Chapter 367 Dragon Warrior Tournament (Part-4)
"The winner is Xie Mei of Xianshu Sect"
"The winner is Sui Weisheng of Mt. Hua sect"
"The winner is Lu Wan of Star sect"
"The winner is Meng Tao of the Five Lakes sect"
"The winner is Zi Ling of the Kunlun sect"
"The winner is Yu Hao of the Iron Palm sect"
"The winner is Xian Li of Blue lotus sect"
"The winner is Wang Teng of the Wuji sect"
.
.
.
"The winner is Ai Qing of the Wuji sect"
After more than 26 matches, Mark finally got his turn around noon and he went onto the stage.
Just like in the first round, his opponent was once again a 5-circle realm Spirit Warrior. But, Gu Li wasn\'t considered a good matchup, well, according to others.
Yanmen sect is one of the major sects in the Kun Empire which is also known as the breeding ground of assassins. The sect only takes in those who have the talent to be an assassin.
Mark\'s opponent is an assassin who mastered the art of stealth. As soon as the battle began, Gu Li activated his skill and disappeared from everyone\'s vision. Not even tournament favorites like Sui Weisheng or Xie Mei could sense his presence. For one moment, it looked as if he teleported away.
People thought Mark ran into some trouble but little did they know that he never had any plans of fighting fairly.
As soon as his opponent went into stealth mode, he contacted Lan Ju using their telepathic connection and directly asked for Gu Li\'s position.
After getting what he needed, Mark once again used the same tactic he used in the earlier round.
The smoke grenade released thick smoke into the surroundings and blocked the vision of the assassin, forcing him to move away from his current spot.
However, as Mark already knows his position, he blindly charged forward in that direction and shot the warhead from his rocket launcher upon getting into 30-meter range.
*Boom*
The explosion returned for the second time with the first one used by Meng Tao against his opponent.
Since the opponent isn\'t an enemy, he wasn\'t hit directly. And due to his fast reflexes, despite getting caught in the blast radius, Gu Li wasn\'t as heavily injured as one would expect it to be. There are second-degree burns here and there over his body.
However, that doesn\'t mean he is in the game. According to the tournament rules, the moment his feet touch the ground, he loses.
When the warhead detonated, he was already near the edge of the battle platform. The blast threw him away out of the ring.
"The winner is Lu Zhen of the Kunlun sect"
The smoke cleared and the proctor declared the end of the battle with Mark winning the battle without putting much effort once again.
Upon coolly finishing the match, Mark turned around to walk toward the participants\' stands but it appeared that Assassin Gu Li doesn\'t intend to leave the arena, just yet.
Raising his head and looking toward the VIP section, he spoke loudly, "I ask the judges if you were willing to allow such heretic methods. What\'s the point of a tournament if there are cultivation techniques that aren\'t even involved in the first place?"
Mark halted his footsteps and turned around to spare a look at his defeated opponent. He furrowed his brows.
The others also looked at the assassin and then at Xie Zhong with the majority agreeing with his argument. The others (mostly belonged to 6-circle) felt like it is just a loser\'s babble.
Meanwhile, Gu Li continued, "Every participant here belonged to sects and came here from all over the continent. It\'s already unfair to allow a person from the material world into this competition specifically made for the cultivators belonging to the sects.
And on top of that, heretic unknown type of weapon was permitted to use in this competition. I refuse to accept this result."
"Hmpf, ignorant fool." Mark let out a snort in response to his opponent\'s outburst before Xie Zhong or his grand elders replied to him.
Feeling that an opportunity to promote his firearms knocked on his door, Mark took this chance and bothered himself to speak to his insignificant opponent.
"My firearms are officially treated as a new type of weapon in Phoenix Empire, Western Moon kingdom, and also Eastern Sun kingdom. Even your Kun Empire\'s royal family purchased five hundred units of my battle tanks.
That means, apart from Leon Empire, almost this whole continent acknowledges the so-called heretic unknown weapons. I said this many times to a lot of people and I will say the same to you. The future belongs to firearms.
Whether one wants to take the risky new path and rule the future world or stay on the same old path for a stable but mediocre future depends on one decision.
Don\'t try to paint it as evil just because your path is different and weak. If it is stronger than my path, then, you wouldn\'t have ended up as a loser."
After thoroughly scolding his opponent, Mark didn\'t bother to hear his reply and started returning to his seat.
Meanwhile, silence filled the whole arena for a moment before murmurings spread around. The reactions were quite mixed. Or one should say, he made several enemies with his earlier comments.
"The future belongs to firearms? Our path is weak? What bullshit is he spouting?"
"That guy is challenging everyone"
"Hmpf, let\'s see how long he will stay arrogant"
"Firearms were recognized in so many places? Ugh, I feel like I have lived like a frog in well"
"I wonder what those so-called battle tanks purchased by the imperial family"
"What a braggart. He will stop boasting after facing the stronger ones."
"I wonder whether I should try these firearms. They appeared quite strong from so far."
"Damn, he makes me angry but I can\'t do anything."
"A completely new path, huh! I feel like the world is about to change in the near future."
***
Once all the 32 battles were over, a 30-minute break was announced by the proctor before round 32 started.
Perhaps, Mark\'s statement displeased even the elders of the sect too. Or maybe, it increased their curiosity. By great coincidence, he was matched up against Meng Tao, who also used the same type of weapon.
So, the round-32 battle between Mark and Meng Tao is like the showdown between firearms.
Of course, that doesn\'t mean that spectators were curious about the result. Mark was clearly the favorite here. After all, Meng Tao is only at the peak stage of the 4-circle realm. The moment he gets caught up in the explosion, he would die for sure unless he had a defensive treasure.
Upon their names being called, both of them stepped onto the battle platform.
Each of them was given 1 minute of preparation and Meng Tao readily took out the rocket launcher, which was already loaded with the warhead in its barrel.
But, surprisingly, Mark didn\'t take out the same weapon and instead, takes out a different one, surprising everyone including his opponent.
Before the proctor announced the start of the battle, he waved his hand with a smile, "it\'s been a while, Pan Tao. Or should I call you Meng Tao, instead?"
Meng Tao was startled for a second before he politely replied, "I\'m honored that you remembered someone insignificant like me, Lord Lu."
Mark stared directly at his face for a few seconds and shook his head, "forget it. Nothing good comes out of it if I reveal your secret here. I won\'t even question how you acquire the weapon and its ammunition. However, I expect you to meet me in private later in the evening. I need some answers from that chimera of yours…"
Meng Tao was once again startled and took a step back with his secret being found out by his opponent. He then heard the voice of Qilin in his head, "It is not surprising, considering the fact that he is a heaven-defying being. I don\'t sense any hostility from him either. So, just calm down your nerves and focus on the battle."
Taking a deep breath, Meng Tao threw away all of those unnecessary thoughts and concentrated on Mark.
As for the weapon seller, he went on taking out a 4-foot stand and mounting the M134 minigun.
Pointing the gold-grade ether weapon at him, Mark spoke, "Alright, let\'s make a deal, Meng Tao. If I win, you will just have to honestly answer three questions of mine. If you managed to stay on the field for more than a minute, I will accept my loss and withdraw from the tournament. What do you say?"