Free Web NovelChapter 96: Chapter 96: Black Mountain Camp’s Provocation
A martial arts tournament to win a bride!
And it was for the only daughter of the Zheng Family—one of the Five Great Clans—a woman renowned throughout the city for her beauty.
The next day, the Inner City of Five Families City was more bustling than the New Year festival.
City Center Plaza was packed to the gills with clansmen of the Five Great Clans, their trusted subordinates, and common folk.
They all wanted to see which lucky bastard would get to carry the beauty home!
Tang Wen, Commander Qian, and their group were seated in Duobao Tower.
They had the Secret Medicine on them, just waiting for the marriage tournament to end and the Martial Artist trade meet to begin.
Then they would use the Secret Medicine to trade with the people of the Five Great Clans for the Water Mill Diagram and grain.
Tang Wen didn’t hold out much hope for the grain trade.
Along the way, he had seen the fields in this region; they were utterly parched from the drought.
"Brother Tang, are you really not going to participate?" Commander Li asked, coming up from downstairs to persuade him yet again.
Tang Wen shook his head, speechless.
The two of them had spent half the night trying to convince him.
They genuinely felt it was a golden opportunity.
If they weren’t too old, they would have definitely thrown their hats in the ring!
Commander Li pressed on, "I see even that brute from Black Mountain Camp is participating. Brother Tang, why don’t you give it a shot? If you win, we can talk about the matter with Commander Zhou later. What if the Zheng Family is willing to let her be a secondary wife?"
Tang Wen was at a loss for words. ’The only daughter of the Zheng Patriarch as a secondary wife?’
’In your dreams!’
’You can have anything you want in your dreams.’
"You flatter me, my friend. I’m focused on my Martial Arts Training and have no interest in climbing the social ladder by attaching myself to powerful families."
’No interest in attaching himself to powerful families?’
’He’s still so young!’
’Wait a minute, isn’t your Commander Zhou, Zhou Bing, General Zhou’s niece?’
’And a descendant of the Queen!’
’Didn’t you already latch onto one?’
Hearing this, Commander Qian also chimed in, "It’s not about attaching yourself to a powerful family, it’s a marriage alliance. If you can win Miss Zheng’s hand, our camp and Five Families City will be one big family!"
Before Tang Wen could refute, he lowered his voice. "Brother Tang, I’ve been a First-class Martial Artist for many years. Back when I was young, I had the chance to awaken a Flame Ability."
"But I didn’t dare to try. The awakening process is fraught with peril. The slightest mistake means death and the complete loss of your cultivation. And the Zheng Family... they most likely have... Protective Marrow Liquid!"
’Protective Marrow Liquid?’
When Tang Wen heard this term, he couldn’t help but feel a stir in his heart.
A First-class Martial Artist uses Visualization Power to temper their entire body.
The next step is Training Root Marrow.
This means tempering the spine and skull.
Only at this stage does the awakening truly begin.
If one can completely temper the great dragon of the spine before the age of thirty, they can fully complete the awakening.
However, many Martial Artists don’t dare take this step, because it’s a one-in-ten chance of survival.
The commander before him, Commander Qian, was considered talented.
At thirty, he had sensed a Flame Ability. A single punch from him could cause a slight change in the surrounding temperature.
But seeing his predecessors immolated by their own flames, dying horribly before they could awaken, he inevitably hesitated.
’Do I really have the destiny to become a Transcendent?’
At the time, he had children, a wife, and concubines. After much deliberation, he didn’t dare to persist with the "Refining Marrow" breakthrough.
General Zhao was a contemporary of Commander Qian.
General Zhao’s Talent was even better; he could produce a small flame before he was thirty.
He had completed the first step of awakening, and his ability had begun to manifest.
This preserved his chance to become Extraordinary after the age of thirty.
But he too had only broken through recently.
Aside from the life-and-death pressure from the Tyrant Bear, it was mainly due to years of patient, grinding effort.
Like water dripping through stone, bit by bit, he drove his Power through the great dragon of his spine!
This showed that even someone as talented as General Zhao didn’t dare to take that step rashly.
Recalling the past, a hint of resentment flickered in Commander Qian’s eyes. "If I’d had a bottle of Protective Marrow Liquid back then, I could have risked it all. Even if I failed, my Martial Arts foundation wouldn’t have been damaged! And I certainly wouldn’t have faced death and the loss of my cultivation."
"It’s a rare opportunity!" Commander Li chimed in.
Tang Wen shook his head. "It’s just a possibility. Even if the Zheng Family has Protective Marrow Liquid, they haven’t fallen on hard times. Why would they give it to an outsider like me?"
The two commanders didn’t press him further.
Although they felt it was an opportunity, they couldn’t just let Tang Wen completely join the Zheng Family either.
"DONG!"
A gong sounded from downstairs.
"It’s starting!"
"Look, that’s Miss Zheng!"
"What a beautiful woman."
The three of them, Tang Wen included, fell silent. They were sitting in a private room by the window.
They all turned their heads to look at the same time.
In the center of the martial arts stage stood a young woman dressed in black. Her skin was as white as snow, and a long braid hung down her back.
She had a heroic air about her, and her every frown and smile was dazzling.
"Well, Brother Tang, are you captivated?"
Tang Wen just smiled. ’Captivated?’
’Of course I’m captivated.’
’She’s a jade-like beauty, who wouldn’t like her? If I were Extraordinary, I’d naturally go down there, sweep aside all the riff-raff, and make Miss Zheng my secondary wife.’
’Would the Zheng Family really say no to an Extraordinary under the age of eighteen?’
’But as a mere Second-class Martial Artist, I’d better not stir up this kind of trouble.’
’When it comes down to it, I’m just not strong enough!’
’This little Five Families City has five Extraordinary individuals.’
’Train. As soon as I get back, I’ll train like my life depends on it. The ice cellar is already full, so I don’t need to worry about food.’
’Once I’m back, I’ll focus all my energy on honing my Martial Arts.’
He speculated that once he trained his Mountain-Opening Cannon Fist to the Master Level, he should be able to break through to First-class Martial Artist.
After his Experience Panel leveled up, his path in Martial Arts was without barriers—a smooth road ahead.
The only thing he lacked was time.
That was why Tang Wen was able to calmly refuse the temptation of the "Protective Marrow Liquid."
Otherwise, even if they forbade him from joining the marriage tournament, he would have found a way to get on that stage.
It would have been a simple matter of meeting Master Zheng, throwing himself to the ground in a kowtow, and calling him "Godfather."
In the face of "Protective Marrow Liquid," what was a little pride worth?
Sensing the gazes of the crowd, Miss Zheng, Zheng Nanzhu, glanced up toward the tower.
Seeing the black-scarf-masked Tang Wen, she found it a bit strange. ’This man’s eyes are so striking, why is his face covered? Is he too ugly to show his face?’
She didn’t dwell on it; the thought passed in an instant.
Patriarch Zheng, an elderly man with silver-white hair, stepped forward and said a few words for the occasion.
He explained the rules of the marriage tournament: any Martial Artist under the age of twenty-eight could participate. They would be paired up to fight, with the winner advancing to the next round and the loser being eliminated.
Tang Wen guessed, "It seems the Zheng Family wants to use this opportunity to recruit some talented individuals!"
Qian Sanduo nodded. "The drought is bound to bring chaos. There’s no point in reasoning with people who don’t even have food to eat. Five Families City must be feeling the crisis too. This is their way of recruiting a batch of people."
As if to confirm their speculation, a number of young and ambitious First-Class Martial Artists and Peak Martial Artists stepped forward.
Their gazes on the arena stage were fiery.
Commander Li sighed. "There’s never a shortage of people who want to reach the heavens in a single step."
Martial Artists under twenty-eight were all considered somewhat talented; in Flame Camp, they could hold positions like team captain.
They represented the core strength of a faction, linking the old guard with the new generation.
Moreover, they were still young and had the potential to become Martial Artists.
Qian Sanduo clapped Tang Wen on the shoulder. "Someone like you, Brother Tang, is a rare sight."
After their moment of reflection, Commander Qian pointed to the four men standing at the very front below. "Those four have the best chance of winning the beauty’s hand."
"What are their backgrounds?" Tang Wen asked, looking over. He didn’t recognize any of them.
Qian Sanduo introduced them one by one, from left to right. "That one there, dressed like a scholar and holding an iron fan, is the Seventh Master of the Six Mountains and Eighteen Villages to the east, Mr. Tie Shan. He’s twenty-seven. A First-class Martial Artist.
That big dark-skinned fellow is the Black Mountain Ghost, Black Blade. I believe he’s also a First-class Martial Artist, twenty-eight years old."
"The remaining two young men are from the direct lineages of Five Families City. One is the Young Master of the Lin Family—Lin Wanqing."
Lin Wanqing was also strikingly handsome, but his eyes darted about, giving him a frivolous air.
"The last one is Wang Jintong of the Wang Family. Don’t be fooled by his small and skinny frame; the Wang Family excels at Hard Skills, and his strength should not be underestimated."
Martial Artists are sensitive to being watched. The four men who were being introduced all looked up at the tower together.
Seeing Commander Qian, Tang Wen, and the others, Black Blade of Black Mountain Camp immediately let out a loud, cold laugh. "I was wondering who was hiding up there, showing their head but hiding their face. So it’s the people from Flame Camp. Miss Zheng is as beautiful as a celestial fairy, yet you don’t send anyone to compete. What kind of conspiracies are you plotting, hiding up there! Take off your mask and get down here to apologize!"
Black Mountain Camp and Flame Camp did not get along.
Everyone knew that.
His shout drew everyone’s gaze toward the third floor.
They looked at Tang Wen, who wore a conical hat and a face mask.
"Is that guy really covering his face?"
"Someone from Flame Camp?"
"I’ve never seen anyone dressed like that before!"
Murmurs broke out all around.
But the situation had indeed become awkward. All the other factions were actively participating, and even if they didn’t have a Martial Artist of the right age, they still sent a Martial Artist to join in the excitement.
Only Tang Wen’s group was watching from the sidelines, looking down on the proceedings as if they were watching a cockfight or a monkey show.
"That Black Mountain Ghost is really courting death!" Qian Sanduo’s eyes narrowed, his voice turning cold.
