Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
Once she heard Lou Cheng’s answer, the reporter was immediately excited. She had not expected Lou Cheng to be so cooperative, and could already visualize her editor-in-chief complimenting her, how sensational her interview would be, and her new salary and promotion.
In just a few seconds, she had already planned her opening speech for when she became editor-in-chief.
The headline for this piece would be…hmm… The headline would be:
“He’ll make it to the end! Lou Cheng issues official challenge to the super-class!”
Lou Cheng didn’t know Thoughtsteal and couldn’t listen to the thoughts of the reporter. However, he didn’t really care how it turned out, quickly ended the interview, and returned to the tent. While watching Dragon King’s match, he chatted with Yan Zheke over the phone.
“What happened to keeping a low profile like you said?” Yan Zheke was scrolling through the headlines over Weibo and forum threads about the interview.
Lou Cheng replied, “[secret laughing emoji] After defeating Long Zhen so quickly, I wouldn’t be able to keep a low profile anyways.”
“That’s true… Whether you said those things or not, the other Physical Invulnerability experts would still be careful and give their all against you. Now that you said it, we can hope some of them will fall for this angering trick. [head nodding emoji]” Yan Zheke replied.
“That’s one perspective. What’s more important is to be true to your intentions.” Lou Cheng was no longer joking and explained it seriously to his little fairy girl. “For an ordinary person, thinking about challenging and defeating strong opponents and making it to the end, but not daring to say it out loud for fear of criticism, could be considered humble, keeping a low profile, or knowing where one stands. However, for a Physical Invulnerability expert, it would come off as dishonest about one’s intentions. A dishonest mind would affect one’s physical condition and performance in battle. At our stage, every bit of disruption has to be considered.”
“In addition, not daring to say those things would signal a lack of confidence deep in one’s heart. How could one defeat a strong enemy under such circumstances? One can’t possibly hope for others to make mistakes, right?”
“After saying those words, I instantly felt relieved, and my will is stronger now. In order to not be slapped in the face by others or made fun of, all I can do is use all my energy and give it my all! This isn’t like before, when I thought it was acceptable to lose to a super-class, and that others wouldn’t talk about it.”
Yan Zheke supported her chin with her hand and said, “Isn’t this what they call ‘cut off all means of retreat and fight to the death’? Brother Cheng is the best!”
It had already been close to three years since they had collected their marriage certificate. Other than the times when emotions overwhelmed her, she still found it a little embarrassing to call Lou Cheng her husband directly.
“Hehe. I have to get over the anxiety brought by this type of pressure and not become a second Long Zhen. It happens that Enemy Heart Freezing Move is great for this…” Lou Cheng explained to his wife and consolidated his thoughts at the same time to uproot any insecurities.
After two days of contest, the top thirty-two contestants for the Warrior Sage Battle had been determined. Peng Leyun defeated Hu Shubai from Yanzhao League and successfully became part of the group. None of the Four Heavenly Sons of the Era were eliminated, causing many people to believe that them fighting to the top might happen in the future.
Before the next two days of rest and consolidation, the lot-drawing ceremony would be held again. Contrary to how casual the previous round was, the organizing committee invited all thirty-two contestants to a small banquet hall for this ceremony.
After some lively and awesome performances, the reigning Warrior Sage, Qian Donglou went on stage. Cooperating with the host, he drew out the line-up for the first match.
God-Slaying Saber, Lu Yongyuan vs. Lion King, Shang Youde!
A contest between two titled experts!
“From the beginning of the rounds for the remaining thirty-two, every match will be intense,” said a bored Ann Chaoyang in the group chat, as he could only watch the live broadcast from his hotel room.
“Looking across, all of them are first-pin except the few of us,” Peng Leyun seconded exaggeratedly.
Lou Cheng watched the lot-drawing attentively. In his peripheral vision, he saw the notification on his phone and commented,
“[evil smile emoji] I would love to get you as my opponent. ‘Priest-brand’ pushover!”
Seeing his taunt, Peng Leyun replied nonchalantly,
“What a coincidence! Me too!”
After typing the message, Peng Leyun thoughts started to drift. He was in his own world for some time until he heard someone calling his name.
Still a little distracted, he saw a montage of his and his opponent’s matches on the big screen, which ended with him and his opponent’s photo.
His opponent was,
Kirin, Dong Baxian!
He was shocked at first, but broke into silent laughter soon after before saying in the group chat,
“I feel like my luck in lot-drawing hasn’t been great all along.”
“It’s alright. It’s just a matter of time before you encounter them!” Ren Li used her unique methods to comfort the Priest.
Just as Lou Cheng was about to type, he saw the distinguished guest pick up a round ball and call out his name. He waited patiently for his opponent to be revealed.
After about ten seconds, the distinguished guest smiled faintly as he displayed the results to the audience,
“Kongtong School, Feng Zhi!”
Heaven’s Equal Swordsman, Feng Zhi!
Feng Zhi was a Physical Invulnerability expert who had earned a title within the last three years and was the number one expert in the Kongtong School.
He was also one of the eight experts thought to have the highest chance of getting challenge rights, as determined by various websites and media houses.
This is nightmare level difficulty from the very start… Lou Cheng mocked himself, but his mind wasn’t shaken.
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Just like Ren Li had said, since he had set high goals, it would just be a matter of time before he encountered a super-class at this level.
This was a difficulty that he had to face and couldn’t possibly avoid.
At the end of the row where Ren Li sat, the muscular but plump Feng Zhi nodded his head. His right hand softly caressed the hilt of his sword. Excitement flashed in his eyes, as he looked eager for the match.
He had thin hair from signs of early balding. With the incredible restorative and regenerative ability of a Physical Invulnerability expert, it wouldn’t be a problem for him to neatly re-grow his entire set of teeth if he lost them. Yet, for some unknown reason, Feng Zhi wasn’t able to solve his issue of balding. This eventually gave others the impression that he was much older than he actually was.
Based on an unnamed, but reliable source from Guanwai League, this was probably a consequence of integrating core essence of Plague Sect into the power of his bloodline, which had the unique techniques of the Wind Sect.
In the martial arts world, there were two interesting rumors about him. One was about his premature balding, and the other one was that he preferred girls who were at least ten years older than him. Some people suspected that this was because he had a crush on Ren Li’s master when he was young, Blazing Sword, Qi Ling.
This obviously didn’t affect his status as a super-class expert.
Shaking his head and laughing silently, Lou Cheng reported the results to Yan Zheke. After which, he sent a [handshake emoji] to the group chat and commented,
“Priest, it seems like we are a pair of well-matched brothers.”
“I don’t have a brother like you,” Peng Leyun replied, simple and direct.
“Well damn. Since when did you learn how to insult others, Priest! [shocked expression]” Lou Cheng replied.
While discussing, the opponent of Ren Li was selected too. Her opponent would be the Empty Nest Greybeard, Wu Molian.
Among the Physical Invulnerability experts in the hall, this was currently the easiest first-pin expert to deal with.
This wasn’t saying that Wu Molian had deteriorated substantially. First-pin was just symbolic, and he had already aged. If there was only a match each week, the drop in his condition wouldn’t be obvious. However, if he had a match every three days, his issue with stamina would definitely be revealed after already fighting two matches consecutively.
No matter how famous one was, time did not spare anyone.
Obviously, experts in the Restricted Regions could maintain their level until the day they died.
“Ren Li, you actually have the supernatural ability of luck, right? [dazed emoji]”
Peng Leyun seconded Lou Cheng,
“I’ve felt that way for a long time.”
“I will prove myself!” Ren Li always had always been overly confident with her martial arts level and ability to recognize the right path.
Following which, she paused for a few seconds before reminding, “Martial Senior Feng is really strong. He’s good in everything that I’m not.”
Then she felt that she was making Feng Zhi look too strong while belittling herself and quickly added, “But he might not be as good as me in some things!”
Although her reminder wasn’t exactly helpful, Chihuahua was still being a great friend. Lou Cheng smiled and thanked her as the lot-drawing ceremony approached its end.
For the last match, the new distinguished guest drew out Dragon King, Chen Qitao.
The host giggled and said,
“There’s only one contestant left, leaving no uncertainty as to who is Dragon King’s opponent!”
Not breaking the process, he put his hand into the box and searched excitedly for the ball. After searching a few times, his face turned pale.
Why isn’t there any ball left?
We’ve only drawn thirty-one balls!
Did something go wrong?
Hmm. It’s fine even without the ball. By eliminating the first thirty-one contestants, it’s clear who the remaining contestant is.
Who is he…
Who is he…
Who the hell is he!
Technical error…technical error…
Beads of perspiration streamed down his head. He turned his head towards the guests but saw their confused looks, too.
Following which, he looked down at the various experts. He first saw Daxing Temple’s Abbot, Fa Yuan Divine Monk, sitting on the first row.
Eh, his expression seems to be saying “I know what is going but I just don’t want to tell you…” While the host was still suspicious, he noticed Dragon King moving his mouth. A charismatic, majestic voice sounded beside his ears,
“Wu Guang.”
Yes, yes, yes! I remember now! The host announced excitedly,
“Dragon King’s opponent will be the Sect Master of Shangqing Sect, Taoist Wuguang!”