Chapter 77: The Duel

Walking beside Zuo Zhicheng, Jiang Qing also frowned, speaking to Jiang Tianzheng: “Dad, do you think A Zuo can win?”

“Winning or losing isn’t always as simple as who is stronger,” Jiang Tianzheng said calmly. “Factors like condition, belief, performance, the venue, all play a part. But A Zuo’s chances of winning are indeed not high right now.”

“But so what,” Jiang Tianzheng looked at Zuo Zhicheng and said, “A Zuo, go all out later. You’re talented in fighting tactics and on-the-spot reactions. Just do your best in the arena—whether you win or lose doesn’t matter. Even if you lose, I won’t let them harm a single hair on your head.”

“Master, Senior Sister, you’re both too pessimistic…” Zuo Zhicheng lowered his head helplessly. “I’ve improved a lot in these past two months. I feel I can win.”

“Haha, it’s best that you think that way,” Jiang Tianzheng smiled. “I just want you to have no mental burden and perform well.”

Just then, a betting booth appeared in front of the group. It was a booth for betting on that day’s martial arts match results. Regarding the Grand Competition’s events, aside from the exhibition match between Zuo Zhicheng and Xiao Changhe, the competition was divided into two parts.

One was a display sparring between the martial hall masters, mainly for promotional purposes—where several masters would come on stage to spar, show off their skills, and advertise their own martial halls. This display sparring was scheduled for the next day.

The other part, which actually determined winners and losers, was the sparring between the various students. This was the event that Zuo Zhicheng and Jiang Qing had both signed up for. This was today’s competition.

As for the third day, it was the official establishment ceremony of the association, along with the awards ceremony for the Grand Competition.

The betting booth in front of them was clearly for placing bets on that day’s student sparring results. Zuo Zhicheng didn’t even need to check to know how high the odds would be for his own victory.

Just then, a fat man shouted: “I bet 1,000 coins!”

1,000 coins were almost equivalent to what an ordinary household could earn in a year. Hearing the fat man’s words, almost everyone turned to look, curious to see what he would bet on.

The fat man, Zhou Xingyun from Yanwu Hall, declared: “I bet on Xiao Changhe to win in the exhibition match.”

Boo! A wave of jeers followed. In everyone’s eyes, Xiao Changhe’s victory was almost certain, and with those odds, even a 1,000-coin bet would probably only yield a few coins in winnings.

Seeing that everyone from Haoran Martial Hall was glaring at him angrily, Zhou Xingyun shrugged indifferently, then shook his head with a pitying look toward Zuo Zhicheng before turning away.

“That fat jerk!” A Fei and others gritted their teeth.

Then, as Zuo Zhicheng’s group arrived in front of Chaoyang Martial Hall, they saw a huge arena that nearly took up the entire street. Several martial artists wanting to show off their skills were already sparring on the arena.

Below the arena, the members of over ten martial halls each occupied their own areas, while countless spectators crowded around. The sounds of firecrackers, shouting, cheers, and all kinds of noise mixed together, filling everyone’s ears.

“Let’s go over.”

But they had only taken a few steps when two large men from Chaoyang Martial Hall approached, blocking Zuo Zhicheng’s path.

The two men had brownish-yellow skin and tall builds. Judging by their brown eyes, they didn’t seem to be pure Great Qi people.

“Haoran Martial Hall, right?” They pointed to a remote, back corner. “Your spot is over there.”

When the two led Zuo Zhicheng’s group to the spot assigned by Chaoyang Martial Hall, several students became angry. Among the eighteen martial halls’ assigned spots, theirs was clearly the worst—not only was it the farthest from the arena, but they couldn’t even see most of the arena from their angle.

Some immediately began to complain.

But Jiang Tianzheng waved his hand, stopping the students behind him: “Never mind. If you want to watch later, just find yourselves a better spot.”

‘Hante People, huh…’ Zuo Zhicheng looked at the two large men’s figures, thinking to himself: ‘Xiao Jingyang probably isn’t that petty—most likely, Xiao Changhe arranged this.’

Thinking this, he looked toward Xiao Changhe’s direction, where Chaoyang Martial Hall was located. Xiao Jingyang hadn’t appeared yet; only Xiao Changhe and several disciples stood there. Besides the disciples they had seen before, there were over ten more Hante People.

Especially the one who seemed to be their leader—he was tall, almost over two meters, with a tough face and thin lips, giving off a robotic vibe. In particular, his two thick arms were almost as big as an average person’s thighs.

As for their strength, the Purple Innate Qi on Xiao Changhe’s back had reached 12%. It seemed he had indeed worked hard over the past few months.

But what surprised Zuo Zhicheng even more was the Hante man over two meters tall. The Purple Innate Qi covering his entire back had actually reached 30%.

Though it was only 30% on his back, far less than Zuo Zhicheng’s own level, for everyone present, this was almost the highest level of physical fitness. It was even a bit higher than Xiao Jingyang’s.

‘There’s something off…’ Without Spiritual Power food, an ordinary person would need over ten years of training to reach this level, and even then, it would require a good teacher, talent, proper techniques, and hard work—none of which could be missing.

Mentally noting the man’s appearance, Zuo Zhicheng already had thoughts of investigating him.

Over half an hour later, the masters and disciples of all eighteen martial halls had arrived one after another. The Grand Competition of the eighteen martial halls finally began.

First, Xiao Jingyang went on stage to speak, spouting the usual clichés about promoting martial arts spirit and spreading Great Qi’s martial arts. But what surprised everyone was that Xiao Jingyang had actually invited Yao Youwei, the son of Xinlu City’s mayor, to watch. And beside Yao Youwei was none other than Miss Qing, who had appeared with him last time.

The young woman still had her flawless jade-like face and slender figure, making people want to hold her in their arms. As soon as she appeared, countless men stared dazedly.

Jiang Qing glanced at Zuo Zhicheng and, noticing he wasn’t staring intently, secretly sighed in relief. But when she saw A Fei and Big Mouth Huang gawking stupidly at Miss Qing, and even her own father couldn’t help but take a few extra glances, she snorted and couldn’t help but curl her lip.

On stage, Xiao Jingyang naturally didn’t know why Yao Youwei had come. He had originally intended to invite just an ordinary official he was acquainted with.

So, after speaking for a few minutes, he said to Yao Youwei: “Young Master Yao, why don’t you come up and say a few words?”

Yao Youwei was speaking with Miss Qing beside him and, interrupted by Xiao Jingyang, immediately showed displeasure, waving off the invitation.

No one there dared to pressure him, so Xiao Jingyang acted as if nothing happened and continued speaking. Then, the masters of all eighteen martial halls came on stage together.

Whether on purpose or by coincidence, Jiang Tianzheng was also assigned a corner spot on the stage. From start to finish, no one let him say a single word.