Chapter 82: Promise of Ten Years
By the time Xiao Chen woke up, the sun was high in the sky and it was already noon.
“I forced myself too much. I estimate that I am going to need three days of rest in order to fully recover. I have exhausted too much of my blood essence,” Xiao Chen got up and massaged his Taiyang Acupoint as he headed toward the gates of the Xiao Residence.
[TL notes: The Taiyang Acupoint is at the side of the forehead.]
When the two guards watching the gates saw Xiao Chen appear, they immediately ran over saying joyfully, “Second Young Master, you finally returned. The Clan head has been looking for you the whole morning. You better go to the great hall quickly.”
Xiao Chen was startled, They were looking for him for the whole morning... There must be something urgent. After saying his thanks, he rushed over to the great hall.
At this moment, most of the people had already gone, leaving only Xiao Qiang and Xiao Xiong behind. Xiao Chen immediately rushed over and said, “My apologies. I’m late.”
Xiao Xiong looked at Xiao Chen with doubt in his eyes, and asked, “Why is your complexion so poor? Where did you go, and what did you do last night? I heard that you were in Yulan’s room, and only came out very late.”
Xiao Qiang, who was standing beside him, looked at Xiao Chen with a stunned face. It was obvious he wanted an answer too. Xiao Chen’s current appearance looked as though he had performed a certain act. Furthermore, with his previous reputation, it was difficult for people to not think of that.
Xiao Chen felt ashamed in his heart and hurriedly explained, “First Elder, please do not misunderstand. Last night, after chatting with Yulan, I left immediately. The reason why my complexion is so poor is because something went wrong with my cultivation.”
“Never mind. That is not important. The reason why I called you here was to discuss the matter of the Promise of Ten Years’ duels.” Xiao Xiong saw that Xiao Chen wanted to continue to explain himself, thus, he interrupted him.
Seeing the First Elder’s expression, Xiao Chen really wanted to explain in detail the events of the previous night. However, since Xiao Xiong said that, he did not dare to carry on explaining.
Xiao Xiong continued, “You should be familiar with the rules of the Promise of Ten Years’ duels. The participants that were selected can no longer be changed. Xiao Jian and Xiao Yulan are unable to participate in the duels. If this is too much pressure for you, I will not force you to do this.”
“I am not just saying some words of formalities. Even if we lose Seven Horn Mountain, we can still get it back in the future. I hope you will consider carefully before you give me an answer. After all, you are my son,” Xiao Xiong’s words were sincere, and did not contain any hypocrisy.
Xiao Chen considered in his heart for awhile before saying, “I will not give up. Regardless of the situation, I must make an attempt.”
He had already made his decision in his heart. Regardless of the results of the Promise of Ten Years, he was planning to leave the Xiao Clan. if he left the Xiao Clan without doing anything, he would not feel at peace in his heart.
Xiao Xiong looked at Xiao Chen with a profound gaze before slowly saying, “Come with me. First Elder, please come along as well. It is time we used the wealth that the Xiao Clan has accumulated in the past few hundred years.”
Xiao Qiang’s heart trembled. He knew where they were going. The expression on his face turned solemn and respectful.
Xiao Chen followed the two of them, and travelled for quite a distance. Along the way, they used secret passages that were hidden behind objects and obstacles.
Xiao Chen had even been to some of these places before. He just never discovered the secret passages. It was a completely different world behind them. Finally, the two people in front stopped before the doors to an underground room.
Xiao Qiang and Xiao Xiong each took out a key part and combined them together to form a single key. They used this key to open the door to the underground room. Then, Xiao Chen followed both of them inside.
The underground room was actually a secret treasury. The harvests that the Xiao Clan obtained over the past hundreds of years were all stored here. There were Spirit Weapons, Secret Treasures, Battle Armors, Medicinal Pills, Martial Techniques... Everything that was needed could be found here.
Xiao Chen was shocked in his heart, he had not expected there to be such a large treasury underneath the Xiao Residence. The Spirit Weapons here were all Profound Ranked, the highest of which was Superior Grade. There were also many profound Ranked Martial Techniques, as well as many Grade 4 and Grade 5 Medicinal Pills.
However, Xiao Chen possessed the Lunar Shadow Saber ( considered to be a heavenly weapon), the Wooden Carving that was comparable to a high grade Secret Treasure, and the Martial Technique inheritance of the Thunder Emperor. To the other members of the Xiao Clan, the items in the treasury would cause them to go wild with joy. However, Xiao Chen was not very interested in them.
Xiao Xiong picked up a set of Battle Armor and said, “As for Martial Techniques and Spirit Weapons, you should not be lacking. This Profound Ranked Battle Armor is made from the soft skin of a Demonic Beast’s abdomen. In times of danger, this could save your life.”
Xiao Chen took the Battle Armor and looked it over. This Battle Armor was extremely thin; it was only a little thicker than normal clothing, and it would not hinder his movements when worn.
This is a pretty good item, Xiao Chen thought joyfully in his heart. It was difficult to purchase this kind of Battle Armor in the market, and it was also something that Xiao Chen needed.
“Alright, as for the other thing, they would probably not catch your attention,” Xiao Xiong paused for a while, looking at Xiao Chen before continuing, “Just simply choose a few items. Consider them your compensation.”
Xiao Chen did not reject, and casually selected a few items. After he wore the Battle Armor on his body, he left the place.
Six days of time went by quickly, and the duels of the Promise of Ten Years were finally officially starting.
In the past six days, Xiao Chen researched the Rushing Thunder Saber Technique. Most of his current Martial Techniques were learned as a result of the Battle Sage Origin’s Changing Character Formula. It was difficult for him to comprehend the essence behind them.
However, he had the complete manual of the Rushing Thunder Saber Technique. Of course, he had to do his best to learn everything within it with the remaining time available, especially the Rushing Thunder Third Chain Chop; its might was close to that of an Earth Ranked Martial Technique.
Just as the sky turned bright, Xiao Chen quickly got up. The Xiao Clan’s people were already gathered at the entrance. When Xiao Xiong saw that Xiao Chen arrived, he immediately brought the group to depart for Cultivator's Plaza.
The annual Martial Competition of Mohe City had already started three days ago. However, everyone knew that the true highlight was the Promise of Ten Years, the battle of Mohe City’s three great clan.
There was a huge crowd in the plaza, and the people of the three great clans moved closely to each other as they made their way through the crowds. On the platform in the plaza three pavilions were constructed specially for the three great clans; they were able to see the entire plaza from it.
“The Xiao Clan’s people are here. Wasn’t it said that two of their participants were injured and cannot participate? Why do they still dare to show their faces here?”
“Look at the dark expressions on their faces. Looks like the news of two of their participants being injured is true. Are they just here to try their luck?”
“You know what? Xiao Chen is not injured, so the Xiao Clan still has hope.”
“Xiao Chen? No matter how strong he is, he is not able to stand against the tactic of several persons taking turns in fighting him to tire him out. I think the Xiao Clan is bound to lose.”
The varied discussions of the crowd all entered into the ears of the Xiao Clan’s people, causing their dark expression to turn even more sullen.
“Brother Xiao, it’s been a long time. You finally came out of isolation!” Just as the Xiao Clan’s people were about to ascend to their pavilion, the Zhang Clan Head and Tang Clan Head walked over.
Xiao Xiong smiled indifferently, “Indeed, it’s been a long time. Tang Tian, the alliance of the Zhang Clan and the Leng Clan was within my expectations. I did not expect that you would be involved as well.”
Tang Tian smiled coldly, “We can’t let Seven Horn Mountain remain monopolized by an outsider clan.”
The Zhang Clan Head opened his mouth to speak, “Xiao Xiong, we are not here for a casual chit chat. We are here to discuss something with you. We have a suggestion for you to consider.”
“How about we resolve the hundreds of years of grudges between our clans? As long as Xiao Chen can defeat Tang Feng and Zhang He today, then the remaining four people will not come out to battle. We will consider it as the Xiao Clan’s victory.”
Xiao Xiong’s brain worked very hard as he thought about this. The Zhang Clan Head meant that he would send only two people to battle with Xiao Chen, but the condition was that both the battles had to occur today.
Their intentions were clear. They wanted to use the tactics of exhausting Xiao Chen, to not give him the opportunity to rest. However, this meant that he could fight four battles less.
When Xiao Chen heard this suggestion, his eyes brightened and joy filled his heart. He did not have many Martial Techniques, and if he were to fight too many battles it would become apparent to his opponents. This fit Xiao Chen’s intentions perfectly.
Seeing Xiao Chen nodding his head in the dark, Xiao Xiong said, “What a joke! You think that I would agree to this? After getting the Leng Clan to injure our Xiao Clan’s participants, you come up and give me such a suggestion? Do you think that I, Xiao Xiong, am a fool?”
Tang Tian smiled, “Xiao Xiong, do you think you have any other choice? This is the best scenario for you already. From six battles being reduced to two battles, I don’t see any need for you to reject this.”
The Zhang Clan head said, “Brother Xiao, I have already sent for someone to call the City Lord over, so think about this carefully.”
After a few moments, Dugu Feng arrived, and when he saw Xiao Xiong he hurriedly said, “Congratulations Brother Xiao on coming out from your secluded training. I heard that two of your participants are injured, is this true?”
Without waiting for Xiao Xiong to reply, Tang Tian put forth his suggestion to Dugu Feng. After Dugu Feng heard the suggestion, he muttered to Xiao Xiong, “According to the rules of the competition, once the participants are selected they cannot be changed. Xiao Xiong, if two of your participants truly cannot participate, how about you accept this suggestion?”
Finally, under Dugu Feng’s suggestion, Xiao Xiong was ‘pressured’ into accepting this suggestion. Xiao Chen, who was standing at the stand, wiped the sweat off his forehead. The acting skills of Xiao Xiong were too realistic, even he was almost fooled.
Dugu Feng stood on the top of the tallest arena in Cultivator's Plaza. Facing the crowd he said, “Today is the final day of the Martial Competition. I believe that most of you are here for the competition of the Promise of Ten Years. Now, I would like to announce something.”
“Because two of the Xiao Clan’s participants were injured and cannot take part in the competition, after some discussion, the three clans decided to change the rules at the last minute. As long as Xiao Chen of the Xiao Clan can consecutively defeat Zhang He and Tang Feng, the Xiao Clan will be considered to have won the duels. As long as they lose just one of the matches, they will lose their rights to Seven Horn Mountain.”
“To think that the news of two participants of the Xiao Clan being unable to participate is true,” someone below said in shock.
“Haha, this alteration may seem advantageous to the Xiao Clan, but actually they are planning to use the tactic of tiring out Xiao Chen. Looks like the Tang Clan and Zhang Clan have formed an alliance.”
“Indeed, I heard that the Xiao Clan suffered from the attack of some experts in the middle of the night. I suspect that the two clans were the culprits behind that.”
“How stupid are you? Why is there even a need to suspect it? There is no need to think about it; it was definitely done by the two clans.”
Endless discussions and arguments entered into Xiao Chen’s ears, but his heart remained as calm as still water as he slowly walked past the crowd and headed towards the arena. The shadow of the Tianwu Emperor statue was cast over the arena, giving the arena an additional solemn feel.
I have to win today’s battle. I will not become a stepping stone for others. After ten thousand years, I will be like the Tianwu Emperor, standing tall and towering over others without falling, Xiao Chen muttered to himself in his heart.
When he neared the arena, Xiao Chen pushed off gently with his feet and landed stably on the arena. As he did this, his eyes were resolute. In the other corner, Zhang He had been waiting for a while. His gaze was cold.
The first battle of the Promise of Ten Years officially begins!