At this moment, the summit of Mount Hua was packed with a dense crowd, everyone buzzing with excitement—all because of that massive chest of heavy gold.
Four burly men struggled to carry the huge wooden chest step by step onto the stage, and everyone’s eyes followed its every move. Most of these onlookers were ordinary folk who loved martial arts but had always been too poor to afford lessons—those so-called martial heroes all charged fees, so they could only resign themselves to working the fields. Many had never seen real gold in their lives, let alone the legendary stuff.
But today, they were actually about to see gold—and not just any gold, but ten thousand taels! The sheer allure of it left these outsiders utterly amazed.
Silver Consort stepped to center stage and glanced at the crowd’s greedy, mesmerized faces, sneering with contempt. She knew that once she opened the box, these people would be glued to the gold, maybe even pushing closer for a better look. And as long as the box stayed open for just a few moments, all these greedy fools would be gone for good.
“Silver Consort, is this the gold prepared by the Crown Prince?” An elderly man with snow-white hair joined her at center stage. He was the senior elder overseeing this tournament—a position he’d held for every decade’s contest, always accompanied by three other elders just slightly younger than himself.
His clan was enormous: six sons, five daughters, eighteen grandsons, thirteen granddaughters, eight great-grandsons, ten great-granddaughters, and the family was still growing. They all shared a single oath—to guard the Storm Command Token that calls together the martial world!
That token was the prize everyone in the martial world fought for, the symbol all wanted to possess. A hundred years ago, when the grand martial conference began, every sect and fighter swore a blood oath: whoever held the token would be treated as the master, able to command all of Jianghu. The holder of the token could summon the entire martial world.
His family had guarded the Storm Command Token and each era’s Wulin Alliance Leader for generations. Every ten years, a new Alliance Leader was chosen, and he’d send the clan’s top fighters to serve that leader—an unbroken contract of loyalty to both the Alliance Leader and the Storm Command Token.
But thirty years ago, the Storm Command Token vanished without a trace, sparking endless speculation in the martial world. Even when Master Xuanluo won the tournament ten years ago, he didn’t receive the token, and its whereabouts became a mystery.
Still, his family never gave up searching for the Storm Command Token. Even now, though the token was missing, they kept their vow to protect the current Alliance Leader—faithful to the end.
Ten years ago, it was Master Xuanluo who won. His six sons competed in martial arts, and in the end, the eldest took the crown. That son chose to follow Master Xuanluo, who, surprisingly, treated him like family and even taught him some new-school techniques. Eventually, Master Xuanluo ordered him to return home, saying he didn’t like being waited on. The eldest had no choice but to come back, even though he really didn’t want to leave.
As for this old man, today would be his last time hosting the tournament. Next time, he’d pass the mantle to his eldest son, still doing his part for the martial world. The other five sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons would keep searching for the Storm Command Token, generation after generation.
“Elder Shan,” Silver Consort nodded at him, “this is the Crown Prince’s reward for the new Alliance Leader. I think everyone can see just how much the prince cares about us.”
“On behalf of all Jianghu, I thank the Crown Prince for his generosity and support,” she said, bowing slightly.
Seeing this, everyone in the crowd bowed as well. Elder Shan’s reputation in the martial world was still sky-high—after all, he was the heir to the Storm Command Token.
“Alright then, let’s not drag this out. On behalf of the Crown Prince, I’ll open the chest of gold!” Silver Consort flashed a wicked grin, walked up to the enormous chest, and pulled a key from her belt. With a ‘click,’ she unlocked the box.
The instant the chest opened, it was as if a golden light shot straight up to the clouds, dazzling everyone. With so much gold and such a massive chest, the huge pile of gold was ridiculously tempting.
Silver Consort sneered at the scene. Just a few more moments, and all the people Jue’er hated would be dead!
“Everyone, run! The gold is poisoned—!” Suddenly, Caleb Miles came flying over the crowd, literally stepping on people’s heads as he rushed toward Ivy Shen. But Silver Consort leaped in front of him, yanked him away, and dragged him a hundred meters from Ivy.
“Run! It’s all poison, all Song Zhijue’s poison—he wants you all dead!” Caleb Miles shouted at the top of his lungs.
“Shut up!” Silver Consort roared at him.
Caleb Miles’s outburst left everyone stunned—they didn’t know how to react.
Just then, a gentle voice rang out: “You have to believe him! There’s definitely poison here. I’m Liam Willow, this year’s top liberal-arts scholar. I stake my head on it—there’s poison!” Liam had been watching Ivy Shen from the crowd, and when he heard Caleb’s warning, he suddenly believed him for no reason. If Caleb said there was poison, then there had to be!
Everyone looked at each other, unsure whether to stay or run.
“Go now! If you don’t, you’ll never get out!” Caleb Miles shouted again, desperate to warn everyone. Poison—seriously, run for your lives!
At that, the crowd scattered in a panic. Nobody wanted to gamble with their life. But as they ran, many suddenly collapsed mid-stride, foaming at the mouth, serpent tails popping out, bodies convulsing, eyes rolling back as they lost consciousness.
The sight drove the rest to run even harder, screaming and shouting in all directions. But those with weak martial arts—or none at all—kept dropping as they fled.
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“Uh…” Suddenly, something went wrong with Liam Willow’s body—he went limp and started to collapse.
Colin Kerr hurried forward to catch him, while Ivy Shen rushed over in worry. "Liam..."
“Let go of me!” Caleb Miles shouted, angrily shaking off Silver Consort’s grip and bolting toward the group.
But Silver Consort didn’t stop him—instead, she moved even faster toward Ivy Shen, her sharp gaze and powerful internal energy locked on Ivy. The murderous intent was overwhelming. Ivy shoved Lucian Vane toward Liam Willow, telling him to look after Liam, then dashed forward herself.
“Xin’er…” At that moment, Butterfly Rogue came flying in from a tree, rushing to help her fight Silver Consort. His martial arts weren’t strong enough to match Silver Consort, but he threw himself in the way to block her deadly attack.
Seeing this, Ivy Shen snapped, “Butterfly Rogue, get out of the way!” Watching his reckless self-sacrifice, her heart trembled just a little.
“Foolish brat!” Silver Consort snorted, and with a powerful reverse palm, sent a fierce blow at Butterfly Rogue. Ivy Shen quickly struck out to block Silver Consort’s lethal attack, but the clash of palm forces still knocked the weaker Butterfly Rogue to the ground.
“Quick, take the antidote! Hurry!” Caleb Miles rushed over, his hands shaking from nerves. He fumbled a bottle of antidote from his sleeve and poured out several pills.
Lucian Vane grabbed the first antidote, ready to rush to Ivy Shen, but Caleb stopped him. “Take the pill first—we’ll go together. If you collapse, she’ll just worry more.” He shook the bottle to show there was plenty left.
Lucian swallowed his antidote. Caleb nodded and handed out pills to Liam Willow, Butterfly Rogue, and Colin Kerr, urging them to take theirs quickly.
Just then, two figures landed among them—a man in his fifties, holding Elder Shan by the hand. He crouched in front of Butterfly Rogue, worry etched on his face. “Little Third Blossom, are you alright?”
“Grandpa…” Butterfly Rogue furrowed his brows, trying to steady his breath.
Everyone was startled by Butterfly Rogue’s cry.
“Enough talk! Come with us, now.” The fifty-something man, who looked much like Butterfly Rogue, grabbed his hand to lead him away.
“Dad, take Grandpa and go. I’m staying here.”
“Are you crazy? With your weak martial arts, you’ll die if you stay! I know you care about the martial world, but listen—once I get Grandpa to safety, I’ll come back. Now come with me!” Butterfly Rogue’s father pulled him, trying to drag him away.
“No!” Butterfly Rogue shook off his father’s hand and pointed at Ivy Shen, declaring each word clearly: “She is this year’s Alliance Leader. I swear on the Hua clan—I’ll protect her to the death!”
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PS: You’ve all read Journey to the West, right? You know how they have to endure countless trials. It’s the same for our heroes—whether it’s love or life, nothing is ever smooth sailing. This time, it’s their great tribulation, and they have to bear it. As for what happens next, I won’t say much. I just want you to remember four words: I’m a loving author!