Chapter 86: The Challenge with Lingyin City’s representatives (Part-1)

“How could that be!” Wang Zongyao snapped back immediately, his tone sharp.

He glanced toward the Fengyue City candidates—his gaze lingering for an instant on Ryan—then gritted his teeth and said, “Fine. We’ll compare. But to avoid affecting today’s examination progress, we’ll only do five matches.”

“Five matches are perfect.” Tang Wuying nodded readily. “We’ll each send out our five strongest candidates. Once it’s done, we leave. It won’t delay your exam.”

“Very well. I’ll make the arrangements.”

Wang Zongyao turned to leave, but Tang Wuying suddenly stopped him. “Brother Wang, wait a moment.”

“What is it, Brother Tang?” Wang Zongyao asked, feigning confusion.

Tang Wuying’s eyes narrowed slightly, a sly smile curling at the corner of his mouth. “A comparison without stakes is dull. How about we add a wager?”

“A wager?” Wang Zongyao raised an eyebrow. “What kind of wager does Brother Tang have in mind?”

Without another word, Tang Wuying flipped his hand. A pitch-black vest immediately appeared in his palm.

When Wang Zongyao saw it clearly, his pupils shrank. “This… is this the Black Silk Treasure Armor?”

“Exactly.” Tang Wuying smiled proudly. “Brother Wang truly has sharp eyes.”

This armor had cost him no small effort to obtain. Taking it out as a wager wasn’t generosity—it was bait.

“Brother Tang, wagering a Earth-grade armor… isn’t that a bit excessive?” Wang Zongyao said in surprise.

Though his expression was serious, his heart was already laughing wildly.

A free delivery.

How could he not be happy?

“It’s just an armor,” Tang Wuying replied lightly. “Besides, Brother Wang might not necessarily win.”

“Are you saying you look down on Fengyue City?” Wang Zongyao pretended to bristle. Then he laughed and said, “Fine. Since Brother Tang is so sincere, I’ll accept. To match your wager, I’ll put up an Earth-grade item as well.”

As he spoke, he flipped his hand and produced a fiery red dagger.

The moment Tang Wuying saw it, his eyes lit up like flames.

“So it truly is the Bloodthirsty Dagger,” Tang Wuying said excitedly. “I’ve heard of it for years, but never had the chance to see it. What a beauty.”

From the instant the dagger appeared, Tang Wuying’s gaze never left it.

At that moment, Wang Zongyao finally understood everything.

So that was it.

The armor was just a pretext. Tang Wuying’s real target was this dagger.

Earth weapons were exceedingly rare. Among Wang Zongyao’s possessions, only this Bloodthirsty Dagger fit the bill. Tang Wuying must have learned of it long ago and deliberately set this trap.

If Ryan didn’t exist, this dagger might truly have been swindled away.

What a shame.

Wang Zongyao chuckled inwardly.

Meanwhile, Tang Wuying was already smiling broadly. In his eyes, the Bloodthirsty Dagger had practically fallen into his pocket.

After all, he firmly believed that Wang Zongyao could not win.

No—more precisely, Fengyue City’s candidates could not possibly defeat Lingyin City’s lineup.

Because this year, Lingyin City had produced a terrifying existence…

*

With the wager settled, the rules were quickly finalized, and both sides returned to make their selections.

Soon, Lingyin City chose its five representatives.

Fengyue City did the same.

Their lineup was announced:

Li Wei, Yuan Qiong, Mu Xianling, Fan Wei, and… Li Wujie.

The final name stunned everyone.

It wasn’t Su Sidao, a full-fledged Upper Elite expert.

Instead, it was Li Wujie—someone who isn’t even in the Upper Elite ranks.

The choice was utterly unexpected.

Even with Li Wujie listed as the fifth representative, there were no objections.

After all, Su Sidao had already lost to him once. At this point, Li Wujie was more than qualified to take that spot.

Once both sides finalized their lineups, Wang Zongyao stepped onto the high platform.

The qualification exam had been abruptly interrupted by the arrival of this group, leaving the audience of Fengyue City utterly confused. Naturally, Wang Zongyao had to come forward and explain.

Standing tall, he projected his voice with the authority of an Upper Exalt.

“Children of the great families, citizens of Fengyue City,” he announced, “I believe many of you are wondering why the qualification exam has been temporarily suspended. Allow me to explain.”

“Before the exam began, we decided to add a special segment—one meant to further satisfy everyone’s expectations.”

“This segment will be even more exciting than the qualification exam itself.”

A ripple of curiosity spread through the stands.

“Next, our outstanding candidates from this qualification exam will engage in a friendly exchange with elite candidates from another city.”

“Wow!”

The crowd instantly erupted.

“Friendly exchange? You mean a competition with candidates from other cities?”

“So that group earlier really were outsiders?”

“No wonder! I was wondering why so many unfamiliar faces showed up.”

“Then why didn’t they take the exam here?”

“I heard our qualification exam started two days later than others. Those people probably already finished theirs.”

“There were exactly twenty of them… that matches the number of qualified candidates.”

“That man leading them must be an examiner, like Lord Wang.”

“Do you think our candidates can hold their own?”

“They should. This year, we have Fan Wei, Yuan Qiong, Mu Xianling… even the Li Clan has risen.”

“And Li Wei!”

“I’m looking forward to this. I hope Fengyue City wins.”

“Which city are they from?”

The chatter grew louder and louder.

“Quiet. Quiet.”

Wang Zongyao raised his hand, and the crowd gradually calmed down.

He gestured toward the right side of the arena.

“On my right are the elite candidates who have come to spar with us. They hail from Lingyin City. Let us welcome them.”

For a brief moment, silence fell.

Then a smattering of applause followed—perfunctory, reluctant.

Soon after, expressions across the crowd turned sour.

Whispers turned into mutters.

“Lingyin City? Damn it, that’s the city I hate the most.”

“Same here. I once did business there and got beaten up by their thugs.”

“They didn’t come to spar. They came to kick our court!”

“Definitely bad intentions!”

“Kick our court? They’re asking to get beaten!”

“Fengyue City, crush them!”

“Support Fengyue City!”

“Kill those Lingyin City bastards!”

The crowd grew more and more agitated, old grudges between the two cities bubbling up like boiling water.

Meanwhile, the Lingyin City candidates stood proudly with lifted chins, completely unfazed. They didn’t retort or explain—only sneered, their eyes full of disdain and contempt.

That arrogance only poured oil onto the fire.

“This…”

Wang Zongyao felt a headache coming on. He hadn’t expected the reaction to be this intense.

At that moment, Zhu Yan, the governor of the city, leaned over and explained quietly, “Brother Wang, our Fengyue City and Lingyin City have long-standing grievances. This reaction is… inevitable.”

“I see.”

Wang Zongyao nodded. If he had known, he wouldn’t have announced the city name so directly.

Glancing toward Tang Wuying, he noticed the man looked completely unconcerned, as if the curses were nothing more than background noise.

Wang Zongyao cleared his throat and continued.

“This exchange will consist of five matches. One-on-one duels. The side whose representatives are all defeated will lose.”

“Now, I call upon Li Wei, Li Wujie, Mu Xianling, Fan Wei, and Yuan Qiong to represent Fengyue City.”

The five stood up in unison.

“From Lingyin City, Liu Yu, Hua Xiang, Fang Tian, Bai Ye, and Qian Du will take the field.”

Five figures stepped forward from the opposing side.

After everyone was in position, Wang Zongyao spoke sternly, “This is only a friendly exchange. Click-to-stop rules apply. No killing. Anyone who violates this—regardless of city—will face severe punishment.”

Everyone acknowledged his words.

Wang Zongyao stepped down and walked over to Tang Wuying.

“Brother Tang, who will you send first?”

Tang Wuying waved his hand indifferently. “Doesn’t matter. Send the weakest one first.”

Then he turned and said lazily, “Fang Tian, you go.”

Without a word, Fang Tian leapt onto the arena.

Standing at the center, he swept his gaze over Ryan’s group with blatant contempt.

That look alone was enough to ignite tempers.

“Damn it, that look pisses me off!” Li Wujie growled.

“When I get up there, I’ll smash him flat,” Yuan Qiong said coldly.

“Just trash,” Fan Wei snorted.

The air between the two sides crackled with hostility.

Seeing that Tang Wuying had already sent someone onto the stage, Wang Zongyao pondered briefly before turning to Yuan Qiong.

“Yuan Qiong, you go first.”

“Yes!”

Yuan Qiong’s eyes lit up. He answered loudly and leapt onto the ring without hesitation.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep