Chapter 4451 — Wheel Tactics
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"Chief Escort Hai, those words are quite mistaken. If it were a fixed number of one-on-one bouts, then defeat would of course leave nothing to argue about. But if someone with the means to do so wears an opponent down by sending challenger after challenger, then even the strongest will eventually tire. When even the most basic fairness cannot be guaranteed, what meaning is there in holding such a contest at all?" Qi Mingyuan said with a cold laugh.
Watching the crowd below nod in agreement, Hai Wuliang was taken aback for a moment. He looked Qi Mingyuan up and down anew. He had never expected that this fellow, a fighting man born and bred, could turn such a sharp phrase.
"Oh? Chief Escort Qi is rather worked up. Could it be that your own interests have been harmed—that you fear the Golden Core seniors of your Qingtian Escort Agency will become someone's breakthrough point? For one of the five great agencies, to show so little confidence?" Hai Wuliang asked with keen interest, answering a question with a question.
"Chief Escort Hai reads too much into it. I am simply speaking of the matter at hand. I must fulfill my duty as a judge," Qi Mingyuan replied with a stern face.
"Fine. Since Chief Escort Qi puts it that way, I too will speak of the matter at hand. Every contest of the Southern Continent Escort Grand Gathering exists to test and raise the strength of the great agencies. Whatever circumstances might arise in the actual course of an escort run may become part of the gathering's trials—that is the principle, and I trust Chief Escort Qi has no objection?" Hai Wuliang said with righteous eloquence.
"None," Qi Mingyuan said with a shake of his head.
"Then let me ask you. When your Qingtian Escort Agency runs an escort, do pirates and bandits not wear you down with one wave after another? Surely they never sit down so reasonably with your escorts, agree on one-on-one bouts, and settle it all in a single round?" Hai Wuliang said with a glance of mockery.
The crowd below roared with laughter. Whoever heard of a pirate who played fair? Forget settling it in a single round—even one-on-one was nonsense. They always ganged up, many against few!
"That..." Qi Mingyuan was momentarily stuck. He paused before saying, "Even so, since this is a contest of fairness and justice, the rules cannot leave such an obvious loophole. Would that not let people farm points in broad daylight?"
"Heh heh. Chief Escort Qi, it is 'loophole' this and 'farming points' that—aren't you feeling a little guilty? Afraid your Qingtian Escort Agency cannot measure up?" Hai Wuliang said, making no effort to hide his mockery. "The waters of the Southern Continent have always belonged to the strong, who prey upon the weak. Leaving aside whether such a loophole for farming points truly exists—even if it does, everyone may put the rules to reasonable use. In the end it produces only one result: the weak grow weaker, the strong grow stronger, and everyone sees more clearly who is strong and who is weak. There seems to be nothing wrong with that, does there?"
Qi Mingyuan glanced at the crowd's reaction and saw no small number nodding in agreement. His heart sank, and for a moment he did not know how to rebut.
Elsewhere, such words might have been denounced as a failure of justice. But in these Southern Continent waters, they happened to be the very code of survival that all had always followed. Everyone did the same themselves, so naturally no one would object.
"Of course, nothing can be done without rules. The order of challenges in this contest of agency helmsmen will be decided by drawing lots. Let all compete fairly on their own strength. Chief Escort Qi, do you have any other objection? Or shall we, before everyone here, have the other judges raise their hands and vote on it?" Hai Wuliang said, eyeing Qi Mingyuan sidelong.