PATH OF THE STAR HUNTER

Similar to how Lao Zo drew attention when he stepped onto the arena, Mei Fei Long also drew a great deal of attention to herself when she arrived, unfortunately, that attention was not due to her fame or her beauty and instead it was because she was the only woman in this competition.

Not to mention the fact that for many people present the mere notion of a woman marrying another woman was ridiculous and worthy of humiliation and rejection, the main problem was that in this tournament they were competing for the hand of the princess of the sect roaming cloud so the notion seemed even more absurd.

But Mei didn’t seem affected at all by the negative reaction she got from the audience, maybe in the past, she would have cared but not now. For through Desmond and the effects the bloodline purification had on her, Mei had come to a simple realization:

“You just have to be strong enough so that no one can judge or stop your actions.” Mei Fei Long muttered to herself as she waited for her opponent to arrive.

And with those words leaving her lips, Mei Fei Long’s eyes let out a deep silver gleam as silver ki scales covered from the base of her neck to her cheeks.

The change was quick and subtle to those in the audience but the enormous pressure emanating from Mei Fei Long at that moment was enough to silence many of those present.

Arrogance... All those who managed to feel the aura of Mei Fei Long had a similar idea, the feeling that the woman in the arena harbors an arrogance that made her see above all beings, a tyrannical will that knew no limits or restrictions.

And for many that thought seems ridiculous, she was just a woman, a simple disciple of a sect, but some had a different opinion.

.....

The various masters and leaders of the sects present saw potential and danger in that way of thinking, some waited patiently to observe the potential of the woman who let that aura emanate; each of them with their plans in mind.

Oblivious to the thoughts of all the people around her, Mei Fei Long’s adversary, Meng Tao appeared in the arena but failed to attract much attention given the display of power shown earlier by the woman in front of him.

Annoyed by the public’s lack of reaction, Meng Tao made what may well be the worst mistake of his life so far... Insulting Mei Fei Long to attract public attention.

“When I heard that a woman was competing I thought it would have to be a bad joke, you can imagine my surprise when I saw you in the arena, it makes me wonder... are you just a deviant or do you need someone to show you the pleasures of having a man.” Without any intention of hiding the enormous sarcasm and mockery in his words, Meng Tao directly insulted Mei Fei Long while making a couple of rather vulgar innuendos.

But perhaps even more unexpected than Meng Tao’s rude outburst was the lack of response from the audience. After looking around in confusion for a brief moment, Meng Tao turned his gaze towards Mei Fei Long only to find the woman nowhere to be found.

Perhaps it was only those with sharp enough eyes who managed to see how the silver Ki scales spread covering Mei Fei Long’s arms and legs before she exploded with a thunderous impulse leaving behind nothing more than a blast and a couple of residual images.

In the next instant, the image of a silver-covered woman briefly appeared in front of Meng Tao who was desperately trying to draw his sword before a gigantic burst of silver flashes and shockwaves shattered everything in front of the silver woman.

Looking with a wry smile from the stands, Desmond couldn’t help but comment helplessly, “Was it necessary to start straight with a full-power ?”

But no one answered his question, it was normal, now all the attention of both the public and the high command of the invited sects was on the arena while they looked in amazement at the tyrannical power shown by Mei Fei Long who did little to hide her abilities.

Even the other contestants now looked at Mei Fei Long with mixed emotions, on the one hand, they had to admit that the woman on the stage was probably the most powerful contestant in this tournament but on the other hand, they didn’t want to admit that it would be a woman who would win the tournament for the hand of the woman of their dreams.

Something that few people noticed was that the reaction of the high-ranking members of the Blood Scorpion Sect was a bit unnatural, it was as if they somehow recognized the abilities displayed by Mei and felt some apprehension or enmity towards them.

Of course, as discreet as they tried to be about it, this reaction did not escape three individuals who from the beginning had their intentions set on this sect.

Regardless of the thoughts of the people present, the chaos in the arena soon cleared up revealing the outcome of the battle.

Lying at the end of a gigantic linear crater with both his arms and legs broken, Meng Tao desperately clung to his life struggling to breathe and maintain consciousness as he cast a terrified gaze at Mei Fei Long.

Breaking out of his momentary stupor, the referee hurriedly declared the end of the match as the sect’s medical staff scrambled to tend to the fatal injuries Meng Tao had received.

Having reverted to her usual form, Mei only gave her opponent a look of disdain before retreating from the arena covered in a proud aura after which no one else in the audience dared to make any negative comments about her.

With Meng Tao having become a living example of what happens when Mei is enraged, no one would dare to anger the female dragon in human form, it was just as Desmond had said; in this world only strength was important.

In the box where the leaders of the various sects were, several conversations took place with several of them focused on Mei Fei Long, making it clear how much these individuals value the girl’s potential.

Unfortunately, none of the people present were really serious about Mei Fei Long’s participation in this tournament and thought that even if the girl wins, the Roaming Cloud Sect Master would never let his daughter marry another woman so he would choose another of the participants to marry his daughter.

Following that line of thought, many people started making up their minds about Mei Fei Long to have one of their sect disciples marry her.

Some of them were even direct enough to make some proposals directly to the Roaming Cloud Sect Master to marry Mei Fei Long but to the surprise of everyone present, the Sect Master refused any proposal and decided don’t talk about it.

Still, the people present didn’t care, after all, in their minds, all they had to do was offer some kind of benefit to Mei and she would gladly marry one of their core disciples; such a line of thought was considered normal in this world.

But some were not happy with these conversations taking place and those people belonged to the Blood Scorpion Sect who found Mei Fei Long’s existence to be a risk and a threat.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out the dangerous looks some of the high-ranking members of the sect were giving Mei Fei Long, probably hoping or planning to create the opportunity to get rid of the girl as soon as possible.

Little did these people know that while they plotted against Mei, there were those plotting against them behind their backs, very discreetly throughout the battles so far the roaming cloud sect leader had been passing the message to certain leaders of the other sects to meet privately tonight once the second round of dueling for the day was over.

With so many events happening at the same time, it was Desmond who was having the most peaceful time of all, having fulfilled his mission in this world and having settled the matters concerning Mei Fei Long and Miao Xiauyue; at this moment the young hunter was nothing more than a simple spectator of the events around him.

And so Desmond sat comfortably as he drank a glass of wine with Mei as they both watched the rest of the first round fights.

When the second round of matches arrived, both Desmond and Mei were surprised to find themselves paired with some of the weakest opponents remaining in the tournament.

After a couple of brief and unexciting fights, both Desmond and Mei returned to their spectator seats with a look of clear dissatisfaction on their faces at the disappointing match.

It wasn’t until the end of the afternoon when they finished the second round of duels that the smile on their faces returned, this because the opponents they will face the next day were quite interesting; their only disappointment is that they would have to wait another day before these battles took place.