Chapter 60: The Troublemaker Arrives
As soon as everyone heard Ren Fan's words, their ears perked up and their spirits were lifted.
...
It turned out that Zhao Jinghong had kept the instructors from the different martial arts schools behind to announce the next matter.
The group stage would be divided into two rounds. The eight students who stood out in the end would not necessarily be selected for the Anqing Martial Bureau.
Because, at that time, there would also be five disciples from two other factions joining the competition.
In other words, after the first round of the group stage, there would be thirteen outstanding young martial artists.
According to Ren Fan, the other two factions were Jiuhua Sect and Huizhou Logistics.
The eight students who emerged from the group stage would still need to compete against three disciples from Jiuhua Sect and two from Huizhou Logistics.
The reason they were called disciples was because both Jiuhua Sect and Huizhou Logistics were traditional martial arts sects.
In Zhang Ze’s understanding, these two suddenly introduced powers were somewhat akin to the Wudang or Emei sects from the martial arts novels of his previous life.
Only, in this world, since the state had established the Martial Bureau, these traditional martial arts sects had gradually waned in influence.
...
“I can understand why Jiuhua Sect and Huizhou Logistics have disciples participating in this exchange conference, but why don’t they have to go through the group stage?”
Qian Qian, no longer smiling as before, wore a grave expression as he questioned Ren Fan.
This was exactly what everyone wanted to ask!
If you want to participate in the martial arts exchange and aim to win a place to train at the Martial Bureau by defeating us, that's fair.
After all, we rely on our own abilities—if we lose, it just means we’re weaker, and we’ll accept it.
But the key issue is, why do the disciples of Jiuhua Sect and Huizhou Logistics get to skip the group stage altogether?
Isn’t this blatant favoritism—an insult to us students from the martial schools?
Ren Fan had expected this reaction. Faced with Qian Qian’s question, he didn’t rush to explain.
He fell silent for a moment, waiting for everyone to calm down, then spoke in a low voice: “Because the disciples coming from Jiuhua Sect and Huizhou Logistics this time have all reached a cell strength of over 400S.”
“In fact, the strongest among them is not far from the 500S limit of the second grade!”
...
A long silence followed.
“I understand,” Zhang Ze finally responded, leading the group out of the conference room.
...
At the same time,
In an office somewhere within the Anqing Martial Bureau.
“Minister Zhao, those two youngsters were making such a scene today—why don’t you look pleased about it?”
The middle-aged man, with sturdy arms and a square jaw, looked every bit the upright official.
He had also attended the martial arts exchange conference as a mentor that day, so naturally, he knew about Zhang Ze and Qi Lijun’s moment in the spotlight.
“Heh.”
“No need to play dumb with me. You think I’m unaware of your connection to Jiuhua Mountain, Lin Yushan?” Zhao Jinghong replied with a smile.
“Don’t say that.”
Unruffled at being exposed, Lin Yushan remained relaxed and smiled, “I did suggest it to Jiuhua Mountain, but you have to admit, Minister Zhao, those three from the Duan family are quite talented.”
“If they join the Martial Bureau, whether they return or not in the future is entirely up to you, isn’t it?”
“To put it plainly, I’ve brought you quite a few talents.”
Finishing his words, Lin Yushan looked at Minister Zhao with a hint of amusement.
Zhao Jinghong set down his pen and smiled faintly. “Are you so sure those three from the Duan family can win?”
...
Back to the others—
As soon as they left the conference room, Zhang Ze turned to Qian Qian and asked, “Do you know much about Jiuhua Mountain and Huizhou Logistics?”
Because of the news they’d just heard, for once, everyone was quiet and serious, like conscripts about to march into battle.
Qian Qian frowned slightly and replied, “There’s nothing much to say about Jiuhua Mountain—they’re like many other traditional sects.”
“As for who they’ll send, there’s no way I could know.”
“But I do know a bit about the other one, Huizhou Logistics.”
At this, everyone remembered that Liu Qianqian’s father’s company, Blue Sky Logistics, actually competed with them in business.
So all eyes turned to Qian Qian, eager for information.
“Huizhou Logistics really isn’t a traditional martial arts sect anymore. They’ve transformed—it’s more accurate to call them a modern logistics company.”
Seeing their thirst for knowledge, Qian Qian explained quickly, “Their predecessor was actually the old Huizhou Escort Agency.”
“As the nation progressed and technology advanced, they kept up with the times and turned into a logistics company.”
“And the current head, Hu Guanghui, is quite capable—in just over a decade, he’s turned Huizhou Logistics into one of the top companies in the province.”
“I only know this because their business overlaps with my father’s company.”
At this point, Qian Qian paused.
Peng Fei, impatient, pressed him, “Since they’re running a company now, why are they getting involved in our martial arts exchange?”
“Heh.”
Qian Qian shot Peng Fei a look as if at a fool before explaining, “Even if you won the lottery, you’d use the money to pursue martial arts—why wouldn’t Hu Guanghui, with all his money running such a huge logistics company, cultivate martial artists?”
“Besides, their roots are in the traditional martial arts sects—they value it even more.”
Hearing this, Zhang Ze finally had a general understanding of Huizhou Logistics.
Though he looked forward to sparring with disciples from these martial arts sects, a glance at his own cell strength data left him uneasy.
“Their background means they’re definitely stronger in martial techniques.”
“I don’t even have a cell strength advantage yet—if I run into one of them…”
Zhang Ze forced himself not to dwell on it, but resolved to train even harder.
...
While Zhang Ze and the others were discussing Jiuhua Sect and Huizhou Logistics, in a small alley near the dormitory building—
“So, the target is that guy who’s always hanging around Miss Leng?”
A rough voice emerged from the shadows.
Standing opposite him was actually Li Zixing.
“That’s right!”
“You two lie in wait near the East District dormitory building. As soon as the first round of the group stage ends in the morning, make your move!”
“The one sticking close to Leng Bingbing must be Peng Fei!”
“Understood.”
Hearing this, the shadowy figure vanished into the night.
Once the figure had disappeared, Li Zixing couldn’t help but snicker.
“Peng Fei?”
“Damn you, a mere farmer, and you dare to compete with me, Li Zixing, for Bingbing?”
Muttering to himself, seeing no one nearby, Li Zixing also melted away into the darkness.