Chapter 451 Drawing a Life and Death Lot
"There are three lots now, A, B, and C, each with two sticks. Those who draw the same lot will compete on the same stage. Two by two, the three winners will draw lots again. Then, there will be three lots, 'Zheng', 'Dou', and 'Jiang'. Those who draw 'Zheng' and 'Dou' will go on stage to compete, while those who draw 'Jiang' will be blessed by the heavens and will directly wait for the winner on the decisive stage, and finally the winner will be decided."

Xu Qingnian explained to everyone while asking others to write their names. After a while, six pieces of paper were handed to the stage, with the three characters "甲、乙、丙" written on them, two names for each character.

After the drawing of lots, A will be paired with A, B will be paired with B, and C will be paired with C. The fate is decided by heaven and no one can predict it.

"What do you all think?" Xu Qingnian looked around at Luo Tianjin and the other six. Although he was asking, his tone was firm.

"This……"

As soon as this method came out, Jin Fuyu's heart sank. He originally wanted to take advantage of the feud between Yuwen Xiu, Yun Zhuiyue and Luo Tianjin, hoping to reap the benefits while the snipe and the clam fight each other. But now the draw will undoubtedly ruin his wishful thinking.

If it is a one-on-one competition, with six to three eliminated, Luo Tianjin will only meet one opponent in the first round. Even if the others hate him to the core, they can only watch from the sidelines and cannot participate in the competition.

Among the six people, Luo Tianjin has far more "mortal enemies" than Jin Fuyu. If they were to draw lots to fight in turns, it would be a hundred benefits for Luo Tianjin and no harm at all.

On the other hand, Jin Fuyu had more disadvantages than advantages, and even encountered many troubles. He wanted to sit back and watch the fight in the first few rounds to preserve his strength. But once the draw was made, he had to bite the bullet and fight.

Maybe, he would indirectly help Luo Tianjin get rid of an "enemy". Consuming his own strength to clear obstacles for Luo Tianjin was the last thing Jin Fuyu wanted to see.

However, before Jin Fu Yu and his companions could express their opinions, the people around them began to echo their opinions, with more and more people agreeing. In a blink of an eye, the discussion became lively and the cheers were deafening.

Under this situation, some sects that were friendly with Jin Jianwu were forced to take the pressure of the general trend and did not dare to offend or oppose, fearing that they would become the target of public criticism. Therefore, they could only keep silent with bitter faces, and regarded it as tacit approval.

"In the underworld, most people still speak out for justice. Those who are servile and mean will never be accepted by the upper class."

On the sidelines, Xie Xuan couldn't hide his excitement and laughed loudly, "In the draw, all six of us have to rely on our own abilities. It's absolutely impossible to fish in troubled waters and take advantage of the situation. Old Xu is indeed a senior in the martial arts world. He is fair and considerate in his dealings with others."

Jiang Yiwei worriedly said, "If this is the case, Ren Wuya's role is not that important anymore. Will he... take advantage of the opportunity to cause trouble?"

"That's wrong!" Xie Xuan shook his head and said, "Ren Wuya is the key to clearing obstacles for the Palace Master. Even if he can't escort the Palace Master to the end, he can severely reduce the opponent's strength and reduce the pressure on the Palace Master during the decisive battle."

"That's right!" Yan Bugui stared at the six people with different expressions in the arena, and said quietly, "According to Xu Qingnian's rules, this competition will be divided into three rounds, and each round will be more difficult and unpredictable than the last. In the first round, six will advance to the next three, and everyone is in peak condition. In order to avoid elimination, everyone will try their best to advance. Except for Wu Shuang who showed up halfway, the other five will do their best to preserve their strength. In other words, the other five will not attack easily, so those who help them will have to fight to the death. Most of the people who help will find it difficult to hold on to the second round."

"That makes sense!" Murong Bai said, "Except Wu Shuang, the others are evenly matched in the first round in terms of both condition and number, which is relatively fair. But once they enter the second round, the situation is very different. Some people may be unharmed, and even have helpers behind them who can fight. But some people... may not only have used up their helpers, but they are also seriously injured and their strength has been greatly reduced. With this kind of strength increasing and the other decreasing, the second round of competition will be far less fair than the first round."

"And as time goes by, this disparity in strength will become greater and greater." Xie Xuan nodded in agreement, "Therefore, in the minds of the Palace Master, Jin Fuyu, Yuwen Xiu and others, preserving one's own strength as much as possible is the kingly way to win in the end. No one will personally go down unless it is absolutely necessary."

Silently listening to Xie Xuan and the others' speculations, Liu Xunyi appeared calm on the surface, but in fact, a storm had already been stirred up in his heart. He thought to himself, "It seems that this 'martial arts' competition is not only a battle of courage, but also a battle of wits."

"If you have no objection, I will fold the paper and then the six of you will draw in turn." After waiting for a moment, Xu Qingnian slowly said, "Once the life and death lot is drawn, no one is allowed to dispute it."

As soon as these words were spoken, the noisy scene gradually quieted down.

Everyone held their breath and stared intently at the six people on the sword-fighting stage. For a moment, there was complete silence, as still as death.

At this moment, the six people on the stage were all silent, looking at each other. They seemed calm and composed, but in fact, they all had their own ulterior motives and were silently calculating their own pros and cons.

As we all know, among the six people who are about to draw lots, Wu Shuang is undoubtedly the weakest one.

He was weak and alone, and was undoubtedly a "soft persimmon" in the eyes of others.

In the face of a desperate battle, Luo Tianjin, Jin Fu Yu, Yun Zhui Yue, Yu Wen Xiu and Ren Wu Ya are all local tyrants. Not only do they have superb martial arts skills, but they also have a large number of supporters and top-notch masters behind them waiting to help them in turns, so they are not easy to mess with.

The only exception was Wu Shuang, who was young and showed up unexpectedly. Although he was the top of the Dragon Elephant Ranking and had good martial arts skills, he had no sect or school, no relatives or friends. Especially in front of Luo Tianjin and Jin Fuyu, who were well-informed and experienced, he was nothing compared to them.

Moreover, Wu Shuang's pursuit of the leader of the martial arts world is different from that of Luo Tianjin and others. Others may be carrying the emperor's orders, or their lives, or honor and disgrace... In short, they are determined to win and fight to the death.

On the other hand, Wu Shuang seemed to be participating in the martial arts conference just on a whim, out of youthful vigor and curiosity, with a lot of joking and unrestrained intentions, so in all likelihood he would not risk his life.

Therefore, drawing Wu Shuang is almost equivalent to qualifying for the next round.

According to the analysis just made by Xie Xuan and others, if they can preserve their strength in the first round and advance easily, then in the second round, when facing other opponents who are battered and half-dead, they will surely be able to gain a commanding advantage and be unstoppable.

At this moment, in the eyes of others, Wu Shuang has become a lamb to be slaughtered. They can only hope that God will bless them and let them get a big bargain.

This is something that can only be understood, not expressed in words.

For Luo Tianjin, his greatest wish at this moment was not to draw Wu Shuang, but to not draw Ren Wuya.

Last night, Luo Tianjin asked Ren Wuya to participate in the competition for the leader of the martial arts world. The purpose was to cooperate with him, to deal with other opponents openly and secretly, and finally to safely send himself to the throne of the leader of the martial arts world.

The lottery was a win-win for Luo Tianjin. His only concern was not to meet Ren Wuya in the first round.

Once they meet, even if Ren Wuya pretends to be defeated and escorts Luo Tianjin to advance, it will still do more harm than good to him.

If something goes wrong in the second or third round, Luo Tianjin won’t even have a chance to turn the tables.

Moreover, in front of everyone, even if Ren Wuya wanted to help Luo Tianjin to the top, he couldn't show it too obviously. He had to use some tricks to make it happen. It was impossible for Luo Tianjin and the people in the Xianwang Mansion to advance easily without any injuries. If the play was too fake, it would definitely cause criticism from heroes all over the world. And if the fake play became real, there was no guarantee that Luo Tianjin would not be seriously injured.

Therefore, grasping the scale is also a very headache for Luo Tianjin, and it is also another reason why he does not want to meet Ren Wuya in the first round.

"Everyone, who draws first?"

While hesitating, Xu Qingnian handed six paper sticks to everyone.

"Puff! Puff!"

At this moment, the whole place was in silence, and everyone's eyes were focused on the six paper sticks. The violent and rapid heartbeats of tens of thousands of people seemed to have broken through the chest cavity and faintly echoed on the top of Mount Hua, which was shrouded in clouds and mist.

"I'll come first!"

Seeing that the others were hesitant to move, Jin Fu Yu smiled indifferently, then quickly stepped forward and stretched out his hand to touch Xu Qingnian's palm.

"Gulu!"

Although he appeared to be as calm as a rock, when Jin Fuyu's hand hovered over the paper sign, he could not hide the uneasiness in his heart. His throat moved slightly and he swallowed subconsciously.

Taking a deep breath, Jin Fuyu slowly stretched out two fingers and stroked the six skewers in turn, his movements light and silent.

At this moment, the hearts of the Jinjianwu disciples almost jumped out of their throats.

Suddenly, Jin Fuyu's eyes focused, and he quickly pinched a paper sign with his two fingers and said loudly: "That's it!"

Once the lot was drawn and the dust settled, the crowd couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

Immediately afterwards, Luo Tianjin, Yuwen Xiu, Yun Zhuiyue, Ren Wuya and Wu Shuang drew lots one after another and turned their backs to look at them secretly.

When Luo Tianjin, with a solemn look and a tense expression, slowly opened the paper slip in his hand, a flamboyantly written character "甲" suddenly appeared before his eyes.

"A..." Luo Tianjin secretly speculated in his heart, "I am 'A', and the person who will fight with me is also 'A', who could it be?"

With this thought in mind, Luo Tianjin's strange gaze began to slowly sweep over the other people.

"I wonder what word Young Master Wu drew?"

Suddenly, Jin Fuyu's gentle and peaceful voice sounded behind Luo Tianjin, which perked him up. He quickly pricked up his ears and listened carefully.

"What's the name of Master Jinwu?" Wu Shuang asked with interest, "Let's see if we are destined to fight each other?"

Hearing this, Jin Fuyu glanced at Luo Tianjin's back, then pretended to be frank and slowly spread out the paper in his hand, and chuckled, "Jin drew 'B'."

"What a pity." Wu Shuang shrugged with a look of regret, shook his head and said, "Master Jinwu and I are not destined to be together. It seems that we can't fight for a while."

"Really? Then..."

"Master Jinwu, I have a deep connection with you!"

Before Jin Fuyu could ask more questions, Yuwen Xiu's voice suddenly rang out from behind Jin Fuyu. At the same time, he slowly opened his paper sign, revealing a big "Y".

Seeing that Jin Fuyu and Yuwen Xiu were the opponents in the first round, Luo Tianjin could not help but feel secretly delighted, and at the same time secretly pondered: "Jin Fuyu and Yuwen Xiu are 'B', then who is 'A'? Could it be..."

Suddenly, someone gently pulled Luo Tianjin's arm, instantly interrupting his thoughts.

"Who?"

When Luo Tianjin turned around with displeasure, he saw Ren Wuya staring at him with a serious face.

"Palace Master Ren, you..."

Before he could finish his words, Ren Wuya suddenly flipped his hand, and the unfolded paper flashed before Luo Tianjin's eyes. Then Ren Wuya coughed twice, and walked away as if nothing had happened.

However, it was this nonchalant flip of the hand that made the hesitant Luo Tianjin feel like he was hit by a bolt of lightning.

Luo Tianjin saw Ren Wuya's signature clearly.

Written in black on the paper was a big "甲" character.

……

(End of this chapter)