Dimension Paradise, I am a summoning apostle

Chapter 589 County Entrance Arena: Even the Best Martial Arts Can't Beat Fate
"This world is getting more and more chaotic." Chai Jungui brought down his Wind and Thunder Sword, killing the last bandit.

After leaving Mengjiazhuang, they traveled for several more days on this road.

These past few days have been relatively peaceful, but we've encountered thieves and robbers from time to time along the way.

If there was anything unsettling about it, it was the lack of trouble left behind by Zhao Yuanlang.

Those who actually do the work are usually knights created by Chai Jungui and Ruan Yingmei using three spells.

The former practices swordsmanship, while the latter practices magic.

As for treasure chests, there weren't any.

Chu Danqing suspected that in this rank advancement assessment, only those with primordial spirits or those resembling demons and monsters could drop treasure chests.

The former should definitely be of the "Brilliant" level, while the latter's quality should depend on its strength.

As for immortals, Buddhas, ghosts, and gods, forget about them; they are simply beyond Chu Danqing's ability to deal with.

Killing one might lead to a treasure chest of destiny, provided that Chu Danqing is still alive.

Ordinary people are just ordinary people; if they want the treasure chest, they'll have to go on a killing spree.

Furthermore, it needs to be accumulated and superimposed within a certain group event, rather than being settled directly.

"That's normal. If the world weren't in chaos, how could dynasties change?" Chu Danqing said calmly.

If it were a peaceful and prosperous era, and the people were well-fed and clothed, how many people would choose to rebel?

“According to these bandits, there’s a place called Zitao County ahead. Should we go there and rest for a while?” Chai Jungui said after glancing at the sky. “If we miss it, we’ll have to spend the night in the wilderness again.”

"Alright, let's rest in Zitao County for a while." Chu Danqing naturally had no objections.

He can live anywhere, but a good environment would naturally be better.

Of course, if Chai Jungui and Ruan Yingmei don't get proper rest for a long time, problems will arise.

“Perfect, let’s go and see what a martial arts tournament is like.” Ruan Yingmei found this interesting as well.

In Zitao County, there were three brothers who loved to practice martial arts, so they set up a fighting arena at the entrance of the county.

If you beat them, you get silver; if you lose, you get copper.

Because of its benefits, many people in the surrounding area have tried it, and thus the news has spread widely.

The bandits knew about these things because they had tried them themselves.

Those three brothers were indeed highly skilled in martial arts and had never been defeated so far, so many people could only get copper coins.

As for surrendering as soon as you enter the game to rack up points? That's definitely not going to work.

The three brothers set up the ring for a fight. If you lose miserably two or three times in a row, they definitely won't want to let them go into the ring again.

"It's not like a martial arts contest to find a husband, what's so interesting about it?" Chu Danqing thought of the last time she tried to find a husband through a martial arts contest, where she relied entirely on connections.

"Besides, it'll be almost dark when we get there. They wouldn't necessarily say they'd have a martial arts competition at night," Chu Danqing said speechlessly.

People who can wield swords and spears and practice martial arts are rarely ordinary people; at the very least, they must come from wealthy families.

In particular, there were three people at once.

Despite saying that, the group headed towards Zitao County.

The journey was smooth and there were no unexpected incidents.

But upon arrival, they discovered that something seemed to have gone wrong again.

At the entrance to the county, a pile of ruins came into view.

"This should be the arena," Chai Jungui said.

"If nothing unexpected happens, then it is." Chu Danqing observed for a moment and found some scattered bloodstains: "A person with this level of martial arts skill is definitely not an ordinary person."

After he said this, Chai Jungui and Ruan Yingmei understood that the person who made the move was someone who possessed a primordial spirit.

Moreover, it's not the first-stage primordial spirit; it must be at least the second stage.

That is, the level that can be revealed and seen by everyone.

As they were talking, an old man slowly walked into the county town. Chu Danqing casually asked, "Old man, I heard that three brothers set up a duel here. How did it turn out like this?"

Upon hearing Chu Danqing's question, the old man stopped and said, "Of course something happened, and we won't be setting up a fighting arena here anymore."

"If you want to earn copper coins, you'll have to look elsewhere."

The other person responded, but didn't explain why.

So Chu Danqing continued, "What happened? Could you tell me in detail, sir?"

When he asked, he was given three copper coins.

The old man accepted it directly and said, "That was two days ago."

"The three brothers set up a fighting ring at the county entrance as usual that day, but unexpectedly a red-faced man and a black-faced man came."

"Upon hearing that there was money to be made, the red-faced man stepped onto the field."

"At first, the red-faced man was at a disadvantage, but later he became angry and a fire dragon appeared above his head."

"With just one blow, the boss's brains were smashed open, and his huge head was gone just like that."

"Although swords and spears are indiscriminate in sparring, they are only used to make a point and then stop. It's not a life-or-death duel, so at most it will only result in minor injuries."

"I've never seen anything like this before."

"How could the second and third brothers let this go? They wanted to take that red-faced man to the authorities."

"I never imagined that the red-faced man was a fugitive. With the arrest warrant as proof, if he were to meet the authorities, wouldn't he be in deep trouble?"

"We only found out about this after it was reported to the authorities."

"Therefore, in a fit of rage, he smashed the arena and fled with the dark-faced man."

Hearing this, Chu Danqing thought it was all over, but the old man only paused for a moment and continued, "The second son led his men to chase after them, but for some reason, he was shot and killed at Mashan Temple on the mountain."

"Now only the third brother is left, and he's plotting how to take revenge."

"You know what a mess this has become. What was supposed to be a proper arena event has turned into this," the old man said, shaking his head helplessly.

This is a good thing for everyone.

The three brothers used it to practice their martial arts skills, and anyone who challenged them in the ring, regardless of whether they won or lost, would receive a sum of money.

Furthermore, since this fight was only meant to be a brief exchange, there wasn't much danger involved.

Even if he was really injured, he still had a good fight with the three brothers, and even if he lost, he would still have to pay for the medicine.

If he were truly skilled, the three brothers might even hire him as a martial arts instructor, ensuring he would be well-fed and clothed, which would be better than being poor and arrogant.

"Where did those two men escape to?" Chu Danqing asked again.

"I don't know about that. That day I only saw them fleeing out of the county town." The old man paused for a moment. "They must have gone to Mashan Temple. Otherwise, why would the second brother have been shot to death?"

"They said they didn't know why, but it's likely that these two men were behind it."

"It's getting late. You young men should find an inn in the county town to stay the night."

After saying that, the old man waved his hand and left.

The county town is different from Zhuangzi; Zhuangzi is a whole that belongs to a certain person.

Just like Mengjiazhuang and Dulongzhuang, they were similar to the private property of landlords.

Although county towns have officials like county magistrates and assistant magistrates, they are ultimately dominated by the collective.

Chu Danqing didn't know what the differences were between the other trial worlds, but this trial world was indeed like that.

"How so?" Chu Danqing asked.

“Let’s go find the surviving third brother,” Chai Jungui said immediately. “He’s also a victim; we can win him over.”

"Alright, this person is from a wealthy family, it shouldn't be difficult to find out more about them." Chu Danqing felt that if things continued like this, they might become the Avengers.

However, this makes sense; otherwise, given Chai Jungui's status as a pseudo-king and his humble, unrefined nature, he wouldn't have been able to retain anyone.

If Nguyen Anh Mei didn't harbor deep hatred, why would she have followed them to a distant land?

Shared interests formed through hatred are particularly useful at this time.

After making some inquiries, I quickly learned a lot about the cause and effect.

I also know something about the situation of these three brothers.

The three men were surnamed Zhou, and their names were Duan Jin, Duan Yin, and Duan Tong.

The Zhou family was a wealthy and influential family in Zitao County, which is why they were able to afford to support their three sons in martial arts training.

Although the three brothers practiced their family's traditional martial arts, they were indeed quite talented.

Even officials from the prefectural government came to recruit them, but they refused.

They bluntly stated that they had no interest in officialdom and only wanted to wield weapons.

However, although they were fond of martial arts, they were not just brutes.

The three brothers also managed the family business quite well.

Life is getting better day by day, otherwise where would we get the money to use as a competition arena?

They had neither a good nor a bad reputation in the county town; on the contrary, nine out of ten families thought the three brothers were being taken advantage of.

Otherwise, who would put their family business into such a contest?

"Do you all have something to say?" The gatekeeper at the Zhou family's gate stopped them.

At this time, white cloths and white lanterns were hung everywhere in the Zhou family's home.

The gatekeeper knew Zhou's relatives and friends, but Chu Danqing and the others were obviously strangers, so he was bound to ask them a question.

"I've come to offer my condolences," Chu Danqing said, taking out a sum of money as a gift.

Gift money is expected for both weddings and funerals.

"Are you all friends of the First Master or the Second Master? I'd like to go in and inform the Third Master." The gatekeeper did not accept the order.

These are turbulent times, so it's best to report anything first.

"You can go and report it." Chu Danqing didn't say it directly, but casually tossed in ten copper coins: "You'll get your reward."

Now that things have come to this point, even the most clueless doorman could tell that Chu Danqing wasn't anyone's friend, but simply wanted to meet the head of the Zhou family.

As soon as the money was received, the gatekeeper said, "Please wait a moment, I will go and inform the Third Master."

The people in front of me were dressed in extraordinary clothes and had an unusual demeanor; they were clearly not ordinary people.

Asking him to announce his arrival when someone comes to visit is already a gesture of respect.

So he went to report as instructed, and if the Third Master didn't see him, he would just give a brief reply.

What happens next is none of his business.

Otherwise, if you offend someone important and end up having to be used as an apology, wouldn't that be a loss?

"Brother, how do you plan to win him over?" Chai Jungui asked.

"Go straight for it," Chu Danqing replied simply.

His charm, combined with initial goodwill and the fact that everyone involved is a victim, makes him relatively easy to win over.

On the contrary, taking roundabout approaches or resorting to unorthodox tactics might actually backfire.

Besides, this matter is probably not over yet.

(End of this chapter)