Chapter 1 The King of Fighters Competition

The King of Fighters competition arrived as scheduled, attracting countless mercenary groups.

The rules were simple: teams of three, battling it out in a series of one-on-one fights.

The ranks were divided into: top ten team, top eight team, top four team, No. 1 team, No. 2 team, and No. 3 team.

The Jin Guang Mercenary Group's representatives were Ye Wenxiao, Ying Ning, and Ye Cang.

At noon, Ye Cang's team finally made their appearance.

Ying Ning, unable to contain her excitement, was the first to jump onto the stage.

The arena hosting the King of Fighters competition was incredibly vast. Ye Cang looked around, the stadium seething with excitement and energy.

The bell rang, and Ying Ning's opponent immediately attacked.

But no matter how they tried, they couldn't land a single blow.

After a round of testing the waters, Ying Ning summoned her signature weapon from thin air—Peng Ran Xin Dong (Sudden Heartbeat), a pink spear that immediately attracted attention.

Ying Ning swung the blunt side of the spear at her opponent.

Pang!

Ying Ning's opponent was sent flying out of the arena.

Because it was a team battle, the opponent's second fighter stepped up to face Ying Ning.

Unsurprisingly, after two or three exchanges, Ying Ning ended the fight once more. The third fighter was even more ridiculous, forfeiting the match before it even began.

Just like that, the Jin Guang Mercenary Group won 1v3, utterly crushing their opponents.

Due to the large number of mercenary groups participating in the King of Fighters competition, Ye Cang's team's next match was scheduled for three days later.

Therefore, Ye Cang decided to return to the Hyperdimensional Fortress first and tell his comrades about his participation in the King of Fighters competition.

But as soon as Ye Cang returned to the Hyperdimensional Fortress, someone came looking for him. "Ye Cang, the Star Mother and Star King are here. They're waiting for you in the conference room. Oh, and Luke and Sheer are there too."

Arriving at the conference room, he saw a Star Envoy standing stiffly behind the Star King. Seated at the center of the room was the Star Mother, with Chen Li, Sheer, and Luke seated on either side.

The Star Envoy was dressed like a butler, clearly a servant of some kind.

As for the Star King, his sharp suit and arrogant demeanor made Ye Cang uncomfortable. In Ye Cang's mind, interactions between people should be based on mutual respect and equality.

But the Star King acted superior, as if he were your grandfather and you were his grandson. This made Ye Cang feel disgusted!

Then he looked at the Star Mother.

The Star Mother was the opposite of the Star King. She was not only kind and gentle, but also seemed genuinely pleased to see Ye Cang.

Ye Cang nodded politely to the Star Mother as a sign of respect.

The Star King didn't even glance at Ye Cang, saying haughtily, "You're Ye Cang?"

"That's right, I'm Ye Cang. May I ask who you are?"

Before he could finish, the Star Envoy reprimanded him, "How dare a mere Leaper address the Star King by name? You should say 'Star King-sama'!"

Hearing that the Star Envoy added "sama" (大人 - dà rén) when addressing the Star King, Ye Cang immediately felt displeased. "Buddy... the Qing Dynasty is long gone. What's with the 'sama'? Are your knees made of jelly?"

The Star Envoy was about to retort, but the Star King stopped him.

The Star King said, "Ye Cang, where were you just now?"

Ye Cang didn't really want to answer. After all, what business was it of the Star King's where he went?

But out of courtesy, he replied, "I went to visit a friend. Is there a problem?"

The Star King said with a smug look, "We certainly have no right to interfere with your friendships. But your friends are mercenaries. Ye Cang, are you aware that this violates the rules of the Hyperdimensional Fortress?"

Ye Cang, who was about to sit down, suddenly felt that sitting on the chair would only dirty his clothes after hearing the Star King's words.

Ye Cang knew that the Star King's visit was not a friendly one. "Star King, why don't you just say what you want? I know you have something to say, so there's no need to beat around the bush."

The Star King stood up. "Very well! I like your straightforwardness! According to the rules of the Hyperdimensional Fortress, no one is allowed to associate with mercenaries. And you, Ye Cang, have not only associated with mercenaries, but have also befriended them. Therefore, according to the rules, you must leave this place."

Ye Cang ignored him and turned to leave, but Sheer grabbed his arm.

"Star King, please give Ye Cang another chance. He only met the mercenaries by chance while carrying out a mission."

The Star King looked at Ye Cang, signaling him to say something.

But when Ye Cang looked at the Star King, the lofty "sama" still had the same attitude, as if he was born to be his grandson.

Ye Cang finally couldn't help but burst out, "Look at your pretentious attitude! You seem all righteous, just like that old bastard Xue Shengnan. I can tell you're no good!"

"Let me tell you today, you son of a bitch! I quit!"

The Star Envoy shouted, "Rude!"

The Star Envoy launched a qi blast at Ye Cang.

Ye Cang wasn't prepared and was about to be hit!

Suddenly, Luke flashed in front of Ye Cang, shielding him. "Friend, be careful!"

Boom!

A Hao Qi Hong Quan (Spirited Roar Fist) with maximum power collided with the Star Envoy's qi blast, canceling out the force and leaving both sides unharmed.

The Star King said dismissively, "Luke, do you want to become the second Ye Cang?"

Luke stood against the Star King with utter sincerity. "Whether I'm the second Ye Cang or not, is not important to me."

"What's important is that if you want to hurt my friend, you'll have to get past me first! I, Luke, don't care about the Hyperdimensional Fortress or the Star Envoys or Star Kings! I! Luke! Only want to protect what I want to protect!"

The atmosphere in the conference room cooled to freezing point. Just as the Star Envoy was about to attack Ye Cang and Luke, the Star Mother said slowly, "Stop arguing... Listen to me, everyone."

"In many cases, there are exceptions to everything. Of course, everything must follow the rules. So... whether Ye Cang and Luke stay or go, Star King, you decide."

As soon as the Star Mother finished speaking, Ye Cang immediately said, "Star Mother, thank you for your generosity. However, my life is mine to control. So, whether I stay or go is up to me, not the so-called Star King."

"Also... I've never had any illusions about this so-called Hyperdimensional Fortress. Because Ye Cang died long ago with his homeland, annihilated in the vast universe. I'm leaving this place today, so don't worry about it."

With that, Ye Cang and Luke turned and headed for the teleportation room, planning to stay temporarily with the Jin Guang Mercenary Group. After the King of Fighters competition, they would make further plans.

After Sheer adjusted the teleportation coordinates, she unhesitatingly chose to stand with Ye Cang.

Ye Cang was shocked and unprepared. Sheer's actions left his mind blank.

Sheer didn't say anything, just smiled at Ye Cang.

Suddenly, a ray of light appeared in the depths of Ye Cang's dark heart, gently comforting him.

When that bright and penetrating light entered a person's heart.

Wasn't that ray of light also fearlessly summoning the courage to persevere and follow?