Chapter 420: Don’t be Afraid, I Am Here!
Translator: SoupHunter Editor: TomYummy
After another day fraught with battles, about 700 more participants had perished. However, as there were only about 30 casualties on the Celestial Nation's side, Yue Yao was greatly pleased with the results. As they returned, she snuck a couple of glances at Miao Yi, only to discover he was simply just sitting there quietly the entire time with his eyes closed.
The days passed, and in the blink of an eye, twenty days had come and gone. At this stage, the total casualties of all six nations numbered about 15,000 participants, with less than 10,000 survivors remaining.
The Yao Nation camp had less than three hundred members left, while the Celestial Nation, Boundless Nation, Devil Nation and Ghost Nation camps were almost equal in number at about one thousand members respectively. As the Buddha Nation camp was the largest group to begin with, they still had over four thousand participants remaining. Initially, the Celestial Nation and Yao Nation camps were almost equal in number, but as the former had Miao Yi watching over them, their number of casualties were greatly reduced, causing the paltry numbers of the Yao Nation to be even more prominent.
Truth be told, they only had themselves to blame. If they hadn't made such a big fuss about catching 'Niu Youde' all those years ago, how could they have drawn the thirstful gazes of all the other participants? At the very least, they wouldn't have been reduced to such a state otherwise.
Bai Ziliang and Lan Susu's faces darkened as they were worried that by the end of it all, all those in the Yao Nation's camp would perish, excluding those with free passes such as themselves. If that were to happen, it would truly be too shameful for them.
Fortunately, the three hundred still remaining were the cream of the crop, being able to have survived thus far, thereby making it a bit more difficult for the others to take them down. On the other hand, things were not so lucky for the Buddha Nation. Even though their large numbers meant that they had plenty of experts, it also meant they were not lacking in weaker members either. Thus, they became the prime target of the other five nations.
The death of over 10,000 participants had stained almost the entire surface of the battle arena with the deep red of blood, and the heavy stench of iron assaulted the nostrils as soon as one approached.
Once again, the battles of the day had come to an end, and the participants returned back to their respective camps. And as for those groups with casualties, they inevitably needed to reform their parties.
In the distant mountain range, the woeful wails of spiritual beasts who had lost their owners could be heard. In order to ensure fairness in battle, the use of spiritual beasts besides dragon steeds was disallowed. Even Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao and Ye Xin had to keep away their Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts. As such, after their owners had perished in battle, many of the creatures roamed the island aimlessly, crying every night.
As most of the participants were still unsure of their own fates, no one bothered to deal with these spiritual beasts for now. Even if they wanted to tame these creatures, they had to wait until the battles were completely over to do it. After all, it would be pointless if they tamed the creatures, only for they themselves to die in the end.
"Brother, what are you staring at?"
Miao Yi had been looking out in a daze towards the direction the cries of the beasts were coming from. Seeing how he showed no signs of moving even after everyone else had left, the seven people behind him exchanged glances with one another, before Sikong Wuwei stepped forward and asked the question.
Miao Yi snapped out of his daze, shaking his head as he smiled and said, "It's nothing. I was just thinking it's a waste to leave these precious creatures like this. I wish to take a couple of them back to present to my handmaidens as mounts, but alas, I don't know how to tame them. Even if I could catch them, there's no point."
Not long after they returned, Miao Yi and the others had suddenly lost sight of Gu Sanzheng, Tan Lao and Ye Xin. Even after searching outside the cave, there was no sign of the three of them.
By the time they saw the trio again, they found them each carrying a beast sack in hand. Tan Lao tossed one of the beast sacks over to Miao Yi and said, "There are two 'Black-Scaled Drake Beasts' inside. Strength-wise, they aren't any weaker than our Crystal-Armored Hurricane Beasts. The taming technique is inside here." He then tossed a jade archive over.
Surprised, Miao Yi examined the beast sack with his transcendence energy, and found two ferocious creatures inside. Armed with sharp fangs and claws, the creatures' bodies were covered with scales as dark as ink; their heads were shaped like that of a vicious tiger with a savage-looking horn protruding out of it, and a mane of fur surrounded their necks like lions. At the moment, because of the iron needle stuck onto their heads, the creatures were in a state of deep sleep inside the beast sack.
Miao Yi then noticed that Gu Sanzheng and Ye Xin had tossed beast sacks over to Zhao Fei and Sikong Wuwei as well. They didn't leave out Pi Junzi and Tao Yongchun either, who were overjoyed by the gifts.
Miao Yi never expected that the three of them would really go and catch these spiritual beasts for them right after that one casual remark he made. Of the three of them, he was positive that Tan Lao had been the most significant contributor. As he was a disciple of the School of Imperial Beasts, Tan Lao most certainly had his ways of dealing with spiritual beasts like these.
As he watched the three of them sit down in meditation beside them, Miao Yi couldn't help asking, "Didn't you guys want to take revenge for your three major sects? Yet now you're handing me something like this. What if I end up dying by your hands still? Wouldn't you have wasted these gifts then?"
Ye Xin rolled her beautiful eyes before shutting them. Tan Lao laughed bitterly, then did the same as well.
Gu Sanzheng replied coolly, "As the rules have been changed by the representatives of the Six Sages, you have become a necessity right now. Otherwise, even we are not confident we'll be able to make it back alive to report to our schools. Now that we have a legitimate reason to keep you alive, we'll be able to give our schools a proper explanation."
Miao Yi chuckled lightly in response. He had long been aware that the three of them no longer had any intention of seeking revenge.
Zhao Fei also shook his head and smiled. Meanwhile, Sikong Wuwei chuckled and remarked, "We've been watching other people battle all this time. My hands are starting to get itchy already. Say, Brother, given the current conditions set, you are pretty much unbeatable with your skills. And right now, the belongings of all 180,000 participants, each an accumulation of wealth over millennia, are gathered in the hands of the remaining survivors. Just one victory would be equivalent to years of profit as a Manor Head. You can't tell me you're not tempted in the least by the prospects?"
"Let's see how it goes for now. It won't be too late to make our move once all the treasures have been gathered in the hands of the few. After all, there's nowhere to run!" Miao Yi smiled and said. After which, he sat cross-legged beside them and tossed an Orb of Will into his mouth.
Truth be told, he had fully recovered a few days ago. He simply didn't wish to go out and fight, and instead was using the opportunity to cultivate.
He wasn't afraid or anything like that. It's just that there would always be risks involved with stepping up to battle. Now that the competition had progressed thus far, the remaining participants were all true-blue experts. It would not be difficult at all to find a team consisting of ten Blue Lotus Ninth Grade cultivators. After all, those who were able to survive this long were hardly pushovers.
Most importantly, that ultimate spear move of his simply required too much energy to pull off. There was no way he could sustain such a massive consumption of energy, so he could only use it sparingly. Hence, either he would choose to not use it at all, or use it to its maximum effect. If he stepped out to fight at this stage, there wouldn't be much to gain. It was better to wait until the final stages of the competition, when most of the treasures would be even more concentrated among the participants. It wouldn't be too late even if he decided to make his move then. If he got too greedy, he wouldn't be strong enough to reap the greatest benefit.
On the next day, all six nations' participants were gathered once again, and the carnage for survival resumed once more. After Sikong Wuwei's reminder, Miao Yi finally decided to take a break from cultivation and opened his eyes to spectate the battles. Ever since this six-sided competition started, he had never truly watched them properly.
Since he had decided to make a fortune in one fell swoop at the final stretch, he didn't wish to go in unprepared. He wanted to see who were the strong ones and who were the weak ones to find out which of them were easier to kill.
At times, the participants would cry out in agony as their heads were ripped off their bodies. Other times, they would simply collapse in a pool of blood. As he watched the battles unfold, Miao Yi couldn't help quietly shaking his head. This so-called alternative to ensure fairness was simply a facade for the six nations' representatives to kill off the normal participants. It wouldn't look too good for them to lay hands on their own nation's cultivators, so they simply borrowed one another's hands to do it, in order for they themselves to have peace of mind. There wasn't much of a difference in the end result; the number of survivors in the end wouldn't increase anyhow.
"Has your body recovered?" The sound of Yue Yao's voice transmission suddenly rang in Miao Yi's ear.
Miao Yi thought to himself, 'This is bad. Don't tell me Little Sister is hoping to see me step up and fight?' Turning his head to face Yue Yao, Miao Yi's eyes met her captivating gaze, and he nodded his head in resignation as he replied, "Almost."
Yue Yao's eyes glinted. She always thought that it was strange how there seemed to be no trace of lust or desire at all in this guy's eyes as he looked at her. It was almost as though he were looking at a man. Could this guy be sick somehow?
She then felt a rush of heat up her cheeks as the thought crossed her mind. She secretly rebuked herself, thinking, 'Where's your sense of shame? It's like you are hoping he would lust after you or something!'
"Given your strength, to be able to wield the spear to such an extent is already nothing short of an extraordinary feat. Even if you don't use that ultimate move, I doubt there will be anyone here who is able to contend against you. In light of that, I ask you this: Are you willing to help take in a few Geotranscendence Bangles for me?!" Yue Yao asked.
'Her sights ARE set on me!' Miao Yi sighed inwardly. However, he was also quite happy that he was not a completely useless big brother at least. He could still manage to help his little sister out.
Furrowing his brows, Miao Yi asked, "Yue Yao, are these Geotranscendence Bangles very important to you?"
"Of course they are. I am here on behalf of the Realm Beyond Heaven. As their representative, how can I allow myself to lose to the other five nations?"
"How many Geotranscendence Bangles do you have right now?'
"I have over thirty thousand currently."
Miao Yi asked curiously, "Including the ten thousand that Yun Feiyang lost to you?"
"Yes!"
"Before Yun Feiyang lost that wager to you, he was already in possession of over thirty thousand Geotranscendence Bangles. Had you not won these ten thousand Geotranscendence Bangles, I fear it would have been quite difficult for you to get first place!"
Yue Yao asked in shock, "Yun Feiyang already had that many before this?"
Miao Yi nodded, then asked, "Yue Yao, do you really want to get first place?"
"Of course! But judging from what you just said, I fear that the other representatives will have quite a substantial amount in their possession as well."
"Don't be afraid. I am here!" As he said this, Miao Yi quickly scanned about, furrowing his brows slightly as he tried to come up with a plan.
Little did Miao Yi know that his words had caught Yue Yao by surprise. She looked at him in an utter daze, as her thoughts were immediately taken back to her childhood, to the person who would always rub her head whenever she got into trouble and tell her confidently, "Don't be afraid. Big Brother is here!"
Yue Yao's heart pounded a little at Miao Yi's words, feeling as though she was being wrapped in a soothing warmth. If it weren't for the fact that the person before her looked nothing like the man in her memory, and that their names were completely different, she would have really wondered if her big brother was standing right in front of her.
As her mind slowly snapped out of it, Yue Yao thought about the words this Yan Beihong had said and realized that he had been talking down to her this entire time without her even realizing it. As though he was meant to use this kind of tone to speak to her since he was born. It had been so natural that even Yue Yao herself hadn't noticed anything wrong with it and just followed along with the conversation.
What made her even more speechless was that this Yan Beihong seemed to have forgotten to address her as 'Lord Sixth'. Instead, he was very casually calling her Yue Yao, as though the two of them had quite a close relationship with one another.
Yue Yao secretly clenched her teeth as she thought, 'This insolent bastard. No wonder I couldn't sense any lust in his eyes. It's probably because he doesn't hold me in any regard at all. So what if your spear technique is powerful? Had I not suggested these new rules for the Subjugation Crusade, how do you think you would fare against everyone else's transcendent artifacts?!'
But even so, Yue Yao couldn't blame Miao Yi, as she knew that he hadn't said anything wrong. Not to mention, he just made such a big promise to her. She wanted to see how this bastard was planning to help her get first place!
Night had fallen. After the end of yet another battle-packed day, Miao Yi immediately called Zhao Fei and the rest back to the cave for a discussion.
Not long after that, they all stepped out with strange looks on their faces.
Miao Yi led the Gu Sanzheng trio towards the battle arena. Breathing in the air that was already heavily polluted by the stench of blood, he gazed upwards at the starry sky.
Meanwhile, Zhao Fei, Sikong Wuwei, Tao Yongchun and Pi Junzi split up and headed towards the respective camps of the Yao Nation, Ghost Nation, Boundless Nation, and Buddha Nation.
Given the current state of affairs, the six nations need not be too guarded against one another. As such, Sikong Wuwei was able to easily infiltrate the Buddha Nation's territory. Coming to a stop in front of a cave, he jumped off his dragon steed and peeked his head inside. Seeing ten monks seated in meditation, he immediately barged in, chuckling as he cupped his fists and said, "Greetings, esteemed grandmasters."
"Why are you here, sir?" Alarmed, the monks hastily stood up. They couldn't help but feel that they had seen this person somewhere before.
"Please don't be nervous. I am here to pass a message from Yan Beihong." Sikong Wuwei said with glee, "He is currently waiting for you at the battle arena. Please hurry over."
"Yan Beihong?" The monks were taken aback. How could anyone not know Yan Beihong's name at this point? At the same time, they finally recognized the man before them as the comrade of that very same Yan Beihong.
The leader of the monks asked, "May I know why Sir Yan is looking for us? Why doesn't he just come over and tell us if he has something to say? Why must we go to the battle arena?"
Sikong Wuwei shrugged and replied, "This I don't know! All I'm told is that Yan Beihong noticed how similar you guys are to the enemies he previously met in the Sea of Constellations, so he's prepared to issue a challenge to you all tomorrow. However, he isn't absolutely sure himself whether or not you all are indeed his enemies. After all, you guys all look very alike with your shaved heads. Which is why he wishes to confirm your identities by meeting you face-to-face. Esteemed grandmasters, if it is simply a misunderstanding, you might as well go and explain it to him directly."