The next day, the news that Erica was bullied by a mysterious man in public had quickly spread in the royal palace. Many spirit manipulators were easily filled with righteous indignation when they heard this. They were eager to find this man and teach him a lesson he deserved. However, no one among the spectators was able to have a clear glimpse of the face of the mysterious man. No one knew his identity or where he came from. Thus, naturally, their search for this man eventually became a dead end.
But the moment Sabina and the two women heard of this, they had a strong hunch that it must be Rocky.
Therefore, they quickly went to ask him about what happened.
"It's not my fault. Even Erica said it…" Rocky didn't seem to have the slightest intention of denying that he fought with Erica. He told them the whole story with all honesty, and the women knew that he was telling the truth.
"Fine, we get it. It's not your fault. I know it's easy for you to have your way with women, but can you stop playing the field? Fortunately, no one recognized you. Stay away from women because nothing good ever happens when you meet them!" Sabina retorted and reprimanded Rocky.
"Well, what can you do? You can't just change someone's nature. He always ends up flirting with different women whether he intends it or not," Shirley added as she rolled her eyes.
"Hey, give Basil a break. He already said that he didn't do it on purpose. Besides, Miss Erica didn't blame him for the incident. After all, she was the one who started it." Lucilla quickly took Rocky's side and defended him.
"That's exactly what I'm talking about. Don't you find it suspicious? If she didn't blame Basil for it, then it means that…" Sabina wasn't willing to let it go. She knew that Erica acted strangely, meaning that there was a hidden motive behind it.
"Come on, stop guessing. After the martial arts contest ends today, we'll immediately go back to the Holy Dragon Empire. Then, we don't have to deal with her anymore," Rocky butted in and convinced the women to drop the topic already.
Although quite reluctant, they agreed eventually.
In the afternoon, the martial arts contest was held on a very broad and magnificent square to the south of the royal palace. Over a thousand spirit manipulators from various empires of the Wild Spirit Land were present during the event, eager to win the prize of the contest.
All seats were occupied at the hall in front of the square. This area was reserved for the most prominent people of the Magic Phoenix Empire and important guests from various empires. The queen of the empire sat at the center and was dressed up glamorously. She wore a bright red robe embroidered with flying phoenix patterns, making her look like a dazzling red rose. Beside her sat Felicia, the imperial preceptor of the empire. The rest of the seats were occupied by emperors, queens, representatives, and envoys from various empires. They all came to give support to the contestants from their respective empires, and also to maintain a good relationship with each other.
Rocky also had a seat reserved for him here. However, in order to avoid unnecessary attraction, he specifically chose the farthest seat. The three women were also there, standing beside him.
Soon, the queen of the Magic Phoenix Empire stood up, gave a long speech to all the contestants. Immediately after, she gave the signal to officially start the contest.
The whole square was divided into twenty-seven competition areas, which ranged from the first grade of the Earthly Stage up to the ninth grade of the Supernal Stage.
According to the rules of the martial arts contest, a phoenix spirit manipulator of the Magic Phoenix Empire of the corresponding grade would be designated to the assigned competition area. Any spirit manipulator of the same level could step in the ring and issue the challenge.
Then, the spirit manipulators who managed to win could sleep with the phoenix spirit manipulators that they had defeated.
Not long after, the martial arts contest was in full swing. Throughout the day, about three hundred spirit manipulators from various grades issued the challenge. However, because the strength of the phoenix spirit manipulators of the Magic Phoenix Empire was far superior, only a small number of spirit manipulators were able to win and get the prizes that they longed for.
Erica was the one who was assigned at the competition area for the ninth grade of the Supernal Stage. She received two challenges, but she won the battle in such an effortless manner.
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