zone must select at least six of its most powerful experts to participate in six expert ranking matches, and then select fifty elite warriors to participate in the battlefield matches. The top ten experts in each war zone and the top ten countries in the team battles will be received by Emperor Yassin after the Martial Combat Competition and will receive generous rewards from the empire. Moreover, such rankings will add points to their country in the subsequent national ranking matches.
The second part is the challenge competition.
In this stage, each vassal state can choose another vassal state as its challenger. Generally, there is no limit to the number of challenges, and a country can challenge multiple opponents consecutively. However, in such a competition where casualties are not a concern, few countries have the strength to withstand more than two consecutive challenges. Therefore, challenging countries choose opponents of a higher level than themselves and go all out. In this way, after winning, they can obtain the corresponding vassal state level of the other country. This stage is extremely cruel and determines the national level of all vassal states under the Zenit Empire. Many high-level vassal states are reduced to low-level vassal states in such challenges, while many low-level vassal states rise to become high-level vassal states.
After the two rounds of competition in each exhibition area conclude, the climax of the entire Imperial Martial Combat Competition will begin—the Imperial Ranking Battle.
The top fighters selected from the five major war zones—East, South, West, North, and Central—will represent their respective war zones in the final battle.
The true king will tread upon the corpses and blood of masters to ascend to the throne of the number one master and the number one military power among the empire's vassal states.
These two titles symbolize unparalleled Glory. Back when Emperor Yassin was still the eldest prince of Zenit, he led his personal guard to victory in the Spartak Empire's Martial Combat Competition, winning the titles of the top martial artist and the strongest nation among its vassal states. This feat made him famous throughout the land. He then seized this opportunity to rise to become the founding emperor of the Zenit Empire, which later tore apart the Spartak Empire and established its own dynasty. Because of this story, these two titles carry even greater significance, and are highly valued by both the imperial family and the various vassal states.
Moreover, the most elite rulers will also receive the title of Imperial Prince, becoming a prestigious figure who can stand shoulder to shoulder with the Imperial Royal Family.
Such a reward has driven countless King and experts of vassal states mad with desire!
Of the 250 vassal states, all but six, which had been ruthlessly destroyed for colluding with assassins from the Spartak Empire, were making their final preparations, hoping to reap the greatest rewards in this Martial Combat Competition.
In the afternoon, representatives from each vassal state went to the temporary Military Department set up in the center of the Twenty Mile Camp to draw lots to determine the temporary order code for each country.
This drawing of serial numbers ceremony is usually attended by the King of their respective countries, but Sun Fei was not very interested in such occasions. The military commander Petr Čech, who was training soldiers, was appointed by His Majesty the King as the representative of Chambord City to go to the temporary Military Department to draw a serial number.
"Northern Theater Command No. 8?"
An hour later, looking at the final result brought back by Čech, Sun Fei grinned smugly and said that Čech was his lucky charm.
This is a very good number.
Chambord City is located in the northernmost part of the Zenit Empire, so it was naturally assigned to the Northern War Zone. There are fifty countries participating in the Northern War Zone. As a transmigrator from the new era, Sun Fei has a special fondness for auspicious numbers like 8 and 6 from his previous life, so he was extremely satisfied with this number.
On the last afternoon before the start of the competition, His Majesty the King of Chambord City personally presided over a leadership meeting. The meeting highly praised the remarkable achievements of the leaders and all soldiers of the Chambord Expeditionary Army during the preceding period. King of Chambord Alexander delivered a passionate speech, specifically commending those who made outstanding contributions to the expeditionary force and looking forward to the upcoming Martial Combat Competition. He expressed his hope that all soldiers would uphold the "three special spirits" of being "especially able to endure hardship, especially able to kill, and especially able to fight," and strive tirelessly for the interests of Chambord City...
The meeting concluded by selecting the list of 'players' to participate in the regional ranking competition, and forming a fifty-person Urban Management and Saint team battle legion to participate in the team ranking competition.
There was a flurry of activity; everyone was sharpening their skills and preparing for battle.
Within the twenty-mile-long state-owned district, the air was thick with the roar of men and the neighing of horses, the gleaming of swords and spears, the banners like Long Spear, and the forest of long spears. A chilling, iron-blooded aura filled the sky, soaring straight to the heavens, causing the very heavens and earth to change color.
The moon hangs high in the sky, its light as bright as silver.
In the Giant Pit Battlefield of the Moro Mountains.
A fist imprint shattered the air and disappeared into the dark night sky. Then, a long, fiery streak appeared in the sky, followed by a piercing shriek.
"Good." The mysterious expert gave a calm and indifferent evaluation, but the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
He seemed to have never expected that the young king before him would have such high talent and progress so quickly.
Just now, Sun Fei's punch created a glass-like fist imprint that exceeded the speed of sound, leaving a blood-red fist mark in the dark night sky. The fist imprint disappeared into the horizon and turned into a bright star... The aura of this punch was exactly the same as that of the mysterious expert's punch last night. The control of the force was no less than that of the expert himself, as if he had punched the fist himself.
This technique clearly represents the ' Realm of Minute Subtlety ' that martial artists find most difficult to comprehend.
What's even more terrifying is that the mysterious expert could clearly sense that King of Chambord's strength had unbelievably risen another level compared to last night, from the Seven-Star Class Initial Stage to the Seven-Star Class Middle Stage Peak... Such a speed is even more terrifying, more frightening, and more unbelievable than the two unparalleled geniuses the mysterious expert had ever seen before!
What a pervert!
The mysterious expert cursed silently in his heart.
He had originally thought it would take a long time for the young king to master the contents of the notes, but now it seemed that some of the things he had painstakingly prepared were completely unnecessary.
Whoosh!
The mysterious expert raised his hand, and another notebook, enveloped in azure flames, flew into Sun Fei's hand. Then, with a swift movement, he vanished from the spot like a ghost.
"Come again tomorrow night!" A clear, unassuming voice gently rang in Sun Fei's ears.
The mysterious expert displayed absolutely terrifying strength. Although Sun Fei's strength had progressed rapidly, he still couldn't see clearly how the mysterious expert left this time, as the naked eye could not capture the mysterious expert's figure.
What he held in his hand was still a notebook, exquisitely crafted and beautiful, exactly the same material as the Sun Fei had obtained last night, titled "[A Brief Discussion on the Techniques of Dou Qi Manipulation and a Complete Record of Microscopic Control]". Both were made of pale yellow, tanned hide from an unknown magical beast, tough yet supple, and neatly stacked in long strips. The only difference was that the large gold-embossed characters on it contained different content—
[A Brief Discussion on the Spiral Release Techniques and the Techniques for Stacking Hidden Force in Dou Qi].
The signature, written in tiny characters, read, "Presented by the Crown Prince Yassin, requesting the Zenit's approval," just like the letter from last night, also from the handwriting of Emperor Yassin.
After a moment's thought, Sun Fei immediately understood what the mysterious expert meant.
This spiraling force generation technique and the technique of layering hidden force are highly sophisticated methods of exerting power. When layered within Dou Qi technique, they can multiply the damage of any Dou Qi technique. However, such a force generation technique can only be attempted after one's control over one's own power has reached the 'microscopic' level. That is why the mysterious expert first gave himself [A Brief Discussion on Dou Qi Generation Techniques and a Complete Record of Microscopic Control Training], and then gave himself [A Brief Discussion on the Spiral Dou Qi Generation Technique and the Technique of Layering Hidden Force in Battle Qi].
This mysterious and powerful figure, like a teacher who is not good with words, is gradually showing him, step by step, what kind of path a true strongman should take.
Perhaps he had already seen that Sun Fei was incredibly strong, but his foundation in martial arts was very shallow. That's why he was ruthless and tried to kill him at their first meeting, so that Sun Fei would understand his shortcomings and be able to gradually improve.
Why is this mysterious and powerful person being so kind to me?
Sun Fei still couldn't quite understand this.
Although His Majesty the King is usually very narcissistic and boastful, considering himself dashing and handsome, with a face as beautiful as Pan An, and a beauty that surpasses even the most beautiful pear blossoms... he understands even more clearly that there is absolutely no hatred without a cause, nor is there love without a cause. What exactly is this mysterious and powerful figure plotting to help him so painstakingly?