For a thousand years, the Divine Land stood at the pinnacle of the world. But starting from the end of the Daqian Dynasty a century ago, the Great Powers invaded and sovereignty was lost. This was a shameful memory seared into the heart of every citizen of the Divine Land. To have it brought up to their faces now was nothing short of a humiliation.

The crowd in the hall instantly fell silent. Regardless of their status, there was at least one commonality they could not deny: they were all children of the Divine Land, with the blood of the Divine Land flowing in their veins!

"Bastard! Shut up!"

Director Pete reprimanded Kaiser, making him retreat behind him. He showed no fear of the heavy atmosphere, instead turning to the three martial arts hall masters with an apologetic look. "Gentlemen, my nephew just recently arrived in the Divine Land. He doesn’t know the rules and speaks nonsense. I apologize to you all on his behalf. If he has truly caused offense, I will take my people and leave immediately."

The three hall masters’ expressions turned grave. With Kaiser’s words, the nature of the entire affair had completely changed.

Of course, they could continue to refuse Pete and Kaiser’s request on the grounds that it was against the rules, but if word of this got out, the repercussions would likely be something they could not accept.

How would the people of Celestial Sea Prefecture see them?

The rumors would spread like wildfire: The Three Great Martial Arts Halls only dared to act like cowards when challenged by a foreigner; they were weak and easy to bully; they had disgraced the spirit of the Divine Land’s martial artists.

A Buddha fights for incense, a man fights for his pride!

This was even truer for martial artists. If one’s Qi is unsettled, one’s strength will be likewise. If one’s strength is unsettled, one’s fists will be weak. How then can one harm another?

"Director, please wait a moment. This matter concerns our three martial arts halls, so we need to discuss it amongst ourselves."

The three hall masters exchanged glances, and finally, Yansong Mountain stepped forward and spoke to Pete.

"Please, go ahead." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Pete gave a gentlemanly, polite smile and sat back down, completely unconcerned by the tense atmosphere in the room.

If this had been the slums, he probably wouldn’t have dared to be so bold. There was an old saying in the Divine Land: the barefoot are not afraid of those in shoes. People with nothing to lose, when driven by fury, were capable of anything.

But it was different here. Everyone attending this banquet was a prominent figure in Celestial Sea Prefecture. Even if they were furious, they would consider their own interests and could only suppress their anger, not daring to do anything out of line.

The more you have, the more you have to lose.

This understanding of human nature was the root of Pete’s constant composure.

Everyone watched the empty area in the corner of the boxing ring, awaiting the response of the Three Great Martial Arts Halls.

"Gentlemen, why have these Ghost Elders suddenly appeared?" Yansong Mountain asked, his face grim. "This is irregular. What are they after? Are they ignoring the prior agreements?"

"The Ghost Elders have been restless lately," Weng Xiaolin said in a low voice, his beard and hair practically standing on end as he suppressed his own rage. "Something happened a while ago. The Cang Mountain Gang popped up in the East Suburb, selling opium right in my territory. I later found out that the Cang Mountain Gang is being directly funded by the Ghost Elders."

"There was such a thing?" Dong Wenhui’s eyes narrowed slightly. "That’s completely against the rules of previous years. The Giant Spirit Army is just letting them do as they please?"

"There’s been constant friction between the eight great Warlords recently. You all know about the Chengtian Army’s agreement with the Neon Nation a while back, right? All sides are upping the ante now, and I’m afraid the Giant Spirit Army is no exception. They need more support from these Ghost Elders, so for some things, they can only turn a blind eye. I’m afraid our peaceful days are numbered."

"Alright, the key now is how to handle this," Yansong Mountain said. "Since they’ve come to us, they must be confident of victory. This won’t be easy."

"How else can we handle it?" Weng Xiaolin said resolutely. "They’ve practically punched us in the face! If we back down now, how can we still make a name for ourselves in Celestial Sea Prefecture? Our disciples will be ridiculed just for walking down the street! There’s no sense in retreating without a fight. Even if we lose, we must lose with dignity on the fighting stage!"

"Old Man Weng is right," Dong Wenhui said, nodding in agreement. "How could we possibly retreat now?"

"Since we’re all in agreement, it’s decided," Yansong Mountain said, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

They were not pushovers to be trifled with. Anyone who had reached their position was, by nature, swift and decisive.

The three discussed for another moment, then returned to their seats. Everyone leaned in to listen.

"Director Pete, our Three Great Martial Arts Halls have always welcomed exchanges with our peers in the Martial Arts Realm. As the saying goes, ’Is it not a delight to have friends come from afar?’ We people of the Divine Land have always been warm and hospitable. Since your nephew wishes to witness the Martial Dao of the Divine Land, we shall do our duty as hosts."

Yansong Mountain said this to Director Pete in a level voice, even raising it slightly so that almost the entire ballroom could hear.

"Alright!"

"The Three Great Martial Arts Halls have guts!"

"Don’t let them look down on us!"

"..."

Hearing Yansong Mountain’s words, a wave of suppressed cheers rose from the crowd. If the Three Great Martial Arts Halls had backed down at this moment, many people would have been deeply disappointed in them.

"Thank you, gentlemen."

Director Pete ignored the noise from the surroundings and said to the three hall masters with a smile.

Yansong Mountain beckoned with his hand, and a disciple from the Golden Blade Martial Arts Hall walked over from the side carrying a red box for drawing lots, handing it to Yansong Mountain.

"Please, go ahead. Our three martial arts halls have a total of four combatants for this tournament. To participate, you must replace one of them. Draw your opponent from here. If you win, you may continue to compete."

Yansong Mountain looked at Kaiser, who stood behind Pete, and held the box of lots out to him.

"Draw lots? There’s no need. I’m not here to participate in your little competition."

A smile touched Kaiser’s lips as he pushed the box away. "Have all four of them come at me, one by one. If they can beat me, your competition can continue. Otherwise, I don’t think there’s any need for it to go on."

As soon as he said this, a dangerous glint appeared in the eyes of the three hall masters as they stared at Kaiser.

’He’s gone too far! Does he really think the Three Great Martial Arts Halls are made of paper?’

The guests in the ballroom also instantly broke into an uproar.

This Ghost Elder’s arrogance was astounding, as if no one else was worthy of his notice!

"This Kaiser... such arrogance," Chu Jiaxuan said, her eyes narrowing slightly. "He wants to fight four people consecutively?"

"There’s more to this guy than meets the eye," Ma Maocheng said in a low voice. "He’s likely been enhanced by the Jili Empire’s Royal Secret Medicine."

Western Secret Medicines were divided into different grades, and these grades resulted in different levels of power, even for those at the same cultivation realm. In the Jili Empire, the Royal Secret Medicine was the highest tier. It granted immense strength, but in turn, it demanded extremely high innate talent from the user.

"If that’s the case, then we’ll see this through to the end. Please, go and get changed."

Yansong Mountain withdrew the box of lots and gave a look to a disciple beside him. The disciple immediately had Zhao Xuanqi and the other three step down from the ring. Meanwhile, Kaiser headed to a private room backstage in the ballroom to change out of his suit.

The three hall masters conferred once more and finally determined the first combatant by drawing lots.

From Hengchang Martial Arts Hall, Yuan Mingfeng!

「A Quarter Hour later.」

On the brightly lit ring, two tall figures stood facing each other.

Hengchang Martial Arts Hall’s combatant, Yuan Mingfeng, was a large man nearly 1.9 meters tall. He had bronze-colored skin, rugged features, and two thick, bushy eyebrows, giving him a very masculine appearance.

On the other side, Kaiser had changed into a pair of loose boxing trunks, revealing an incredibly powerful upper body. The thick, brownish-yellow hair on his chest made him look like a powerful brown bear.

Among all their combatants, only Yuan Mingfeng’s physique could rival Kaiser’s.

"HENGCHANG MARTIAL ARTS HALL!!"

"SENIOR BROTHER YUAN!!"

"..."

Shouts and cheers erupted from the crowd.

"Such a noisy racket," Kaiser said to Yuan Mingfeng with a faint smile, his words spoken in halting Divine Land. "It won’t be long before I make them all shut up."

"I don’t know if they’ll shut up, but I’ll make you shut up first."

Yuan Mingfeng’s eyes narrowed, a dangerous glint flaring within them.