Starting with helping Zhao Kai ascend the throne in the snow

As Lucci rebuked them, everyone felt ashamed and decided to go together to rescue Bruno, even if it meant facing the great pirate Blackbeard.

The CP9 members reached a consensus and immediately launched the small boat hidden on the island. Lucci then stood on the boat and used his Tempest Kick to propel the boat at high speed, like a sharp sword, towards the direction shown on Bruno's Vivre Card.

"Van Augur, keep an eye on the surroundings at all times, and report to me immediately if there's anything unusual," Blackbeard said to Van Augur, stretching his limbs as he stood beside Bruno.

Dealing with a nobody like Bruno was a simple warm-up before he was taken down. Now, after breaking Bruno's arms and legs, he could only lie on the ground like a cripple, unable to move.

Everything was ready; all that was left was for the prey to fall into the trap. With Bruno as bait, Blackbeard believed CP9 would come to the rescue. If they dared to come, they would become today's prey. Blackbeard grinned maliciously, his gaze fixed on the fruit placed to the side. These were all prepared in advance to absorb the power of the Devil Fruits; they would eventually transform into real Devil Fruits. At the same time, a greedy thought surfaced in his mind: should he also target the World Government's direct agencies in the future? The World Government was simply too wealthy; their direct agency members could practically all have a Devil Fruit, a treasure of the sea, completely disregarding them.

However, Blackbeard quickly regained his senses and immediately dismissed the idea. The World Government's resources were unfathomable; a mere naval organization was beyond his current capabilities. If the World Government directly targeted him, he feared he wouldn't be able to withstand its immense wrath. Therefore, doing things like CP9 occasionally was acceptable, but to recklessly provoke the World Government would truly be foolish. At the very least, he needed to become the new Pirate King, capable of commanding pirates across the land, before he would have the confidence and strength to confront the World Government head-on.

"Blackbeard, I won't let your scheme succeed." Bruno glared at Teach with hatred in his eyes, then his expression changed and he made up his mind. The next moment, he stuck out his tongue and bit it off, committing suicide.

Crimson blood flowed down Bruno's lips, but a satisfied smile graced his face, especially as he saw Blackbeard's furious expression before he died, which made him close his eyes with complete contentment.

"Damn it, damn it, I'm so angry, he deserves to die." Blackbeard looked at the dead Bruno and kicked his corpse in anger, but it didn't change anything.

He had originally planned to keep Bruno as bait, but Bruno's suicide made his plan impossible. According to the rules of the pirate world, once the Devil Fruit's host dies, the Devil Fruit will soon reappear in other parts of the sea.

Therefore, Blackbeard can only obtain the Door-Door Fruit first. Moreover, once Bruno dies, his Vivre Card will inevitably be burned to ashes, and then the other CP9 members will know that something happened to him, so they may not come to his rescue.

Blackbeard, his face grim, immediately picked up the fruit from a short distance away. Then, he used the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit to place it on Bruno's chest, using the fruit's power to extract the energy of the Door-Door Fruit from Bruno's body and then inject it into the fruit beside him, thus recreating the Paramecia-type Door-Door Fruit. Anyone who eats this fruit will become the next generation's Door-Door Fruit host.

Just as Blackbeard had predicted, on their way there, Lucci and the others discovered that Bruno's Vivre Card had turned to ashes, and learned of his death.

"Captain, Bruno is dead. There's no need for us to rush over there immediately. I believe the Blackbeard Pirates are well-prepared..." Kaku advised again.

Lucci slammed his fist against the railing in frustration, then took a deep breath, suppressing his anger and grief. He knew Kaku was right; Bruno's death meant that rescue was pointless. Rushing over now would only be a futile act of fighting the Blackbeard Pirates. Besides, Bruno was dead, and the Blackbeard Pirates wouldn't be interested in his body. If they waited some time, avoiding the Blackbeard Pirates' attacks, they could retrieve Bruno's body and give him a proper burial.

Meanwhile, Blackbeard waited until nightfall before reluctantly returning to the ship with Van Augur. He knew that CP9 and the others already knew of Bruno's death and were unlikely to rush to his aid. As for waiting in vain with Bruno's body, he figured it was pointless; he was confident that Lucci and the others would arrive cautiously, perhaps even disguised, and Blackbeard didn't have much time to waste.

"Hahaha, let's go, head back to Dressrosa to collect the reward." Blackbeard quickly adjusted his mindset and gave the order to Van Augur with high spirits. The helmsman on the accompanying ship immediately turned the ship around and headed towards the Kingdom of Dressrosa.

As captain, Teach had long since learned to adjust his mindset, not letting gains and losses affect his subjective emotions; he always maintained a rational mind. Moreover, he had already achieved his intended purpose on this trip, obtaining the Door-Door Fruit and acquiring 20 billion Berries worth of supplies, so there was no need to worry about not getting any unexpected gains.

---

Time flies like an arrow; the moon sets and the sun rises, and before you know it, it's the morning of the next day.

Outside Kuaiji City, Shen Qing stood on a high platform, looking at the surging crowd below, and announced loudly, "Now I announce the elimination rules for today's arena competition. Twenty contestants will take the stage at a time on each arena. The two contestants who are still standing on the arena within one incense stick's time will qualify for advancement. If there are still multiple contestants on the arena when one incense stick's time is up, they will all be considered disqualified. Anyone who falls off the arena during this time will be disqualified."

Shen Qing and Zhao Kai originally planned to select only one contestant each time last night. However, Shen Qing thought that if the two were evenly matched in the end, it would easily lead to a delay. After consideration, they decided to implement a time limit and increase the number of contestants advancing from one to two. This would reduce the difficulty for the contestants, since previously everyone could only select one person. Now that there are two spots, there is more uncertainty.

As Shen Qing read the rules, a discussion immediately broke out below. Someone shouted, "Lord Shen, isn't this rule unreasonable? If someone has superior martial arts skills on a stage, they are more likely to be attacked by others. Isn't that unfair?"

Despite Shen Qing's modifications, some people still raised questions.

Shen Qing chuckled and addressed the crowd, “Friends, first of all, I must say that this is a martial arts examination, not a martial arts contest to select a martial arts leader. Anything can happen on the battlefield. Even the bravest warriors who break through enemy lines will face attacks from all sides. On the battlefield, there is only the victor and the vanquished; there is no such thing as fairness or unfairness. In fact, what in this world is truly fair? Some are born emperors and generals, while others are born slaves. Therefore, the rules of the martial arts examination are a test for everyone to adapt to the battlefield in advance. And since there are two spots, you should learn to use them wisely and try to recruit those you deem worthy.”

After Shen Qing's explanation, everyone fell silent. These people had been wandering the martial arts world for many years and had seen too much injustice. Therefore, they all knew that Shen Qing was right and no longer objected to the rules.

The martial arts competition then officially began. Under Shen Qing's deliberate arrangement, the martial artists from Liyang, Nanzhao, Beimang, Nanhai, and the Western Regions were kept apart as much as possible. After all, if they were on the same stage, they would be prone to instinctively hostile attacks on each other.

As the selection competition officially began, martial artists were quickly knocked off the stage. Among them were those with flamboyant personalities or domineering behavior. People might be wary of you in private, but once you're on the stage, such people often become the target of everyone's attacks and are the first to be targeted and ostracized.

As Shen Qing watched the martial arts examination officially begin, his heart finally relaxed. As long as things progressed as they were, everything was still under control. However, Shen Qing suddenly thought of those with ulterior motives. He wondered what kind of methods they would use to sabotage the examination. He figured they wouldn't just watch the Prince of Yue's mansion successfully recruit talent.