Chapter 855: Chapter 643: Registration
In the final intelligence report, Zong Ge saw information related to the prisoner duelists.
According to the Ice Sculpture Kingdom’s system, every time there is a national ceremony grand duel, any prisoner has the right to apply to participate. If they perform well in the battle, their sentence may be commuted.
Of course, the prisoners must first apply and get permission from the prison authorities before they can duel.
To reduce their sentence, this special group of duelists fights with all their might, often displaying immense resolve. Historically, they often achieve outstanding results and have produced many renowned duelists.
The intelligence guesses there are over a hundred candidates from various advanced prisons across the Ice Sculpture Kingdom.
Zong Ge paid special attention to the candidates from the Ice Prison and found that there were three names, one of which was Shi Liu.
“It seems that Yuan Ci’s words to you could indeed come true,” Zong Ge said to Zi Di upon seeing this.
Zi Di nodded slightly.
Shi Liu is an important figure. He can create the Level 0 secret orders of the Purple Vine Chamber of Commerce.
For the Purple Vine Secrets, both Yuan Ci and Jiu Jin want to rescue him.
However, Shi Liu is imprisoned in the Ice Prison, which is one of the few super prisons in the Ice Sculpture Kingdom.
Breaking into the prison to rescue Shi Liu is extremely difficult.
Elder Jiu Jin is aware of the difficulty, so he hesitated immediately and didn’t even want to help gather intelligence for fear of being implicated by a failed jailbreak.
But he doesn’t consider that if Zi Di and Yuan Ci get caught, and confess about the Purple Vine Secrets to save their lives, could he escape unscathed?
So, this is a human weakness of Elder Jiu Jin. It was precisely by leveraging this weakness that Zi Di successfully manipulated him during his visit to the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.
When it came to rescuing Shi Liu, Zi Di was at a loss, but Yuan Ci was confident.
The day before yesterday, Yuan Ci approached Zi Di to explain his plan – to wait for Shi Liu to leave the Ice Prison to participate in the duel, then fake his death during the duel to rescue him.
This plan completely avoids the Ice Prison. After all, breaking into that super prison is just too difficult.
After thinking about it, Zi Di found it had certain feasibility.
Zong Ge was also keeping an eye on it, as he might need to cooperate during the operation.
“The current focus is that because the Ice Prison is a super prison, it’s not just Shi Liu who’s skilled. Whether Shi Liu can be selected depends on the decision of the warden of the Ice Prison,” Zong Ge analyzed.
According to usual practice, each prison will only send one or two people to fight.
Zi Di said, “Right now, Yuan Ci is actively maneuvering, creating public opinion, contacting casinos, and even trying to bribe the management of the Ice Prison. The likelihood of Shi Liu being selected is quite high, according to Yuan Ci, at least 70%.”
“For Yuan Ci, they must rescue Shi Liu. So, I am not worried about them not putting in effort.”
Zong Ge nodded.
He understood a lot about this matter.
Of course, he also knew that Zi Di’s mindset was completely different from Yuan Ci’s.
A single Level 0 secret order for Zi Di is equivalent to three people. Plus Fat Tongue and the recently controlled Elder Jiu Jin, they have already collected a total of five Purple Vine secret orders.
Therefore, the success or failure of rescuing Shi Liu is of no consequence to Zi Di.
It could even be said that if the rescue fails, it is more advantageous for Zi Di. Because she would have more bargaining chips in her hand.
At that time, if Yuan Ci cannot gather five Level 0 Purple Vine secret orders, Zi Di can negotiate based on this.
Zong Ge had no doubt that with Zi Di’s outstanding negotiation skills, she could definitely win more benefits!
“How have you been doing lately?” Zi Di asked.
She often asked this kind of question.
Zong Ge nodded, “Pretty good.”
“I am now very familiar with the combat skills of Blood Vengeance and Hua Tang.”
“I’ve developed a muscle memory to the extent that even if I’m deeply asleep, I can wake up suddenly just before Blood Vengeance activates, ready to defend myself.”
Zi Di’s expression changed slightly, picking up on the implied meaning, “Are you crazy?”
“Not using any protective measures before sleep?”
Zong Ge smiled, “Rest assured, I had confidence in myself before attempting.”
“I’m not a reckless person!”
“Training of this kind requires putting the body in danger to trigger hidden potential from within.”
“It’s a fighter’s training trick, different from your mage cultivation.”
Zi Di’s expression grew gloomy, shaking her head repeatedly, “I must remind you, don’t take unnecessary risks.”
“You’re very important now.”
“Not only you personally, but you are the only Golden Level in our Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps. Plus, you are acting as the squad leader. If Long Fu falls, the reputation we’ve painstakingly maintained, and the potion retail business it supports, will suffer severe setbacks.”
Zong Ge chuckled, “Don’t forget, Miss Zi Di.”
“I’ve been under Blood Vengeance for a long time.”
“Initially, an unexpected flare-up would injure me. But gradually, the degree of my injuries decreased, and the frequency dropped as well.”
“Subsequently, the number of injuries fell to zero. After a period, I occasionally got injured again.”
“Up to now, I haven’t been injured for a long time.”
“My precautions against Blood Vengeance are deeply engraved in the recesses of my mind and physically ingrained in my nerves.”
“That’s why I am confident in attempting this.”
Zi Di sighed, “So you treated Blood Vengeance as a training project.”
“No wonder you’re not very keen on solving Blood Vengeance.”
“I suspect you now, are you deliberately delaying the resolution?”
Zong Ge shook his head slightly: “Indeed, I have such intentional training plans.”
“But as for Blood Vengeance, I truly have no way to resolve it.”
“The mysterious Combat Skill from Hua Tang is the same.”
“But, how should I say it?”
“You are a Mage, not understanding the training mentality of a fighter. My current state is actually something that can only be wished for rather than achieved.”
“Counteracting Blood Vengeance has trained me to defend internally and externally in an instant. The effectiveness of such training is truly outstanding.”
“And countering Hua Tang’s Combat Skill allows me to lock my Fighting energy and Essence Blood. The several Combat Skills I’ve recently practiced have truly progressed rapidly!”
“Lastly, the poison within me is cultivating my Poison Resistance.”
“You don’t need to worry too much…”
“Alright.” Zi Di waved her hand, interrupting Zong Ge.
During this time together, Zi Di had deeply understood Zong Ge’s personality. He is certainly not someone who easily listens to advice!
“You handle this matter yourself.” Zi Di sighed, “Today, I still need to go to the Alchemy Guild to handle some affairs.”
Zong Ge then parted ways with Zi Di: “Then I’ll continue my cultivation.”
Zong Ge is a warrior with a tough personality. The negative states of Blood Vengeance and others, to him, are not torture but tests and refinements, a chance to break through himself.
Since the attack from Hua Tang, Zong Ge has lived quite “peaceful” and fulfilling during this period.
Although he often has to accept challenges and engage in duels.
But Long Fu as a youngster is Silver Level, which is a recognized fact. So Zong Ge is facing Silver Level opponents. And his own Level is Golden Level, with very strong combat talents. Pressing one Level to fight, Zong Ge’s advantage is very great.
Ten minutes later, Zi Di strides in, formally stepping into the Alchemy Guild’s door.
In fact, this is not her first time entering here.
This time, she was very familiar with the route, entering the hall and then turning to the right. Passing through a corridor, she entered a small hall.
The small hall was crowded with people.
A dozen office staff were handling the same matter — managing registration for the Warm Snow Cup competition.
Zi Di first took out the documents to check the information about this year’s Warm Snow Cup competition.
As the top alchemy event domestically in the Ice Kingdom, the Warm Snow Cup competition regime has not changed for many years.
The first stage of the regime is an alchemical question exam.
Participants draw questions publicly, answer them publicly, and determine their alchemical abilities. The questions are varied, the initial stage is a written exam, followed by an interview, and finally alchemical demonstrations.
The primary purpose of the first stage is to eliminate contestants, selecting truly outstanding competitors.
The second stage is an alchemical exhibition.
Each participant will have a showroom where they present their alchemical findings. At that time, authorities of alchemy from Ice Kingdom, people from all walks of life, and invited international guests will evaluate and score them.
The one with the highest average score will become the competition champion.
Zi Di detailed the contest rules and confirmed that there were no issues before filling in “Yao Ma” on the registration form.
Soon, her registration form reached Hua Ni’s hands.
“Call Elder Jiu Jin.” Hua Ni ordered.
Very soon, Jiu Jin came to Hua Ni’s Mage Tower.
In the study, Hua Ni handed Zi Di’s registration form to him: “Since the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps proposed a bet, naturally they have some confidence.”
“What is your plan?”
Elder Jiu Jin reported with hands dropped: “Mage Yao Ma is ignorant and arrogant. This time, let her see the alchemical foundation of our Ice Kingdom!”
Hua Ni immediately frowned, dissatisfied: “Inappropriate.”
“I don’t want to see any accidents.”
“Arrange well so that she is eliminated in the first stage.”
Elder Jiu Jin suddenly looked bitter, raising his head to look at Hua Ni: “Elder Hua Ni, that’s not good.”
“Since Mage Yao Ma has confidence to participate, the first stage certainly won’t stump her.”
“Currently, the matter about the betting contract has already been circulated on a small scale. I suspect it was deliberately spread by the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.”
“I believe soon, the people in the industry will all know this news.”
“In such a situation, if we act too obviously, it won’t look good.”
Hua Ni chuckled lightly: “Elder Jiu Jin is mature and prudent, having such concerns indicates I selected the right person.”
“But I believe you can handle this matter. You can eliminate her smoothly while maintaining our reputation, without making it too conspicuous.”
“This…” Jiu Jin almost teared up.
He dare not do such a thing.
His leverage was held in Zi Di’s hands.
“Rest assured, Elder Jiu Jin. This time the Warm Snow Cup coincides with the National Ceremony, very different from previous years. There will be many people registering, and I am among them. Eliminating an inconspicuous Silver Level Mage won’t attract attention.” Hua Ni finally consoled him and sent Jiu Jin away.
Jiu Jin walked out of the Mage Tower with a face full of sadness, already made up his mind: “I will arrange the stage, not just difficult but even more difficult! This way, it’ll be easier to explain to Elder Hua Ni.”
“As for the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps, I’ll inform them in advance so they can prepare!”