Chapter 145: Chapter 144: Rookie Competition

Zhao Chi was a junior, after all.

For elders to directly intervene in conflicts between juniors always felt like making a mountain out of a molehill.

So, if Xiao Zhiyi hadn’t come asking, Zhao Qizu would never have had Zhao Huai contact Zhao Chi.

Zhao Chi replied, [To put it simply, at midnight, I chose the Flower Demon diversion. But Xiao Rui said those Flower Demons were his and told me to give them back after I captured them. He was also running his mouth, so I gave him a taste of his own medicine.]

Zhao Huai: [Holy shit, I was wondering how you managed to steal his Flower Demons. So that’s how it happened? He’s got some serious nerve.]

Zhao Chi: [You think so too, Eleventh Brother?]

Zhao Huai: [Of course! There’s something wrong with the Xiao Family’s heads. Every last one of them is like a psycho.]

Zhao Chi: [He was acting so self-righteous just now. It’s unbelievable...]

Zhao Huai: [Well, here’s the thing. If this were like before, he’d actually have a point. But this time is different.]

Zhao Chi: [Huh? What do you mean?]

Zhao Huai explained:

[Before, when our village was assigned extra Magical Beast quotas, the Xiao Family always took on the largest share, and our Zhao Family took the smallest.]

[So under those circumstances, the Xiao Family proposed that whoever took on the biggest share got to pick first.]

[They’re all Magical Beasts, after all, but some are easier to fight, and some are harder. The spoils are different, too.]

[But who could argue when they were taking on the largest numbers? So everyone agreed to it.]

[Our share was small, so we could only pick up the scraps, but we did so willingly.]

[But this time is different.]

[This time, we’re fucking splitting it evenly. So who’s gonna give way to them anymore? It’s first come, first served.]

[That Xiao Rui is probably still stuck on the old rules. That’s why he went ballistic this time, hahaha!]

’So that’s how it was.’

Zhao Chi had originally thought the other guy was just being a lunatic for no reason.

’Looks like there was a reason behind it after all.’

’But since I’m not in the wrong, it doesn’t matter.’

’I’ll do it again next time!’

Zhao Chi: [I get it now, Eleventh Brother. Did I explain my side clearly enough?]

Zhao Huai: [Crystal clear. How are things on your end? You done fighting?]

’Not only am I done, I even had a nice two-hour nap.’

Zhao Chi: [Yeah, I am.]

Zhao Huai: [What are your losses like? Acceptable, I hope?]

Zhao Chi: [Acceptable. Nothing major.]

Zhao Huai advised:

[That’s good. We don’t know how long this Magical Beast diversion will last, but it usually doesn’t end until the rebels are caught.]

[It could be a few days, or it could be a few months. So we need to pace ourselves. Don’t take too many losses at once; it’s not worth it.]

[Besides, they mentioned it in the last meeting. The elders are under a lot more pressure now, so it’ll be hard for them to rescue us in time.]

[So we need to be careful, understand?]

Zhao Chi chuckled:

[I get it. Listening to you, you sound like a veteran Lord yourself. How are things on your end? You finished?]

Zhao Huai: [Yep, all done. I actually snatched up 100 Zombies in an instant just now, hehe. Whoever gets stuck with the Beastmen is gonna have a bad time.]

Zhao Chi: [With your strength, how did you only manage to grab 100?]

Zhao Huai: [I’m not that strong. I played it safe, so I came out unscathed. Just for your reference.]

Zhao Chi: [Do you have regular quota missions every day now?]

Zhao Huai: [Not yet, but I probably will soon. The pressure will really be on then.]

Zhao Chi: [They still haven’t assigned you any?]

Zhao Huai: [What kind of question is that? Before you became a Lord, I was the youngest Lord. Why would the family assign me quota missions?]

Zhao Chi: [Bullshit. Twelfth Sister Zhao Jiao is the youngest Lord.]

Zhao Huai: [I meant among the guys.]

At that moment, Gu Qing hummed softly.

She seemed to have been woken up.

Zhao Chi: [Alright, Eleventh Brother, I gotta go. Let’s talk later.]

Zhao Huai: [Okay. I’ll go tell Second Uncle about your situation. But be careful. I’m worried those bastards from the Xiao Family will come up with some dirty trick, like making you join some newcomer competition so Xiao Rui can take the chance to mess you up. Even if there are no real losses, it would still be humiliating.]

Zhao Chi was about to hang up.

But those words piqued his interest.

He covered Gu Qing’s ears.

Zhao Chi: [Huh? What newcomer competition? What’s that about?]

Zhao Huai: [It’s the one our village holds. Don’t they have it every year? Oh, right, you’ve spent the last two years holed up in the academy’s library, so you probably haven’t participated much.]

Zhao Chi: [Tell me the details.]

Zhao Huai chuckled smugly:

[Weren’t you the one in a hurry to hang up? Not anymore?]

[The newcomer competition is where the five nearby villages gather all the new Lords from that year to compete against each other.]

[The prizes are all contributed by the various families in each village—they can’t be too shabby, of course. Then, prizes are awarded based on the final rankings.]

[The champion gets a ton of prizes, of course, and the top 10 all get something, but there’s nothing for anyone ranked below 10th.]

[Our family isn’t actually too keen on participating. We rarely win, so going is basically just like donating prizes.]

[This year, you just became a Lord, and then this whole mess happened before it could even start, so no one has brought it up yet.]

Zhao Chi understood.

’They make it sound so grand, but it’s really just a competition organized by the five villages themselves.’

’Only New Lords are eligible to compete.’

’Every family from the five villages has to donate something as a prize.’

’A competition, of course, means combat.’

’And combat, of course, means beating up the other guy.’

Zhao Chi asked, [Eleventh Brother, what’s the format for the battles in this competition?]

Zhao Huai: [It’s a real battle. The two territories are connected, and you win by killing the other guy.]

’Kill the other guy?’

Zhao Chi: [Huh? It’s that extreme? It ends with one side being killed?]

Zhao Huai: [Yeah. How else would they judge it? It would just lead to endless arguments otherwise.]

’Is this really about judging?’

’This is a matter of life and death!’

Zhao Chi: [No... wait! How can you say that so casually? A competition organized by our own villages has such brutal rules? Why? A lot of people must die every year, right?]

Zhao Huai: [...Just stop calling me your brother. From now on, you’re *my* big brother.]

Zhao Chi: [Deal.]

Zhao Huai: [Deal, my ass! The competition is held in an Illusion Realm, you get it? An Illusion Realm!]

Zhao Chi: [Oh... Which of our villages can cast an Illusion Realm?]

Zhao Huai: [The five villages organize the competition, sure, but who said it has to be held in one of our villages? We go to the town to find a venue! Doesn’t the town have an Illusion Realm arena? Zhao Chi, I’m starting to think your brain still hasn’t recovered.]

Zhao Chi: [Screw you, it just didn’t click right away.]

Zhao Huai: [My uncle is your uncle. Our uncle is First Uncle.]

Zhao Chi: [Alright, I get it. This competition sounds great. I’ll definitely join when the time comes. We’ll see who’s beating up whom. The one feeling humiliated won’t be me.]

Zhao Huai: [What? You want to join? What kind of strength do you have?]

Zhao Chi: [Alright, Eleventh Brother, let’s talk next time.]

Zhao Huai: [Fine, whatever. I’m going to make my report then. Good luck.]

Zhao Chi: [You too.]

After hanging up, he saw Gu Qing looking at him with a grin.

"My Lord, who was that? It sounds like you had a pleasant chat."

"A cousin from my family. He’s the eleventh-born."

"And you?"

"Me? I’m the thirteenth."

"Oh~ So there’s a twelfth one, then?"

"Yes, the twelfth is a female cousin. There are five younger ones after me, but none of them have become Lords yet."

Gu Qing turned her head and pressed it against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

"It seems you come from a large family. I wonder how many children you’ll have in the future?"

At this, Gu Qing propped herself up, staring at Zhao Chi with a grin.

"We’ll let nature take its course," Zhao Chi said, not knowing the answer himself.

"My Lord, you know our Lifespan is 1,000 years, right?"

"...Yes, I know."

"So, my ideal conception period is from now until 300 years from now. Anytime works."

Zhao Chi found that difficult to imagine.

But those were indeed the numbers.

"Yes, that’s right."

"So, theoretically, if I never stopped, I could bear you at least 300 children."

"..."

Zhao Chi didn’t know what to say.

Gu Qing let out a laugh. "But it’s a pity. Your Lifespan needs to be extended, and your number of Genes needs to be increased. Remember to bring me some books next time. There should be ways to do it."

Zhao Chi remembered that Gu Qing had wanted to read books before.

She wanted to read books on medicine, pharmacology, and cooking.

Although much of her behavior was quite forward, she was indeed very smart.

And she was also eager to learn.

"Okay. We have money now. I’ll find a chance to take you to a bookstore to buy some next time. Or we can borrow them from the library."

"Alright, thank you, My Lord."

"Don’t mention it. Let’s get up. We should go see the new captives."

"Okay."

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