binnovel Chapter 126 Participating in the Martial Arts Tournament
Chapter 126 Participating in the Martial Arts Tournament
After Li Chenglong left, Jiang Hui, following his instructions, borrowed the owner's backyard to train Li Qiang. Li Qiang wasn't very serious at first, but after a while, he felt the fighting techniques were incredibly ingenious and began to learn diligently. Even the owner, seeing Jiang Hui's movements, became very interested and started learning from the sidelines.
After leaving the inn, Li Chenglong glanced at the map. He and Wang Shuang had planned everyone's destinations before Wang Shuang left, which would greatly improve efficiency. After a few seconds, Li Chenglong decided to first walk along the main street to the east. This street was relatively clean, with various shops open. Li Chenglong went inside and saw that many things were extremely expensive. A fresh apple cost 10 white crystals, and a pound of pork cost 20 white crystals. In comparison, the innkeeper was right; their place truly offered good quality at low prices. Many shops had superhuman security guards, and some large shops even had level three superhumans as their security personnel. There were also mounted patrols on the street, which they encountered frequently.
Li Chenglong walked into a small tofu pudding stall. A bowl of tofu pudding cost 10 white crystals. He ordered one and asked the owner, "Boss, I saw notices posted on both sides of the street saying there's a martial arts competition to select talents. What's that for?" The owner counted the crystals to make sure the number was correct before saying, "This was just issued this morning by President Nie Yun of the Chinese Federation. Those recruitment notices were only posted less than an hour ago. We were attacked by giant beasts a while ago, and it's said that the main city of the Chinese Federation, Suqian City, was severely damaged. I heard this from my younger brother, who's a company commander in the army. Don't tell anyone else. I heard that even President Nie Yun was slightly injured. Later, they probably felt that their current strength was still too weak, so in preparation for the upcoming battles, they issued a recruitment order. All level three and above ability users can go to the municipal stadium in the center of Xuzhou City to participate."
Li Chenglong, having overheard the shopkeeper mention that his brother was a company commander in the army, remarked, seemingly casually, "I didn't know you had this connection to the military." The shopkeeper chuckled, "You must have only recently come to Xuzhou City. Anyone daring to do business on this street has some kind of background. Without connections, you can only hide in some back alley. Don't underestimate me just because I sell tofu pudding; nobody dares mess with me, and I make quite a bit every day." He finished his tofu pudding and walked out, heading in the direction the shopkeeper had indicated.
Upon arriving at the municipal stadium, Li Chenglong saw a large crowd and some armed personnel maintaining order. Li Chenglong pulled aside a middle-aged man nearby. The man was initially reluctant, but when Li Chenglong produced several white crystals, he immediately beamed and explained, "The martial arts competition started this afternoon, so many people came to join the fun, wanting to go inside the stadium to see the competition. To prevent any problems, the higher-ups sent a lot of people to maintain order." Li Chenglong then asked, "Then why are there so many people outside? Can't we just go in?" The middle-aged man said somewhat angrily, "Because you have to pay 15 white crystals to enter the stadium, but that wasn't mentioned in the competition notice, so many people are unhappy, hence the large crowd."
As the two were still talking, a commotion erupted ahead. Li Chenglong looked closely and saw several armed men dragging out a man who was half-dead and throwing him carelessly on the ground. The leader shouted, "Those who impersonated superhumans to register for the competition, trying to sneak in and peek without paying, watch out! This is what happens. Either you go in and fight as a superhuman, or you pay to watch. If we find any more imposters, it won't just be a beating; we'll shoot them on the spot!" As soon as those men left, a number of people surrounded the man who was badly beaten, but no one went to check on him. Li Chenglong glanced at the man briefly; his internal organs were damaged, and he was probably beyond saving. After observing him for a while, he made up his mind and went back.
Li Chenglong returned to the inn and found several people eating. Only the landlady was at the counter serving customers; the owner was probably cooking in the kitchen. Seeing Li Chenglong return, the landlady said, "You went out in the middle of the day? It's so hot!" She then poured him a glass of warm water, which he thanked her profusely before drinking it down. The landlady said apologetically, "We used to have electricity at midday, but it's been cut off recently, so there's no way to cool off. You just have to bear with it." Li Chenglong smiled and said, "It's alright, this is already very good." A short while later, Wang Shuang came in, nodded slightly to Li Chenglong, and went upstairs.
Five minutes later, the three of them gathered in Li Chenglong's room. Wang Shuang told Li Chenglong a lot of information she had gathered and also took out a map that was heavily marked. Li Chenglong nodded in satisfaction and explained his thoughts: "The Chinese Federation is different from other regions. This place has been established for a long time, has a large influence, and not only are there many superhumans, but there are also many high-level ones. So the old tactics are not applicable here. I heard that they are holding some kind of martial arts competition to recruit talents today, and I want to participate. Only by getting close to their higher-ups can we find out the true strength of the Chinese Federation." Wang Shuang then asked, "Captain Li, should I participate?" Li Chenglong shook his head: "One person is enough. If two very strong people suddenly show up together, it will inevitably arouse suspicion."
After discussing for a while, Li Chenglong checked the time; it was 1:30 PM. Seeing the sweat on Jiang Hui and Wang Shuang's faces, Li Chenglong took out several watermelons from his storage space. These watermelons were grown by Li Chenglong in the natural area of his storage space; each weighed at least seven or eight pounds, with thin rinds, lots of flesh, a rich aroma, and was very sweet. He had picked quite a few earlier and stored them in his storage space, some even placed in cold water. Since time was frozen in the storage area, he wasn't worried about the watermelons spoiling. Li Chenglong smiled and said, "Wang Shuang, take a watermelon and go back to your room to rest. Tonight, come with me to scout out some areas. Let's see if we can find out anything about their military zone." Wang Shuang nodded, took a watermelon, and went out.
Li Chenglong gave Jiang Hui a slightly larger watermelon: "This one is for you and the little guy. It's midday, you should rest a bit." Jiang Hui was overjoyed, practically dancing with excitement: "I've heard that your storage space can grow many good things, City Lord. I've eaten vegetables before, but I've never eaten a watermelon before. This is quite an experience!" Li Chenglong interrupted his rambling, telling him to go and rest. Li Chenglong kept a small one for himself; although small, it still weighed about seven pounds. Then he took the remaining one and went downstairs to give it to the male boss who was washing dishes.
The shopkeeper was a little surprised to see such a large watermelon: "Brother Li, do you know how much such a big and fresh watermelon can sell for? At least one red crystal stone, and they're hard to find. We really can't accept this." Li Chenglong smiled and said, "It's just a watermelon. We're a few people staying here for a while, and we'll be troubling you a lot. Please accept it." Seeing that he couldn't refuse, the shopkeeper had no choice but to accept the watermelon.