Zhang Dong and his entourage were finally able to enter the hotel that they were supposed to stay in. The people outside had cleared out and went to the arena to get their tickets.
“Patriarch, aren’t you being too rash? Wasn’t there another way to handle that situation…”
Feng Maling asked with visible concern showed on her face. She had watched the whole thing unfold but it was not her place to speak out in that situation. She was also worried that she might have been too rough when shouting at the youths.
“To rash? Don’t think so, think that played out very well actually.”
Zhang Dong looked at the inside of the room he was in. It was very large and exquisite. There was a giant red king-sized bed, its legs were golden and four golden dragon heads were peeking out. There was a large window with a nice view of the city and he had this room all for himself. The other elders would get rooms on a lower level as this one was reserved for him as a sect leader.
“Played out well? I don’t understand…”
The granny wrinkled her nose and touched the base of her neck while asking her sect leader for clarification. Most people would evade combat in a situation like that. Was this young leader still too inexperienced and let his emotions guide his path?
“Grandmother, how do you think a young beast goes about earning respect from its pack?”
He answered her with a question, to which the old woman replied without thinking.
“Defeat an older beast to prove itself?”
Zhang Dong nodded at the question and Feng Maling didn’t really know what to say. This young leader wanted to prove himself to the other old monsters in a trial of combat. This would probably be the easiest and most direct way to gain respect. It was also the best way to lose face if he lost.
“Are you confident?”
She asked while moving closer to her nephew in law.
“Very. You should stop worrying, I know what you are thinking. This move might offend that Silver Spear Sect and its leader but it will also deter others. Also, you should know that our sect isn’t that weak anymore, we don’t need to hide as much as we did before.”
Zhang Dong wasn’t planning on doing things this way at first but an opportunity arose. After showing his might the other sects would probably see him in a new light. With this, he could probably evade any further problems that this banquet would bring.
The old nascent soul cultivators would see him as strong but brash. Thus they would fear to offend him. Offending him could mean being challenged just like Chang Yongzheng was. They would only lose face if they got defeated by a young upstart. Even if Zhang Dong lost or tied he would still be seen as someone strong. Getting beaten by an established master wasn’t that bad to someone that lacked renown. On the flipside, the reverse was devastating to your reputation.
“I probably shouldn’t mention this to your wife.”
Granny Maling nodded to herself while Matt flinched. If news of this reached his wife she would probably worry or maybe fly into an unrivaled rage and try to beat up that Spear sect Patriarch.
“That would be best, no use making her worry in the state she is.”
Zhang Dong got a bit sad at the mention of his wife. He didn’t want to be here so far away from them but he needed to get this done. While the city owners were getting the arena fight ready others were getting curious about it.
The word about Zhang dongs and Chang Yongzheng fight even reached the city lord’s ear. This was a very powerful cultivator and he also had backing of a lot of other families. After hearing that the two fighters were from the lesser middle sized sects he wasn’t that interested. He just gave out an order to record the fight as it could be used later.
Not everyone reacted in a bored way as the city lord though. All of the sects that had already arrived were sure to make their way towards the arena. They were mostly there to see the Silver Spear Sect leader’s spearmanship. There was also the idiot who was trying to fight that legendary spear master. They needed to know who was so brazen and brave to do this.
Within a couple of hours, everything was ready for the big event. The arena was really large, a lot bigger than the one that the Zhang Clan juniors attended in Jade Grass City. It had three levels going upwards and in one spot there was a large platform with exclusive seats for the nascent soul masters and their sect members.
There was not much to do for the middle sized sects as the banquet would only start in two days. The price of attendance was only a couple of middle grade spirit stones. This was something that most people in the upper section of the empire could afford.
“Zhang Dong? Never heard of someone like that…”
“United Element Sect, aren’t they just a branch sect from somewhere?”
“Didn’t think we would see master Chang Yongzheng’s spearmanship, this trip was worthwhile. Hope that poor country bumpkin he is fighting doesn’t lose too fast.”
Cultivators chatted with each other before the battle started. Some people were still pouring into the large stadium-like arena and the fighters weren’t there. The two were busy with something else for now.
Zhang Dong moved a quill on some parchment that after finishing glowed with a blue light. He hadn’t used something like this before but he knew what it was. It was a binding contract that would be sealed by their Qi signature.
Contracts like this didn’t see much value in this world. Most of the time they were invalidated by someone with more power. They were used by weaker cultivators though and with someone of a higher standing as a witness.
The Yinglong Pavilion was a strong faction that could act as someone like that. They had a storage area where they stored all of the contracts. In this city what they said was law so with proof of it the other sects could not complain.
What Zhang Dong was signing here was just an agreement of both parties. This was not a deathmatch and if an accident occurred they would need to pay a hefty sum to the other sect.
Zhang Dong wanted to laugh. The number of spirit stones he would need to pay wasn’t that high for any of the sides. For some reason, his side would need to pay more than the Silver Spear Sect if they lost their leader. There was little fear of killing if you just had enough spirit stones.
They both signed it and walked out. Zhang Dong wasn’t planning on killing his opponent even though he could afford the exchange. The price of the man’s life was equal to about one or two heaven grade treasures. This quite frankly wasn’t something too hard for him as with his crafting abode and the right materials he could craft weapons in bunches.
The two masters finally appeared on the stage. Chang Yongzheng was first, he floated to the large stage that was the size of several football fields. The people started cheering the moment they saw the old man with the white beard gently float down. He pulled out his famous silver spear which was an artifact that was handed down from generation to generation in his sect. It was also a high grade heavenly treasure that was always given to the acting sect leader.
“It’s master Chang Yongzheng!”
“He is looking ferocious as always!”
“That’s The legendary Saint Spear of legends, his opponent is done for!”
The people shouted out once more and the nascent soul master reacted by swishing his long robe sleeves at them. The moment he did the crown burst out in cheers even louder than before.
Zhang Dong arrived not long after, there was an announcer as always and he only came out when his name was mentioned. The crowd wasn’t as loud as before as they were more curious than excited about this man’s roots. Why was he here, how strong was he and why would he offend such a famous spear master?
The man was wearing a tight looking white robe with some strange metallic parts to it. His shoulders were covered and looked like they would be able to take some punishment. He pulled out his own weapon which was the sword that he previously used. It looked a lot less intricate than the glowing spear but the experts in the stands knew that it wasn’t behind it in terms of quality.
“If you bow down and show respect I will forget about your transgration, don’t throw away your future, boy.”
Chang Yongzheng said while brandishing his spear. The whole arena ground started rising into the air and was surrounded by a transparent bubble. This was a strong formation that would protect the weaker cultivators from the energy these two powerful elders would exude.
“I could say the same to you, if you bow down and show your respect, I will let you leave with your honor intact. I don’t enjoy bullying people weaker than myself, it would be wise for you to reconsider.”
Zhang Dong replied while his opponent’s forehead vein increased in size. These old masters were used to being put up on a pedestal. Everyone around them just nodded their heads and agreed with whatever they said. This wasn’t respect though, it was just plain fear. No one could go against a person like this, there would be no victory.
Due to this people like Chang Yongzheng were even worse than some of the young masters as they had no one keeping them in check. They mostly grew arrogant with old age as there wasn’t anyone to call them out if they made a wrong decision. The man here would soon have a rude awakening from his life of pride.
The man flourished his spear the moment the announcer gave them the signal to begin the battle. Zhang Dong raised his brow slightly as he noticed that the man was using a familiar skill. An electrical current gathered around him and the spear he was holding began crackling with lightning energy.
‘Interesting… a lesser dao of the storms?’
He wanted to chuckle as he finally met a person who was using this dao. Most people confused his greater dao of lightning with the lesser version. This would make the fight even easier than he expected. As someone with the knowledge of a higher tier dao he could predict the man’s moves even better.
“Take my attack if you dare! Lightning Tempest Spear First Form: Hundred Thousand Thunder Strikes!
The man shouted out his attack before thrusting forward. It was quite a mouthful and the wording explained this technique. It looked like thousands upon thousands of spear thrusts were coming his way. All of them were engulfed in lightning and wind energies. Aiming wasn’t even important as the attack covered almost all of the arena and was going right at him.
“Oh no, the elder is using that Lightning Tempest Spear art, his opponent will surely perish!”
“Serves him right for offending the sect leader!”
The youths from the Silver Spear sect were all there, their eyes sparkling as they had the honor of seeing their sect master’s spearmanship. They were sure to not blink in fear of not catching the master’s intricate moves.
Zhang Dong on the other hand exuded a small amount of aura and surrounded his sword with it. A runic pattern appeared on the blade shaft and he received the strike with his own. The sword movement looked slow and sluggish to the naked eye and it was going against a wave of multiple strikes. From what the people could tell, the white-haired man was done for.
But then something unexpected occurred. A resounding explosion of Qi followed by silence, the defensive formation buckled under the pressure but held out. What the audience saw was unfathomable, the weak looking blade that Zhang Dong thrust forward managed to intercept the spear right at its point.
The older cultivator was baffled by this result, no one had ever defended himself against his attack in this way. He had thrust out thousands of times in a matter of a second but his spear was caught. It was done by a feeble looking sword and the man performing the task didn’t look phased at all.
“Hundred thousand thrusts? Did you even get to five thousand with that?”
Zhang Dong smirked a bit, he wouldn’t just be ending the fight with one move. No, defeating this man too fast would only make people say that it was some kind of fluke. He needed the people to actually witness his might in action.