Chapter Forty-Four: Transition

The staff led the two of them to the VIP seats, which were far more uninhibited than the rest, with little decoration. The whole space ahead was open, allowing an unobstructed view of the arena below.

No sooner had they settled in than a golden radiance burst from the center of the competition grounds. A dragon’s roar shook the heavens, clear and majestic, reverberating to the highest skies. A golden divine dragon soared upwards, coiling through the air, its massive form as thick as a mountain range. Its gaze was sharp, awe-inspiring, and the audience fell silent, their chatter stilled in collective reverence.

Again, the dragon roared, and the heavenly creature exploded into a cascade of divine light, illuminating every corner. Endless runes poured forth as a colossal figure, tens of thousands of feet tall, appeared in the sky. Shrouded in holy light, the features were indiscernible, but wondrous visions radiated outward—countless phantoms of gods knelt in worship, chanting hymns as a powerful aura of humanity’s sanctity filled the air.

The giant figure moved, pointing down from the sky, and a ripple of holy light surged forth. From the depths of the imperial palace, a pillar of gold rose to the heavens and split into myriad slender beams, spreading across the entire Futian Province.

A shaft of golden light descended upon the imperial city, exploding into a vast screen upon which the figure appeared.

“People of the Heavenly Qin Empire!”

The figure’s voice rang out—resonant as a great bell at dawn or dusk, echoing with the might of the Dao. It thundered across the sky, yet fell upon every ear with perfect clarity. It was none other than the voice of Emperor Qin.

“The Youth Tournament has begun. This is a grand event…”

As Emperor Qin continued with the usual ceremonial platitudes, Zhou Tian’s attention was still caught by the earlier golden pillars.

“Live broadcast? What astonishing technology!”

He could tell that those beams which shot out to every corner, just like the one that landed in the imperial city, projected screens—was this not a live broadcast?

Tianling’s large eyes sparkled as she nodded in agreement.

“Yes, arranging such a projection formation consumes a tremendous amount of resources. The cost is enormous, all so that everyone in the province can witness this spectacle.”

Emperor Qin’s speech soon concluded, and with his resounding command, “Begin!” all the arenas glimmered with light as contestants appeared on stage, and the venue erupted into noise.

This was the preliminary round. With a thousand contestants, if each match proceeded one by one, it would take an eternity. Thus, the top sixteen would be decided in this manner, after which the matches would proceed one at a time.

Tianling had no match today; hers was scheduled for tomorrow. Zhou Tian grew bored after watching for just a short while—what was so interesting about this?

He glanced at Tianling beside him, completely absorbed in the spectacle. Today, she wore a long blue dress that accentuated her graceful figure. Though her chest was a bit flat, her curves were lovely; her skin, delicate as ice and jade. With a mischievous grin, Zhou Tian reached out his hand to tease her.

“Ling’er, what’s so fascinating about a bunch of people fighting?”

“Let me watch a little longer, just a little…” Tianling, who truly enjoyed combat, brushed his hand away and pleaded.

“Is it really that interesting?” Zhou Tian scooped her into his arms, and with Tianling’s startled exclamation, another amorous interlude began…

The morning passed swiftly. By the end of the matches, a hundred victors had been determined, while the remaining hundred were either dead or crippled. Contestants could forfeit by declaring “I surrender,” which forbade their opponent from striking further, but not everyone managed to say it in time, or sometimes the other would intentionally prevent them from doing so. In the end, roughly a third perished.

On the carriage ride back, Tianling glared at Zhou Tian, cheeks puffed in annoyance.

“It’s all your fault—I didn’t get to properly watch the matches today!”

As their relationship grew closer, Tianling had rediscovered her girlish nature and no longer spoke with restraint.

“What’s so great about fighting? Am I not more pleasing to the eye?” Zhou Tian joked, finding her indignant expression quite endearing; he was delighted that she no longer kept her distance.

“That’s a different matter…” Tianling’s cheeks flushed slightly. Though she did find Zhou Tian quite attractive, she was unaffected, seeing through his playful trap and refusing to fall for it.

“Shall I make it up to you?” Zhou Tian leaned in.

“No…” Tianling hurriedly waved her hands. From her experience, his ‘compensation’ would only leave her on the losing end.

“Too late… heh heh…” Zhou Tian gave a wicked chuckle and pounced.

“No… mmph…” Before she could finish speaking, her lips were captured, and their mouths met in a lingering kiss.

Tianling had a match the next day, so Zhou Tian did not linger with her for long. After returning to the Duke of Qin’s estate, they parted ways. The day was still young, but with nothing else to do, Zhou Tian picked up a few books—this had become his way of passing the time and conveniently catching up on knowledge of this world.

Though Zhou Tian had little interest in the next day’s matches, he still went because of Tianling.

Her opponent was a cultivator of the same level. As expected, after a fierce struggle, Tianling drew the longsword gifted by Zhou Ying and cleaved her opponent cleanly in two, blood flooding the stage. The other hadn’t even managed to surrender in time.

Watching Tianling’s unperturbed face, Zhou Tian was at a loss. She would blush for half a day over a mere kiss, yet splitting someone in half left her completely composed. Women were truly mysterious creatures…

As for using a sacred weapon to win, Tianling had no qualms. She wasn’t a fool—why shouldn’t she use her weapon in a life-and-death battle? If her opponent had one, they were free to use it as well.

At this stage, none of the great figures bothered to attend the matches. Everyone was busy; these battles were not yet worth their time. Few had even turned up for the opening ceremony.

For the remaining days, Zhou Tian only watched the matches in which Tianling competed. They all followed the same pattern: a tough fight, then Tianling would draw her sacred sword and finish off her opponent in a single blow. Her ranking steadily rose, and her profile now bore a conspicuous red note: “Possesses Sacred Artifact!”

But relying on a single sacred weapon to take the championship was unrealistic. As the independents were eliminated, more contestants with powerful backgrounds entered the fray. Sacred artifacts, like a woman’s bosom, could be “pushed up” if necessary—most participants possessed one, since none at this stage could yet wield a saint king artifact.

Days passed, and soon the top sixteen emerged. Tianling, wielding her sacred sword, was among them, while the others were all scions of the Heavenly Qin Empire’s major vassal clans. Zhou Tian could not name a single one.

It hardly mattered. Compared to Zhou Tian, these people could struggle their entire lives and never match a single word from his lips.

That, after all, was why Zhou Tian and his peers did not bother watching the matches. It was not a matter of disdain; rather, they simply existed on a different level, with no reason to pay undue attention.

Some distances cannot be bridged by effort alone. Consider Zhou Xunchuan and his ilk—noble birth, outstanding talent, and on top of that, relentless diligence. How could anyone hope to make up such a gap?