Chapter 504: The Top Ten

No one asked what Cheng Feng's current strength level was, because everyone was now grasshoppers on the same string.

During the Top Ten tournament, the others would inevitably try to open a breach starting from Cheng Feng.

The personnel were limited, and the others were basically unable to help much anymore.

The night passed without incident.

The next day, an autumn rain fell on Tianqi City; it was not heavy, falling thinly and densely for half the day, pressing down all the floating dust and the scent of blood in the city.

No one was practicing martial arts on the Martial Arts Arena in Lan Yuan anymore.

Liu Yu had an injured arm, and Huo Luan had a thick layer of fine cloth wrapped around her waist, hunching her body as she walked.

Gu Niangzi's shoulder was fixed with splints and supported by a cloth strip; that Black Jade Snake slid out from her cuff, coiled around her wrist, and flicked its tongue at people from time to time.

All three had gone to Huichun Hall in the city to see a doctor and had brought back several doses of medicinal decoction, the bitter scent of medicine drifting throughout the courtyard.

Cheng Feng was a doctor himself, after all, and saw that there were no errors in the prescriptions.

Cheng Feng brewed the medicine for them personally; during this period, being careful would prevent major mistakes.

He squatted alone in the kitchen, fanning the fire with a cattail-leaf fan, the smoke blackening half his face.

He did not say a word, and once it was brewed, he carried it to each person's room in coarse ceramic bowls.

"Hahaha, those who aren't injured are worked like oxen." Huo Luan leaned against the head of the bed, took the medicine bowl, blew on it, downed it in one gulp, and then bared her teeth and cursed,

"This damn weather, the wound is numb and painful; will it be fully healed by tomorrow?"

"It won't be fully healed." Liu Yu sat by the window flipping through an old book of battle formations, her left arm hanging in front of her chest, "That's why tomorrow will be even harder to fight."

Gu Niangzi did not drink the medicine; she placed the bowl on the table, dug several grass-green cordyceps out of a box, and chewed them in her mouth with a squeaking sound.

She mumbled while chewing: "Whether it's hard to fight is one thing, but if the opponent charges straight at Cheng Feng tomorrow from the start, what then?"

Cheng Feng happened to walk in with a bowl of century egg and lean meat porridge; hearing this, his footsteps paused, then he walked to the table and set the porridge down: "If they come for me, it's better than them coming for you."

"Do you think you're made of solid iron?" Gu Niangzi looked up at him, "You are tough, but what if they don't get close? If they use chains, use rope nets, use long poles to drag you away, what will you do?

No matter how great your strength is, if five people pull you together, can you still stand your ground?"

He was expressionless, even feeling a bit like laughing inside, and pulled up a stool to sit down.

Huo Luan and Liu Yu also looked over.

"They won't compete with you on who has a tougher body." Liu Yu closed the battle formation book, her voice slow, "Zhou Tieyi is a spear, and stabbing people is ineffective. The ones coming in the next round will definitely switch to a style that counters you.

A military formation match is not a street brawl; five people are five fingers. If they truly clench into a fist, no matter how tough you are alone, you will be pried apart."

"That's why I can't stand like a post." Cheng Feng said, "I will move. In the last round, I was a shield; in the next round, I can be a saber. Rather than waiting for them to surround me, it's better for me to charge and scatter their formation first."

Wang Ji did not know when she had walked to the doorway, leaning against the door frame to listen for a while.

She was dressed very plainly today, her hair only loosely tied up, and her complexion was better than yesterday. She swept a glance over the few of them and suddenly said: "The draw for the Top Ten tournament is out."

The few of them looked up at the same time.

"I am matched against the Cheng Wang Mansion of the Capital." Wang Ji threw a slip of paper folded into a square on the table, "Cheng Wang Zhao Chou and Ning Wang Zhao Huan are both collateral branches of the imperial family and have secret dealings with the Red Lotus Sect. This time, the Cheng Wang Mansion's team consists of five ruthless characters that Zhao Chou recruited from the Northwest horse gangs and deserters from the border army. Not a single one of them is easy to deal with."

"Does the Cheng Wang Mansion have to draw lots too? With their influence, why didn't they avoid it earlier?" Huo Luan asked curiously.

"Cheng Wang is different from the Lu Clan. He treats this competition as a business. Winning is best; if he can't win, it's no loss to cripple the people."

Wang Ji sneered, "Especially someone like me from the Zhennan Wangfu; if he could use the martial arts match to get rid of me, Cheng Wang would wake up laughing in his dreams."

Liu Yu picked up the slip of paper and glanced at it, her brows slightly furrowed: "The Cheng Wang Mansion won't hold back. There is someone in their team called 'Lock-Dragon', who specializes in using flying claws and iron chains, specifically to counter Martial Artists with Horizontal Training. Cheng Feng, you must be especially careful of this person tomorrow."

Cheng Feng nodded. Lock-Dragon.

This nickname was clearly chosen, aimed directly at someone of his "dragon-snake lineage."

"I'll stand in front of you tomorrow." Huo Luan put the medicine bowl down heavily, "Even if my waist falls off, I can still block a few hits for you."

"You'd better save it." Cheng Feng looked at her, "Injured like that, going up there is just throwing your life away. Tomorrow, the three of you stand behind me, and Wang Ji further back.

If they want to use iron chains to take me, let them get close. As long as I can tear open a gap, the rest will be easy to handle.

You have to know, I used a saber before."

Gu Niangzi snorted: "You plan to carry five people alone? You really think you're a dragon."

"It is five." Cheng Feng's voice was very flat, without any fluctuation, "But the ones who will actually fight me will be at most three. The other two are up to you. Liu Yu and Huo Luan don't need to fight head-on; as long as you pin down two on the flanks, I'll handle the rest."

"Then you must break those iron chains first." Liu Yu said, "The Lock-Dragon's flying claw is not ordinary iron; I heard it is forged from Cold Iron from the Far West, tougher than refined steel. No matter how hard your Horizontal Training is, if your joints and throat are entangled, you will still suffer."

"I won't let him entangle me." Cheng Feng stood up and walked to the door. The autumn rain was still falling; the courtyard was wet, and the water droplets from the eaves connected into lines, landing on the bluestone slabs and splashing up tiny water flowers.

He watched the rain for a while and suddenly turned his head: "I have an idea. When the match starts tomorrow, don't rush to move; I will be the first to charge out."

"Too risky." Wang Ji spoke up.

"It won't work without risk." Cheng Feng said, "Since they want to open a breach from me, I will give them the breach. Seeing me isolated, they will mostly likely pounce on me directly. If one pounces, I fight one; if two pounce, I drag two. As long as you take advantage of that gap to insert from the flanks, they will fall into chaos."

Wang Ji did not speak immediately. She looked at Cheng Feng, her gaze deep in the dim light. After a long while, she said slowly: "You are using yourself as bait."

"I was already bait." Cheng Feng smiled slightly, "Ever since the melee."

The next day, the sky cleared.

The Great Drill Ground had been washed clean by yesterday's autumn rain, the bluestone ground glowing with a deep cyan luster, as if it had been glazed.

The stands were packed with people, banners fluttering, even more lively than during the second round.

The odds at several gambling dens had been changed several times, and the match at the West Three Array Platform was the most hotly contested.

The betting odds for the Zhennan Wang Ji Team against the Cheng Wang Mansion team dropped from one-to-one to one-to-three and were still changing constantly.

Cheng Feng and the others arrived early. Huo Luan still had cloth bandages wrapped around her waist, and she was a bit stiff when walking, but her complexion was much better than yesterday.

Liu Yu's left arm was still in a sling, her Narrow Saber switched to her right hand. The splint on Gu Niangzi's shoulder had not been removed, but her fingers could already move.

Wang Ji walked at the very front, her expression as usual, showing not a hint of nervousness.

The people from the Cheng Wang Mansion had already arrived.

Five people stood on the west side of the Battle Platform, each one lean and tough.

The one in the lead was extremely tall, with narrow shoulders and long legs, standing there like an upright iron bar.

He held no ordinary weapon in his hands, only a coil of dark, heavy iron chain hanging behind his waist, with three short claws tied to the end of the chain, their tips gleaming with a faint blue light.

That was "Dragon Locker." When he looked at Cheng Feng, the corners of his mouth curled into a slight smile, as if he were looking at a black fish trapped in shallow water.

Cheng Feng ignored that gaze. He lowered his head to tighten his shoelaces, rolled his sleeves up to his forearms, and fastened his wrist guards securely.

Cheng Feng took the Steel Saber given by Wang Ji and stylishly spun it in a flourish.

"Today, watch me."

The referee lit the incense, and the sound of drums rang out.

"Begin the fight!"

Cheng Feng was the first to charge out.

His movement clearly caught the people of the Cheng Wang Mansion by surprise.

They had originally assumed Cheng Feng would defend, stall, and protect Wang Ji.

They had not expected this tough-as-nails fellow to crash toward the five of them himself.

Dragon Locker reacted the fastest; the iron chain behind his waist rattled with a shake, and the flying claws, like three black snakes, tore through the air to strike at Cheng Feng's face.