Anime: Fight Sukuna at the beginning?.

Chapter 287: Water has no fixed shape, but I can destroy it with a wave of my hand (Part )
[Martial Arts Competition] At the scene, there are special invitation seats separated next to the venue.

After seeing the battle between Fang Yi and Will in his own camp, the [Minister] did not show any joy that could not be expressed in words.

The fat 'lion' just stretched his body and squinted his eyes to look at Fang Yi.

What does he want to do? Want to cut ties with me?

[He's not stupid, there must be a deeper meaning behind his actions!]

[However, if he does this, more people will favor him, and the points I can earn from the reincarnationists in the subsequent gambling games will be greatly reduced.]

While thinking about the other party's refusal to obey his orders and the motives behind his "rebellious behavior" of not taking action, he sighed to Bud beside him.

"Fang Yi's punch is incredible. Even when I was practicing boxing back then, I couldn't reach this level.

"It seems that General Liva, who has had a smooth journey in the other half of the division and is considered a pillar of the empire, will encounter a worthy opponent before the 'finals'."

Hearing the [Minister] praising Liva, and looking at the venue surrounded by water, Bud blushed for a rare moment.

After calming himself down by propping up his face with his elbow, the "Most Powerful in the Empire" spoke in a calm tone.

"This pool surrounding the venue is merely a venue advantage that allows him to fully utilize his [Imperial Gear].

“Isn’t this what you agreed to, Ernest?

"Besides, given the current situation of the empire, the outcome of this battle is actually unimportant.

"What's important is what we're going to show through the [Martial Arts Tournament]."
-
As he spoke, Bud cast his gaze towards the preparation area, where there was only one remaining reincarnation who was about to compete with Liva, and his tone became a little heavier.

"The most urgent task is to demonstrate the abilities of these Imperial Weapon Users and warriors through the [Martial Arts Tournament]. This is simply to strengthen the confidence of the nobles, Imperial Army soldiers, and powerful merchants in our victory and boost their morale.

"I specifically allocated some votes to officers and some outstanding soldiers of the Imperial Army in order to further stabilize the morale of the troops.

"At the same time, let the soldiers get a close look at the strength of these [Imperial Tool Users] and increase the support of the imperial soldiers for Fang Yi and other [Imperial Tool Users].

"So that the orders given by these [Imperial Tool Users] during battle can be carried out by the soldiers.

"We also need to reward participants with military positions. For example, Fang Yi should be given the position of general. This will show everyone in the audience that the empire will not mistreat capable people, thereby increasing mobilization."

The [Minister] added the last sentence with a smile.

"Can we take this opportunity to announce that the winner of the [Martial Arts Tournament] can directly ascend to the throne of a higher-level general and participate deeply in this defensive battle?
"Finally, let General Esdeath appear, show her strength in front of everyone, and raise her reputation within the empire.

"Whether Liva or Fang Yi goes to fight General Esdeath, they will just be a stepping stone for her to make a shocking appearance.

"But with the blessing of 'that', these tasks are actually a bit redundant, right?"

[Minister] said 'stepping stone', but in his heart he was thinking about what would happen next.

His strength should be on par with Zhu Tian's now. Perhaps he didn't draw his sword just to confuse Liva, allowing him to use some tricks to gain an advantage and confront Esdeath.

【Well, based on my understanding of him, that's roughly what happened.】

[He couldn't possibly want to defeat Liwa with his bare hands, could he? That would be too unbelievable.]

[Well, then maybe the scenario I created earlier where Fang Yi wins against Esdeath can help me get more points from the Reincarnators!]
-
After figuring out the other party's motives, the [Minister] turned his gaze to Fang Yi, feeling a bit of regret in his heart.

Fang Yi is really useful.

If he didn't know so much, his previous plan to promote such a talent to take charge of the imperial army would be helpful in further consolidating his power in the empire.

Unfortunately, these things are useless now.

He was about to leave here, and the destruction or prosperity of the empire had nothing to do with him.

He had already made a plan to use all his chess pieces to kill Yuan Qi, the 'stranded one', and at the same time personally turn the situation around to earn [Great Deeds].

Thinking of this, the [Minister] stood up and looked around.

He looked carefully at the people he had known over the past few decades, and finally raised his head to look at the blue sky of the imperial capital.

After throwing away the regret and reluctance to give up the "career" and power he had built up throughout his life, he firmly said goodbye to the past few decades in his heart.

Goodbye, my empire, my struggle.

[Fang Yi, whether it's you, all the reincarnators on this mission, Bud, Esdeath, or that person named Yuan Qi, your fate is already determined.]

[Everything will become my ticket to the [real world]! ]

The announcement interrupted the [Minister]'s self-revelation about his plan.

"Guards General Liva vs.

The last match before the final battle between Fang Yi and Liva has begun.
-
As the announcement came, both sides arrived at the renovated venue. The previously "boiling" voices in the arena unusually dropped by several decibels.

The audience, who should have been more enthusiastic at the beginning of the battle, seemed to have lost interest in watching the battle.

Even such words were heard sporadically among the crowd.

"General Liva's participation in this kind of conference is a bit of a bully, isn't it? Although it complies with the registration rules, it's still a bit..."

"Indeed, they even built a special arena surrounded by water to facilitate the use of his Imperial Armament. I think General Bud is trying to give him the 'predetermined' championship."

"Why don't they bring General Esdeath along?"

Hearing the audience's ridicule, Liva, standing in the middle of the field, felt a little ashamed, but he still forced himself to keep a straight face under Bud's order.

Then he imitated Fang Yi's previous actions towards the reincarnation in front of him, raised a finger to everyone, and said some shameless words.

He played the role of the villain who was to lose to Esdeath in Bud's plan, and turned himself into an excellent stepping stone.

“I will not voluntarily give up my advantage in battle and disable my Imperial Tool.

"If you can let me activate my Imperial Tool a second time, I lose.

"So you have to be careful in battle."

When a similar declaration was made, it received a completely different treatment from Fang Yi.

There were faint boos from the audience.

"Fang Yi voluntarily gave up his advantage and increased the difficulty, but he didn't suffer any loss at all."

"Someone come and beat him up! This attitude is really disgusting. Only General Budd's deputy can do this!"

After hearing someone making rude remarks, the people around hurriedly stopped the audience member who made the "bad remarks" and persuaded him.

"Keep your voice down. This conference is hosted by General Budd. Who knows if Fang Yi can really beat him?"

"Bullshit! [Minister] didn't even open the odds for this unforeseen fight. He just opened the odds for the next one. Who are you guys betting on?"

"Of course it's Liva! Who doesn't want money?"

"."

*
"3, 2, 1, start!"

As the referee announced the start of the game, the result of this boring battle naturally did not surprise the audience.

Liva simply raised his hands, and the [Water Dragon Possession·Black Marlin] on his fingers flashed, and he began to direct the water flow around the venue.

Under the control of his [Imperial Weapon], the water flow turned into four giant water pythons about ten meters high that surrounded the opposite reincarnation before he could draw the long sword at his waist.

Looking at the water python that almost occupied half of the field with both offensive and defensive capabilities, the reincarnation facing Liva looked at the long sword in his hand again and couldn't help feeling a little desperate.

"I have to rely on this knife and 25 points of three-dimensionality to fight this?

"Isn't this mission difficult?"

Fortunately, Liva did not give the reincarnation more time to react.

The old general, with white hair and beard and wearing a leather coat, ended the battle in a moment.

Like a conductor waving his arms wildly at a concert, he waved his hands and the water pythons surrounding him responded and rushed towards the poor reincarnationist.

This simple and unadorned physical collision, devoid of any Imperial Gear or Secret Technique, also yielded the expected outcome. The Samsara, standing with his sword in hand and unleashing a stream of blade energy, felt like encountering a "great fortune," a figure who wouldn't slow down at a red light at a nighttime intersection.

After the water python swallowed the sword energy, it flew out of the venue in a strange posture.

After ensuring his victory.

Riva raised his hand again and activated the [Imperial Weapon] again, instantly creating an elastic water bed behind the flying reincarnationist and catching him.

Then, as the referee declared, "The winner is Guards Liva," he bowed to the audience.

He launched his planned provocation towards Fang Yi who was not far away.

“I’m in a hurry, next one.

"Let's just start this boring battle. I'll win anyway!"

At the same time, he turned his eyes to the special guest seats and sang a duet with the three of them.

“Besides, I’m already a general, and I’m not satisfied with the reward of being awarded the general rank after winning the championship. I want more.

"I will continue to challenge General Esdeath, who has been idle for a long time, to prove that I am worthy of a higher military position!"

*
After hearing Riva's words, Esdeath stood up from the special guest seat and reviewed the revised "script".

“As my former subordinate, you are a bit arrogant.

“But I never turn down a challenge!

"I accept this challenge. I will have a tiebreaker match with the winner of the [Martial Arts Tournament]!"

Esdeath didn't look at Riva but declared her victory to the audience.

"If I lose, I can let you take over my position as general.

“But that will never happen.

"The name of the victor in this battle has already been inscribed, and that is me!"

Bud, who was standing by, also stood up at the right time and acted as a peacemaker according to the script.

“Liva, you’ve crossed the line.

"I agree with your enterprising spirit of martial arts, but your actions just now were undoubtedly an overstep!

"Although General Esdeath has granted your request without hesitation, after the battle, you must submit to the Royal Guards and accept your punishment."

Before Bud could finish his words, the female general beside him said something beyond the script.

"But I guess I won't be able to see you anymore, because you're going to lose!
"If you can force Fang Yi to draw his sword, I will give you a 'not bad' review!

"Stop talking nonsense and start fighting. I'm looking forward to your performance!"

After the female general's final words, the [Minister] and Bud beside her also nodded in time, tacitly agreeing to the extra game.

The battle announcement also sounded.

"General Liva of the Imperial Guards versus Fang Yi of the Local Army."
-
As the announcement sounded, Fang Yi, who had been resting with his eyes closed for a long time, also walked onto the stage.

[It's time to leave a deep impression on the audience and the surrounding soldiers so that I can continue to 'hatch' my [Flag of Sincerity].]

[Liwa is a decent opponent. I can use the [Founder's Fist] to test some of the techniques for using momentum from [My Only Blade].]

Looking at Liva who was ready to go, Fang Yi raised three fingers again and made an "arrogant" declaration to the audience.

"In order to make the battle more exciting, I still won't draw my sword.

"At the same time, in order to prolong the fight and allow the audience to watch a fight worth the price of admission, I will not take the initiative to defeat you at the speed of light.

"I'm going to stand here and not move my feet, and give you three more chances to shoot.

"Come on, show off the might of your Imperial Gear and the elegance of an Imperial soldier!"

The audience, who were already looking forward to this battle, became instantly enthusiastic after hearing Fang Yi's words.

The atmosphere in the field, which was already on the verge of boiling, was pushed to a higher level and exploded with a bang.

"If I could see this battle, I'd think dying would be worth it!"

"This is the spirit of martial arts that a warrior should display."

"That's it, Lord Fang Yi! Smash this shameless lunatic who relies on the venue to cheat and still wants to challenge General Esdeath!"

Of course, there are also some dissatisfied slander and questioning voices.

"Stupid! Arrogant! How dare he do this?"

"This is never a normal fight. This must be another fake match to reap our property!"

"Coward! You want to lose and yet you're making excuses! If you don't want to fight and want to admit defeat, just get off!"

*
When Liva heard Fang Yi's words, he suddenly felt a fire burning in his chest.

This made him, who was already half buried in the ground and had always been emotionally stable, excited for the first time.

He stared at Fang Yi with his eyes wide open.

He looked at Fang Yi like a hungry hyena locking onto a fat antelope for its dinner.

What the old general was thinking at this moment was very simple.

How dare you say such things to me?

How dare you say such things to me?

After trying hard to suppress the curse words that were about to come out of his mouth and letting out a breath to calm himself down a little, he responded.

“Okay! Okay! Okay!

"I'd like to experience the boxing skills of a swordsman like you!

"If you can defeat me in this way, I will bow down to you and call you sir.

"If you can't do it, then..."

In response to Liva, Fang Yi just tilted his head and spoke to the referee beside him.

"We've wasted quite a bit of time. Can we get started now?"

With the referee's trembling countdown, this 'unfair' battle began.
-
"3, 2, 1, start!"

As soon as the referee finished speaking, Liva swung his hands vigorously, shouted softly and used a new move.

[Snake of the Abyss]!
Exuding an endless momentum, and almost reaching the realm of [mastery], it rushed out with the water flow behind it, transforming into dozens of wild water pythons that attacked Fang Yi.

These water pythons, so huge that they flooded the entire venue and occupied the entire space, leaving Fang Yi with nowhere to hide. As their "momentum" increased, their ferociousness grew. However, something strange happened halfway through their journey.

Several water pythons merged together like tributaries flowing into a river, and one above and one below transformed into two giant snake heads that were enough to span the entire venue just by opening their mouths, and smashed towards Fang Yi from mid-air.

Looking at Fang Yi who did not dodge or evade, Liva smiled coldly.

"If you don't dodge, you will die!"

But the next moment, a drama that was difficult for him to understand unfolded before his eyes.

Facing the two snake heads that were attacking him from above and below, from the front and the back, across the entire venue, Fang Yi did not use any boxing.

Instead, he stretched out his hands, spread out his palms, and rubbed them towards the snake head that attacked first as if kneading dough.

He actually wanted to catch the snake head made of water and then "throw" it back!
　There will be another chapter later, still being revised

　　
　
(End of this chapter)