76 Loophole

"A belt loop??" Gao Diao was the first to recognize what it was.

Pants had several belt loops to secure any ropes or belts that were used to tighten them around one's waist.

"So you're not completely blind, eh."

An angered look appeared on Gao Diao's face. "It's just a belt loop. This changes nothing. Vice Elder."

"This…"

"How can this change nothing? Belt loops are part of the pants. The rules you yourselves agreed upon were that the pants must be removed in their 'entirety', right?" He said matter-of-fact.

Vice Elder Bai hesitated, pondering the rules he read aloud moments earlier. After half an incense stick, he shook his head in disagreement with Ariyoshi Miji.

Belt loop or no belt loop, the Fourth Elder was completely nude at this point. In his view, the end result of the match had been reached; this technicality should not be worth considering.

"Aren't you being too biased, Brother Bai. You are favoring Third and Sixth Brother too much," Ariyoshi Miji addressed him in a familial manner while disguising his veiled threat.

The hidden meaning of his words were obvious to all.

Gao Diao had gone through two-and-a-half sets of pants while Kondo was permitted to fight in his underwear. Even though a single belt loop could not be considered even one percent of a set of pants, it was still part of them, and it was still "being worn".

From this perspective, disqualifying Ariyoshi Miji could be considered partial treatment towards Kondo and Gao Diao.

Vice Elder Bai's wrinkled face twisted in discomfort as the three elders stared at him with pointed glares. They all awaited his judgement. Gao Diao wanted Ariyoshi Miji disqualified while the other two expected he could continue.

Minutes went by without an answer.

This was too hard!

Vice Elder Bai could not decide whether to disqualify Ariyoshi Miji or not as both decisions could be argued as incorrect and incur the wrath of an elder.

Just as he prayed for a miracle to arrive and save him, the elders, vice elders and Shimizu Mizutani were startled by something. They each took out a jade stone from their respective storage bags or rings.

Many mystical and magical objects existed in the world, both natural and artificial, that could be utilized to handle tasks that would otherwise be tedious or cumbersome.

Like the transmission candles, communication jades were used to deliver messages to one or more persons, but the range was often smaller by comparison and, unlike transmission candles, required both parties to have a matching set of jades.

"The sect's security level has been elevated to Muddy. I deem the match invalid due to extraneous events. I ask the elders to excuse me as I must take my leave to follow protocol." Without giving the elders a chance to reply to him, Vice Elder Bai flew away at the top speed of a Core Crystallization cultivator after he made this announcement.

The three elders who were still in the middle of disseminating the message within their communication jades were left dumbfounded by the fleeing vice elder.

Their match was invalidated, and before they could say anything, the referee ran away!

They glanced at one another before looking down at themselves and sighing.

Placing the jade stone back into his ring, Gao Diao took out another set of pants to wear over his ruined leggings.

"Can Sixth Brother spare a set for me as well? I did not prepare any extras," Kondo pleaded with an awkward smile on his face. His awkward pose as he barely kept his yellow fundoshi from falling apart was enough to make many of the disciples snicker under their breaths.

The pants Gao Diao had stolen from him was turned to ash by the explosion.

"Weren't you about to fight like that? Now, you ask for my pants. Why don't you ask one of the young ones laughing at you? I'm sure some of their pants will fit better than mine."

Kondo's face darkened at the thought. If he was forced to obtain the pants from one of the younger generation, whatever was left of his dignity would surely evaporate.

He tried again, "Of course, Sixth Brother's pants are the most appealing. How can the others compare?"

They were both around the same height, but Third Elder Kondo was significantly bulkier in size, his muscles ripping at the seams. The baggy set of white pants would end up being tight on him, but they should still fit…probably.

Gao Diao rolled his eyes at him before tossing the pants he had taken out over to him.

He looked at the still-nude Fourth Elder Ariyoshi Miji. "I don't have any spares left for myself, let alone you. You're on your own, Third Brother, che che che."

Ariyoshi Miji snorted at him. "Who asked you? I have my own spare right here, gifted to me by a shameless rat."

He flapped the black, ragged remains of Gao Diao's second pair of pants that were still stuck to his hand. After removing the enchantment, he wore the pants and dissipated the dust cloud hiding his nether regions, but because of his short stature, the ends still dragged on the floor despite being more tattered than Gao Diao's current leggings.

"Your buttocks are showing, Fourth Brother."

Taking out a shirt from his storage ring, he flagrantly covered his torso. "See something you like, Sixth Brother? Can't say I'm shocked to learn of your tastes."

The two yin and yang verbally sparred for several minutes with Third Elder Kondo standing in the middle, waiting for them to finish.