<h4>Chapter 244 - Sitting Tight on the Fishing Terrace Despite the Storm</h4>


    The City sh Convention involved eleven great martial ns, each sending out eight juniors to participate.


    In the Zhao n’s direction, an old man by Zhao Kongming’s side stood up. His gaze fell on the eighty-eight participants.


    This old man was the Zhao n’s chief steward, Zhao De.


    “The purpose of the martial artspetition is to check on the strengths of our Watermoon City’s outstanding descendants. So, don’t hold back your strengths.


    “Those unable to ovee their opponents can admit defeat, concluding their match then and there. If you are unwilling to surrender, the match shall continue until one side falls, regardless of life and death.”


    His words created ripples in the hearts of the onlookers.


    <i>If one refuses to surrender, then their life and death are out of consideration! How ruthless!</i>


    Some proud martial artists were extremely conscious of their image and were especially averse to admitting defeat. As such, very few people would choose to admit defeat.


    Even if they were no match, they would continue to fight to defend their honor, finding pride in defeat.


    However, Zhao De’s words left those people reconsidering things. After all, didn’t that mean no one would stop their opponent from killing them?


    If both sides were of equal strength and unwilling to admit defeat, it would not stop until death, forming a deep feud.


    This revtion also garnered silent admiration from many observers.


    <i>Brilliant.</i>


    Zhao De was obviously representing Zhao Kongming’s will. Doing things this way would only benefit the Zhao n.


    After all, thepetition was in the city lord''s mansion. Who would dare to kill someone from their Zhao n right in the city lord''s mansion?


    The situation differed for the other ns. In this setting, fatal shes would likely ignite, fostering animosity between the participating ns.


    Zhao Kongming was trying to spark conflict between the other great ns through the martial arts meet. Although the other patriarchs were aware of his intentions, they could only go along with it.


    After all, which patriarch didn''t desire their n to ascend above the rest, earning admiration from others?


    Moreover, the City sh Convention boasted a substantial prize.


    For the n at the bottom of the rankings, conceding one or even two businesses to the top-ranked ns would be a crippling blow to their strength.


    Thus, they would naturally instruct their ns’ participants to go all out and fight for victory.


    Moreover, Zhao De had said that one could admit defeat if they were no match for their opponent, and the fight would end right there.


    The rules were somewhat fair, so it was not appropriate for them to argue. After all, who would willingly concede that their n''s descendants were inferior?


    Zhao Kongming, Zheng Qinghu, Li Yuanba, and the other patriarchs of the six allied ns exchanged secret nces; a cold smile danced in the depths of their gazes.


    Chen Fan and Chen Zhengqing sat in the middle of the Chen n.


    “Hoho, Xiaofan, it seems these ns are not only nning on making our Chen n bleed financially, they are even nning to ruin our Chen n’s outstanding seedlings,” Chen Zhengqing said with a cold smile.


    He had long been aware that the great ns, spearheaded by the Zhao n, had covertly allied with intentions to confront his Chen n.


    Chen Fan also smiled coldly and said, “Father, it seems the Zhao n''s machinations go beyond mere schemes. I suspect this City sh Convention is akin to a Hongmen Banquet orchestrated to target our entire Chen n.” [1]


    Chen Fan’s gaze fell on Zhao Kongming. His eyes shed with a hint of iciness.


    Given his current strength, his perception was incredibly sharp. As soon as he entered the city lord’s mansion, he sensed the auras of no less than thirty Yuanfu realm experts deep inside the mansion.


    Despite these experts attempting to mask their auras from Chen Zhengqing, Chen Fan''s sharp senses exposed them.


    As the city lord n of Watermoon City, the Zhao n, while formidable, couldn''t possibly boast over thirty Yuanfu realm experts. The revtion of such a significant number of hidden experts within the Zhao n''s mansion intrigued Chen Fan.


    Chen Zhengqing, noting his son''s reaction, inquired through primeval force voice transmission, "Oh? Xiaofan, do you know something?"


    Chen Fan replied, “Father, no fewer than thirty Yuanfu realm experts are hiding deep within the Zhao n’s mansion. I’m afraid they’ve joined forces with some other ns. I don’t know what they are trying to do, but it can’t be anything good.”


    “What?” Chen Fan’s voice transmission made Chen Zhengqing’s pupils contract violently.


    <i>More than thirty Yuanfu realm experts are hiding deep inside the city lord’s mansion?! What is the Zhao n trying to do?</i>


    Chen Fan added, “No need to panic, Father. Let’s just wait and watch.”


    Uncertain whether all ten great ns had allied or only a select few had aligned with the Zhao n, Chen Fan opted not to sound the rm.


    Although thirty-something Yuanfu realm experts made up a mighty force, it was as fragile as a piece of paper in Chen Fan''s eyes. He was not afraid in the slightest.


    Chen Zhengqing discreetly nced at Zhao Kongming and nodded slightly. He had decided to trust Chen Fan’s assessment.


    Even if Zhao Kongming had some huge scheme going on, all plots and tricks were powerless in the face of absolute strength.


    “I have obtained a list of all participants for the martial arts meet. I shall decide the arrangement of the battles. I wonder if the various ns have any objections?”


    Zhao De’s gaze fell on Chen Zhengqing, Qian Tongtian, and the other patriarchs.


    Qian Tongtian had an obese figure. His cheeks were so plump that his eyes squeezed tightly against his eyelids. He spoke out with a loud and nonchnt voice. “Hoho, since it’s the city lord mansion’s arrangements, naturally, I will agree to it.


    “The past martial arts meets were all hosted by the city lord''s mansion. This time will naturally be no different,” Li Yuanba said.


    “I have no opinion, either,” Chen Zhengqing also said.


    “Then, this old man shall give my thanks to all you patriarchs on behalf of the city lord mansion.” Zhao De smiled faintly at Chen Zhengqing, Qian Tongtian, and the other patriarchs. He announced, “The battles of the City sh Convention will be elimination matches from the very first battle. The loser retires, and the winner advances.


    “Now, I shall begin announcing the match-ups. Those called are to step onto the battle tforms. The rest, please await your turn below," Zhao De dered, making the eighty-eight participants narrow their eyes.


    “On the main battle tform, Zhao n’s Zhao Qian versus Chen n’s Chen Chuge. The east battle tform is Zheng n’s Zheng Ming versus Qian n''s Qian Xingjian. South battle tform, Li n’s Li Wu versus Lǚ n’s Lǚ Gao. West battle tform, Sun n’s Sun Yuanlong versus Zhang n’s Zhang Feng. North battle tform, Wang n’s Wang Hong versus Zhou n’s Zhou Nan.”


    Ten people could fight at a time on the five battle tforms. With eighty-eight participants, it would take nine battles to cycle through everyone, eliminating half of them and leaving only forty-four behind.


    The ten whose names were called walked up to their designated battle tforms one after another.


    “Hoho, the Chen n’s Chen Chuge is really unlucky to be matched against the Zhao n’s Zhao Qian. Although Zhao Qian cannot bepared to Zhao Ziyang, he is also a renowned genius of the Zhao n. I heard he is already in the seventh level. He surely is a future Yuanfu realm seedling.”


    “The Chen n’s foundations are too shallow, after all. Even though they have obtained the Lin n’s several hundred years'' worth of treasure, how much could their n’s descendants possibly improve in only one year? The Chen n’s younger generation is far too inferior whenpared to the other ns.”


    “It should be Zheng Ming’s victory on the east tform and Li Wu on the south tform. I heard the south tform’s Zhang Feng has already broken through to the seventh level. He should be able to im victory. As for the north tform, Wang Hong and Zhou Nan are simr in strength, so I’m afraid it won’t be easy to decide a winner.”


    “......”


    The crowd had some understanding of the Watermoon City’s talented juniors and were clear about the differences in their strengths. So, they had already determined the winners and losers before the matches had even started.


    1. The Feast at Swan Goose Gate, also known as the Hongmen Banquet, and other simr renditions, was a historical event that took ce in 206 BC at Swan Goose Gate outside Xianyang. It was one of the highlights of the power struggle between Liu Bang and Xiang Yu leading to the outbreak of the Chu–Han Contention, a violent civil war for supremacy over China. In Chinese culture, the term is used figuratively to refer to a trap or a situation ostensibly joyous but in fact treacherous. ?