Chapter 241: The Reasonable Disciple Of Blackrock Peak
The competition continued.
The disciples with poor strength were weeded out, while those with distinguishable power moved on with the competition.
Zen was already halfway through the competition, but he hadn't encountered a strong and remarkable competitor yet.
Meanwhile, there were two disciples who underestimated Zen when they first saw him. One was from Azure Peak, and the other from Blackrock Peak. Although the two of them were at nature level consummation, both had prominent and notable capabilities since they had been selected to participate in the famous All Peaks Competition.
At first, they were under the impression that Zen had defeated Cecil just because of luck, so they were confident that they could beat Zen easily on the field. However, to their astonishment, the result of the competition was not what they thought it would be. The constant blow and strike of Zen's hard fists gave them no chance to fight back at all. In the end, they ran out of power and spirit and lay on the floor exhausted.
There was only silence when the two fights were concluded. Everyone was astonished and amazed at how strong and powerful Zen was. They didn't know yet which realm he belonged to, but they were certain that the only person who could match his strength was Rocher.
The remaining part of the competition went on smoothly for Zen. Most of his competitors would just show up to the stage and fight him for a short time then eventually give up. A few of them would instantly admit their defeat by not showing up to the stage at all. They all knew the gap of their strength with Zen and didn't want to end up injured or wounded, so they wouldn't dare try. As a result, the competition became more like an amusement to Zen.
As the competition continued, the strengths of the talented disciples from thirty-three peaks were gradually revealed.
So far, Zen had eleven consecutive wins without any defeat, which evidently was an extremely notable score among all the competitors. Some of his fights brought the interest and applause of the people like the ones with Mack and Cecil.
Like Zen, Rocher was also winning consecutively. But in contrast, Rocher's strike was more definite and intense than Zen's. Also, he had defeated some strong and competitive opponents that made his demonstration much more significant than Zen's, no matter if it was the competition with Kim Yue from Jade Peak, the one with Shawn Xu from Ninety-foot Peak, or the one with the only one candidate of the Illuminating Soul Realm of Vulture Peak: Marvin Ma. None of those could easily be underestimated.
And what made Rocher even more dazzling and attractive was the fact that he did not pull out his sword in the whole competition.
A swordsman who didn't use his sword but defeated his opponents with his bare fists was unbelievable and amazing. Moreover, he gave everyone the fantasy of how quite powerful he must be if he used his sword.
People started to exchange their opinions enthusiastically about the result of the whole competition. Some even predicted that Rocher would get the final success in All Peaks Competition as a disciple of nature level consummation realm. The result would break the record of the whole Cloud Sect history.
As for Zen, much as he had displayed the remarkable outburst of his strength, he didn't draw as much attention from the audience as Rocher did in his rounds. It wasn't only because he was in a lower realm and was not sufficiently experienced, but because comparing to Rocher, he encountered some comparatively weaker competitors. People assumed that if he had faced a strong competitor like a disciple of Illuminating Soul Realm from Skytop Peak or from Blackrock Peak, he wouldn't have that consecutive wins.
Apart from Zen and Rocher who were maintaining the consecutive wins, Jill from Lady Peak was having exceptional performance as well. Like Zen, she was not even in the nature level consummation realm. She was currently in Grade 9 of nature level, so having taken down quite a few competitors of nature level consummation realm and one of Illuminating Soul Realm made her look extraordinary and notable among all the disciples.
As lots of the participants were ruled out and the competition was close to the next stage, only thirteen persons kept winning throughout the whole competition. Aside from Zen, Rocher, and Jill who were nature creatures, the remaining nine persons were: Wing and Sheeny from Skytop Peak, Even and Dick from Blackrock Peak, Jason from Azure Peak, Marshall from Daylily Peak, and Hansel from Skyrain Peak.
The audience got more excited and thrilled than ever. They were looking forward to seeing the competition take place between any two of these thirteen ever-victorious disciples.
The audience was expecting that the participants would demonstrate their best capabilities that would make the competition much more interesting than before. It would be unlikely to see some give-up scenario among these top participants.
As if hearing their hearts' desire, Cloud Sect announced the groups for the next round.
Zen's competitor was finally assigned.
“Zen from Drizzle Peak will compete against Dick from Blackrock Peak,” the referee announced.
The announcement instantly brought a din of hot discussions amongst the crowd.
“I don't think Zen can hold onto his consecutive wins any longer now that he's going to fight Dick. Dick is not only a top disciple of Blackrock Peak, but also on the top fifty Cloud Sect list.”
“The result is so predictable. I'm placing my bet on Dick. But it seems the compensation rate is low because many people have already placed theirs on Dick. What if I place mine on Zen? Any chance he can win?”
“There is no way Zen can defeat Dick. I guess Zen will just give up this time. To him, the consecutive wins is already a success. He has already earned the glamour and reputation from the competition. There is no point in confronting Dick and getting his rear kicked. Do you remember how hard Zen hit Blackrock Peak's disciple Mack last time? If Zen doesn't give up, then he is bound to be tortured badly. It will be more like a revenge than a competition to Dick.”
In spite of how well Zen had performed in the previous rounds, no one was confident that he could beat Dick Zhou in this round.
The impression became even clearer when the final compensation rate came out. In this match, if Zen defeated Dick, the compensation rate would be one to nine. But if Dick won, it would be one to one. People booed at the vivid contrast of the compensation rate because it was as if the result had been fixed in ahead. Almost everyone bet on Dick.
After the referee's announcement, Zen prepared to get onto the stage.
Master Wen, who had been sitting next to Zen, was upset and worried by the time the competition was about to begin. As he was ready to remind Zen, the latter stopped him by waving his hand and smiled awkwardly. “Master Wen, please stop smothering me,” he said.
Master Wen had always been protective of Zen. He was like a nagging mother, reminding and giving him advice all the time. But it was the same sermon that Zen would always receive. “You must learn to protect yourself. It does not matter if you lose. If you think you cannot defeat him, just give up. You have already been promoted into the next round anyway.”
Zen had memorized them and could repeat them verbatim.
Master Wen smiled back at him but instantly turned into a serious face. “Don't forget that you hit Blackrock Peak's disciple Mack in the previous round. They must be holding the grudge against you. I am afraid Dick is planning to take revenge on you. Please pay attention to your safety,” he reminded.
However, his concern did not shake Zen's resolution even the slightest. Instead, he clenched his fists hard with determination and said,“Master Wen, don't worry about me at all. No matter what, I will try my best. I may end up being defeated, but it is still better than giving up.”
Seeing Zen this determined, Master Wen did not dissuade him any longer. He nodded his head in consent.
Although Zen had improved a lot in his training, Master Wen could not help but feel worried that Zen's stubbornness would do him more harm than good. After all, Dick was the most powerful disciple that Zen would be fighting against. He did not want Zen to invest his all into this one competition and end up losing his motivation for further cultivation. For Master Wen, there was no need for Zen to rush.
On the other hand, he could not persuade Zen to give up either. However, he had his reservations about this competition. It was unbelievable to him that Zen could defeat those personal disciples and the high-grade ones.
'He might not be the strongest, but he is absolutely the most persistent, ' Master Wen pondered. After going through many competitions, Master Wen knew the pattern clearer than anyone else that the final winner would be decided not only by his barren strength but also his persistence and resolve. If a disciple had great strength and unshakeable resolution, he would become unbeatable.
“I'm sorry for worrying too much. You're right. One must absolutely try his best whatever the outcome will be. And I believe that you will not disappoint yourself,” Master Wen encouraged Zen.
Zen nodded and smiled. He finally looked at the stage with his eyes blazing with determination and walked up to it.
Among the small number of people who had bet on Zen, Zachary was the most nervous one. His eyes were locked on the Picture Slab as if it would disappear in the blink of an eye.
Just before the competition started, he had placed all his bets on Zen with a total of 1200 cubic crystals.
Given that Zachary was from a humble and simple family, the amount of his bet was already a big fortune. So where did he get that amount of cubic crystals? Usually, he would only go to Seven Star Sword Light Platform once a month for practice because his countable points would not allow him an extra trip.
But the competition today brought him wealth from the moment he placed his bets on Zen. And since Zen had won every round, he had already doubled his cubic crystals. From the original two cubic crystals, he had already made an unimaginable twelve hundred cubic crystals. He did not expect to earn this much by betting in the competition. But before this, he was disappointed that he didn't get to participate into All Peaks Competition. But the disappointment had vanished. With the amount he had already earned, he was now more eager to bet than to participate in the competition.
Now the compensation rate between Zen and Dick was one to nine, which was the highest compensation rate that he had ever seen. He could see from the huge gap that most people there placed their bets on Dick instead of Zen.
Choosing Zen instead of Dick in this competition was a big risk. But for Zachary, the risk was worth taking, so he had placed all his bets on Zen.
“Nine times more, nine times more. Zen, if you defeat Dick this time, I will serve you forever!” Zachary repeated these words as he folded his arms in front and prayed. If Zen won this round, his cubic crystals would soar up to ten thousand pieces according to the current compensation rate. That also meant that he could exchange five thousand points with this many cubic crystals. And with these points, he would be able to practice more on the Seven Star Sword Light Platform. For Zachary, today was the day that would define his future life, and he was willing to risk his all in this game.
In the din of the crowd, Zen walked up to the stage.
Zen and Dick both had eleven consecutive wins. But in this round, one of them was doomed to be defeated and end his consecutive wins.
Dick was already on the stage. Instead of Blackrock Peak's inner disciple robe, Dick was wearing a blue gown with a jade belt around his waist.
There were no strict requirements for clothes that the competitors should wear in All Peaks Competition. And the way Dick dressed himself in today was clean and neat that he looked more like a gentle and intelligent poet than a competitor. There was no sign of crucial killing in his eyes.
“Just admit your defeat,” Dick said in a level, toneless voice as he watched Zen walked up to the stage and stood in front of him.
“Why?” Frowning his brows slightly in ire, Zen questioned.
“Because I am from Blackrock Peak. Since I joined them, my master was nothing but kind and caring to me. And since you beat Mack the last time, you cannot blame my master if he holds any grudge against you. He wants me to take revenge on his behalf, so you'd better be prepared,” Dick replied, his voice still low and void of any emotions.
Hearing Dick's explanation, Zen averted his eyes to look at the crowd from Blackrock Peak and saw Master Yu seating in the center. He could see Master Yu's strong and vindictive eyes flickering with profound hatred as if it would blast out any minute and burn him. Zen then turned his gaze back at Dick and smiled contemptuously. “I can see that. But why bother warning me? It would be more interesting to beat me up than warn me ahead,” Zen said, a flame of mockery flickered in his eyes.
Dick sighed and said,“That's not true. The fact that I am telling you this is because I don't think that it's your fault or Yehudi's. Mack did not behave himself in the first place and hit Yehudi. You hit him just for the sake of Yehudi and that's kind of a fair deal to me.”
Zen was puzzled after hearing Dick's words. He had no idea that his opponent was such a reasonable man. After a short pause, Zen asked,“But you're still taking revenge on me for your friend Mack, am I right? Is that what's this competition going to be?”
“Frankly speaking, yes. But it is more of Master Yu's idea than mine. I don't want to lie to you. I am not fond of Mack either,” Dick replied. A grimace of helplessness came over his face.
Indeed, Mack was a cruel and insidious man, and a humble and courteous person like Dick would never be his friend. Dick was the kind of a person who enjoyed a simple but full life, learning as much knowledge as he could in books and in life and treated his friends with integrity and politeness. He would never offend or bully anyone who was inferior to himself. So taking revenge on behalf of Mack was apparently an insult to him.