Tournament of the Gods

The Rendezvous, Onward To Victory.

  Mui Li laid on the ground, his skin was badly burnt and majority of his bones were either dislocated or severely fractured.

"Is this really the end for me?" He thought to himself as he could feel tears falling from his eyes.  "There was so much I wanted to do, so much I wanted to achieve, I guess I wouldn't be able to but at least I was able to prove to that old fart that just because you are the smartest doesn't guarantee victory."

As he was thinking, he could hear rushed footsteps approaching him, Mui Li was very adept with his ears, based on the way the legs were moving and it was so close to each other, there was only one person he knew who ran like that, it was Wenren Yu.

Mui Li had treated Wenren Yu like an insignificant piece of s**t as he felt appalled by him, the youngster had no talent in Krigo whatsoever and the only thing he was good at was prescribing medicine and attending to the sick.  Mui Li felt those traits are the only thing a woman should have and he didn't understand why someone who was supposedly masculine would have so much feminine traits.

"He's possibly going to mock and jeer at me before killing me," Mui Li thought to himself.  "Well, I deserve it, it's my reward for all my past sins."

Mui Li was shocked as he could feel Wenren Yu kneeling before him, looking towards Wenren Yu, he saw Wenren Yu dipping a small white cloth into a bowl of hot water, he was actually trying to tend to his wounds despite all he had done to offend him.

Mui Li couldn't fight back the tears that were in his eyes as he watched them drop.

Wenren Yu looked at Mui Li.  "He has severe wounds all over his body," he thought to himself.  "There's nothing I can do to save him but that doesn't mean I won't try to lessen the pain he's feeling, I have some leaves in my undergarments, after I sterilize his injury with hot water, I can use the leaves to stop external bacterial infection, what am I thinking, microorganisms do not exist in this plane," Wenren Yu thought to himself, he was clearly sweating.  "I have to save him, I just have to, I want to save as much lives as possible."

"Wenren Yu," Mui Li began while lying on the ground.  "Be honest with me, can I survive this?"

"That's not the question you should ask," Wenren Yu answered, he was fidgeting as he replied, his hands had become shaky once he heard Mui Li speak to him, he really was a wimp.  "What you should asks yourself is do you want to survive this?  There's no sickness that can't be cured or an injury that can't be healed, all it's dependent on is the doctor and the paitent, I promise you, Mui Li," Wenren Yu could feel his body shaking as he spoke.  "As your doctor, I would do all I can to save you but I want you to believe in me and yourself, there's no injury can't be healed or disease that can't be cured."

"Despite all I did, he wants me to hold on to hope, he's doing all he can, putting up his medicinal knowledge and skills with hope of saving me even though it's actually hopeless," Mui Li thought to himself.

"I am going to treat Mui Li and all would be alright and I shall never let any of my patients be in any form of fear, I am going to recuperate him and I will do all within my ability."

Wenren Yu after using the hot cloth to sterilize Mui Li's injuries, he procured a few vials which contained some liquid, smearing it over his friend's injuries, he took care of it as he proceeded to bandage the wounds.

he thought to himself.  "I have been able to stop the blood flow but regarding the broken bones and multiple dislocations and also, Mui Li had lost quite a substantial amount of blood, he needs an urgent blood transfusion, I do not know his blood type and I lack the equipment to perform a successful, bacterial-free transfusion, what can I possibly do about that?" Wenren Yu wasn't good at hiding how he felt as his fear and uncertainty began to show on his face, he was sweating as his body was shaking.

Mui Li looked at the young doctor.

"Thanks Wenren Yu for loving me even when I didn't deserve it," Mui Li thought to himself.  "Even though you tried to reassure me, I know there's nothing you can do and you have already offered your best, don't beat yourself up if it didn't seem enough, it's how it happens, whosoever is meant to die will die."

"Is that how quick you are to accept death?" came a deep voice, there was a smirk to it.  Mui Li looked at the owner of the voice, it was a 6'5 tall man standing, he looked like a cross-breed of a man and monkey, he had green emerald eyes and Golden-whitish fur, it was Sun Wukong, the Monkey King.  Mui Li looked over at Wenren Yu, Wenren Yu appeared frozen where he was.

"If you are wondering about your friend, don't bother about that anymore," Sun Wukong told him.  "I stopped time across this plane, nothing can perceive or move." Sun Wukong grinned to himself.  "I can view all that's happening in this 1A plane and my suspicions have finally been confirmed, the fact that Zhangshun Shan too is also paused where he was shows his essence isn't a fluke and he's but a mere 3D being, this is interesting but I can't kill him, at least not directly, that will arouse the suspicion of other gods, also if my world is a work of fiction from another work, it's highly possible that Zhangshun Shan is possibly decided as the main protagonist of the story as he has survived several attacks that should have obliterated him, Mui Li shall be my most useful tool in destroying him."

"But how," Mui Li said.  "I thought this was a 1A plane, how are you able to freeze time?"

"Really dimwit," Sun Wukong had a look of disdain on his face.  "I appear to you in this form and I tell you I froze time in this 1A plane, doesn't the miniscule waste of matter that you call a brain tell you I am a god."

Mui Li gritted his teeth in annoyance, he hated the way the monkey king referred to him as if he was a complete i***t.

"What do you want from me?" Mui Li finally uttered out.

"For starters, it's actually more of what do you want?" Sun Wukong grinned as he crouched down.  "Haven't you noticed the white haired warrior, doesn't it feel like you have met him somewhere before."

As Mui Li heard about the white haired warrior, he could feel his blood boil and he was annoyed, he hated Zhangshun Shan and he wished above all he could kill him.

"That brat," Mui Li thought to himself, his forehead getting red.  "I desire nothing more but his pain and death."

"I can read your thoughts," Sun Wukong grinned evilly.  "So much hatred, I love it, it's exciting, wouldn't you like to have the power to exert vengeance."

"I do not like him," Mui Li began.  "I really don't but I can't afford to attack him, Xi Hing told me not to, we sort of have a truce going on, though I hate his personality but that's no reason to want to kill him."

"You really trust this Xi Hing,"

"Yeah, I do, he has been like a mentor and teacher to me, he knows best and would never lie to me."

"Allow me to correct that false notion," Sun Wukong smiled as he snapped his fingers.

Mui Li could feel a rush of memories suddenly flooding through his mind, he remembered Baselda Kingdom, how he had been revered as the strongest Krigo user before Zhangshun Shan had come along and destroyed his reputation, Zhangshun Shan had continuously mocked him and right from a young age, Zhangshun Shan didn't miss an opportunity to make Mui Li feel like he was lower than s**t, he remembered a scenario that occured.

Once, Mui Li had gotten so tired of the way Zhangshun Shan had been treating him, wanting to embarrass him in front of the other soldiers.

He said it to him publicly where all the soldiers and several prostitutes gathered whom were responsible for keeping the soldiers happy and sexually satisfied.

"You might be the strongest warrior,' Mui Li had shouted at him publicly with the aim of wanting to disgrace him.  "But as a man, you are a failure as you are still a virgin."

It caused pandemonium as Soldiers and prostitutes were around, some of them were laughing while others looked in Zhangshun Shan's direction with disdain, Zhangshun Shan had turned towards him, as he did, he emanated a great aura that immediately caused everyone to keep quiet, no one was laughing any more as they all turned in Zhangshun Shan's direction, Zhangshun Shan put on his most demeaning smile.

"The women in this kingdom's worth is no more than that of a monkey's piss, it's not anything to brag about of be excited for, if anything, it's a thing of misfortune to cavort with the women of this kingdom, there's almost no difference between f*****g the women here and f*****g a wild animal," Zhangshun Shan began looking in Mui Li's direction.  "Just like your mother for instance, her face is no different from that of a gorilla, also, you want to know why I haven't lost my virginity," Zhangshun Shan had his most evil laughter.  "It's because I never lose."

Mui Li could feel the flood of memories suddenly stop rushing to his head, he gritted his teeth in annoyance as anything about the white haired warrior suddenly made him unhappy.  "I swear to God, I am going to kill him," he finally blurted out.

"That's what I like to hear," Sun Wukong smiled at him, still crouching down.  "But on your own, you are incapable of hurting him talk less of subduing him, Guanyin has presently measured the essence of every creature in this tournament shortly after what happened in the preliminary."

"Are you done mentioning my weaknesses?" Mui Li frowned.

"Relax, strengths and weaknesses don't exist, what truly determines the nature is application," Sun Wukong smiled.  "I have a plan by which we are going to get Zhangshun Shan and make him suffer justly for all he has done, are you with me?"

"If there's anything that's dealing with the murder of that tight lipped brat who took away my respect and position, I would do anything to ensure he's six feet under, what's the plan, I am in."

**********************************

Zhangshun Shan and his teammates had destroyed most of the vehicles in the most intense part of the race, it was majorly composed of 1D-5D creatures and as a result, defeating and destroying them weren't exactly as difficult as the ones he and his crew had defeated.

"Who's the fellow in the Lambo?" Sui Wenyan asked as she saw Ken highlight from the vehicle, Qui Si looked in Zhangshun Shan's direction, the memories she has gotten from Change'e began to flood through her mind, she could feel her cheeks going red as she imagined actually being married to the Asian beauty.

"He's Kenpachi," Zhangshun Shan said dismissively.  "He recently joined our crew, he's a 16D being so he's gonna be a big help for us."

"Actually," Ken interrupted.  "I am now a 20D being, something sort of happened while I was out for a while."

"Even better," Zhangshun Shan said sarcastically.  "But no matter the number of your dimensional hierarchy, all shall fall before the great Zhangshun Shan."

"You are such a narcissist," Sui Wenyan had a disapproving look on her face.

"That's because no one is worthy of loving me except me," Zhangshun Shan replied her without missing a beat.

"Qui Si," Sui Wenyan said looking in her friend's direction.  "You have been awfully silent for quite a while, is there any problem?"

Qui Si had red on her cheeks as she had been imagining herself being with Zhangshun Shan but hearing Sui Wenyan immediately brought her back to her senses.

"I am sorry," Qui Si began, there was a little flush to her voice and she actually sounded more feminine than before.  "I wasn't listening, what were we talking about?"

"Is it just me or am I imagining things?" Zhangshun Shan thought to himself.  "The only time Qui Si sounded like that was when she still was my wife and there were red on her cheeks, she didn't have that when I first met her in the first omniverse, when we first came to this plane but for some reason, she was blushing, also it was after she stole a glance at me, it reminds me of how she always reacted around me while we were married, it couldn't be that she's falling in love with me as Qui Si never fell in love with me because of looks or how good I was with Krigo, she fell in love with me because she sought a life of danger and adventure, it was prohibited for a woman but I had always been there for her and I did everything I could to protect her, as a result, she got soft, warmed up to me and we eventually fell in love, the only possible explanation for Qui Si suddenly looking this way is if she regained her memories," Zhangshun Shan thought to himself as his eyes suddenly opened up.  "But the only way that could occur is if a god got involved, I pity whatsoever god got involved, it's possibly dead by now as Sun Wukong was serious about keeping my former comrades in the dark, I will need to speak privately with Qui Si, based on the intel I get from her, I would know how best to proceed and from that, I can even be able to restore the memories of all my teammates, Sun Wukong isn't completely stupid, he must have found out that one of my teammates must have regained their memories, the fact that Qui Si still has it means that he's not completely sure about who has it or he just hasn't started making his move yet, if Sun Wukong is as intelligent as I give him credit for, he would most possibly try and return Mui Li's memories to him as Mui Li being my enemy now would prove really fatal to him as I can't kill him as killing one member of a team automatically means destruction of the home-world they are from, I am sure that's not all there is to it, I have to proceed with caution in a way that I am not found about at all," Zhangshun Shan thought to himself without flinching his facial expression at all.

Walking forward, he addressed everyone.  "We have wasted enough time talking here, we shall be returning to the race soon, I have a feeling Mui Li, Jumoeng Sheng and Xi Hing have gotten ahead in the race, we would keep running and eventually we'd meet up with them, the fact that you guys are now in my team means that the positions number 2 to 10 is automatically reserved for you guys, I wouldn't have you all taking anything less," Zhangshun Shan grinned as he motioned to himself.  "And I, Zhangshun Shan shall never have my words fall to the ground without attaining fulfillment."

With that, everyone began to board their vehicles, Ashley pressed a button on her wristwatch, the car she has summoned earlier suddenly materialized in front of her, Zhangshun Shan came before her, looking at her deep in her eyes.

"Just know I am here for you," he reassured her lovingly as he went towards his bike.

Ken entered his Lamborghini and once he did, the vehicle started and he drove off, Zhangshun Shan and Ashley not following too far behind, the two women too started driving, they were going forward, aiming to catch up.

Jumoeng Sheng and Xi Hing were riding on thier horses, they were moving as fast as they could, they were no longer talking but looking forward, they saw hundreds of people in their different vehicles, they gathered around a particular area and for some reason, none of them were moving forward.

"I wonder why none of them are advancing further," Jumoeng Sheng asked, shock apparent on his face.

"I take it there's some sort of barrier," Xi Hing replied him as he pointed to a blanket that a woman in her early twenties was lying upon, the blanket though spread on the ground looked like a part of it was slightly up and standing as if it was resting on a wall.  "It's invisible, I don't know if the barrier was created as a result of the tournament or one of the participants, though, I'd vote the latter as everyone is paused there, if the  tournament was actually in charge of that barrier, they would have set clues around which would enable the participants to bypass the barrier but why would a random participant just put a barrier in the center of the race," Xi Hing thought as he looked around, some people had tried to go around the barrier but they were met with disappointment as the set barrier was infinitely long.

"The answer is obvious," Jumoeng said after he had taken a look at the barrier.  "Whosever set it was waiting for someone, it wasn't to derail every particular participant in all but one specifically."

Xi Hing's eyes opened up as he heard that, looking in Jumoeng Sheng's direction.  "You don't mean..."

"Yes, I certainly do," Jumoeng Sheng said.  "This Barrier was specifically set for Zhangshun Shan."

"I heard my name," came a deep husky voice behind them.  "Greatness is uttered, of what reason was it?" Zhangshun Shan said with his most demeaning grin as he drove off behind them, Xi Hing and Jumoeng Sheng immediately turned towards him, as Zhangshun Shan arrived at their location, Ken, Ashley, Qui Si and Sui Wenyan pulled over to where they are.

"Who's that?" Jumoeng asked, motioning over to Ken.

"He's our newest member, his name is Ken," Zhangshun Shan replied without turning towards Kenpachi.

"Heey," Ken said clearly agitated.  "That's not my full name, stop calling it so disrespectfully."

"Relax, child," Zhangshun Shan grinned evilly at him as he looked forward.  "It seems the entire crew have met up but the fact is there is a huge concentration of people around the center shows there must be a barrier that's stopping them, I am guessing whosoever put them there must have been someone from the preliminaries, if I am to take an accurate guess, he probably set it for me, he must have checked for my essence during the race and seeing that it doesn't tally with what I had performed during the preliminaries, he must have set the barrier to really confirm if I am higher than him or otherwise,"

"That's not bad," Ken said with an unimpressed look on his face as he looked around.  "Is this the whole crew?" He asked.

As he spoke, two people drove towards him, they were Wenren Yu and Mui Li, they were both on donkeys, Zhangshun Shan looked at Mui Li, he could sense a change in the gleam of his eyes, it reminded him of the way the Mui Li looked at him back in his home-world, it was full of spite and hatred.

"Did anything happen that kept you guys held up?" Zhangshun Shan asked.

"It was just that Mui Li was severely injured but miraculously, he got.." Wenren Yu began but Mui Li poked him hard in his chest as he turned towards Zhangshun Shan.

"Don't mind him, nothing happened."

"My suspicions are confirmed then," Zhangshun Shan smiled to himself.  "He definitely met with Sun Wukong but that's not of utmost concern now," Zhangshun Shan finally spoke with his most demeaning smile.  "I am going to bring down the barrier and I am gonna do that now," with that, a sword materialized in his right arm.  "I will show whosever bastard set it there that barriers do not limit Zhangshun Shan, if anything the barrier stopping limits from becoming limitless is I, Zhangshun Shan."