Chapter 443: The Switch
"However, it's different now..."
She looked at Chen Heng and said excitedly.
Of course, it was different. If it was the previous Chen Heng, they were not sure how much potential he had, even though he was outstanding. Only a few people, including Liu Rou, believed in Chen Heng's future potential and thought that he could go far in the future.
Hence, without confirming Chen Heng's true potential, the Black Dream Group naturally would not go all out to help him.
However, that might not be the case now. In the recent match, Chen Heng had already proven himself with his strength. His strength, which could quickly suppress a third rank martial artist, was undoubtedly was one of the strongest people in this tournament.
Getting a decent ranking would not be a problem, not to mention winning a few matches. Of course, the prerequisite was that he had to operate well avoid encountering powerful opponents in the early stages of the tournament because if that happened, it would not be good. However, such a situation would not occur.
Although it was an open tournament on the entire planet, and there was no way to manipulate much, there was still some basic consensus. Those top-notch contestants were unlikely to meet each other at the early stages. This was the tacit understanding of everyone.
The talents that everyone had spent a lot of resources to nurture would not be consumed at the early stages.
It would be too much of a pity if those who could have obtained a good ranking in the league were to step down because they met each other at the early stages.
Who could guarantee that their people would win? Just like the youth who had fought with Chen Heng previously. His strength was powerful, and the strength of his martial art reached the third rank. Under normal circumstances, it was impossible to bump into Chen Heng after knowing his strength.
However, as he had met Chen Heng in advance, a player who had initially been able to obtain excellent results had no choice but to leave early. This was undoubtedly a brutal reality. Hence, not allowing the seeded players to meet each other in the early stages was a consensus that everyone had.
Even the organizers of the league were happy to see such a situation. They would save all the seeded players until the end to make the tournament more exciting.
Otherwise, in the later stages, the players who rise to the top would enter relying on luck, and their standards would be uneven. Not only would it make the competition look bad, but it would also be unfair to those seeded players who could have made it to the end. This was something that everyone was happy to see.
Therefore, after knowing Chen Heng's strength, the Black Dream Group would put in a lot of effort to help him. This was also the reason why Liu Rou was so confident.
She patted Chen Heng's shoulder and said a few words to him before she left in a hurry. She still seemed to be very excited.
As Liu Rou left, Chen Heng thought of the excited expression on her face. He couldn't help but shake his head and didn't say anything else.
After he left, some familiar people, such as Qi Lin and Yang Ke, also started their matches. Their luck wasn't as bad as Chen Heng's. They met only ordinary players and had not met any seeded player. Although their opponent's strength was not bad, they could still deal with them and would not lose.
After all, Qi Lin and Yang Ke were strong people in Dragon City Academy. Apart from those seniors of higher grades, they were the leading figures in Dragon City Academy.
They wouldn't have too many problems based on their ability as long as they didn't encounter those seeded players who invested in big groups.
Not long after, they also came out one after another, each of them defeated their respective opponents.
This preliminary round ended here, and the place was closed very soon.
A large-scale league tournament wouldn't be completed immediately, as it required a considerable amount of time. After the preliminaries, the next match would take several days.
The interval was very short.
If one were injured in some intense battles, a few days would not be sufficient to recover. Hence, this would also mean that to obtain a final victory in this league, not only did one need strength, but one also had to have high endurance. Otherwise, one would likely be weakened in the battle of attrition and eventually lose to others.
Chen Heng was deep in thought as he listened to the news in his room.
'Red's situation seems to be pretty good…'
Chen Heng sensed Red's situation. Through the psychic imprint planted in Red's body, he could not only feel the situation over there, but he could also sense Red's condition and emotions.
At this moment, Red was still in a deep sleep. Its entire body and mind were undergoing a metamorphosis, and its condition was excellent. After metamorphosis, Red's power should advance even further, reaching a more potent level.
Of course, compared to pure power, the more important thing was the metamorphosis of its bloodline. The creation technology of the Space Behemoth and the Heaven-Devouring scripture were things that could transform its bloodline to a certain extent and explore its potential.
Chen Heng used these two things on Red to increase Red's power and excavate Xiao Hong's bloodline and make it more extraordinary. Thus, it possessed even more significant potential. In this way, it would become even more powerful in the future, and it would also be of greater help to Chen Heng.
After all, a Dragon Bird Imperial Beast was not very powerful among the group of Imperial Beasts, and the support it could provide to a Beastmaster itself was also minimal.
If Red didn't think of a way to improve further, to transform its bloodline potential further, it would be destined to stop advancing in the future, which was, of course, a disadvantage for Chen Heng.
Fortunately, the situation in this world was very convenient for Chen Heng. This world had a complete trading network. As long as one had enough money, they could easily order the bloodline of all kinds of precious creatures as well as all sorts of precious materials from the outside world for Chen Heng's use. Therefore, he could use what he thinks was best on Red. Otherwise, it wouldn't be so convenient if it were another world.
He silently stood up and walked to the windowsill. A whistling sea breeze blew, bringing a hint of fishy smell with it. The waves were pounding, and everything seemed calm. And in this calm, time slowly passed.
A few days later, Chen Heng once again walked into the arena. This time, Chen Heng felt a change. The last time, Chen Heng only knew about his opponent's specific situation, including information about his strength, slightly before he stepped into the arena.
However, this time was different, as he already knew the exact information about his opponent and his strength before the match began. Compared to the last time, his opponent's strength this time was indeed much weaker.
He quickly finished off his opponent without much effort. In the outside world, waves of cheers sounded. A smile appeared on Liu Rou's face once again. However, on the other side, another match was also starting.
"Still not willing to surrender?"
In the quiet arena, a cold voice sounded, with a hint of playfulness.
A young man looked at the person before him and spoke with a sense of playfulness on his face, appearing somewhat surprised. Opposite him was Yang Ke, and her body was faintly trembling. Compared to the past, she seemed very embarrassed.
There were bloodstains all over her body, and her left arm was dangling weakly. It looked like she had fractured her bones, with wounds all over her body and blood dripping everywhere.
However, she did not fall even though the situation had reached this stage. She just stood there tenaciously, staring at the other party.
"You!"
She looked at her opponent and was about to say something. However, before finishing her sentence, she felt a gust of wind blow.
A fist coupled with telekinetic power struck and landed heavily on her body.
Bang!
Yang Ke was instantly sent flying, followed by another violent sound. Rain of blood was falling from mid-air. Yang Ke's body crashed heavily onto the ground. She did not have the time to do anything throughout the entire process. The difference in strength was simply too significant.
"He's simply going too far!"
Standing in the outside world, Qi Lin and the others' expressions changed. As they watched this match, their faces became extremely sour. "Yang Ke no longer has the energy to continue the match, yet he still wouldn't stop. What is he trying to do? Does he want to beat Yang Ke to death?"
They didn't know what to say. The match was undoubtedly a revenge match.
The youth's name was Wang Zhong. He was a leading figure of a martial arts family and had never been on good terms with the Yang family behind Yang Ke.
Wang Zhong suppressed Yang Ke from the beginning to the end, and he still hadn't stopped. From the looks of it, he would only stop after Yang Ke was dead.
'Where's the referee? Why hasn't he made a decision yet?'
Suddenly, the bell on the stage that announced the match's outcome rang. Wang Zhong stood there before reacting, and then he shook his hand to get rid of the bloodstains on his hand.
"Seems like this is the end."
He looked at Yang Ke and smiled indifferently. "Unfortunately, if it were outside, I would kill you directly and wouldn't have stopped."
Life and death were not allowed in the league, but the rest did not matter. After all, experts like them might not be able to stop once they start with all their strength. However, if they were to kill someone directly, their nature would change. But even so, it's pretty much it. Although he did not kill Yang Ke, he had also crippled her, as her entire body was almost shattered.
Even if she could be saved later, she would probably need to spend a few years in the hospital bed before she could slightly recover. At this point, it might be even more distressed for some people than death.
As he left the arena, a cold smile appeared on his face, and he didn't care about anything else.
However, outside the arena, he saw a figure of a young man standing there. He was handsome and had a gentle temperament. However, he looked cold, giving people a great sense of pressure.
"Lu Kong from the Dragon City Academy?"
Wang Zhong was stunned, but he finally reacted and smiled after a long while.
"What? Are you here to congratulate me? I killed your lover just now. Speaking of which, she's got a nice touch."
Wang Zhong looked at Chen Heng and smiled. "It's a pity that she will be crippled in the future."
He had a comprehensive source of information. Although he was not from Dragon City Academy, he was very familiar with the information in Dragon City Academy and had a thorough grasp of it.
Chen Heng was calm when he heard his words. He only glanced at him briefly, then turned around and left. Wang Zhong was stunned for a while, then shrugged and left too.
On the other side, Yang Ke had just been sent out and had already been escorted away by a group of doctors.
Chen Heng didn't need to see the doctors' diagnosis to know how severe Yang Ke's injuries were this time. She would probably be lying on a hospital bed for the next few years if nothing unexpected happened. This was undoubtedly immense torture for a Beastmaster with a bright future.
Then, he turned around and left, and Liu Rou followed. Liu Rou had rushed over after receiving the news. She was the one who knew best about the relationship between Chen Heng and Yang Ke. Liu Rou first knew about their relationship when Yang Ke passed her reward to Chen Heng.
She agreed with Chen Heng having a good relationship with Yang Ke and the other outstanding students of Dragon City Academy. Even so, when she learned of Chen Heng's actions just now, she was still a little scared. She was afraid that Chen Heng would stand up for Yang Ke and fight with Wang Zhong outside the arena.
If he fought outside the battlegrounds, he would be disqualified from the league. Therefore, as soon as Liu Rou heard the news, she immediately put down everything she was doing and rushed over. Fortunately, the worst thing did not happen when she rushed over.
Chen Heng was much calmer than she had imagined. Not only did he not fight with Wang Zhong on his own, but he also did not even get entangled with the other party. She could not help but heave a sigh of relief in her heart. Her heart was now at ease.
"Are you alright?"
Liu Rou's expression softened a little while walking to Chen Heng's side. Then, she looked at him and said, "Wang Zhong's actions this time were indeed a little overboard."
She thought of Yang Ke's condition just now and sighed. "I just sent someone to take a look. Yang Ke's injuries are severe. If nothing unexpected happens, I'm afraid she won't be able to get back on the ground for another five years."
Five years.
This period wasn't short, even for the people of this world, especially so for a Beastmaster who had a promising future, like Yang Ke.
She was still young, and these five years had been a time when she could advance at high speed, but now she could only spend her time in boredom, lying on a hospital bed. Moreover, these five years were the time she needed to get her feet on the ground again. She didn't know how long it would take to recover completely.
Liu Rou couldn't help but sigh. Yang Ke was the young miss of the Yang family. Hence, she didn't need any investment from the outside world. However, Liu Rou had some investment and sponsorship on Yang Ke, just like the previous tournament.
The people invited to the league matches, including Qi Lin, Yang Ke, and Rui Te, whom Chen Heng had defeated, were sponsored by Liu Rou. Therefore, if Yang Ke could advance all the way and obtain a good ranking, then it would be a good thing for her, as it could be of great help to her too. Yet now, she was crippled.
Anyhow, it was good, as long as nothing happened to Chen Heng. Chen Heng was the most critical bargaining chip in this league now, at least for Liu Rou.
"You mentioned before that you could influence the name list of the match to a certain extent and decide my opponent, right?"
Chen Heng's voice suddenly sounded. Liu Rou was stunned, then she turned around and met Chen Heng's gaze.
"I can..."
Hearing Chen Heng's words, Liu Rou first nodded, then hesitated for a moment and said, "B-But what do you want to do? Could it be..."
Looking at Chen Heng's expression, she had a bad premonition in her heart.
Chen Heng nodded, then said, "Yes. Think of a way. Change the name list. Arrange Wang Zhong to be on my next battle list."
Liu Rou's uneasy premonition came true.
She took a deep breath, then said, "Are you serious? He is not a simple figure but the leader of the current Wang family. I can tell you that his strength is stronger than anyone you have faced before.. He is not a simple figure.