Physical immortality begins with Bajiquan

Chapter 60 The Battle for the Championship Begins

Six days later, at the Cui family's villa.

In the backyard of the villa, there is a spacious training ground for martial arts, paved with bluestone, flat and open.

In the center of the arena stood a square arena, ten feet high, simple and unadorned, with only rough wood surrounding the four sides.

The arena was enormous and divided into thirteen areas, corresponding to the thirteen branches of the family. In the center of each area stood a tall wooden marker, numbered from one to thirteen, corresponding to the share of resources, with number one having the most and number thirteen having the least.

The training ground was already surrounded by members of the Cui family from various branches, creating a lively atmosphere. People stood in groups according to their kinship, each with a different expression on their face.

Among the crowd, Qin Heng stood in a corner with Cui Ran, attracting particular attention.

Many people around him turned their gazes toward him. Some of them had watched the martial arts competition and recognized Qin Heng at a glance, whispering among themselves.

"Hey! Isn't that Qin Xiucai, who ranked fifth on the second-tier list? How come he's leading the thirteenth branch?"

"Who knows? The thirteenth clan is the furthest from our clan leader and the weakest in terms of strength. They've been at the bottom of the clan every year. In my opinion, they've probably gone all out this time. Maybe they've even promised that precious girl, Cui Ran, to someone else."

"Who cares? As long as it doesn't take up our No. 6 spot, let it be. But I guess the other branches are going to have a hard time this time."

"Hey, so what if he's fifth on the B-rank? Even if he dares to take our number six spot, we've got Lu Cang from Dingtao Martial Arts School, a genuine top-ranked expert on the B-rank, who can easily outmaneuver him. And then there's Xiao Wu, hired by the Seventh Branch, ranked sixth on the B-rank, no ordinary person either. If you ask me, Dingtao Martial Arts School, one of the eight great martial arts schools, has a much stronger foundation than Songxuan Martial Arts School in the outer city. Maybe Xiao Wu alone can handle him!"

"They might not necessarily go head-to-head with our six teams, but with Qin Heng's strength, the thirteenth team should be able to move up two or three places this time."

Cui Ran stood beside Qin Heng, listening to the discussions of the people around him, his expression extremely complicated.

Deep down, he was secretly relieved that he had finally managed to get Qin Heng to help, so at least he wouldn't have to hold onto the bottom-ranked No. 13 spot like in previous years.

However, he was also worried that Qin Heng, being young and impetuous, might try to confront the tough guys hired by the other clansmen in the arena.

Thinking of this, he turned slightly to the side, lowered his voice, and carefully explained to Qin Heng.

"Xiao Heng, when you go on stage later, don't be careless. The first four teams in the top four have all invited veteran masters of internal strength like Chu Kaishan, Wei Xuanting, Han Jingsong, and Shi Jingshan. Uncle Cui isn't saying you're inferior to them, it's just that you're still young. In the future, you'll definitely be able to easily surpass them. There's no need to fight them to the death now."

"The other five teams have hired Li Haoan, who is also a tough opponent. It's not worth going head-to-head with him. Even if we win bid number five, with the meager resources of our thirteen teams, we simply can't handle it. Instead, it will only incur the wrath of the other teams, which would be a net loss."

Qin Heng remained calm, turned to Cui Ran, and asked softly, "Uncle Cui, what's the maximum share of the bids that your thirteen branches can secure?"

Cui Ran pondered for a moment, a hint of helplessness on his face, and replied in a low voice, "Hey, Xiao Heng. With your Uncle Cui's abilities, I'm afraid we can only barely hold onto the sixth bid at most. Anything higher would be a waste for us."

After saying that, he added with a hint of earnest expectation, "But I don't dare to ask for too much. I would be very satisfied if we could secure the number ten spot. If we really can't win the number ten spot, the number eleventh or twelfth spot will do. As long as we can get rid of the number thirteen that we always come in last place, and make life a little easier for our family, Yingying and I will ask for nothing more."

Qin Heng nodded slowly upon hearing this, already understanding the situation. His gaze swept over markers nine, eight, and seven, finally settling on marker six. He secretly calculated: with his current strength, even without using the Shadowless Step...

With the Shadowless Kick, even using the Bajiquan technique at its peak, the chances of defeating Lu Cang, who won the sixth spot last year, are 99%. The remaining slight chance is a variable.

"Thump—thump—thump—"

—

The moment the thought crossed his mind, the sound of drums suddenly rang out from the high platform.

The annual Cui family branch competition has officially begun!

The thirteen martial arts instructors hired by the branch families all leaped onto the bluestone arena.

On the high platform, the white-haired elder of the Cui clan immediately stood up, his voice aged yet loud, clearly proclaiming the rules: "This year, the rules for the grand competition of the Cui clan branch in Heyang are reiterated. The thirteen wooden markers will be awarded based on merit."

At any given time, each person can only compete for one marker! If multiple people compete for the same marker, a chaotic battle will ensue. Each marker has a wooden plaque underneath it; the person who grabs the plaque and holds it for ten breaths wins. Once a person loses, they are not allowed to challenge that marker again, nor can they challenge for a marker of a higher rank. Those who have already occupied a marker are not allowed to challenge for other markers! Everyone must compete for the marker within ten breaths!

After a pause, the Cui clan elder emphasized, his gaze sweeping over all the martial artists on the arena: "This competition is solely for the rational allocation of clan resources, ensuring the stable survival of each branch and contributing to the prosperity of the Cui clan. It is absolutely not for you to fight to the death and kill each other! Anyone who dares to use lethal force will be immediately ejected from the arena, and their represented branch will be ranked last, forfeiting all resource allocations for the year, in order to uphold clan rules!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the clan elder struck the gong heavily with a gavel.

"clang""

The clear sound of the gong resounded throughout the entire training ground, and the ten-breath time limit officially began.

The arena fell into an eerie silence, with none of the thirteen martial artists making a move to grab the prize.

Chu Kaishan, Wei Xuanting, Han Jingsong, and Shi Jingshan, four veteran masters of internal strength, were all deep and shrewd. They stood outside their respective designated areas, their shoulders relaxed and their breath contained, remaining completely still.

They weren't in a hurry to enter the game, planning to calmly step into the area and secure a stable position when the ten breaths were almost up.

The remaining six branches of Lu Cang, the seventh branch of Xiao Wu, the eighth branch of Zhao Kui, the ninth branch of Sun He, the tenth branch of Zhou Lin, and the martial arts masters of the eleventh and twelfth branches all remained inactive, none of them willing to be the first to act.

In previous years, the rankings of the Cui family in the competition had been fixed, and the number of bids each branch controlled each year rarely changed. But this year, Qin Heng emerged as the biggest variable in the entire competition.

Everyone had the same plan in mind, and no one wanted to act rashly. So they all focused their attention on Qin Heng, intending to follow his movements and decide their next move based on his actions.

Zhao Kui and Sun He, in particular, each harbored their own agendas. They followed closely behind Qin Heng, hoping to use him to disrupt the established order so they could fish in troubled waters.

But Qin Heng was very perceptive; he could see through everyone's thoughts, and he certainly wouldn't expose his own objective directly.

He remained calm and unhurried, walking directly to the middle of the area between the eighth and ninth markers and deliberately moving slowly from side to side.

Sometimes he would slightly shift his body, getting closer to mark number eight, which made Sun He of the Nine Branches feel a tightness in his heart, his eyes full of calculation, secretly waiting for the right opportunity.

At times, he would turn his feet slightly and move closer to the direction of marker number nine. Seeing this, Zhao Kui from the Eighth Branch felt relieved and slowly loosened his clenched fist.

Everyone in the audience was completely captivated by Qin Heng's movements, their eyes glued to him, no one daring to move forward to grab another spot. Cui Ran, watching from below, was even more tense, his palms clenched with cold sweat, barely daring to breathe.

The ten-breath time limit passed quickly, and it was almost over.

Almost everyone believed that Qin Heng, who was hovering between the eighth and ninth bids, would definitely choose one of them this time. Zhao Kui and Sun He were even more focused and prepared, both to prevent Qin Heng from taking their place and to try to climb up if the opportunity arose.

But in that last moment, Qin Heng suddenly stopped his wandering steps, pushed off the ground with his feet, and his figure turned into a light shadow. He sidestepped the eight and nine marks that were right next to him and rushed straight towards the area of ​​mark six!

Seeing this, Zhao Kui and Sun He, who had been waiting in ambush, both changed their expressions. They instantly realized that this was the perfect opportunity to push forward another step! Even if they lost, they could still come back and try to grab the number six, which had the lowest percentage.

Without further hesitation, the two leaped out simultaneously, instantly joining the group, intending to take advantage of the chaos and fish in troubled waters.

In an instant, the situation on the field changed drastically, and a chaotic battle involving multiple people became inevitable.