"Hello, I've collected five wooden tokens."
Li Yun handed the five black wooden tokens to the staff member.
The staff member took the tokens and checked the numbers on them against the register in his hands.
After confirming they were all in order, he took out a new token, its pattern more intricate than those used in the preliminaries.
"Take this. And while we're at it, let me tell you the rules for tomorrow's second round.
It starts at the hour of the Dragon and ends before the hour of the Rooster.
During that time, the referee will randomly draw opponents. The winner gets a wooden token and can rest for half an hour.
At the end, the six people with the most tokens will advance to the final stage."
Li Yun took the second-round token and nodded.
"All right. Thanks for letting me know."
This contest was simple and brutal.
The preliminaries were probably five contenders competing for one spot. The second round would leave just six, and the third would finish the whole competition.
It was a slapdash affair.
Having advanced, Li Yun didn't leave the grounds. Instead, he went to look for Zhuo Yong and check out the strength of the other contestants.
Su Xue and Ma Chen in particular.
If the intelligence he'd just bought was accurate, then they were obstacles in his path to claiming first place and winning the Blood Ginseng.
He'd have to contend with both of them.
Without giving it his all, he probably couldn't beat them.
Weren't there supposed to be few people whose techniques had reached minor mastery?
How had he managed to run into all of them?
After wandering around for a while, he finally found Zhuo Yong at a ring near the exit.
As it happened, Zhuo Yong had just defeated his opponent with a move called Fierce Tiger Pounces on Prey. He came down from the ring holding a token.
"Junior Brother Li, I've got five tokens. How about you?"
"Congratulations, Senior Brother. I just got mine too."
"Good. I'll go exchange my tokens for an advancement pass."
"All right."
After Zhuo Yong exchanged his tokens, he heard that Li Yun wanted to find Su Xue and Ma Chen, so he decided to go with him.
Li Yun and Zhuo Yong walked around the grounds. Before long, they found the two by a ring in the southeast corner.
Su Xue stood amid the crowd in a plain white outfit, while Ma Chen had his collar open, revealing a broad expanse of muscle.
The two were surrounded by a crowd of martial artists, like the moon among the stars. Everyone was watching the ring.
Li Yun and Zhuo Yong joined them.
"Go, Zhang Xiaorui! Show the Wild Ox Martial Hall what our White Crane Martial Hall can do!"
"Go, Yu Lihui! Show the White Crane Martial Hall what our Wild Ox Martial Hall can do!"
The supporters on both sides argued until their faces turned red, but Su Xue and Ma Chen, at the center of it all, didn't say a word.
They simply watched intently as their junior sister and senior brother fought on the ring.
Li Yun had often been asking around about the Outer City's martial halls lately, so he knew a thing or two about them.
In the past, these two halls had often battled for first and second place. They were old rivals.
As for the Subduing Tiger Martial Hall, he'd heard that they had settled for third because their senior brother hadn't been there.
"Begin."
Seeing that both sides were ready, the referee on the ring gave the order.
The referee's voice silenced the crowd below, and everyone began watching the fight in earnest.
Li Yun's gaze shifted to the ring. The next moment, he instinctively felt his nose sting, and his stomach churned.
It was that woman with athlete's foot, code-named A62.
She'd changed into an all-black martial outfit, though. She must have cleaned up a bit.
Her opponent was a hulking man over eight feet tall.
Looking at the woman's slender frame, Li Yun felt that if he took a punch, she would be in for a rough time.
But in the Body Tempering Realm, it wasn't body size that mattered. It was qi and blood.
The qi and blood of both fighters surged. To Li Yun, they seemed about evenly matched.
This was a good chance to see the fighting styles of the two martial halls.
Yu Lihui made the first move, charging straight at Zhang Xiaorui.
Zhang Xiaorui remained calm. She suddenly lowered her body, then slipped three feet to the side with White Crane Touches Water.
As she dodged the charge, her right leg shot out like a nimble snake, ankle straightened, and with a sharp whistle, her foot flew toward Yu Lihui's knee.
Thud!
The muffled impact rang out.
Yu Lihui merely grunted. His knee bent slightly, but he held his ground and said roughly, "Was that supposed to tickle? Put some strength into it!"
Yu Lihui had thick skin and flesh, and qi and blood protected his body. He'd taken the kick head-on.
As Zhang Xiaorui drew back her leg, he swept his left arm across. His fist howled through the air, forcing her to retreat again and again.
Zhang Xiaorui's movements were nimble. As she dodged and weaved, her legs flickered in a web of strikes, her ankles, shins, and knees attacking the man's vital points in quick succession.
Yu Lihui blocked them one by one.
The ring was small, and Yu Lihui knew he lacked agility, so he fought steadily and carefully.
Little by little, he drove Zhang Xiaorui toward the corner.
She tried to break out several times, but his brute-force punches drove her back.
As the space shrank, Zhang Xiaorui had less and less room to use her kicks.
"Ha!"
Yu Lihui spotted an opening and suddenly lunged forward, driving his iron fist at her.
With nowhere to dodge, Zhang Xiaorui had no choice but to turn and jump down.
Better to climb down herself than get knocked off the ring. At least she could save some face.
Zhang Xiaorui's defeat sent the Wild Ox Martial Hall disciples cheering.
"Haha, your White Crane Martial Hall can't cut it!"
"That's right, that's right!"
The White Crane Martial Hall disciples blushed with embarrassment and retorted, "Don't get cocky. Junior Sister Zhang hasn't been with the hall for long. Just wait until she faces Senior Sister Su. You'll lose for sure!"
"That's right, that's right!"
Li Yun had no interest in listening to them trade insults.
He happened to spot the wooden tokens at Su Xue and Ma Chen's waists and realized they'd already advanced, so they wouldn't be fighting again. He left with Zhuo Yong.
From what he'd seen, the fighting styles of the two martial halls matched what he'd heard. One favored brute force; the other used nimble footwork to find an opening, then struck a fatal blow.
As for more detailed intelligence, he'd have to fight them himself to find out.
The two continued walking around the grounds, observing the fights and broadening their horizons.
Just as that Sharp-Mouthed Skinny Guy had said, martial hall disciples had the overall advantage.
But they also spotted a remarkably strong contestant who wasn't from a martial hall.
His qi and blood were abundant, thick, and full.
His kicks were sharp, and his moves were seasoned. He was clearly no easy opponent.
By chance, their eyes met.
The instant the man looked at Li Yun, the corner of his mouth lifted in a faint smile. His brow arched, and there was even a hint of... mockery?
Li Yun generally didn't make enemies with people. Why was this guy sneering at him?
He studied the man's features: sharp eyes, a high nose. But no matter how hard he searched his memories, he couldn't place him.
"What are you looking at?"
Zhuo Yong raised a hand and patted Li Yun.
In response to Zhuo Yong's question, Li Yun shook his head and made a mental note of the matter.
"Nothing. Where were we?"
"We were talking about betting."
Zhuo Yong leaned closer and lowered his voice, excitement creeping in.
"The Wild Wolf Gang has set up a betting pool, just like in previous years. You can bet on who'll make the top six. Isn't that practically free money?"
Li Yun was delighted to hear it.
He'd nearly spent all the money he'd gotten earlier.
The house, Blood Replenishing Powder, ingredients for Crispy Bone Soup...
He had only a dozen or so taels of silver left. He'd planned to make money after the competition, once he'd cultivated Bright Force.
Now that an unexpected windfall had appeared, of course he had to seize the chance.
"Senior Brother, will the Wild Wolf Gang actually pay out?"
"Usually, yes. They're not just in it for a quick buck."
In the end, the two of them had gotten excited for nothing. The odds for Li Yun, Su Xue, and Ma Chen were a pitiful one in ten thousand.
After discussing it, they decided to bet on Zhuo Yong.
Ever since Zhuo Yong had signed the Meat Trade Contract, he'd received a lot of support, and his qi and blood had improved considerably.
His fist technique was close to minor mastery.
As long as he didn't run into three seeded contenders in a row, he had a good chance of advancing.
In the end, though, Li Yun still didn't place a bet.
Zhuo Yong had a sixty- or seventy-percent chance of advancing, but not even a ninety-percent chance of winning.
It was still too risky.
Before you continue