Half a month later, at the large sports stadium in Xingcai District.
The human flow was surging, and banners outside declared, "The 27th Xingcai District Martial Arts Tournament."
After touring the local martial arts halls, Zhong Shenxiu had found that the strongest was still Lao Liu from White Ape Martial Arts Hall, and gradually he lost interest, starting to focus on the official large-scale events.
He had passed the preliminaries easily.
For a Martial Artist of his caliber, bullying these novices who didn’t even know what Qi-Blood was, was more egregious than an adult hitting a child, yet Zhong Shenxiu relished in it.
After all, his main purpose was to show off.
Defeating an opponent in one move was outdated.
The record he created was that since the beginning of the competition, he stood still, allowing his opponents to attack him until they collapsed from exhaustion.
This style greatly appealed to the media who fueled its popularity, making him a sensation in the reports.
All the contestants knew that this year’s competition featured a master of external hard skills, who had mastered the Iron Cloth Shirt, capable of beating opponents until they spat blood!
At the same time, rumors faintly spread about someone who had challenged dozens of martial arts halls in half a month, adhering to the ancient tradition of having the losers buy meals; even Lan Wangchuan from Sea Blue Martial Arts Hall had fallen victim to him, claiming to have defeated all invincible hands in Xingcai, and being the top favorite to win this tournament.
Zhong Shenxiu, dressed in loose Martial Arts clothing, looked at the multiple rings set up in the venue and yawned out of boredom.
By his standards, Xingcai District being one of the 108 districts of the Star Alliance, it was good enough if a Martial Artist or someone close to a Martial Artist’s strength won the championship.
His participation was purely to bully.
In the spectator seats, Luo Xiaoqing had become a self-sufficient cheerleader, and quickly formed a megaphone with her hands, shouting loudly as she saw him glance over.
Zhong Shenxiu covered his face, turned away, and pretended not to know her.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he saw someone, walking over to greet, "Brother Dog, you’re here too."
The man, with a sharp monkey face and a small, thin physique, looked like a large rat.
Seeing Zhong Shenxiu approaching, he jumped in surprise, "Hua Wu, you’re a celebrity now, haha... Congratulations..."
He seemed to force a smile.
This Brother Dog was a manager for underground Black Boxers, and Hua Wu used to hang out with him.
Later, he ended up in the hospital after an underground Black Boxing match.
"Brother Dog, you showing up must mean there’s a Black Boxer entering the competition," Zhong Shenxiu casually asked.
With his strength, it was unlikely he would fight himself.
"Yes," Brother Dog pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the cold sweat on his forehead, lowering his voice, "You know him... it’s Quan. According to the boss, you can face him soon."
"Oh?!" Zhong Shenxiu was somewhat surprised.
Quan was the Black Boxer who had sent Hua Wu to the hospital back then.
Such a boxer going legit was normal, but this arrangement seemed a bit deliberate.
Seeing this, Brother Dog took a step forward, handing over a bank card, "Our boss said, congratulations to Master Wu on your great improvement in martial arts, a small gift, no respects... And about that Quan, specially arranging a match with you, hoping that after today, the matter will be settled."
After he finished speaking, his voice was full of unease.
Who could have imagined, that ordinary-looking Hua Wu, how did he become so formidable after just one hospital visit?!
Was there some kind of Spirit Pill or a mad scientist’s transformation involved?
But regardless, his backers heard the news that this Hua Wu had combat abilities comparable to a Martial Artist’s, definitely not someone to provoke.
Thus, both money and a fighter were offered, hoping to resolve any resentment.
"Being able to arrange certain matches in this kind of competition means the people behind the underground fighting ring do have some clout," Zhong Shenxiu thought for a moment, then took the bank card. "I’ll accept this. It’s no big deal."
After all, it was Hua Wu who had died, not him. Besides, wasn’t the killer already delivered to their doorstep?
"That’s good," Brother Dog sighed with relief. With this matter settled, it was not his problem anymore.
"Contestants No. 55 and No. 76, please get ready. The match will commence on Ring No. 7 in ten minutes!"
At that moment, a mechanical voice started broadcasting.
Zhong Shenxiu looked at the No. 55 contestant tag in his hand, said goodbye to Brother Dog, and headed to the ring.
Ten minutes later, the spotlight converged on the ring.
He walked onto the field and saw a lean but muscular young man with three knife scars on his face across from him. He looked very fierce.
It was definitely Quan!
"Hua Wu, I can’t believe you’ve become this strong. I don’t believe it!" Quan whispered, sounding like a beast in a cage.
He was probably frustrated. Despite being an excellent black boxer, he had been easily discarded by the higher-ups, left to vent others’ anger.
"I don’t believe you could become this strong!"
Quan roared lowly. "I’ve been practicing martial arts since I was a child, always wanting to become like Mr. Tang Long, the king of martial arts, but I could only fight in underground matches. My only chance on a legitimate stage, and yet this is my fate, I can’t accept it!"
After all, he was a true martial artist, whether good or evil, all possessed a strong vigor.
"I came on stage also to prove myself, that I can indeed break through in martial arts and be stronger than you, aaaah!"
Quan roared out his declaration, posing like a wild beast.
"You... you also have dreams."
The pinnacle of martial artists is the current king of martial arts—Tang Long!
It can be said that he is, at this moment, the strongest human on the entire planet, a consecutive champion recognized by countless competitions!
At the same time, he was also a tycoon, the dream of most young martial artists!
Zhong Shenxiu sighed as he watched Quan rush towards him, his fists firing off like a machine gun.
All the punches landed on him, but were blocked by an invisible barrier, firm and indestructible like an iron wall.
Quan’s knuckles were immediately recoiled, bleeding.
"I don’t believe it!"
He shouted furiously, swiftly moving behind Zhong Shenxiu, his knee thrusting violently.
Black Boxer style—Knee Strike!
The knee strike from the Black Boxer style, known for its brutality and ferocity, involved intense and cruel training, where practitioners had to break coconut trees as thick as human legs every day.
But this time, Quan felt like he had kicked an iron pillar!
His right knee cap completely shattered, and he heard a voice in his ear, "This boring game, let’s end it."
Zhong Shenxiu took action for the first time, grabbing Quan and directly breaking all four of his limbs.
With such injuries, even if he recovered, his martial arts would be completely gone.
Watching the medical staff take Quan away for emergency treatment, Zhong Shenxiu exhaled and thought, ’Does this count as... avenging Hua Wu? Too bad there’s no reward. His obsession wasn’t this...’