"Bushidō, what kind of faction is that? How dare they make everyone wait for them?" Qin Yi scoffed.
Jiang Xiongba leaned closer to Qin Yi and whispered, "Bushidō isn't a local martial arts faction. They're from Yingguo..."
Qin Yi abruptly turned back to look at Jiang Xiongba.
The latter nodded at him gravely.
Another twenty minutes passed, and still, no one from Bushidō had arrived. Not only Qin Yi and Jiang Xiongba were growing impatient, but also Luo Dexuan, Wudaozi, the Zhuge family... even the onlookers preparing to watch the spectacle were getting restless.
"What's going on?"
"Are you guys fighting or not?"
"If you're not going to fight, why set up such a grand arena? Just dismantle it!"
"..."
Some of the more hot-tempered individuals started cursing.
This made the faces of the people from various factions turn unsightly.
After a while, a middle-aged man from the Zhuge family stood up and said to the various factions, "Everyone, the people from Bushidō have not arrived. How about we start directly?"
"I agree with the Zhuge family head's proposal!" Luo Dexuan immediately said.
The patriarchs of several other factions exchanged glances. Just as everyone was about to agree, a group of people from the rear pushed through the crowd and walked towards them.
"Get out of the way!"
"Step aside!"
This group was small, only five people.
They were all dressed in Yingguo samurai attire, and each carried a Yingguo-made katana.
As they entered the arena, some onlookers blocked their path. They were rudely shoved aside, and several people were pushed to the ground.
Because they were martial artists, they exuded an intimidating aura. Everyone felt it but dared not speak out.
Many of the people from the various factions watching their behavior frowned.
When Luo Dexuan and Luo Yongnian saw one of the five people, their faces darkened, and rage flared up within them.
Qin Yi also looked at one of them with a slight surprise.
Because that person was Ma Yuan, whom he had met before at the Iron Fist Martial Arts Hall!
The man was Luo Dexuan's disciple. Even though he had been expelled from the sect, he was now wearing Yingguo attire and looked like a Yingguo person!
"Haha, without us Bushidō, how can the exchange meet begin!"
Walking to the front of the arena, a Yingguo man at the head of the group scanned everyone and said, "My apologies, everyone, for keeping you waiting!"
"Yamamoto, you've finally arrived. Everyone has been waiting for you for a long time. Let's start quickly now!" The Zhuge family head said with a hint of displeasure.
The leaders of various factions agreed.
They had waited for a long time and did not want to waste any more time.
But just then, Yamamoto Kuroda, the leader of Bushidō, raised his hand to stop them, "Please don't rush, everyone. I have a few words I'd like to say to you all. Please listen first..."
"This exchange meet has been held many times. I believe it's time to make some changes!"
"Our Nan Province alone has nearly ten martial arts factions! Currently, cultivation resources are already scarce. It is very inappropriate for one faction to occupy some of them!"
"Therefore, I have a proposal: let's directly choose a Martial Arts Alliance Leader today, and then we will uniformly arrange and distribute the cultivation resources of our Nan Province!"
"This way, our..."
"Yamamoto Kuroda, you're not thinking of becoming the Martial Arts Alliance Leader of our Nan Province, are you?" Wudaozi interrupted and asked.
Jiang Xiongba, Luo Dexuan, and the others now stared at Yamamoto Kuroda with somber eyes.
Yamamoto Kuroda felt their gazes but didn't care. He smiled and replied, "I do have this idea!"
Immediately after, he glanced back at someone standing beside him and said to everyone, "This is my disciple, Oka Kenji. He is thirty-three years old. We can conduct the competition according to the rules of the exchange meet. If you can defeat him, I will withdraw from the competition for the alliance leader position! Conversely, if you cannot defeat him, then I will be the alliance leader!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Oka Kenji stepped forward, holding his katana.
He scanned the martial artists from the various factions around him with sharp eyes, then leaped onto the arena and shouted at everyone, "Who will come up and die first!"
"Huala."
His words immediately ignited the anger of the martial artists from the various factions below, whether they were the patriarchs of factions like Jiang Xiongba, Luo Dexuan, and Wudaozi, or the younger generation like Jiang Hongxin and Qi Ning.
The other party was too arrogant and presumptuous!
Yamamoto Kuroda, along with two other Yingguo people and Ma Yuan, stood there with smiles on their faces.
"Oka Kenji, is it? Let me see what makes you so arrogant!"
From behind the Zhuge family head, a slender man walked out. He lightly leaped onto the arena.
He was one of the two participants the Zhuge family had prepared for the exchange meet, named Zhuge Sheng.
"If you have the guts, then die!"
As soon as Zhuge Sheng stepped onto the stage, Oka Kenji wasted no time. With a flash of white light, his katana was drawn, and he slashed at Zhuge Sheng.
As his sword struck, the air seemed to split, emitting a piercing sound of cutting through the air.
Zhuge Sheng's expression changed dramatically. He had no weapon and could only dodge.
But Oka Kenji's speed was too fast. As soon as he moved, the sword was already upon him.
"Chila..."
A sound of tearing fabric rang out. Oka Kenji's blade narrowly missed Zhuge Sheng's clothes.
Although Zhuge Sheng managed to dodge the attack, a large piece of his cloth was cut off and fluttered onto the arena.
The Zhuge family head, watching from below, broke out in a cold sweat and hurriedly shouted, "Zhuge Sheng, you are no match for him. Retreat!"
After this move, Zhuge Sheng deeply experienced Oka Kenji's power. The opponent's strength was far superior to his. If he had been a moment slower, his body would have been split in two.
Therefore, upon hearing the Zhuge family head's words, he did not hesitate and turned to jump off the arena.
But as he turned, a white light shot towards him. He felt a sense of impending death, and all his hair stood on end!
This time, before he could react, the white light struck his body.
"Pfft..."
Zhuge Sheng coughed up a mouthful of blood and fell to his knees on the arena.
He looked down and saw that his chest had been pierced by a katana!
He looked back and saw Oka Kenji walking towards him step by step, his face filled with disbelief.
Oka Kenji approached, gripped the katana, and pulled it out. Zhuge Sheng coughed up another mouthful of blood, collapsed onto the arena, closed his eyes, and lost his life!
"Trash!"
Oka Kenji directly sheathed his blood-stained katana and spat out two words.
"Zhuge Sheng!!!"
The Zhuge family head and several other Zhuge family martial artists watched this scene, their eyes turning red.
Not only them, but Luo Dexuan and the people from the other factions were also filled with rage!