Volume Two: Travels in Qi Chapter 150: Mu Wanqing Takes the Stage

After getting out of the carriage, Qi Sisi ignored the gazes of the crowd and walked straight toward Zhang Heng.

"Why are you here?" Although having Qi Sisi follow them would save a lot of trouble, Zhang Heng was still puzzled.

"I am a princess of the Qi State, you know. The two of you sneaked out of the Qi royal palace, so of course this princess found out," Qi Sisi said with a triumphant smile.

"Instead of going to take care of your fat—er, your royal brother, why are you following us around?" Zhang Heng was baffled. Was Qi Sisi really this idle?

"The two of you are quite the sensation right now. Hundreds of thousands of cultivators in the imperial city are waiting to watch your duel. What would happen if you two secretly ran away? As a princess of the Qi State, naturally I have to keep a close eye on you."

"Fine," Zhang Heng decided not to argue with her any further. "Since you're here, lead us inside."

Thus, just like last time, guided by Qi Sisi, they entered the arena through a different passageway.

Their destination this time was the Heaven-grade arena.

As they neared the entrance, Qi Sisi took out three masks from her spatial ring and handed them to the two men. Then, she glanced at Zhang Heng with disdain and said, "Zhang Heng, the last time you just used a piece of ragged cloth to cover your face, it was simply too ugly and a disgrace to this princess's reputation. This time, I prepared masks in advance."

Zhang Heng accepted it smoothly and handed one to Mu Wanqing. "Miss Mu, there are all sorts of people inside. To avoid unnecessary trouble, please put this on."

Although most likely only Zhang Heng would be fighting later, Mu Wanqing was quite a good-looking young woman. As the saying goes, a beauty is a misfortune; naturally, he couldn't let others see her face, lest it stir up trouble.

Once prepared, the three of them walked into the Heaven-grade arena.

There was no shouting inside; everyone was quietly watching the battle on the stage.

The people inside the Heaven-grade arena were all individuals with profound auras. Pulling out any random person would reveal a powerhouse at the Void Return realm or above, and there were even quite a few grand masters at the Heaven Origin realm.

Zhang Heng and his companions were an exception.

One at the second tier of the Void Return realm, one at the ninth tier of the Yuan Dan realm, and another whose cultivation was merely at the Clear Spirit realm. Therefore, as soon as the three of them entered, those powerhouses cast curious glances their way.

Stared at by those formidable experts, Qi Sisi felt somewhat nervous. Although she was a princess of the Qi State, her cultivation level was not high after all. Coupled with the fierce and menacing appearance of these people, she would never have come here if not for Zhang Heng.

Mu Wanqing, on the other hand, was relatively composed. Although these people were stronger than her now, she was an peerless genius. She had the confidence to surpass them all in the future.

Zhang Heng led the other two to re-register for a new identity.

After all, when he registered last time, his strength was only at the third tier of the Yuan Dan realm. Now that he had suddenly jumped to the second tier of the Void Return realm, continuing to use that old identity would definitely make people regard him as a monster.

With the experience from last time, the entire process went smoothly. After handing over the spiritual stones, Zhang Heng's new identity token was ready. From this moment on, he was known as "Gu Debai."

Just as he was about to turn and leave, however, Mu Wanqing spoke up. "I'll register for one too."

Zhang Heng turned around, glanced at her gently, and said nothing more. Mu Wanqing was a genuine genius at heart. A place like this, where one could battle numerous powerhouses, held an immense attraction for her.

Once Mu Wanqing had finished her registration, the three of them returned to the area beneath the combat stage. On the stage at that moment, two Void Return realm cultivators were engaged in a fierce battle, various dazzling martial arts techniques flying everywhere.

Seeing this, Zhang Heng whispered to Qi Sisi, "This arena seems even wealthier than your royal family. The combat stage in the imperial palace's martial arts arena was destroyed by Qi Xuan and me, yet the combat here doesn't suffer the slightest impact despite casual battles between Void Return realm cultivators."

"Zhang Heng, are you an idiot?" Qi Sisi retorted immediately. "Participants in the imperial city grand tournament are at most thirty years old, and their strength is at most at the ninth tier of the Yuan Dan realm. That's why they didn't use higher-grade materials."

Qi Sisi continued, "Besides, who could have anticipated that the two of you would have such freakish combat power?"

Zhang Heng felt ashamed; he had actually been looked down upon by a little girl.

At that moment, the battle on the stage reached its climax. Because the two fighters possessed roughly equal strength, the fight ultimately ended in mutual destruction. Both unconscious combatants were ruthlessly carried away by the arena's management personnel.

Then, an arena official flew up onto the stage and delivered the same old speech. Since neither of the previous two retained any combat capability, two new challengers had to be selected next.

Zhang Heng smiled with relief. "Miss Mu, I'm going up. Watch closely."

Just as Zhang Heng was about to step forward, Mu Wanqing reached out and grabbed his sleeve. "Zhang Heng, let me go first."

Zhang Heng was slightly stunned, but he still stopped in his tracks.

If she wanted to go first, then let her go first. Since everything was starting anew now, it was only natural to begin with the weaker opponents.

After Zhang Heng stopped, Mu Wanqing walked around him. Her figure flickered, and then she landed with extreme grace upon the combat stage.

As soon as Mu Wanqing stepped onto the stage, the entire arena stirred with excitement. Although she was wearing a mask and her facial features could not be seen clearly, how could someone with such a flawless figure have a poor appearance? Therefore, they concluded that the person on the stage must be a peerless beauty.

Most people who came to this arena were fierce and robust men; female cultivators rarely visited this place on ordinary days. Even if there were any, they were usually very strongly built female cultivators. It was the first time they had ever laid eyes on a woman with a body as breathtakingly gorgeous as Mu Wanqing's.

Seeing that she was a peerless beauty with a cultivation level of only the ninth tier of the Yuan Dan realm, many spectators began to make teasing remarks.

"Little beauty, this isn't a place for you to play around. You'd better run back home quickly."

"Little sister, what's your name?"

"Beauty, let big brother come up and keep you company," some cultivators grew impatient, their evil intentions flaring up.

These vulgar remarks failed to cause the slightest ripple in Mu Wanqing's heart. She stood coldly upon the stage, ignoring everyone as if those people weren't discussing her at all.

Watching from below, Zhang Heng felt a sense of appreciation. Other things aside, this detached temperament could rival that of Murong Qingxue.

At that moment, the arena official spoke up. The crowd grew somewhat quieter immediately. Although there were many formidable experts among those cultivators, since they were currently inside the arena, they naturally had to show respect to the arena staff.

"This newcomer, are you certain you wish to challenge?" the arena official confirmed once again. Because this was the Heaven-grade arena, it had always been the exclusive territory of Void Return experts. It felt rather peculiar for someone at the ninth tier of the Yuan Dan realm to suddenly step up and challenge Void Return realm powerhouses.

Mu Wanqing merely nodded and said nothing more.

"Very well!" the arena official praised. Some geniuses possessed exceptionally high combat power and could fight across major realms. He had seen many geniuses come to this arena for duels in the past, so he was not particularly surprised.

Then, the arena official began his announcement. "This person goes by the name Qing Mu and is a newcomer with the strength of the ninth tier of the Yuan Dan realm. Cultivators at the first tier of the Void Return realm may step onto the stage to challenge her. Anyone wishing to challenge, please come up now." With that, he leaped off the stage.

The people below began to discuss animatedly. Although they all eagerly wanted to go up onto the stage to amuse themselves with this beauty, according to the arena's rules, only cultivators at the first tier of the Void Return realm were permitted to issue a challenge. Thus, the majority of them had no opportunity.

At that moment, an arrogant voice rang out.

"Everyone, pardon me, but this beauty belongs to me." Following those words, a wretched-looking male cultivator flew up and landed on the stage.