Chapter 136 : Hello, Viewers and Friends

Chapter 136: Hello, Viewers and Friends

The next morning, just as the sky had begun to lighten, the Grand Competition Martial Arena of the Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect was already roaring with noise.

The Sect Grand Competition adopted an ancient deathmatch format.

Of course, this “deathmatch” did not mean fighting until one side actually died; rather, it meant that a victor must be decided on the field.

There was no such thing as stepping out of bounds, nor was either side allowed to maliciously stall for time.

If both parties fought passively and the time limit expired, both would be eliminated without exception.

Thus, the competition grounds differed from ordinary arena-style martial stages.

It was built in the style of an ancient Roman colosseum, with an open dueling field in the center and tier upon tier of spectator seating encircling it.

Every time Long Tao found himself there—every time he came—he could not resist the urge to shout from the sidelines, “I want to see blood flowing like a river!”

Even the seating arrangements for spectators followed their own rules.

Disciples of lower cultivation and mortals were by default seated in the front rows, as their eyesight was limited.

Foundation Establishment and Golden Core cultivators were far more casual; with their cultivation levels, even from the farthest seats they could see every detail of the arena clearly.

As for the visiting guests, they naturally had reserved VIP seats and did not need to squeeze in with the crowd.

The disciples of the Guanghan Sacred Land were uniformly dressed in moon-white robes and sat neatly upon the highest Viewing Platform to the north under the leadership of their Saintess.

The Sixth Imperial Princess of the Suhuang Heavenly Dynasty, surrounded by sixteen golden-armored guards, sat beside the current emperor of the Mingde Dynasty.

The two royals were clearly conversing in great delight.

Representatives of the major clan families sat scattered in small groups, occasionally walking about.

To them, a Foundation Establishment–level Grand Competition held little real appeal; occasions like this were more for networking and exchanging information.

The western stands were gathered with various members of the Demon Race.

In their many different forms, they conversed in low voices.

The most eye-catching among them were several young maidens of the Qingqiu Fox Clan.

They made no attempt to conceal their fox traits—their fluffy ears and tails trembled lightly as they moved between the seating areas of different factions, offering greetings and drawing frequent sideways glances from many young disciples.

When the delegation of the Hehuan Sect entered, the entire arena fell silent for a brief moment.

Saintess Yaxi had changed into a pale pink dress today, with only a freshly picked peach blossom pinned in her hair.

Her steps were light, and she responded to the gazes cast from all directions with a faint smile.

That touch of pink stood out strikingly among the crowd.

……

“Father! Mother! Uncle Liu, hurry up, hurry up! Xiao Ying helped us grab seats.”

Somewhere in the venue, Long Xi was tugging her friend Jiang Wuyun’s hand, urging the adults behind them to sit quickly.

Xiao Ying had already taken her seat, yet her face was full of worry.

She had specially invited Young Master to come yesterday, only to be declined.

He had said that during the Grand Competition there were “more important matters.”

What could possibly be more important than accompanying her, Xiao Ying? Could it be that he had gone to accompany that spider godmother? The thought made Xiao Ying bite her handkerchief.

And that Saintess from the Hehuan Sect—what was with that pink hair? What was with that outrageous figure? And those peach-blossom eyes the same size as her own—what was that supposed to mean? Xiao Ying did not even need to think to know that Young Master must have been captivated by that pink enchantress, just like most of the men in the arena.

Sure enough… no matter how dignified she pretended to be, she was still a wanton woman from the Hehuan Sect.

While the little girl searched the entire arena for Long Tao, the continuously arriving audience gradually filled the seats.

Most of the people present were local mortal residents and low-level disciples, along with some parents who had brought their children and stayed to watch.

With the ringing of a bell that resounded into the clouds, Sect Master Zhuge and several senior Golden Core elders slowly ascended to the main seats.

A faint pressure spread throughout the arena.

It was gentle—light enough that even mortals could bear it easily—yet it signaled the entire audience, who instinctively fell silent.

At this moment, many people noticed that on one side of the field, directly opposite the Sect Master’s main seat, there was an additional small floating platform that had not been there before.

Upon it stood an exquisite and ornate desk, with two small cylindrical objects of unknown purpose placed atop it.

Long Tao and Fang Wuqi leapt onto that platform just like that and sat behind the desk.

As the entire audience and guests looked at them in quiet curiosity, Long Tao, seated on the right, suddenly spoke.

“Welcome, fellow disciples and guests who have come from afar, to this year’s Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect Grand Competition.”

His clear voice spread across the entire arena through the Speech Pivot Pearl and formations.

The previously noisy martial arena instantly became as silent as a grave.

All eyes focused on this unremarkable Outer Disciple.

“For various reasons, the sect will be introducing a small innovation to this Grand Competition.” Long Tao paused briefly.

“That’s right—it’s us. We will be sitting at this desk to provide full commentary on the competition process for everyone present!”

As soon as his words fell, the spectator stands exploded into an uproar.

Not only were ordinary disciples abuzz with discussion, but even the visiting guests from other factions revealed looks of surprise.

On the VIP seats, the Guanghan Saintess tilted her head slightly.

The Imperial Princess of the Suhuang Heavenly Dynasty looked toward the Mingde emperor beside her, who wore an equally puzzled expression.

Among the Demon Race seats, representatives of each clan leaned toward one another, curious and excited.

But let alone the ordinary audience and outside guests—even the sect’s elders and Peak Masters, as well as the competitors participating in the Grand Competition, were stunned upon hearing this.

When had such a thing been added? How had they not known about it?

Yet seeing Sect Master Zhuge’s steady and composed demeanor, no one stepped forward to question him.

Instead, all gazes turned curiously toward that desk.

Many also realized that besides the unknown disciple who had just spoken, the person seated beside him was actually…

“Many of you may be thinking right now—who is this guy?! Don’t worry. Who I am isn’t important. What matters is the person next to me!”

At Long Tao’s cue, Fang Wuqi rose calmly according to their agreed procedure and gave the audience a slight nod.

“That’s right! The champion of the Grand Competition two sessions ago, the sect’s current number one prodigy, who recently defeated Jiang Renfeng of the Wuyi Sect on the front lines… Senior Brother Fang Wuqi! He will be joining me in providing commentary for this event!”

The moment the name “Fang Wuqi” was spoken, the entire arena erupted.

There was no one present unfamiliar with the name of this young genius.

In the VIP seats, the prodigies from other sects shed their earlier impatience and began sizing up the platform with seriousness.

“Many people—especially our mortal friends and fellow Qi Refining disciples—when watching the Grand Competition in the past, likely only enjoyed the spectacle,” Long Tao continued after Fang Wuqi sat down.

“The changes of moves on the field and the subtleties of cultivation methods are often difficult to discern. But this time, you need not worry. With Senior Brother Fang’s explanations, I believe everyone will gain much more from the matches.”

These words indeed sparked a strong reaction.

The mortals and Qi Refining disciples in the front rows beamed with delight and applauded loudly.

The Foundation Establishment disciples each had their own reactions.

Some nodded in agreement—after all, as fellow Foundation Establishment cultivators, Fang Wuqi’s vision was certainly far superior to theirs.

Learning from his explanations would undoubtedly bring greater insight.

Others, however, showed displeasure, though only they themselves knew the exact reasons.

The Golden Core cultivators displayed varied expressions—some stroked their beards with smiles, while others were disdainful, feeling the sect was merely wasting time.

Meanwhile, the members of the Long Family seated in the front rows were completely stunned.

“Xiao Ying! Th-that’s my brother, right? How… how could he know Senior Brother Fang? And… and sit together doing some kind of commentary?!”

“I don’t know either. Young Master… never told me about this at all. Hmph… I’m so mad. Such a big matter, and he kept it from Xiao Ying.”

After their initial shock, Long Tao’s parents both revealed delighted smiles.

Uncle Liu laughed and said,

“Haha, it seems Young Master is doing even better in the sect than we imagined.”

……

“Now then, let us invite the Sect Master to strike the bell that signifies the start of the Grand Competition.”

Sect Master Zhuge cooperatively stood and walked slowly to a small bell.

Just as he was about to strike it, Long Tao’s voice suddenly rang out below.

“The Sect Master doesn’t seem to be in a very good mood.”

Long Tao had clearly not yet adapted to his role as commentator and momentarily forgot the “microphone” before him.

He casually said this to Fang Wuqi.

Fang Wuqi was in much the same state and truly continued the conversation.

“Yesterday the Sect Master competed in fishing with Headmaster Xu of Mirror Sea Academy and Elder Situ of Starfall Sword Sect. He was the only one who came back empty-handed. How could he be in a good mood?”

“No wonder after he returned to the main hall yesterday, he was crying and making a fuss. So pitiful. He even begged True Person Shi to give him a day off.”

Only when they saw everyone turning to stare at them did the two realize what had happened.

Good grief!

The Grand Competition had not even begun yet, and they had already caused trouble.