Chapter Twenty Two

Sparks flew when their eyes met. But it was short lived. Yu Long rushed away from the arena as soon as he was declared the victor. All the spectators were shocked by the outcome of the match. The most expected competitor to win this examination level and make into the Knights class was lying unconscious on the wrecked remains of the arena.

#same day some time @ Gravelands of QiongLong

"Master it is done."

"Great job. Now there is no one left who can stop me from taking back what always belonged to me."

"Master is such a genius."

"Zhang XinYi needs to be thanked for making it this simple for me to get rid of those dumbheaded brother of mine and 'sister in law' . Ha haha.. Time to move with the second plan."

"Yes, Master Yu Song. Leave rest of the royal Yu family to me. As you said, I will get Yu Long back alive."

" Yu Long is the one who will get me what I want. Be careful and not hinder my plan, CaoYi."

"Yes, Master."

"Finally, as the ZhaoShu is now completely annexed all the kingdoms for me, I just need to take the throne and kill all those who try to stop me from fulfilling my dream. Just like Feng Bi, Yu Rong and my lovely Lin Na. You see I didn't want to them but they came to know what I was scheming. We need to gather all the players before we attack the crown."

"Very clever, Young Master. Your father would be so proud of you. You are trying to fulfil his dream. Yu Ring got what he deserved for treacherously killing your father."

"It was never my father's fault. Was it? Still he was accused with treason and publicly defamed and executed. I wish I could do that for Yu Rong. Che…"

Yu Song's eyes burnt with determination. Determination and motivation to take over the throne that once belonged to his father. But not just the throne, he wanted to make every one suffer who had taken a stand against his father.

Vengeance.

@ Red Dragon's Crest #after the troublesome bunch left for the Annual Examinations

"Master Rahu, it is time to wake up. Master Rahu. Master Rahu."

Lu sighed before yelling.

"Massssteeerr Rahu…"

Rahu was taken back by the sudden loud scream that he almost lost his balance and fell off the bed.

"What is wrong with you?"

"I humbly apologize, Master Rahu. But you didn't respond to me calling you softly."

Rahu sat up putting up one hand rubbing his now aching forehead.

"Where that useless disciple of mine?"

"Master Long and FeiMei have gone to take part in the Annual Selection Examinations."

"And who gave them permission to do so?"

"Didn't they ask you, Master Rahu?"

"And when did that happen?"

"I can't believe they all lied."

"Yu Long must have seen a chance to escape his training. He might be good but he is a complete failure when it comes to controlling his power and that stupid spirit, Maasa is a complete battle maniac. One is a walking disaster while is an obvious troublemaker."

"Master Rahu, what did we do now?"

"Nothing. I will get them. We move on to our next destination."

"I will inform others and make all necessary arrangements."

"Time to get that asshole back. *sigh*"

@ Qiying Grand Stadium. #after all battles of the prelim round were done

The prelims selected a total of ten candidates from each arena. The candidates were now to go through the deadliest round of all, The Survivors' Hunt.

In this round the selected candidates were led into an enclosure created with spiritual energy. A realm in itself. As one entered the enclosure they felt a pull acting along the direction of gravity. As if the gravity in that place was more for some reason.

The round is going to be tricky, isn't it? Maasa… Are you awake or still hibernating?

"Maasa is sleeping." Yu Long sighed.

"It's okay. Let Maasa rest for a while as we explore this enclosure." FeiMei said giggly.

After that battle, Maasa was resting. She preferred fights and battles but in the last fight she gave it her all. In just three months of training, a mortal can not suddenly become superhuman with never ending stamina.

Shit! This will be difficult without Maasa. So the real test begins now?

"Mister Yun Xing, this round may see tricky but it is easy if people stick together. But no one does."

"Mister BaoLi, you seem to know everything about every rounds."

"Haha...that's not it. My elder brother had taken part in these examinations four years ago."

"So your brother is in the Royal guards?"

"No. He died. In this round."

"We are sorry."

FeiMei stood there listening when she suddenly felt cold chills down her spine when she realised that every other person was glaring at them.

"FeiMei, are you okay?"

"Master Xing, looks like we just don't have to worry about the dangerous beasts."

"Well, humans are the dangerous of them all, Miss FeiMei. Am I not right, Mister YunXing?"

"So true."

Yu Long replied as he started walking away with FeiMei and BaoLi following at his sides. During this time there was suddenly bell signal which armed the commencement of this round.

In this round, the candidates have to collect as many Energy infused Crystals called the Mana-gems.

There are three types of crystals- the no colour or transparent, the silver and the golden. The Golden Mana-gem has a value of 10000 points and is the rarely discoverable and is one in number. The Silver Mana-gem has a value of 100 points and is scattered scarcely in the enclosure. The colourless Mana-gem carries 1 point and is pretty common.

Yu Long and FeiMei decided to stick together through this round protecting each other's backs. Yu Long wasn't sure why BaoLi wanted to tag along with them but he still made sure to stay well aware of all his actions. He didn't know what is was suspecting him for but for some reason he was very conscious around him.

The enclosure was divided into four major areas based on its geographical features. One was dry and sandy desert whereas the other was evergreen dense forest. Another one was full of rocky volcanoes whereas the last one was snow covered mountains. All places were full of ferocious creatures yet to discovered.

As soon as the bell rang marking the start of this round, all candidates rushed into their respective areas. But Yu Long stopped FeiMei and BaoLi from joining the rush. He didn't want a headstart. But he wanted to get the golden Mana-gem.

"Mister BaoLi, you said you had an idea about this enclosure, didn't you?"

"Well...not completely just a rough."

"Care to explain." FeiMei asked as she joined the conversation.

"Yes. Let me show you a basic map that my brother drew before he went into the enclosure. He took help from his senior, who is currently in the Royal guards."

He took a piece of cloth from his small pouch. On unfolding it, they found a scribbled drawing.

"Well it doesn't tell us much but at least we know where what is."

"Hmm.. The forest covers most of the area and it must be a home to some deadly beasts. Worst thing it will be dark soon."

"We have many disadvantages as you see. Not just that it will be dark soon and we might be eaten by a beast. We are losing our energy while balancing our weight and mana system in the body. We are unaware of who will hunt us and the visibility will be affected as the sky turns dark. It is race against time."

As Yu Long was explaining the demerits, they heard a loud roar not far from their location followed by a painful shriek of a human.

@The Podium above the enclosure, where all the elites and the Emperor sat and watched four screens which projected the views from within the enclosure.

Zadong smirked.

"Finally. The hunt has began. Time for entertainment."

As everyone started getting excited, XinYi's eyes were fixed on one screen. The screen that showed the three warriors in distress as they were faced by a creature they have never seen in their lives.

@The enclosure

"W-What is that?" FeiMei said all scared. "Don't move." BaoLi whispered.

As the three stood still, the creature which was about ten times larger than any human, stood their sniffing them.

The closer it got its face to them, the tougher it got for them to breathe as it reeked of stale blood.

"Are you there, Maasa?"

There was no response.

Shit. What is this trouble? How to get out of this situation? If I fight, I will lose a lot of energy. My energy is anyways draining.

As the creature moved a bit closer to FeiMei and blew a gust of hot air at her face, she couldn't balance and fell off her position. This made all of them vulnerable to that creature.

"Water Magic: The Water Cage. Run. Now."