Chapter 39: The Buddies Were All Beaten!
Chapter 39: The Buddies Were All Beaten!
“What?”
“Oh heavens!”
“Good heavens, that kid actually won!”
“He won fighting one against two!”
The arena fell silent for only a moment before erupting into loud shouts. However, it wasn’t cheering, but cries of disbelief. Clearly, not a single one of these people believed Tang Jinbiao could have won, let alone secured a one-against-two victory.
Because, in their view, Tang Jinbiao’s previous victory over Tang Ao was sheer dumb luck, a fluke. But now, seeing Tang Jinbiao win, they all wore expressions of shock, as if seeing a ghost. Of course, a small minority thought it wasn’t just luck.
“Heh, didn’t expect this kid to act so quickly, actually thinking to use his shoe… Pah! A ruffian is always a ruffian, not even honest in a duel!”
The Goddess Tang Yilin stood there, her beautiful eyes constantly scrutinizing Tang Jinbiao on the stage, clearly a bit surprised.
A hint of tension flickered across Tang Xingchi’s pale face as he muttered softly, “That bastard is actually that strong?”
Tang Huaxi was also quite astonished, though not because Tang Jinbiao could handle two opponents. It was more shock at how short a time it had been—less than a year—and the opponent had actually gained such strength. He felt a twinge of unease but still boasted stubbornly, “Scared of what? Aren’t they just two pieces of Qi Condensation Fourth Layer trash? So what if he can handle both? His strength is at most comparable to the Qi Condensation Sixth Layer. Why fear him?”
“Hmph, trash!”
Tang Shan’s face was utterly gloomy; it seemed he only knew how to say this one phrase.
“Bi… Bi… Brother Biao!”
“Haha, haha, Brother Biao won!”
“Brother Biao won!”
Little fellows like Tang Hu froze for a moment before immediately snapping back to reality and rushing forward one after another.
“Pah!”
“Dammit, that little punk is just disgusting!”
The burly young man and the girl, Tang Linger, seeing Tang Jinbiao’s act of playing the fool, gritted their teeth in fury. Especially thinking about being hit in the face with his shoe made them want to die even more.
_Crack! Crack!_
However, right at this moment, unnoticed by anyone, the small bell beside the girl developed several thin cracks.
…
“Fourth Match, Tang Jinbiao wins. Due to the prior rule clarification, Tang Jinbiao advances directly to tomorrow’s finals. If anyone disputes this, challenge him tomorrow! Fifth match, step onto the stage!”
No matter how much those people refused to believe it, reality was cruel. The Third Elder’s face was dark. It wasn’t primarily the loss of the elixirs that galled him, but the thought that Tang Jinbiao might truly have swindled him. In these past days, he had given Tang Jinbiao far more elixirs than this bet – who knew if Tang Jinbiao had secretly sold them off or simply consumed them himself.
“Fuck, that’s some bullshit justice!”
“I curse your ancestors!”
“He could still win?”
The crowd in the arena seemed to have forgotten Tang Jinbiao’s “gift” of elixirs, cursing loudly one after another. But Tang Jinbiao simply ignored them, busy being ‘intimate’ with Tang Hu and the others.
“Brother Biao, you actually took on two at once, truly worthy of being our leader!”
“Brother Biao, you are so mighty and domineering! Swish, just one move, and those two shoes flew like twin meteor hammers, knocking those trash right off the stage!”
“Brother Biao, teach me this move when we get back! It’s just too awesome!”
Tang Hu and several others surrounded Tang Jinbiao, flattering and buttering him up word by word, genuinely treating him like their leader, and seemingly even forgetting the crucial detail that his opponents were merely two low-level cultivators at the Qi Condensation Fourth Layer.
Sometimes, humans are extremely peculiar. They don’t emphasize quality but instead focus on quantity. It’s like being in some place where people don’t know what tigers or cats are. Suppose someone brags to others, ‘I can kill a tiger bare-handed!’ Others might not think much of it. But then, someone stands up and looks at the tiger-killer with utter disdain, saying, ‘Hmph! What’s so great about that? I can kill five cats in one breath!’
At that moment, instead of scorn, the crowd erupts in admiration. Tang Jinbiao’s current state resembled this uncannily. Tang Hu and the others were, after all, still children; they naturally didn’t care about complexities. To them, what looked cool was cool—right or wrong simply didn’t matter!
“Haha, no problem, no problem! Don’t you remember just who Biao here is? Your boss! If I couldn’t even handle two such insignificant pieces of trash, how could I even think of getting ahead from now on? Haha!”
Tang Jinbiao relished the feeling of being flattered immensely, even taking an almost perverse delight in it.
In that other world, his loser status wasn’t something that began in university; he’d been one since childhood. Moreover, he had his greatest enemy—a guy who was better-looking, more sensible, had better grades, was better at housework, beat him at video games, and was tougher in fights. Essentially, anything you could think of, that guy was better at it. Yes, exactly, that guy was ‘other people’s child’!
Tang Jinbiao had been no exception. He had lived his entire childhood in the shadow of other people’s children. At a time like this, the darker, less pleasant side of his nature naturally surfaced completely.
“Mhm, mhm, Brother Biao is our boss!”
“Boss!”
“Boss!”
Tang Hu and the others were practically on the verge of blind worship, each radiating a near-mythical glow in their eyes.
“Haha!”
The more Tang Jinbiao saw the intense excitement and fervor in Tang Hu and the others’ eyes, the more hyped he became himself.
…
The matches continued one after another, and before long, the bouts for the Qi Condensation Fourth Layer were completed. Out of the forty or fifty participants, including Tang Jinbiao, only seven remained!
“Good! The victors of the Qi Condensation Fourth Layer bracket have been selected. They are Tang Yuanyuan, Tang Zhi, Tang Feng… Tang Jinbiao, and six others. With the exception of Tang Jinbiao, the rest shall await the final round of matches, which will determine the roster for tomorrow’s competition… Next! Those of the Qi Condensation Fifth Layer, please step forward to draw lots and prepare for your matches!”
After the Qi Condensation Fourth Layer roster was finalized, the Third Elder stood on the stage and announced loudly.
“Ah Bu, it’s you! You’re up!”
“Ah Bu, gotta do your best! Brother Hu supports you!”
“Yeah, Ah Bu! Bro, do well! Brother Biao is backing you too!”
Hearing the Third Elder’s announcement, Tang Jinbiao and the others immediately directed their gaze towards a young boy among them. Around thirteen or fourteen years old, the lad was clearly smaller than Tang Hu and his group, making him the youngest and arguably the least formidable in strength among them.
This young boy was named Tang Bu—a simple, humble name. In fact, within the Tang Family, the vast majority bore two-character names. Only a select few possessed three-character names, such as Tang Jinbiao, Tang Zhantian, Tang Yilin, Tang Huaxi, and the like. This, actually, served as a mark of status; only those who were true-blooded descendants of the main family line had the privilege of taking a three-character name. Of course, if a main branch descendant wanted a two-character name, they could choose one, like Tang Song or Tang Ao.
“Mhm! Brother Biao, Brother Hu, rest assured; I will definitely win!”
Tang Bu seemed to have absorbed the support offered by Tang Jinbiao and the others, becoming filled with confidence as he strode towards the stage.
The Qi Condensation Fifth Layer disciples present were significantly fewer in number, only a dozen or so, far from the hundred-strong group of the Qi Condensation Fourth Layer tier.
Tang Bu ascended the stage and instinctively stood at the end of one of the queues, quietly awaiting his turn to draw lots. After a small fraction of an hour, his turn finally came.
Number One!
Tang Bu pulled out the slip and saw the big “1” written upon it. His face paled slightly, and tension coiled within him.
“Excellent! The drawing has concluded! Competitor One, please step onto the stage now!”
The Third Elder appeared to have long lost interest, stating this mechanically.
These competitions happened every year; he himself couldn’t even recall how many he had presided over. At their cultivation level and age, they shouldn’t need to bother with such matters personally. However, for the sake of nurturing the family’s next generation, it was necessary to officiate occasionally.
“What’s wrong with Ah Bu? He seems to be looking a bit off…”
Tang Hu, as the person with the highest cultivation level among their group, naturally had extraordinary observational skills and seemed to notice Tang Bu acting somewhat off.
“Hmm? Seems absent-minded!”
After Tang Hu’s reminder, Tang Jinbiao also realized Tang Bu seemed not in good form.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Except for Tang Bu and another cultivator at the Qi Condensation Fifth Layer standing on the stage, everyone else jumped down upon hearing the command.
“Hehe, hope you go easy on me, brother!”
That cultivator at the Qi Condensation Fifth Layer, seeing Tang Bu absent-minded, gestured casually.
“Hmm, go easy on you!”
Tang Bu nodded numbly and murmured indistinctly.
“Be careful!”
Bang!
Upon seeing Tang Bu respond, that person’s expression suddenly changed, then with his right hand, he slapped storage pouch, and with his left hand, he raised it and snapped his fingers.
Boom!
Buzz! Buzz!
In the blink of an eye, a fireball the size of a basketball suddenly appeared out of thin air, attacking Tang Bu. At the same time, a spirit artifact in the form of a wolf-tooth club flew out of storage pouch, instantly growing to over seven feet upon catching wind, striking down at Tang Bu’s body.
“What?”
“Ah Bu is actually the first match!”
“Not good!”
“Ah Bu, careful…”
“Shameless!”
Tang Jinbiao and others below the stage saw that Tang Bu was actually the first to fight and were greatly shocked. They wanted to shout some warnings, but it was too late.
Bang!
Boom!
Pfft!
“Ah!”
Just as Tang Jinbiao and the others had barely reacted, the wolf-tooth club surprisingly arrived first. With a bang, a heavy blow directly hit Tang Bu’s body, flinging him away like a sandbag. But that wasn’t all. As Tang Bu’s body flew up, the fireball followed closely and slammed into him with a boom.
Under those two fatal, massive strikes, Tang Bu hadn’t even had time to react. Unprepared, he was blasted off the stage. Finally unable to endure, he coughed up a mouthful of blood, then let out a pained groan and fainted.
“Ah Bu!”
“Ah Bu…”
“You bastard, how shameless!”
Seeing Tang Bu knocked off the stage in the blink of an eye and seriously injured, Tang Jinbiao and the others immediately rushed over…