Chapter 1161: Then and Now

As Jiang Wang slowly descended from the high platform, Deng Qi was watching him.

Xie Ai, the beauty from the Snow Country, lay on the ground, clinging to a single breath.

Before her, a scattering of ice-like shards lay strewn across the ground – the fragments of her shattered sword.

It was clear she had given her all.

Against such a beautiful and sorrowful woman, naturally evoking pity, Deng Qi showed no mercy in his formation mastery, a textbook example of a “spicy hand destroying flowers.”

From the spectator stands, Helian Yunyun naturally watched with a smile in her eyes.

On the adjacent arena, Huang Sheli was seething with resentment, having already warned Deng Qi with her eyes multiple times. Of course, victory and defeat on the stage were decided by skill, and there was no need for mercy. But after the outcome was determined, shouldn't you at least offer the beauty some dignity? Couldn't you help her up? What's wrong with giving her an outer garment?

Of course, if Deng Qi had actually done that, Huang Sheli would inevitably have found him scheming and shamelessly frivolous.

In short, the kind Miss Huang couldn't bear to see a beauty suffer.

The only regrettable thing was...

Deng Qi hadn't cast a single glance her way. From beginning to end, he had been fixated on the Qi-Chu Tianjiao battle, naturally oblivious to her threatening gaze.

This made Huang Sheli so angry that...

She had no choice but to watch the Qi-Chu Tianjiao battle.

Her gaze shifted from one annoying person to another.

Of course, after watching this battle, the “misunderstanding” was unilaterally resolved; the annoying person from Qi was no longer so annoying.

The annoying person from the Shepherd Country, however, remained annoying. And every time she looked at the pathetic state of the Snow Country beauty, Xie Ai, the person from the Shepherd Country seemed even more annoying.

Wearing such an ugly mask, the person underneath must be even uglier!

It was hard to say if Deng Qi sensed the hostility from Huang Sheli of the Jing Country, but he certainly didn't care at all.

He intended to win the championship at the Yellow River Assembly today, and everyone on the Inner Mansion arena was his opponent.

Except for... Brother Jiang San.

He both hoped that Jiang Wang could reach the end and meet him in the final, and yet he didn't want to face Jiang Wang on the same stage.

His feelings were truly complex.

Among the four battles in the quarterfinals, the first to end was Deng Qi and Xie Ai.

Next was Huang Sheli and Chu Min.

Jiang Wang's victory over Xiang Bei, in terms of the speed of concluding the battle, ranked third.

Of course, in terms of significance, the Qi-Chu Tianjiao battle undoubtedly surpassed the others.

Deng Qi had not missed Jiang Wang's sharp and incisive display.

He had also heard Xu Xiangqian's hoarse and desperate shouting.

Behind the thick bronze mask, no one could see his expression.

For some reason, this grandest Tianjiao battle of the nations in the current era reminded him of the competition in that small town a few years ago.

That was... the Three Cities Debate.

At that time, he only wanted to muddle through life, without any aspirations for anything, and had hired over a dozen strong men to shout slogans for Brother Jiang San outside the venue.

He had even set up two large banners!

Words specially commissioned and written with gold!

The scale of that event was immeasurably higher than this single broken gong voice of the high-foreheaded man.

At that time, Brother Jiang San was also competing for the championship.

The significance of the two championships was naturally worlds apart, with no room for comparison.

But the strange thing was, the person standing on the stage was still that person.

The person watching was still that person.

This was truly good, but also truly sad.

What was good was that he was still here, he was still him.

What was sad was...

Of the people from those days, those interesting, troublesome, annoying... lively and diverse people, only these two standing on the arena remained.

Even Uncle Deng, who had taken him to escape Maple Forest City, was no longer here.

Then and now, it truly felt like a dream.

At that time, he had watched from the sidelines, treating it as a game. Even for Brother Jiang San at that time, that match was related to his future destiny...

Now.

He himself stood on the stage, feeling the weight of being there.

He knew how he had reached this arena, so he could better understand how that steadfast and courageous Brother Jiang San of the past had reached where he was today.

It was too difficult...

Zhao Rucheng, disguised as Deng Qi, couldn't help but wonder, did anyone know how difficult it was for him?

Now, he quietly watched the figure in the green robe, wanting to cry and laugh at the same time.

There was no need to shed tears again.

He wanted to laugh because...

Brother Jiang San was doing well now, very promising, no less than anyone else.

More importantly, he had found a new future and made new friends. When he won, people cheered for him, and when he lost, someone comforted him.

This was truly good.

Zhao Rucheng remained silent, hiding all his thoughts behind the cold bronze mask. Seeing Jiang Wang's gaze seem to shift towards him, he immediately and nonchalantly averted his eyes, looking at the last battle on the stage.

Gaze had weight.

And after his divine soul power had continuously strengthened and he had cultivated the Dry Yang Eye...

Jiang Wang could already feel that weight.

So, even though the Shepherd Country Tianjiao turned his head with calm naturalness, Jiang Wang still felt his gaze.

He just didn't know if that highly concentrated, unyielding gaze was the observation of an opponent, or...

Hope is the root of suffering.

But without hope, how could a life that had emerged from the abyss continue?

Jiang Wang did not allow himself to think about it, yet he couldn't help but think.

Ultimately, having finished the battle, defeated a powerful enemy, and secured a spot in the top four, his mind briefly relaxed. Only then would such impractical torment arise.

He also looked at the last battle on the field, focusing his mind on the fight and carefully observing his opponent.

Winning first had this advantage. He could not fail to seize it.

As for other matters, he would wait until after the match to verify...

In the quarterfinals, the only battle still ongoing was Qin Zhizhen of the Qin Country against Bei Gongke of the Yong Country.

Logically, this battle was the one that people expected to end the fastest before the competition.

No other reason, the Yong Country, whose Grand Emperor had died in battle and had suffered consecutive defeats in foreign wars, was no longer recognized by the nations for its strength. Let alone compared to the Xia Country, even compared to the Snow Country, a locked-down land of extreme cold, few people would think Yong Country was stronger.

Although it had the support of the Mo Sect and Yong Country was undergoing a great transformation, the effects had not yet been seen...

And Qin Country was an undisputed hegemonic nation.

In the previous Outer Tower competition, Gan Changan had stopped in the quarterfinals. But in the battle with Dou Zhao, he also demonstrated his powerful strength.

Furthermore, he was only nineteen years old, and both Negation and Divine Soul were very powerful divine abilities. His Karma Blade Technique was also mastered to perfection, and his talent was impeccable.

So, when it came to the Inner Mansion arena, Qin Zhizhen, also from the Great Qin Empire, should not have had such difficulty fighting a Yong Country Tianjiao.

But upon actually seeing this battle, one could understand why.

On the stage, Bei Gongke was displaying very powerful killing techniques, wielding double-pronged swords, moving like fleeting thunder and lightning, his sword qi so strong it enveloped the entire arena.

Of course, this was not the reason the battle had lasted so long.

The reason lay with Qin Zhizhen.

He stood there like a silent reef. Without a word, without any expression.

He just punched, punched, punched.

He punched when swords came, he punched when people came, he punched when Dao arts blasted.

From beginning to end, he stood there, not moving an inch, only defending and not attacking.

It seemed he was determined to let his opponent fully display himself.

This was too arrogant!

At the Yellow River Assembly, who wasn't a Tianjiao?

Standing on the arena was nothing more than competing for victory. Giving the opponent a chance to display themselves usually only happened when elders guided juniors or masters guided disciples.

It wasn't as if hegemonic nations had never stumbled and fallen from the chariot midway!

If Xiang Bei had done this, it would have been consistent with his usual arrogant image.

But it was Qin Zhizhen who was doing it.

From his face, one could not see any mockery or contempt.

He only had silent fists, striking out at a nearly constant speed, receiving all attacks.

And enduring all the attention.