Chapter 1229: Succeed and Become a Dragon
Between Martial Artists, above the level of enemies and friends, there is another kind of relationship, called rivals!
A rival might be a life-or-death enemy from the past, or a close friend, but the two constantly compete and spar, neither willing to admit defeat.
Often, rivals temper a Martial Artist on the road of growth far more than enemies or friends do.
Because with nerves stretched tight, you’re always pondering how to become stronger so you can defeat the other side; every time you see them improve a little, you work even harder, determined to improve more than they do.
So the healthy competition a rival brings is undoubtedly a potent medicine for a Martial Artist.
Right now, Liu Zixuan and Wu Zheng are both treating the other as a rival in the path of Arrays; they’re hoping that through competition with each other, they can become stronger.
Of course, now is not yet the time.
They all walked into the palace. Ye Qinglian pointed upward and said, "In a bit the auction will be held downstairs. We’ll just watch from the second floor."
"We’re really going to go through the motions of an auction?" Sword Demon asked.
Liu Zixuan gave a meaningful smile. "If you’re putting on a show, you might as well play it through. But it won’t be the full routine—just an opening scene, then we use that key to tempt those bastards. That’ll be enough."
"So we make a move right here in the palace?" Luo Xi walked over and asked.
Liu Zixuan patted Luo Xi’s shoulder and pointed ahead. "Redirect your Inner Strength into your Five Senses, then look ahead."
Luo Xi paused, formed a seal with two fingers, and looked forward. Faint Array fluctuations spread out from the great hall, and probing deeper he discovered the ground beneath the first floor of the hall was actually hollow!
His eyes lit up at once. "This..."
"Looks like the two seniors really did rack their brains for this auction. Those mechanisms underground could probably take the lives of several ordinary Martial Artists in an instant."
𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚
Long Tengyun smiled proudly. "Can’t guarantee too many, but with the underground mechanisms assisted by the Array, we can instantly kill all Martial Artists below the Emperor Realm. According to the outer sect’s statistics, there are only a little over twenty experts above the Emperor Realm, and the strongest one should be about the same as us, comparable to the Life and Death Realm. So our odds this time are very good!"
"Then let’s wait and enjoy the show!"
With that, everyone went upstairs together, found seats, and sat down.
Before long, Four Symbols Sect disciples brought over fruit, tea, melon seeds, and the like.
Qiqi pinched a mango and laughed. "Looks like all these snacks really are essential gear for watching a good show!"
Everyone burst out laughing and began chatting idly.
Very soon, inner-sect disciples of the Four Symbols Sect appeared on the first-floor hall. After that, unfamiliar Martial Artists began filing in one after another. Judging from their appearance and the aura of their Cultivation Techniques, most were foreign Martial Artists, and of course there were also one or two Star Sea Martial Artists among them.
Half an hour later, the doors of the first floor closed. All the Martial Artists formed a large circle and sat down. There were roughly a hundred and fifty to sixty people. Looking down from above, it was quite a grand sight.
Studying the layout below, Luo Xi asked in confusion, "That’s not right. The Mechanical Array is all in the middle, but they’re all sitting around the edges. Will it still work when the time comes?"
Beside him, Wu Zheng smiled mysteriously. "You’ll know in a moment."
"Putting on so much mystery!" Luo Xi grumbled unhappily.
"It’s starting!" Liu Zixuan looked down below.
What made Liu Zixuan slightly surprised was that the host of the auction turned out to be Long Angxiong, whom he had defeated before—the most dazzling genius of the Cyan Dragon Clan.
Looks like the Cyan Dragon Clan really did see things eye to eye this time; otherwise they wouldn’t have been willing to let such a genius handle this kind of affair.
Long Angxiong stood at the center of the foreign Martial Artists, slightly bowed, and smiled. "Thank you all for giving our Four Symbols Sect this honor by coming here to participate in the auction."
"Cut the crap and start already. We didn’t come to this auction for your Four Symbols Sect."
"Exactly. We want the treasure. Hurry up and bring out that key!"
Long Angxiong’s Realm was higher than that of some people present, but at this moment no one gave him any face. In everyone’s eyes, the so-called opening speech was just dragging things out; far better to get straight to the main event!
All that noisy commentary reached Long Angxiong’s ears, and a flash of anger flickered in his eyes and vanished.
Even if he couldn’t beat that freak Liu Zixuan, he was at least stronger than most at the same Realm. Go ahead and be smug for now—soon enough you’ll be the ones begging for mercy.
Then he smiled faintly. "Very well, since that’s the case I won’t waste time on pleasantries. We’ll now bring out the auction item. Everyone can come up and examine it, and then we’ll proceed to the bidding phase."
"That’s not bad. If we can go up and take a look, even if we can’t win the bid, at least we can feast our eyes."
"Yeah, that’s one of the keys to opening the Yudou Treasure. Absolutely a supreme treasure."
"If only we could just snatch the key. Too bad our strength isn’t enough!"
As the foreign Martial Artists clamored, three Four Symbols Sect disciples came over carrying a rosewood tray, one in front, two behind. On the tray was a protruding object covered with a red cloth.
When they reached Long Angxiong’s side, he placed his hand on the edge of the red cloth. "Everyone, you may come forward to view it."
As those Martial Artists rushed toward the center, Luo Xi suddenly understood. "So that’s how they’ll lure them into the Mechanical Array!"
Wu Zheng smiled smugly. "With the treasure’s allure, they’d love to get even closer!"
"But in that case, won’t Long Angxiong fall into the mechanisms as well?" Luo Xi frowned and asked again.
Wu Zheng shook his head and glanced toward Long Xiaotian, the Clan Leader of the Cyan Dragon Clan, who was beside them.
Long Xiaotian explained with a smile, "Angxiong will fall into the mechanisms too, but once he’s down there he’ll be the controlling core of the mechanisms. Of course, facing that many Martial Artists inside, there will naturally be danger."
Liu Zixuan smiled with deep implication. "Clan Leader Long wouldn’t let the most dazzling genius of the Cyan Dragon Clan face danger so lightly, would he?"
Long Xiaotian nodded solemnly. "After his battle with you, Angxiong realized his own shortcomings. So he needs to undergo harsher and more brutal tempering. This time might be his opportunity."
"You’re making a big bet. If he succeeds, he becomes a dragon. If he fails, it’ll be a bottomless abyss." Liu Zixuan spread his hands.
"If he leaps over, he becomes a Dragon. If he can’t become a Dragon, he might as well be a useless cripple waiting to die!" Long Xiaotian said, enunciating each word.
Liu Zixuan and Luo Xi exchanged a glance, both revealing a strange expression. Long Xiaotian really was ruthless toward Long Angxiong!
"Activate the Array!" Ye Qinglian watched as all the Martial Artists had gathered in the center and ordered Wu Zheng.
Wu Zheng nodded slightly, stepped forward, and a Luminous Pearl suddenly appeared in his hand. He immediately tossed it into the air above the first floor. In the next instant, a blinding light burst out from within the Luminous Pearl. As the light spread across the entire hall ceiling, the ground began to rumble and shake...