THE MARTIAL KING, VOLUME 3 - Season 11 Episode 68

Two things had become clear to everyone after the first test round among the Virtual Tribulation Realm warriors: first was to move fast, and the second was to keep a low profile.

Those who hadn’t entered the circle had begun to size each other up again.

They all took note of those they thought were pretty powerful. Strategy was key and it would be best to force the stronger ones out of the circle as soon as possible.

This meant that the well-known, top-level Virtual Tribulation Realm warriors were at a disadvantage.

Sure, they might’ve been stronger than the rest but their fame meant the others would work hard in eliminating them first.

A low profile was the key strategy for these types of tests. The less your opponents saw you as a threat, the longer you could skirt around the edges and survive.

Out of everyone, it was Lord Randy that was seen as the probable biggest threat. Although he was not a member of the Jade Martial House, he was still someone who was able to obtain his fiefdom at such a young age. His strength was also only inferior to the divine kingdom’s crown prince.

Everyone’s minds thought of the same question: if all twenty-nine Virtual Tribulation Realm warriors united against him, would he be able to fight through them all?

Lord Randy, of course, was not oblivious to what went on in the minds of the other warriors. Their stares made it very obvious.

He snorted. “Only the weak would waste their time with tricks,” he muttered to himself. He had chosen to go to the Feather Holy Sea in the name of a Lord and that meant he had to overcome all the obstacles and pass this test lest he brought shame upon the royal family. A couple of warriors wouldn’t be enough to stand in his way.

Zen was regarding the situation with slight interest. His cultivation base was only at the middle stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm and he was a stranger here in the Harlen Divine Kingdom. His low profile was already a given and he could effectively use it to his advantage.

“Looks like these guys already figured out how to play this game,” a Soul Sea Realm master laughed heartily.

“I hope we get some powerful young fellows this year,” another remarked.

“Last year’s journey was the worst harvest our divine kingdom had. We’ll be in big trouble if that happens again this year. We have to make sure that our Jade Martial House does better!”

The Soul Sea Realm masters’ worries were not displaced.

The costs of establishing and maintaining these martial houses came straight from the divine kingdoms’ deep pockets. They were built for the sole purpose of training elites who would discover and bring back treasure and resources from the Feather Holy Sea. A portion of the spoils went directly to the divine kingdoms while the rest went to upgrading the martial houses. In other words: a return of investment.

It was this type of system that made it possible for divine kingdoms to build more martial houses that then trained more elites and then brought more treasure for the divine kingdoms. This was the main reason why the four divine kingdoms evolved to such a formidable degree.

One of the three Soul Sea Realm masters unfolded a scroll and began to start the roll call for the second round’s participants.

“Joseph Bo!”

“August Ao!”

“Vergil Wan!”

…

Zen looked back at the red circle that had now returned to its original size. It seemed it wasn’t his turn to participate yet.

It was alright. It didn’t matter if he took his turn earlier or later.

After the participants got settled, the second round of testing began and everyone’s attention was now focused on the battle.

It was a quicker fight. The second round only lasted for less than five minutes as three out of the thirty participants were declared the winners.

Then there was the third round, and then the fourth, the fifth, the sixth, the seventh…

In the eighth round of roll-call, Zen finally heard his name.

“Thad Luo!” the Soul Sea Realm master called his assumed name.

Zen nodded, quickly stepping towards the red circle.

He didn’t make an impression. He was only at the middle stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm and his face was unremarkable. Nobody knew him and everybody thought of him as a nobody.

They regarded Zen as someone who would easily be eliminated and forgotten. If he did manage to pass the test by luck, no one doubted for a second that he would be kicked out in the succeeding rounds.

It was only Lord Randy who looked at him with interest but Zen pretended to ignore him.

The three Soul Sea Realm masters also couldn’t help but give Zen a second look.
“This young man seems to have a very stable cultivation base. His strength seems to be comparable to an average warrior at the late stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm,” one of them commented with certainty.

His colleagues nodded, “I wonder where he’s from. I feel a sense of danger from him. I have no doubt that he will be able to win against a warrior at the late stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm.”

“I think you’re underestimating him,” the third master said. “I think he can kick a late-stage Virtual Tribulation Realm warrior’s butt quite easily! No questions asked!”

Even in the four divine kingdoms, cases of a Virtual Tribulation Realm warrior defeating a Life and Death Realm warrior was pretty rare, almost unheard of.

Zen, despite insisting on maintaining a low profile, could only do so much to hide his extreme potential which still led to the three Soul Sea Realm masters’ positive assessment.

If only they truly knew of his strength: that Zen was able to defeat Eddie, a fourth grade Life and Death Realm warrior.

Of course, they would never believe it. Those who had never seen Zen’s strength would never be able to imagine the true extent of his powers which often led to others underestimating him. This was exactly how he managed to lure Master Wallace into the Central Region.

Thirty participants were announced consecutively and all of them got ready for this round of testing.

The last name was Lord Randy’s. All the other participants, save for Zen, visibly trembled in shock.

Everyone knew of his strength and no one wanted to fight him. The only choice they could think of was to band together and kick him out of the circle as soon as possible.

Lord Randy walked towards the center of the red circle and smiled when he noticed the fear in everyone’s eyes.

Nobody had ever dared to occupy the circle’s center ever since the first round.
It was the best position for someone who wanted to be everyone’s target but not necessarily for someone who wanted to win by survival.

However, Lord Randy did not give a damn about strategies and keeping a low profile. He was callously indifferent to everyone that was within the circle with him. His implications were clear: he didn’t care if they all came at him, he’d be able to defeat them anyway.

A hyena might have a hard time resisting a flock of sheep. But he was not a hyena. He was a lion.

Lord Randy was a lion and the flock of sheep before him could either only flee or perish in his wrath.

“Only I will emerge victorious in this round,” he announced in a loud, clear voice. “I will kick you all out!”

His arrogance overwhelmed his opponents with fear. Some of them couldn’t even raise their heads to look him in the eye.

If another warrior had done that, his opponents would’ve simply banded together to shut his mouth and defeat him. However, Lord Randy was different because they were all well aware that his arrogance stemmed from his unprecedented power. They weren’t even sure if they’d be able to defeat him even if they joined forces together.

Zen slightly shook his head at the other participants’ reaction, ‘This guy’s smart, ‘ he thought to himself, pertaining to Lord Randy. ‘He knows he’s famous so it would be useless for him to keep a low profile. Therefore, he’s doing the exact opposite by scaring everyone into submission with his arrogance.’

If his opponents were too scared to band together, then they could never hope to defeat him.

Arrogance came from power and if everyone was aware of how powerful one truly was, they would not question one’s arrogance and instead fear his potential.

The round of test soon quickly began.

The other warriors were immediately abuzz with discussion at this interesting round.

“Who do you think will be eliminated first? Do you think it’ll be Lord Randy?” “I don’t think so. He’s too powerful.

Nobody would be dumb enough to challenge him.” “I bet that guy Thad will be first to go. He’s just at the middle stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm! What a joke!”
[appbox googleplay appid]
“Yeah! Do you see how weak he looks? How could he possibly defend himself against his opponents? One single hit would be enough to send him flying!”

“Look! Someone already targeted him. I guess it’s time for him to say goodbye!”

The discussion was lively, especially with the thought of Zen’s swift defeat. The warrior that had targeted him rushed fiercely towards his direction, “You’re the first to go, pipsqueak!”

Zen’s eyes gleamed with contempt but he reigned himself in. Instead of a counterattack, he skirted through the edge of the red circle and quickly sidestepped the oncoming warrior.
[appbox googleplay appid]