It was him.
Looking at the effeminate man in front of him, Li Chonglou felt a bit surprised, as Fang Zhang’s severed arm had been reattached, and although bandages were wrapped around the connection, he could clearly move it with ease.
When Li Chonglou recognized Fang Zhang, he was no longer surprised by the hostility in his eyes. After all, they were mortal enemies, even though Li Chonglou had never taken him seriously.
The two were separated by a single arena, Li Chonglou in group F, and Fang Zhang in group D. At that moment, Fang Zhang was secretly resentful why he hadn't been placed in the same group as Li Chonglou.
"Damn it! His strength is questionable even to make it to the next round, which means I won't have the chance to take revenge personally?"
Since it wasn't his turn to fight yet, he had witnessed Li Chonglou's previous battle. Upon discovering that Li Chonglou was still using speed and exhaustion as his strategy, his first reaction was extreme disdain.
"Just one more time, and I will definitely let him understand what 'superior strength overcomes all' means!"
Unfortunately, he couldn't encounter Li Chonglou at the moment, so he could only stare with resentful eyes.
Li Chonglou directly averted his gaze from the provocation evident on Fang Zhang’s face and shook his head helplessly.
"Why do I feel like I haven't done anything, yet I seem to have made so many enemies?"
Just now, it was a stranger he inexplicably met, and now it's Fang Zhang. Besides them, there were also Pang Zheng, whom he clearly knew, and Lei Feng, who was unhappy with him.
"Ugh, how can my low-profile approach be so ineffective, it's like it's gone to the dogs?"
Li Chonglou couldn't help but mock himself inwardly, but he quickly cast these distracting thoughts aside. He wouldn't worry about them; he'd deal with whatever came his way.
Then, he continued to observe the other people's battles. Although he had absolute confidence in himself, just as a tiger uses its full strength to pounce on a rabbit, Li Chonglou would not underestimate any unknown opponent.
After all, there were too many instances of stumbling into a ditch, and in reality, people with his kind of encounters might not be the only ones.
Li Chonglou understood the principle that caution ensures a safe voyage for a thousand years.
However, until the first round of battles concluded, Li Chonglou found no opponents that impressed him.
Before the end, Li Chonglou also went up to fight twice, both times resolving his preliminary round opponents using the same method, thus securing his qualification for the second round.
Then came the random draw. This time, the remaining contestants were gathered around a single arena.
When Fang Zhang saw that Li Chonglou was still among the remaining hundred people, a hint of surprise appeared on his face, but it quickly turned into a cold glint.
"Very good, this is how it should be. I must personally end this humiliation!"
The captain of the Light Division was also present, standing beside Fang Zhang. Upon hearing Fang Zhang’s muttered words, he encouraged him, "This time, you've turned misfortune into a blessing. Although your arm hasn't fully recovered yet, you've grasped the breakthrough's improvement. I believe that if you face him again, you won't lose."
Fang Zhang nodded, "Don't worry, Captain. I will personally deal with him!"
At this moment, Yi Long, who was also standing next to Li Chonglou, noticed the situation opposite them. Recalling how Fang Zhang had broken through his limits during their fight, his brow furrowed slightly.
"If you really encounter him, don't be careless. This guy still has potential."
Yi Long reminded him, but Li Chonglou didn't take it to heart, casually saying, "How can we meet so easily? It's a random draw among a hundred people now."
"Let's hope so."
As soon as Yi Long finished speaking, the staff in the trial area on the stage began calling out names.
Only the staff knew the results of this random draw, so those in the audience could only wait for their names to be called by the staff before going on stage.
One hundred people meant fifty battles. If each battle averaged ten minutes, it would take at least eight hours, meaning all the battles could not be completed tonight.
Those who were scheduled for tomorrow were undoubtedly lucky, as they would get a night's rest compared to those fighting tonight. Therefore, everyone in the audience was secretly praying that the staff wouldn't call their names.
By around 11 PM that night, the staff finally announced the end of the day's arena battles. Li Chonglou and the other members of the Dark Division who successfully passed the first round were fortunate enough not to have their names called, which brought smiles to the faces of Yi Long and Lei Feng.
When everyone returned to their respective resting areas, Li Chonglou pulled Yi Long aside.
"Do you want to go back to the Dark Division now?"
Yi Long looked at Li Chonglou with confusion after hearing his request. He couldn't think of anything in the Dark Division that Li Chonglou might need.
However, Li Chonglou had already prepared a plausible excuse. He directly explained to Yi Long, "The old man in the clock tower, your instructor, told me to find him if I made it back alive."
"Your instructor told you to find him?" Yi Long's confusion deepened.
"Perhaps it's to atone for my sins again. But whether you go back is up to your arrangement; that's how he instructed me at the time," Li Chonglou said, deliberately putting on a helpless expression and shrugging.
As expected, upon hearing that it was his instructor's command, Yi Long's face showed hesitation.
"Did my instructor really tell you that?"
Li Chonglou nodded in confirmation.
After a moment of silence, he finally agreed.
"Alright then, I'll have Dao Ye escort you back, but you must return before dawn. Also, this way you won't get any rest tonight. Can you handle it?"
Yi Long said, looking at Li Chonglou with concern. He had also paid attention to Li Chonglou's previous few fights, and it was clear that Li Chonglou's fighting style was to outlast his opponents. While this method was feasible, it also consumed a significant amount of his own stamina, so he was very worried about whether Li Chonglou could endure a sleepless night.
"Don't worry, it's no problem."
Li Chonglou gave him a confident reply, and then Yi Long brought him to Dao Ye.
When Dao Ye also heard that it was the instructor's orders, he readily agreed without any objection and immediately led the way, taking Li Chonglou towards the Dark Division.
After the two left the trial area, Lei Feng noticed something unusual and walked over to Yi Long to question him, "Where are you sending the newcomer at this time?"
Lei Feng was increasingly dissatisfied with Yi Long. In his opinion, Yi Long's actions were treating the Dark Division's performance as child's play, as a joke.
Who would let a contestant who was supposed to fight tomorrow leave when they should be resting?