Chapter Fifty-Three The Competition Begins

  It's already dawn.

  At that time, it was just when the family competition began.

  "Today is the day of our family's martial arts competition," Gu Fang De said with a light cough.

  "Twenty-five years ago, my family made a vow to transition from commerce to martial arts. Now, twenty-five years have passed and we have achieved some success in this endeavor. However, the road ahead is still long and arduous, requiring continued perseverance. Today, we hold this family martial arts competition to promote the spirit of martial arts and elevate our dedication to it."

  "In the family, 5,000 taels of silver were specially set aside as a reward fund. The first place winner received 4,000 taels of silver and the second place winner received 1,000 taels of silver."

  "This time, there were sixteen people participating in the family competition."

  "These sixteen people, first draw lots one on one, play eight games, that is the first round."

  "The winners of the eight-person draw will play one-on-one for four rounds, which is the second round."

  "The winners of the four-person draw will play each other in a best-of-two match, which is the third round."

  "The last two winners play each other in the final match to decide who is first, this is the fourth round."

  "There are four wheels."

  "While the judge for the martial arts competition was Wang, the county yamen's chief of police, who had a profound and high level of skill. Gu Fangde pointed to one side, where Wang, the chief of police, was standing. He had the strength of a sixth-level cultivator and had been in the county town for over ten years, so he was familiar with everyone and had a strong reputation. Who would dare not to obey him as the judge? Wang also politely declined several times, but ultimately jumped onto the stage to act as the judge."

  Next is the issue of drawing lots, and the drawing of lots was also presided over by Wang Duotou.

  Sixteen disciples of the ancient family jumped onto the stage to draw lots, looking at who their respective opponents were. The drawing was done in such a way that sixteen slips were written with one A, one B, two A, two B, three A, three B, four A, and four B. Those who drew the same number would fight together, for example, one A versus one B.

  At the time of drawing lots, most of Gu's disciples did not want to encounter Gu Momo and Gu Yu, these two characters are not easy to deal with.

  Gu Chao also drew a lottery ticket, what's his ranking? So his opponent is Er Yi, but he doesn't know who Er Yi is.

  The first match was between Team A and Team B.

  Yi Jia is Gu Qiaoqiao, Gu Qiaoqiao is a thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl, with an ordinary appearance and popularity that can't compare to Gu Momo. She joined the Bronze Level Sect Swallow Door, and she and Hou Er are considered master sister and brother. She entered the sect earlier than Hou Er, making her the master sister, while Hou Er is the master brother.

  Yi Yi was a Gu Lang, with well-developed muscles all over his body, dark and tanned from constant sun exposure. He belonged to the Qing Tong level sect, Ju Jing Men, which was located near the East Sea. As people say, "those who live by the mountains rely on the mountains for food, those who live by the water rely on the water for food", and naturally, those who live by the sea rely on the sea for food. However, Ju Jing Men didn't make a living from fishing or aquaculture, but rather from salt production. Everyone needs to eat salt, and it can only be found in the ocean. Although extracting salt from seawater is relatively simple - just evaporate the seawater under the sun - the salt business is extremely profitable because everyone needs it. Of course, a Qing Tong level sect like Ju Jing Men couldn't monopolize such a lucrative business; they only controlled a small part of it. The real profits were dominated by several white silver level sects near the coast, including the Tai Shan Sect.

  In this world, everyone needs money, a martial artist is not an immortal being.

  So behind every big business, there is always a shadow of martial arts.

  The strong get more, the weak get less.

  "The referee shouted: 'The first game, Yi Jia Gu Qiaoqiao versus Yi Yi Gu Lang.'"

  Gu Qiaoqiao took the lead in action, using a unique martial art technique called "Swallow Sword Method", this set of sword techniques was light and agile.

  While Gu Lang used the giant whale gate's first-rate martial skill, the Great Wave Sword Technique. This Great Wave Sword Technique, with its grand and powerful strokes, had an extremely fierce aura.

  These two people, one is nimble and the other is unrestrained.

  Boom!

  The two swords clashed, and Gu Qiaoqiao retreated to one side, while Gu Lang took a step forward. Both were at the mid-fourth layer of the Post-Heaven realm, with equivalent internal energy, but Gu Lang's internal energy was slightly thicker and his swordsmanship more powerful, so Gu Qiaoqiao couldn't gain the upper hand in the collision.

  Gu Qiaoqiao saw this and no longer clashed with Gu Lang, instead adopting a roaming attack, her sword moving lightly and swiftly, its light flashing continuously.

  Gu Lang wasn't encountering this kind of opponent for the first time, his knife skills were bold and powerful. Sometimes he couldn't avoid Gu Qiaoqiao's quick and agile attacks, so he didn't defend against her long knife's straight slash, wanting to force Gu Qiaoqiao to fight him head-on, no matter if they both got hurt. Gu Qiaoqiao naturally didn't want to end up with mutual destruction with Gu Lang, so she immediately retreated.

  Just as she retreated, Gu Lang gained more and more advantage. The two were originally evenly matched in strength, but Gu Lang was always daring to fight and slash, with a "we'll both be defeated" attitude, his knife skills were bold and unrestrained, making it harder for Gu Qiaoqiao to move around, until finally, with a loud crash, Gu Lang struck down Gu Qiaoqiao like a broken kite onto the arena.

  "The first round of the first battle, Gu Lang wins." Wang Tou declared the result of this battle.

  This first battle was not particularly exciting, it was just a rare fight between martial artists in Tao Fang County. The onlookers were shocked and thrilled, thinking it was extremely cool. This is what a battle between martial artists looks like, especially when Gu Lang showcases his strength, often resulting in both sides suffering heavy losses. His muscular physique is really handsome, and many girls screamed with delight, taking notice of him. I reckon after this battle, Gu Lang's blind dates will be non-stop.

  ……

  "The second battle, Class 2A vs Class 2B."

  Gu Chao suddenly jumped onto the stage, Gu Chao was indeed a second-rate master, Gu Chao stood on the stage with his back to the red copper long knife.

  Gu Chao stood on the stage without any tension.

  Such a scene is really hard to stump Gu Chao.

  When Gu Chao stepped onto the stage, there were three people who paid special attention to him.

  The first person was Gu Chao's birth mother, the third madam. The third madam was a bit nervous. Since she knew that Gu Chao had entered the Tai Shan Sect, she had been both happy and nervous. She was happy that her son had finally taken his first step into the world of martial arts, but she was also worried because the Jianghu was not an easy place to navigate, with too many vendettas and killings. However, after seeing Gu Chao resolutely embark on this path, she secretly thought to herself, "Since he has decided on this path, then let him continue down it." The third madam had never seen her son engage in combat before, and now she couldn't help but feel nervous.

  The second person is Hou Er, who has always been good friends with Gu Chao and even joined the Swallow Door under his suggestion. For Hou Er, Gu Chao is a brother, a very close one, and he shouted: "Gu Chao, go for it, you must win!"

  The third person is Tao Zhi County's daughter, Tao Ying. Although she didn't take a liking to Gu Chao during the blind date, now that he's on stage, she naturally pays extra attention to him. However, Tao Ying doesn't think Gu Chao can win because his information and data are too weak, making him someone not worthy of her consideration. How could he possibly win? Even if he wins by luck, it must be because his opponent is too weak.

  Gu Chao stood on the stage, quite calm and collected, waiting for his opponent Er Yi to ascend to the ring, without knowing who his opponent was.

  A young man jumped up from under the stage, this young man's hair was slightly white.

  Never thought that this time the first round opponent is him, Gucci.

  It turns out that Gu Chao and Gu Qi really have a deep grudge against each other.

  The birth mother of Gu Chao and the mother of Gu Qi were daughters of two feuding families in a town. The two families had always been at odds, and so were the two women. As a result, Gu Chao and Gu Qi never got along since childhood, often fighting with each other. However, the original Gu Chao was quite weak and couldn't beat Gu Qi, who had beaten him up multiple times.

  The relationship between Gu Chao and Gu Qi is not exactly that of sworn enemies, but it's also not much better than that.

  Two people meet, and their eyes turn red with tears.

  It's really a sigh of emotion, and my first opponent is Koji.

  Since it's this guy, I'll have to make a good showing of myself.

  Gu Chao muttered to himself, his hand already grasping the hilt of the crimson copper long knife.

  (The second update is sent, um, it's finished coding earlier than expected, since it's done early, I'll just update it early, continue to ask for recommendation votes, um, the updates are a bit slow now, accumulating energy for an explosive release, next Monday and Friday will have five updates without explanation.)