The Religious Views of the People of the Sea Continent

Listening to the discussions around him, Si Ming knew the Yuezheng Lineage had made a good deal. They could have sunk a million into the adult martial arts league without making a ripple, but by narrowing their target, they had expanded their influence instead, achieving an effect that would otherwise have cost tens of millions.

As the saying went, there was no first place in the literary arts, but no second place in martial arts. Even if the martial arts schools and sects knew perfectly well that the so-called "youth martial champion" was a gimmick deliberately put out by the organizers, all it took was a third of them participating in the competition and acknowledging it to turn fiction into fact, making the winner of the Youth Martial Arts Tournament a genuine youth martial champion.

They might have looked down on the million in prize money, but the fame hidden behind it was what they truly sought. To spread the "inside news" and persuade the first few martial arts schools and sects to participate, the Yuezheng Lineage had also spent several times the total prize money.

There were so many applicants that the line stretched over a hundred meters. Registering through the normal process would probably take more than half an hour. Fortunately, Si Ming had an invitation, which let him slip in through the back door. He did not even need to take part in the first round of qualification tests—with so many applicants, they were bound to weed out the chaff and keep the cream.

In a sense, an invitation marked its holder as a seeded contestant and came with a certain amount of preferential treatment. Yan Jinghong had intended for Si Ming to gain combat experience through the competition, so naturally he would not let him waste time on qualification tests or matches against opponents whose strength was far below his own.

Si Ming was not the only one who had received an invitation. Every martial arts school and sect of any standing in Haibin Commandery had received one, allowing them to recommend their most talented disciple as a seeded contestant. If they wanted to send more disciples to compete, however, those disciples would have to start in the qualifiers like everyone else.

"Well, well, if it isn't our eldest young lady Yao. What's this? You're interested in this sort of competition too?"

With those provocative words, a tall, thin young man with a slightly balding head walked over.

Yao Bilian was not the sort to swallow a provocation. She immediately shot back, "I wondered whose wild dog was yowling in heat again. So it's the great young master Han Lin. It's been years. Looks like your leg has healed. You screamed so miserably back then that I thought you'd spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair. I even felt guilty about it for a few seconds."

"Just as I thought, you bitch. Your personality is as nasty as ever! I was going to say that, since so many years had passed, all you had to do was apologize and we could leave the past behind as a memory of our student days. But I've realized I can't do it. The moment I see your face, I can't hold back the anger in my heart."

Han Lin's sore spot had been struck. His face turned so dark it looked as though ink might drip from it, and his gaze was full of hatred as he looked at Yao Bilian.

Seeing this, Si Ming knew things were about to go wrong. Based on his years of reading novels, he was afraid he would be an innocent fish caught in the crossfire, so he tried to slip away, but he was a step too late.

"Is this little fellow a relative of yours?" Han Lin immediately fixed his gaze on Si Ming. "Doesn't look much like you. Could he be your new boy toy, picked because you were too desperate to be choosy? Forget it, it doesn't matter. Since you brought him here to compete yourself, you must be close. Kid, to be honest, I have no quarrel with you, but you just had to get mixed up with this woman. If you want to blame someone, blame her!"

Si Ming was about to declare righteously that he had nothing to do with Yao Bilian, but she beat him to it, warning in a deeply anxious voice, "What are you going to do? He's not my relative, and he has nothing to do with me. Every grievance has its source and every debt its owner. Don't take it out on an innocent bystander!"

Her explanation was like putting up a sign saying there were no three hundred silver taels buried here. It only made Han Lin more certain that Si Ming and Yao Bilian had a significant relationship. He promptly summoned a youth from behind him and said, "Allow me to introduce Dai Zhuiguang, the second sect master's final disciple and the seeded contestant recommended by our Divine Leg Sect. He's only fifteen, but he's already reached level six in internal cultivation and learned the second sect master's supreme art. He's a genius successor our sect sees only once in ten years."

Dai Zhuiguang wore the arrogant expression of a youth who had found success early. He said, "Martial uncle Han, this woman is the sect's traitor you often mention, right? She doesn't look all that impressive."

"Don't underestimate her. You're no match for her yet. It'll be at least four years before you have any hope of challenging her. For now, why don't you teach the brat beside her a lesson and collect a little interest from her?"

What the hell does this have to do with me?!

Si Ming wanted to make his position clear, but Yao Bilian beat him to it again. "Don't go too far!"

"How can anything be going too far when dealing with a traitor? Heh heh. Either withdraw from the competition now and go home with your tails between your legs, or don't blame us if the blades and swords in the ring have no eyes."

Han Lin gave a couple of cold laughs. Apparently unwilling to talk to Yao Bilian any longer, he quickly led Dai Zhuiguang out of the venue.

Once they were out of sight, Yao Bilian immediately dropped her anxious, worried expression and sneered. "After all these years, he's still a brainless idiot. He fell for it so easily. In the end, he still can't escape drinking my foot-washing water."

Si Ming finally got a chance to complain. "You're happy, but you sacrificed me. I picked up an enemy for no reason. Judging by how deeply that guy hates you, nine times out of ten he'll tamper with the match order."

"Then let him. He'll only end up lifting a rock to drop it on his own foot. I can guarantee that, with your strength, hardly anyone below level seven in internal cultivation can beat you."

"You certainly have confidence in me. I'm not even that confident myself. By the way, what exactly did you do to him to make him hate you so much?"

Yao Bilian curled her lip. "Nothing much. Back when I joined a club at university, I gave him a beating in public at the welcome ceremony and made him lose face. He was the club's top member at the time."

Si Ming shook his head. "That guy's a little petty. Sure, it was embarrassing, but it's been so many years. There's no need to care so much, is there? He's got the face of an elite villain from the early-to-middle stages of a novel..."

Yao Bilian agreed. "He's narrow-minded and can't stand losing, a real pampered young master. He broods over the smallest things. Later, he even announced in public that he was going to get people to gang up and beat me. Luckily, I heard about it, cut him off in an alley beforehand, broke one of his legs, and stole his girlfriend while I was at it."

"So you're the villain!"

Chapter 51: The Religious Views of the People of the Sea Continent

At first, Si Ming had felt resistant toward Han Lin. After all, the man had picked a fight as soon as he appeared, and his typical pampered-young-master manner had made Si Ming instinctively dislike him. So, reluctant as he was, he had still stood in the same trench as Yao Bilian.

But after hearing Yao Bilian's account, he felt sorry for the man. What a villain feared most was running into a scoundrel even more vicious than himself. Han Lin had first lost face in front of his classmates and become a laughingstock. Then his attempt at revenge had failed, and he had been beaten and suffered a broken leg instead. Finally, he had been made to wear a green hat, the greatest humiliation for a man—and his girlfriend had even been stolen by a woman!

Si Ming briefly put himself in Han Lin's shoes, and at once life seemed utterly dark. The fact that Han Lin had not killed himself after suffering both physical and mental blows showed that his will was stronger than an ordinary person's.

Moreover, Han Lin had not collapsed or given up on himself. Instead, he had bravely challenged the female devil who had once maimed him. Viewed that way, it truly was an inspiring story.

If there were no other hidden circumstances, Yao Bilian was unquestionably the big villain, and Si Ming had become her pawn.

"Hmph, I know the Divine Leg Sect's martial arts inside and out, but he knows nothing about us. The outcome of this match was decided before it even began. He fell for a little provocation; that little punk is as stupid as ever." Wearing the standard expression of a villain, Yao Bilian patted Si Ming on the shoulder. "If you're lucky enough to run into the Divine Leg Sect in the knockout rounds, you'll have already won half the battle."

"What's this about you being a traitor to the Divine Leg Sect? What did you do that made heaven and people alike resent you, to get yourself kicked out? Don't tell me you cracked a dirty joke in public while an elder of your sect was teaching martial arts?" Si Ming thought Yao Bilian's personality made her perfectly capable of doing something like that.

"Sigh, don't bring it up. They were mistakes I made when I was young. But if they took me for the kind of upright gentleman who'd let them punish me out of guilt, they were dead wrong. If I make a mistake, I'll reflect on it myself. If a few little punks think they can use the chance to throw their weight around, I can only pin them to the ground and rub them against it again and again, to teach them how to behave."

Yao Bilian clearly did not want to talk much about the reason, so Si Ming did not press her.

Thanks to his invitation, Si Ming quickly completed registration and was informed that, as a seeded contestant, he did not have to take the ability test or enter the qualifiers. He could proceed straight to the knockout rounds.

Official martial arts leagues often had group stages, with four martial artists in each group facing one another and the top two advancing to the knockout rounds. This prevented powerful contestants from being eliminated too early. For example, a martial artist strong enough to be runner-up might face the eventual champion and be knocked out early, failing even to reach the quarterfinals. That would undoubtedly be unfair, and it was not something audiences liked to see.

But the Youth Martial Arts Tournament was a privately funded competition seeking fame, and there might not even be a second one in the future. As such, there was no need to worry too much about fairness or the audience's feelings. Going straight to the knockout rounds could save a lot of steps.

Si Ming was in no hurry to leave. He still had to wait for Ying Zhou to finish registering.

Although Ying Zhou himself was not interested in fighting and killing, the music company seemed to want to use the opportunity to make a big splash and promote its newcomer. Ying Zhou could hardly refuse, since it would benefit him.

In a world where martial civilization flourished, people from any profession would be held in higher regard if their martial arts were outstanding. It was just like academic credentials on Earth: even a diploma from a diploma mill could earn a person a minimum of respect.

If a beggar produced a doctorate from Tsinghua or Peking University, people would subconsciously assume he might be researching some project, such as a new, more efficient and sustainable model of begging that could accelerate corporate transformation and upgrades.

Once you sign a contract, you have to fulfill your obligations and lose your freedom. I was right not to pursue music back then.

Si Ming felt a surge of sympathy for himself on another world line. Then, bored out of his mind, he looked around the venue, observing the people who might become his opponents.

Huh, there's someone I know. Isn't that Murong Qing? Why is she acting so sneaky? She even deliberately changed her hairstyle. Did she sneak out to compete without telling her family? But that doesn't seem very useful. Once she gets into the ring, someone is bound to recognize her.

In the crowd, Murong Qing had changed her usual simple ponytail to a bun and was also wearing a face mask. Otherwise, however, there was little different about her, so Si Ming recognized her at a glance.