Myriad Rivers to the Sea

Chapter 978: The Marriage Tournament

The morning sun cast a warm golden light across the tranquil waters of the Five Star Lakes and Li Yu stood in the exact center of his reinforced training clearing and he was entirely focused on the task at hand. He did not hold his heavy staff or his swords today. He was surrounded by a literal mountain of dark iron.Sixty custom forged weapons rested on the flattened grass around his boots. There were thirty large weapons and scattered among them were thirty smaller versions of the exact same designs. Li Yu closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he circulated the Qi from his dual Qi nodes.

He extended his divine sense and wrapped his will around every single piece of iron in the clearing and Li Yu hoisted all sixty weapons into the air simultaneously. Li Yu commanded the weapons to move and they instantly blurred into motion. He established multiple layered orbital tracks around his body to prevent the heavy iron objects from colliding with each other. The thirty small weapons formed an inner defensive ring that spun incredibly fast while the thirty large weapons formed a wider outer perimeter of pure destruction.

The clearing was consumed by a deafening roar as the blunt metal tore through the wind. Dust and torn grass whipped into a localized cyclone around him as Li Yu stood perfectly still in the eye of the artificial storm and he simply maintained the fixed rate of rotation. The mental strain was minimal but the vast drain on his Qi was undeniable with all sixty going at once.

Zhan Chen descended from the sky a day after Li Yu had brought his weapons home. He landed near the edge of the clearing and he immediately crossed his arms to shield his face from the violent wind. He watched the terrifying display of flying metal with wide and disbelieving eyes. The air was filled with so much spinning metal that he could barely even see his cousin standing in the center.

'He really is the spinning calamity of madness.' Zhan Chen thought internally as he observed the sheer scale of the technique. 'Only a complete lunatic would surround themselves with that many weapons.'

Li Yu sensed the arrival of his cousin through the chaotic storm and he slowly decelerated the weapons. The deafening hum of the bladed discs faded into a low whistle before all sixty pieces of heavy iron dropped down safely to the grass with a series of heavy thuds. The dust slowly settled over the clearing.

"Greetings." Li Yu said as he wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead and walked over to his cousin.

"That is quite the terrifying trick you have developed." Zhan Chen laughed while looking at the piles of metal. "I came to visit because the Zhan Clan is preparing for an outing and I wanted to see if you were interested in joining us."

"An outing to hunt more beasts?" Li Yu asked as he summoned a towel from his spatial ring to wipe his hands.

"No, this is a much more festive occasion." Zhan Chen explained with a wide smile. "The Aurelian Spear Kingdom is holding a rather fun and large scale marriage competition. We are sending a delegation."

Li Yu raised an eyebrow at the mention of the kingdom. He knew who they were from the stories his grandfather had shared and from the confrontation he witnessed alongside his parents. The Aurelian Spear Kingdom was a formidable faction adorned in gold and renowned for their devastating spear arts.

"A marriage competition?" Li Yu asked in a curious tone.

"Yes." Zhan Chen nodded. "It is for the second daughter of the Emperor, making her fourth in line for the throne. She did not want to have any sort of arranged political marriage dictated by the royal court, she would rather marry someone who is strong and or possesses potential for the future. She herself is a highly talented cultivator currently in the King realm."

Zhan Chen walked toward one of the large spiked balls and tapped it with his boot before continuing his explanation.

"The competition is specifically for those currently in the King realm to come and fight for her hand in marriage." Zhan Chen said. "However, the rules are slightly flexible. Cultivators up to the Law Integration realm can join the tournament as well. That is two whole realms higher than the King realm but their cultivation bases will be strictly sealed by the kingdom elders as they enter the arena. Everyone must fight at the King level to ensure a fair test of skill and foundation."

"What happens if someone wins but the princess simply does not like them?" Li Yu asked as he leaned against a nearby boulder. "It is a big decision to simply be left to the strongest wins. What if some rogue or bandit wins it?"

"The royal family thought of that." Zhan Chen replied while waving his hand dismissively. "If she decides that the victor is unworthy of her or if she simply does not like them personally, the marriage is called off. The victor will be given rewards from the royal treasury instead. So no matter what happens, people are highly interested in participating. You either walk away with a beautiful royal bride or a mountain of resources."

"And the Zhan Clan is participating?" Li Yu asked.

"Some of our juniors want to go and try their luck." Zhan Chen smiled. "The princess is a well known beauty across the nearby realms and she is a powerful cultivator in her own right. Winning her hand would bring great face to our family, the person that wins gets a powerful wife and the backing of the kingdom. Even if they fail to win the marriage, the combat experience against cultivators from other factions is invaluable."

Li Yu frowned slightly as he thought about his past experiences with Zhan Clan outings. He crossed his arms and looked at his cousin with a highly suspicious glare.

"I am incredibly suspicious of going anywhere with the Zhan Clan right now." Li Yu pointed out firmly. "I have gone out with your group twice now since I arrived here. The first time was an ambush and the second time was a mutated Kraken falling from a spatial rift. I am two for two in getting into a dangerous encounter."

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Zhan Chen threw his head back and laughed loudly at the accurate observation.

"That is just terrible bad luck." Zhan Chen chuckled while clapping Li Yu on the shoulder. "Surely it cannot happen a third time. This is a highly publicized tournament hosted by a friendly kingdom within their secure capital city. There will be no ambushes or falling monsters. Come with us to check it out and enjoy the festivities."

Li Yu sighed and eventually laughed along with his cousin. It was hard to argue with the logic. He had been training relentlessly and a change of scenery might be good for his mental state.

"Alright." Li Yu agreed with a nod. "I will go to watch the fights and support our people."

"Excellent." Zhan Chen smiled brightly. "The main event begins in four days but our delegation will leave in exactly three days. We need time to get there and properly settle in before the competition starts."

Li Yu agreed to the timeline and Zhan Chen took his leave to finalize the travel arrangements. The next three days passed in a complete blur of routine cultivation and rest for Li Yu. He practiced his weapon orbits for a few hours each morning and then spent the rest of his time refining his Qi.

He occasionally checked in with his head butler to see if the liquidation of his old inventory was complete. Alden was working diligently through the various merchant guilds in Tethered Stones City but the sale of such a huge volume of goods had not finished yet.

The markets simply could not absorb that many low quality weapons and herbs all at once without crashing the local prices. Li Yu told his butler to take his time and secure the best deals. This meant that when the day of departure finally arrived, Li Yu headed off to the main estate without much money in his spatial ring.

He arrived at the central transport docks of the Zhan Clan and found a sleek spiritual ship waiting for them. Zhan Chen was standing near the boarding ramp while leading the gathered delegation. There was a dedicated group of five confident juniors who were officially entering the competition. Behind them stood an additional twenty disciples who were coming solely to check out the fights and have fun at the kingdom.

Li Yu also noticed a surprisingly heavy guard presence. They were followed by five older men radiating immense pressure. They were all elders at the Creation Lord level and Li Yu had seen three of them arriving with the clan leader during the fight before.

Zhan Chen saw Li Yu looking at the elders and quickly explained the situation as they boarded the ship.

"This heavy escort is mainly due to the recent events in the hunting realm." Zhan Chen whispered as they walked onto the main deck. "The Clan Leader is not taking any chances with our safety right now. Furthermore, it is also a political necessity to give the Aurelian Spear Kingdom proper face. They are roughly on the same level of power as the Zhan Clan so we cannot just send a handful of juniors without proper senior representation."

Li Yu nodded in understanding as the ship lifted into the air and tore through the clouds. The journey toward the neighboring kingdom was smooth and entirely uneventful. The disciples spent the flight discussing martial arts and placing friendly wagers on who would perform the best in the arena.

A few hours later, the majestic capital city of the Aurelian Spear Kingdom finally came into view. It was a formidable and breathtaking sight. The entire city was adorned in bright gold and towering spires pierced the sky like actual spears. A heavy and oppressive spear intent naturally permeated the air and it served as a constant reminder of the martial prowess housed within the kingdom walls.

The Zhan Clan ship was guided by royal escorts toward the highest landing pavilion near the imperial palace. As the ship touched down and the ramp lowered, the Zhan elders stepped out first to formally announce their arrival and they immediately froze in their tracks.

Standing on the polished marble landing pad was a welcoming committee that completely defied diplomatic expectations.

An ancient man leaning heavily on a plain wooden spear stood at the forefront. His face was a map of horrific scars and his aura felt as deep and ancient. This was Ancestor Longwei. Standing directly beside him was Emperor Jinhai whose golden robes shimmered with suffocating authority. Crown Prince Shen stood respectfully a half step behind them.

The Zhan Clan elders and the junior disciples were surprised to see them. The Emperor and a legendary Ancestor would never welcome a simple tournament delegation personally when they themselves are only coming with elders. It was an overwhelming amount of face that left the elders scrambling to offer their bows.

Then they realized the true reason for the grand reception. They turned their heads slightly and looked at Li Yu who was walking down the ramp alongside Zhan Chen. The royal family was not here for the Zhan Clan delegation. They were here because of Li Yu and his unique status with their Ancestor.

Ancestor Longwei stepped forward and formally welcomed the delegation to his home but his ancient eyes remained locked on Li Yu. He was deeply curious about what the grandson of Zhan Tian would actually be like. He knew the Worldkeeper had not been there to raise the boy so he expected someone perhaps a bit softer or weaker..

As Longwei swept his divine sense over the young man, he was completely stunned. He instantly registered Li Yu's young age and his Paragon cultivation level. More importantly, he felt the terrifying denseness of the boy's foundation. It was so solid and unyielding that it felt like an entire mountain range had been compressed into a single human body.

'I have never met someone like this before.' Longwei thought internally as his grip tightened on his wooden spear. 'He is a monster in human skin. His foundation is even more terrifying at that age than anyone I have met. Surely this has to be even stronger than Zhan Tian at this age, no it definitely has to be much stronger. I can’t believe that Zhan Tian could even carry his shoes at this age, I know I couldn’t have at this age.'

Emperor Jinhai harbored the same thoughts as his ancestor. He felt the boundless Qi radiating subtly from Li Yu and he mentally evaluated the political landscape. He leaned his head back slightly and spoke softly to his son without taking his eyes off the guest.

"Remember my previous words." Emperor Jinhai reminded Prince Shen in a quiet whisper. "Ensure you are on the best of terms with him during this visit. And if you cannot be his friend, you must absolutely make sure you are never his enemy."

"I understand completely, Father." Prince Shen replied with a respectful nod.

Standing off to the side near a row of golden pillars was another figure observing the arrival. It was Princess Jinling. She wore elegant battle robes rather than a traditional gown and a delicate spear rested against her shoulder. She had come to the pavilion out of curiosity. She wanted to know exactly why her powerful father and her legendary ancestor were acting so courteous and deferential towards a visiting clan.

Princess Jinling watched Li Yu as he politely returned the bows of the royal family. She studied his calm demeanor and his steady gaze. She found Li Yu to be quite good looking as he stood there in the golden sunlight. He was not considered amazingly handsome or delicate like the pampered scholars from the central realms but he possessed a grounded charm that immediately caught her attention.

She smiled softly to herself as the royal guards began to lead the Zhan Clan delegation toward their designated guest quarters. The marriage tournament was supposed to be a simple test of strength to find a suitable partner but with the arrival of this mysterious and highly respected youth, the event had just become infinitely more interesting.