The Geared Immortal

Chapter 643

(Unedited)

…

The rule of the fist, that's what drives the cultivators in the town of Vermillion Gem to improving themselves. Today is the day that the clan and school competition would begin. And people are already flocking in the streets to watch the annual event.

For the previous years, the contest is solely dominated by two clans, the Xian clan, and the Yu clan. The top three people dominating the stage are Mengyao Xian, Ling Hu Yu, and Lihua Xian.

And now, this year there are many who have prepared and have improved their cultivation to battle against each other. And this event is what the young cultivators of the town are waiting for.

As Shin Jiao blends with the crowd, he stood on the side with interest. This is because he suddenly feels the same aura emanating from some of the young people standing on the stage. Suddenly, someone approached him and patted his shoulder.

"Hey, you're Jin Yong's friend, right?" Ling Hu Yu asked while he stood beside Shin Jiao.

"Yes, and you're… his cousin."

"Haha… Yeah, oh… do you know where my cousin is? I've been really worried that something might have happened to him and his family."

"Umm… They are doing fine, don't worry."

"Really?!" Ling Hu Yu's expression immediately changes into jubilation.

These past few days he was really worried. His family is being pressured by the Si clan. They wanted to find Jin Tong and family, and they threatened the Yu family that they would not be able to supply any alchemical products if they did not surrender them.

Actually, the Yu family did not fold on this threat. However, they knew that it would affect their business, so they arrive at a consensus that the Yu family will not interrupt with the matter of Jin Tong and his family.

And this decision pissed off Ling Hu Yu. He wanted to protect his cousin but is unable to. He feels dejected and wanted to vent, but he couldn't. And so he decided to look around and maybe rely on his luck.

Who would have known that he would see someone familiar in the streets?

"Then… can you… can you lead me to them?" Ling Hu Yu asked with a bit of an awkward expression.

He knew that he did not do anything for his cousin and that he could not do anything at this moment. He just wanted to see that they are doing okay.

"Young master Ling, it would be better if you do not. As you can see, you are being followed…" Shin Jiao said nonchalantly.

With his words, the expression of Ling Hu Yu change. He knew that everything is not simple and what this friend of Jin Tong is saying is correct.

"Just be rest assured that they are doing fine."

The conversation of the two looks nonchalant as Shin Jiao did not face Ling Hu Yu while talking. His gaze is directed towards a couple of platforms ahead of them.

"Okay, I'll be going then. Thank you… Hey, vouch for me, okay?" Ling Hu Yu said while patting Shin Jiao's shoulder with a wide grin on his face.

Shin Jiao shifted his gaze and nodded his head. In fact, he is here to make sure that nothing will happen in this contest. Jin Tong asked him for a favor and he needed to investigate something, so he decided to see what is going on.

Not long later, a large group of people wearing elegant clothing began walking towards one of the seven high platforms in the area.

Their dark blue robes and the large sword insignia on their robe look imposing. With their appearance, the public immediately began to clamor.

"That's the Xian clan… young master Mengyao is as impressive as ever."

"Hihi… and look as the most beautiful goddess of Vermillion Gem, Miss Lihua… She truly is the goddess of my heart."

"I agree…"

"Miss Lihua! I love you!" shouted one of the females in the crowd.

With her instigation, the rest of the avid fans of Lihua Xian also shouted their feelings for her. And created a huge commotion which made Lihua Xian look at the crowd and wave her hand. And when she did that, everyone immediately erupted in cheers.

"Little sister, you are as famous as ever." Mengyao Xian said as his cold expression suddenly turned into a charming smile.

When those female admirers of his in the crowd saw this, they immediately sigh in delight.

"Young master Mengyao, I love you! Marry me!" shouted one of the daring girls.

This made everyone erupt once again in jubilation and cheers.

The crowd continues this as they all cheer for their favorite young master in every clan participating in the contest.

Even Ling Hu Yu received a lot of praise from the young ladies and young males in the crowd which made him feel happy. He seems to have forgotten his worries.

"It seems that I am worrying for nothing." Shin Jiao muttered.

Suddenly his attention was focused on the figures of some of the young people on the platforms. Around fifteen of them are emitting the same signature aura. It is a very strong aura, but Shin Jiao can feel the same dangerous premonition he had with them.

"Those people and those auras… This seems strange, something is wrong…" Shin Jiao mules as he watches them from afar.

However, no matter what he could not think of anything that is dangerous. They are all in the gold core realm, so he feels that they pose no threat to him. Even those infant soul realm cultivators in the area did not pose any threat towards him, so he could not understand where is this eerie feeling coming from?

The tournament began after an old man's long speech about the tradition of the town. This type of contest would tamper with the body and strength of the young cultivators. They are only going to use their own fist without any weapons.

The rule is that no killing moves are permitted. And the referee present would decide the match.

And soon the small clans under the seven main clans and school began to clash.

Although these people are only using their fist, the scene in front of Shin Jiao could still be considered as very bloody. It's like watching an MMA match but more brutal as he could see someone breaking bones, sending their opponent fly with one move, and Qi projectiles. It was a truly magnificent sight for someone who knew how to fight.

He is already aware of how the people in the cultivation land fight. Due to the presence of Qi and mana, they did not utilize close-quarter combat frequently and many preferred to use weapons. Hence the scene, though deadly, it is not life-threatening.

After a long bout, the only remaining young people on the stage are numbering up to 14.

Shin Jiao could see that Ling Hu Yu seems unharmed. In fact, he has a look of confidence and a bit of discontent in his eyes, and Shin Jiao knew why.

As someone who wanted to fight a stronger opponent, Ling Hu Yu did not even break a sweat when defeating his opponent. Hence he feels that the contest is not what he thought it would be. However, Ling Hu Yu also knew that the contest is not yet over. Hence there is that small tinge of expectation as his gaze sweep through the rest of the 13 young people with him.

"People of Vermillion Gem… I present to you, the top 14 contestants!" shouted the emcee of the event.

Then a loud cheer erupted as everyone in the crowd clapped their hands.

This is the most waited part of the event for everybody as they already saw their favorite fighters standing on the stage.

Then not long later after a draw of lots, the names of the 7 pairs of dueling fighters were displayed on an overhead board.

However, right at this moment, there was a sudden change in the rules.

"For the first time in the history of our town. We are going to choose the strongest fighter amongst young people. And to do that, we will be permitting the use of weapons…" shouted the emcee.

When the people heard this, everyone was a bit shocked. However, they also had expectations in their eyes. This is because now they could see the full ability of the young fighters which they idolize.

When this announcement was said, Shin Jiao's brow suddenly furrows. He knew that something is up and so as someone who has experienced a lot already, he immediately became cautious.

Shin Jiao change his location and suddenly disappear from where he stood. The people monitoring him immediately went into a panic. They didn't know what happened as all they saw was Shin Jiao's afterimage vanishing from their sight.

"Damn it! We've been had. That person knew that we are watching him." said one of the men in the shadows.

Many immediately appear from where Shin Jiao was standing before as they began to look around the streets. However, they found no trace of him.

Above one of the roofs in a secluded angle, Shin Jiao is calmly squatting with a figure of a man lying unconscious beside him.

Since these people didn't have any killing intent in them, he didn't kill the guy and just render him unconscious. With his expertise and vast experience in practicing medicine in the 'prison land', Shin Jiao easily control's the man's body.

He then copied the clothes of the man using his camouflage armor. And now he peeks from his spot while looking like that person. From where he stood he could clearly see the stage and the other people in the shadows.

As he observed, he suddenly noticed that someone gave Mengyai Xian and Lihua Xian weapons with strange aura on them. Although others could not see it, Shin Jiao could. He is too familiar with that kind of aura.

"Those weapons blades are coated with the energy of the black and white stones. How… how could they manipulate it as human?" Shin Jiao immediately thought as his eyes went to the silver stone at the butt of the hilt.

"Hmm… What are they planning to do?" Shin Jiao thought as he decided to observe more.

And soon he saw something that he never expected.