Free Web NovelChapter 1177: Chapter 381: Once Witnessed in History, Eternally Unchanged (14,000 Monthly Tickets)_2
"In the battle between Qin Chu, the Valley countries perished. People at the time said: The remnants of the small countries are as insignificant as the grass on the plains." (Jing Shu · World Chapter)
Dan Country found itself in such an awkward position, relatively speaking, it was closer to Qin Country, and thus under greater threat from it. Ever since Chu Country’s grave defeat, the situation became even more delicate. freēwēbnovel.com
Xiao Shu’s valiant efforts at the Yellow River Gathering were also driven by Dan Country’s strong, demonstrative need. At the same time, it was even more necessary to reach out for resources behind the Gate of All Demons, for in the current world, whether facing Qin or Chu, Dan Country could not extend its hand without it being severed.
Xiao Shu, worthy of his prodigious reputation, shone brightly on the Arena.
Among these prodigies who locked in their spots for the main competition, Ye Luzhi of Liao Country needs special mention.
Ye Luzhi was born in Liao Country, but he represented more than just Liao Country. In fact, he was one of the prodigies put forth by the alliance of the Northwest Five Countries backed by Liao Country.
The so-called alliance of the Northwest Five Countries consisted of Liao Country, Zhen Country, Gao Country, Iron Country, and Han Country.
The northwest has always been viewed as a frigid land, but in reality, it’s rich in resources. Especially within Liao Country, the reserves of Dao Yuan Stone veins are astonishing.
Under the immense pressure from Jingguo, the five countries of Liao, Zhen, Gao, Iron, and Han allied early on to jointly resist Jingguo.
Each of the five countries is small, but when their troops are combined, they consistently battle with Jingguo year-round, with their military strength being exceptionally formidable.
In an event like the Yellow River Gathering, their intention to challenge Jingguo is very clear.
After his victory on the field, Ye Luzhi openly declared that his goal was to defeat Jingguo’s Yellow Sheri.
Yellow Sheri, on the spot, lifted his yellow robe ready to enter the fray. Only after much persuasion was he convinced to wait for the main competition...
Speaking of the alliance of the Northwest Five Countries, we should also talk about the Snow Country from the extremely cold regions.
As its name implies, Snow Country sees snow all year round. It is the furthest country to the northwest within the known boundaries of the present world.
It and Han Country, the closest to it, are separated by a great distance and do not get involved with the Northwest Five Countries alliance affairs and interact little with other countries. It truly has the air of "reigning supreme in seclusion, uncaring of the change from spring and summer to autumn and winter."
If it weren’t for Snow Country’s participation in the Yellow River Gathering, and the appearance of a prodigy beauty with a cold demeanor like Xie Ai in this year’s event, perhaps not many would remember this country.
But no country located in the northwest would ever overlook Snow Country’s mystery and strength.
Especially in recent years, with Jingguo’s increasingly tough stance, the Northwest Five Countries alliance has been constantly trying to pull Snow Country into their fold, with frequent exchanges. Jingguo, on the other hand, has also made multiple friendly overtures to Snow Country.
In short, Snow Country’s current stance is of vital importance in the Northwestern Lands. One can discern this importance from the effort Ye Luzhi puts into courting Xie Ai.
Finally, as two geographically close great nations, Song Country and Wei Country also exhibit a strong sense of rivalry.
Song Country’s Yin Wenhua secured her spot in the main competition earlier, while Wei Country’s prodigy from the Inner Mansion Realm, Dongguo Bao, unfortunately faced Ye Luzhi and was relegated to the losers’ bracket.
This seemed to imply that Song Country had overtaken Wei Country.
Dongguo Bao, a burly man with red eyes. His expression of extreme guilt and self-reproach couldn’t help but provoke sighs of pity.
In this round of selections, the victorious seven directly entered the Yellow River Gathering’s main competition.
The seven losers compete for the remaining three spots in the main competition. Of course, given Jiang Limeng’s condition, she definitely couldn’t continue to the next battle.
So that left six prodigies to fight one last round to determine the three winners.
This was a brutally harsh selection.
They had just been through an intense battle, each already exhausted. Yet they had to fight one more match than the previous round’s victors, revealing even more of their capabilities.
Historically, those who managed to secure one of these three spots from the losers’ bracket rarely made it past the next round of the main competition—typically, the main competition was their endpoint... but whether or not one reached the main competition was an earth-shattering difference.
Jiang Wang today focused mainly on the match between Lin Zhengren and Jiang Limeng, with Lin Zhengren adept at dragging out the time, causing him to miss the other six thrilling battles.
He could only quickly skim through the basic intelligence of Qi Country’s side; a more complete and detailed analysis could only be seen after returning to Qi Street.
The six prodigies who had been defeated once, drew lots to pair up, ascending the Arena once again. freewēbnoveℓ.com
It was a duel destined to be brutal, for everyone knew this was their last chance. The battles were even fiercer than the previous ones.
The final victors were Dongguo Bao from Wei Country, Jiang Shaohua from Shen Country, and the empathetic one from Summer Country.
The former two won indisputably, especially Dongguo Bao from Wei Country, who practically climbed out of a pool of blood. Withstanding to the end with a slightly tougher Life Pattern, while his opponent died on the spot. Jiang Shaohua also emerged victorious after an intense fight, by a narrow half move.
Only the empathetic one faced some criticism from the spectating audience.
In the previous round, when he fought against Xiao Shu from Dan Country, his Red Heaven Slave was easily dismembered, and after summoning the One-Footed Ghost-Faced Bat Mouse to attack just once, it was easily defended by the well-prepared Xiao Shu, followed by being knocked off the stage, becoming the first prodigy to lose in that round.
At first, many thought he was defeated so quickly because he was too well-understood, too specifically targeted, and neither his Squash Tiger nor Chain Snake had time to recover.
But until the start of the losers’ round, as the puppet Squash Tiger and Chain Snake took the stage one after another, the empathetic one, at a near peak condition of strength, defeated his opponent.
