A disciple of the Taihe Tiger Form Fist named Guan Hongjie led Weng Xiaolin and Zhao Xuanqi out of the crowded station. Several black cars were already waiting outside. The group got into one of them and headed toward the city center.

The night was dark, but as the capital of Yuehai, Guangdong’s nightscape was far more prosperous than that of Celestial Sea Prefecture.

The wide roads were bustling with pedestrians, vendors, and a significant amount of vehicle traffic. Both sides of the street were lined with shops, illuminating the area with bright lights.

In the entire southern region, Guangdong could be considered the most prosperous metropolis.

Mountain and River Hotel.

It was an asset of the Mountain and River Sect—one of the four major schools under the Giant Spirit Sect—and one of the most luxurious hotels in Guangdong. For this event, the Yuehai Martial Arts Association had arranged for all representatives from the participating Martial Arts Halls to stay at this hotel, which was located right next to the conference venue.

The hotel stood five stories tall, built entirely in a Western style. The lobby was exceptionally spacious, resplendent and magnificent with opulent decor.

As soon as they entered, a well-dressed and pleasant female attendant greeted them with a smiling bow, guiding Weng Xiaolin and his companion to handle their check-in.

The hotel lobby was currently filled with guests, each one carrying themselves with an extraordinary air.

Some had broad, thick shoulders and stout builds, their two arms hanging naturally past their knees, almost like an ape’s.

Others, when viewed from the front, had a cylindrical build. Their legs were as thick as pillars, and their thighs, hips, waist, and shoulders were nearly the same width, giving off an impression of being impossible to topple.

Zhao Xuanqi also spotted a woman. Her figure under her martial arts uniform seemed somewhat slender, but her palms were wide and her fingers long. Her fingernails were dark brown, their sharp tips like daggers. As her gaze swept across the room, it was enough to make one’s hair stand on end.

Evidently, these were all elite masters from the various Martial Arts Schools of Yuehai. Anyone able to attend this Guangdong Martial Arts Conference was at least at the level of a True Inheritance disciple.

As Zhao Xuanqi was sizing them up, they were also sizing him up.

"Are they from the Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall of Celestial Sea Prefecture? The Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall has never ranked very high. Only Zhang Hongyun, from two conferences ago, ever made it to the top thirty-two."

"That Liu Changfeng from the Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall is pretty skilled, but this guy seems to be a new face? A rookie?"

"Looks like the Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall is just bringing a rookie to get some experience this time..."

"..."

The masters in the lobby seemed to recognize Weng Xiaolin. After all, this wasn’t the first Guangdong Martial Arts Conference. The competitors might change, but the hall masters were a constant, so they were at least familiar faces to one another.

However, after a brief bit of discussion amongst themselves, they looked away.

The Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall had consistently performed in the middle to lower tiers at past conferences, so it didn’t attract much attention.

TAP! TAP! TAP!

Just then, the sound of footsteps from the hotel entrance drew everyone’s attention.

A somewhat stout old man with an amiable smile and a full head of white hair and a white beard entered the hotel, his hands clasped behind his back, led by a female attendant. Following him were several of his disciples.

One person among them was particularly eye-catching.

He was towering, at least two meters tall. Compared to Zhong Daorong, whom he had seen before, this man’s build was more rounded, even fat. He looked like a moving mountain of flesh.

However, his immense size didn’t make him seem clumsy. On the contrary, his steps were nimble and silent, and his movements showed no signs of sluggishness.

This only made him seem all the more terrifying.

"It’s the people from the Primordial Saint Sect. That man is Ruan Yuanhe, from the top sixteen of the last conference, right? Is he representing them again this year? He was so close to breaking into the Ten Heroes last time."

"I wonder what realm he’s reached by now?"

"..."

The murmurs of the crowd reached Zhao Xuanqi’s ears.

The Primordial Saint Sect. He had read about them before. Although their sphere of influence wasn’t in Guangdong, their power and prestige were not to be underestimated. They were considered among the strongest factions beneath the four major schools. Their representative had reached the top sixteen last time and was said to have been on the verge of claiming a spot among the Ten Heroes.

The group from the Primordial Saint Sect was led by an attendant to a spot not far from Weng Xiaolin and Zhao Xuanqi to register. Ruan Yuanhe, the man who resembled a mountain of flesh, seemed to sense Zhao Xuanqi’s gaze. He turned his head and gave Zhao Xuanqi a smiling nod, appearing to be quite good-natured.

Zhao Xuanqi nodded back slightly in response. By then, their registration was complete, and an attendant led them to their rooms.

"How does it feel?"

Weng Xiaolin asked Zhao Xuanqi with a smile.

"Quite interesting."

Zhao Xuanqi replied. He had indeed seen many interesting opponents along the way, which had piqued his interest.

This Guangdong Martial Arts Conference was a good opportunity to experience the Martial Dao of this world.

"You held back your strength in the fight with Chang Feng, didn’t you?"

Weng Xiaolin suddenly asked Zhao Xuanqi.

Hearing this, Zhao Xuanqi fell silent and didn’t answer.

"You kid, I figured as much. Were you trying to protect your senior brother’s pride? Let me tell you, you’ll have to bring out your real skills this time. You won’t be able to just muddle through. Ah, forget it. You know what you’re doing. The conference starts tomorrow, so be ready."

Weng Xiaolin shook his head helplessly. He couldn’t really control this disciple of his anymore.

...

...

「The next day.」

Guangdong Martial Arts Hall.

The National Martial Arts Hall was a sea of people. The participants from the hundred-plus martial arts schools and halls of Guangdong already made for a large crowd, but with the addition of various figures from the Martial Arts Realm, members of the southern media, and a few socialites, the number of people inside easily surpassed two thousand.

At that moment, a dozen or so rings were set up in the spacious National Martial Arts Hall, each marked with a number.

The schools that had earned the title of Ten Heroes in the last conference were automatically advanced to the top thirty-two. All remaining representatives would draw lots to determine their opponents. With over a hundred martial arts halls, two rounds of elimination matches would be enough to select the twenty-two fighters needed to complete the top thirty-two and move on to the next stage of the competition.

Zhao Xuanqi queued up with the other contestants, drew a lot, and received the number fifty-seven. He found the corresponding ring according to the bracket at the lottery station. He was quite lucky; his match was the first one.

"Will number fifty-seven, Zhao Qi of the Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall, and number fifty-eight, Cheng Cuixing of the Golden Leopard Martial Arts Hall, please enter the ring!"

The referee looked at the list in his hand and called out to the crowd below.

After stepping into the ring, Zhao Xuanqi discovered that his opponent was a familiar face—it was the woman he had seen in the hotel lobby the night before.

She stood about 1.8 meters tall, her figure not particularly burly, but her muscles were lean and fluid. She had almond-shaped eyes and a rather pretty face, with healthy, tan skin. Her whole person gave off the impression of a cheetah, and the glint in her eyes was enough to make one’s hair stand on end.

The Golden Leopard Martial Arts Hall practiced the Golden Leopard Fist. They were most famous for their "Iron Armor Secret Technique," which, through training with Secret Medicine, could drastically increase the hardness of one’s fingernails, greatly enhancing the damage dealt in unarmed combat. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

The strength of their martial arts hall surpassed the Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall’s by a fair margin, at least on par with the Golden Blade Martial Arts Hall of Celestial Sea Prefecture.

Below the stage, the master and disciples of the Golden Leopard Martial Arts Hall couldn’t help but feel a surge of joy when they saw who Cheng Cuixing’s opponent was. ’Our first match is against the Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall? How lucky.’

They knew Zhao Xuanqi was a new face, likely a new True Inheritance disciple that the Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall’s master had brought along for experience. Rookies like him generally found it difficult to achieve good results in their first competition.

Drawing such an opponent was a sign of good luck. Perhaps with Cheng Cuixing’s strength, she could vie for a spot in the top thirty-two this time.

"To run into this guy in the first round... The Golden Leopard Martial Arts Hall is really unlucky."

On the other side, although Zhong Daorong wasn’t competing for the Taihe Tiger Form Fist, he still had entry access. He wasn’t watching his own school’s match. Instead, he was more interested in Zhao Xuanqi, the man who had bested him, and wanted to see how far he could go. Beside him stood several of the Taihe Tiger Form Fist disciples who had been at the station to pick them up.