Above and below the arena, the crowd looked at Lin Huang, who was clad in silver-white armor that sparkled in the sunlight. They were momentarily stunned before their expressions turned to ones of utter dismay, cursing Lin Huang for being shameless.
The Divine General’s Mansion’s Iron Silver Armor!
It was the dream armor of every general and Martial Artist in the Great Xia Dynasty. Its craftsmanship was unparalleled among the surrounding ten dynasties, and its cost was measured in the millions. Every single piece of Iron Silver Armor took at least three years to forge! In the entire Great Xia Dynasty, there were only seven sets in total.
The Iron Silver Armor was tough enough to withstand any attack from the Human Element Realm. Even if an Earth Element Realm Martial Artist struck, they wouldn’t be able to pierce through this armor on their first attempt.
"This Lin Huang... is too shameless!"
The crowd stared at Lin Huang with a mixture of helplessness and indignation. Even Hann Shan and Qii Lie had gloomy expressions. They had forgotten Lin Huang’s background. Out of the seven sets of Iron Silver Armor in the Great Xia Dynasty, five were in the hands of the generals serving under the Divine General’s Mansion.
Everyone on this arena was a Human Element Realm Martial Artist. By donning the Iron Silver Armor, this bastard had essentially turned himself into an unbreakable, impenetrable lump of iron. How could that not be shameless?
On the arena, wearing his silver mask, Lin Huang looked at the crowd before him, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Since Qin Xuance could guess the format of the third round of selection, how could he not make preparations?
He thought, "Since you all call me shameless, then I might as well be even more shameless."
Lin Huang then cleared his throat and spoke out. "Ming Ao, son of the City Lord of Baiyun City! Lu Wuji, second son of the Lu Clan Sect Race of Beicang County! Hee Mingfeng, a bastard son of the Hee Family of Nanyu City!"
On the arena, Lin Huang called out everyone’s identity, name, and origin. "Did you think that just because you teamed up to kill me, the Divine General’s Mansion wouldn’t have the power to retaliate?
"Little do you know that every single one of you, and every one of your families, has a detailed record in my Divine General’s Mansion. If you want to kill me, Lin Huang, you first need a powerful backer."
The crowd on the arena was filled with doubt and apprehension. They had assumed that if they teamed up to kill Lin Huang, the Divine General’s Mansion, despite its immense capabilities, wouldn’t dare to make enemies of everyone. However, they hadn’t expected the Divine General’s Mansion to thoroughly investigate everyone and their backing families inside out in just a few short days.
By now, the crowd’s intent to kill Lin Huang had significantly waned. The Iron Silver Armor on his body, the power of the Divine General’s Mansion, and the ten tokens in his grasp—the combination of these three factors forced them to abandon the thought of taking his life.
At the back of the arena, Hann Shan and Qii Lie wore gloomy expressions. The reason they had initially directed all the tokens to fly toward Lin Huang was to provoke the crowd into ganging up and killing him. They had never anticipated this outcome.
Seeing the crowd’s expressions change, Lin Huang secretly breathed a long sigh of relief. He then looked at the crowd and smiled leisurely. "It’s quite simple if you want me to hand over the tokens in my hands. I only have one requirement!"
Upon hearing this, the crowd’s faces lit up with joy, and pairs of wide, eager eyes fixed on Lin Huang.
Ming Ao’s expression, however, changed drastically. He felt Lin Huang’s gaze on him—a gaze filled with mockery and bone-chilling coldness. Although there was a smile on Lin Huang’s lips, it made a chill run down Ming Ao’s spine.
"Kill Ming Ao!"
Lin Huang smiled leisurely, his thin lips uttering murderous words.
Ming Ao’s expression changed drastically again as he instantly felt the chilling hostility coming from the crowd behind him. His eyes turned crimson as he glared at everyone, gritting his teeth. "If you aren’t afraid of death, go ahead and try!
"I may not have the Iron Silver Armor, but I guarantee that the first one to charge at me will undoubtedly die!" Ming Ao threatened ferociously.
The crowd began to hesitate once more. Lin Huang was a tough nut to crack with his Iron Silver Armor and the backing of the Divine General’s Mansion, but Ming Ao wasn’t some pushover either. In terms of Martial Arts Realm, he was undisputedly the number one among everyone present.
"In my capacity as the Young Master of the Divine General’s Mansion, I promise that whoever kills Ming Ao will be rewarded with ten thousand Gold and unrestricted access to the Divine General’s Mansion’s Martial Techniques! Those who merely participate will be rewarded with ten thousand taels of Gold and the right to borrow ten Martial Techniques."
Upon hearing this, the crowd’s eyes lit up once more!
Not every Martial Artist here would be able to enter the Four Great Sects. Even for those who did, the ten thousand Gold was tempting enough. If they didn’t make it in, then what Lin Huang promised was an astronomical amount of wealth. Besides, keeping Ming Ao on the arena was a massive threat in itself.
In that case, why not take out Ming Ao first? Yes, take out Ming Ao first! Whether Lin Huang lived or died, Ming Ao had to die first. With heavy Gold in their pockets, their chances of entering the Four Great Sects would also increase!
It was a guaranteed profit!
"Should we do it?"
"Do it! You’re not a man if you don’t!"
"Are we in?"
"We’re in! We’d be fools not to!"
The Martial Artists on the arena exchanged flickering glances, as if flashing secret signals or making eyes at one another. Gradually, they quietly surrounded Ming Ao. At this moment, the exceedingly handsome Ming Ao looked like a plump, sheared sheep to the crowd!
"Get lost!"
Before the crowd could even make a move, Ming Ao lost his composure. With an angry roar, he slashed his Longsword at the people behind him. Shifting his body rapidly, he completely distanced himself from the crowd.
By now, Ming Ao was absolutely furious. He hadn’t expected Lin Huang to be such a rogue, doing everything possible to get him killed.
He thought, "Am I really that expensive? Ten thousand Gold is equivalent to a year’s financial revenue for Baiyun City. I’m not worth that much!"
Watching the crowd’s attention shift, a smile curled the corners of Lin Huang’s mouth. It didn’t matter whether Ming Ao lived or died. As long as he could divert the crowd’s attention, the threat to himself would diminish. As Qin Xuance had said, he had to find a scapegoat to take the heat for him.
Under the blazing sun, the towering arena looked particularly majestic. The flashes of swords and blades on it reflected blinding light as countless figures leaped and twisted, chasing after Ming Ao like a winding dragon. And the one leading the pursuit to kill Ming Ao was actually that guy, Lu Wuji.
Below the stage, ten thousand pairs of eyes watched in awe!
A hundred young Martial Artists were hunting Ming Ao across an arena less than a hundred spans wide, reducing the once handsome and elegant youth to quite a sorry state.
As for Lin Huang, he had already thrown out eight of the tokens... He naturally understood that these tokens were essentially hot potatoes. As long as he held them, someone would eventually try something desperate!
Even though the crowd on the arena was united in pursuing Ming Ao, each harbored their own hidden agendas. Ming Ao’s head was naturally important, being worth ten thousand Gold. But the tokens Lin Huang had thrown were equally important. One represented astronomical wealth! The other represented a meteoric rise!
As time passed with everyone harboring their own schemes, someone was inevitably sent flying off the arena, landing on the ground with a loud THUD. When he climbed back up, his face was full of confusion.
What just happened? Weren’t they supposed to team up and kill Ming Ao first? The person next to him had smiled so sincerely just a moment ago! How could they have kicked him the moment he turned his back? Where was the trust between people?
Fuck!
Moments later, however, the young Martial Artist’s eyes lit up as he watched the very person who had kicked him off the arena also get sent flying out, blood spurting from his body before he landed with a heavy THUMP. Seeing the guy fall flat on his face was incredibly satisfying!
On the arena, people were constantly being sent flying off, prematurely ending their journey in the third round of the Four Sects’ grand selection. Meanwhile, the burning incense stick next to the arena grew shorter and shorter. Time was running out fast!
The arena, normally as steady as Taishan, was now slick with blood. Many had collapsed onto it, their bodies covered in crisscrossing wounds, entirely devoid of life. Among them were even a few Human Element Eighth Heaven Realm Martial Artists.
Ming Ao’s blue robes continued to flutter, but two deep, gaping wounds on his arm and waist exposed the stark white bone beneath. His handsome face was now unimaginably grim. Lin Huang’s words had instantly made him the target of everyone’s attacks! Although the crowd couldn’t possibly be entirely united, they still subjected him to immense pressure—the wounds on his body were the best testament to that.
In contrast, Lin Huang looked thoroughly relaxed. Even with time running out, his Iron Silver Armor basically made him an impenetrable fortress. It was nearly impossible for the crowd to snatch the remaining tokens from him!
Only now had Lin Huang completely removed himself from the eye of the storm.
On the arena, the great battle raged on...
"Lin the kid, hold Fatty Bai back for me! The little brat is trying to run away!"
While Lin Huang was enjoying the show, Bai Pojun suddenly roared from below the arena. He stared fiercely from afar at the plump figure inching away on the stage, his face flushed with fury!
Lin Huang was slightly taken aback and turned to look at Fatty Bai. The guy had been lying on the arena since the very beginning, snoring like thunder, yet his round, chubby body was stealthily inching closer and closer to the edge. Half of his body was already dangling off the stage.
Amazingly, after all this time, Fatty Bai hadn’t suffered a single scratch. He looked as if he had absolutely nothing to do with the chaos around him. Beside Fatty Bai, a large cat had appeared at some unknown point. Its entire body was pure white, with fur as crystalline as snow. Its vivid blue eyes slowly shifted around, and the way it held its head high made it look exactly like a haughty noblewoman.
When one of the tokens flew toward Fatty Bai, the crowd swarmed over like a pack of ravenous wolves, their swords and sabers flashing as they howled through the air.
Lin Huang’s expression changed slightly. With so many people, even if Fatty Bai wasn’t accidentally struck by a weapon, he’d be trampled to death. But just as Lin Huang prepared to rush over, he noticed Fatty Bai’s hand twitch before slapping the Big White Cat right on its rear end.
Instantly, a snow-white blur flashed through the air. A furry paw swatted out, smacking the incoming token and sending it flying off in another direction.
After swatting the token away, the Big White Cat seemed unsatisfied and swiped its paw again. The claw marks tore through the air, proving to be as impossibly sharp as a honed blade, instantly shredding a Martial Artist’s throat.
Lin Huang’s eyes went wide. "Is that... a Lightning Cat?"
But a Lightning Cat’s speed couldn’t possibly be that fast. And its claws wouldn’t be that sharp either.
Seeing the crowd resume their chase after the token, ensuring Fatty Bai was out of danger, Lin Huang breathed a long sigh of relief. As he scanned the arena, however, he was horrified to discover that among the scattered corpses lying about, more than twenty had cat scratch marks on their throats.
Lin Huang was at a loss for words... Had this guy stepped on dog shit in his past life and gotten incredibly lucky? He doesn’t practice Cultivation, yet his Realm climbs higher and higher! And he somehow had such a terrifying... Big White Cat?