Chapter 1042
Chapter 1042 - 1028: What’s the Matter?
1,373 words
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7 min read
Public humiliation or actual death? That is the question?
"Could it be possible to first suffer public humiliation, then actual death, and not be able to escape either..."
Watching the two bald men on the scene with faces full of horror, Lu Ping’an wickedly stroked Xiao Mu’s head.
According to the Martial God Who Dominates Three Sides’ doctrine of "continuing the fight under any dire circumstances," such a development seemed understandable.
Whether one could accept it or not was another matter entirely.
The deathmatch between the two martial monks came to a standstill at that moment, as their brains clearly overloaded.
Choosing cross-dressing just thinking about muscular bald men in dresses... public humiliation would just be the start, being photographed and widely circulated was inevitable.
For those choosing to transform into women, both contestants weren’t wearing much to begin with, and were both muscle heads; the result could be even more blinding to the eyes, and also potentially leave lasting psychological scars.
"...Seems like no matter the choice, a lifetime of psychological trauma is guaranteed, tsk, that’s pretty cruel."
It’s always delightful to watch someone else’s misfortune.
The maliciously amused Lu Ping’an couldn’t help but laugh out loud, especially when he saw...
"Time’s up, random selection."
A wicked pink glow filled with malice descended, and the two instantly completed their "transformation."
One muscular giant man had his upper body clad in a big sister’s brightly colored floral blouse, while his lower half sported black silk stockings and a mini skirt of absolute territory, topped off with heavy makeup that would suit a countrysider’s small bar. The thick foundation and red lips... uh, Lu Ping’an burst into laughter, while someone almost sprayed out their drink.
The other one fared much better... "She" suddenly grew waist-length black hair!
The muscular lines became graceful, and he had a masculine yet beautiful face like that of a middle-aged male beauty.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!"
Both parties suffered a 100,000-pound Spirit attack and let out heartbreaking screams on the spot.
And yet, at this moment, they were still entwined together, unable to afford any mistakes or pauses...
Who won? The transfigured big boss who managed to land a punch on the opponent’s face won.
Because "she" after all couldn’t see her own face, whereas the cross-dressing big boss could see his own mini skirt, leading to an even more complete mental collapse...
"...Tsk, that’s really tragic." Watching the victorious one desperately covering her chest trying not to cry, Lu Ping’an found it hard to keep from laughing out loud.
As practitioners of the Awakener series capable of mending their spirit, the sight of both parties breaking down was a bit too much to bear... Perhaps they were just the less fortunate selections.
But after considering it, if Lu Ping’an himself were in such a scenario, having to choose... tsk, jumping into the sea might be the better option.
"...Congratulations to Liu Dapeng or should I say, madam... mister, for a winning start... let My Lord reward him."
The glow from the sky descended, enveloping the "lady" within it, and after a short while, he showed a delighted smile, appearing quite satisfied with the Divine Grace, only...
"Ugh, the smile makes it even worse to look at... Hope he can still smile tomorrow."
Watching the "tourists" frantically taking photos and filming on the deck, Lu Ping’an felt sorrow for the future of that Liu Dapeng.
"...Damn, who let this one through, I said let’s be more serious for the first few... uh, sorry, a small work mishap, definitely not My Lord’s cruel sense of humor."
In the sky, the emcee who forgot to turn off the microphone also provided a bit of a giggle.
But it’s hard to say whether this was intentional or just a ploy to lighten the mood to prevent everyone from outright forfeiting.
Anyway, after a spot of sympathetic laughter, the atmosphere lightened slightly... until two poor saps got thrown back into the mix.
One of them still holding coffee and a sandwich, while the other was aggressively snapping photos... those who were just enjoying the view had suddenly become part of it.
But this time, there was a slight difference...
"Everyone understands the rules, right? Place your bets, please!"
Well, the betting platform in the sky, along with the constantly fluctuating odds, explained everything.
"Finally, the time has come!"
"This is the real competition!"
"Who to bet on, who?!"
And with that, the noisy customers immediately burst into clamor.
But in this era, that also seemed quite normal.
"The victor will at least receive one of My Lord’s low-level Divine Graces or Divine Gifts, the more splendid the performance, the better the reward. Even the loser will get a ten percent dividend of the betting profits..."
No professional liked being watched like a monkey, but if the rewards were ample, and there were additional hefty earnings, that was a different matter.
Loser gets a cut of the betting profits, but the victor? The Divine Grace obtained by the victor, even if it’s the lowest and most useless level, is something that normally couldn’t be bought with money.
The profits shared with the losers would certainly be considerable. Those rich people placing bets did so in an extremely exaggerated manner, but from this perspective, it seemed more like a consolation prize or medical fees.
"These days, even the God of Martial Fight reeks of the odor of copper."
"...Do you know, among the top ten betting companies and horse-racing companies of the Eastern Country, whose properties three of them are?"
"I didn’t know before, but I do now."
The involvement of a Proper God in local operations was no longer news; every Deity had their own "industries," obviously this one was somewhat gray.
Lu Ping’an felt subtle, but upon reflection, "betting one’s life for a huge reward" seemed to indeed fit the action pattern of the God of Martial Fight.
The commercialization itself brought huge profits and traffic. At the same time, it also brought stable income and backup resources to the Church.
"It’s just..."
"A bit annoyed? Normal, I’m annoyed too. We professionals are not fighting dogs in a cage."
Wang Hai spoke indignantly. As a young man, even though he usually tried to suppress his emotions, he still felt some dissatisfaction and injustice in the face of such a situation.
"...Uhm, I wanted to ask, can participants place bets? Isn’t it a bit late to bet now?"
But obviously, for Lu Ping’an, there truly seemed nothing completely off the table.
Just watching Wang Hai’s embarrassed look, Lu Ping’an shook his head and laughed.
"The more you care, the more excited they become. In their eyes, perhaps this is an opportunity to spend money and watch esteemed professionals fight in a cage, but..."
Lu Ping’an’s calm words were unabashedly dismissive.
"...but the fact is, they are nothing. Even without them, we would still fight for Divine Grace, for a chance at Advancement. From another angle, they’re just coming forward to give money, to support the professionals."
In a few words, Lu Ping’an soothed Wang Hai’s agitated mood... he realized that his classmate might be under a lot of pressure, as the Awakener’s cultivation seemed to barely contain the rampaging Talent Ghost Transformation.
And Big Cat was only interested in Lu Ping’an’s perspective.
"They look at me, love me, like me, or, loathe me, hate me, want to kill me... what’s that to me."
The young man smiled, appreciating everything before him, not just the deathmatch within the Cage, but also those who thought they were outsiders, the "insiders."
In his eyes, he saw even more...
Throughout the entire Secret Realm, both visible and invisible "golden chains" connected everything.
Being tied to the chains, becoming a part of the cage fight, a part of this sacrifice, not just the competitors... the audience, too, was sacrificing for this festival.
"Kind of interesting, emotions, fervor, gambling fights, Life, money, everything one possesses can be ’battled’... Martial Fight, huh?"
— End of Chapter 1042 —