Chapter 224: Chapter 112: National Tournament Registration Begins

Outside the room, hearing Peng Yuanshan’s angry curses, Wang Zhanshan looked at Zhao Rui with a conflicted expression and asked hesitantly, “Elder Ge… he…”

“I only saw him a couple of times a few days ago. I don’t know where he is either!”

Zhao Rui told the truth.

“Oh!”

Wang Zhanshan’s shoulders slumped. He knew Elder Ge wasn’t particularly fond of him, but unfortunately, of the grand-disciple generation, only two remained—one was in the army, and the other was him.

So, he could only swallow his pride and serve as a coach at the Martial Arts Institute.

He was temporarily managing everything in Mingcan Courtyard on Elder Ge’s behalf.

“You just can’t stay out of trouble. From now on, try to get involved in fewer ’heroic’ deeds.”

Wang Zhanshan said, displeased.

“Got it, Coach!”

Zhao Rui’s agreement was exceptionally brisk.

The next day, a few security guards changed into plain clothes and headed to the Wall-Facing Chamber on the front mountain of Mingcan Courtyard.

After yesterday’s great battle, the Wall-Facing Chamber was severely damaged. The door and the adjacent walls were mostly shattered, and the flowers and plants on the ground were a complete mess.

They were here to make repairs.

Zhao Rui handed out cigarettes, thanking them for their hard work.

The men hurriedly accepted the cigarettes, insisting it was no trouble at all.

There wasn’t a single security guard who didn’t know what had happened yesterday.

The rumor that the injured party was a Grandmaster Realm expert had already spread far and wide.

On top of that, Wang Zhanshan had even called him Uncle Master.

They were all eager to become a familiar face to Zhao Rui.

After distributing the cigarettes, Zhao Rui had Cao Guannan bring over several cases of mineral water, his attitude just like that of an ordinary person asking for help.

There was no trace of the ferocious man who had beaten someone half to death yesterday.

By noon, the scorching sun had climbed over the mountain peak, beating down relentlessly on everyone.

Wang Zhanshan summoned Zhao Rui to his office in a side hall of Mingcan Courtyard.

When he arrived, he found Wang Zhanshan inside along with two other people he didn’t recognize.

One of them was a man of about forty, fair-faced and clean-shaven, with a scholarly air about him. He wore a well-fitted Tang suit and appeared quite relaxed.

The other man had thick eyebrows and large eyes, with a brawny build, and seemed to be a bit younger.

“You must be Zhao Tongxue. It’s an honor.”

Seeing Zhao Rui enter, the two men stood and saluted with cupped fists.

Zhao Rui was taken aback for a moment, but he quickly returned the salute. ’They call me a student, yet they greet me with a cupped-fist salute.’

’This must be a Jianghu affair, separate from the school.’

’In that case, these two must be—from the Demon Sect!’

Zhao Rui’s eyes narrowed slightly. He then smiled at Wang Zhanshan, waiting for him to continue.

“Zhao Rui, these two are friends from the Holy Lotus Sect. They’ve come specifically about the matter with Peng Yuanshan.”

After speaking, Wang Zhanshan looked toward the fair-faced, middle-aged man.

The man spoke up, “Just as Coach Wang said, we have come on the orders of our Sect Leader, specifically to apologize to Zhao Tongxue.”

“This has nothing to do with your Sect. As for the apology, I accept the sentiment.”

Zhao Rui nodded.

“Secondly, we hope your esteemed institute will grant our Holy Sect some face and allow us to take our man back. We will be sure to give your institute a satisfactory explanation for this matter.”

“I’m just a student. You can discuss these matters with my coach. In any case, I don’t want anyone sneaking onto campus for a surprise attack in the future,”

Zhao Rui said casually.

“You can rest assured on that point.”

The fair-faced, middle-aged man immediately agreed.

Zhao Rui nodded, then said to Wang Zhanshan, “Coach, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be heading back!”

“Go on!”

Wang Zhanshan waved a hand, gesturing for Zhao Rui to leave.

His presence didn’t matter for the rest of it. It would just be a process of mutual haggling and compromise.

Mingcan Courtyard couldn’t possibly keep him, anyway; after all, he was a prominent figure.

And the Holy Lotus Sect wouldn’t let them keep him, either. An Elder was no mere underling.

The two sides needed to go through a process of negotiation.

None of that was something Zhao Rui wanted to worry about.

…

「Five days passed in a flash, and in the blink of an eye, it was Wednesday of the following week.」

After the previous week’s repairs, the Wall-Facing Chamber was restored to its original state.

The small garden had also been tidied up.

Meanwhile, the culprit, Peng Yuanshan, had also been taken away.

Before he left, Zhao Rui, with a flick of his finger, released the Mirage Finger technique he had previously applied.

Even with his Power restored, Peng Yuanshan still looked utterly dejected. The blow from this incident had been far too great.

His body had long since accumulated hidden injuries from practicing the incomplete and flawed Heavenly Demon Illusionary Sound Technique.

Since the path through Zhao Rui was now blocked, his hopes of continuing his research into the technique were slim to none.

Upon returning to the sect’s headquarters this time, punishment would be unavoidable. More importantly, the fact that he had been practicing the Heavenly Demon Illusionary Sound Technique could no longer be hidden.

This meant his punishment would be even more severe!

Before he was led away, he glanced at Zhao Rui, sighed, and shook his head.

Zhao Rui didn’t pay much mind to his demeanor.

He had no desire to get mixed up in these affairs.

As long as they didn’t provoke him, he was fine.

’If you provoke me, you’d better be ready to pay up with some Elixir Pills.’

This time, the Holy Lotus Sect had really paid a hefty price, sending two large bottles of Five Lotus Pills, which were excellent for rapidly boosting one’s qi and blood.

This type of Elixir Pill was best used during a breakthrough, as it could effectively increase the chances of success.

Zhao Rui took one bottle for himself and gave the remaining one to the Martial Arts Team.

After all, the final resolution had relied on the prestige of Mingcan Courtyard. Otherwise, no matter how powerful his Martial Arts were, the Holy Lotus Sect would not have yielded so easily.

’My Martial Arts are still not strong enough!’

Zhao Rui sighed. ’If my Martial Arts were truly invincible, I would have just made that Peng Yuanshan serve as my gatekeeper for a decade.’

At that moment, on the front mountain of the Martial Arts Institute, Zhao Rui, now dressed in his Martial Arts Uniform, leisurely made his way down the mountain toward Mingcan Courtyard.

Today was the registration day for the National Martial Arts Tournament.

As he reached the entrance, some of the approaching team members eagerly greeted him.

They all called out, “Captain Zhao.”

That title had once belonged solely to Captain Gu.

Now, it was exclusively Zhao Rui’s.

Zhao Rui smiled and nodded to each of them in turn.

By the time he entered the main hall of Mingcan Courtyard, at least half of the team members were already present.

Everyone was gathered in small groups, chatting idly.

Seeing Zhao Rui enter, they all turned to look at him, calling out greetings like, “Morning, Captain Zhao!”

Cao Guannan walked up to him, looked him up and down, and shook his head slightly. “If someone had told me a year ago that you’d reach the Grandmaster Realm in a year’s time, I would have thought they were insane!”

“Haha, that’s because you don’t work as hard as I do!”

Zhao Rui laughed.

Cao Guannan shot him a look. ’Who are you trying to fool?!’

“Everyone knows you’re Elder Ge’s lineage disciple! Stop pretending!”

“Er…”

“Alright, fine!”

’This isn’t a bad thing for me,’ he thought. ’At least it can cover up the fact that my Martial Arts are getting stronger and stronger to some degree.’

The two of them chatted for a moment before Qin Rui and Miao Miaomiao also hurried over.

Miao Miaomiao had been at home all this time, practicing the complete version of the Six Yi Charm Immortal Technique.

Although Zhao Rui had reached the Grandmaster Realm, the propriety between men and women made it inconvenient for him to supervise her. It was more reliable to have her own father watch over her practice.

Therefore, she hadn’t witnessed Zhao Rui’s recent exploits firsthand, only hearing about them from Qin Rui and the others.

Even though she knew Zhao Rui was incredibly skilled, hearing the news that he had actually reached the Grandmaster Realm still left her speechless for a long time.

Now, seeing him in person, her expression was naturally a complicated one.

“What’s with that face?”

Zhao Rui’s hand shot out like lightning, and he gave her fair, tender cheek a pinch.

“Once I recover my Power, I’ll catch up to you as fast as I can!”

Miao Miaomiao paid no mind to his little gesture, instead looking at Zhao Rui with great seriousness.

“Alright, I’ll be waiting for you to become a Grandmaster.”

Zhao Rui smiled. Miao Miaomiao’s talent was nothing to scoff at; she was one of the top students in their class.

“Mm.”

Miao Miaomiao nodded.

Just then, Wang Dalong also walked in through the entrance.

He wore a faint look of relaxed confidence.

He was brimming with energy, like a natural-born king gazing upon the world with an air of indifference.

“Brother Long, you’re out of seclusion? How did it go?”

The few team members who always followed him rushed forward to ask.

With Brother Long gone for so long, their presence on the team had been pitifully small.

All they ever heard was Zhao Rui’s name.

“Mhm, not bad at all.”

Wang Dalong’s reply was simple, but the pleased look in his eyes was impossible to hide.

Clearly, his gains had been substantial.

Hearing this, his followers were overjoyed.

One of them glanced at Zhao Rui, hesitated, and was about to speak.

But just then, three figures walked in through the doorway.

It was the three coaches: Wang Zhanshan, Zeng Hongyi, and another.

“Today’s the day to fill out the forms. Are any of the Level 8 or Above members still missing? Zhao Rui, do a headcount!”

As soon as Wang Zhanshan entered, he was already ordering Zhao Rui to get to work.

Zhao Rui acknowledged the order, scanned the room, and reported, “Coach, everyone’s here!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep