Chapter 834: Midnight Martial Contest: Testing the Edge (89)

Tao Ran gritted his teeth and said: "... In terms of martial strength, the General is indeed superior. But if the General thinks he can settle scores with our Dragon Master here, he need not be so optimistic. Relying on Chiming's foothold in the Alliance, do you really think you can do anything to us?"

"Just as I said at the outset. I will shoulder all the crimes... become the scapegoat. With the secrets I possess, the interrogation alone will take a very long time. In the end, through various exchanges of interest, I will certainly survive. You understand this better than I do, after all this is the very 'balancing' art you love to toy with."

Tao Ran struggled to rise from the ground: "Finally, I must warn the General... I heard that Hu Lei broke out of prison and rushed straight to the Competition Vessel; the blood‑soaked spectacle of the martial ceremony is easy to imagine. Perhaps before I'm sentenced, the Alliance's impeachment will give the General a headache."

Jing Yuan gave a faint smile and stepped beside him: "Regrettably, Mr. Tao Ran, today's Competition Vessel has only the Cloud Riders and no spectators. Moreover, just now, Hu Lei was beheaded under the Cloud Riders' assault."

The thin smile that Tao Ran had barely managed to coax onto his face vanished in an instant.

"Hehe... haha... hahahaha......"

Perhaps his guard was broken, perhaps he was mocking himself, Tao Ran suddenly threw his head back and laughed loudly. Jing Yuan merely gave him a cold glance and turned away indifferently.

——

Spies everywhere.

"Perhaps only at this moment does he realize the gap between himself and Jing Yuan?"

Lao Ai De let out a soft sigh. In his view, Tao Ran's nature is that of a conspirator lying dormant within Chiming, and the plot he painstakingly crafted was unraveled by Jing Yuan and several other Generals in just a few hours, leaving him to bear the cost...

"Chiming's foothold in the Alliance... does that mean Chiming wields greater influence within the Xianzhou Alliance?"

Although Yue Er also knew that the Xianzhou Alliance was a coalition of the foxfolk, the Xianzhou, and the Chiming tribes, the fact remains that Chiming and the foxfolk are not native to Xianzhou and joined later; she subconsciously believed that the Xianzhou dominate this Alliance.

"No, among the three tribes, Chiming should actually be the weakest in influence," Lao Ai De analyzed. "Within these tribes, only the Chiming cannot increase their numbers through reproduction. As time passes their population dwindles, and to gain influence they must have some Chiming clutch high‑level positions in the Alliance. The 'foothold' Tao Ran mentioned is probably that a considerable number of Chiming occupy the upper echelons, forming a tight group."

"Isn't that terrible?"

"No, if the Chiming were the sole dominant tribe that would indeed be awful, which is why I suspect the Marshal is also pursuing some kind of 'balance'—the foxfolk and the Xianzhou form similar blocs. Within the Alliance's upper ranks they may check and guard each other, yet also cooperate, like a triangular relationship that sustains a dynamic stability."

Lao Ai De looked up at the hysterically laughing Dragon Master and said coldly, "But if any one of those forces is missing, the balance will be shattered... perhaps that is the source of Dragon Master Tao Ran's confidence."

——

"…"

"And within the Dan Ding Si, Xing Zheng mourned someone..."

A camera sat on the stone chair, and Bai Lu, dressed up, dabbed at her tears, sobbing, "Wuwu... San Yue Xiaojie..."

"San Yue Qi... I never expected you to..."

"San Yue Xiaojie! My San Yue Xiaojie!"

San Yue Qi walked over from behind them with a blank stare: "I was just gone to the washroom for a moment; you all have everything set up, right? Xing, can you play some mortal games with the Dragon Girl?"

Xing: "Help! It's a fake corpse!"

"Hehe, having fun?"

Xing planted both hands on his hips: "Can't help it~ In this wolf‑hunting operation, General Feixiao gave me little room to act. If I were on the arena, one strike would bring down even ten Hu Lei."

"Your words are exactly what Master Yan Qing said. But now both he and Yun Li have been sent to the Dan Ding Si for enforced recuperation. Sigh, the least skilled swordsman I am has nothing to worry about; I must thank the two masters for shouldering tons of damage for me."

The two went to the spirit sand hoping to check on him, but they didn't see Yan Qing; instead they found Yun Li looking fine.

"Are the two masters doing okay now?"

Yun Li gave a faint smile: "Unfortunately, there's only one master here, but I'm fine."

——

Fu Li Lian's funeral.

"Wait...??"

"What kind of recovery speed is this? There shouldn't be any magic in the Dan Ding Si that heals wounds instantly."

Zan Yin stared at the lively, bouncing Yun Li, momentarily stunned, thinking he hadn't misread earlier—wasn't she just recently struck by a General's knee during the Moon‑Mad state?

That blow even sent her soaring into the air; an ordinary Xianzhou person would have to lie in the Dan Ding Si for ten days to half a month. Even with strong regeneration, they wouldn't heal instantly. After the Illusion Fog battle, Jing Yuan himself lay in the Dan Ding Si for half a month.

"I suspect that Xianzhou people can quickly mend their wounds after a simple sleep," Xiu Ta Er Ke guessed.

"If that's the case, why is Yan Qing still lying in the Dan Ding Si?" Fu Li Lian squinted, carefully examining Yun Li, "Is it that Zhu Ming of the Xianzhou has a special constitution? But since Yun Li can wield such strange strength, perhaps it's a unique talent of hers."

"And what about Jiao Qiu—does his survival not match the marvel of Yun Li's constitution?"

Recalling the pink‑furred fox who escaped death at Hu Lei's hands, Zan Yin truly thought he was the most absurd participant in this operation—drinking poison yet still surviving; without some bounty of divine protection, he wouldn't have believed it.

"Could the poison have merged with his blood, and Hu Lei's bleeding simply diluted the toxin inside him?"

"A person without blood dies quickly," Zan Yin sneered, "... but considering he's a foxfolk, their physiology... who can say for sure?"

——

"Yan Qing... ultimately couldn't hold on?"

San Yue Qi scolded, "Hey, watch your words! Don't curse my master!"

"His injuries aren't that severe... but a longer convalescence is still unavoidable. After all, he faced the fierce battle with Hu Lei and also with General Feixiao... cough, a brutal sparring of martial skills! His small frame couldn't have withstood it any longer."