Chapter 952 – Gongsun Wudi

After the briefing of the rules, there were no more announcements. There were hundreds of personnel from the City Lord’s mansion who would brief the participants in further detail in the arena.

The City Lord sat down quietly.

The main organizer of this tournament was an old man seated beneath the City Lord, whom she trusted very much. He had served her for a very long time, ever since she started living in the Underworld City Lord’s mansion. Even the City Lord did not call him by his name but instead referred to him as “Grandpa Gudu,” showing that he held a high rank in her heart.

His full name was Gudu Jun.

“Grandpa Gudu, the floor is yours.” She smiled at the old man not far away.

The old man stood up with a smile. He was thin and looked elderly. Long Chen guessed that a person like that was at least a thousand years old. He was basically an ancient demon.

He was at the Third Divine Martial Stage, specifically at its Perfect stage. This meant that he was much stronger than Su Tian, who was one of the Underworld Admirals of the Underworld Army.

Gudu Jun was famous in Underworld City and was widely recognized as the second-in-command of the City Lord’s mansion, as well as the most capable leader under Ye Xuan. However, in recent years, City Lord Ye Xuan rarely called on him because he was elderly and ought to get some rest. This time, Gudu Jun was the one who personally requested to host the martial tournament because he had been bored.

Gudu Jun stood up and addressed the people below. “All participants, listen up. Take out your purple jade tokens. You should notice that a serial number has appeared on them. Memorize your number, because your number determines the location of your duel, and your opponent.”

Long Chen was not surprised to hear this and took out his purple jade token. Purple runes appeared, which morphed into numbers. The first number was one, and the second number was also one.

Two ones. What did that mean?

While Long Chen was still confused, Gudu Jun waved him over and he handed the jade token to Gudu Jun, who froze and whispered, “You’re unlucky, kid. You’re the first one up.”

Then he turned to the public and raised the token in the air. He said, “Two numbers will appear on your tokens. For example, two ones have appeared on this token in my hand. This means that the owner of this token will be at stage number one, and will join the first duel. None of you are idiots, so I’m sure you all understand my point. The first number is the stage’s number, and you will be divided into a hundred groups based on this number. The second number is the sequence of duels. There will be two people for each number combination—that’s your opponent! Alright, everyone. I’ll give you all fifteen minutes to group yourselves based on the first number.”

Everyone looked at their tokens, and the crowd below bustled with discussions and movement. This was something that would decide their fate.

“Go down, kid. You’re at the first stage and will join the first duel. Good luck.” Gudu Jun placed the purple jade token in Long Chen’s hand.

“Thank you, Grandpa Gudu.” During the past few days, Long Chen had been following the young Ye Xuan around, so Gudu Jun did not mind this.

“No worries. Little Xuan and I have faith in you.” Gudu Jun chuckled, stroking his beard. He was a very friendly man.

Long Chen nodded, stood up, and went towards the first stage.

“At the very least, Brother Chen will reach the final duel!” The City Lord and the others were not worried about Long Chen’s abilities in today’s fight.

Many people watched Long Chen going down from the stands.

Although there were many eyes on him, Long Chen sensed two particularly strong glares. One came from Su Xue of the Underworld Army, and this did not surprise him. However, the second glare came from within one of the larger clans. Long Chen looked up. Based on Ye Xuan’s previous analysis, they were from the Gongsun family, which was one of the major clans of Underworld City.

Surrounded by the other Gongsun members, there was a young teenager who looked even younger than Ye Xuan. Based on the Ten Thousand Nations Territory’s standards, he looked about fourteen. He was staring very intensely at Long Chen.

Does that mean that he’s my opponent in the first round?

Long Chen had a strong feeling.

He had seen this person’s profile before. The young Ye Xuan had shown information about this teenager to Long Chen exactly because he was a top-ranked figure. Before Ye Xuan came to the Underworld City, this teenager named Gongsun Wudi was one of the top-ranked cultivators. This person was also guaranteed to enter the top five, or even two or three. He was a strong rival!

Before Su Xue appeared, the City Lord had thought that Long Chen would need to defeat Gongsun Wudi in the final round and it would be settled.

Long Chen looked down and did not look at him. It was the same whether they fought now or later, so he did not care and went obediently to stage number one. As expected, the young teenager named Gongsun Wudi also walked to the first stage. No one knew where Su Xue was allocated to.

The twenty thousand participants were divided into a hundred groups gathered around a hundred stages.

When the groups settled down, Gudu Jun announced the official commencement of the duel. Three Ninth Heavenly Martial Stage judges were present on each stage with many Divine Martial Realm experts patrolling in the skies above. Just ten Divine Martial Realm cultivators were enough to exert strong control over these one hundred stages.

“If you all are ready, everyone with ‘one’ as their second number may get on stage. Underworld City’s martial tournament begins now!” Gudu Jun’s passionate roar echoed across the whole plaza.

The participants ascended every stage in an orderly fashion. The first stage attracted many eyeballs because Gongsun Wudi was there, as well as Long Chen, who was an intriguing figure.

Everyone was curious about Long Chen’s strength.

Everyone knew Long Chen’s number, so the judges did not announce it. He directly walked up the stage, whose width and length were both two hundred meters. The Three Royal Territories’ ground was extremely hard, and this stage was the same. A hard stomp from Long Chen could only make it tremble slightly.

“Who is Long Chen’s opponent? It better not be that brat Gongsun Wudi in the first round,” said Ye Xuan while they all watched the stage anxiously.

The judges announced, “First duel—Gongsun Wudi, Long Chen!”

Countless people cried out in surprise when they heard the announcement.

When ten thousand duels were about to take place, it was very difficult for one duel to attract attention. The cultivators with reputations naturally attracted more eyeballs. Gongsun Wudi attracted attention because of his status, while Long Chen because he had sat next to the City Lord.

If Long Chen lost the first duel, wouldn’t it be embarrassing for the City Lord?

Such an important duel was happening in just the first round. Everyone looked at the stage, including the City Lord and the others.

“If Long Chen can’t defeat Gongsun Wudi, then he clearly won’t be a match for Su Xue anyway,” said the City Lord.

Not far away, Chen Liu pursed his lips and snickered. “Gongsun Wudi?”

“His opponent is Gongsun Wudi?” Song Yang and Song Yuchun both smiled. Long Chen was unlucky to encounter such a powerful opponent in the first round. Even if he fought as hard as he could to force a win, he would still get injured. And if he was injured, he would not be at his optimal state for his subsequent duels.

“Begin!”

Tens of thousands of people watched as the first round of the day began. For some stages, for example where Su Xue was, the victor was determined in just a moment. Therefore, the moment the word “begin” was shouted, some duels had already ended.

Of course, Long Chen’s duel had not begun.

“Who are you?” Gongsun Wudi looked at Long Chen cautiously. He had also seen Long Chen sitting next to the City Lord.

“Didn’t you hear my name just now? It’s Long Chen. Let’s not waste time talking about nonsense. Let’s fight!” Long Chen was too lazy to waste time on chatter and moved immediately.

Gongsun Wudi had never met such a boring person.

They were supposed to exchange a few insults before the duel began to add to the mood. That would’ve made it much more interesting.

“Everyone, take a guess. How many strikes from Gongsun Wudi can the guy who sat next to the City Lord survive?”

“Gongsun Wudi is at the peak of the Ninth Heavenly Martial Stage, while he is at the Seventh Heavenly Martial Stage. All Gongsun Wudi needs is one move. The gap between them is like heaven and earth.”

The people of the Gongsun family were already smiling, as if Gongsun Wudi was going to win.

Long Chen suddenly attacked without showing any prior signs.

Blood-red scales wrapped around his whole body.

What a strong killing Qi. That transformation ...

Watching from the stands above, the City Lord was shocked. She had the Seven Killings Blood and was therefore very sensitive to killing Qi. Long Chen’s Ancient Bloodsoul Dragon aura made her feel an aversion in the depths of her soul.

Perhaps he really is the most suitable person to cultivate my family’s techniques. Unfortunately, Su Xue appeared.

However, her keen senses also picked up on the large increase in his essence. In addition to his Sword Soul and the gloves on his hands, the City Lord speculated that Long Chen could actually beat Gongsun Wudi.

Gongsun Wudi was furious because Long Chen had suddenly attacked without giving him face.

“Damn it!” With a soft cry, Gongsun Wudi launched himself off the tip of his foot, then shot forward like a ray of light. He was extremely fast and appeared in front of Long Chen instantly.

The Gongsun family is also a family with a Natural Body. This quality has naturally been awakened in Gongsun Wudi. It is called the Golden Winged Bird. As a result, the Gongsun family has a natural advantage in speed.

This was what Long Chen learned from the information Ye Xuan had given him. Looking at Gongsun Wudi’s movements, he was indeed very fast.

However, he was still lagging far behind Long Chen.

When Gongsun Wudi charged at him, Long Chen smiled and turned into golden lightning. He instantly appeared behind the fast-moving Gongsun Wudi, stunning everyone.

“I’m behind you,” Long Chen said.

Gongsun Wudi looked behind him in a panic.

Long Chen threw a punch at his face.

Crack.