Chapter 85: Bloody Battle, Death Contract
“I only have two conditions, and they are simple,” Wang Juechu expressionlessly said.
“First, your men have to evacuate outside of my sect’s sphere of influence, and they have to do so in groups under the supervision of my sect’s disciples.” His tone hardened considerably.
“Sure, that’s not a problem.” Jia Tianlong replied without hesitation.
Seeing how his opponent answered so steadfastly, Wang Juechu coldly laughed as he directly told Jia Tianlong his second condition.
“Second, both you and I have to sign a death contract and fight in a duel before you all can leave.”
“Death contract!”
“Are you serious?”
“Has he gone mad!”
……
As Wang Juechu’s sentence left his mouth, it caused a huge ruckus to break out among the crowd. All those who heard the sentence had varied expressions on their faces. Some were excited, some were ashen, while some were eager to see the outcome of the duel.
After hearing Sect Leader Wang’s conditions, Jia Tianlong’s expression flickered before swiftly reverting back to its normal state.
“Did I hear that condition incorrectly? Both of us sign a death contract and fight until there is only one survivor?” After his seemingly nonchalant question, Jia Tianlong broke out into a laugh.
“No, your ears are fine. This is to collect the blood debt for Vice Sect Leader Wu and the others who died. Thus, I have no choice but to propose this: a death contract between you and me,” Wang Juechu stated coldly, staring directly at Jia Tianlong with his hand on his sword.
Jia Tianlong laughed but did not give an immediate reply. His eyes flashed while he pondered. It appeared that he did not dare to treat this lightly and would only answer after deep contemplation.
Voices broke out in discussion among the crowd. Even the oblivious Han Li couldn’t take it anymore and chose to question Li Feiyu, who was standing by his side, instead.
“What is a death contract? Seems like it’s something incredible!”
“What? You don’t even know about death contracts? This is too inconceivable! Of all the ways to settle the disputes of Jiang Hu, this is, by far, the most famous and bloody method!” Stunned with amazement, Li Feiyu explained with a facial expression akin to the fascination of meeting a ghost.
“You don’t say! You should know that I barely know anything beyond God Hand Valley and have no interest regarding matters of Jiang Hu. Is it really so strange that I did not know?” Han Li replied in a low tone, seemingly in a bad mood.
“Oh! Right, true enough, I almost forgot.” Li Feiyu scratched his head in embarrassment.
“The death contract is often used by two parties who have great hatred and enmity towards each other. Before their battle, they would sign a life-death statement, stating that after they enter the battle, they would battle until there would only be a single survivor. If someone left halfway, not only would that person’s reputation plummet and face everyone’s disdain, anyone in the entirety of Jiang Hu would have the right to kill him. Because all the people of Jiang Hu believe that death contracts are extremely sacred, those who destroy or taint the essence of this contract will be annihilated as a warning to others.”
“What’s more is that most of these battle are staged in arenas where people have often fought to death, consequently appearing even more bloody and cruel than normal. In recent years, the number of people using this method to resolve their disputes has lessened.”
Li Feiyu slowly and elaborately explained.
After hearing the explanation, Han Li furrowed his brows as he understood the true meaning of death contracts. He seemed to disapprove of Sect Leader Wang’s decision to enter into a death contract with Jia Tianlong. From his perspective, this would only end with one dead and one grievously injured. In the first place, if there was to be such an ending, it might as well not be started at all. Sect Leader Wang might as well just let the enemy go free or just kill the enemy straight away, saving himself from all this unnecessary trouble.
“Fine, I agree. Let’s enter into a death contract.” After repeatedly deliberating, Jia Tianlong’s gaze roaming about before riveting on the figure of Monk Golden Light. Then, he made his final decision.
Since Jia Tianlong’s opponent wanted to use this as an excuse to kill him, wasn’t this a good opportunity for him to remove the roots of the troublesome Seven Mysteries Sect?
Jia Tianlong was very clear about what Wang Juechu was thinking. He obviously wanted the support of his three hidden martial uncles! But what a pity, he had already knew of their existences through reports from his spies and had already prepared countermeasures against them.
With the immortal cultivator and his flying swords techniques by his side, his chances of winning the battle was definitely more than ninety percent.
As long as he killed Wang Juechu as well as the remaining experts of the Seven Mysteries Sect during the deathmatch, it would be worth it. Even if his attack failed this time around, there was no cause for concern, because the next time he attacked, the Seven Mysteries Sect would no longer have any strength to resist. After all, nurturing an expert was not something that could be done within a single year.
Thus, this was the reason why the cautious Jia Tianlong would now chose to take such a risk and agree to sign the death contract.
“Sect Leader Wang! According to rules of the death contract, you should be the one to select the time and location of the battle. I will have no objections, but as for the number of fighters and methods of battle, I should be the one to decide, am I right?” An enigmatic smile spread on Jia Tianlong’s face.
“Hmmp! You are right,” Wang Juechu answered somewhat unwillingly.
“Okay, then. I want the number of people fighting to be a hundred; fifty men from each party in a battle royal.” With no signs of being courteous, Jia Tianlong directly stated his request.
“Fifty people? Battle royal?” Sect Leader Wang’s cold face actually revealed a hint of surprise.
Death contract battles allowed multiple people to take part to prevent one side’s strength to be greatly depleted. However, twenty or thirty people was already considered excessive, and Jia Tianlong’s proposed method of battle—battle royal—was rarely used in comparison to one-on-one battles.
However, since it was Wang Juechu himself who requested the death contract battle, there was no way he could take back his words. Moreover, he was extremely confident in the battle prowess of his three senior martial uncles. Even if it was a battle royal, victory would most assuredly belong to his side.
Moreover, as long as he was able to kill Jia Tianlong, it would be worth it no matter how great a price he had to pay. As long as this scheming Jia Tianlong died, he was sure that the forces under him would almost immediately try to fight to be the next gang leader, resulting in the gang splintering into different groups as they vied for power and authority. This would no longer make them a threat to Wang Juechu’s Seven Mysteries Sect.
As he thought of this, Sect Leader Wang nodded his head, agreeing to his opponent’s request.
“Men, go prepare the arena and the death contract!” Wang Juechu commanded in a stern voice to the people standing behind him.
Chapter 86: A Sudden Change
Following his orders, thirty brightly-dressed disciples rushed from the sect hall.
None of these people uttered even a single word. In front of the hall, they wordlessly used wooden stakes and ropes to create the arena for the death fight. From their swift movements, it was evident that these people were proficient in martial arts, unlike the common low-ranking disciples of the Seven Mysteries Sect
Witnessing the site of the duel being created, Li Feiyu asked Han Li in distraught, “Don’t tell me that we’re going to hide here the whole time. Are we going to do nothing and idly watch their duel? This isn’t right!”
“This isn’t right? Your young lover is currently not in danger and is actually quite safe. We’ll wait for the duel to finish. Once the Feral Wolf Gang evacuates, we’ll take advantage of the disorder and stealthily make our way to Young Lady Zhang. Since the survivors of the Seven Mysteries Sect will most likely want to use you as a scapegoat and place all the blame on you, the two of you have to escape to a faraway place where they can’t find you,” Han Li said indifferently. It seemed that he didn’t have a deep sense of belonging towards the Seven Mysteries Sect.
“Wouldn’t that be eloping? That won’t do; Xiuer wouldn’t agree to it!” Li Feiyu shook his head as if he were beating a drum with it.
“Then knock her out and take her away by force. By the time she wakes up, it would be too late to change anything. Isn’t that good enough?” Han Li replied nonchalantly.
“You….” Li Feiyu angrily glared at Han Li, unable to speak another word.
While these two individuals were completely engaged in a conversation with each other, Sect Leader Wang solemnly received two blood-red scrolls. These were the death contracts. He took one for himself and ordered someone to bring the other to Jia Tianlong, who was across from him.
As Jia Tianlong accepted the document, his expression changed to one of solemness. He carefully opened the document and cautiously skimmed through it. Once he verified that there was no problem, he nodded his head and closed the document. He then began selecting soldiers to fight in the deathmatch.
After filtering through his available men, he selected thirteen elite experts from the Feral Wolf Gang. In addition, he selected tens of martial artists with acceptable talents from the smaller gangs in order to lessen his own losses. In any case, once they signed their names on the death contract, these martial artists would have to fight with all their might in order to preserve their insignificant lives, regardless of whether or not they were willing. As for the remaining candidates, Jia Tianlong picked some of his capable Iron Guards. Of course, Monk Golden Light was certain to take the stage. Jia Tianlong was completely counting on the great martial prowess of this Immortal cultivator’s flying sword technique.
While Jia Tianlong was busy, he did not notice that Wang Juechu had returned to the stone hall. Until now, Jia Tianlong still hadn’t seen Sect Leader Wang return, making Jia Tianlong think that Wang Juechu was probably having difficulty deciding the candidates for the deathmatch.
When the deathmatch stage had been thoroughly completed, Sect Leader Wang brought out three to four hundred people out from the hall.
Within this crowd was a mixture of young and old disciples of both genders. However, each and every one of them had a spirited light in their eyes and walked with steady steps. It was evident they were the Seven Mysteries Sect’s elites. The ones Jia Tianlong was most cautious of were the three figures following behind Wang Juechu.
The first individual wore a fluttering scholar’s jacket, and his face appeared intellectual and scholarly-like. The second was tall and sturdy with his chest bare. His full beard, resembling steel needles, gave him a valiant appearance that was incomparable. Last was a person wearing gray clothes. He carried a long sword on his back and had a cold expression.
At first glance, these people seemed to be middle-aged men, thirty to forty years old. However, close examination revealed that they released an aura that exuded the passage of time, an aura equivalent to that of an elderly man of seventy to eighty years. It made onlookers feel like the ages of these middle-aged men did not match their young external appearances.
(TL: “passage of time”: literally means the blue sea turned into mulberry fields. Figuratively, it represents the worldly passage of time or how time brings a great change to the world.)
Jia Tianlong’s mind was clear. These three were definitely Wang Juechu’s three martial uncles. It seemed that the Seven Mysteries Sect would not hold anything back, even going as far as summoning its reserves.
Thinking of this, Jia Tianlong leaned to the side and pointed his finger at those three martial uncles for the dwarf Mink Golden Light. He asked, “Monk. I don’t know how you feel about those three, but can you take them down?”
“They are nothing more than ordinary folk. With a wave of my flying swords, their small lives will be finished. What is there to be worried about? Do you not trust me?” Monk Golden Light said this with a somewhat dismissive tone and gave Jia tianlong a dissatisfied glare.
“I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare! I merely asked without thinking. Please do not take it to heart, Monk.” Jia Tianlong promptly responded with a smiling face, fearing that he might have offended the person on whom he was currently most relying.
“Humph! ” After the dwarf heard these words, his anger gradually vanished.
Only after seeing this did Jia Tianlong’s heart calm down. This great Immortal cultivator was truly not easy to please!
He bitterly smiled to himself and hastily turned his body before shouting loudly, “Are you not ready? Begin signing the death contract!”
Following this berating voice, those from the Feral Wolf Gang that were participating the deathmatch started to solemnly write down their names on the death contract. After they signed their names, their fighting spirit burst forth.
Not to be outdone, Wang Juechu commanded with a cold voice, “Sign the death contract!”
Immediately, tens of warriors who had been chosen to participate emerged from the crowd of Seven Mysteries Sect members and walked forward to sign the death contract.
Han Li’s gaze naturally fell on those who marched out as he tried to see if there were any acquaintances among them. He also saw Sect Leader Wang’s three martial uncles. However, he didn’t take them to mind. He skimmed the crowd with a hurried glance until an elderly man with a blue-green jacket entered his line of sight.
With a single look at this old man’s appearance, Han Li could not help but exhale in a low voice, “Elder Li!”
This was the man whose life Han Li had actually saved before, Ma Rong’s Master—Elder Li. He was unexpectedly a participant of the deathmatch. This was far beyond Han Li’s expectations.
Han Li retracted his gaze and hastily turned his face. Slapping Li Feiyu’s shoulder with all his strength, he said, “Did you see that? Elder Li is there, and wants to sign the death contract!”
Li Feiyu expressionlessly stood there, motionless, as he surveyed the distance from an elevated view. As if he hadn’t heard his friend, Li Feiyu had an extremely stupefied expression.
“Hey! What’s the matter?” Han Li was somewhat surprised.
“Even if Elder Li wants to sign the death contract, it’s not like he’s going to die, right?” He strangely asked.
Once Li Feiyu heard those words, his vision finally returned. He blankly gazed at Han Li and uttered a sentence that instantly stunned Han Li.
“Xiuer…. Xiuer, she is also there. She also wants to participates in the death contract battle!”
Upon uttering these words, Li Feiyu face instantly became extremely unsightly.
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