Chapter 779: Cold Moon Tide Takes the Field! Chairman Leng Cang's Little Scheme!

"Shu'er takes the first move, Xiao Xi takes the second. You have one minute to prepare."

Chairman Leng Cang, suspended in mid-air, gave a great wave of his hand.

Rumble rumble rumble~~~

The ground trembled, and a city spanning a full 20 square kilometers abruptly rose up within this black space.

Neon lights, towering buildings, broad streets—apart from the absence of citizens, it was indistinguishable from a real city.

And this was to be the arena for the upcoming match.

Eighth-rank Grand Masters are simply too destructive; an arena of a few hundred meters wouldn't allow them to fight at all.

Only a simulated city like this could let an eighth-rank Master Zongshi bring out their full strength.

Shwa shwa shwa—

At the foremost part of the city, in mid-air, three floating islands—one large, two small—materialized out of thin air.

Chairman Leng Cang and the spectators took their seats on the central floating island; the islands to the left and right were occupied by the entourages of Cold Moon Tide and Cold Shu, respectively.

"Sister! That's amazing!"

The moment Cold Moon Tide returned, she was swept up in a hug by Cold Moon Cicada.

"Don't get too excited—this is only the beginning."

Cold Moon Tide shook her head.

Though she said that, the corners of her crimson lips couldn't help but curl up slightly.

"Hmph! That's only the first move; it has no real impact on us."

Cold Shu, on the other floating island, swept a glance toward Cold Moon Tide's side.

He then withdrew his gaze and said to the somewhat short and stocky middle-aged man among them:

"Master Qiu, you'll take the field in the first round."

Qiu Ran, a lower-tier eighth-rank Master Zongshi, was the strongest among the lower-tier eighth-ranks on their side.

In the first bout, they had the disadvantage of moving first; sending in too strong a mid-tier eighth-rank would make it easy for Cold Moon Tide's lower-tier eighth-rank to trap them.

Yet if they sent in too weak a lower-tier eighth-rank, victory wasn't guaranteed either.

Putting Qiu Ran on the field was the best choice.

"Understood."

Qiu Ran naturally had no objection and stepped straight out from among the group.

"For the first round, the Young Master's side has chosen Qiu Ran to take the field!

Young Lady, your side may now decide who will fight in the first round."

At the very front of the central island, a peak seventh-rank commentator had already been arranged—and was also serving as referee.

"Qiu Ran?"

Cold Moon Tide's brows knit slightly.

Ghost-purple flames flickered faintly across the surface of her skin, and the crimson Red Practice Sword had already begun circling her slender frame:

"I'll take the first bout."

The safest plan for the first bout would have been to send in the mid-tier eighth-rank Zhao Dehan, or Xu Jingming.

But once those two fought, only one upper-tier eighth-rank and two mid-tier eighth-ranks would remain.

With no one left to step up, they would inevitably lose in the end.

Therefore, this first bout had to be hers—and she had to win it!

Otherwise, the odds of winning the rest would be extremely low.

"Understood." Xu Jingming was clearly aware of this as well and gave a slight nod.

Cold Moon Tide, her long legs wrapped in a tight combat suit, stepped forward to the very edge of the floating island.

"Oh? The Young Lady herself is taking the field? It seems this first bout is going to be quite spectacular."

The referee's slightly surprised voice rang out.

"Mm, Xiao Xi's decision here is a good one."

At the foremost seat of the central island, Chairman Leng Cang couldn't help but give a slight nod.

Just then, a figure teleported abruptly into the seat beside him.

It was a man, dressed in a black uniform, with a long scar across his face.

The man gave off a thoroughly iron-blooded, hard-boiled air.

"You came? I thought you wouldn't show up."

Chairman Leng Cang took a sip of tea from his seat and said unhurriedly.

This man's name was Wang Tai. Back when Chairman Leng Cang's level was still low, they had been in the same adventurer squad.

Together they had crossed wilderness zones, gone to the front-line battlefield, and faced life-and-death many times.

Even the founding of the Spirit Fox Guild had had his hand in it; it was just a shame that later Wang Tai had gone to the Great Xia military and no longer stayed by his side.

Still, Wang Tai had done well for himself: in the military he commanded an entire legion, and his own level had reached peak eighth-rank.

Though his legion wasn't as famous as the Black Dragon Legion, it was still extremely powerful.

"I've already applied for an SSS-grade, ninth-rank healing pill on your behalf.

Given my military merits, there shouldn't be any problem this time."

Wang Tai said in a low voice.

"Cut it out—do you think I don't know the efficiency of the Great Xia military?

By the time your ninth-rank pill arrives, I'll have been dead and buried long ago."

Chairman Leng Cang couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"No way around it. Ninth-grade healing pills are useful even to ninth-rankers, so I can't just get my hands on them directly either — there's a lot of red tape involved."

Wang Tai shook his head, then glanced at the two islands on either side:

"So those are your two candidate successors? Leng Yuexi and Leng Shu?"

"Not bad, right?" Chairman Leng Cang grinned.

"Leng Shu — over fifty years old, eighth-rank mid-tier. His talent can only be called decent, not all that great."

Wang Tai said thoughtfully, "But your daughter Leng Yuexi, on the other hand, has shocking natural gifts.

At only thirty-two she's already broken through to seventh-rank mid-tier, and she's an S-rank elemental fire-type esper too."

"Haha, I think so too."

Chairman Leng Cang laughed heartily. "Shu'er's future strength is pretty much set — even breaking through to eighth-rank upper-tier would be lucky.

But Xiao Xi is different. Eighth-rank Master Zongshi is a certainty for her, and she might even be able to charge at ninth-rank Martial Saint!"

As he spoke, a glint of fervor had already appeared in Chairman Leng Cang's eyes.

After he died.

If Leng Shu were the successor, the Spirit Fox Guild would very likely just stay like this forever.

But if Leng Yuexi were the successor, the Spirit Fox Guild would very likely rise to the next level!

"Then why don't you just pick your daughter Leng Yuexi as successor directly? Why hold a competition?"

Wang Tai said, somewhat puzzled.

"It's not that simple."

Chairman Leng Cang shook his head. "Shu'er entered eighth-rank mid-tier four or five years ago.

He's won over quite a few of the guild's elders. If I suddenly named Xiao Xi as successor, he'd definitely be unhappy.

It might even cause the Spirit Fox Guild to split."

With this competition, at least it gives both sides a chance to compete.

As for who wins and who loses, that's up to them."

Of course, he, who favored Leng Yuexi, wasn't giving no chances at all.

No matter which of those two orbs of light Leng Yuexi had chosen just now, both would have bloomed with the backup white radiance.

"Fair enough. Leng Shu has the momentum, hard to deal with indeed." Wang Tai nodded.

He knew his old friend very well.

The Spirit Fox Guild was his life's work, so naturally he didn't want it destroyed after his death.

"Oh, isn't that Xu Jingming? What is he doing here?"

At that moment, Wang Tai noticed Xu Jingming on the left island and said, surprised.

As a big shot in the military, he naturally knew this famous figure of Great Xia by reputation.

"My daughter called him over."

Chairman Leng Cang said, a touch proudly. "He'll also be helping out in this competition."

Xu Jingming! Blue Star's number one prodigy — goodness knows how many factions want to cozy up to him.

Yet his own daughter had called him over; he was extremely proud of that.

"I see."

Wang Tai nodded in realization, then said with a smile: "Come to think of it, I may actually get a chance to work with him later."