Chapter 41 Entering the Narrow Valley (Rushing for Votes)

  Six people's eyes were met with a wide street, both sides of which were lined with caves carved out of steep cliffs. Except for some strange buildings, it was almost the same as the layout of all cities on the mainland. Wine houses, restaurants, clothing stores, and pharmacies stood along the roads, with pedestrians coming and going in an endless stream, making it very lively.

  "Is this Blood Gulch?"

  Six people in their minds at the same time raised this question, all with a somewhat unreal feeling.

  "Alright, you are now free." The black-robed man who led the way turned around and said to the six people: "Fighting is prohibited in the valley. If there are conflicts, you can register for a duel at the arena. Life and death will be decided by fate. If anyone fights in the city, the provoking party will be killed by the black-robed guards of the valley."

  "In the valley below, there is an intermediate vocational registration office. You will register according to your respective occupations, and naturally, someone will arrange for you. Does anyone have any questions?"

  "If someone challenges me, can I refuse?" Blonde youth Brondi suddenly asked.

  "Of course." The big man in black said: "Otherwise, wouldn't it be out of order?"

  "Do we have to pay for food and lodging here?" Robin asked, poking his head in.

  "It's expensive, and it's not even cheap." The big man in black laughed and said, "Who else has any questions?"

  "If someone provokes me and the valley guards don't arrive in time, I'll kill him. Does that count as a violation of the rules?" Li Junshan asked aloud.

  The big man in black laughed and said, "This doesn't count. The premise is that the provoking party strikes first. If you die at the hands of the other party, we will also kill him. We will investigate the details carefully." As he spoke, he looked at the six people again, saw them shaking their heads in unison, and then walked away on his own.

  "Come on, little brother, I'll treat you to a drink." Robin patted Li Junshan's shoulder generously and said, "I had a bottle of Lianyun Red Lips earlier, don't know if there's any good wine here, I'll buy you one."

  Li Junshan had been eating dried meat for several days and his mouth was almost numb to the taste, Robin was straightforward, he didn't pretend either, smiling as they walked into a nearby hotel with Robin.

  The trio, however, was faster than them and walked ahead of them. At this time, an old woman in a black robe outside the hotel, carrying a basket, came towards the three of them.

  "Cloud grass, very cheap, do you need some?" The old lady's back was bent and her mouth was open with only a few teeth left, speaking with a hissing sound.

  Cloudgrass is relatively rare and very useful for mages, it's also a main material for brewing magic recovery potions.

  "Scram." The young master waved his hand impatiently, knocking over the old woman's basket and spilling the green cloud grass all over the ground. He didn't even look back as he led the two of them towards the hotel.

  "Halt."

  The old woman let out a stern cry, and her hunched back suddenly straightened up. In her hand appeared a jet-black magic wand. As her lips moved, a yellowish-brown magical shield first enveloped her body. Immediately afterwards, the empty cliffside beside them began to shake slightly, and then a gigantic stone statue about six meters tall shot out from the cliffside, standing before the old woman. The massive shadow shrouded the terrified trio.

  "I am Alicia, the earth attribute mage. I formally challenge you." The old woman said with an icy face, nowhere to be seen was the half-feeble and worn-out appearance from earlier.

  "Magic Master." The trio couldn't help but take a deep breath, and the magician was the first to react, immediately speaking respectfully: "I apologize, Magic Master, for my companion's rudeness towards you."

  That "young master" turned pale and red in the face, gritted his teeth for a long time, and finally hung his head in despair.

  "That basket of Cloud Grass is worth 10,000 gold coins. If you add another 5,000 gold coins to compensate for my mental distress, I will withdraw the challenge against you. Remember, it was you who insulted me first, even if you don't accept, I will still follow you." Old Lady Alichia still had a cold expression, but Li Junshan, who was watching from the side, felt that her cloudy eyes were full of cunning.

  That basket of cloud grass is worth a thousand gold coins, and Alicia's eyes widened with an obvious hint of extortion.

  "Heh heh, it's always the newcomers who get unlucky. They deserve it for being blind to opportunities. Alexia waits for this day every year and is going to make a small profit again."

  "Who says it isn't? Serves them right."

  …………

  After listening to the onlookers' discussions, one of the three mages who had been watching the commotion apologized and handed a crystal card to Alicia with respect.

  The Magic Crystal Card is issued by the Yalan Bank, which was jointly established by the seven major empires on the mainland under the supervision of the Holy See. It has branches in cities of all sizes and can be cashed and withdrawn at any time.

  Alexia took over with spiritual power to investigate, and there was a deposit of 20,000 gold coins inside. She couldn't help but reveal a satisfied smile, and with a wave of her hand, the giant stone man turned into stone powder and scattered away. She picked up the cloud grass on the ground and left without looking back.

  The three people who had eaten a loss looked at each other, and gloomily entered the hotel. The onlookers saw that there was no excitement to be seen, and with a burst of noise they dispersed.

  "It seems that it is indeed a hidden dragon and crouching tiger, such a sloppy old woman, who turned out to be an earth-based magic guide." Li Junshan thought to himself as he followed Robin into the hotel.

  "What can I get for you two?" A rather delicate-looking young girl came over, a sweet smile spreading across her face.

  "What kind of wine do you have here?" Robin asked as soon as he sat down.

  "All kinds of red wine, fruit wine. If you like a stronger drink, I recommend Flame Snake Blood and Green Perilla, Red Fruit, etc., made from ingredients such as Bloody Anna, which is also our hotel's signature cocktail."

  "That's it then." Robin heard the maid's introduction and couldn't help but swallow his saliva, waving his hand and saying: "Bring some more roasted meat or whatever, anything is fine."

  The maid looked at Li Junshan with a smile that was free of any criticism, and the latter nodded. She then said "wait a moment" and turned to walk back.

  "Brother Robin." Li Junshan looked around and saw that no one was paying attention to them, so he asked in a low voice: "According to reason, a magic guide should be respected anywhere on the mainland. Why would you do something like this for gold coins? Don't you think it's a bit strange?"

  Robin smiled slightly and leaned in closer to Li Junshan, lowering his voice as well: "I also find it strange. We just arrived, let's not rush into discussing these things. Let's observe carefully first."

  Li Junshan saw a maid bringing over a large bottle of bright red wine that looked like blood and stopped speaking.

  The bloody Anna is indeed true to its name. As soon as I took a sip, I felt a faintly fishy flavor, followed by an explosion of spiciness on my taste buds, flowing down my throat and into my stomach, immediately followed by a rich aroma filling my mouth.

  Robin was thoroughly enjoying himself, holding a roasted beef leg in his left hand and drinking continuously with his right, feeling extremely comfortable. Li Junshan also brought out some flavor, and before long, the two of them had drunk ten bottles of Bloody Anna.

  "Good wine." Robin's face was flushed with drink, but Li Junshan's face showed no signs of intoxication, his eyes were exceptionally clear, and he couldn't help but praise: "You're not old, but your capacity for liquor is even better than mine. Being able to hold one's liquor is a good fellow, I acknowledge you as my little brother."

  Li Junshan didn't know much about the Blood-colored Ridge, and since people like Duke Odrich and Randolph were also being vague, he needed to get to know some people to understand. He had a good impression of Robin, so he took the opportunity to say: "Then I'll call you Big Brother from now on."

  "Good, refreshing." Robin laughed loudly several times, causing the stone cave to hum with resonance. He then turned to a maid on one side and shouted: "Bring five more bottles of Bloody Aniya!"

  "Go, hurry to the arena, Bor of the Magic Institute and Harry of the Warrior Institute are going to duel."

  At this time, a thin middle-aged man rushed into the hotel and grabbed a young man with a drunken face, pulling him out.

  The other diners in the hotel heard this and shouted for the bill, rushing out one after another.

  In the blink of an eye, the large hotel was left with only Li Junshan and Robin, and it was unclear when the three-person group had left.

  "Let's go take a look too." Li Junshan was also somewhat curious. Robin nodded and beckoned the maid over.

  "Enough?" Robin said, exchanging a large handful of gold coins and stuffing them into the maid's hand without counting how many. The two stood up together, ready to leave.

  "Sir, the total is three thousand seven hundred gold coins. You only have thirty gold coins here." The maid said slowly with a smile that didn't fade from her face.

  "How much?" Robin thought he had misheard and stopped in his tracks, turning around in surprise to ask.

  "A bottle of Blood of Ayan costs 300 gold coins, two people drank a total of ten bottles, the roasted meat added up to 700 gold coins, for a total of 3,700 gold coins."

  Robin's face changed as he said: "Are you taking advantage of us because we're new here and asking for an outrageous price?"

  "Sir, you are mistaken. Even if I had stayed in this crimson valley for over a hundred years, it would still be the same price." The maid replied calmly.

  "I'll pay the bill." Li Junshan was anxious about the upcoming challenge fight and didn't bother to entangle with the maid, saying that he took out a magic crystal card and let her transfer the account.

  "It's on me," Robin said, stopping him and pulling out his own crystal card. After the waitress had processed the payment, they asked for directions to the arena again before rushing out in a hurry.

  At this time, the pedestrians on the road were not as many as before, and most of them went to the open-air arena at the end of the street. After paying an admission fee of 200 gold coins, Li Junshan and Robin squeezed in with the crowd.

  It was similar to the ancient Roman arena that Li Junshan had seen in his previous life, with a large empty space in the middle that could be compared to the size of a football field. The surrounding area was surrounded by walls, but there were not many seats. At first glance, Li Junshan estimated that there were about three or four hundred people.

  "Look, Paul is coming out."

  Li Junshan and Robin had just sat down when they heard someone exclaim excitedly beside them. Following the direction of his pointing hand, they saw a middle-aged man in white clothes holding a magic wand walking out from a gate on the north side of the arena.

  As soon as the front foot stepped into the arena, the magician named Pol cast a floating spell and a gust of wind on himself, his figure drew a white shadow in the air, and he arrived at the upper space in the middle of the arena.

  At this time, cheers came from the south of the arena. Li Junshan looked over there again and saw a blond giant wearing iron armor walking out. He couldn't see his age from afar, but he felt that his figure was extremely tall and large.

  "The duel begins and will only end when one of them is thoroughly killed by the other."

  A voice echoed in the empty arena, a gentle and even tone that seemed as if someone was speaking directly into one's ear.

  "Roar!" Magician Pole pressed a badge on his chest, and a magical beast over ten meters long suddenly appeared beside him, lowering its head and letting out a mighty roar.

  "Eight-level magical beast, Crimson-eyed White Tiger." Li Junshan's eyes lit up, and at this time he heard Robin's breathing also quickening beside him.

  PS: A friendly recommendation from a friend - a book called "The Divine Prohibition", which has been signed and has a considerable number of words, so those who are suffering from book scarcity can go take a look.

  Crossing through the six paths of reincarnation, a mysterious green-robed girl gave him an ancient and mystical treasure from the Western Regions - The Divine Prohibition!

  The Divine Prohibition has a total of nine pages. Every time he turns to a new page, he will acquire a special ability! Either it's a powerful immortal technique or a heaven-defying treasure!

  He arrived in a mysterious world where there was majestic aura, magic refined to its peak, and temples representing powerful gods!

  Got the treasure discovered mysterious ten thousand years ago legend of him, where did he go and where did he come from?

  Facing the mysterious fallen god legend of another world, a thousand strange occupations, tempting ancient philosopher's deeds, he points his sword at the long sky and fights fiercely!