All of a sudden, Shen Wang sensed his body feeling lighter. At once, he understood that the restriction on his Consolidated Equipment and Stored Skills was about to end!
He had held on for so long just for this chance, and though his Heavenly Energy was almost used up more than seventy percent, the opportunity had finally arrived. In his eyes, though Zhou Weiqing was currently in an advantageous position, but for a six-Jeweled stage Heavenly Jewel Master to continuously attack for so long, his Heavenly Energy should be drained as much or even more than his own. He might have been humiliated previously, but the chance for winning had come!
In fact, as Shen Wang felt the pressure upon him lessen, it was because all the lightning pearls attacking him had stopped for a moment. However, a temporary stop did not mean that they had disappeared.
The current Dragon Silencing Seal timing was one minute, and towards such a timing, how could Zhou Weiqing make a mistake?
Hope had just sparked in Shen Wang, but when he saw the sight before him, his heart sank in despair.
The halt of attacks from the lightning pearls was because they were actually gathering together, pressing close to each other. In that short period of time, another several hundred lightning pearls had coalesced into existence. This time, as compared to all the previous attacks, all the lightning pearls swarmed together as one, striking out at every single portion of his body at once in a final simultaneous strike.
Another massive explosion. Shen Wang’s body shuddered violently, and turned a burned charcoal black. Originally, the beautiful silver armour had been kept when he had released his Consolidated Equipment, and he hadn’t had the time to wear it back. Currently, his clothes were pretty much in shreds, and his beautiful locks of golden hair were all frizzled and burned. In the mass of explosions, he was blown back almost five metres before landing heavily on the ground.
Zhou Weiqing did not continue attacking, twirling the Dual Legendary Hammers in his hands before turning in a suave, smooth motion. Acting cool indeed! 1
Compared to Zhou Weiqing’s acting cool, currently Princess Cai Cai’s expression was very interesting. She was not vexed or depressed at all; she was not that shallow, and this minor setback was nothing in her eyes. Instead, what were in her eyes was pure shock. Indeed, utter shock.
Nine Jewels versus Six Jewels, yet it was as if he he did not have a chance at all, losing before he could even display his own strength. It was truly a tragic loss, not even able to force his opponent to take a single step. What kind of power gap was that?
Zhou Weiqing was feeling his own ‘Flying Lightning God Technique’ more and more, especially as he grew more familiar with using it in combat. Ever since he fought with Shangguan Xue’er, the more he liked the idea of focusing on training a Skill to the utmost. With his Six Ultimate Godly Light Formation, he could easily mimic any Skill and transmute energy between each Heavenly Energy Attribute. However, each and every Attribute has its own unique characteristics, and there are definitely differences in manipulating them well. In order to boost his current combat ability, to improve his current control, Zhou Weiqing decided to temporarily give up practicing his control of the other five Attributes while in the Six Ultimate Godly Light Formation, fully concentrating on the ‘Flying Lightning God Technique’.
In truth, he had already been on this path even before fighting against Shangguan Xue’er, but it had just affirmed his notions. After all, even if in the future he had more Heavenly Energy to start Fusing his own multiple-Attribute Skills, by training his control of the ‘Flying Lightning God Technique’, it would also help in his future control (as long as Lightning was part of the Fusion).
The silence was deafening. Perhaps more accurately, the entire audience was dumbfounded, especially the group of Fei Li officials who were staring with their jaws agape.
Zhou Weiqing walked slowly towards Shen Wang who was lying on the ground. At that moment, Cai Cai’s voice rang out urgently: “Commander Zhou, please spare him.”
Zhou Weiqing lifted his head to look at Cai Cai on the VIP stage before smiling as he said: “Your Highness, please do not worry. Since I have already agreed it is just a duel, I naturally will not kill him. Furthermore, I am still waiting for his apology. Tian’er.”
Instantly, Tian’er understood what he meant, and a faint gold light shimmered around her hands. From her seat to where Shen Wang was lying, it was at least forty yards away, but the gold light just flew across without any problems, landing accurately upon him. A thick divine aura formed a circle of light around Shen Wang’s body, and his unconscious body started twitching before he actually roused up.
Shen Wang was after all a nine-Jeweled Upper level Zong Stage Heavenly Jewel Master. Although his defenses had been breached and overwhelmed by the mass explosions of numerous lightning pearls, his inner muscles, bones were all sturdy, and his injuries were not too deep. It was just that his Heaenly Energy had all been used up, and he was unable to continue fighting any longer.
As soon as he woke up, Shen Wang immediately saw Zhou Weiqing standing right in front of him.
*Waah* Shen Wang vomited out a mouthful of blood; not because of any injury, but because he was totally ashamed and embarrassed, wishing a pit would open in the ground and swallow him up.
In front of his goddess that he secretly loved, in front of all those officials, even in front of so many of his subordinates… he had actually lost to Zhou Weiqing, a mere six-Jeweled Heavenly Jewel Master. More so, he had lost so terribly, his opponent not even moving a step before winning. The word ‘shame’ was not enough to describe his current feelings.
Zhou Weiqing did not say a word, instead pointing to the flag behind him before looking at Shen Wang. His meaning was clear – ‘You have lost, please fulfill your promise.’
Shen Wang grit his teeth, enduring the massive pain on his body as he slowly stood up, looking at Zhou Weiqing as his face twitched. Finally, he sighed, lifting his right hand, gathering the final remnants of his Heavenly Energy into his palm, and in a lightning strike his palm slammed towards his own head.
As the Vice Commander of the Royal Family Cavalry troop, he represented the honour and dignity of his own Fei Li Empire. If he were to kneel and kowtow to the Heavenly Bow Empire flag like in the bet, it would not just be a mere representation of himself, but the entire Fei Li Empire. As such, he would rather choose to die for his Empire than to kneel.
Right at that moment, Shen Wang’s body froze in place. His hand had already reached his head, but did not manage to land finally. He heard Zhou Weiqing laughing at the side before he said: “Bro Shen is a staunch man with strong morals indeed, a man of sentiment and emotions.”
“However, it is not necessary to die for your Empire. After all, our Heavenly Bow Empire is still a friendly ally of the Fei Li Empire, it was only because Bro Shen insulted my Empire earlier that I had no choice but to fight for honour. Regarding the bet, let us call it off, but I hope that Bro Shen can please choose your words carefully next time.” Zhou Weiqing said generously as he pulled Shen Wang’s hand away from his own head; at the same time, he used the Devour Skill to drain away the last bit of Heavenly Energy.
Shen Wang couldn’t help but clench his teeth as he looked at Zhou Weiqing’s smiling face. That fellow had acted as both the bad guy, then the good guy. Now, it even seemed as if he was the one who caused trouble, and Zhou Weiqing was the generous fellow who forgave him!
At this point, Cai Cai had already personally come down from the VIP Stand, leading the group of officials to quickly come before Zhou Weiqing. Currently, her expression resumed its usual calm; not only was she not angry, she had a look of gratitude on her face. Smiling gently at Zhou Weiqing, she said: “Many thanks to Commander Zhou for showing mercy. We have indeed lost this round, and I represent General Shen to apologise for his previous remarks to your Empire.” As she said that, she bowed slightly towards the Heavenly Bow Empire flag.
“Your Highness!” Shen Wang knelt down in a loud thudding sound before Cai Cai, his face filled with shame.
Cai Cai laughed heartily, supporting him up as she said: “General, your loss is not because of your own cultivation level. Please do not make light of your own life in the future, our Empire still needs to depend on General to defend us.”
Zhou Weiqing was standing opposite Cai Cai, and as he looked at this Princess, he couldn’t help but feel his heart grip tightly. With just a few simple words, Cai Cai had totally reversed the terrible situation that they had been in. Not only did she not lose any pride from this, she showed the generosity of an Empire, also sealing any other possible avenues for Zhou Weiqing to continue on those lines. More so, she had taken the opportunity to further affirm Shen Wang’s loyalty. It could be said that she had killed many birds with a single stone!
As expected, Shen Wang’s face was filled with gratitude, his gaze towards Cai Cai almost fanatic, as if he would be willing to die for her anytime.
Princess Cai Cai, she is truly formidable indeed! Zhou Weiqing couldn’t help but praise her in his heart, but also felt wary at the same time.
Shen Wang retreated to the side, and Cai Cai’s gaze naturally landed upon Zhou Weiqing as she said in praise: “I never expected that Commander Zhou would give me such a good surprise after more than a year. Today, we have been rash and hasty indeed. Well, would Commander Zhou be interested in making a bet with me?”
Zhou Weiqing started momentarily. All along, it had always been him asking others to bet with him, and this time, Cai Cai was actually the one to take the initiative to do so. Along with Cai Cai’s previous series of actions, he couldn’t help but be on the guard.
“Your Highness, what kind of bet are you looking to make?”
Cai Cai smiled faintly and said: “No matter the relationship between humans or between Empires, power has always been an important factor. How about our two Empires hold a simple friendly competition, five rounds, and whoever wins three rounds will be the victor. Just now, that would be considered the first round, and you have won. If in the end, the victor is the Heavenly Bow Empire, then I will immediately return to the Palace and request for His Majesty to receive your Empire’s diplomatic party with the highest honours. However, if we are lucky enough to win, then I would invite Commander Zhou to take the difficult task of inviting Princess Difuya to enter the Fei Li City together with me. Commander Zhou, what do you think?”
Cai Cai’s words were indeed skillful. On the surface, to the Heavenly Bow Empire, no matter winning or losing, there was no actual loss to them. If they won, they could even gain more honour, and even if they lost, it didn’t seem like any big loss. This bet fully displayed Cai Cai’s generosity and the grand display of the Fei Li Empire as one of the great Empires.
However, in truth, if they really lost this bet, then in this diplomatic visit and in the upcoming negotiations, the Heavenly Bow Empire would be at a big disadvantage. In such a case, no matter what Cai Cai was discussing with Zhou Weiqing, she would be able to play a leading role. At the same time, she was able to use this ‘three out of five’ competition to erase the dejected feelings that any of their side might be feeling, and seize the opportunity to suppress the Heavenly Bow Empire.
Zhou Weiqing asked impassively: “What, and how, would the next four rounds be then, Your Highness?”
Cai Cai laughed heartily and said: “Very simple, the current round’s losing side will propose the next round’s competing rules, so on so forth, until one side wins three.”
If not for the current subtle and tricky relations between both sides, Zhou Weiqing really wanted to give Cai Cai a big thumbs up. She was truly impressive! With just a few words, not only did she turn a disadvantageous situation into a strong opportunity for her side to gain the advantage, greatly lowering the victory gains that Zhou Weiqing had already won. This Princess Cai Cai was extraordinary indeed, no wonder she had risen to her status and rank from the rest of the Royal Family.
After a moment of thought, Zhou Weiqing nodded, Smiling at Cai Cai, he said: “Very well, as Your Highness says. Please set our next round topic then.”