"That is our tradition, Xue'er. This was how i got your mother in the first place." A middle aged regal man answered. He was at his work room and was busy reading a thick stack of reports.

His daughter's problem seemed trivial compared to his task of running a whole kingdom.

"Why do we still adhere to these dumb traditions, father?"

"Can't you just let me be free to live my life as I wish!" The lovely girl pleaded with tears beginning to show in her eyes.

Her name was Mu Ningxue and was one of the princesses in the kingdom of Koris.

Their people had a tradition of marrying at least one daughter of the family into a game of warriors in order to build connections and create allies by means of marriage.

Only the rich and powerful could realistically afford to keep this tradition alive and the end result was by no means always positive.

Some women that were won in the competition did not remain as a wife for long but were demoted to servants and even slaves.

This was the reason why Mu Ningxue has so hated this particular tradition of their Koris Kingdom.

"You were free in the first 18 years of your life, Ningxue."

"Or don't you recall how you were fed and cared for all these years?" The middle aged regal man looked up and put the last parchment down then gazed at his daughter.

It was clear that he was not pleased at all. His name was Mu Guanyu and was the king of Koris Kingdom.

In his eyes, his daughters were nothing less but bartering materials in order to safeguard the territories of his domain.

This kind of behavior has risen after an entire lifetime of carnage and conquest.

One should know that Mu Guanyu has personally created the Koris Kingdom from the ground up after 30 long years of bloodshed.

It was obvious to see that Mu Guanyu was not a softhearted man at all.

"But why does it have to be me? There's..." Mu Ningxue wanted to tell the names of her older sisters but was stopped by a sudden realization.

"Yes, I chose you because of that. You are the most beautiful daughter I have, Xue'er. And so you will get me the strongest men to compete in the coming harvest festival."

Mu Guanyu was direct in his words. He had little affection for Mu Ningxue. It did not need telling that this man was someone who was obsessed with power and fame.

He had experienced the curse of being weak and he was not willing to return to that life again.

"THUD!" The doors closed and Mu Ningxue could only cry in silence.

She has tried to escape many times in the past month but all her schemes seemed premature compared to the careful planning of the king of Koris.

In the end, she could only accept this fate and just hope for a kind husband in this life.

* * *

"Welcome, guests! The Harvest Festival is about to begin!"

"Thank you for coming into our humble kingdom of Koris!" A big bulky man roared to announce the beginning of the event.

The celebration was held in a vast open field which showed the quality of life in the kingdom. The Koris was just founded a few years back and so this was totally not unexpected.

But this certainly did not mean that they were weak. Far from that at all.

Even if they lacked the great sights of tall castles made out of hard stone, the warriors of Koris were perhaps the fiercest compared to the ones in the neighboring kingdoms.

This was only made possible because the core group that was led by the king Mu Guanyu was still alive and flourishing. Everyone was still at the peak of their lives.

The path of blood was still so fresh in their minds and so nobody wanted to return to that chaos.

Thus, they trained their sons to become solid fighters while some like Mu Guanyu traded their daughters to cement relationships further.

* * *

"It's finally starting." Our bored gamer smiled amongst the crowd. He has arrived in this kingdom for more than a week and stayed here to await this day.

There was a wide expanse of space around him that was empty of people. Everyone could see that our avid gamer was different simply because of the crimson cultivators robes on him.

A legacy disciple should have been clothed in purple just like the rest of the elders of the Profound Delight Sect but Clark was fond of red and so the rest was history.

"Time to join the fun. Hehehe." Clark chuckled and walked forward into the gathering heroes.

* * *

"State your name, leader, and number of warriors that you brought today!" A veteran warrior examined the credentials of our very own protagonist.

"I am called Bu Fang."

"I am my own leader."

"And I am alone in this quest." Clark answered, which got him a couple of laughs from the warriors in his vicinity.

The air of mystery around him was lost as the majority looked at him like a fool instead.

"NEXT!" The examiner shouted and tallied their names and influence. With a big celebration like this, the ones who attended were only the most famous of the Koris Kingdom.

But the tally ended at 155 which meant that many had indeed wished to win Mu Ningxue home.

* * *

"Let the Harvest Festival begin!" King Mu Guanyu was there and his whole family joined at his side. Mu Ningxue was of course there also but there was only sadness on her face.

Almost all participants looked at her with lust and she was already used to such a treatment.

Her beauty in the Koris Kingdom was indeed something that was much talked about since she was just 10 years old.

Much more today which emphasized a ripe maiden that was ready to be plucked at any time.