The notification messages appeared in front of Wei Yuan as well. As she had learned about Miaomiao’s secrets, she was wary of Ma Moxi’s status. She glanced at him, contemplating the situation.

At glance, it was a mistake since Miaomiao had just lost absolute control over the Ma Clan. However, since a dao god was involved, it might be beneficial to give the Ma Clan a scope of freedom.

After all, gifts from the higher realms were priceless in mortal worlds. Making friends with gods was better than oppressing the obvious allies.

Still, Miaomiao’s recent actions confirmed his weaknesses that Wei Yuan had noticed.

‘Miaomiao is prone to be passively submissive when he’s around stronger seniors, allies, or his wives. At this rate, he will be exploited by everyone around him. I guess it’s up to me to teach him. Or… I need to be his buffer.’

Wei Yuan took notes of what she needed to do to cover for Miaomiao’s weaknesses. She glanced at Ju Shoufen while she was in deep thought.

‘For a starter, I should try to get close to her. If I can become her disciple and learn alchemy, I should be able to use Miaomiao’s pill-making system and increase my status in the family. Then, my opinion will have more weight in the future family gathering.’

Wei Yuan continued to rack her brain, planning to increase her political power in the family to cover for Miaomiao’s weaknesses.

…

Meanwhile, Ma Moxi’s body felt lighter. His dantian was also brimmed with power and Essence after a portion of fate power returned to him.

Yet, Ma Moxi didn’t look refreshed. He revealed a bitter smile on his face.

“My debt to you keeps increasing. At this rate, I won’t be able to repay you in this life.”

Miaomiao frowned and tilted his head while his hands rested on his waist, “I don’t remember helping you other than oppressing you with the dao oath. Are you sure about that?”

“Hahaha! You have no idea. By the way, your straightforwardness is what I like about you. I’m glad you’re my boss.”

“Sorry to break it to you, but I don’t swing that way.”

“Hahahaha! Oh, boy. No homo, boss. I just wanted to show you my appreciation. Anyway, let’s fight. Show me how much you’ve progressed after we last fought. Although it was me who always got stomped.”

“Take it easy, okay? Let’s trade only three moves. I don’t want to injure you before the tournament.”

“Oh, please. Don’t look down on me. You’ll be surprised to see my new skills. You should be worried about yourself since my power comes from the dragon pill.”

The trash talk went on. The crowd enjoyed listening to the exchange, but Miaomiao had enough. He turned to Ma Ping and changed the subject.

“By the way, when will the tournament be held?”

Ma Ping reread the edict. He skimmed through the text, “Next week.”

Ma Moxi almost vomited blood from shock. He stared at his grandfather, questioning his intelligence for accepting such a suspicious invitation, “Isn’t that too fucking fast? If there’s an event, they usually announce it a year prior, so everyone can take time preparing. They have to include the travel time, too! Hell, we have to leave the city now if we want to reach Red Sun City before the event!”

Despite the urgency, Ma Ping was unperturbed.

“Yeah, it’s fishy. They just had been through a war with Xuan City and demons. Then, they suddenly hold a tournament. I doubt there will be many participants.”

“Then, why are you accepting the invitation!?”

“We need intel about the outside world. Unless we go out and visit other cities, we won’t know about the changes around the continent. Besides, we can get 10,000 essence cores for free!”

Ma Moxi didn’t like his grandfather’s reasoning, “That’s an excuse, right?”

Ma Ping grinned, “Yes. I just want to spread our name and take this opportunity to recruit promising youths in the Capital. There might be hidden gems out there like you or Miaomiao.”

“…”

Ma Moxi rolled his eyes. He turned to Miaomiao, revealing an apologetic smile.

“Sorry, boss. My grandfather is shortsighted, stupid, greedy, and dumber than a chimpanzee.”

“Oi, I can hear you! What’s a chimpanzee anyway?”

Ma Moxi ignored his grandfather and waited for Miaomiao’s final words. He winked and hinted that Miaomiao could use the pretext to change his mind and skip the tournament.

However, Miaomiao needed to search for Liu Bian’s whereabouts, and he could find clues if he were to visit Red Sun City. The tournament coincided with his goal.

Thus, Miaomiao declined Moxi’s hint.

“It doesn’t matter. I have some businesses at Red Sun City. Since I have to leave this city eventually, it’s better to go there with many people. I don’t mind.”

Ma Moxi frowned, “The event is extremely fishy, like Red-is-always-SUS-fishy, you know?”

“I know. That’s why I have to bite the baits to find out what is in store for me. Also, I don’t play Among Us.”

“…”

“Anyway, let’s get this over with. Three moves only, okay?”

“Fine.”

…

Ma Moxi and Miaomiao moved to the Ma Clan’s training ground as the yin slave mansion wasn’t suitable for the extreme fight between monsters.

Ma Ping and Ma Moxi had prepared to raise their armies once again, so they made the training ground larger than average. It was designed for an army of 5,000 soldiers.

As such, this place was suitable for a sparring match. They could have chosen any place outside the city, but they wanted to keep this match a secret.

Every elder, the yin slaves, Wei Yuan, the beasts, and Ma Moxi’s subordinates spectated the field from afar. Many men still ogled Miaomiao’s wives, but none of them dare pursue the girls since Moxi had instructed them not to do it. Moreover, they seemed scary when their eyes met.

Ma Moxi and Miaomiao stood 10 meters away from each other. They used wooden weapons as they planned to conserve their strength for the real tournament event.

Ma Moxi used a double-edged wooden sword while Miaomiao used a custom-made wooden katana.

Ma Ping and Jia Shan stood in the middle of the field, acting as referees and preparing to stop the match if it got dangerous.

Jia Shan warned Miaomiao, “Remember, this is a sparring match. Be sure not to deal a fatal blow or injure your opponent.”

Ma Ping also warned Moxi, “Make sure you stop before you hit your opponent. Try to avoid vital spots if you can.”

Both men nodded. The referees backed away from Miaomiao and Ma Moxi.

Jia Shan picked a stone and tossed it to the sky, “Begin when the stone hit the ground.”

“…”

Miaomiao deeply exhaled and got into the Iai stance. The air in the radius of four meters around him distorted, revealing the hint of Miaomiao’s Killing Domain.

As for Ma Moxi, he used a basic kendo stance, not showing his style. He didn’t have a domain, but his presence grew bigger, and his aura got sharper.

PA

The stone dropped on the ground.

Both men disappeared from where they had stood.

WHOOSH

WHOOSH

In the split of a millisecond, Miaomiao drew his wooden katana and aimed for Ma Moxi’s torso.

Ma Moxi’s body became smoke and phased through the attack. Then, his real body manifested and countered the slash with a simple kendo swing, aiming at Miaomiao’s head.

At that moment, Miaomiao stomped his front foot and activated Vampiric Touch, using his extended Qi in the air as a medium and an activation point.

A mini-gravity ball appeared between Miaomiao and Ma Moxi. It interrupted the latter’s strike and stop his movement.

Once again, Miaomiao managed to mimic an anime skill with a bit of alteration.

Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu – Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki!

Ma Moxi widened his eyes as he had read the manga. Although he was surprised, he had several tricks to escape the predicament before the next strike came.

Golden Azure Dragon Physique!

Ma Moxi’s body glittered in golden scales as he fully circulated his gold element Qi throughout his meridians, revealing the power that he had received from the divine pill.

The Vampiric Touch’s gravity ball shattered as the azure dragon’s aura dispersed all evil techniques. Without the interference, he delivered a downward slash!

BANG!

The wooden sword didn’t hit Miaomiao’s forehead, but it landed on something else.

Floating above Miaomiao’s head was a flame katana, which was created by Miaomiao’s dragon fire element Qi from Miaomiao’s left hand. The condensed flame was so thick that it instantly melted Ma Moxi’s wooden sword.

After the fire sword was brought out, the Fire Domain had been activated!

Everything in the radius of four meters around Miaomiao caught fire!

Ma Moxi was still in Miaomiao’s domain. However, he braced the fire and created another weapon with his elemental power. His gold Qi entered his hand, and a golden sword was formed.

Above Ma Moxi, surrounding Miaomiao, a hundred golden weapons appeared from mysterious gates in the air. They rained toward Miaomiao as if they were a hail of arrows, concentrating on one target.

‘If you’re using an anime skill, I’ll use one too!’

Gate of Babylon, Gold Sword Rain!

Seeing the incoming golden weapons, Miaomiao increased the fire intensity and temperature while he hardened the barrier.

The fire domain turned into a fire dome barrier. It also trapped Ma Moxi inside!

BANG

BANG

The golden weapons slammed onto the fire dome and caught fire. A portion of them even melted.

Ma Moxi could also feel the rising heat, but he didn’t give up. He phased again and reappeared behind Miaomiao.

Then, Moxi sent his palm toward Miaomiao’s back.

Azure Dragon Five Elemental Palm!

The palm contained five elements – Fire, Water, Wood, Earth, and Metal. All of them had been enhanced by Ma Moxi’s gold element, raising their power to the advanced element tier.

Despite being in danger, Mao Miaomiao didn’t dodge. He simply dropped his left hand’s weapon and folded his fingers, gesturing that he was holding a bomb switch.

Yet, Miaomiao didn’t lower his thump to press the button.

Ma Moxi’s palm stopped 5 centimeters away from Miaomiao’s back. He canceled his skill and withdrew all the power, transforming from a golden dragonewt to a human.

“Haiya. That skill is a pain in the ass. Uncle Moxi is sad,” Moxi complained while his face grimaced.

Miaomiao also dispersed his fire domain and pulled back all his Qi. He heaved a sigh of relief.

“Don’t talk like Uncle Roger. I didn’t even cook a fucking fried rice. Also, learn a pseudo domain skill, Moxi.”

“But you’ve cooked me like fried rice! I’m cooked golden rice now.”

“…”

The match was over. The winner had been decided!

Jia Shan and Ma Ping also sensed it. They created a barrier to separate both of them.

Then, Ma Ping gave Miaomiao a bitter smile before he announced.

“Winner, Mao Miaomiao!”

…

“EHHHH!?”

The sparring was so fast that not many of them could see what had happened after their bodies disappeared. Only a second had passed, but the match was over!

Most of the audience couldn’t follow their movements, so they thought that the match had ended because Ma Moxi stopped his palm strike before he hit Miaomiao. However, the elder’s verdict contradicted the situation.

Ma Moxi’s subordinates were not happy to see their invincible boss lose to Miaomiao, who they weren’t familiar with. They protested.

“Boss Ma got him first! How does he win when he’s the one receiving the attack!?”

“Yeah! Our boss should be the one winning! He got in a position to use a palm strike!”

“BOOO!”

Several yin slaves also had a similar thought, but they didn’t voice it out loud since their husband had won. Meanwhile, Ju Shoufen, Ju Chen, and Jiang Lan managed to catch a glimpse of Miaomiao’s cheat skill.

Ju Shoufen nodded, “That skill is indeed useful. I should ask the brat to teach me that move.”

Jiang Lan and Ju Chen also agreed. They smiled as they were proud of their husband.

The rest of the elders also discovered Miaomiao’s trick. They shook their heads and sighed.

Ma Shoucheng commented, “What a nasty combination of fake domains and fire element Qi manipulation. He got him good.”

Pang Lingming clapped his hands for Miaomiao and Moxi, cheering for them, “Our Moxi indeed lacks combat experience against true experts. This will be a valuable lesson. Well, if Miaomiao and Moxi keep being spar partners, both of them will benefit a lot.”

“True. They should spar more often.”

Everyone who didn’t understand the fight was baffled by the elders’ comments. They looked around, waiting for someone to explain the match.

Mao Xueyan, who had seen everything, turned around. She scratched her head and yawned before she started explaining in a lazy tone.

“That birdbrain orc has disguised several strands of fire element Qi within the fire domain. Ma Moxi inhaled and touched several strands of Qi in the fire domain. That’s when he lost. The end…”

“???”

Everyone was still confused. The explanation didn’t clarify anything.

Mao Xueyan sighed. She shouted and called Miaomiao, “HEY, perverted orc! Can you demonstrate what you can do with that fire Qi skill? The audience is too stupid that they don’t understand shit!”

Miaomiao turned toward the audience crowd. He cocked his head and frowned for a moment before he realized what Xueyan wanted him to do.

He picked up several rocks and injected his fire Qi into them. Then, he tossed the stones to the sky.

Then, Miaomiao pressed the switch.

BOOM

BOOM

BOOM

The explosions created a large firework in the form of a mini-napalm bomb in the sky. The shockwave and the heat stunned the crowd. Even the elders had to summon Qi barriers to protect everyone from heat.

The beasts and Moxi’s subordinates blankly looked at the explosions, and they turned toward Ma Moxi.

Ma Moxi shrugged, “I lost. I would have been dead if he pressed that button.”

“…”