“Fight all the way in…”
Countess Xia Qiu’s words left Bu Fang speechless. He had not expected that she would put forward such an unrealistic suggestion.
If he had known that her method was to fight all the way in, he would not have gone through so much hassle. Why did he even need to cook the tea egg to conquer her? He would have chosen to fight all the way in long ago.
Although Bu Fang was a chef, he had a fiery heart. Since his debut, he had been fighting and had never stopped.
“No… Fighting all the way in is not that easy.” Countess Xia Qiu seemed to have guessed what Bu Fang was thinking. She held up a finger and waved it before her face.
“It’s not that easy to fight all the way from District C to District B. First of all, you need a qualification to fight, and I can provide that to you,” she said.
Bu Fang nodded to show that he was listening.
“You know the ring-shaped fighting pit, I suppose? That’s your entrance into District B,” said Countess Xia Qiu. “Void City is very big, and it is divided into Districts A, B, C, and D. I won’t talk about District D since there’s nothing to say about that place… but the other three districts are different.
“All the three districts are very prosperous. Although they are similar, they also have differences. They are all under the control of Her Majesty, but Her Majesty usually does not show up. After all, she is the Queen of Curses. Therefore, these districts are managed by people with different titles.
“District A is under the jurisdiction of dukes. The noblewoman you saw at the Cursed Goddess’s side is one of the three dukes in District A and one of the supporters of the Cursed Goddess you seek. She is the Duchess of Yunlan.
“Marquises have jurisdiction over District B. There are three of them as well. And the ones who manage District C are counts. I think you already know this, so I won’t explain further…”
“Hmm? What’s all this got to do with me fighting all the way in?” Bu Fang asked, puzzled.
“Void City looks peaceful, but beneath the surface, the undercurrents are fierce. Every year, there will be candidates for titles in District A competing with each other. Those who fail will be relegated to the lower district, while those who win can move to the higher district.
“You’re in District C. I can give you the qualification to join the contest for titles. As for whether you can emerge among others or not, that is entirely up to you,” Countess Xia Qiu said with a smile.
The rules were not complicated, so Bu Fang quickly figured them out. It was the same thing as natural selection.
There were nobles in each district, and these nobles competed with each other for the titles of each district. If Bu Fang wanted to make it to District B, he would have to win the title contest.
“Well, that’s the end of our conversation. I’ll help you get the qualification for the competition. Go to the fighting pit early tomorrow morning and wait there…” Countess Xia Qiu’s expression turned cold and looked like she did not want to say more. She waved her hand and then disappeared.
The corners of Bu Fang’s mouth twitched slightly as he looked at the spot where she had disappeared. He felt that this woman was somewhat less reliable.
With Countess Xia Qiu gone, he turned to look at Whitey and the others. Foxy was sitting on its head and giggling. As for Shrimpy, it was still spitting bubbles.
Whitey’s mechanical eyes flashed. It raised its huge hand and pointed at the turkey it had pinned to the ground, as if asking Bu Fang something. The turkey was shivering.
“Whitey, you want to eat this turkey?” Bu Fang froze for a moment.
Whitey scratched the back of its head.
Bu Fang smiled faintly. He unleashed the Law of Time, tied up the turkey, and threw it into the Heaven and Earth Farmland. He knew Niu Hansan would love this turkey.
…
In the depths of Countess Xia Qiu’s residence
At this moment, her heart was throbbing. The feeling made her shiver, as if her body and mind were enveloped by a fear that came from the depths of her blood.
She walked with long strides and soon came into the great hall. All the servants and maidservants here stood still as if time had frozen. When she looked up at the far end of the hall, she saw a woman in a plain gown standing on the main seat with her back to her.
As soon as she saw the figure, Countess Xia Qiu shuddered. The next moment, she was on her knees.
“Your… Your Majesty…”
The woman did not turn around, but the overwhelming pressure emanating from her made Xia Qiu tremble.
‘I’m finished…’
She thought she could keep the Queen in the dark. It turned out that nothing could be hidden from her. With the Queen’s strength, nothing could escape her perception. Xia Qiu felt that she was only one step away from death.
The woman looked unremarkable. She gave off neither the slightest wave of energy nor the wave of Chaotic Energy. She was as simple as a common person living in an ordinary continent within a small world, who had never cultivated before.
In fact, she was the supreme being who ruled Void City, the Queen of Curses, a terrifying existence who could wipe out half of the universe with a flick of her sleeve.
“Is it good?” the woman asked. Her voice was very gentle, pleasant, and even had a hint of shyness.
“Your… Your Majesty… I…” Countess Xia Qiu’s pupils constricted.
“You just have to tell me whether it’s good or not…” said the woman in an authoritative tone.
“Yes… It was good…” Xia Qiu’s expression was somewhat torn. However, she did not regret it. This was the first time she had ever eaten delicious food. Through it, she felt emotions she had never felt before and understood what that man was after his whole life. So, she had no regrets.
“You shouldn’t eat that… Delicious food is something worse than a curse. It will lead you step by step to destruction.” The Queen of Curses’ voice carried no hint of emotion. “Of all the countesses, you are the only one who used to be a Cursed Goddess. In fact, you are very similar to me, but you are luckier.”
The Queen of Curses’ figure became blurred. Countess Xia Qiu felt a choking sensation closing in on her, causing her to gasp and her pupils to constrict. Suddenly, she felt as if an invisible hand had brushed against her face, and the cold touch made her feel as if she had fallen into an ice cave.
In that instant, her mind went completely blank. The taste of the tea egg, the sadness it brought her, everything about the dish was completely sealed in the depths of her mind. Countess Xia Qiu, who began to have some human emotions because of the food, once again regained her indifferent attitude.
“That’s right… The emotions that delicious food brings are corrosive to the heart, leaving you physically and mentally scarred.”
Countess Xia Qiu’s hair fluttered as if an invisible hand was combing it.
“Go ahead with your plans. Put him in the competition for the title. I’m looking forward to the moment when he stands before me. I’ve been looking forward to it for a long time…”
A faint voice lingered in Countess Xia Qiu’s ears. She looked up, her face expressionless. “Yes, Your Majesty.” She bowed reverently to the void.
The woman in the void had long since disappeared. The next moment, the frozen servants and maidservants resumed their movements as if nothing had happened. They did not notice anything unusual and went on doing what they were supposed to do.
…
That evening, Bu Fang received a token with ‘Viscount’ engraved on its surface from Countess Xia Qiu’s servant. It should be the qualification she mentioned. Only the holder of this token could enter that fighting pit. Made of an unknown metal, the token was cold and heavy. Bu Fang hefted it and found that it was as heavy as a mountain.
“This should be a token made from a star core…” he murmured. “Void City is really rich. The star core used to make this token is definitely not an ordinary one…”
Just by holding it in his hand, Bu Fang could feel the energy flow faster between heaven and earth. It was obviously a divine instrument that helped cultivation. No wonder in Void City, the overall strength of the nobles was much stronger than the common people.
And the token also contained rich curse power, as if there was a divine ability hiding inside. Unfortunately, it was impossible for Bu Fang to cultivate this divine ability.
The night was long. Bu Fang went into the Heaven and Earth Farmland. The energy inside was extremely dense now. It was not at all inferior to the cultivating environment in the divine dynasty, and because of that, the cultivation base of his apprentices had all skyrocketed. However, this was not the focus of his attention.
He found Niu Hansan. The fellow was crossbreeding the tea leaves of the Soul Cleansing Tea Tree and the leaves of the Nine Revolution Great Path Tea Tree.
After having a serious conversation with him, Bu Fang left the farmland. In the study of hybridization, Bu Fang was not as good as Niu Hansan.
If heaven had not made Niu Hansan, the future of the field of hybridization was certainly bleak.
…
The next day, the weather was sunny. Bu Fang left the Countess Residence with Whitey, Foxy, and Shrimpy. He did not see Countess Xia Qiu, but he did not think anything was wrong.
They walked in District C. It was a huge place, not much smaller than the divine dynasty. There were teleportation arrays everywhere. The popularity of the arrays made transportation within the district very convenient.
There were also all kinds of strange chariots—they were also a means of transportation. Of course, compared to the teleportation arrays, they were much slower.
The location of the fighting pit was marked on the token. Bu Fang soon reached his destination. Unlike the fighting pit in District D, this one was very luxuriously decorated, and it was very lively and noisy. A pair of steel gates separated the pit from the district.
Bu Fang, with the token, was also a nobleman now. He had not thought of that. He came up to the steel gates. With a thought in his mind, the viscount token emerged in front of him and then shot straight up to the sky.
Suddenly, he felt a powerful and oppressive force. His eyes narrowed slightly and, looking up, he saw a figure sitting above the steel doors. It was a figure that emitted a very fearsome aura.
Bu Fang’s heart gave a jolt. This man was a Chaotic Saint, and not just any Chaotic Saint. The Chaotic Energy he possessed was not inferior to Countess Xia Qiu in the slightest.
The man raised his hand. A huge suction force pulled the token into his palm. After looking it over, he fixed his sharp gaze on Bu Fang’s face. “You must observe the order once inside the fighting pit…” He did not make it difficult for Bu Fang. Anyone with a token could enter the fighting pit.
The cold steel gates opened with a crash to both sides. A surge of aura erupted from inside. Bu Fang stepped through it with Whitey, Foxy, and Shrimpy. The next moment, a deafening din greeted him.
