School Uniform Fierce Tiger!

The next morning, at Balai City railway station.

Cheng Sheng stood quietly in front of the railway station's large screen as several monks in orange-yellow robes walked past him.

The television was playing news about last night's Black Tide. It briefly mentioned that several people had gone missing, then quickly moved on to the next story...

"Could it have been because of that Black Tide creature last night?"

Cheng Sheng looked away, silently wondering to himself.

No one could answer him, and hardly anyone would care. Every time the Black Tide erupted and the Strange Mist descended, a few unlucky souls always went missing. Everyone had long since grown used to it.

The Black Tide had receded and transportation had resumed. Whether in the cities or the countryside, everything was back to normal.

Sulai said Black Tide creatures rarely wandered into cities. The one I ran into last night must have been a rare occurrence...

Cheng Sheng glanced down at the time. His train was almost due, so he turned and headed for the ticket gates.

On the green wall facing all the passengers at the gates hung a giant portrait of the King of Nantu. It depicted a short, thin man with a little mustache and graying hair, dressed in glittering gold.

Cheng Sheng had no choice but to take the Black Tide seriously. Since discovering last night that the Primordial Mark could grow stronger by absorbing evil spirits from the Strange Mist, he had come to regard the Strange Mist zones brought by the Black Tide as "dungeons" he would have to run frequently in the future.

First, the evil spirits in the Strange Mist zones, then the lowest-level Black Tide creatures. One step at a time, slowly working my way up...

Cheng Sheng passed through the gate and boarded the train. Watching passengers laden with bags get on and off through the window, he wondered if, from now on, he would become one of those people the internet called... "Black Tide Chasers."

This world was far crazier than ordinary people imagined.

There was a small group of people who regarded the Black Tide as an idol, a totem, worshipping it madly and even chasing in its wake. They were like the "storm chasers" of his previous life, another bunch of people who weren't afraid of death and had grown tired of living, driving off to chase tornadoes whenever they had nothing better to do...

"Woo-woo-"

The train's whistle sounded across the platform, and it slowly pulled away.

All the trains in Nantu were green carriages, and the journey from Balai to Qingsha took four hours.

Cheng Sheng was considering buying a book or something to pass the long, boring hours ahead when his phone rang in his pocket.

"Hello, senior sister."

Cheng Sheng checked the caller ID, composed himself, and answered.

"Mm, I saw him."

"He's not dead yet... but I'm not sure whether I'll have to come back for his funeral next time..."

Using a "grief-stricken" tone, Cheng Sheng kept up the lie he had casually made up when he asked Sulai for leave.

After indulging his nonsense for a couple of lines, Sulai couldn't be bothered with any more. Once she learned he was on his way back, she gave him an address and hung up.

"'Mamba' Fighting Arena?"

Cheng Sheng put down his phone, the "sadness" vanishing from his face as he repeated the name of the place Sulai had just given him.

Looks like they've already started the second stage of special training. Does that mean going straight into the ring for actual combat?

Cheng Sheng shook his head and quickly put it aside.

It didn't matter.

He had already reached major completion in Body Tempering and mastered the first level of the Black Killing Style Secret Art. When he got back, he planned to ask Sulai how to cultivate Nurturing Sha and Body Sha, and discuss whether his monthly allowance could be increased...

"Excuse me, please wait!"

Still thinking, Cheng Sheng called out to a vendor passing through the aisle. "Give me a bottle of soda, and a copy of..."

His gaze wandered over the dazzling assortment on the vendor's rack before settling on a magazine.

"Mm, this one... 'Young Master Elephant's Midnight Show.'"

On the slowly moving train, a striking young man sat by the window, sipping soda as he held an adult magazine up to the sunlight and subjected it to earnest and serious criticism...

The underground boxing arena roared with voices, its air thick with the smell of cigarettes, beer, and sweat.

The previous match had just ended, and everyone was still immersed in the intense pleasure of an adrenaline rush.

Mo Jiang, lean and tough with short hair and seemingly a couple of shades darker than when Cheng Sheng had left, slowly climbed down from the ring. The match that had just ended was his, and his opponent had already been carried away on a medical stretcher...

"Well fought!!!"

"Clap, clap, clap-"

A potbellied, balding man in a white suit and pink shirt, a cigar clenched between his teeth, clapped vigorously as he went up to meet Mo Jiang.

Sulai was with him.

"As expected of an outstanding disciple of the Black Killing Style!"

The man was Lunba, the owner of the Mamba underground fighting arena. As he looked at Mo Jiang, his eyes were full of admiration.

"You've fought close to twenty matches here over the past few years and only lost two, haven't you? Heroes truly do emerge from the young!"

Lunba turned to Sulai with a smile. "Sulai, would you mind if I signed him? As long as he can fight ten matches here each month, I'll pay him the intermediate fighter's rate for every win!"

A low-level fighter at the Mamba Fighting Arena earned only five thousand Nan Currency for a win. The intermediate rate was ten times that, starting at fifty thousand Nan Currency per match. Of course, both the arena and the martial arts school took a cut.

High-level fighters were paid even more to appear, but each of their matches needed advance promotion. Advertising and ticket sales alone took several days, and they rarely fought even once in several months.

Lunba admired Mo Jiang partly because he really was strong, with exceptionally solid fundamentals. Although he had yet to master the Black Killing Style's inherited secret art, even fighters who had completed Body Tempering were generally no match for him.

He was young, too, only eighteen, or so Lunba had heard. Though no one could tell from his appearance, that could be packaged as a selling point. With luck, he might become Mamba's next fighting star.

On the other hand, Lunba also intended to build good relations with the Black Killing Style.

"You can ask him. If he agrees, I have no objection."

Sulai answered with a smile playing at her lips. Clearly, she was quite pleased with Mo Jiang's performance over the past few days as well.

Lunba turned his gaze back to Mo Jiang, who was wiping away his sweat with a white towel. Mo Jiang said calmly, "I came to the arena to hone my skills and grow stronger, not to fight pointless exhibition matches for money.

"Matches with no pressure are meaningless to me..."

Lunba's face showed disappointment at the answer.

Although he had been rejected, he wasn't angry. Instead, he rather admired Mo Jiang's attitude. "You've got character. I like that!"

Just then, Tong Huan came over from the other side, cursing under his breath. His face was bruised, and from the look of him, he had clearly lost his last match.

"Sulai, when is that other disciple you mentioned arriving?"

Lunba glanced at his watch. "The next match is about to start. If he doesn't get here soon, I'll put someone else in."

Sulai, who had called a certain someone several times to hurry him along, looked helpless and was about to speak when a clear voice came from a distance.

"I'm here."

The four of them looked toward the voice and saw a tall, straight-backed young man emerge from the shadows of the arena's backstage passage.

He had fair skin, slender brows and eyes, and features that could only be called delicate, but for some reason, he had a peculiar, inexplicably eye-catching bearing.

The young man quickly walked up to the four of them and said with a smile, "Didn't I make it just in time?"

"So young?! He's a student..."

Lunba looked at the young man's still somewhat youthful face, then at the tracksuit jacket he was wearing. It even looked like the standard uniform issued by a high school. He couldn't help shaking his head.

"Wait for the match after this one."

Cheng Sheng was taken aback. "Why?"

Lunba glanced at him and said casually, "Because the next fighter is 'Blue Dragon.' You can't beat him."

Cheng Sheng frowned and was about to speak when Mo Jiang, standing beside him, said expressionlessly, "'Blue Dragon' Weiji never received training in an orthodox style's inheritance, but he's a genuine Nurturing Sha expert.

"I've fought him twice, and neither time did I last five rounds against him.

"If you're not afraid, go ahead and try..."

"Nurturing Sha?"

Cheng Sheng thought for a moment, then nodded. "I can certainly give it a try."

Mo Jiang stared at him, not expecting that answer. He scoffed, his expression turning cold again, as though he couldn't be bothered to say anything more.

"Forget it, brother."

Tong Huan tugged at Cheng Sheng's sleeve and gave him a meaningful look. "You should wait for the next match. Seriously, trust me!"

"Do you think I'll get beaten up if I go in?"

Tong Huan shook his head. "It's not a question of whether you'll get beaten up. It's a question of whether you'll be able to walk out of here upright today..."

"..."

Just as Cheng Sheng was at a loss for words, a voice suddenly spoke up. "It's fine. Let him fight!"

Cheng Sheng's eyes lit up. He turned to see that it was Sulai, and a smile spread across his face.

"Senior Sister Sulai, you really are..."

Before Cheng Sheng could finish, Sulai gave him a mild glare, then said to Lunba, who was in charge of arranging the matches, "...This brat took three days off during special training. It's about time he suffered a little."

Cheng Sheng's smile froze on his face.

Beside him, Tong Huan shook his head, while Mo Jiang folded his arms, the corners of his mouth curling slightly as he waited for the show.

Lunba also gave Cheng Sheng a sympathetic look that said, "Kid, you're done for now," before taking out his walkie-talkie and quickly giving instructions.

"Next match, 'Blue Dragon' Weiji against a newcomer. His nickname will be..."

Lunba paused, turned to look Cheng Sheng's outfit up and down, then thought for a moment and casually made one up:

"'School Uniform Fierce Tiger'!"

Three chapters again today, and once again asking for monthly votes~ Thanks, orz!