1novels Chapter 63 Testing the Waters at the Championship Banquet
Chapter 63 Testing the Waters at the Championship Banquet
The grand banquet did not end with the sudden departure of Taoist Qinghong. After all, the other guests had paid a high price. The main actor in Jinlou's conspiracy had run away, but the supporting actors were still waiting. If the grand banquet were canceled, Jinlou's reputation would be ruined.
Leaving aside the enraged members of the demonic sect, the madam continued to preside over the opening ceremony, saying a few polite words. Immediately, music and instruments filled the air, and the crowd cheered.
The civil and military competitions each had their own venues, and the locations were not limited to the Golden Pavilion, but were scattered throughout the eastern part of Anzhou City, roughly covering six wards and markets, making it a grand affair.
For example, the literary contest of "Flying Flower Order" was held near the winding corridor in Pingkangfang, and the riddle guessing took place in Chunshiting in Guiyifang. Qin pavilions and painted towers in various parts of the east of the city, as well as riverbanks and lakesides, were all competition venues.
The championship banquet is a grand event for all to enjoy, a spectacle for both the city's elite and commoners. Naturally, measures to stimulate consumption will be implemented during this time, ensuring that both the gold shop and other vendors will make a fortune tonight.
Several notice boards were erected on the first floor of Tianxiang Pavilion, indicating the winning matches of each patron.
The winner of each round writes a note, which is then delivered to Tianxianglou by a messenger eagle.
If the note they sent to the third floor caught the eye of the courtesan and she kept it, then a servant would throw a fish-shaped silver piece into a gilded bronze basin on the first floor, making a splashing sound.
These silver pieces have a hollow inner layer filled with wooden tags engraved with the names of their patrons.
Any character chosen by the courtesan can keep silver fish, so theoretically, the more matches you win, the more silver fish you collect, and the higher your chances of being selected in the end.
The competition for the championship banquet consists of twelve rounds, alternating between civil and military events, starting in the late afternoon and continuing until nearly midnight. For an ordinary person with limited energy, it would be very difficult to complete the entire competition.
For players who want to save time and effort, they can participate in activities with standard reference answers, such as poetry gatherings, riddles, and arithmetic, which do not require much brainpower and can easily garner a lot of amazement and praise. After all, every transmigrator knows a little about copying.
Lin Zhuo mainly came for the fight, but although he had already contacted Hong Yingniang and decided on the winner, he still had to put on an act, win a few more matches, visit a few more attractions, and build up his reputation to avoid controversy and suspicion when the final draw was held. People would think that this guy was just a random roadside person and that he was worthy of sitting and having a chat with Miss Hong Yingniang.
Moreover, all the events at the championship banquet can trigger miscellaneous tasks. Even if the rewards are meager, you should take them if you can, and there's no need to waste the experience and disaster coins that are offered to you.
There are six categories of literary competitions and six categories of martial arts competitions, namely, light footwork, hidden weapons, fist and palm techniques, drinking ability, wrestling, and arena battles.
In order to attract guests to the banquet and the competition, in addition to the five events, famous martial arts masters from Anzhou City will be invited to demonstrate for all the audience and set standard scores for the contestants.
Anyone who can surpass these famous martial arts masters can write a letter to the courtesan.
In this way, these young martial artists will avoid fighting to the death, which would not only damage their relationship but also leave only one winner while the rest get nothing, which would inevitably make them angry.
The first event was a display of light-footed skills on Qingbo Lake. This event was called "Lotus Seed Picking". Participants had to use light-footed skills to cross the water and pick lotus seeds from lotus flowers along the way. Once they picked ten lotus seeds, they could turn back. The time taken was then tallied.
Lin Zhuo's lightness skill is currently only at the gray level, which means he has a weakness in this area and is not as good as other young martial artists who are ranked at the top of the Hidden Dragon List. However, his internal energy bonus is strong, which greatly makes up for this shortcoming by improving his basic stats.
So in this competition, although I didn't win first place, I was still in the top three, easily defeating the martial arts master who was used as a reference answer.
There were also those with weaker agility who couldn't pass the test, some even running out of internal energy and falling into the water halfway through. They swam ashore soaking wet, cursing and swearing, "What kind of bullshit championship banquet is this? They even invited so many people to watch. Are they trying to make a fool of me? Give me my money back!"
Admittedly, those who made a fool of themselves under the watchful eyes of the people of Anzhou felt extremely embarrassed, but there were also those who performed exceptionally well and whose brilliance captivated the crowd, winning cheers from the streets and thunderous applause that brought them great satisfaction.
"To be fair, the championship banquet was well organized, which suited my desire to make a name for myself. Even though I didn't win the heart of the beauty, it was still quite interesting."
Lin Zhuo found these two completely different attitudes quite amusing, and Shu Yuliu, who was watching the live stream in the team channel, was also laughing heartily.
In an era lacking entertainment, staging such a performance of extraordinary martial arts skills by martial arts practitioners certainly attracted a lot of attention.
After mastering the light-footed skill, the crowd surged into Hundred Flowers Alley, where the patrons of the Golden Pavilion had to compete in hidden weapon duels.
This project also has a name: "Flowers Flying Under the Leaves".
Many small copper bells were arranged in advance in the alley, all hidden behind round fans, screens, and even lanterns hanging under the eaves. The bells had to be rung with a hidden weapon without damaging the objects.
The martial arts master hired at a high price for this event also has a well-known name in the city, known as "Sky-Throwing Shuttle". She is a master who specializes in hidden weapons. With a flick of her wrist, she threw out five thin needles at the same time, which bypassed the obstruction and rang out five bells in succession, creating a continuous sound.
By the sixth attempt, the master of concealed weapons simply smiled, deliberately breaking a lantern, eliciting a sigh of regret from the audience, yet also feeling it was understandable. In this way, he neither damaged the reputation of the martial arts master nor failed to save face for the young martial artists participating in the competition.
As the guests of Jinlou took their turn to perform, the skilled wielders displayed their hidden weapons in a dazzling display, like shooting stars and a shower of petals, turning and twisting in the air, swirling and spinning, leaving the audience mesmerized and overwhelmed.
Cheers rose and fell from all sides, and some enthusiastic people even climbed onto rooftops and walls, crowding the narrow alleyway. The throngs of people constantly blocked the way, making the challenge even more difficult.
Lin Zhuo had indeed never practiced hidden weapons, but with the "Supreme Dragon Transformation and Qi Control Method," martial arts techniques were readily available. He glanced at the hidden weapon techniques of other martial artists, deduced the power generation techniques in his mind, and soon had a clear understanding of them.
Lin Zhuo was the fifth to go on stage. He glanced at the props spread out on the table. The hidden weapons provided by Jinlou were naturally gold darts, silver shuttles, and copper coins. He randomly picked out ten of them and threw them with the same technique as the previous contestants and martial artists. The trajectory of the hidden weapons was almost 90% similar to that of the previous contestants and martial artists. In the end, he hit the target ten times out of ten.
"Huh, how come this person also knows this 'Falling Petals Chasing the Wind' technique?"
"He even learned the 'Little Star Throwing Technique'! He actually learned it on the spot! Could he have mastered it just by watching? Is there ever anyone like him in the world?"
The young martial artists who hadn't paid much attention to Lin Zhuo before all frowned secretly at this moment.
"This person seems to be Lin Zhuo, the newly promoted Thunder Blood Hand on the Hidden Dragon List. His real strength lies in his palm techniques. Let's wait and see how he performs his fist and palm techniques at the Strange Stone Garden. Perhaps we can test his true skill."
All martial artists, regardless of what weapon they are skilled with, inevitably need to practice their hand skills first. A master of weapons is by no means weak when it comes to punches and kicks.
Because the literary and physical contests were conducted alternately, and the literary contests took longer, by the time the crowds entered the Strange Stone Garden, the city of Anzhou was already lit up with lanterns.
Lin Zhuo signed up for palm techniques. As the saying goes in martial arts circles, all palm techniques in the world take water as their foundation. Its nature is soft, but it is often cunning and vicious, capable of injuring people's internal organs. If the palm force is mastered, it will have the momentum of rivers and seas, and be unparalleled in its strength and ferocity.
In other words, when you first learn palm techniques, the basic approach is to use light and agile movements with gentle force. To judge whether a martial artist is a true master of palm techniques, you need to see if they can unleash powerful and fierce palm strikes.
So their goal was to try to leave their handprints on the four stakes made of wood, stone, copper, and iron.
The martial arts master demonstrating the palm technique stepped forward, first breaking the wooden stake, then shattering the stone stake, and finally leaving a one-inch mark on the bronze stake before withdrawing his hand.
Wan Tao, who had signed up for the palm technique along with Lin Zhuo, was the first to step into the arena. Ignoring the three stakes in front of him, he walked straight to the iron stake, concentrated his mind, and then suddenly struck out.
Clang! — A crisp metallic sound echoed through the garden.
As he moved his palm away, everyone crowded closer to the torch and saw a straight and clear knife mark left on the iron stake. It turned out that his powerful and dense palm technique had become as sharp as a sword, and a great uproar broke out all around.
"Congratulations, young master, for leaving a mark on the iron stake. Please write a letter to Miss Hongyingniang." The servant from Jinlou respectfully ushered him aside.
But Wan Tao didn't go far. He stood with his arms crossed, waiting to watch the other martial artists' demonstrations.
The next one was Su Qiwei, the "Flowing Feather Iron Fan". He clasped his hands in greeting to the surroundings, said "I'll make a fool of myself", and then walked to the iron stake and slapped it.
Immediately, the heavy pile trembled violently and made a loud humming sound. When Su Qiwei slowly retreated, the iron pile looked smooth, and the previous knife marks had been completely erased.
"This, this..." The young servant of the Golden Pavilion was at a loss, looking at the martial arts master with difficulty.
"Young Master Su's palm strike is perfectly round and unimpeded, demonstrating profound skill. In terms of difficulty, it surpasses even leaving a mark, so it naturally qualifies as a pass." After the martial arts instructor's explanation, everyone applauded and laughed.
Wan Tao snorted coldly, looking dissatisfied, but he didn't care about anything. He just stared at the martial arts newcomer who had entered the Hidden Dragon Ranking with his palm technique.
Su Qiwei walked to his side and stood there, looking at him as well. He said in a low voice, "Since this person is skilled in palm techniques, he will probably wait until the very end to make his move in order to make a name for himself."
"Hmph, I hate your kind of roundabout ways the most." Wan Tao glanced at him sideways. "If you have any skills, just show them. You have to step on people's toes."
"Brother Wan is absolutely right. However, sometimes hiding one's shortcomings is also to leave others a way out."
The third and fourth young martial artists who stepped forward to test their skills could only barely leave shallow marks on the iron stake. Their faces flushed red, they then went to strike the copper stake to prove their strength.
Lin Zhuo didn't look any further. He went straight up to the iron stake.
"They've arrived." The surrounding martial artists silently focused their attention.
The night lights distorted around Lin Zhuo, as if some kind of transparent, invisible, enormous beast had suddenly appeared beside him, shielding his figure under its wings.
Raise your hand and tap lightly, the tap landing on the pile.
As everyone held their breath, the Strange Stone Garden fell silent for a moment, with only faint muffled sounds and sudden cheers coming from the nearby training ground for martial arts.
The essence of boxing is like fire, with fierce and powerful force. But once you master the technique, the force naturally becomes softer. You can break paper, wood, silver, and gold pieces through tofu. The precision and dexterity of the force used is simply incredible.
The liveliness there only amplified the oppressive atmosphere here.
Lin Zhuo withdrew his hand; the iron stake in front of him appeared completely undamaged. A puzzled sigh rippled through the crowd. A servant cautiously approached the torch for a closer look, about to announce the result, when he suddenly noticed that the iron stake wasn't still, but was trembling rapidly, like ripples on the surface of water during an earthquake.
"What's going on? Nothing's happening?"
"Isn't this a case of no results? Hurry up and announce it!"
Amidst the clamor, a sudden roar erupted, and the iron stake, embedded two feet into the ground, suddenly leaped up, detached from the mud, and soared into the air. As if uprooted by an invisible rope lowered by a deity, it rose to six feet in the air, spun around, and fell headfirst back down, plunging back into the original pit without missing a hair.
Then all was quiet again, the thousands of people were completely silent, and the faint cries of vendors drifted from the streets outside the garden in the distance.