Longxu Gate rest area.

It was just as Li Cheng颐 encountered Minister Chen Zonghan of Utopia.

A red shadow silently approached this rest area.

The red shadow gradually revealed its form in the moonlight.

It was a tall man clad in a full set of red armor.

With no exposed skin, it was impossible to tell if he was a fully modified cyborg or merely a lurker wearing an exoskeleton.

But regardless, daring to sneak into this rest area at this moment meant he intended to do something sinister.

In the moonlight, the man’s red armor bore distinct flame-shaped patterns.

Flame-like spikes curved outward from his shoulders, as if his entire body was emitting burning flames.

In the darkness, a pair of red eyes lit up on his helmet, quietly watching the rest area before him.

Along the winding paths of the rest area, his direction was precisely towards where Li Chongnan was resting.

At this hour, around nine or ten in the evening, sneaking in quietly without notification clearly revealed his intentions.

Inside the room in the rest area.

Li Chongnan had just finished showering, drying her hair, and changing into her pajamas. She sat cross-legged on the bed, quietly reading a book.

*
*
*

Street side, in front of the hotel entrance.

Li Cheng颐 stared calmly, sizing up the robed old man blocking his path.

Chen Zonghan? Never heard of him.

The two stood a meter apart, surrounded by people coming and going, yet no one seemed to notice them.

The flow of people passed by like water.

Li Cheng颐 extended his hand in a handshake.

"Surname Chen, I wonder what relationship the old gentleman has with the Chen family of the Yanxing Bagua School?" (Wild Goose Eight Trigrams School)

He had previously used a handshake to roughly gauge Haisha’s strength, realizing that Li Chongnan couldn’t handle him, and decisively decided to cripple him that night.

Now, he was using the same trick again.

"From the same lineage. Chen Jiahan is my grandson’s generation." Chen Zonghan smiled, glanced at Li Cheng颐's outstretched hand, and did not take it.

"There’s no need for a handshake. This old man doesn’t want to end up seriously injured and unable to recover like Haisha." His words made no attempt to conceal his speculation about Li Cheng颐.

"Then there’s nothing to talk about." Li Cheng颐 withdrew his hand.

"Young friend... it’s better to resolve disputes than to prolong them. Why not sit down and chat to clear up the misunderstandings between us?" Chen Zonghan squinted.

"Sit down and chat, and you’ll concede first place?" Li Cheng颐 raised an eyebrow.

"."

"In this world, there are only two possible outcomes for people like you." Li Cheng颐 turned around.

"Either you kill us, or you get killed."

"So, it's a matter of black and white?" Chen Zonghan said inexplicably.

"It’s not a matter of black and white, but at this moment, it’s either victory or defeat!"

Li Cheng颐 quickened his pace and left.

Knowing that the Chen family of the Yanxing Bagua School (Wild Goose Eight Trigrams School) stood behind the other party, and that they were vaguely related to Star Lake or Utopia as he had guessed, he understood that no matter who they were, there was no value in communicating.

It was nothing more than killing them, or being killed by them.

"...Interesting little devil." Chen Zonghan exhaled softly. Standing in place, he did not leave. Instead, a long-haired woman in black approached him from behind.

"Elder Chen, aren’t you going to keep him here?"

"Jiu Yi is watching from above. Nothing can escape the Eye of Heaven. Acting now would be a losing proposition." Chen Zonghan said calmly, "So, the time is not yet right."

"This man is ruthless, acts decisively, and doesn’t drag his feet. He’s a troublesome character. If we don’t deal with him sooner, I fear there will be trouble later on." The black-haired woman frowned.

"Haisha's chance is gone. It's already a done deal. Now we can only rely on Ahan." Chen Zonghan spoke of ominous things, but his face showed no sign of worry.

"Aren’t you worried?" The black-haired woman couldn't help but ask.

"Why should I worry?" Chen Zonghan smiled, "Ahan cannot lose. Even Haisha was just a smokescreen for the real Ahan."

He turned and walked towards a flying vehicle in the distance.

"Let’s go. The night is dark. Why not have a little drink and relax?"

The black-haired woman stared blankly as he left calmly, not at all worried about being reported and exposed. For a moment, she didn't know how to react.

At the same time.

Longxu Gate rest area.

The red-armored man, who was about to break into the room, suddenly paused.

He seemed to hear a faint communication in his earpiece.

The hand he had already extended ultimately retracted.

Chi!

In an instant, a phantom flashed, and he disappeared from the spot, leaving the station and vanishing without a trace.

Seconds later.

Not far from where he had stood, in a corner of the shadows, Li Cheng颐’s figure slowly emerged.

Li Cheng颐 walked to where the red-armored man had stood, in front of Li Chongnan’s room.

He sniffed lightly.

A faint, familiar scent lingered in the air.

"Trying to take advantage of the situation?"

A cold smile appeared on his lips.

Tomorrow was the Dragon Beard Gate's match against the Nuclear Fission Palm team. He guessed that the red-armored man might come.

But he didn't expect to encounter the old man who called himself Chen Zonghan halfway.

From that old man, he could sense something similar to how he felt about Han Qi back then.

Whether it was Han Qi or that old man, they both had a sense of being in control, deciding the overall situation.

As if everything around them was a chess piece in their hands, and the world was their chessboard.

That aloof, carefree attitude made him quite unhappy.

"I'll see what you can do, what you want to do, what you dare to do!"

He turned and returned to his room.

Not long after, Li Chongnan opened the door in surprise, looked at the empty corridor outside, and felt a little strange, wondering if she had sensed something wrong.

She quickly closed the door again.

*
*
*

The next morning.

Loud music accompanied by heavy drum rhythms shook the entire arena into a frenzy.

The finals had begun.

Only twenty teams remained, but the audience was still packed.

Many people had already customized support signs for certain players, raising them in unison and shouting slogans.

The warm-up dance team consisted of a hundred strong men and women. The men were bare-chested, holding giant swords. The women were dressed in tight martial arts uniforms, holding short knives.

Sword dances and knife fights, men and women mixed, continuously emitted shouts on the field, accompanied by the loud music.

"Now warming up is the Ancient War Dance Orchestra from Fengling Mountain Conservatory of Music. They have choreographed a historical classic dance called 'Thousands of Mountains and Seas' for this competition."

The host and commentators were still carefully introducing the details to the audience.

The teams preparing to take the stage for the finals were also ready.

A total of twenty teams, excluding the exchange teams, that is, nineteen. According to the random system ranking, they were divided into pairs for duels.

The champion of the previous competition, Yanxing Bagua School (Wild Goose Eight Trigrams School), was exempt from the competition due to their first-place score and undefeated record, and would await the final duel.

The competition at this time was no longer like before, with a group of teams competing together, but individual matches.

Duel after duel.

The competition details were broadcast live by major TV stations, and enlarged on floating large screens.

"The first match will be drawn according to the积分 jifen (points) ranking. The teams about to take the stage are Longxu Gate, ranked nineteenth! Against Nuclear Fission Palm, ranked eleventh!"

The host shouted loudly, announcing the players for the first match of the day.

Whoa!!

The audience cheered.

At this moment, in the center of the martial arts hall's square arena, a huge cylinder slowly rose from the ground.

The silver-black cylinder was made entirely of metal, and continued to rise until it reached a height of twenty meters, where it slowly stopped.

Boom!

A circle of flames shot out upwards along the cylinder.

"Nuclear Fission Palm, Ying Chanru! Nuclear Fission Palm, Ying Chanru!" Huge, uniform cheers came from the sidelines. At least hundreds of people were shouting in support.

"Li Chongnan! Li Chongnan!" On the other side, many people were shouting Xiao Nan's name.

But it was far less loud than the opposing side.

On a floating platform beside the cylindrical arena, the host and commentators began to explain the situation for both sides.

"Speaking of which, this first final match is also very interesting."

The commentator was a middle-aged woman in a purple dress, with a dignified temperament mixed with a hint of heroism, obviously having practiced martial arts.

On the light curtain floating in front of her, it clearly displayed: Director of the Yiguo Fighting Association General Council – Gu Xiangzhi.

"How do you mean? Sister Gu, do you think Longxu Gate has a chance to defeat Nuclear Fission Palm?" The host, Xiao Lei, asked doubtfully. "Judging from the points, the gap between the two is still quite large, right?"

"Looking at the results alone, that's true. In the Longxu Gate team, two of the three members are actually not strong enough to enter the finals, which also leads to them having the most losses in the finals teams. Compared with Nuclear Fission Palm, the gap is quite large. But..."

Gu Xiangzhi smiled.

"Sister Gu, don't keep us in suspense. You don't think the last member of Longxu Gate is strong enough to take on three opponents and defeat the three masters from Nuclear Fission Palm, do you? I don't think so." The host, Xiao Lei, said in disbelief.

"In a battle for victory, what determines the outcome is not just physical strength and endurance." Gu Xiangzhi smiled, "The strongest in Nuclear Fission Palm is also Ying Chanru, who will be the last to play. Ying Chanru started learning martial arts at the age of ten, comprehended soft qi at thirteen, and entered the realm of balancing hard and soft at fifteen. Now at the age of nineteen, after the injury and withdrawal of Senior Sister Hong Ye from Nuclear Fission Palm in the last competition, she took over the responsibility of carrying the banner of her school. This time, she has shown extreme explosiveness as soon as she took the stage. None of the enemies she has encountered have been able to withstand three moves under her palm."

"So, Sister Gu is also optimistic about Ying Chanru?" Xiao Lei asked.

"Longxu Gate's Li Chongnan has also shown explosive performance. No opponent can withstand ten seconds in front of her. As for the specific outcome, it's like two precious swords that can both cut through gold and jade. Before they clash, no one knows which one is sharper." Gu Xiangzhi shook her head.

Beside the arena below.

The Longxu Gate and Nuclear Fission Palm teams entered the arena from two different passages.

On the Nuclear Fission Palm side, a beam of light descended from the sky, shining on three figures.

The first: Fang Cheng. A burly uncle with thinning hair, taciturn and stoic.

The second: Qiu Yuyan. A petite, beautiful young woman with eyes like dead fish.

The third: Ying Chanru, the strongest disciple of Nuclear Fission Palm.

Many people who hear the name Ying Chanru might assume she is a gentle and beautiful woman.

But in reality, she is a strong woman who is over one meter ninety tall, with muscles all over her body like tangled tree roots, bald, wearing sunglasses, and dressed in a black vest and shorts.

From a distance, if it weren't for the little bit of chest features that remained, and the lack of bulges in her lower body, it would be difficult to tell that she was female.

"Too boring." Ying Chanru looked at the Longxu Gate team from afar. "Such opponents can actually enter the finals. It's simply an insult to this final."

"Who told us we were unlucky and drew a bad lot." Fang Cheng said coldly.

"A boring competition needs a little passion." Ying Chanru licked her lips. "Otherwise, wouldn't it be a waste of so many friends' cheers and expectations for us?"

"What does Senior Sister mean?" Fang Cheng looked over in confusion.

(End of this chapter)