Chapter 539: Prelude to the Arena Competition (3k)
After leaving the imperial palace, Su Jiu returned with Anna to the small Western-style house in the outer city. She began learning to refine other items. Through the little girl’s words, she learned that:
After the arena competition, they were to head to the Ancient Imperial Capital region and compete there against the Third Princess’s chosen candidate in front of the Elder of the Tenth Clan. After all, the other party also hoped to gain more support from the Elder of the Tenth Clan.
Fortunately, under the agreement between the Grand Prince and the Third Princess, the other party was not allowed to field candidates over a hundred years old, and the selection methods were the same, with each nominated by an elder to supervise.
In addition to this, other skills had to be showcased. However, in reality, alchemy was the most recognized and valuable, so it was generally fixed to refine alchemical equipment with fixed materials.
Su Jiu’s previous refinement of those bone products was purely due to her high level. Now, she needed to learn to refine some new things, otherwise, relying solely on the skill of an Alchemy Master would not be enough to cope with the competition.
“Sister Su, the prelude is about to begin. It is said that today, several university professors from Eagle Country will bring their students to observe our monster battles, and even a human professor is participating…”
Time ticked by, and with a “click,” the door was suddenly opened. Anna walked in with a cup of coffee, but the moment she looked up, she was startled.
“This…”
She looked at the entire room with shock, which was arranged like a laboratory. There was even a faint smell of formalin from the preserved monster corpses.
On the other side, various strange alchemical items were piled together, including serrated swords and shields shaped like toilet lids, but the aura emanating from them gave people a feeling of awe.
“It seems that nothing can be used.”
Su Jiu looked at the items she had refined using some monster corpses, examined them carefully, then stood up and muttered softly to herself, “This is for you, as a means of self-defense. It can withstand one blow from a Battle King. Things are likely to become turbulent soon.”
With that, she picked up a presentable item and tossed it to Anna, then put away these things.
“This is…”
Anna took the item and looked down. It was a silver-like bracelet inlaid with a magic crystal. The bracelet had an imprint of feathers and emitted a faint red aura.
The knowledgeable Anna immediately realized that this item was not of low grade. If she looked closely, faint energy fluctuations were swirling around the bracelet, giving a warm touch. A slight feeling of the stat bonus spread through her body like being drenched in clear water…
“Battle King level alchemical bracelet?”
Su Jiu didn’t pay much attention. Instead, she put the alchemical items into another blue storage ring, then looked out through the window at the slightly blue sky beneath the formation.
“Then…”
With a wave of her finger, Su Jiu tapped the ground with her toes. A blood-gold long sword stood beside them. She chuckled and, like carrying a kitten, lifted Anna up.
“Let’s go.”
Immediately, her figure ascended, and with a “swish!” she turned into a black shadow, soaring towards the sky in the center of the city…
…
In the Snow Empress’s palace, several people in black clerical robes stood before the palace. The leader wore a grey-black bamboo hat, and was cloaked in black, like a fisherman on a boat on a rainy night.
He leaned on an iron skull-headed cane, tilted his head slightly, and looked at the Snow Empress on the throne, who was resting her head on her hand. He asked in a very gentle tone, “Can Your Majesty not sacrifice some insignificant subjects for your ambitions?”
“I don’t like to repeat myself. You want to directly participate in the upcoming arena competition, and anyone below War God level is fine. But it’s a pipe dream to expect the Snow Demons to be used as alchemical containers!”
The Snow Empress replied coldly, a biting chill emanating from her. The surrounding air rippled with faint waves, and frost began to condense around her, clearly showing she was ready to fight.
“Heh heh… being able to compete for National Master is not bad.”
The person in the black robe just smiled faintly, not caring about the Snow Empress’s hostile attitude. He slightly removed his bamboo hat, revealing a very ordinary middle-aged man’s face. On his forehead was a black inverted cross symbol.
He paused, then smiled and waved, dispelling some of the Snow Empress’s imposing aura, and said softly, “With me here, Your Majesty can rest assured that the competition against the Third Princess later will definitely be easily won…”
“I hope so. Anyway, three people will be selected to compete. I heard that a particularly strong girl appeared there, who can casually spar with Demigod level monsters without using her true form.”
The Snow Empress glanced at him and said indifferently. He had deliberately suppressed the participation level of other races on his side, intending to pit them against each other.
But now, with abnormalities appearing on his sister’s side and experts emerging, he had to change his strategy and let this Ferryman and human professor participate as well…
Completely muddy the waters!
As for Su Jiu…
He did not dare to bet everything on a prophecy from an astrologer. Muddying the waters was actually paving the way for Su Jiu. He wanted to see what strength this prophesied “Pope” possessed.
If the other party couldn’t even handle the current situation, then going to the Ancient Imperial Capital would be like being experience fodder.
…
After Su Jiu and Anna had been flying with swords for several minutes, a wide arena towering on the square appeared within their sight.
Looking at the arena, Su Jiu guessed that it might have been built directly with alchemical items. Even from high above, she could see many alchemical birds with metallic luster camera heads.
Beside the arena, there was a dense crowd of people. She had expected it to be lively, but she hadn’t expected it to be so fervent. The amplified sound seemed to surge towards the sky like an erupting flood.
It would not be easy to take the top three spots in such a lively arena. More importantly, these contestants were already the result of a round of selection, meaning they would only be stronger!
“There are too many people here, and I seem to be further back. Let’s go down and check the situation.”
Taking Anna’s wrist, Su Jiu chose a secluded pavilion, then landed. She then flipped and leaped onto the pavilion, her gaze sweeping around and finding many oddly dressed foreign races participating.
On the VIP seats on a high platform erected on the other side, Snow Demon soldiers maintained order. Only those who surpassed the Battle King level were eligible to sit there; otherwise, they could only stand.
Just as Su Jiu was sighing at the grand spectacle, a sound of breaking the air suddenly echoed from the distant sky, immediately drawing the attention of countless nearby gazes.
“Is this… the uniform of Stanford University?”
Su Jiu’s gaze followed. She saw dozens of humans wearing wizard costumes and magic hats flying on broomsticks, rapidly heading towards the VIP area designated on the other side.
Faintly, Su Jiu seemed to see an old friend, but she wasn’t entirely sure. The people around her let out gasps of surprise:
“Ah! Those seem to be doctors and students from a top human institution. I heard His Majesty specifically invited them, and there are even his old friends among them.”
Su Jiu didn’t feel much about this until several black shadows flashed across the sky again. Her “wine radar” instantly made her raise her head sharply, her eyes fixed on the seats where those figures were taking their places…
She felt a familiar, even disgusting smell from them – the smell of corpses.
After the Stanford University people took their seats, almost all eyes on the field fell on them. The humans specifically invited by the Snow Emperor were undoubtedly sending a signal. It was very likely that he hoped someone among these humans would become the National Master of the Snow Demon Kingdom.
Even the mysterious figures in black robes couldn’t help but look over there, their eyes showing a hint of interest.
Many citizens of the Snow Demon Kingdom did not cut off communication with the outside world. They naturally knew the level of professors from Stanford University. At the very least, they were top experts of the High-Rank Battle King level, not much inferior to the Initial Stage Battle God level of the leaders of other weaker races.
Su Jiu stood in the pavilion, one hand on Anna’s head, her eyes narrowed, gazing at the direction of the black shadows. Faintly, the cloaked man in the bamboo hat also looked over.
“Sir, what’s wrong?” a subordinate in black clerical attire, wearing a gold cross necklace, asked.
The cloaked man glanced at him, his eyes narrowing slightly, and said indifferently, “A strong individual has noticed us.”
“A strong individual? Is it those people from Stanford…” The subordinate furtively glanced to the right and asked, then sneered, “It seems they have a War God level leading them, otherwise, they would be natural sacrificial materials.”
“Although that old man is slightly stronger than me, he’s not a true powerhouse. That person’s Mental Power is mid-grade War God level…”
The cloaked man shook his head, his gaze still meeting Su Jiu’s. He even formed words with his mouth and transmitted them through external Qi – [Is there anything you require?]
“Sword Language.”
As their eyes met, Su Jiu naturally understood the other party’s identity. She immediately sneered, the little flowers in her eyes blooming, and a small sword floated in her pupils. Since the other party was in the VIP seats, they would have to confront each other sooner or later, so why not provoke them.
The next moment, the small sword transformed into Mental Power and fiercely stabbed out, directly targeting the black-robed man who had asked what was wrong. It was sharp and swift, like an assassin’s poisoned dart.
“Cough…”
The black-robed man felt a sharp pain in his head, as if his spiritual space had been stabbed. His chest also felt somewhat heavy. His face instantly turned grim.
“Your Excellency…”
When he looked up at the pavilion again, he couldn’t see anyone. He could only suppress his anger. At this moment, his subordinate quickly asked, “What’s wrong, Sir?”
He glanced at his subordinate, pushed him aside, and said in a deep voice, “That unknown strong individual released malevolence towards me. We must proceed with caution from now on.”
Meanwhile, at the Stanford University gathering area, a female student pointed at the black-robed figures of the Ancient God Sect and asked the elder beside her in a low voice, “Professor Green, what’s wrong with them?”
Green shook his head, but couldn’t help but glance at the sulking cloaked man, his expression very serious as he slowly said:
“They have a very strong smell of corpses. Let’s not provoke them. This time, classmate Morin’s uncle was invited to participate in the competition, so let’s just watch the match.”
