Chapter 176: Imperial City Battle (8)
“Cannot stay here anymore?” Huang Xiaolong repeated with a slight furrow on his forehead.
The inn owner’s head cast down in a flustered manner, then he abruptly knelt down before Huang Xiaolong, “Young Noble Huang, I’m very sorry! I really cannot let you stay in my inn anymore, I—!”
“Because of Heartless Young Noble?” Huang Xiaolong interjected as he looked at the inn owner, voicing a question in an icy tone.
The inn owner stiffened when hearing the name but he neither confirmed nor denied. Yet, silence meant acquiescence.
“You’re afraid of Heartless Young Noble, but you are not afraid of us?” Fei Hou’s eyes narrowed coldly with menace as a fleeting murderous intent flickered passed, “Then, I shall end your life now!” Fei Hou stated and readied to keep his word.
Both Zhao Shu and Yu Ming also wore a cold expression on their faces.
But Huang Xiaolong raised his hand to stop Fei Hou.
The inn owner kowtowed as he begged Huang Xiaolong, “Young Noble Huang, please spare me, I have no other choice, I’m forced to do this!”
Watching the inn owner knock his head onto the ground repeatedly, Huang Xiaolong said to Zhao Shu, Yu Ming, and Fei Hou, “We’ll leave.”
He knew the inn owner was not the one at fault in this matter. Anyone faced with pressure from someone like Heartless Young Noble would have chosen the same path.
Before leaving, Huang Xiaolong told Fei Hou to settle the money for the past ten days’ accommodation.
Seeing that Huang Xiaolong was willing to leave, the inn owner kowtowed again gratefully as he watched the four figures walk away.
Outside the inn.
Huang Xiaolong looked at the prosperous bustling streets. Pedestrians shuttled back and forth while carriages moved in a long single file line which appeared reminiscent of a dragon. He looked back towards the three people behind him with a faint smile and said, “Looks like we will need to sleep in the streets tonight!”
Huang Xiaolong assumed the result would be the same in other inns or restaurants, no place would dare do business with him.
This Heartless Young Noble truly acted fast!
A sharp light glinted in Huang Xiaolong’s eyes.
“Young Lord, how about I make a trip to the Yao Manor?” Zhao Shu inquired.
Huang Xiaolong shook his head, “Not now.”
Since that Heartless Young Noble made his move, then Huang Xiaolong would play a little game with him. If he squashed him to death immediately, where’s the fun in that? Moreover, the Yao Family had more than two thousand years of foundation, its roots ran deep. It was highly likely they had a Saint realm expert guarding the Yao Manor, and perhaps even more than one Saint realm expert at that!
For the time being, Huang Xiaolong did not want to expose Zhao Shu’s strength.
I should arrange for Mom, Dad and everyone else to travel here earlier than planned. Huang Xiaolong thought.
To prevent any mishaps, it would be best to bring the Huang Family over to the Imperial City. With Zhao Shu and Yu Ming’s protection, their safety was not an issue.
In conclusion, Huang Xiaolong decided that once the Imperial City Battle ended, he would purchase a place in the Imperial City and arrange to move his family from the Luo Tong Kingdom.
Leaving the inn, Huang Xiaolong’s group of four strolled along the streets, enjoying the night scene of Duanren Empire’s Imperial City.
An hour or so passed and the four of them came back around to Duanren Square. Finding a spot, all four sat in a meditative position, adjusting their breathing as they waited for morning to come.
Time passed and night gave way to the morning light.
The amount of people arriving at Duanren Square increased slowly as time passed. It seemed as though the crowd had grown even bigger compared to the second day. Practically every Patriarch from small and large Imperial City families attended, and nearby kingdoms had rushed over to watch the final day’s battle.
Every square inch of ground outside the battle arena was littered with people.
By the time the imperial guards were in position guarding the battle arena perimeter, Huang Xiaolong arrived and became the first person to enter. He walked towards the same seat he sat on for the last two days whereas Zhao Shu, Yu Ming, and Fei Hou waited outside with the rest of the crowd.
Today, there were only ten people battling, and Huang Xiaolong arrived earlier than any of the other nine participants.
The battle arena area was totally empty. Neither Duan Wuhen, the ministers, or any participants arrived as early as Huang Xiaolong. Thus Huang Xiaolong became the center of attention because he was the only one inside.
The gathering crowd grew bigger and noisier, talking and staring intently at Huang Xiaolong.
Of course, all of their discussions mainly shifted back and forth around who would win first place this year!
But then again, this topic was constantly discussed for the last several days in a row, yet the excited fervor only burned with increasing intensity.
A short while after Huang Xiaolong took his seat, Cui Li arrived and walked into the arena area.
Seeing Huang Xiaolong, Cui Li hesitated briefly, but this time, she no longer took the seat beside Huang Xiaolong. Instead, she chose a different empty seat about thirty meters away from Huang Xiaolong and sat down.
Watching this, Huang Xiaolong smiled wryly in his heart.
Obviously, due to the pressure from Heartless Young Noble, this woman needed to maintain a certain distance from him. Despite that, Huang Xiaolong did not mind.
Then, the next one to arrive was Yanggang.
And the first thing Yanggang noticed was Cui Li’s distance from Huang Xiaolong. Watching this scene, Yanggang gloated complacently to himself as he made his way to the empty seat next to Cui Li. Deliberately shielding Huang Xiaolong’s face from Cui Li’s view, he leaned in close to Cui Li saying, “Li’er, you look beautiful today!”
Cui Li wore a long violet dress, emphasizing her innocent beauty and underlying charm. The hint of worry in her eyes only added to her charm. She indeed looked beautiful.
Cui Li shot Yanggang an icy glare, stood up from her seat and walked away to another empty seat a dozen meters away.
Being treated this way, Yanggang stood there looking embarrassed, flames of anger flickered deeply in his eyes.
This cheap slut, a day will come when he would make her kneel in front of him, begging him to take and enslave her!
In that short moment, Xie Puti, Pang Yu, Dai Shanni, and the rest arrived one after another.
With that, all top ten were present!
All ten of them arrived but the main platform was still empty. It was some time later when Duan Wuhen and a group of ministers appeared, after which each took their places.
Cheng Jian stood at the front of the main platform, stating rules that each participant needed to be mindful of before finally announcing the day’s competition start.
In the group of ten people, five walked up to draw lots.
The first opponent Huang Xiaolong drew was... Yanggang!
Yanggang!
When Huang Xiaolong read the name written on the stick, he was stunned for a moment. And then, a faint smile tilted up the corner of his lips.
Even Yanggang was surprised to see his first opponent for the day was Huang Xiaolong. In the next moment, a ruthless light gleamed in his eyes; he had been waiting for this battle for two days, it was finally here.
Still, Huang Xiaolong and Yanggang would need to wait, for they were in group three.
The first battle was between Cui Li and Jin Desheng, the second was Xie Puti versus Han Dong.
The fourth group was Pang Yu against Jiang Damin, and the last group was Dai Shanni versus Hu Zhi.
When the list came out, everyone outside the battle arena broke out in a commotion. Discussions sounded everywhere in an attempt to predict the outcome of each group.
The most talked about was none other than Huang Xiaolong versus Yanggang, and it was also the most debated with half supporting Huang Xiaolong while the half thinking Yanggang would be the victor.
On the main platform, Duan Wuhen lightly tapped the armrest as he spoke with Cheng Jian, “Cheng Jian, what do you think about Huang Xiaolong and Yanggang’s battle?” Duanren Empire did not interfere with the line-up of today’s battle, thus when Huang Xiaolong drew Yanggang’s name, he was genuinely surprised.
Cheng Jian hesitated, “This one doesn’t know how to judge.”
If this was before, he would surely pick Yanggang as the winner between the two, but now, it was hard for him to judge which one of them was stronger.
At this time, a general beside Duan Wuhen spoke, “Whoever His Imperial Highness Second Prince says will win, then that person will win!”
Duan Wuhen exposed a slight smile at those words.