Chapter 1 Who Did I Offend?

"Who did I offend?" Xu Jingming asked.

Fang Xinglong looked at Xu Jingming and said a name, "Cheng Zihao."

Xu Jingming understood completely. He calmly asked, "Senior, did he come looking for you?"

"Yes," Fang Xinglong nodded.

Xu Jingming nodded and said, "I do have a conflict with him."

"You're a professional martial arts athlete, selected for the provincial team in high school, and later for the national team. You've been in the professional martial arts scene for so many years. How could you have a conflict with Cheng Zihao?" Fang Xinglong couldn't understand. They weren't in the same circles at all.

Xu Jingming smiled and said, "Life is full of infinite possibilities."

"Stop joking around," Fang Xinglong said, worried and anxious. "Can't your conflict with him be resolved?"

"It can't be resolved," Xu Jingming shook his head.

Fang Xinglong put out his cigarette and looked at his junior. "Jingming, that's Cheng Zihao! Offending him is equivalent to being blacklisted on the internet!"

"I know. The Cheng family!" Xu Jingming sighed. "The Cheng family controls the Tigershark Group, a company with a market value of over five trillion, one of the top three internet behemoths. They are indeed terrifying."

The Cheng family ranked among the top ten on the Xia country's rich list, with a family fortune exceeding 500 billion. Xia country's number one live streaming platform, 'Tigershark,' was founded more than sixty years ago by the legendary figure of the Cheng family, Cheng Yunxiu. For over sixty years, the Tigershark Group hadn't declined; instead, it had grown stronger. Now, with the Tigershark platform at its core, it radiated into e-commerce, music, gaming, and many other industries, forming an internet behemoth group. The Tigershark Group had a market value of over five trillion, and the Cheng family, as the founding family, also held 8.2% of the shares, with voting rights consistently exceeding 50%, firmly grasping control of the Tigershark Group.

For a full thirty years, the Tigershark Group was entirely controlled by its founder, Cheng Yunxiu. After his death, it was managed by his only son, Cheng Liwei, to this day.

Cheng Zihao was Cheng Liwei's son, thirty-two years old this year.

"On the internet, the Tigershark Group is one of the top three behemoths. It's number one in live streaming platforms. As a martial arts athlete, you simply don't realize how terrifying its influence is," Fang Xinglong said, looking at his junior with some anxiety.

"Of course, I do," Xu Jingming said with a smile. "Being blacklisted means no more commercial activities, no publicity on the internet, and a rapid decline in fame."

For martial arts athletes, fame was very important.

The greater the fame, the higher the income.

In terms of martial arts competition results, although Xu Jingming was quite strong, he could only be considered third-tier among the top martial arts athletes in Xia country's history! Legendary figures like his master, Liu Hai, were first-tier, after all, he had consistently been in the top three for five consecutive competitions at the advanced age of forty, and had even won the world championship.

There were three first-tier athletes, each a legend. Their appearance fee for a peak duel was over 100 million, and their accumulated career income was even more terrifying.

Second-tier historical top athletes were those who had won the world top three, or those who had struggled to win the world championship once and then retired. They were also frequently mentioned, and their peak duel appearance fees were generally over 10 million.

Xu Jingming had made it into the World Martial Arts Competition twice, once reaching the top sixteen and once the top eight. His highest appearance fee was only 1.5 million, and his highest single income was the prize money for reaching the top eight in the World Martial Arts Competition. His total income after so many years of struggle was only tens of millions. His strength and status could be seen from his income.

In terms of results, he was third-tier among Xia country's historical athletes. In terms of fame? If he was blacklisted on the internet, his fame would quickly disappear.

"Martial arts athletes also need to eat. Sometimes, a step back leads to a brighter future," Fang Xinglong advised.

"Senior," Xu Jingming said seriously, "You know, some things can't be retreated from."

Fang Xinglong paused, nodded slightly, and said worriedly, "Being blacklisted is just a minor matter. I'm afraid Cheng Zihao will continue to cause you trouble."

Xu Jingming smiled. "At worst, I'll go back to my hometown, Mingyue City. In Mingyue City, my Bajiquan (Eight Extremities Fist) and Chuo Jiao (Poking Foot) schools have thousands of disciples. I'd like to see how he causes me trouble. Besides, in modern society, there's surveillance everywhere. What can he do?"

"Then what are you going to do when you return to Mingyue City?" Fang Xinglong pressed.

"Open a martial arts gym, do some high-end private tutoring, and I'll be able to eat my fill," Xu Jingming said. "I'm the Gun Demon, after all. I make a living with my skills. I can eat my fill anywhere."

Fang Xinglong shook his head slightly. "In a second-tier city like Mingyue City, you'd be lucky to earn a million a year even if you worked hard."

"I've earned a lot over the years, and the interest and dividends aren't bad," Xu Jingming said. "Senior, don't worry about me."

Xu Jingming had prepared himself when he broke off relations with Cheng Zihao.

He would just earn less.

He had been influenced by his father since he was a child and became a disciple of Mingyue City's two major traditional martial arts schools, the Bajiquan and Chuo Jiao schools. Since the World Martial Arts Competition became the world's number one combat event, domestic traditional martial arts schools had blossomed again, and various weapon fighting techniques had been unearthed.

In modern society, people didn't care how many schools a disciple joined.

Xu Jingming's father was a martial arts blogger in his youth, traveling around the world to explore various combat schools. He had joined more than a dozen martial arts schools in the country and also obtained the true teachings of the Baji lineage. After settling in Mingyue City, he also founded the Bajiquan school in Mingyue City. In modern society, there were many martial arts schools all over the country, and there were hundreds of Bajiquan schools with orderly inheritance across the country.

Xu Jingming was the heir to the Bajiquan school in Mingyue City and also the disciple of the Chuo Jiao school's leader in Mingyue City! He could earn enough to eat by opening a martial arts gym, accepting disciples, and doing high-end private tutoring.

"Perhaps, returning to my hometown to concentrate on practicing my spearmanship is more suitable for me. If I can reach a higher realm, I can make a comeback and strive for the world championship," Xu Jingming thought.

He had never given up his dream of becoming number one in the world. His master, Liu Hai, had made it into the World Martial Arts Competition five times in a row at the advanced age of forty, and had finally won the world championship.

He was only twenty-nine this year, how could he give up?

If he won the world championship, the prize money would be 500 million, and he would be the focus of global attention. Official media would flood the world with publicity. Cheng Zihao wouldn't be able to suppress that.

As for now? As a retired professional athlete without high enough achievements, there was nothing he could do about being blacklisted.

"Senior, what did Cheng Zihao say to you?" Xu Jingming looked at Fang Xinglong.

"Cheng Zihao had someone relay a message to me, asking me to fire you," Fang Xinglong said with shame. "Jingming, you know, I sell alcohol, and some of the sales channels are the Tigershark Group's live streaming platform and e-commerce platform. Moreover, a lot of publicity has to go through the Tigershark Group. Although I feel very stifled, I can't afford to offend Cheng Zihao. After all, the company isn't just mine alone."

"Senior, I understand your difficulties," Xu Jingming nodded.

He made a living with his skills. With nearly thirty years of being in the world's top ten in spearmanship, he wasn't afraid of not having anything to eat. It was just a matter of eating more or less.

But his senior, Fang Xinglong, was a businessman. The wine company was the foundation of his senior's career, so he was even more constrained in front of the Tigershark Group.

"I'll leave after this provincial team training camp ends," Xu Jingming said.

Fang Xinglong was a little tired. "Can you tell your senior, what exactly is your conflict with Cheng Zihao?"

"I don't want to say," Xu Jingming shook his head. "I can only say that he's a madman!"

"A madman?"

Fang Xinglong was thoughtful and nodded slightly. "Alright, I won't say any more. This time, your senior is sorry to you."

"It's not senior's fault. On the contrary, I've implicated senior," Xu Jingming knew Fang Xinglong's character very well. He was forthright, sincere, and his character was beyond doubt. Otherwise, he wouldn't have accepted his invitation to become the curator of this combat arena.

"Senior, I still have to have dinner with Team Leader Liu, so I'll leave first. If anything comes up, we can talk on the phone," Xu Jingming said with a smile, and then left.

Fang Xinglong stood in place, watching Xu Jingming leave.

"Cheng Zihao."

Fang Xinglong whispered softly. He had ventured into the business world and had billions in assets in his early forties, so he was also very proud at heart. He was passionate about martial arts weapon combat, and for the sake of his hobby, he had spent a fortune to build the Starlight Combat Arena. This time, he had to obediently fire his junior just because Cheng Zihao had sent a message. How could he not feel stifled?

"I can't afford to offend him," Fang Xinglong muttered silently. No matter how stifled he felt, he would lower his head when he needed to. He had been in the business world for many years and knew this very well. It was just that he had reached his current status, such stifling things were already rare.

"Cheng Zihao, you don't follow the rules, you play dirty. One day, you'll stumble," Fang Xinglong thought to himself.

Fang Xinglong was also thinking about how he could help his junior.

He didn't recognize more than ten good friends, and Xu Jingming was one of them. Naturally, he didn't want to see his junior suffer such a great loss.

******

The night was hazy. In a townhouse on the eastern outskirts of Binhai City, Xu Jingming pushed the door open and entered.

In the bedroom, a slender woman in pajamas was half-lying down, leaning against the backrest, wearing a pair of large glasses, each hand holding a controller.

"Jingming, wait for me to finish this game," the woman in pajamas said, her eyes bright. The glasses were virtual reality glasses, divided into immersive mode and real mode.

In real mode, the game scene was partially transparent, allowing her to see the outside world.

"Miao Miao, you need to exercise more. It's not good for your body to always lie like this," Xu Jingming said.

"Okay, I know," the woman in pajamas replied casually, her hands moving non-stop.

Xu Jingming was quite helpless.

This woman in pajamas was his girlfriend, Li Miaomiao.