Chapter 54: Tier 4
Chapter 54: Chapter 54: Tier 4
"Zou Shuyao used to go to Jinchuan First University, but she only transferred here in her sophomore year. Back then... ahem, it was love at first sight for me. I chased her for a whole year before she was finally moved and agreed to be my girlfriend," Cai Long explained.
At this point, his tone lowered, tinged with confusion and frustration.
"But her family... I don’t know why, but they seemed a bit resistant to me.
"I couldn’t figure out the exact reason. All I knew was that her family moved here from another city.
"I originally wanted to fight for it, but to my surprise, her family transferred her to The Seventh Congress shortly after."
"Later, when that incident happened at The Seventh Congress, I rushed over to find her the very next day. She told me about the situation and mentioned you... Just listening to her tone and seeing the look in her eyes when she described you..."
Cai Long’s smile turned a bit bitter and self-deprecating.
"There was a light in her eyes. It was... In the whole year I chased her, she never looked at me like that."
Fang Chen felt a bit awkward listening to this. He touched his nose and said, "Uh, I’m actually not that close to her. We’ve only met a few times."
"Ah, it’s fine!"
Cai Long waved his hand. "I get it. To put it bluntly, Zou Shuyao’s expression was just pure admiration and respect. It hasn’t reached *that* point yet. She didn’t explicitly say anything to me either, so our relationship is... barely hanging on."
He looked back at Fang Chen, his eyes earnest.
"Actually, after hearing what she said about you, I genuinely admire you.
"So I wanted to lay my cards on the table and sincerely make friends with you.
"And secondly... just in case, I mean *just in case*, you have a stroke of bad luck... Oh, wait, I mean, if you’re lucky enough to run into Zou Shuyao again, since she admires you so much, could you...
"Hehe, put in a few good words for your bro?
"Like praising me for being reliable, hardworking, a guy with great potential, and things like that?"
He rubbed his hands together, looking at Fang Chen expectantly.
Fang Chen was speechless as he thought to himself, "Sigh, another simp. The only difference between him and that Yang Fan from Class Five is probably that his Combat Power is a few tiers higher."
Just as he was about to speak, Cai Long leaned in closer, his expression turning cautious as he lowered his voice.
"By the way, Feng, there’s another thing I have to remind you about. Out of the four of us picked by President Zhao, you need to be especially careful of the one codenamed ’Monk’."
"Monk?"
Fang Chen raised an eyebrow.
Cai Long nodded. "I came early today. Before you arrived, I happened to watch one of Monk’s matches. His opponent was a bro codenamed ’Light Boat’, whom I have a pretty good relationship with."
"And then?"
"He was... beaten to death right there by Monk."
Cai Long spat out those words, his face looking somewhat pale.
"Beaten to death?"
"Yes," Cai Long said affirmatively. "And in my opinion, there was absolutely no need for him to go for the kill like that. I was upset after the match, so I went to chat with Hong.
"Hong is closer to President Zhao’s side, so she knows some inside info. She said... the four of us were actually assigned fixed... what was that word again?"
Fang Chen chimed in, "Personas?"
"Right! Personas!"
Cai Long slapped his thigh. "For you, it’s about showing off and displaying the demeanor of a master. For me, it’s an all-out offensive with explosive scenes. As for Hong, a new female fighter is already a main attraction in itself. But that Monk’s persona... is simply cruelty."
He continued, "I heard Monk wasn’t like this before. It seems President Zhao intentionally guided him, perhaps even offering some incentives, to deliberately forge this brutal image and attract that specific demographic of viewers who are into it."
Fang Chen understood and nodded. "Alright, got it. If I encounter him in the ring later, I’ll be careful."
However, a slightly baffled expression appeared on his face as he asked indignantly, "But... why is my persona ’showing off’? Do I look like I’m trying to act cool?"
Upon hearing this, Cai Long’s expression became complicated as he drawled, "You... you’re not trying to act cool? You can obviously finish off your opponents in one move, but you always have to show off your Body Technique first. Yep, just playing around... It makes everyone watching anxious!"
Fang Chen was silent. "...Do I?"
He subconsciously touched his nose and carefully recalled his previous matches. It seemed... maybe he did a little bit?
A knock sounded on the lounge door before a staff member pushed it open and walked in.
"Mr. Feng, pardon the interruption. Your opponent for the next match has been arranged. It will be in five days at eight in the evening. Your opponent is a fighter valued at thirty thousand yuan, codenamed ’One-Finger Zen’."
"Five days?"
Fang Chen furrowed his brow slightly. "Why is the gap so long this time?"
The staff member respectfully explained.
"Mr. Feng, the higher the value, the greater the intensity of the match, which results in a larger physical and mental drain.
"To ensure that every fighter can enter the ring in their best condition, the club usually arranges a rest period of three to seven days for matches valued at thirty thousand yuan or more. This is standard practice."
"Understood."
Fang Chen nodded. The staff member bowed and exited the room.
Fang Chen did some quick calculations in his head: "With one match every five days, I can fight a maximum of two more matches before the Martial Arts Exam registration deadline.
"If I defeat this ’One-Finger Zen’, the base prize money is thirty thousand. Coupled with the tips, it might reach around forty thousand. As for the seventy thousand shortfall...
"If push comes to shove, I can just borrow the remaining amount from Cai Long, Luo Wu, or Hu Jiasen, or perhaps get an advance from the club. It shouldn’t be too hard to scrape together this half a million."
Over the next few days of school, all academic theory classes were completely suspended, transitioning into an around-the-clock Martial Arts special training mode.
This made most of the students complain incessantly. This was especially true for Class One; not only did they have to endure the suddenly increased training intensity, but worst of all, the teacher frequently assigned Fang Chen as their sparring partner.
It was an absolute nightmare.
Even with five classmates attacking him at once, Fang Chen wouldn’t even break a sweat.
RING RING!
"Oh yeah—! School’s finally out!"
The dismissal bell sounded like heavenly music, instantly igniting the silent campus.
"Whoa... I can’t take it anymore, I feel completely drained..."
"Goodbye, Senior Brother Fang! Haha, I got lucky today and didn’t have to spar with you!"
Fang Chen looked at the cheering classmate running away, feeling somewhat speechless. "Aren’t we in the same grade? Why did he call me ’Senior Brother’?"
He shook his head and walked out of the school gates alone.
He hadn’t taken many steps out of the gates when his Perception caught a gaze locked onto him. It harbored no malice, but carried a sneaky, secretive vibe.
Remaining unfazed, he glanced in the direction of his sense. There, by the corner of the wall, a familiar figure was hunched over and tiptoeing. She stuck close to the wall, creeping closer like a little kitten preparing for a sneak attack.
It was Xia Chu.
At this moment, she was completely focused on her stealthy approach. Her small face bore a trace of slyness and anticipation, making her look exceptionally cute.
"Boo!"
Realizing she had been spotted, she immediately jumped out, throwing her hands up in wild gestures in an attempt to look scary.
Fang Chen looked at her expressionlessly.
"...Aren’t you a bit childish?"
"Ugh!"
Xia Chu pouted, feeling slightly defeated and unwilling to accept it. "Chen, do you have eyes in the back of your head? How did you spot me?"
Fang Chen didn’t answer her silly question. His gaze landed on the inner side of Xia Chu’s wrist, which had been exposed by her exaggerated motions just now.
There sat a purple Spirit Seal.
"A purple Spirit Seal?"
Fang Chen’s tone carried a hint of surprise. "You’ve awakened? A Tier-4 Superpower?"