Right at that moment, the giant axe facing Qian Shu suddenly disappeared, the the axe that was facing Zhao Hui also moved back. However, in the next instant, Xixi appeared in front of Zhao Hui, and at the same time, before Qian Shu could even breathe a sigh of relief, a massive spiked mace appeared before his eyes.
Having just been knocked back by the powerful blow, and still reeling from the shockwave, it was extremely difficult to dodge nimbly. In truth, the Skill that Xixi had unleashed through her axes had no offensive capabilities at all, but it was able to lower the temperature dramatically, causing their blood to freeze momentarily, slowing them down just a little.
A few more last ditch attempts at blocking, but at last the two unfortunate souls were once again sent off the stage ignominiously. The Heavenly Bow Battle Team had won with a great disparity of a three to zero score!
Zhou Weiqing sat in the rest house, greatly satisfied. Nodding to himself, he said: "Not only is Xixi extremely powerful, she is extremely intelligent and meticulous in fighting style too! The Stored Skill she chose might not have any offensive or destructive capabilities, but it is a perfect choice for her, a great counter against speed or agility type opponents. In the first place, with her own physical strength, her offense is already sufficiently strong. As long as she can control her opponent's speed, at least in the same level, not many will be able to defeat her."
Of course, a large part of Zhou Weiqing's satisfaction was also the excitement of winning several tens of millions of gold coins.
The audience couldn't help but stare in silence. Many of them had watched many years of the Heavenly Jewel Tournament, but it could be said that this pair of Ma Qun and Xixi and their fighting style was truly a fresh sight. Pure physical strength and a uniquely powerful armour. Yet, the effect was unbelievably good.
The other Battle Teams in their rest houses also glanced at them meaningfully. Of course, these Battle Teams who felt they were stronger did not place much importance on the Heavenly Bow Battle Team. Pure strength might seem extremely useful in a fight against the same level, but if they were to face a strength type Heavenly Jewel Master of greater cultivation level, they wouldn't be afraid of them. Furthermore, in most others' eyes, this was already the greatest ace of the Heavenly Bow Empire. As such, though they had won the battle seemingly easily, there wasn't much sensation caused around.
The rest of the fights all proceeded in a stable and methodical fashion. The Dan Dun Empire met with the Bai Da Empire in the first round, and the Bai Da Empire actually surrendered without fighting. It seemed like they were not even trying to hide the connection between their two Empires any longer. As for the other fights, most of them were won by the theorized stronger team. Each of the Empire's strength were laid out to the world, and it wasn't so easy for 'dark horses' to appear all the time.
When it was time for the last three fights, Zhou Weiqing stood up from the rest house, saying: "Let's go, it's time collect our winnings." The results of each match would be transferred to each betting station at first notice, and those who had won could go claim their winnings quickly. This was also to reduce too much crowding after the fight ended for the day.
On the VIP stand, Shangguan Longyin whispered in Shangguan Tianxin's ears: "Zhou Weiqing, that little brat, he has won a lot again. This round, he has won a few tens of millions of gold. He purposely increased the odds by betting on the Mi Ou Battle Team first, before placing a nine million gold bet in the last minute."
Shangguan Tianxin shook his head helplessly, saying: "That little brat, he has really gotten a taste for the betting scene huh! You keep watch on this matter, we can't let them come here every Heavenly Jewel Tournament and make off like bandits. Gifting him some money is no problem, but it can't be too much."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Shangguan Longyin agreed. However, his mouth also twitched in a faint smile, thinking to himself: To dare to come to the ZhongTian Empire and 'steal' money in such an outright fashion, this Zhou Weiqing is truly the only one.
The team split up and headed to their respective betting stations to collect their winnings, and they returned to the inn. Of course, not all of their bets won, perhaps even the majority of the smaller bets they placed losing. However, Zhou Weiqing's heavy bet on their own team had paid great dividends. At final count, they had bet thirty million gold coins and ended up with more than seventy million, almost reaching eighty million gold. This was even after the ZhongTian Empire had 'taxed' them on their winnings.
All in all, it had been a great day, and the only regret Zhou Weiqing had was that he still had not been able to see his beloved Bing'er.
With lifted spirits from their victory and the earnings in their pocket, the team had a large meal in their inn before grouping up in Zhou Weiqing's room once again. After all, this first day was just the beginning of the entire tournament.
"Boss… tomorrow our opponents will be the ZhongTian Battle Team… what is the plan?" Ma Qun asked curiously. Although he was eager to fight, he knew that they might possibly face the Shangguan Sisters. As such, he dared not volunteer to fight, as he knew that he could not face up against any of the Shangguan Sisters.
Towards the incoming fight, Zhou Weiqing was also at a loss. He did not really know how to face up against the ZhongTian Battle Team. The three Shangguan Sisters could be said to be the opponents that Zhou Weiqing did not wish to face most… facing them, how could he actually bear to take action! Furthermore, without using the Saint Energy, he did not have absolute confidence in defeating any of them. Of course, he couldn't possibly use the powerful Saint Energy to actually injure his own women right?
Tian'er looked at Zhou Weiqing's awkward and difficult expression, before smiling faintly, saying: "Little Fatty, you are far too concerned about the matter that you have overlooked the simplest things. Have you forgotten that every group has two Battle Teams that can qualify out of the preliminary stage right? Why do we definitely need to fight? As long as we can guarantee our advance to the next stage, everything will be fine. In truth, Yun Li's lot drawing might seem tough, but it is quite advantageous to us. By being in the same group as the ZhongTian Empire, if we both can advance to the next stage, in the top eight fights we will no longer need to face them. As for the finals, who knows what would happen then? In any case, don't you have confidence in defeating the Dan Dun Battle Team?"
Hearing her words, Zhou Weiqing's eyes lit up instantly. Indeed! He had been so focused on the fight with the ZhongTian Battle Team, so concerned about the Shangguan Sisters that he had totally missed the big picture. Why did they need to fight? As long as they beat the Dan Dun Battle Team, they would naturally advance together with the ZhongTian Battle Team!
This was a huge cave, extending so deep that one could not see the end with the naked eye. Strangely, there was a massive stalactite hanging from the roof of the cave, a weird blood-red colour. Below the cave, it was also a sea of blood red.
The thick scent of blood. The thick liquid that swirled around non-stop. If one looked with their eyes alone, they would never be able to know how deep the thick blood-like liquid went. Even the air around here seemed to have a red tinge to it.
Right in the center of the cave, there was a large, pitch black stone platform. It was not large at all, only about five metres long, but in the midst of all the red, the black was especially attention drawing.
Right smack in the center of that platform, there was another strange… black… consolidating into literally a black hole. The black hole had a diameter of about a meter, glowing a faint red in its surroundings. If one looked closely, they would discover the red glow was actually consolidated from the red in the air.
Currently, right in front of this black hole on the platform, stood a figure. The figure was dressed in long red robes, with crimson hair. Right above the demonic looking eyes, in the forehead, it had a red, crystalline jewel embedded. This person's features were simple, but there was an unspeakably strange feel to him, and one could not tell his age from just looks alone.
However, his eyes were glowing in a faint gold light, and his pupils were actually a mix of gold and red. Currently, he was staring right at the strange black hole in front of him, a look of respect on his face.
"My Lord, I sense that I am about to breakthrough. I will never forget how My Lord has taken care of me and trained me. Also, My Lord, your instructions have been carried out and should be complete before long."
he red clad man's voice was cold, and as he spoke, the red liquid around the stone platform actually rolled violently, rising to form patches of red flame… the entire scene was highly suspect, almost demonic.
"En. Very good, FenTian, you have done well. However, I still need much more blood essence. Once we gain that object, I'll see if that old fool can still imprison me. What you need to do now is to gather more blood into this Blood Grotto." A sudden voice rang out from the black hole. The voice was sharp, but one could not tell if it were male or female. However, as the voice rang out, all the red liquid in the blood grotto seemed to boil, and large patches of blood flame welled towards the black hole and was swallowed up.
"Yes, My Lord." The red clad man once again bowed respectfully to the waist.
"Hahahaha…" The piercing sound from the black hole suddenly burst out laughing. "Old Fool Feng Tian, do you really think you can seal me forever? Once I use your bloodline to destroy your Seal, I'll see how you still stand against me. At that time, I will colour this entire continent with blood."
The second day of the Heavenly Jewel Tournament had begun.
As the chief judge, Shangguan Longyin's expression was slightly overcast, and he came glancing over towards the Heavenly Bow Battle Team rest house.
Just last night, he had personally visited the Heavenly Bow Battle Team's inn to look for Zhou Weiqing, telling him that he could only bet on their own Heavenly Bow Battle Team, and not any other teams. Otherwise, the Heaven's Expanse Palace would confiscate all their earnings. When Shangguan Longyin told Zhou Weiqing that news, to his surprise Zhou Weiqing had just agreed without any protest. Clearly, he had already expected something like this to happen.
However, the reason why Shangguan Longyin's expression was so ugly was because in the first round of matches, the Heavenly Bow Battle Team had surrendered directly to the ZhongTian Battle Team, not even bothering to fight.
To any other person, this was something very normal. However, in Shangguan Longyin's eyes, this was a totally different thing. That little brat Zhou Weiqing, he was clearly still trying to act like a pig to eat the tiger! By surrendering without a fight, those who might have placed some importance on the Heavenly Bow Battle Team after yesterday's fight might just dismiss them again, and at least for a time, the future bets would not be placed on them. It looks like just a simple warning is not enough for that little fellow, we'll have to do some preventive measures.
Thinking up to this point, Shangguan Longyin went to have a simple discussion with Shangguan Tianxin, and got orders from him that from tomorrow onwards, no matter who the Heavenly Bow Battle Team faced, they would bet a hundred million gold coins on them.
No matter how intelligent he was, Zhou Weiqing was after all just a single youth, how could he win in such a battle of wits against the entire ZhongTian Empire? In the past, they had let him get away with it, but now Shangguan Tianxin knew that after this round of surrendering, he could no longer lose anymore. As such, with the one hundred million gold bet in advance, and the resulting other bets, one could just imagine the final odds for the Heavenly Bow Empire.