Cheng Ah Bi followed closely behind her brother, Cheng Wenlong, as they arrived at the large arena built specifically for the ’Jian Province Competition’ outside Yingze City in Yingze County. The siblings were both stunned.
This time, Yingze County had put in great effort, with strong support from the Jian Province Governor’s Office, completely changing the previous attitude of officials and nobility being ’aloof.’ The setting for the ’Jian Province Competition’ was rather innovative—
This site was a massive circular structure, surrounded by high walls, resembling a small city.
The arena was centrally located, paved with sand and soil.
Inside, there were also fake mountains and scattered rocks, adding complexity to the arena.
This arena was incredibly vast, with a diameter of sixty-six zhang, about the size of 21 football fields.
However, within the arena, there were ’immersive spectator seats,’ with nine small stands, each accommodating sixty-six spectators. These spectators could watch the combatants up close, and during fierce battles, fighters might even pass right in front of them. Strong winds, debris, and sand could fall onto the stands, offering a truly ’zero distance’ experience.
Apart from the nine ’immersive spectator seats,’ there were also thirty-six three-zhang-high stone pillars, each capable of accommodating only one person. Standing atop them were the judges of the ’Jian Province Competition,’ all experts.
Thirty-six stone pillars!
They oversaw the entire arena with three functions—
First, to judge victories and defeats.
Second, to prevent cheating.
Third, to prevent fighters from going too far and to protect their lives.
The stone pillars stood tall.
The judges stood proudly.
The atmosphere of the vast arena was instantly intensified.
Outside the arena, the spectator seats rose incrementally from the inside out, surrounding the entire arena, divided into different areas, different levels.
The higher the status of the spectator, the closer they were to the arena.
Ordinary civilians could only stand on the outermost ring.
This was another major breakthrough for the ’Jian Province Competition.’ In the past, which official, nobleman, or even ordinary wealthy merchant would be willing to stand among the crowd? Who wouldn’t want to stand out above others?
But this time, in the ’Jian Province Competition,’ the more distinguished one’s status, the closer their position, offering a clearer view, but correspondingly, the seats were lower.
This was impossible in the past.
Now it’s become a reality.
Cheng Wenlong and Cheng Ah Bi, as siblings, were not ordinary people. They did not need to stand on the outermost ring. The nine academies had secured a dedicated area for their disciples. The two siblings went straight there, where the position was relatively close to the front, still considered decent.
Cheng Ah Bi arrived at the area belonging to Guangling Academy, where she saw a vast crowd, numbering not just in the thousands!
It seemed like the entire Guangling Academy’s disciples were here.
Cheng Ah Bi was amazed.
Just the nine academies alone exceeded ten thousand people.
A diverse array of various spectators continued to enter, with a total number exceeding that of the nine academies combined.
These people included many Jianghu figures and martial arts practitioners, but there were also those unrelated to martial arts, purely here to watch the excitement.
After all, the Jian Province Competition was an unprecedented event for the entire Jian Province. Not coming to see it would be a great pity.
"An admission ticket costs at least ten copper coins; with at least thirty thousand spectators here, it means the daily income from tickets alone is at least four hundred taels."
Cheng Ah Bi calculated briefly and couldn’t help but be amazed.
She not only saw the venue and the officials’ income but also noticed those like herself, fellow martial arts academy disciples of Yingze Academy, earning money: "Brother, did you see, there are quite a few Yingze Academy disciples working part-time here, they’re definitely not working for nothing. The ’Jian Province Competition’ will last a month; if they work for a month, how much do you think they can earn?"
Yingze Academy disciples were maintaining order and guiding spectators inside and outside the venue, having proximity to opportunities. After a month, they certainly earned a lot.
Since entering Guangling Academy, Cheng Ah Bi, having been cut off financially by Cheng Fengxiao, found herself with nothing left and began to pay attention to such trivial matters as money.
If Cheng Fengxiao saw this, he would surely be shocked.
Cheng Wenlong had no interest in money matters. He stood among the spectators, gazing down at the arena, "I heard that senior brother is also participating, representing Taikang Academy. I wonder if he’ll show up today."
Cheng Ah Bi’s expression froze, showing mixed emotions.
Since last July, after she and her brother Cheng Wenlong defected from the Iron Wire Martial Arts Hall to join Guangling Academy, the once dull senior brother seemed to have awakened. In the months of July, August, September, and October, he grew rapidly, gaining considerable fame. By the end of October’s ’Martial Arts Competition,’ he was astounding, suppressing the entire Guangling Academy, overpowering dozens of elite disciples, even defeating Wu Qi, one of the ’Guangling Ten Elders,’ whom Cheng Ah Bi once viewed as heavenly people.
Senior brother was just too strong!
A complete transformation!
Once, she thought that joining Guangling Academy would quickly enable her to surpass senior brother and prove that their father was wrong.
Yet, over this time, she increasingly felt inadequate.
With each piece of news about senior brother reaching her ears, Cheng Ah Bi felt more uneasy. It wasn’t that she didn’t want senior brother to succeed, indeed, she was very happy for his achievements, but still, an inexplicable complexity remained.
"Did we make a mistake?"
Cheng Ah Bi was confused. She turned to look at Cheng Wenlong.
Cheng Wenlong shook his head: "The Martial Arts Academy is the future, I am certain of that. Look, no matter how strong senior brother is, did he not still join Taikang Academy and participate in this ’Jian Province Competition’ that belongs only to the nine major academies?"