Chapter 404 - 201: Explosive! So It Was You?
Chapter 404: Chapter 201: Explosive! So It Was You?
The members of Xinhuo had beaten them to it, occupying the most conspicuous and advantageous position at the auditorium entrance.
Min Yutang’s brow twitched almost imperceptibly. He spoke at a volume that was neither loud nor soft, yet just enough for the Xinhuo contingent to hear clearly.
"What are these hicks doing here? It’s just my luck."
The moment he finished speaking, several hot-tempered patrols and deacons in the Firewood Martial Hall contingent flew into a rage.
Fierce gazes shot toward him in unison. "What did you say?"
"I dare you to fucking say that again!"
The smell of gunpowder in the air grew thicker.
Just as a conflict was about to erupt, Lv Yongze, at the front of the Xinhuo line, calmly raised a hand and gently pushed it down.
With that simple motion, all the furious voices behind him instantly fell silent.
Though the members of Xinhuo continued to glare, not one of them dared to make another move.
Only then did Lv Yongze slowly turn to Min Yutang, his face fixed in a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
"This is the first time I’ve ever seen anyone from Kunlun come to a place like this to recruit independent Martial Artists."
"This really is a first. Why has your great Martial Hall deigned to grace a place like this with its presence?"
His words were dripping with sarcasm, but Lv Yongze was skilled enough not to make it too obvious.
Min Yutang merely shot him a cool glance, as if a second look would be a waste of his time.
"And what’s it to you?"
Those five simple words perfectly conveyed the arrogance and disdain etched into his very bones.
On the Xinhuo side, Wang Jingcheng and Long Bohan exchanged a look, fine beads of sweat already forming on their foreheads.
Wang Jingcheng lowered his voice, his tone almost an accusation. "Why is Kunlun here too? Did you leak the news? Did you let them find out about Lin Ye’s identity?"
Long Bohan was nervous too, but he shook his head unequivocally.
"Absolutely not!"
"I trust my childhood friend. He would never sell me out! Kunlun must be here for some other reason."
Hearing this, Wang Jingcheng’s anxiety eased slightly.
Lv Yongze seemed unbothered by Min Yutang’s rudeness. In fact, the smile on his face widened.
"Mr. Min, why so hostile?"
"There are so many outstanding graduates at this training camp. It’s not a given that our two organizations are here to recruit the same person."
He paused, then his tone shifted as he added pointedly.
"If you at Kunlun are here for this year’s top graduate from Ninghai Province, then there’s really no need to be so tense."
"Because he’s not the one we at Xinhuo are after this time."
The information Lv Yongze had gotten from Wang Jingcheng was clear.
The young man named Lin Ye was still online playing ranked matches just ten days before the camp ended.
By all accounts, that most likely meant he had been eliminated early.
Therefore, their target and Kunlun’s were probably not the same person.
At Lv Yongze’s words, Min Yutang’s expression flickered almost imperceptibly.
Then, a corner of his mouth curled into an undisguised, mocking sneer.
"Heh... You people are as short-sighted as ever."
In an instant, Min Yutang put it all together.
He knew Xinhuo’s methods all too well.
They cast a wide net, poaching talent from everywhere, and were especially fond of scouting the internet for so-called geniuses who had made a name for themselves.
’Most likely, some player who made a name for themselves in *Martial Arts Peak* happens to be a trainee here, so they’ve come scampering over.’
The only thing that puzzled Min Yutang was the sheer scale of Xinhuo’s presence. It seemed excessive.
’I don’t recognize this Lv fellow, but judging by the deference others show him, his status must be quite high.’
’Just what kind of online player could be worth Xinhuo making such a scene?’
An ID that had been making serious waves in *Martial Arts Peak* lately—one that had even caught the attention of Kunlun’s top brass—flashed through Min Yutang’s mind.
But he dismissed the thought a moment later.
’Xinhuo? As if they’re worthy.’
’The world isn’t that small.’
Min Yutang’s taunt seemingly said nothing, but in truth, it said everything.
When Long Bohan heard this, the weight that had been pressing on his heart was finally lifted.
’It worked!’
’Kunlun’s target really is the camp’s top graduate!’
’Considering Kunlun’s deep-seated arrogance, for them to break precedent and show up to intercept someone at the camp entrance, they must have heard something.’
’This year’s top graduate from Ninghai must have shown potential so great that even they saw immense value in recruiting him.’
’Still, for Kunlun to make this kind of exception... it seems this year’s top graduate from Ninghai is truly extraordinary.’
The people of Xinhuo, of course, had no way of knowing that just yesterday, when Lin Ye had awakened his spirituality, an earth-shattering phenomenon had occurred on this very land.
It was precisely because of the mountain range that had risen from the earth out of thin air that Kunlun’s Ninghai Branch had immediately dispatched investigators, ultimately tracing the source of the phenomenon—
to the top graduate of the training camp, Lin Ye.
That was why Min Yutang himself was leading the team today, here to negotiate a contract.
Both sides possessed key information unknown to the other.
Each side, operating on its own logic, had concluded that the other’s target was different from their own, and there was no way for them to ever compare notes.
For a moment, the small area in front of the auditorium was plunged into a strange, suffocating silence.
No one spoke another word. Only the silent standoff between the two groups hung heavy in the air.