"Will you attend?" Sabina asked as she looked at Rocky.
"Mmm, no. The invitation says that they want me to attend a contest of some sort. That I'm not
interested in." Rocky shook his head in negative.
"Oh. But do you know what the messenger said when he brought the invitation? According to him,
Erica claimed that if you didn't attend, she would come out to the Holy Dragon Empire in person to get
you," Lucilla reminded him.
"Oh, really? So she hasn't given up yet," Rocky said thoughtfully. He was already aware of the fact that
the thought of him defeating and humiliating Erica haunted her to this day. It was obvious why she
wanted an opportunity to get her revenge.
"Yes, and that's not all," Sabina grumbled and then continued hesitatingly, "Basil, don't you know? The
Magic Phoenix Empire holds this martial arts contest but its name is a farce. The real purpose behind it
is not the display of martial arts." Lucilla blushed a little when she noticed that Rocky knew next to
nothing about the contest.
"Then what is it?" Rocky asked in a curious tone.
"To pick men." Sabina completed the sentence, raising her eyebrow.
On the face of it, the martial arts contest was held by the Magic Phoenix Empire for martial arts
exchange. What was kept on the down low was the fact that it was actually an excuse for the empire to
select outstanding male spirit manipulators.
The way it went, a rather sexist tradition had been going behind the masks of this contest for a long
time now. There were two reasons as to how the female spirit manipulators of the Magic Phoenix
Empire had a place in such a men-dominated profession. The first was that they had the support of the
high-class Phoenix Master Clan. More importantly, they had always followed the principle that women
should be self-reliant. This had been rooted into their minds ever since the foundation of the Magic
Phoenix Empire had been laid. From those very days, they had been cultivating all kinds of excellent
female spirit manipulators vigorously. Naturally, these spirit manipulators had to carry their profession
forward, and also needed to increase their number.
So behind the masks of this contest, the mission of these women of the Magic Phoenix Empire was to
give birth to more outstanding spirit manipulators. For this reason, they would have a one-night stand
with the topmost spirit manipulators from the contest without actually falling in love.
Word had it that there was a secret medicine in the Magic Phoenix Empire, which could greatly
increase the chances of a girl being born. Whether it worked or not was a matter of opinion, though
most of these one-night stands gave birth to girls. And if a boy was born with excellent enough
qualifications, the Magic Phoenix Empire would train him as well and use him for the same purpose.
In this way, the Magic Phoenix Empire now had a unique selection of female talents.
In fact, the martial arts contest was just one of the many means of the Magic Phoenix Empire.
"Really? I'd better not go then!" Rocky refused as soon as he heard the real reason.
"Come on! So many men like Erica, but she specially asked for you. That clearly means that you have
a better chance with her than other men," Sabina reminded him.
"You know what, men always think in one way and behave in another. I can tell that you want to go
even though you are refusing right now," Shirley said sarcastically.
Rocky rolled his eyes. When he was about to go to the Genome Research Institute, the emperor of the
Holy Dragon Empire had sent an order from the Palace City.
After hearing the order, Rocky was at a loss whether to cry or to laugh. He had been ordered to go to
the Magic Phoenix Empire on behalf of the Holy Dragon Empire and attend the martial arts contest.
Originally, the queen of the Magic Phoenix Empire had sincerely invited the emperor to participate in
the contest, but because of his declining health, he was unable to travel that long. What was more, he
couldn't just send anyone else. If he did, then the Magic Phoenix Empire would think that he looked
down upon them.
Therefore, he hoped that Rocky, who was only second to him in terms of status in the Holy Dragon
Empire, could go on his behalf. If that happened, then the queen of the Magic Phoenix Empire would
be satisfied, which was important to keep relations in check.
Previously, Rocky could have refused. But now, this matter was related to the reputation of the Holy
Dragon Empire, which meant that he had no choice but to go.
The next day, Rocky took the three women with him as he went to attend the martial arts contest.
As soon as they arrived at the Magic Phoenix Empire, they went straight to the capital, which was aptly
known as the Phoenix City.
The martial arts contest was held every three years and hundreds and thousands of spirit manipulators
between the Earthly and the Divine Stages would be invited to attend. However, the Magic Phoenix
Empire would pay special attention to those men who were young, strong, and between the Earthly and
the Heavenly Stages. Apart from those, a few spirit manipulators at the Supernal Stage also attended
the contest. Although they were old, they looked only middle-aged and would also be taken into
consideration.
Rocky was also invited, but he had no intention of attending the martial arts contest this year. His sole
purpose was to represent the emperor of the Holy Dragon Empire as Prince Crimson.
As soon as Rocky and his companions arrived at the royal palace in the Phoenix City, they were
greeted by a maid who had been specially assigned to take care of them only. She took them to a
chamber to rest.
Along their way, Rocky saw spirit manipulators from various empires who wore all kinds of clothes and
spoke all kinds of languages exploring the palace. Each had been assigned their own maids. He could
see that the Magic Phoenix Empire had cast a really wide net. On their way from the gate of the palace
to their chamber, they had already seen at least a hundred spirit manipulators. All of them were from
varying empires, and these were just the ones who had already arrived.
The more the Magic Phoenix Empire invested, the greater the return would be. Although it was going to
cost a lot to hold a martial arts contest, it was still a good deal for them because talented spirit
manipulators were beyond a price.
The easiest example would be Erica, who, as a talented spirit manipulator would be most definitely
priceless.
After leading Rocky and the three women to the chamber, the maid left.
Two hours later, a proud figure walked gracefully into the chamber. Rocky and his companions were
stunned when they saw her.
It was Erica, but that was not the surprising part. What really fascinated them was that about a year
ago, Erica had only been at the preliminary level of the Supernal Stage, but now she was close to the
Divine Stage. It was highly likely that she had gone on a few adventures in the past year. Otherwise, it
would be impossible for her to reach such a high level so fast.
As for Erica, when she glanced at the three women, she was also surprised. She could sense the aura
of the Divine Stage from them. Sabina and Lucilla had been on par with her the last time they had met.
And now they were on the Divine Stage. Then, her eyes fell on Rocky. Although she could not tell his
current strength, she was sure that he must be much stronger than before. Her eyes flashed with a
complex look.
"Prince Crimson, our queen and the imperial preceptor want to see you. Please follow me," she told
Rocky after quickly recovering from her initial surprise.
Rocky's eyes narrowed. Then along with the three women, he followed Erica out of the chamber and
towards the queen's palace.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda