You're Poison

The Citywide Martial Hall Tournament in Flying Bird City was the liveliest event of the year.

Two days before the tournament, the whole city was already buzzing. Martial artists from out of town poured in, and flyers from the various martial halls filled the sky. The merchant houses were even more shrewd: they worked through the night to compile information on the competitors from over a hundred martial halls into a book called A Complete Guide to Martial Artists, then sold it publicly in restaurants and teahouses, drumming up plenty of buzz.

On the street, Shen Zhou had disguised himself as a lean country boy with dark cheeks. He and Dongfang Pangpang each held a copy of A Complete Guide to Martial Artists and flipped through it.

The two had come into the city for two reasons: first, to test the effectiveness of Shen Zhou's disguise and see whether anyone could recognize him; second, to gauge the strength of their opponents and get a feel for the tournament atmosphere.

"Du Shuisheng of Splendid Martial Hall, female, twenty-one years old, Coagulation Eighth Realm, skilled with twin blades. She once faced an opponent in the Coagulation Ninth Realm and held her own."

"Chu Family Martial Hall, a martial hall under the Chu Family, one of the Five Great Families. Its senior disciple, Chu Fei, made it into the top eight last year at the Coagulation Seventh Realm. His cultivation has now reached the peak of the Coagulation Ninth Realm, making him a hot favorite to win..."

"And the Xu Family, the Yang Family, the Wu Clan... I have to say, they've got a pretty complete list."

As Shen Zhou flipped through the book in his hands, he felt as though he were looking at flyers in his previous life. It was quite novel.

After flipping through his copy, Dongfang Pangpang asked in confusion, "Huh? How come I can't find Flying Bird First Martial Hall? Has our martial hall gotten so weak that it's not even worth mentioning?"

Shen Zhou said, "Oh, you're right. I can't find it either. And have you noticed? None of the people listed in detail have reached the Transformation Realm. What's going on?"

A passerby nearby chuckled and chimed in, "I can tell you're from out of town. Don't you know? The Citywide Martial Hall Tournament in Flying Bird City is meant to hone young martial artists, so there are three rules that absolutely cannot be broken.

"First, anyone who isn't a disciple of a martial hall cannot compete.

"Second, anyone at the Transformation Yuan Realm or above cannot compete.

"Third, anyone with a notorious reputation or a criminal record cannot compete.

"These three rules ensure the tournament is fair and safe. That's why you won't see any martial artists at the Transformation Yuan Realm listed."

After hearing the passerby's explanation, the two understood.

Now that was what you called professionalism!

They continued on their way.

Just as they passed Golden Roc Martial Hall, a young man hurried over and handed Dongfang Pangpang a flyer. His words were as sweet as honey. "Young Master, you look distinguished and gifted at a glance. With bones like yours, it'd be a real shame not to practice martial arts! Why not take a look at our Golden Roc Martial Hall? You won't regret it!"

Dongfang Pangpang instantly went on cloud nine. He took the flyer, grinning from ear to ear. "I didn't realize I'd been keeping such a low profile, but excellence still shines through! As they say, gold shines wherever it goes!"

Shen Zhou's mouth twitched as he thought, This guy has no shame at all!

The martial artist handing out flyers was also taken aback. He wondered, He actually bought that?

Seeing that the other guy was only paying attention to Dongfang Pangpang, Shen Zhou deliberately edged closer and said, "Hey, buddy, there's someone else here! Why aren't you giving me a flyer or trying to recruit me?"

The flyer guy looked him up and down, puzzled. "Aren't you this young master's attendant?"

"Pfft! Hahaha!" Dongfang Pangpang laughed so hard he could barely stand. Pointing at Shen Zhou, he teased, "See? You don't even count as an ordinary person now. You're just an attendant!"

Shen Zhou's face darkened. In his mind, he cursed Bai Feizhan a thousand times over. He'd said he only wanted to tone down Shen Zhou's good looks by half, but instead he'd made him look like some poor country bumpkin. What kind of lousy skill was that?

Unable to stomach it, he turned and walked away.

He had only taken a couple of steps when someone from Flying Bear Martial Hall came up beside him and grabbed his arm, trying to talk him into joining. "Brother, don't be in such a hurry to leave! What's so great about Golden Roc Martial Hall? Our Hall Master is ten times better than theirs. Last year, their senior disciple, Kuang Yifei, got beaten by our senior brother Wang Jing until he was eating dirt! Come to Flying Bear Martial Hall. You can't go wrong!"

Shen Zhou already had it in for Golden Roc Martial Hall, so he stopped at once and put on a curious expression. "Then, looking at my aptitude, do you think I could graduate after a year of training here?"

The martial artist saw that Shen Zhou looked unremarkable and knew he was a country bumpkin. He laughed to himself, then pretended to ponder before saying, "It's true that you look ordinary and your bones are a little weak, but that's no problem! Other martial halls might not be able to teach you, but Flying Bear Martial Hall can! Just pay six months' tuition upfront. You'll see for yourself!"

"..."

Shen Zhou's face darkened even further.

Was this guy trying to con a fool?

What did he mean, ordinary looks and weak bones?

He was blind. Stone-cold blind!

Off to the side, Dongfang Pangpang laughed so hard he nearly doubled over, clutching his stomach and stamping his feet.

Shen Zhou's expression turned cold. He put on a stern face and snapped, "Your martial hall has no shame! You'll say anything to recruit people! No wonder our Hall Master looks down on Flying Bear and Golden Roc. He even said you'd definitely lose this year! When the tournament starts, I'll come challenge you myself and beat you until you're eating dirt!"

At that, people from both martial halls immediately crowded around, their faces livid. "So you're a martial hall disciple too! Which one are you from? How dare you say our martial halls are no good?"

Shen Zhou stuck out his chest and deliberately raised his voice. "I'm from Xu Family Martial Hall! So what? You worthless martial halls aren't even fit to lace our shoes!"

The people from Flying Bear Martial Hall and Golden Roc Martial Hall couldn't take it anymore.

"Damn it! So what if you're from a family martial hall? Does that mean you can look down on the rest of us?"

"Quit wasting your breath. Get him!"

The two turned and called out. In an instant, dozens of people poured out of both martial halls and chased after Shen Zhou and Dongfang Pangpang, trying to beat them up.

Seeing the crowd, Shen Zhou immediately turned and ran, still taunting them as he went. "You second-rate martial halls are all trash! Once the tournament starts, you'll all end up defeated by Xu Family Martial Hall!"

At first, only the two martial halls had been chasing them, but those words dragged the other second-rate martial halls nearby into the insult too.

Now he'd really stirred up a hornet's nest.

The other martial halls nearby immediately joined the chase.

"What? You dare say our second-rate martial halls are no good? Who are you, kid? Stay here and spar with us if you've got the guts!"

"Damn it, if I catch those two brats, I'll break their legs!"

"Xu Family Martial Hall, just you wait! Once the tournament starts, I'll go straight after your people!"

The street erupted into chaos.

A while later.

In an alley.

Shen Zhou and Dongfang Pangpang finally stopped, panting for breath.

Still gasping, Dongfang Pangpang said to Shen Zhou, "I've figured it out—you're poison! We can't even take a peaceful stroll without people chasing us down to beat us up. I'm never going out with you again. Nothing good ever comes of it!"

"How is this my fault? They started it!" Shen Zhou retorted, standing his ground.

"By the way..."

Dongfang Pangpang suddenly remembered something and said, "Hasn't the Xu Family already made friends with the Qin Family? You just pinned all that on them. Is that really okay?"

Shen Zhou pursed his lips. "Have you ever seen a wolf that eats meat switch to a vegetarian diet? Even if they really have turned over a new leaf, they've already made friends with the Qin Family. What's the harm in making them take the blame for me too?"

Faced with Shen Zhou's bizarre way of thinking, Dongfang Pangpang could only give him a thumbs-up and say, "You're something else!"

After a moment, Shen Zhou poked his head out and checked outside. Only after confirming nobody was chasing them did he and Dongfang Pangpang leave the alley.

They hadn't gone far when a familiar figure approached—Qin Mingyue.

Shen Zhou quickly put some distance between himself and Dongfang Pangpang, hoping to pass himself off as a stranger. But as soon as he got close, Qin Mingyue called out, "Shen Zhou, I know it's you."

Shen Zhou's face fell. "I'm disguised like this. How did you recognize me?"

"Your appearance changed, but your mannerisms didn't," Qin Mingyue said, struggling not to laugh. "Besides, when I saw you being chased just now, I spotted Dongfang Hongyu. So naturally, I guessed it was you."

Shen Zhou slapped his forehead in frustration. "I let my guard down!"

The three went to a roadside snack stall and ordered three bowls of tofu pudding. As he ate, Shen Zhou asked, "You came looking for me, so I'm guessing something's up?"

Qin Mingyue's smile faded, and she spoke seriously. "The Qin Family got word that the Yang Family and the Wu Clan have joined forces for this tournament. They'll send their elite members who haven't reached the Transformation Realm to compete, and work together to wipe out the Qin Family and Flying Bird First Martial Hall. They've also won over the Lin Family, the Xu Family, and the Chu Family. The Xu Family pretended to agree, and they were the ones who passed us this information. The other two families' positions are unclear. Great-Aunt and the family head asked me to tell you to prepare in advance."

Shen Zhou smacked his lips. "The Wu Clan really won't give up. They don't dare fight us head-on, so they resort to these petty tricks! But the Xu Family passed along the information?"

"Mm," Qin Mingyue nodded. "Ever since the North Mountain Mine incident, the Xu Family has been especially close to the Qin Family. They've helped us with business, and they often invite our disciples to spar and offer them cultivation guidance."

Dongfang Pangpang immediately teased, "Shen Zhou, do you regret framing them now?"

Shen Zhou furrowed his brows. "Regret? Not a chance! If anything, I think a weasel's paying its respects to a chicken. They're up to no good. Besides... doesn't this whole thing seem a little familiar?"

Qin Mingyue immediately understood. Back when she had tried to get her hands on the Taixuan Sword, she had deliberately acted friendly toward Shen Zhou too.

Her expression turned grave. "You mean the Xu Family is trying to curry favor with us for some ulterior motive? I'll tell Great-Aunt and the clan head right away."

Shen Zhou nodded, and a sharp glint flashed in his eyes. "Since the Wu Clan and the Yang Family want trouble, I'll settle things with them as soon as the tournament starts! If I beat their people all flat on their backs, let's see how they can cause any trouble then.

"Good thing I just came up with an alias for this face. It'll come in handy!"

Watching how confident he looked, Qin Mingyue found herself looking forward to the tournament a little more.

Dongfang Pangpang asked curiously, "What's your alias?"

Shen Zhou smiled mysteriously. "You'll find out when the time comes."

Dongfang Pangpang: "..."

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