To Walk The Mist - 125 Clearing the table 4

Ed stepped out and was met with the stern face of a bald referee.

“Step onto the table.” the referee said and Ed frowned slightly for a second. He looked to the stage the referee was pointing and wondered why he was calling it a table. Nevertheless, he did as asked.

He immediately felt the feasting eyes of the crowd upon him. Many were gauging his cultivation, others did not wish to miss a thing so as to make good bets. When they saw his face was new to them, some sighed.

“A newcomer?”

“No need to bet. One knows how dangerous it is to bet in a newcomer’s fight.” another said and many nodded in agreement.

“The challenger is here. Plate, announce the opponent!” the referee said to no one in particular. But one could see him looking towards the bronze plate and the looking away with disinterest, only to look back in shock. He was not the only one. The entire crowd went silent for a second, as ten names appeared on the plate under Ed.

“What?” many exclaimed.

“This list of ten names is all over the place.”

“It is obvious that this is a newcomer. He is not on the top ten ranking, how can this be done?” someone asked.

“Look at the list. Bold letters. This was picked by the tower.” another said.

“Who is this?”

“This will be an interesting fight. Look, Ephiom and Hammer head are on the list!” someone said excitedly.

“There are Ephiom is in the top ten too. I should bet on this fight.”

“What is the tower thinking, could it have malfunctioned and wanted to kill a newcomer?” the audience was abuzz with speculations.

“A rankless, huh? They exist?” the referee asked Ed as though he would know the answer. At this another round of talks ensued in the audience. Seeing Ed’s stoic face, the referee looked to the crowd.

“Opponents, step unto the stage!” he ordered and the crowd cheered as ten fighters jumped unto the stage. Two women were amongst the line up. One walking through the air, down to the stage and the other flipped in without care for her exposed legs.

“It’s Lady Fu.” someone said, as he and many others stared at her, love struck.

“Young master Ephiom has stepped on too!” someone exclaimed. The man fluttered unto the stage like a fairy. If someone had not specifically said he was a young master, Ed would not have known. His facial features were not quite distinctive if he was male or female. It did not help that he wore a loud flower outer robe and moved like a girl.

Ed stared at the face of those who had arrived for a second, before looking away.

“Rankless huh?”one of them said.

“It could either mean you are at the end of the ranks or at the very top at which one can’t reach.” another said.

“I think the tower could not decide.” the girl in red laughed without care, her large breasts jiggling. She looked wild and seductive with clothes barely covering her body.

“This will be a group battle. No matter who beats him, you all win.” the referee said.

“Well, who is going to do this for the rest? This lady is tired.” the wild girl said.

“Nothing about you is a lady. I will. I want to be the one to kill a rankless.” another said.

“You, Hammer head? I will be the one to defeat the rankless.” another countered.

Then a ring tore through the air, causing the referee to look to the bronze plate in fear. ‘The tower was interfering?’ He thought in horror.

The names on the tower turned smaller, giving space for the words; ‘one winner’.

“The one who lands the defeating blow wins. The rest, this fight will be recorded as a loss.” the referee said gravely.

At this, the hall quietened. Everyone understood that getting a loss from a tower chosen battle is at a disadvantage to you. One loss of a tower’s choice, two wins returns to the tower. Every one knew this.

If you loose a tower chosen fight, the tower will withdraw two wins from your score. Didn’t this mean the tower wanted these people to fight this boy with all their might, even destroy him? What kind of situation is this? The tension was thick in the air. No matter what, ten people will loose this fight. It’s not like one could beat him again, right? Just when the tension had reached a frightening height, the silence was broken by a melodious voice.

“Ho Ho… Step forward and make your bets. Predict hoe the newcomer will die! Do we have anyone for split in half? Any one for death by decapitation? Crushed skull! How many body part will survive? Death by choking? Do we have a death by choking? Broken legs, broken arms…..” Ku Jian’s voice rang out rapidly like an skilled auctioneer, her hands swinging like a vegetable seller calling for customers on a slow day.