Villain Cultivator

Chapter 279: Imperial Martial Tournament Invitation

Two weeks after the Kishin Douji incident, Siren City was as peaceful as ever. Though, it became a zoo due to the influx of the beast population.

Magical werecats were handy and troublesome. Some of the cats visited Ma Moxi's estate and tried to coax his men to form a contract with them.

Ma Moxi and Mao Xueyan managed to chase them away before permanent damage was made. Unfortunately, Pao Luo and Tang Fan ended up making a contract with one of the magic cats.

What happened afterward was a story for another time. Though, the event was MAGICAL.

…

Miaomiao's group welcomed Wei Yuan to the ITS gang. After two weeks of intense training courses, her swordsmanship drastically improved. Although she had yet to catch up with Kang Yan or Ma Xingjuan's progress, she managed to form a Killing Domain and obtained the VISION.

Wei Yuan could cut through many hard objects with her bare hand now.

As for the others, their pseudo domain range increased from two meters to three meters. Meanwhile, Kang Yan and Ma Xingjuan's range reached five meters. Both of them could perform Jia Shan's trick by cutting or attacking in any direction as long as their target was within their domain!

Jia Shan and Ma Ping were proud of them. These elders couldn't stop bragging to Mao Xueyan and Zhao Bao whenever they met.

At one point, Xueyan had enough. She retorted in sarcasm, "Why don't you found a new sect and brag your heart out to the continent!? Why are you keep bragging about them to me!? Am I your only friend on Fuccbook?"

Unfortunately, she had accidentally inspired Ma Ping and Jia Shan. Instead of reflecting on their silly behavior, they were motivated.

"That's right! We have the tower, we have a city, and we have so many elders and disciples! Why don't we create a new sect together, senior Ma?"

"You have just spoken my thought! Let's do it! Let's establish a new sect and a new order!" Ma Ping nodded in agreement. He was dying to raise promising youngsters like Ma Xingjuan and Ma Moxi and reform his army.

Both men summoned other elders to discuss their plan right away.

However, before they could have a meeting, someone knocked on the east gates and exuded the presence of a 6th-stage cultivator.

In front of the city gate, a masked old man stood there. In his hand, he carried an edict of the new emperor, Liu Xie.

"Hello? Anybody home? I have a message from the imperial family!"

Ma Ping heard the familiar voice. He postponed the meeting and came out of the city.

The masked old man still wore the same white robes. He didn't bring anyone with him this time.

"What are you doing here?"

Li Jue cupped his fist and bowed, "I'm here to deliver an edict from our emperor."

"Emperor?" Ma Ping still didn't know about the movements in the imperial palace. He still thought that Liu Bian or the latter's father was still in power, "What does he say?"

"Ah, here. No need for formality, though. I'll read it for you."

The edict was an invitation to the Imperial Martial Tournament, organized by the emperor. The tournament was limited to promising cultivators under the age of 20, and there was no racial limit.

Participants with the invitation edict had an advantage. The invited organization, clan, or sect could send a representative, who would be exempt from the preliminary rounds, directly entering the top 64. As for the additional participants, they had to go through the preliminary selection rounds.

The tournament champion would receive 10,000 essence cores and the right to form an expedition team to explore the Imperial Underground Testing Ground. Anything that the expedition team could find would be theirs, such as elemental crystals or treasures.

Hearing about the tournament details, Ma Ping thought of the Holy Land Tournament since it had a similar structure. Most organizations from the holy land always sent one or two representatives, who skipped the selection rounds, while other participants had to go through a dozen rounds of deathmatches.

Ma Ping didn't like this type of tournament. He shook his head and returned the edict to Li Jue.

"I'm sorry. We won't be participating in this tournament."

Li Jue was taken aback, "Are you sure? 10,000 essence cores are on the line, you know? You can also enter the royal tombs and get the treasures there!"

Ma Ping inwardly chuckled as he thought of Miaomiao. The former had already learned about the latter's wealth through Ma Xingjuan, so money was no longer a problem for his family.

Leeching his grandson-in-law was the best.

"Sorry, but we don't need essence cores at the moment."

"Senior, you must be rich. I envy you."

"Well, since you're done, please leave. I'm busy these days."

Li Jue was reluctant to leave, "Couldn't you reconsider? You see, his majesty expects many participants and renowned cultivators in this tournament. We need to scout promising youngsters to contest with the holy land's geniuses in a few years."

"…"

Ma Ping thought of sending Ma Moxi, Ma Xingjuan, and Miaomiao as their representatives in the next holy land tournament, so a top sect might recruit them. Then, everyone in the family would be invited to the best continent to cultivate.

However, Ma Ping didn't like the death rates of these tournaments. He didn't want the children to risk their lives for a meager sum of wealth.

"Tell me. Does this tournament have the same rules as the holy land tournaments?"

"Of course not! We forbid killing! What's the point of killing off promising juniors when they can use the tournament experience to grow stronger!? We are holding this tournament to let them experience the environment and the pressure of being on stage. Those kids don't have many opportunities to fight strangers as often as in the past. We're providing a stage for them to rise!"

Ma Ping nodded. If this tournament was a non-lethal one, it might be a good opportunity for Ma Moxi and others to experience the world. After all, cooping in the city all day was bad as they might grow conceit, thinking that they were the best cultivators in the world.

"I've changed my mind. I'll send my kids there."

Li Jue repeatedly bowed and passed the edict scroll back, "Thank you very much, senior! I hope you can win this tournament!"

…

After Li Jue had left, Ma Ping returned to relay the news. He explained everything to Miaomiao's gang and other elders to hear about their opinion.

"There you have it. I want you to join this event."

Hearing about a tournament event, Ju Shoufen's PTSD kicked in. She bellowed in anger, "WE'RE NOT SENDING THE CHILDREN TO ANY TOURNAMENT!! I HAD ENOUGH OF THOSE STUPID EVENTS!!"

Jia Wenhe covered his mother-in-law's mouth to calm her down, "Relax. Senior Ma said it wouldn't be a lethal one. They can join this tournament."

"THE HOLY LAND REPRESENTATIVES SAID THE SAME!! DO YOU EVEN REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR WIFE!?"

"I know. But we're different from the past. Look around you!"

In the past, Ju Shoufen and Jia Wenhe were powerless against the Yuan Clan and the host, so they couldn't veto or demand justice for the deceased. But now, they had two 7th-stage cultivators on their side, not including the wild cards like Mao Xueyan or Zhao Bao.

Moreover, their tournament candidates were a group of freaks. Aside from the yin slaves, Wei Yuan, Ma Moxi, and Mao Miaomiao were the only eligible participants as the other girls' age surpassed the limit. Although Zhao Yun and a few of them could join, the elders didn't want them to reveal their beauty to the world, or their city would be raided by perverted cultivators from all over the continent.

Ma Ping had no trouble sending Ma Moxi there. As for Wei Yuan and Miaomiao, Ju Shoufen was still against it.

Seeing how obstinate Ju Shoufen was, Jia Wenhe tried to convince her.

"If I remember correctly, the holy land's top geniuses under the 20-age bracket are all 6th-stage cultivators with at least two or three advanced element powers. Well, Miaomiao can square off against nascent soul cultivators, so he will be fine! Besides, he's immune to the fire element, and he can use pseudo domain power. If he's prepared, I don't think any 6th-stage cultivator can be his match."

Miaomiao had been listening to the conversation. He scratched his cheek and glanced at Pang Lingming and Ma Shoucheng. He doubted he could defeat these elders as Jia Wenhe had said.

Jia Wenhe really exaggerated Miaomiao's abilities. In reality, Miaomiao managed to defeat two nascent soul cultivators with external help. If he were to solo against one, he would be dead in a few minutes.

Yet, Ju Shoufen seemed to believe the elder. She relaxed and sat down. Then, she looked at Miaomiao.

"What's your thought, Miaomiao? Do you think you're fine with joining a tournament? It will be dangerous since someone will surely try to kill you during the fight."

Miaomiao shrugged, "You're supposed to worry about my opponents, not me. I doubt there will be many experts in this tournament since Liu Bian had recently slaughtered so many top experts from many sects and clans."

"You're being overconfident."

"I speak from my experience."

"…"

Ju Shoufen stared into Miaomiao's eyes. She was in deep thought for a moment.

Although she had seen how Miaomiao had trained and fought, she doubted that he could defeat 5th-stage or 6th-stage cultivators with his current strength.

The elder had an idea of how to test Miaomiao's abilities.

"Summon me to your dream space tonight. I'll test you."

"… Okay?"

As Ju Shoufen and Miaomiao concluded that they would have a private test before they made the decision, everyone's attention turned to Wei Yuan, another candidate for this tournament.

Jia Shan stared at his enemy's granddaughter with a complicated expression. He was aware that Wei Yuan was not involved in the poisoning incident, so he tried to be nice for once.

"Wei Yuan, what do you think about this tournament?"

Wei Yuan grinned. Without hesitation, she made her decision, "I won't join the tournament."

"Oh? Why? Isn't this a good opportunity to exchange pointers with someone your age?"

"I have a better way to spar against REAL opponents. I will humbly decline the invitation."

"…"

Jia Shan sighed. He was relieved that he didn't have to worry about Wei Yuan, who seemed to be the weakest candidate among the three.

Then, everyone turned to Ma Moxi, who had eaten a divine pill. They wondered if he was ready for a grand event.

Ma Moxi simply smiled and bowed to everyone, "I'll join this tournament. I've just broken through to the late 4th-stage recently, and I need sparring partners to stabilize my foundation. I'll take this opportunity."

Ma Ping and Jia Shan approved the youngster's decision, but they couldn't decide which candidate should get the seed invitation.

Mao Miaomiao or Ma Moxi? Which one was stronger?

Ma Ping gazed at Ju Shoufen and Miaomiao, "I think Elder Ju doesn't need to test Miaomiao's ability anymore. How about we let Moxi and Miaomiao spar for a few moves here?"

Jia Shan's eyes brightened, "That's a great idea! Miaomiao and Moxi have been doing nothing but training by themselves. Since you're at a similar age and have a similar cultivation base, you should try exchanging some pointers."

Ma Moxi frowned, "Senior, I made a dao oath with Miaomiao. One of the oaths is related to my loyalty to him and my inability to harm him. I doubt I can be his sparring partner."

"Ah, dao oath. Actually, it's very simple. Miaomiao, can you revoke the oath?"

Hearing that he could cancel the dao oath of Ma Moxi, Miaomiao was shocked.

If the oath could be easily retracted, would it be possible for Ma Moxi to break free from his control? That was what Miaomiao was thinking.

"Can I really void the oath?"

Ma Ping encouraged Miaomiao, "Yes. You're the owner of Ma Moxi's oath, so you can cancel it. Well, it's not like we want to betray you or anything. We're already a family, so the oath is unnecessary. Can you cancel it, so Moxi and you can spar?"

"…"

"What are you hesitating about? Isn't it beneficial for you to have a good sparring partner?"

Miaomiao had several concerns.

The first was Ma Moxi's status as a protagonist. As one of the oaths forced Moxi to resign his rights as a protagonist, Miaomiao was afraid that the former might recover his main character charisma, and he might become Miaomiao's enemy in the future.

The second worry was the Heavenly Fate Fragment that Miaomiao had stolen from Ma Moxi. As he had already used it to create a plane core fragment, he was worried about the consequences of the oath cancelation.

And lastly, Miaomiao didn't like Ma Moxi's cheat abilities. The stealth skill of this ex-protagonist was deadly as he could kill Miaomiao in his sleep. Therefore, the oath was the only failsafe preventing such a scenario from happening.

Miaomiao's expression revealed his concerns. Ma Ping and Ma Moxi gazed at the former's face and sighed.

Ma Moxi complained, "You're overthinking, boss. I have no reason to betray you since you're my brother-in-law and you even gave me a divine pill. How about this? You can cut my salary in half if you cancel my oath."

Now, Miaomiao realized that he would turn into a bad guy in the eyes of elders and others if he kept delaying his decision or declining the oath cancelation.

He rolled his eyes, "You guys are making me a villain. Fine, I'll void your oath. How do I do it?"

Ma Ping laughed, "Just say it that you want to revoke Moxi's oath."

"Alright. I hereby revoke Ma Moxi's dao oath that he gave me."

RUMBLE

Both Ma Moxi and Miaomiao's bodies shook. Something slipped out of Miaomiao's chest and returned to Ma Moxi's dantian.

Ding

[Ma Moxi has regained his protagonist's status.]

[Ma Moxi has regained remnant energy of Heavenly Fate Fragment.]

[Warning, Ma Moxi can now harm or kill you.]

As the Heavenly Fate Fragment has been used. Ma Moxi only regained some of its energy back. Still, Miaomiao doubted that this move was a good idea.

Ding

[Ma Moxi's Heaven and Earth Pagoda has absorbed the remnant energy of Heavenly Fate Fragment.]

[Ma Moxi's Heaven and Earth Pagoda has started reconstructing the lost Heavenly Fate Fragment.]

It was a bad idea. Ma Moxi's protagonist status had been resurrected.

Ding

[Tilted Hongjun has subscribed to your sponsor's channel.]

[Tilted Hongjun is thankful that you have returned Ma Moxi's lost power.]

[Tilted Hongjun is grateful that you have given Ma Moxi a divine pill.]

[Tilted Hongjun has gifted you a supply box with restricted items. It will be transferred to your system inventory after it has been approved by the Heavenly Goose Planet's Consular Affair.]

[Tilted Hongjun promises you that he will alter Ma Moxi's fate, so he won't become your enemy.]

"…"

It seemed that freeing Ma Moxi might not be a bad idea after all.