Chapter 13 - The Martial Arts Competition, A Chance to Prove Themselves
After the two clans were destroyed, many other smaller clans and itinerant cultivators came to pledge their allegiance with the Lu clan. They offered their full trust and cooperation. They even handed over the taxes they were paying to the Huang and Li clan over to the Lu Clan.
Among them was a new rising clan that came into existence through a vagrant cultivator starting his family. Although the clan was really small now, and didn’t possess much land or businesses, it still had a good future ahead.
After all, that clan had a Foundation Establishment 6th stage, patriarch Zhang Bo from the Zhang Clan.
Another clan was the Hai clan, they were known for their spear arts and fast footwork.
Lu Ran’s son Lu Chenyang was good friends with it’s patriarch Hai De.
Hai De was also a 6th stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Lu Chenyang was good friends with him since they both liked to gamble and often make wagers with each other. Although Lu Ran disapproved of this behavior, he simply loved his son too much and let this behavior slide for once.
Meanwhile, the preparations for the martial arts competition in the Lu clan were well underway. Everyone had started speculating about who would most likely emerge victorious.
A lot of clan members had also started placing bets amongst each other.
Lu Ran and his sons had been keeping tabs on the children from a distance, taking note of each participant's strengths and weaknesses. They discussed their options, trying to determine who would be the best candidate to take down the champion.
There are currently 34 children that meet the conditions to participate in the competition.
Amongst the participants are at the 28 Qi Gathering realm and 6 at the Qi Fusion realm.
Those at the Qi gathering realm are between 26 and 40 years old. In the Qi fusion realm are those that are between 70 and 100.
However the Qi Fusion realm is merely a formality and won't be rewarded with resources but decides who can take a certain position within the clan.
In the years hereafter there won't be a classification for those above 40 years old.
Even though 100 years old is considered young in the cultivation world.
As the day of the competition drew near, tensions rose. Everyone knew that this was the chance to prove themselves and make a name for their clan. The air was thick with anticipation and excitement.
All of the participants have prepared themselves and completed their tasks to participate.
Lu Chenfeng divided the competition in 2 sections, the first is Qi Gathering and the second is the Qi Fusion. Both will have a total of three rounds over the course of two days.
The first three rounds are on day 1 and will be for the Qi Gathering group. The following three rounds are for the Qi Fusion cultivators. An opponent is randomly drawn before each round. One can only draw a name from the remaining participant during the second round and the final battle.
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For this competition that the Lu held, they clan provided outsiders with an opportunity to come over and watch the Lu clan competition first hand. Tickets were almost instantly sold as everyone wanted to watch the battles between the members of the sole remaining ruling clan.
Lu Ran and his sons watched with interest as the competitors gathered in the main battle square. Lu Chenfeng coughed and asked for silence.
“Welcome everyone to the first Lu clan competition. Today we will see many young and talented martial artists give it their all. I hope you are all as excited as we are, and are ready to cheer on our participants with a big round of applause," Lu Chenfeng spoke to the audience.
After the audience had stopped applauding, Lu Chenfeng spoke once more.
“We will now start the random drawings to select opponents. Each person will grab a single token from the box held by the referee. Everyone's name will only be on one token and if you grab your own token, you will have to grab a different one.”.
After each participant had drawn a token, only the 2 taking their battle now remained on the stage. The referee quickly started the battle with a simple, “Fight!”.
Lu Ran and his sons watched with interest as the competitors faced off in the ring. They saw some impressive displays of martial prowess, but no one stood out as the clear winner.
As such the first round ended with a draw, the crowd found it very exciting.
The rest of the high-level cultivators didn’t find it exciting though, maybe even kind of boring.
Lu Ran was very interested in these battles as they involved his own bloodline and family.
The battle proceeded one after another until the final battle of the third round when a young woman named Lu Ming stepped forward. She was petite and unassuming, but there was a fierce determination in her eyes. At the same time Lu Weizhe also stepped forward.
He was the youngest person at only 26 years old and yet he achieved the 8th stage of Qi Gathering already.
Lu Ran and his sons quickly exchanged looks. This was the one battle they were looking forward to as both were incredibly talented and very determined. Many people had also placed their bets on one of them, some even placed bets on both to avoid making a loss.
As Lu Ming was deemed the person most likely to become champion with her 9th stage cultivation, she faced off with a younger and even more talented Lu Weizhe.
She moved with a grace and agility that left everyone in awe. Her opponent was powerful, but he was no match for her cultivation advantage and experience.
Lu Ming’s victory seemed assured as Lu Weizhe kept being pushed back further and further.
When Lu Weizhe suddenly exploded with strength and launched a final strike with all of his remaining qi, Lu Ming was caught off guard by her arrogance and Lu Weizhe’s strength.
When the strike was about to land on her, the referee interfered and stopped the blow from touching her.
He then called out, “And the champion of the Qi Gathering stage is Lu Weizhe.”.
And the crowd started shouting loudly, and Lu Weizhe dropped to his knees from exhaustion.
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