No Prestige Left

Faced with the questioning from the members of the Yunchuan Provincial Genius Group, Cui Jinyang mustered his courage and asked, "Who are you? Why should I go up to the Duel Platform with you?"

"You dare to harass us, the second-ranked team in the Cloud River Province Martial Arts Competition, and you don't even dare to step onto the Duel Platform?"

"What harassment? My uncle has a good relationship with Shen Miaowei's elders, and he asked me to have more contact with Shen Miaowei. That's what both sets of elders wanted!" Cui Jinyang said.

"Go to hell, who the hell do you think you are?"

"You're too scared to step onto the Duel Platform, and you don't even dare to announce your name. Are you implying that everyone in East River Province is a coward like you?"

Cui Jinyang immediately retorted angrily, "Who said I wouldn't dare give my name? My name is Cui Jinyang!"

The member of the Yunchuan Provincial Genius Group turned around and looked at the people behind him, asking, "Has anyone heard of this Cui Jinyang?"

Someone raised their hand and said, "I've seen the profiles of the members of the East River Provincial Genius Group. This Cui Jinyang seems to be Grandmaster Seed member of the East River Provincial Genius Group?"

"Grandmaster Seed member? Most of the Grandmaster Seed in our province have already reached the Blood-Qi Extreme Realm. Where does Cui Jinyang rank in the East River Province Martial Arts Competition?"

"Out of fifteen."

"What? This is the quality of the Grandmaster Seed from East River Province?"

The Yunchuan Provincial Genius Group found this strange.

Shen Miaowei then spoke up, saying, "Cui Jinyang, you should go back to the East River Genius Group members."

Someone nearby chimed in, "Yeah, get out of here!"

"You ranked outside the top fifteen in the East River Province martial arts competition, and your Blood Qi Value is probably not much stronger than the bottom member of our Yunchuan Provincial Genius Group. How dare you harass our Cloud River Province martial arts competition's second-place winner?"

Since joining the East River Province Provincial Youth Genius Group, Cui Jinyang had never suffered such humiliation, and finally couldn't hold back any longer, exclaiming. "Enough! Whether I leave or not is none of your business!"

"Oh? You mean you're willing to go up to the Duel Platform and fight to the death?"

We won't bully you. You can pick any one of these people here.

The leader of the Yunchuan Provincial Genius Group looked at Cui Jinyang with disdain.

The top fifteen martial arts competitors from East River Province would be among the weakest in Cloud River Province.

They didn't believe that the top ten martial arts competitors from East River Province could be compared to the top ten from their Yunchuan Province on the second-floor Duel Platform.

Cui Jinyang suddenly felt caught in a dilemma, because his strength and combat experience were not very good.

Although he has 1400 calories of Blood Qi Value, his Strength Value is only 3.7 times that of his opponent, and he is not good at using his skills. His martial arts skills are also mediocre. If his opponent is someone with rich combat experience and has mastered a powerful martial art, he could probably be defeated with only 1300 calories of Blood Qi Value.

Luo Zhixun saw this and said, "Chen Lie, look!"

"Yes, I saw it!" Chen Lie nodded.

Look over there!

Luo Zhixun pointed in another direction.

Chen Lie looked in the direction Luo Zhixun was looking and saw a group of people who looked like reporters and several TV station staff filming the scene from a distance.

Luo Zhixun added, "Those people should be second-rate media in Chuanzhong."

Although Cui Jinyang is Grandmaster Seed, he was selected as Grandmaster Seed because of his Divine Sense Master status; his martial arts strength is only average.

Chen Lie, you are now the team leader of the East River Provincial Genius Group, and you have an obligation to uphold the reputation of East River Province.

If Cui Jinyang were to clash with or be humiliated by members of the Yunchuan Provincial Genius Group," and this were reported by these second-tier media outlets, it would certainly damage East River Province's image.

Should we inquire about it?

"Let's go take a look!" Chen Liedao.

He is a native of East River Province and has enjoyed so many of East River Province's resources, so it is only right that he contributes to East River Province.

As he spoke, Chen Lie walked over with Tang Jiu'er, Luo Zhixun, and several other members of the East River Provincial Genius Group.

"Cui Jinyang, what's wrong with you?"

Before Tang Jiu'er even arrived, her voice preceded her. "Don't you know there are many media reporters here today? What are you doing here in Cloud River Province?"

At this moment, the leader of the Yunchuan Provincial Genius Group said, "Your Grandmaster Seed member named Cui Jinyang openly harassed the girls of our Cloud River Province Genius Group, and you're such a coward, you don't even dare to step onto the Duel Platform!"

Tang Jiu'er looked at Cui Jinyang and said, "Cui Jinyang, have you lost your mind? What kind of occasion is this? How could you do something like this?"

"They're talking nonsense. When did I harass Shen? I was just following the instructions of my elders—"

"Alright, I'm saying you don't know your place. Why are you bringing this up with me?" Tang Jiu'er said.

Shen Miaowei nodded slightly to Chen Lie and said, "Mr. Chen Lie ----"

Chen Lie also said, "Cui Jinyang was indeed a bit abrupt, but he meant no harm. How about we let it go?"

"Okay, I never meant to make a fuss about it," Shen Miaowei said.

"Alright, let's go then!"

Chen Lie glanced at Cui Jinyang and said something.

Shen Miaowei smiled and said, "Mr. Chen Lie, you must visit the Shen Family next time you have time."

"Okay!" Chen Lie nodded, then said to Cui Jinyang, "Let's go!"

"Etc----"

Several members of the Yunchuan Provincial Genius Group tried to stop them, but Shen Miaowei glared at them, and they all swallowed their words.

Seeing Shen Miaowei's coldness towards him but her gentleness towards Chen Lie, Cui Jinyang felt inexplicably displeased. He snorted coldly and said, "Chen Lie, don't think you're so great just because you won the Martial Leader. You're nothing."

Do I need you meddling in my business? I don't appreciate your help!

Upon hearing Cui Jinyang's words, Luo Zhixun and Wei Ranran both frowned.

Tang Jiu'er went even further, saying, "Cui Jinyang? Are you mentally challenged?"

You were so timid in front of Cloud River Province and the others, why were you so fierce towards Chen Lie?

"In front of everyone, don't you know how to maintain the dignity of the Martial Leader?"

"What's it to you?" Cui Jinyang sneered.

At that moment, Chen Lie suddenly struck out and slapped Cui Jinyang hard across the face.

With a "snap".

Cui Jinyang was sent tumbling through the air several times by the force of the slap before falling to the ground.

"You son of a bitch----"

Cui Jinyang got up from the ground, looking at Chen Lie with a face full of anger, his teeth bared as if about to explode.

Chen Lie simply said, "Cui Jinyang, if you don't want to spend the next two weeks in bed, I advise you to watch your words!"

Cui Jinyang was filled with resentment, but he could only suppress it. "Fine, you'll remember this!"

He never expected that Chen Lie would actually dare to attack him in public.

This scene surprised Shen Miaowei.

A burst of laughter came from a group of members from Yunchuan Province nearby.

"What's the point of being the East River Province Martial Leader!"

"Yes, look at our Captain Ji Lingxuan. In Cloud River Province, her word is law. When she speaks, who among the members dares to disobey? Who dares to offend her? This East River Province is really something, tsk tsk----"

"Gu Yang from West River Province was able to subdue the members of the West River Province Provincial Genius Group. How did Chen Lie manage to do this? A member who ranks outside the top fifteen in the martial arts competition can directly confront the team leader of his own province in such a setting."

Is Chen Lie perhaps unworthy of his position, and did he seize the East River Martial Champion through trickery?

Amidst the discussions in the other two provinces, Chen Lie went down to the third-floor restaurant.

Once on the second floor, Wei Ranran couldn't help but say, "That Cui Jinyang is so ungrateful!"

He was so cowardly in front of Cloud River Province that he didn't even dare to step onto the Duel Platform, yet he openly contradicted his Chen Lie.

"Which of those people was stronger than Chen Lie?"

"He probably thought Chen Lie was a member of the Provincial Genius Group and wouldn't do anything to him, while those people from Cloud River Province would really beat him up on the Duel Platform," Tang Jiu'er chimed in.

Luo Zhixun said, "Ultimately, it's because Chen Lie's time from joining the Genius Group to becoming the Martial Leader was too short; he didn't have enough time to build up his personal prestige."

In the history of martial arts in East River Province, I have never heard of anyone rising from an ordinary new member to become the Provincial Martial Leader in such a short time.

--

Seeing that Chen Lie remained silent, Wei Ranran said, "I just saw several reporters secretly taking pictures nearby."

"In this situation, Cui Jinyang showed absolutely no intention of upholding Martial Leader's prestige."

The Martial Leader, to a certain extent, especially on such an important occasion, represents the face of the province.

"Even if there are any conflicts, they can be resolved privately, not in this kind of public setting. Cui Jinyang's actions will definitely have a particularly bad impact," Luo Zhixun said.

"He's completely insane! Chen Lie went to help him, and he gets this attitude!"

Wei Ranran felt indignant on behalf of Chen Lie.

About half an hour later, all the members arrived on the first floor.

The receptionist from the Yunchuan Province Martial Artist Association walked to the center and announced, "Distinguished members of the Genius Group from the three provinces, our Three-Province Gathering has officially come to an end."

The martial arts competition of the Three-Province Martial Tournament will be held in ten days, on the 20th of this month.

During this time, everyone has been practicing martial arts intensively. I wish you all the best in achieving a satisfactory ranking in the Three-Province Martial Tournament.

After the Cloud River Province reception steward finished his announcement, Jiang Xiaodong, the steward leading the East River Province Genius Group, came over.

"Students, the Three-Province Gathering concluded, and our East River Province's airship is already waiting outside."

If there's nothing else, everyone come with me outside and we'll take the airship back to East River Province. Our airship is waiting outside.

After Jiang Xiaodong finished speaking, he led the three thousand members of the Genius Group out of the reception hall and to the plaza in front of the reception hall, where they boarded the airship one by one.

After all the members were on board the airship, Jiang Xiaodong counted the people three times to make sure no one was missing before ordering the airship to take off and head towards East River Province.

"Students, I watched your performance today. It was excellent. Despite the provocation from Cloud River Province, we won two and drew one. Not only were we not humiliated, but we also dealt a heavy blow to Cloud River Province's morale. This is something that has never happened in the past ten years of the Three-Province Gathering."

However, the reason for this situation is that Ji Lingxuan, the Martial Leader of Yunchuan Province, did not make a move, and even the All-Member Martial Competition -up of the Yunchuan Provincial Genius Group did not show up.

"Therefore, I must warn everyone that the martial arts of Cloud River Province far surpass those of Dongchuan and Xichuan. Please do not underestimate Cloud River Province." said the leader of the Martial Artist Association.

Wei Ranran knew perfectly well that the reason the top two from Cloud River Province didn't make a move was because they had a personal relationship with Chen Lie. Wasn't the second-place Shen Miaowei the one who went to West River Province to cause trouble with the members of the Yunchuan Provincial Genius Group?

The Three-Province Gathering had just ended when news about it flooded the media.

"The date for the Three-Province Martial Tournament in the year 7365 of the Galactic Calendar has been set for May 20th."

"The Martial Leader from the Three Provinces of Chuanzhong successfully met; the martial arts inspectors' evaluation of the Martial Leader from each province----"

"East River Times: Reports of internal discord among members of the East River Provincial Genius Group,' with members publicly arguing with the East River Martial Champion of East River Genius Group and engaging in a physical fight at a meeting!"

"It is suspected that the internal system of the East River Provincial Genius Group is corrupt, with the Martial Leader lacking any authority and clashing with ordinary members during a gathering. Video footage is attached."

Before the members of the East River Provincial Genius Group even disembarked from the airship, numerous news topics had already flooded various media outlets.

The airship flew for about an hour and landed outside the Dongchuan Province Martial Artist Association.

Chen Lie was at the very front, the first to step off the airship.

Wei Ranran quickly followed.

"Chen Lie, have you seen the news from Chuanzhong? The mainstream media has hailed you, along with Ji Lingxuan, the Yunchuan Province Martial Leader, and Gu Yang, the Martial Leader of West River Province, as the three giants of martial arts in Chuanzhong."

I didn't notice.

"Then take a look!"

As she spoke, Wei Ranran handed her Communicator to Chen Lie, Chen Lie glanced at it and then returned Communicator to Wei Ranran.

"Wrong? There's another one. It's from a second-tier media outlet, Chuanjiang News. They say you have a powerful background, that your victory in the Martial Leader was a rigged affair, that you faked the fight in the open all- All-Member Martial Competition, that you stole martial arts resources, and that the members of the Genius Group are all dissatisfied with you. They even accused the Dongchuan Province Martial Artist Association of being corrupt."

The reason is—wait, isn't this the video of you slapping Cui Jinyang just now?

Wei Ranran was somewhat surprised, and then said, "This is outrageous! These unscrupulous media outlets are simply making things up!"

"Why should we care about them? The Martial Artist Association will handle it," Chen Lie said.

"This Cui Jinyang calls himself Grandmaster Seed, yet he has no sense of proportion. I looked around again and found that many second-tier media outlets are making a fuss about this!" Wei Ranran said.

At this moment, all thirty members of the East River Provincial Genius Group disembarked from the airship.

"Dear students, there are only ten days left until the Three-Province Martial Tournament. During this time, seize the opportunity to improve your strength. The martial arts resources you applied for should be found in the next day or two. At that time, Old Master will notify you in the Genius Group group."

Every second counts in martial arts practice, so I won't keep you any longer. Everyone, you can all leave now!

After Jiang Xiaodong finished speaking, he told all the members to disperse and leave.

"Chen Lie, where are you going?"

As soon as the people dispersed, Wei Ranran immediately went to Chen Lie's side.

"It's afternoon, I'm going home!"

My dad's here to pick me up. Want to come with me? I'll have him take you home.

"No, my family bought an airship, I can go back by myself."

"Oh, okay then."

Wei Ranran could only nod and watch Chen Lie leave.

At that moment, a voice suddenly rang out behind her, startling her.

"Ranran, let's go!"

Wei Ranran around and saw that it was her father, Wei Hongye, who had called out to her.

"Dad, you scared me to death!"

Wei Ranran gave her father a reproachful look.

"What are you looking at so intently?" Wei Hongye asked.

"It's nothing!" Wei Ranran her head.