No One Was Shown Any Deference

What does that mean?

"Pay up, and do it quickly!"

"I've already paid it once!"

"Now, if you pass through Zuomuqi, you'll have to pay road maintenance fees!"

Time seems to have passed for a long time, yet it feels like it was just yesterday.

Zhang Manqian had dealt with many petty thugs in Sudong City, but Zhang Xuezhou never expected to encounter them while taking a long-distance bus.

Seeing the driver stop halfway through the journey, and then two young men wielding gleaming knives crawling into the carriage to collect money, Zhang Xuezhou knew all too well what these people were up to.

Some locals seemed to have gotten used to this rule, and simply handed over some change to get by.

Several more young, non-local faces were released after paying hundreds of dollars.

Only after the two men nudged and pulled Zhang Xuezhou, who was silently reciting classical texts, did Zhang Xuezhou raise his head and ask a few questions.

"Young man, they're from Zuomuqi. Pay up for their safety!"

The driver turned to persuade them, and several other people with faces from Wanping Province also tried to persuade them in the Scarlet Alliance language with a distinct provincial flavor.

"Is it always like this here?" Zhang Xuezhou asked with interest.

He paid no attention to the dagger flashing in front of him, and even flicked it with his finger.

"This has always been the rule," a young man with a scar on his face said impatiently.

"Pay up for safety, or you'll get beaten up. If you get beaten to death, don't blame us for being ruthless," another young man with a knife threatened.

"I'll pay," Zhang Xuezhou said, raising his hand. "But I'm here on a business trip, and I need to get reimbursed when I get back. Could you two please repeat the rules again?"

Zhang Xuezhou turned on the monitor and started a live stream.

His unreasonable demand angered the two young men. Even though Zhang Xuezhou agreed to pay, Scarface was clearly extremely dissatisfied with this uncooperative person.

He swung the knife he was holding, aiming for Zhang Xuezhou's ear.

This made Zhang Xuezhou frown slightly. He was about to use his Realm Technique to intimidate and suppress, but then he changed his approach and slapped with his right hand.

A dull thud rang out, and the knife the other person swung down veered off course, embedding itself in the foam chair he was sitting on.

This resistance enraged the two young men who had been collecting the money, who then began slashing wildly with knives, plunging the car into chaos.

As Human Dynasty whistled downwards, six or seven young men carrying various weapons shouted curses in the local dialect before climbing into the vehicle.

"You mean after you took down a group of thugs, the nearby security personnel attacked you and dragged you to the police station!"

"That's right, I even recorded a video the whole way; I held the camera very steadily!"

"It's good that there's evidence!"

"If these people hadn't suddenly had a seizure, I would have been killed by them!"

"The onset of the disease is good!"

Zhang Xuezhou drove a security car to Fengdu City. After driving for fourteen hours, he was successfully located by Wang Haoran and transported to Fengdu City by aircraft.

After meeting with Wang Haoran, Wang Haoran slightly surprised and then asked about the relevant situation.

After Zhang Xuezhou explained the initial situation, what happened next was presented in the video recording.

Wang Haoran and kept scrolling through the progress bar. He quickly reviewed the video content and felt that he needed to issue a certificate to Zhang Xuezhou as a candidate member as soon as possible.

Zhang Xuezhou may have had a valid point, and he even managed to avoid a direct confrontation by using Intimidation Combat Technique. However, many things don't follow the rules of procedure. Even if the police officers were involved in forcibly collecting tolls, after they were subdued, it was Zhang Xuezhou who attacked public officials.

In this situation, only by bringing Zhang Xuezhou into the public office camp as well, and by first classifying Zuo Muqi's group as attackers of public officials, can the relevant public security management personnel be considered to have failed in their duties.

"Beat them up hard during the challenge. Zhao Tianhua's gang is even fiercer to us than these thugs. Once they start a fight, it'll be hard to clean up the mess. Don't give them any face!"

Wang Haoran gave Zhang Xuezhou some instructions, and then sealed the video recording.

Such incidents are not isolated incidents in Wanping Province, but rather a common occurrence.

It is difficult for people from other provinces to enter and develop in Wan Binh Province, which has allowed Wan Binh Province to largely maintain the development of its original ethnic groups, with a very low rate of population interaction.

If it weren't for the high yields of modern genetically modified crops that can feed people, Wanping province would have long been plagued by riots.

Even so, these remote provinces are vastly different from the provinces and cities that Zhang Xuezhou and others were familiar with, and involve a great deal of unreasonable and domineering behavior.

In dealing with related incidents in Wanping Province, only those who are stronger and more ruthless than these people can suppress them.

This is also the province where Wang Haoran and others have a headache about hosting the competition. In some places, losing is acceptable, but in others, they really don't want to lose.

The Western Capital City Sequence Committee had also harbored suspicions and concerns about Zhao Tianhua and others potentially rebelling.

"I may beat them up, but will the older generation get involved?"

Zhang Xuezhou glanced at Wang Haoran, then at Zhong Zhenzhen and Qin Wenhan who had accompanied him, and felt that the organization's strength was somewhat lacking.

"Song Bu'er is here too," Wang Haoran said. "He'll grab anyone who causes trouble and beat them on the head!"

"Song Bu'er shot someone in Lishui, even knocking off Qian Zhenyun's hat. His intimidation from the shadows is still quite strong," Zhong Zhenzhen said.

"The people from Lishui can't stand losing, they're not convinced Jiang Feng won," Qin Wenhan explained. "They said Jiang Feng was too ruthless, that she wasn't there to compete, but to kill, and then they almost came to blows, hooray!"

"In a challenge match, fists and feet are unpredictable; even with proper protection, injuries and deaths can still occur," Wang Haoran scoffed. "How can you expect to take shortcuts without risk!"

"This is already the least costly way to rise to power," Qin Wenhan said.

"You're a bit late, and you have less than an hour to rest. Would you like to take a nap to recharge?" Zhong Zhenzhen asked Zhang Xuezhou.

"I'm fine!"

Before setting off from Western Capital City, Zhang Xuezhou had a feeling that he wouldn't arrive too early.

If Wang Haoran come to pick him up, he felt he would have had to drive for more than ten hours to reach Fengdu City, and might have missed the Youth Challenge.

Although the journey took a long time, Zhang Xuezhou was in excellent physical condition, and resting or not resting had little impact on him.

"Since you're physically fine, you can come with us to check out the venue and get used to the environment. You can also see the skills of their young experts later," Wang Haoran said. "Once they've determined the top eight, it'll be your turn to play!"

"Become!"

Zhang Xuezhou nodded.

He stood up with Wang Haoran and the others, and then entered the passage leading directly to the arena.

The final preparations for the Youth Challenge are currently underway.

This wasn't an indoor stadium like those in Luo'an Province; instead, it involved various piles of railings, logs, sharp stones, and other obstacles, making the entire venue look chaotic.

Even Song Fengying, who was broadcasting live at the time, kept saying "strange," clearly seeing this kind of local-style arena area for the first time.

When someone arrived with a tall horse and a motorcycle, even Wang Haoran's expression changed.

Clearly, Wanping Province did not arrange the venue according to the specifications, nor did it adopt the currently common competition methods, directly ignoring the committee's official arrangements.