Chapter 47: Entering the Competition
It was already dark by the time they left Water Cloud Space.
Five Horses Street was as bustling as ever.
Colorful lanterns adorned the streets and the people walking them.
After bidding farewell to his senior brother’s family, Lu Changfeng took Chunzhu by the hand and headed toward the martial arts tournament arena.
"Feng, where are we going?"
Lu Changfeng smiled. "Didn’t you always say our Martial Arts Hall hasn’t officially opened and we’re losing money? Starting tonight, we’re going to make a name for ourselves!"
Before long, the two arrived at the center of Five Horses Street on foot.
A circular, two-story building stood there—the martial arts tournament arena.
A steady stream of people was lining up to buy tickets.
There weren’t just men; entire families of four or five had come out to watch the tournament.
The tournament matches were generally bloodless, with fighters pulling their blows, making it enjoyable even for children.
Lu Changfeng led Chunzhu straight to a registration point where the crowd was much thinner.
Very few people were at the registration point.
Registering for the tournament was only a hassle the first time, as it required providing one’s information.
Afterward, the arena management would evaluate a fighter’s strength based on their performance and reputation, then automatically arrange their opponents.
"Here to register for the matches, are you?" a smiling old man at the registration point asked.
These contestants were the arena’s source of income, so of course, they had to be treated with a friendly attitude.
"Yes." Lu Changfeng gave a slight nod.
"You know the rules, right? You have to be a Martial Artist from a Five Horses Street Martial Arts Hall."
"I understand."
The old man nodded. "Alright, give me the name and address of your Martial Arts Hall, and your position within it. Don’t make anything up, mind you. We’ll send someone from the arena to verify it later."
Lu Changfeng said, "Changle Martial Arts Hall. The address is 18-A Xianghe Square, Five Horses Street."
"I am the hall master, Lu Changfeng, and my Realm is... Blood Forging Sixth Layer!"
Lu Changfeng didn’t hide his Realm.
Even with the legacy of the [Fengtian Forging Body Saber Skill] and the ’Giant Elephant Woman’, he would likely need to linger in the Blood Forging Realm for a considerable time to reach his personal goal of the Blood Forging Ninth Layer.
Therefore, reporting himself as Blood Forging Sixth Layer wouldn’t attract too much attention.
"Blood Forging Sixth Layer?"
"Trying to be like the disciples of the great clans, are you? Pushing to the Blood Forging Seventh Layer before breaking through to Tendon Transformation?"
"A commendable spirit!" the old man said, nodding in praise.
"Now, tell me what Martial Arts you specialize in, so I can arrange a suitable opponent for you," the old man added.
"I specialize in Swordsmanship," Lu Changfeng said simply.
The old man noted it down with a rustle of his pen.
"Alright, you’re registered. From now on, just check in here when you come to compete. Then you can go inside and wait."
"Are you competing today?"
Lu Changfeng nodded. "I am."
"Good!"
The old man wrote on a slip of paper and handed it to a nearby attendant, who then carried it into the arena.
"You can head to the contestants’ gallery and wait!"
"Normally, an opponent will be arranged for you within one hour."
"Oh, right. Each contestant gets two complimentary tickets for the audience section."
The old man handed over two tickets made from bamboo slips, etched with an extremely complex, coded pattern.
They were made by a famous master of coded patterns from Jiangzhou. Furthermore, the serial numbers were updated daily to prevent forgery.
Lu Changfeng nodded, accepted the tickets, and handed one to Chunzhu.
"Alright, watch closely from below. In the future, our Martial Arts Hall will be flooded with Disciples, and you’ll be in charge of collecting fees. The job of hall accountant is all yours!" Lu Changfeng told Chunzhu.
Even though she knew the tournament matches were generally safe, Chunzhu still reminded him, "Be careful. Your safety is the most important thing."
Lu Changfeng gave a small nod and watched Chunzhu enter the audience section before he, too, stepped into the arena proper.
Following the corridor, Lu Changfeng soon arrived at the contestants’ gallery.
The layout of the arena was quite ingenious.
The first floor held the general audience, while the second floor housed more expensive private boxes.
The contestants’ gallery was situated between the first and second floors, in full view of the entire audience.
He could see many people in the stands holding up signs for their favorite contestants... cheering them on?
’Hm, the atmosphere for Martial Arts is really quite good,’ Lu Changfeng thought.
Lu Changfeng walked toward the contestants’ gallery, where dozens of fighters were already gathered.
Lu Changfeng made a deliberate sweep of the gallery, scanning everyone’s Talent Root Bone.
It was a good showing. A number of them had A Class Root Bone, with the lowest being B Class+.
What was most surprising was that two-thirds of the contestants possessed Martial Talent.
On reflection, it made sense. Only a Martial Artist with a corresponding Martial Talent would have superior Combat Power compared to others at the same level.
Naturally, they were the ones most likely to be recommended by their Martial Arts Halls for the tournament.
To Lu Changfeng’s disappointment, he didn’t find anyone with a High-Grade Sword Dao Talent.
The other Talents were good, but none were as appealing as a Heroic Root Bone.
Lu Changfeng decided to save his ’copy’ opportunity for Zhao Xingtian’s Upper A Root Bone for now.
After all, Zhao Xingtian would surely leave his side once he finished forging his Jade Bone.
Still, the roster of fighters in the tournament changed daily.
He might discover something new the next time he came.
The rules dictated five-minute rounds.
If no winner was decided within five minutes, the match was halted, and the outcome was determined by the scores of three judges.
This system kept the matches moving at a rapid pace.
Lu Changfeng watched a few matches.
The regular matches weren’t separated by Realm and were interspersed with one another.
The Blood Forging Martial Artists who took the stage were generally at the Third Layer or above.
There were even Martial Artists from the Tendon Transformation Realm.
The arena stayed open until midnight.
As midnight drew near, the arena would host the day’s main event.
These featured star fighters, all of whom were on winning streaks.
That was when the entire arena reached its peak excitement.
The arena staff could make a small fortune just by selling drinks in the stands.
The matches on the stage proceeded rapidly.
Because of the five-minute time limit.
After a brief exchange to feel each other out, the fighters would quickly unleash their full power.
The fights were intense, but the contestants did their best to avoid causing serious injury.
The matchmaking was also quite reasonable. Most opponents were close in Realm and strength, leading to fierce battles that were often decided by the slimmest of margins.
A Martial Artist raised on this kind of tournament might not excel at life-or-death struggles, but they would certainly become masters of timing.
’This is something I need to learn,’ Lu Changfeng thought.
He had been waiting in the contestants’ gallery for less than an hour.
Finally, it was his turn.
The announcer called out the information for both fighters.
"In the red corner, we have Ye Zhiqiu, master of the Autumn Moon Sword Hall! He is at the Blood Forging Fifth Layer, with a record of four wins and one loss!"
"And in the blue corner, Lu Changfeng, master of the Changle Martial Arts Hall! At the Blood Forging... Sixth Layer! This is his debut match, with a record of zero!!"
The mention of Lu Changfeng’s Blood Forging Sixth Layer drew the crowd’s attention.
In Jiangnan Prefecture, most Martial Artists chose to start condensing their Inner Strength at the Blood Forging Sixth Layer.
After all, not everyone had sufficient Root Bone and resources to aim higher.
Lu Changfeng stepped onto the stage. His opponent, Ye Zhiqiu, was likely competing for the same reason: to build a reputation for his Sword Hall.
A bitter look crossed his face; he clearly realized that he was at a disadvantage against Lu Changfeng’s higher Realm of Blood Forging Sixth Layer and would have to be more cautious in the ring.