Chapter 1155: The True Banquet
Chapter 1155: The True Banquet
The banquet continued for an indeterminable period of time before the king of chaos suddenly made an announcement. "Everyone, if you\'ve had your fill of dancing, it\'s time for the main event."
The witch of dreams cried out in excitement, "It\'s here, it\'s here! The climax!"
All the guests seemed very excited. They made way in the hall, forming a large, empty space in the center.
The king of chaos called out, "Let the true night banquet begin!"
The guests all cheered and howled.
The king of chaos continued, "Zhang Lie, friends, companions, from now on, you\'ll take center stage. Are you interested in performing for us all?"
Zhang Lie asked, "Is this like a talent show?"
The king of chaos replied, "You\'re all very strong, with exceptional strength. Do you wish to fight with my companions, with a bet on the line?"
As expected. Zhang Lie glanced at the witch of dreams.
The witch of dreams explained, "Every time the night banquet is hosted, the special guests invited by our leader will spar with us—a form of getting to know one another better, if you will."
The king of chaos promised, "If you win, I\'ll give you a lavish reward."
"What reward?" Sun Xiaowu asked.
"A wish."
The members of Team Zenith were surprised and rather shaken. A wish was tempting indeed.
"Any wish?" Sun Xiaowu pressed.
The king of chaos clarified, "Of course not, but anything among the three thousand worlds is achievable."
Sun Mengmeng asked, "Reviving the dead, or turning back time?"
The king of chaos stressed, "As I said, as long as it happens within the three thousand worlds, I can do it. If you want me to resurrect someone who perished in the realms beyond, I won\'t be able to achieve anything. I\'m no god, after all."
The king of chaos was willing to grant any wish within the three thousand worlds. Didn\'t that make him a god of the three thousand worlds, then?
The members of Team Zenith were once again deeply shocked by the king of chaos\' strength.
The king of chaos warned, "However, don\'t try to wish for something too crafty. If someone were to wish for a hundred wishes, I\'ll treat it as a provocation—and I might just slap you dead."
Zhang Lie asked the most important question. "And what if we lose?"
The king of chaos replied, "It\'s no punishment. You\'ll simply have to join us and become our companion."
As expected. The witch of dreams had mentioned that the king of chaos wouldn\'t give up so easily—and it seemed that this was what she meant.
The witch of dreams whispered, "Our leader\'s very invested in interesting people, and he insists on securing them as his companions. In some sense, our leader\'s a collector. Give up on trying to escape."
The king of chaos intoned, "Witch of dreams, even if you lower your voice, I can still hear you."
The witch of dreams mischievously stuck out her tongue.
The king of chaos continued, "Do you intend to participate?"
The witch of dreams replied without any hesitation, "Of course! It\'s rare enough that a banquet is hosted. Now that there are nine interesting guests, I\'ll have to participate."
The king of chaos then turned to Zhang Lie. "Zhang Lie, are you and your crew willing to participate in this bet?"
Zhang Lie hesitated.
Although a wish was a particularly strong boon, no companion of the king of chaos was weak. They would surely have outstanding capabilities and all sorts of interesting history, background, and skills. Even the weakest had to be on par with Hong Xi.
The Patient One mocked, "What, don\'t you dare?"
The Parter of Veils chuckled. "If you don\'t dare, just join us directly. We won\'t despise you."
The Everbearing Lady remarked, "Is this the might of the strongest humans?"
Noth cried, "None of the special guests this banquet seem to be worth anything!"
The Lord of Dimensions called out, "If you don\'t dare take this bet, leave! Don\'t show your shameful hide around here any longer!"
The Parter of Veils turned to the king of chaos. "Leader, I was mistaken. These cowards have no right to be inducted into our halls."
The Everbearing Lady agreed. "If they\'re unwilling to fight, then they can hardly grow stronger."
Sun Xiaowu stepped forward. "Who says we don\'t dare?!"
Zhang Lie hurriedly pulled him back. "Sun Xiaowu, what are you doing?"
Yang Ze walked up to Sun Xiaowu. "Captain, we have our pride."
Li Feng followed suit. "If they\'re so insistent for a beating, well, I\'ll deliver."
Sun Mengmeng added, "Count me in. I\'m very interested in the wish that the king of chaos promised."
Zhang Hanxiang sighed. "I was one step slower. I wanted to jump out from the very beginning!"
Zhou Ying contemplated, "After all, even if we lose, the only penalty is to join the halls of chaos. I\'m not willing, but it\'s not too harsh a punishment."
Hong Xi nudged Zhou Ying. "Zhou Ying, don\'t say that! As human hunters trained by none other than Zhang Lie, how can we lose to these aliens from the third realm? We should be thinking of what wishes to get, not of our defeat!"
As everyone stepped forward, Zhang Lie shook his head in exasperation and joined them.
Zhou Ying nodded firmly. "You\'re quite right. I should think about what to get if I win—a wish is rather tempting, isn\'t it?"
Zhang Lie\'s eyes glowed as fighting intent rose all over his body.
Fang Yi spoke for them all. "We\'ll take this bet. Will those who were mocking us fight us, I wonder?"
The Patient One chuckled. "You think I wouldn\'t dare fight some puny humans?"
The Parter of Veils continued, "Submit to our combined strength, the strength of the halls of chaos."
The king of chaos looked at the gathered guests. "Very well. Besides them, are any other guests interested in participating?"
Many raised their hands, so many that the king of chaos had to choose the combatants by random selection. In the end, the Star Devourer and Moon of Thousand Faces were chosen.
Zhang Lie asked, "Who\'ll go first?"
"Let me take the lead." Hong Xi strode forward.
Her opponent was The Patient One.
Hong Xi radiated light as she equipped herself for battle, activating all her combat-oriented soulshards in one fell swoop. A fan of feathers materialized in her left hand, and a moonlit sword in her right. Behind her, multicolored light flared. The domain of [Eclipse] spread out beneath her feet. She walked forward, moonlight radiating from her every move. A black sun appeared behind her, sparking where it touched the moonlight at her feet.
Wind howled. The sword in her right hand gleamed like the radiant moon. As she waved her fan, she summoned a twister in the air. Her sword traced a brilliant arc, launching crescent arcs forward.
The Patient One lifted both hands high up into the air. Darkness rolled toward the two combatants, a dark red color like polluted river water, translucent and cloudy.