Black sail

Chapter 642 XXII. The Laborer's All-in
The Imperial Arena's circular, tiered stands were packed with people, and the blood-red flags bearing the emblem of Aran fluttered in the wind.

The training ground was filled with a tense atmosphere. The competition, which narrowed down the field from thirty-two to sixteen, was a major event in the Continental Martial Arts Tournament, a semi-final stage, and was considered a crucial part of the competition, given that participants were selected from all over the world.

Despite the intense betting during mass sports events, once the competition is over, all people know is who came in first.

The final will begin at 7 p.m. tomorrow night, with a halftime cultural performance. The sixteen star contestants will be heavily promoted and packaged, and will win big in the gambling world on the night of September 9th.

The setting sun, like blood, sank to the horizon at the end of the training ground, dyeing half the sky a murky ochre red, and even the passing clouds were wrapped in a rusty halo.

In the round of 32 to 16, the first match was between Divine Sword Dragon and Soul-Piercing Man Fernand.

Those who have survived to this point in the bloody fourth round, even the JF-17, can no longer be as relaxed as before; they must show their true skills to win.

The moment the two appeared in the arena, the already boiling spectator stands reached their peak. From this moment on, there were no more dark horses; everyone who appeared in the battle was a champion contender.

The greatest warrior in the world will face the emperor directly, receive promotions and rise to the top in one step. Even if he is not interested in fame or fortune and does not want to be an official, but is just a martial arts fanatic who wants to test his skills, the emperor will slay the dragon to intimidate the world. If Alan appreciates you as a person, he will reward you with a piece of land and bestow treasures upon you.

The Sword King's current residence, the Sword Platform outside Aran, was also a gift from the Emperor.

The "Basic Sword Skills Manual" published by the Adventurers' Guild was edited by Xiaolong, and it once topped the sales charts, making him one of the most awesome adventurers among the Hall of Fame.

He came from the Far East, but had been living in the Western Continent for a long time, and his clothing had been assimilated. He wore leather boots, straight-leg trousers with silver and black stripes, a plain open-front shirt, and had cascading black hair. His features were extremely handsome, and he was about thirty years old. He did not have an imposing aura, but exuded a strong "I'm here to save you" vibe.

Classic female-oriented novel character designs.

The Fernand, the Soul-Stealing People, are a relatively rare race. They are a branch of the ancient Divine Land Elves, forest elves with long, narrow ears and extremely striking good looks.

Because of the ancient covenant, the ancient Divine Continent and the Western Continent never came into contact with each other. Elves were all superior beings. Although the dark elves of Summerset Island are somewhat repulsive now, the forest elves are still at the top of the social hierarchy. This child is a gift from me. There are steak buffets everywhere.

Given the complex situation east of the Narrow Sea over the past few decades, it's quite remarkable that Aran was able to rise to prominence there. With the Great Wetlands to the south and the Barbarians and Orcs to the north, the area was in complete chaos. Some of the Forest Elves who originally settled in the east also migrated back to the west of the Narrow Sea.

Today, forest elves are mainly distributed in the Sacred Forest, north of the Kingdom of Greg.

"Nice to meet you."

Xiaolong smiled warmly, placed his hand on his shoulder, and bowed slightly in greeting. This was the Western Continent, not the Far East, and customs were different, so he did not clasp his hands in greeting.

He came up from the audition, and he rarely even managed to hurt anyone, let alone kill one. He would either disarm his opponent in one move or make them admit defeat after a few moves. He was so good to his mother and his mother watched the Sadako videotape. His mother's goodness was so strong that it was overflowing from the magic crystal images.

Even without the rule of surrender, which forbids surrender, Xiaolong possesses true martial virtue and would let his opponents go. He also speaks in an extremely pretentious manner, saying that with the current level of magic energy industry, human power is ultimately no match for magic energy creations, and practicing martial arts is only for cultivating one's character.

Fernand was somewhat annoyed; he had already done all the work, and Fernand only reluctantly returned the favor.

Both of them are quite good-looking, and good looks are an advantage that people can benefit from in the long run.

Given the current economic system dominated by the Aran military government, male internet celebrities are more likely to monetize their influence than female ones. The Adventurers' Guild also provides data to support this; although they hold annual "Goddess Handbook" events, the lower-level adventurers who rely on their friends lack purchasing power. These "Hupu Goddesses," while gaining considerable fame and sounding formidable, lack commercial skills and sales conversion rates. Only the top performers truly succeed, like Qili. You need real talent and ability; looks alone aren't enough.

The lower-class adventurers, the military-style boxing enthusiasts, the gambling addicts, the ladybugs, the weeds, and the gangsters—these people seem numerous in the Western Continent, but considering the terrifyingly large population, they are actually a minority, probably less than five percent. The backbone of spending power, the ordinary men of the Western Continent, are mostly sexually repressed Androids, adhering to the "all-in" labor law, scrimping and saving to be their slaves just to have a wife. They don't have money to support female streamers. Liu Xinxin in the Western Continent rarely encounters such situations; it's mostly Big Boss A who gets to work for free, and Liu Xinxin even gives Big Boss A money.

However, male internet celebrities have a high monetization ability, and they all pour their money into their female followers, whose spending power is extremely high.

Dugri, the capital of the province of Arlancasta, has an explosively good economy. Its GDP ranks among the top in military-governed countries. Keep in mind that this is Arlancasta, a first-world country. The high-end luxury goods market is supported by the Jimei (a local tyrant). This market is terrifying.

The laborer went all in on the girls, and the girls went all in on consumerism.

Given that the Aran military government is very serious, high-ranking officials are all promoted through military merit, and the Aran Royal Knights are ruthless killers, money is useless. If I want to slaughter people, I want to get the qualifications to meet the Emperor in the Imperial Palace. If I can open a new department for myself as the prison warden, that's what it means to have absolute power, to be in charge of killing. If I don't like you, I'll kill you. If I want you, I'll rape you directly. No tricks.

This phenomenon is rare in Aran, but in other countries, many military fundraising and social activities require the T0 professional Royal Knights to show their faces, persuade people with reason and emotion, and have their honor guard exert their strength, producing a lot of gold coins.

Most adventurers are roughnecks, and those with skill just honestly do quests. Handsome guys are rare, but there are handsome, honorary hero-level adventurers who are also highly skilled—they rake in tons of gold coins.

These adventurers may not have much culture, but they possess a kind of beauty reminiscent of the farmhands and young mistresses of Bailuyuan.

Many of the requests are extremely outrageous. A noble lady claims there are magical beasts near her territory, offers a high reward, and specifies a particular location. A handsome adventurer rushes over, but where are the magical beasts?
Yes, there's Warcraft. Sexiness isn't about burning, and Puxi isn't about cats.

Of course, Raine's previous adventure group didn't have this kind of treatment. They were fighting real monsters back then, and if they weren't careful, they could lose their lives.

As soon as Xiaolong appeared on the training ground, noble ladies and wealthy merchants placed their bets with great enthusiasm, creating an incredibly lively atmosphere. The official Alan kept taking a cut until they were tired of it.

Fernand wasn't an adventurer, nor did he have any prior fame. He was introduced by people from his hometown and had connections, so he worked in the Cross Alliance doing some criminal detention work. He hadn't been in Saint Forest for long, and his friends all said it was a waste for someone with his skills to stay there, so he came to the Continental Martial Arts Tournament to try his luck.

Many of the participants in the Continental Martial Arts Tournament have strange and unusual origins; no one knows where they came from.

But Fernand, with his good looks and somewhat "dull" and easily manipulated persona, has overcome all obstacles and gained a huge following. Girls have placed huge bets on him, and even if he loses to Xiaolong today, countless young ladies are willing to let him come to their mansions to "exterminate monsters".

Choose a good weapon.

As the female host's voice ended.

The first round of the bloody fourth round of final selection begins.

"you first."

Xiaolong came here aiming to be the best swordsman in the world. Some past martial arts champions will also be present tomorrow. The Sword King of Alan is quite famous, and it would be great if he could give him some pointers.

(End of this chapter)