Champion Candidates

"Father, that is the Junior Brother Li Yun I told you about."

In the spectator stands, Lu Kuan pointed at Li Yun on the arena floor and spoke to his father standing before him.

Lu Zhengyu sat upright in his chair, his green satin robe accentuating his steady posture; hearing this, he raised his eyes to look.

A handsome young man with a tall, upright frame stood upon the arena.

Opposite him was a burly man with a flushed face, his chest bared and muscles knotted.

Once both sides were ready, the referee signaled for the match to begin.

The burly man stomped hard against the ground, his figure charging forward like a Wild Ox, his right arm spread like a claw, lunging straight for Li Yun's face.

Li Yun stood there as if stunned, showing not the slightest movement.

Lu Zhengyu's brows lifted slightly. As a practitioner of Dark Force himself, he could see that while Li Yun's stance appeared motionless, his soles were actually pressed flat against the ground, his center of gravity lowered, and his aura condensed rather than scattered—this was by no means the state of someone frightened out of their wits.

Just as the burly man's sharp claws came within three feet of Li Yun's face.

Li Yun moved!

He withdrew his left foot half a step while his left hand shot out like lightning.

He precisely clamped onto the burly man's wrist, followed the momentum downward, and dropped his left elbow, striking the burly man like an iron pestle.

Then, with a twist of his waist, he coiled his arm, pressed the shoulder, and delivered an elbow strike—three movements executed in one fluid motion.

It was so fast that only afterimages remained.

Bang.

The burly man fell straight down, knocked unconscious instantly.

The referee stepped forward to inspect him, and seeing the man had fainted, declared Li Yun the winner.

The entire process took no more than a single breath; in one exchange, the victor was decided.

It seemed that although his son was flighty, his judgment wasn't half bad.

In the stands, a flash of surprise crossed Lu Zhengyu's eyes as he said in a deep voice:

"Fast hands, clever force, steady heart—this kid has some real skill."

"Heh heh, didn't I tell you Junior Brother Li was good? How about it? Hurry up and sponsor him. If you miss this chance and he ends up taking first place, he'll have plenty of other options, and then we won't have a chance~"

Lu Kuan looked smug, clearly pleased that the junior brother he favored had earned his father's approval.

He was very happy.

One had to know, his father never praised others lightly.

In Lu Zhengyu's mind, he recalled the information his son had provided:

Seventh-grade bone structure, hunter background, no other support.

His heart was set firmly on the martial path, practicing day and night without rest, earning him the title of Martial Fanatic.

The burly man from just now possessed thick blood-qi, and his strikes carried significant power.

For Li Yun to catch him so easily and knock him out with a counter-maneuver meant his blood-qi was certainly not weak, and his fist techniques had reached a certain level of refinement.

To reach this stage in a single year.

This investment... was viable.

"Fine. Follow the rules and offer him a... mid-to-high-tier contract."

"Ah? I was thinking of offering him the treatment of a high-tier guest retainer."

Lu Kuan was often pestered by Li Yun for sparring, and after spending so much time together, he felt he had a fairly accurate read on the man.

As someone who often sat and discussed philosophy with Little Green, he found it hard to imagine otherwise.

Li Yun often sought out Yu Qingqing just so he could get others to spar with him.

This junior brother placed the martial path above all else in his heart.

Everything else had to take a backseat.

Lu Kuan believed that as long as Li Yun had the resources to support him, he would surely shine brilliantly in the future.

That was why he wanted to provide support through a high-tier guest retainer status rather than a restrictive contract.

Lu Zhengyu turned to look at his son, whose usually carefree, round face was now full of seriousness.

He couldn't help but take the matter seriously himself.

A high-tier contract and the support provided were essentially the same as those for a high-tier guest retainer.

The only difference was that a guest retainer was not bound by a set number of years to serve the family.

It was purely about making friends and gifting resources.

When the family faced trouble, one would hope the other party might lend a hand if they felt inclined.

There are absolutely no restrictions.

It's a gamble on one's character.

After a moment of contemplation, Lu Zhengyu shook his head:

"Let's watch a bit more; there's no rush."

Li Yun had no idea that in this short span of time, his low profile had cost him a sponsorship.

But even if he had known, he wouldn't have cared.

Resources were merely an accelerator for him; they were fundamentally not as important as safety.

Taking the black wooden plaque from the referee, Li Yun stepped off the stage to search for his next target.

This was also the rule of the competition: one could choose to continue defending the stage or step down to rest.

After all, this bout was promotional in nature, not a rigorous competition, so there was no set rest time.

Li Yun wandered between the various stages.

Aside from looking for targets, he also took the opportunity to gather intelligence on his opponents.

"Hey, brother, want some intel on the favorites to win?"

A short while later.

A Sharp-Mouthed Skinny Guy stopped Li Yun to ask.

Li Yun had just been thinking about wanting to understand the situation, so he hadn't expected someone to already be compiling this.

"Oh? It's only just begun, and you already have intel?"

"The top spots in these bouts are the private turf of the major martial halls; it doesn't really matter when it starts."

The Sharp-Mouthed Skinny Guy wore the expression of an old hand, speaking mysteriously before rubbing his fingers together:

"For just twenty wen, you can know everything.

How about it? Want to buy a copy?"

It wasn't much money, so Li Yun decided to join in the fun and paid up.

Having received the money, the Sharp-Mouthed Skinny Guy lowered his voice and said:

"The first is Su Xue from the White Crane Martial Hall.

I heard this girl joined the martial hall less than a year ago and has already reached the peak of blood-qi, ready to condense Bright Force at any moment.

She only held back for the sake of this competition.

Her White Crane Fist is already at the minor success stage."

Speaking to this point, the Sharp-Mouthed Skinny Guy leaned in even closer, looking shifty:

"I heard, and mind you, this is just hearsay, that Su Xue has even practiced the accompanying footwork to the minor success stage.

Therefore, she should be the top favorite for this competition."

It was hard to tell if it was true or false.

However, if what this guy said was accurate, then Su Xue—with her minor success in fist techniques, minor success in footwork, and full blood-qi—was indeed a formidable opponent.

But the stage competition limited the utility of her footwork, so he still had a high chance of winning.

If he wanted to obtain the Blood Ginseng, it seemed he would have to reveal more of his strength.

In that case, regarding safety... he would see when the time came.

The Sharp-Mouthed Skinny Guy continued:

"Second is Ma Chen from the Wild Ox Martial Hall.

This guy has only been in the martial hall for half a year and has also reached the stage of full blood-qi.

His Wild Ox Fist is also at minor success, and I heard that even among those at the same minor success level, many senior brothers are no match for him.

Most importantly, this guy has innate divine strength."

Once a martial artist clears the blood-qi channels on the surface of their body, their strength is already significant.

To dare call it innate divine strength meant his power couldn't be small.

The Sharp-Mouthed Skinny Guy swallowed hard and continued to relay the intel:

"Third is the Subduing Tiger Martial Hall.

Good heavens, this year all the martial halls seem to have poked a hornet's nest, all receiving geniuses one after another.

I heard the Subduing Tiger Martial Hall master took in a genius who was a butcher by trade, and the guy actually cultivated Bright Force in just half a year.

It's a pity his foundation is lacking; I don't know if he can make any waves in the Bright Force stage."

The Sharp-Mouthed Skinny Guy seemed to realize he had gone off-track and hurriedly returned to the candidates for the Body Tempering Realm championship:

"The candidate from the Subduing Tiger Martial Hall is also a newcomer."

They call him Li Yun.

I hear this guy is a Martial Fanatic.

He eats and sleeps at the martial arts hall, constantly looking for people to spar with whenever he has free time.

He's beaten up everyone in the Body Tempering Realm at the hall.

But later on, for some unknown reason, this guy rarely showed his face at the hall anymore.

"Because his blood-energy level is unknown, he is ranked third."

Cough, cough.

What do you mean "beaten up everyone"?

That was just a normal sparring session.

Besides, Li Yun didn't just target his fellow disciples in the Body Tempering Realm; he went to ask for pointers on fist techniques from the seniors who had mastered Bright Force as well.

Initially, Li Yun remained highly skeptical of the information provided by this Sharp-Mouthed Skinny Guy.

As it turns out, this guy even had some intel on him.

In that case, the previous information might actually be worth considering.

After all, since he rarely makes a move in public, it shows that the source behind this information really has some substance.

"So, besides the martial arts hall, are there any other candidates?"