Chapter 400: The Worthy Heir
Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_
The thought of Li Shiming's embarrassment made Lie Jian giggle. There had been a secret organization created by General Li Feng to seek his successor after his death. However, after hundreds of years, no one had ever heard of anything from this organization. The group remained silent even when Li Shiming started to rise to power. House Li's embarrassment didn't stop there when House Ma rejected their marriage proposal. The recent series of events ought to have dealt a devastating blow to the reputation of House Li.
Although Lie Jian felt lighthearted after savoring the trying situation that House Li had to endure, he couldn't get the alluring shapes of Li Ruoer and Ma Xiaoru off his mind. Such a shame that one of them was already taken and deflowered. But, Li Ruoer was still single. Lie Jian decided to make a move before he lost the opportunity again.
Lie Jian knocked on his table, and a servant plodded in.
"Master."
"I want to know everything about Li Ruoer. Her favorite color, her hobbies, sports... You know what I mean."
"Yes, master."
Days of inactivity on the bed due to his injury and the thought of Li Ruoer had fanned the flame of bodily pleasure in Lie Jian. A beautiful young nurse happened to walk in right when the martian was about to find a way to relieve himself.
"Master, I have brought you the wine you had ordered."
This nurse was one of his entourage that he had brought to the moon from Mars. Usually, he wouldn't even spare a glance at such a low born girl. However, her appearance right then was rather convenient to quench Lie Jian's perverse thirst.
"Come closer." Lie Jian commanded.
The young nurse hesitated, but plodded toward the martian unwillingly nevertheless.
Lie Jian lurched at the young girl and dragged her onto his bed. The young girl sobbed; she was too scared to cry.
Three days later, the first semi-final match was about to start. At the end of the match, people would find out who was a better fighter between the Heir of House Li and the Dragon Warrior. The match was rich due to the drama between the two warriors. However, the drama didn't stop at their personal life, as rumors had started to spread that Wang Tong was the heir of the Blade Warrior.
It was believed that only the heir of the Blade Warrior could reach the full power of the Tactics of the Blade, and coincidentally, Wang Tong also used the Tactics of the Blade to its full intent.
Also, it had been believed that once the heir of the Blade Warrior revealed himself to the world, a genius warrior would also be born into house Dower, such as Patroclus. Although these theories held no more validity than children's bedtime tales, popularity had lent credence to the claim that Wang Tong was the next Blade Warrior.
The fact that Patroclus had ignored Li Shiming and challenged only Wang Tong meant that the Ivantian prince was more interested in the latter. If Wang Tong were not the next Blade Warrior, why would Patroclus, the heir of House Dower, the frenemy of the Blade Warrior, do that?
The speculations had cast a different light on the match between Wang Tong and Li Shiming. Many believed that the Blade Warrior and General Li Feng were the same people. If that were the case, then who would be the worthy successor, Wang Tong or Li Shiming?
All things considered, Li Shiming was not only General Li Feng's kinsman but also nearly perfect in most areas. On the other hand, Wang Tong had already gotten his foot in the door as he had mastered the Blade Warrior's Tactics of the Blade.
On the paper, the two seemed to be equally qualified as the heir, and therefore, the answer hinged upon the outcome of the match.
Based on a conservative estimate, there would be over one billion people tuning in while the match was on air. Although neither of the combatants had made a statement to clear the air on the rumors, people knew that their answer would be waiting for them at the end of the match.
"Someone is leaking information about our young master."
"Do you know who that is?"
"We are still investigating. It must be someone influential and powerful."
"Should we start our operation then?"
"Not now. We should wait for Grand master's order."
"I am afraid that would be too late."
"He should be fine right now. But, we need to find out the source of the rumors soon."
The voices faded away.
Truth be told, most people wouldn't give a dime about the heir of the Blade Warrior, neither did the tournament committee. However, the drama provided an excellent marketing gimmick.
After the MC announced Li Shiming's name, the heir of House Li strode onto the stage with confidence and purpose. Respect rose inside everyone's heart regardless of where they came from.
Li Shiming stood at the center of the stage quietly, as if he were holding a moment of silence for his ancestors and their glory, the same glory that he had sworn to bring House Li back to.
After a while, Li Shiming raised his arms into the air as a swell of cheers erupted from the audiences. Although the match was hosted on the home planet of the Dowers, the Ivantians knew that House Li was the dominating House of all great houses.
Before the cheers for House Li had subsided, Wang Tong appeared on the stage. Hearing the thunderous cheers, Wang Tong finally understood how much general Li Feng meant to the world even three hundred years after his passing.
Suddenly, an unexpected question occurred to Wang Tong: If he had become the next Blade Warrior, would he choose an outsider as his heir?
Wang Tong wholeheartedly agreed that Li Shiming was much better than him in many ways. Yet, the Blade Warrior had chosen him instead. The thought didn't scare Wang Tong as it would a couple years ago. But there and then, Wang Tong only felt a sense of responsibility and eagerness to get stronger to protect his loved ones and the world.
This match had been long overdue. 'Bring it on, Li Shiming!'
Li Shiming locked his eyes with the man he should have done away with while he was only a pathetic worm. Li Shiming had ignored him for too long. When he finally realized how big of a threat Wang Tong was, he had already lost his woman, as well as his right to inherit what was rightfully his.
Li Shiming gave Wang Tong an ugly smile, "It's a big day for both of us."
Both fighters' eyes lit up with eagerness to defeat their opponent. Li Shiming had made it clear that he knew all about Wang Tong's secrets, and today's match would be their showdown.
To Li Shiming, this could be the final hurdle he had to overcome in his life. Defeating Wang Tong would not only solve the problem at hand, but it would also prove that even Li Feng could make mistakes.
"Now, show me what you have learned." Li Shiming announced as his soul energy soared to level six in a blink.
Wang Tong mirrored his opponent's action and charged his soul energy to level six as well. Two streams of energy roiled in the air, clashing with each other. But, the audiences were unable to tell who held the advantage.
Both fighters shouted at the top of their lungs as they lunged at each other. Neither of the fighters held back their power in the bare-knuckle round.
As the dominating faction on earth, the birthplace of martial arts, House Li had a long tradition of martial training. Li Shiming's every move had been improved over hundreds of years, so that not even a breath was wasted.
"Incredible! Li Shiming used over ten different kinds of fist techniques, but they blended in with each other so perfectly."
The interpreter of the fight was a senior researcher called Zhang Zhongren. He had been and still was a die-hard supporter of House Li.
"Wang Tong's moves are also very interesting! They are not from any technique that I know of, but are extremely effective." The other interpreter, Rockefeller, announced.
"In a fight between high-level warriors, the basic training still matters. And at that, Li Shiming is much better than Wang Tong." Zhang Zhongren said with conviction.