Chapter 111: Still Trying to Steal the Spotlight?

In the observation room, Zhao Jinghong watched the chaos unfolding in the training grounds via the monitors. He couldn't help but mock Minister Chang Chenghu, "I wonder, Minister Chang, do you still think this Zhang Ze belongs to the category of 'talented' individuals?"

Chang Chenghu’s face turned livid. He couldn't help but think that if Zhang Ze had joined his Logistics Department, he would surely be singing his praises right now. But there was no help for it—who told Zhang Ze to choose the Martial Arts Department from the start?

...

"Bang!"

Another one down. But Zhang Ze was truly exhausted. Even with his cellular strength being restored by his wealth points, he was, after all, a human and not a machine. Throwing punch after punch and kick after kick, he was starting to realize that beating people up was a physically demanding job. Consequently, the frequency of his strikes dropped significantly.

As for Zhang Ze’s ally, Qi Lijun, he was already lying on the ground, bruised and battered. He wasn't a freak like Zhang Ze. Despite his cellular strength approaching the limit of 500S, he was, at the end of the day, not yet a Third-Rank martial artist. This was especially true once he encountered Cheng Ren. With Third-Rank cultivation and impressive martial skills, Cheng Ren couldn't catch Zhang Ze, but he could certainly pummel Qi Lijun. Thus, of their two-man alliance, only Zhang Ze remained, struggling to hold his ground.

...

The crowd soon noticed something amiss: Zhang Ze’s stamina hadn't dipped at all. What did that mean? After being toyed with for so long, a sharp-eyed student finally saw through it. "This guy can rapidly recover his cellular strength; he must have prepared a ton of vitality pills! We need to split into teams and take turns swarming him!"

With the key point revealed, Cheng Ren, Fang Ying, and the others realized the truth. Cheng Ren was the first to speak, his voice deep: "Everyone, split into three squads! Follow me, Fang Ying, and Qian Xiaoming, and take turns surrounding him!"

"Right!" People immediately responded and began to mobilize.

Zhang Ze suddenly realized things had taken a turn for the worse. The training ground was only so big; no matter how he dodged, there was no way to evade a siege by dozens of people. Gritting his teeth, he stopped running. He shouted at the crowd, "Have you no shame? A hundred people ganging up on me, and you’re even resorting to wheel tactics? Even if you take me down today, who among you will have any face left?"

In reality, many people ignored his taunts. He was the one who had been the loudest just a moment ago, calling them all "trash." Now that everyone was ganging up on him, he was getting cold feet? Everyone’s eyes were bloodshot; nobody cared about their reputation anymore. They just wanted to beat Zhang Ze!

...

But not everyone thought that way. Upon hearing Zhang Ze’s words, Qian Xiaoming, Cheng Ren, and others felt their expressions darken. They were all people of some standing; none of them wanted to be seen as inferior to Zhang Ze. And so, the moment Zhang Ze finished speaking, Cheng Ren shouted loudly, "Fine! Since you’ve admitted defeat, Zhang Ze, come out and have a fair fight with me, Cheng Ren!"

Hearing this, Zhang Ze felt absolute disgust. *You again, Cheng Ren! Addicted to stealing the spotlight, aren't you?* Zhang Ze didn't back down. "Just you wait, Cheng Ren! Today, I’m going to turn your face into a swollen mess!"

The two of them shouting so arrogantly left the surrounding crowd speechless. *You’re the one who wanted a group brawl! Now that you’re losing, you want a duel? What is this? Is it all about showing off for you two?*

...

"To be able to bask in my brother Ze’s spotlight while I’m still alive—this life has been worth it!" Qian Qian, who had been standing in the Martial Arts Department area, couldn't help but sigh with emotion. Leng Bingbing, however, was quite worried. She asked the others in a low voice, "Should we drag Qi Lijun back? He looks severely injured..."

Peng Fei, fearing that things weren't chaotic enough, shouted, "Qi Lijun, are you finished? Leng Bingbing and the others are about to come drag you back!" He shouted so loudly that the attention of many in the training grounds shifted to Qi Lijun.

*How can a man admit he’s finished?* Qi Lijun felt a secret resentment. He forced himself up from the ground and laughed, "I'm fine. I can still go."

...

"Look at you," Zhang Ze said, weaving through the crowd until he reached Cheng Ren, mocking him, "I’m actually quite curious about your strength now, Cheng Ren."

*Bang!*

Before the words were even out of his mouth, and before Cheng Ren could deliver his own pretentious closing statement, he saw Zhang Ze’s massive fist flying toward his face. Although he spoke with disdain, Cheng Ren knew exactly how formidable Zhang Ze was. He doubted he could weave through a hundred students the way Zhang Ze did. Consequently, he acted with extreme caution. He leaned to the side, narrowly dodging Zhang Ze’s punch. At the same time, the surrounding students tightened the circle around them.

...

Zhang Ze stopped, noticing the fury on everyone’s faces, and felt a twinge of fear. *It looks like I’ll need to go into seclusion for a while after this. I need to lay low! Otherwise, I’m going to get ambushed.*

"Let me handle this," Cheng Ren shouted to the crowd, sensing their burning rage toward Zhang Ze. Although the others were disgruntled, they stopped in their tracks at his words. Fang Ying and the others were annoyed. *Why does it have to be you, Cheng Ren, who gets to teach Zhang Ze a lesson? Doesn't everyone want a piece of him?*

Dissatisfied, Qian Xiaoming spoke up: "Cheng Ren, if you can't handle it, get out of the way and leave Zhang Ze to me."

"Hmph." Cheng Ren didn't reply. But in that instant, he moved. In the blink of an eye, he was in front of Zhang Ze. Both were true Third-Rank martial artists with several hundred units of cellular strength. Their collision triggered a series of sonic booms.

...

Dodging one of Cheng Ren’s punches, Zhang Ze immediately countered with a stabbing kick. Cheng Ren’s power wasn't just talk. He clenched his fists and raised his left arm to block.

*Boom!*

Zhang Ze’s kick was deflected by Cheng Ren’s elbow. Zhang Ze stumbled back ten paces before stabilizing himself. Cheng Ren didn't let this opportunity slip. As he drove Zhang Ze back, he pressed forward with rapid steps. The two remained within half a meter of each other, but because Zhang Ze was off-balance, he could only glare helplessly, unable to form an effective counterattack.

Cheng Ren was different. He unleashed a punch with his right hand. It was so fast that the surrounding air friction intensified.

*Boom!*

There was no way around it. Having grappled with the crowd for so long, even with the system's help, Zhang Ze’s body and mind were exhausted. He couldn't muster an effective defense in his rush. A thunderous roar erupted, and dust clouds kicked up around them. Zhang Ze, who had been so arrogant just a moment ago, was now lying flat on the ground.

"Hmph," Cheng Ren leaned in close to Zhang Ze’s ear and added, "No matter how much you hog the spotlight... in the end, aren't you just doing all the work for me?"

Qian Xiaoming and the others, seeing this, were annoyed, clearly bitter that Cheng Ren had stolen the show. But no one expected that Zhang Ze, who appeared half-dead on the ground, would suddenly explode into action in the next second...

*Bang!*