Chapter 200: Chapter 200: Are You an Idiot?

DONG...

A bell tolled, and the disciples in the stands fell silent. On the ten Martial Arts Arenas, the referees took their positions at the sound.

"The competition begins now! Contestants number one and two, to the stage!" 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

As the referee’s voice fell, two disciples from each section stood and leaped onto the Martial Arts Arenas.

CLANG...

With the ringing of a gong, the competition officially began!

On Martial Arts Arena number eight, two slender men were clashing fiercely. Rings of visible Powerful Qi erupted from the space between their blows, kicking up faint clouds of dust.

Shen Haoran watched the two on the stage and couldn’t help but nod. ’Both of them, one with the Gold Attribute and one with the Earth Attribute, are at the level of Tier Two Spirit Generals. But from their performance, they seem much stronger than ordinary Tier Two Spirit Generals. Looks like the Five Elements Sect’s training is quite effective!’

The two were evenly matched, trading blows back and forth in a furious stalemate. It looked like it would take some time before a winner could be decided.

Watching the two fight so intensely on the stage, the surrounding spectator stands erupted with waves of cheers. A lively atmosphere filled the entire competition grounds.

Shen Haoran’s ranking was in the fifties, so it wouldn’t be his turn for a while. Utterly bored, he could only watch the matches, even though these fights held little meaning in his eyes.

"Hm?" Suddenly, Shen Haoran’s eyes lit up. Watching the two on stage, a slight smile touched his lips. He had noticed that the Earth Attribute disciple was setting a trap for his opponent.

Perhaps because they had been fighting for so long and he still hadn’t defeated his opponent, the Gold Attribute disciple was getting anxious. Seeing the Earth Attribute disciple reveal an opening, he didn’t stop to think and charged straight for it.

However, what awaited him was merely a trap. Just as the Gold Attribute disciple was about to land his attack, the Earth Attribute disciple changed his fist into a palm, clamped down on his opponent’s wrist, and kicked out at his abdomen.

Restrained, the Gold Attribute disciple had no way to dodge and could only take the blow head-on. Afterward, the injured disciple’s defense collapsed like a landslide, and he was quickly defeated by the Earth Attribute disciple.

’In a fight, you must remain calm no matter what. That Gold Attribute disciple committed a major taboo.’ Shen Haoran shook his head, critiquing inwardly.

The next few matches, however, were much more boring. Several were complete blowouts due to differences in strength; for instance, a Tier Two Spirit General disciple would run into a Tier Four Spirit General opponent, and the fight would be a total curb-stomp. This wasn’t because the Sect’s arrangements were flawed—sometimes, luck is part of one’s strength. Once you leave the Sect, it’s not as if all your opponents will be at your same tier. So, one could only blame those disciples for their bad luck.

Time ticked by, second by second. The Martial Arts Arenas were ablaze with battle, and fierce fights could be seen everywhere. The disciples in the audience were fired up with enthusiasm, but Shen Haoran was so bored watching that he started to doze off.

"Hey, you can actually fall asleep during this?" Just as Shen Haoran was drifting off, a voice as clear as a silver bell rang by his ear.

"Ruolan, what are you doing here?" Shen Haoran asked, looking at Shui Ruolan beside him.

"My rank is way at the end, so it won’t be my turn for a while. I thought I’d come see you!" Shui Ruolan shrugged and said casually.

"Same here. But it looks like it’s almost my turn," Shen Haoran murmured, looking around.

"Next match: Shen Haoran versus Xu Forest! Both contestants, to the stage!" The moment Shen Haoran finished speaking, his name was called from the stage.

Shen Haoran was taken aback, then stood up and stretched his numb body. "Finally, my turn!"

"Umm... let me give you a heads-up. Be careful with this guy," Shui Ruolan said to Shen Haoran with a strange expression after pondering for a moment.

"Hm? What do you mean?" Shen Haoran was confused.

"Hey! You, whatever-your-name-is-Haoran! Are you gonna fight or not?" Before Shui Ruolan could answer, a coarse shout came from the stage.

"You’ll find out in a bit. Go on, get up there!" Shui Ruolan gave a mysterious smile, apparently not intending to tell Shen Haoran the reason. Seeing this, Shen Haoran could only shake his head and walk onto the stage.

"So you’re the Sect Leader of that bullshit Yao Sect? You look like a pretty boy!" The moment Shen Haoran stood on the stage, the burly Xu Forest across from him started cursing.

Shen Haoran frowned as he looked at Xu Forest, who had started cursing the moment they met. He didn’t remember ever crossing paths with this man before.

"Tch. And here I thought you were so tough. Just a Tier Four Spirit General. *You* think you’re worthy of being a Sect Leader? How dare you reject me? Who the hell do you think you are? Let me tell you, even if you begged me to join your Yao Sect, I wouldn’t! I’ve started my own faction, the Mad Wolf Gang, and we’re dedicated to smashing up your Yao Sect’s operations!" Xu Forest said dismissively, pointing at Shen Haoran’s nose.

Hearing this, Shen Haoran froze. He turned to look at Shui Ruolan, and it seemed he finally understood what was going on.

’So Xu Forest must have wanted to join the Yao Sect but was rejected by Shui Ruolan and Su Xing. Even though he’s a Tier Five Spirit General, his character is clearly terrible. The Yao Sect always puts character first, so it’s perfectly normal that they’d reject him. And now this Xu Forest is venting all his anger on me, the hands-off Sect Leader!’

’No wonder Shui Ruolan warned me.’

"What, scared silent now? Let me tell you, don’t even think about begging me. My Mad Wolf Gang is already up and running! Your Yao Sect should just wait to be crushed by us! Come on, brothers of the Mad Wolf Gang, let’s show them our might!" Xu Forest shouted to the crowd below the stage.

Afterward, a dozen or so disciples stood up and howled in unison at Shen Haoran, "AWOOOO~"

"..."

After the "AWOOOO," the entire arena fell silent. Everyone stared at the dozen or so members of the Mad Wolf Gang, their mouths twitching uncontrollably. ’This is a goddamn competition, where did these morons come from?!’

"Haha, excellent!" Xu Forest roared with laughter, then looked at the stunned Shen Haoran and said, "See that? Don’t be scared stupid by our aura! If you kneel and beg for mercy now, I might consider letting you off!"

Seeing the outrageously arrogant Xu Forest, Shen Haoran shook his head and said to the referee, "Can the match begin now?"

The referee snapped out of his daze and said, "Y-Yes, you may. The match begins!"

WHOOSH!

The moment the referee finished speaking, Shen Haoran’s body vanished. Seeing this, Xu Forest’s pupils constricted. He couldn’t follow Shen Haoran’s movements at all.

The next moment, Shen Haoran’s figure appeared in front of Xu Forest.

"So noisy." A faint voice sounded by Xu Forest’s ear. The next moment, he felt a terrifying force slam into his stomach. His entire body shot away like a cannonball, crashing directly into the dozen Mad Wolf Gang disciples below the stage. Instantly, the group of them scattered like bowling pins...