Chapter 56: An Expensive Gift

After being rushed outside of the armory, they were ushered

into the carriages with blindfolds again. After about 10 minutes, they found themselves

back at the banquet hall, where the King and his ministers quickly bade

farewell, stating that they needed to prepare against a potential enemy attack.

Jia Yuan and Dou Di also called for a carriage back to the

tournament grounds.

Inside the carriage, Jia Yuan sat in a daze, as he had sent

his soul into his ring to examine the black sword. From the outside, it looked

as if he was sleeping.

However, inside the ring, his soul quivered with excitement.

The more he examined this sword, the more pleased with it he was.

Not only was it compatible with the four elements, but it was

considerably more durable than HiRyu. In fact, Jia Yuan was convinced that a

single stroke of this sword would be able to chop HiRyu in half!

A treasure!

A long while after, Jia Yuan finally drew his soul out of

ring and back into his body. He then turned to face his brother.

“Hey, Dou Di, your weapon isn’t that great, right?”

“Hm? Yeah, it’s just the standard one that they give all of

the army soldiers.”

Jia Yuan picked up the sword he had brought out of the royal

armory and placed it in front of Dou Di. “Here, big brother. This is my gift to

you.”

“EHHHH???” Dou Di’s face was one of pure shock. He knew that

JIa Yuan was rich… but willing to give such a treasure away?

“Just take it. I already have a great sword in Hiryu, so

there’s no sense in me having two great swords while you’re stuck with such a

bad one.”

“Well, I’ll take it then.” Dou Di couldn’t get any words of

thanks out of his mouth, but Jia Yuan understood his older brother’s feelings

anyway.

As for Dou Di, he had the feeling that his younger brother

was growing faster and faster in comparison…which made him both happy and sad

at the same time.

Happy for his brother, but sad because he was being

outclassed so heavily… it is hard to be self-confident in such a scenario.

Seeing this, Jia Yuan quickly understood what Dou Di was

feeling.

“It’s okay, big brother. I may be stronger than you now, but

you will forever be smarter than me. With your mind, you could rule a Kingdom.

I am only fit to be a soldier, but you are capable of far more!”

Hearing Jia Yuan’s words, Dou Di smiled ruefully. “Ha, who

needs such words from someone like you? I was just thinking about how to thank you

for the sword and you get sentimental on me. Hmph, don’t get cocky. You might

be stronger than me for now but don’t underestimate your big bro!”

Jia Yuan smiled and the two brother swapped jokes until they

arrived back at the tournament grounds.

They went back into the hotel room, and slept for the night.

The next day came, and along with it, came the next round of

the tournament.

From now on, the stadium would have 100 small stages in the

center, with 1 vs 1 combat on each one. A combatant was allowed to lose twice

before being kicked out of the competition. The last 1000 remaining would be

accepted into the Burning Legion!

Given that there were only 8 thousand competitors left, 1 in

8 would be able to join the Fire Kingdom’s special force. All of the

competitors felt so close to their goal that they could nearly taste success…

but the truth was that over 70% of them would fail to see this goal come to

fruition.

Jia Yuan and Dou DI were walking toward the stadium along

with the rest of the fighters. However, as the two young brothers walked, they

found themselves being surrounded by more and more people.

Many of the competitors had found out by now, that Jia Yuan

had been one of the 8 invited to HouShen Palace. Once another competitor

recognized him, more and more began to cluster around the two brothers.

They wanted to see two things. They wanted to see, with

their own eyes, someone worthy of being invited to the royal palace. The second

thing they wanted to see, was the weapon from the royal armory.

However, when they looked to the sword by Jia Yuan’s side,

they saw a sword that was clearly of high quality, but didn’t exactly wow any

of the competitors there.

That was when they noticed the sword that hung by Dou Di’s

side.

“Hey, wait. That other guy’s sword looks so deadly! Could it

be…”

“Wait, could that Jia Yuan kid have given the weapon he got

from the royal armory to the person beside him?! What is their connection??”

None of them guessed that the two were brothers. Jia Yuan

and Dou DI weren’t blood brothers after all, and didn’t look too alike.

Many of the surrounding competitors began to have greedy

thoughts. Perhaps in single combat, they wouldn’t be able to beat Jia Yuan… but

this person beside him clearly wasn’t one of those who had been invited to

HouShen Palace. He didn’t even look that strong, and was even dressed in a

guard’s uniform.

A guard? A Burning Legion candidate from the Army? Some of

the stronger participants in the tournament began to hope that they would be

matched up against this person who had been gifted royal weapon.

If they could kill him, they could loot his weapon! In one

fell swoop, they would be one step closer to being accepted to the Burning

Legion and they would also gain a peerless weapon! It would be perfect!

But how could Jia Yuan and Dou Di be so oblivious? They

quickly noticed the change in the gazes directed at them.

Jia Yuan whispered to his brother. “Dou Di, you should be

careful today… don’t burden me with the job of finding vengeance for you.”

“Hmph. Do you really think your big bro is that weak? With this

weapon, even you might not be a match for me.”

What Dou Di said was true for most of the competitors

present. Not only did a weapon provide a cutting edge and increased lethal

range, but weapons made out of elemental stones, such as HiRyu as well as Dou

Di’s new royal weapon, were also able to aid a martial cultivator with their

fighting aura and strength!

For example, Jia Yuan was more than capable of releasing

large and deadly flames on his own, but with HiRyu, his flames could extend an

additional 20 meters, and it was also easier for him to control said flames.

The importance of the quality of a cultivator’s weapon, was

inferior only to the importance of their cultivation!