“I just reached rank 50 a few days ago,” one of the five agents said to Black One respectfully. “Can I be included in this mission?”
Black One shook his head. “That place is no joke. This rule was established after years of trial and error. If you don’t play by that place’s rules, you’ll put everyone’s life in danger.” Then he turned to the crowd. “Is there anyone else under rank 40 or over rank 50?”
No one else moved forward; the agents of the Battle Hall were obviously very honest. The five agents left, disappointed.
Tang Wulin was afire with curiosity. This might be an opportunity for me to grow stronger.
“There’re only 30 places on this mission,” Black One continued, “and there’re over a hundred of you, so a contest will be held in a month to decide who will get the opportunity. The mission will start in 10 days or so after the contest.”
Then all the white-class agents had their badges checked, as was the routine.
“White Three, please step forward,” Black One called out.
It took Tang Wulin several seconds to realize that Black One was calling him. He hurried over to him.
“White Three risked his life to save everyone on his last mission,” said Black One, “so he will be exempted from this contest, because he has already earned a place on this Dragon Valley Mission.” Nobody objected; the Tang Sect was nothing if not just.
“Thank you.” Tang Wulin felt so flattered. By the time the mission starts, the tournament should be over. But where is this Dragon Valley? He didn’t know anything about this mission, but he couldn’t ask questions that might give away his secret that he was from the Douluo Continent, because once they learned that he was the captain of the Shrek Academy team, they might not be so kind to him.
On the morning of the competition between the top 16 contestants, the Grand Star Luo Stadium was surrounded by crowds of people staring at the screens hanging outside the stadium. They had failed to procure tickets, but standing there, they could at least hear the exciting cheering inside. People crave to be entertained.
Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and Yuanen Yehui were escorted into the stadium by a group of soldiers assigned to protect them.
“Yuanen,” Xie Xie said in a low voice.
Yuanen Yehui turned to face him. “What?”
Xie Xie gave a silly grin. “Will you please be my girlfriend after I defeat my opponent?”
“You must be out of your mind,” Yuanen Yehui flared.
“Don’t you want to motivate me to win?”
“No, I don’t,” she said, her face expressionless.
Xie Xie nudged Tang Wulin. “She doesn’t want me to win, Captain.”
“She doesn’t want to motivate you to win,” corrected Tang Wulin.
“I guess I’ll hand the victory to my opponent on a platter,” Xie Xie said.
Tang Wulin shrugged. “I’m sure Teacher Wu and Elder Cai will be very happy to see that.”
Yuanen Yehui glared at Xie Xie. “I swear if you deliberately lose your match, I’ll never go out on a date with you, ever,” she said coldly.
Xie Xie’s face lit up. “Does that mean you’ll go out on a date with me if I win the match?”
Yuanen Yehui snorted and walked towards her couch.
“I’ve got a date coming up!” Xie Xie beamed.
Tang Wulin managed a wry smile. He didn’t want to put a damper on his friend’s plan by breaking the hard truth to him. At least he’s got one more reason to win, and a big one at that.
Only 16 couches remained in the waiting area. Even Dai Yun’er was not allowed to come.
Long Yue smiled at Tang Wulin, and Dai Yueyan nodded at him. The captain of the Shrek Academy team nodded back with courtesy.
Xie Xie spotted Lin San and fixed his eyes on him.
Lin San was lean, with above average height and looks. Calm vibes were emanating from him. He was the most unobtrusive one among the Monster Eight Kings.
Feeling Xie Xie’s eyes on him, Lin San raised his head to meet them, his eyes clear and without any emotion.
Xie Xie gave a snort of scorn. He felt an urge to fight rising from deep inside him.
Dai Yueyan turned to smile at Lin San. “It seems your opponent is not impressed.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Lin San said coolly.
“Would it have killed you to show some emotion?” the fourth prince asked, not unkindly.
“Yes.”
Dai Yueyan was beaten. “You’re incorrigible.”
Lin San was also a legend in the Monster Academy. He was quiet and had no hobbies to speak of. He devoted all his time to training; although he was the weakest in terms of talent and martial soul, he was ranked fourth in the Monster Eight Kings, and even Dai Yueyan and Su Mu were not sure they could defeat him. Hard work can compensate for lack of natural talent.
He didn’t care about titles and such. He had chosen to become one of the Monster Eight Kings, because he wanted to get better training resources and more opportunities to fight powerful opponents.
Dai Yueyan believed Lin San, the Wind King, was born to fight. Even the Monster Academy thought very highly of him, despite his unobtrusive nature.
“Hello everyone, and welcome to today's competition!” Fang’er’s voice echoed in the stadium. “Only eight competitors will advance to the next round, and they will be the best of the best.”
Everybody in the stands looked to the waiting area.
The 16 contestants were sitting there, waiting for their future-changing match.
The prize money for the top 8 fighters was huge. More importantly, they would be given special privileges. They could choose to join the army or a sect, or serve a noble family. And they would be offered a peerage.
There were only two ways to obtain a peerage in the Star Luo Empire. One way was through big tournaments like this one, and the other way was by making important contributions to the empire.