Infinite Fighting

Chapter 84: Chapter 75: Preparing for Independence

In a quiet room, Zhang Ji once again met with Shen Han and Zhou Hao.

Neither of them was in a good state.

Compared to before, they both looked a bit weathered by hardship.

This was especially true for Shen Han, who had matured a lot.

When he learned that Li Long and the others were wanted, Shen Han had thought about going back to help them many times, but he was always stopped by the more mature Zhou Hao.

Zhou Hao had long sensed that something was wrong.

If Li Long and the others were alive, some information would have gotten through. No matter how tight the official blockade was, it couldn’t be completely sealed.

So he felt that either Li Long and the others had been captured, or the news was simply fake.

The truth was, as he had suspected, nearly all of the Five Elements Sect’s upper echelon was dead.

The remaining disciples could mostly only choose to go with the flow.

After listening to Zhang Ji’s story, Zhou Hao closed his eyes and remained silent in contemplation for a long time.

Shen Han clenched his fists in a fit of rage, his fingertips digging into his palms, but in the end, he couldn’t bring himself to erupt.

He knew that with his current level of strength, he was powerless to do anything.

Ever since arriving here, Shen Han had been training desperately, far more diligently than ever before.

He slept less than six hours a day, using all his remaining time for training whenever possible.

It was the only thing he could do.

Zhou Hao was also diligent. Having rediscovered his martial heart, he now had thoughts of breaking through to the Grandmaster realm.

However, he understood the principle that haste makes waste, so while he trained, he didn’t push himself to the point of a mental breakdown.

Chen Anhe also fell silent for a long time.

Finally, Chen Anhe patted Zhang Ji’s shoulder and said, "You’ve been through a lot."

’For Zhang Ji, a young man not yet twenty, to have gone through all that and survived the difficult journey to Lanz... it truly wasn’t easy,’ she thought.

"I’m fine. Sooner or later, I’ll go back. I’ll find a way to make them pay back a hundred, a thousand times over for what they took," Zhang Ji said calmly.

Hearing this, the three of them had varied expressions.

The expressions on Chen Anhe and Zhou Hao’s faces were filled with a sentiment that screamed, ’He’s still too young.’

They clearly didn’t believe Zhang Ji could fight his way back.

But Shen Han was different.

His eyes lit up, and he looked at Zhang Ji as if he had found a new purpose.

Shen Han knew that Zhang Ji’s talent was in no way inferior to that of his eldest senior brother, Li Long.

’Once he steps into the realm of a Land God, the Five Elements Sect will be able to fight its way back sooner or later!’

"By the way, what’s the deal with those people you brought? They don’t look like disciples of the Five Elements Sect. They’re all professional fighters, aren’t they?" Chen Anhe asked Zhang Ji.

"They are people I brought from a Grotto-Heaven. When I was passing through Guning Country, I went through the Zenar Desert and stumbled into a Grotto-Heaven. Several thousand people live there. Their ancestors included a Land God, so they have a special bloodline. Basically, all adults reach the level of a professional fighter. After talking with them, I learned they hadn’t had contact with the outside world for over three thousand years."

Zhang Ji paused here to observe their expressions, then continued, "It occurred to me that they are all professional fighters, and the Five Elements Sect is in dire need of people. So, I negotiated a cooperation with them. We will help them build their home and protect their Grotto-Heaven, and in return, they will lend us their Grotto-Heaven for our development and allow their elites to join our Five Elements Sect, forming a community of shared interests... The three leaders are Weston, the younger brother of the Grotto-Heaven’s clan chief; Hudson, the chief’s son; and Jonas, their priest. I’ve also taken their sons as nominal disciples."

Having omitted some details, Zhang Ji did his best to explain the situation as completely and clearly as possible.

Grotto-Heaven is the Eastern Extreme Country’s term for the Ruins Realm.

In ancient times, there were related legends.

Even the Northern Dao Sect, the Lishan Sect, and the now-extinct Vajra Sect each controlled a Grotto-Heaven.

However, their official story to the public now is that such things don’t exist; they keep them hidden away completely.

Insiders in the martial arts world certainly didn’t believe it.

In any case, Yan Ruifeng and the others knew that the Northern Dao Sect definitely had one.

It was said that the Vajra Sect was destroyed back then because the government coveted its Grotto-Heaven.

Of course, Zhang Ji had read strategy guides back when he was a player, so he knew some of the inside story.

The Vajra Sect probably didn’t even know how to enter their own Ruins Realm, as they had only inherited the relevant legacy and established their sect on someone else’s territory.

Otherwise, relying on the foundation of that Ruins Realm, they could have at least preserved some of their people instead of being almost completely wiped out.

Chen Anhe absorbed the information and then sighed with emotion, "Your fortune is truly profound to have encountered such a thing."

"Elder Chen, what do you think?" Zhang Ji asked.

He wasn’t actually very concerned about Chen Anhe’s answer.

Whether Chen Anhe agreed with his plan or not, he was going to carry it out.

If Chen Anhe disapproved, he would have to challenge her in the arena. If that still failed to convince her, he would simply establish a new Five Elements Sect.

"Now that Ah Long and the others have met with misfortune, and you are Ah Long’s direct disciple as well as a Grandmaster, the position of Daoist should be passed to you. This matter has only benefits and no drawbacks for the Five Elements Sect. I have no intention of not supporting it," Chen Anhe said.

Zhang Ji nodded slightly and looked at Shen Han and Zhou Hao.

"My two Martial Uncles, what about you?" Zhang Ji asked.

"Zhang Ji, your decision is not wrong. I have no objections," Zhou Hao said.

"I have no objections either," Shen Han said.

After settling the matter, Zhang Ji began to ask about the current situation of the Five Elements Sect’s branch here.

"Sigh, it’s a long story..." Chen Anhe said slowly.

As Chen Anhe explained, Zhang Ji gradually learned about the Five Elements Sect’s recent situation.

Originally, according to Yan Ruifeng’s plan, they were to be affiliated with the Valentine Club in the early stages. After opening up the market here, they could make money selling the Five Elements Sect’s secret medicines, become independent, and continue to recruit disciples for development.

But now, with Yan Ruifeng’s arrival long overdue, Chen Anhe was struggling to hold the fort alone. She had thought about selling the secret medicines, but the official procedures were extremely restrictive.

They wouldn’t even give her a chance to register a company unless Chen Anhe provided information like the drug manufacturing process, essentially telling them the formula directly.

According to Chen Anhe’s speculation, the Valentine Clan was pulling strings behind the scenes.

The club’s upper management had approached her many times to discuss cooperating on selling the medicine.

They were only holding back because they were wary of Li Long and the others, who had yet to arrive in Roman Country. Otherwise, they probably would have resorted to forceful means long ago.

However, as time passed and Li Long’s group never arrived, the Valentine Club’s upper management had started to pressure Chen Anhe.

For instance, they wouldn’t let Chen Anhe compete in matches, and they were poaching disciples from the Five Elements Sect.

Tempted by benefits, many Five Elements Sect disciples had been poached by the club.

Zhang Ji didn’t think their choice was wrong. The human heart should not be tested.

Everyone has their weaknesses. ’Even I don’t feel I could be absolutely loyal to the Five Elements Sect.’

However, the disciples who remained had shown how deep their loyalty was; at least it couldn’t be bought with a little money.

This was a very precious quality, which meant they were worthy of being entrusted with important responsibilities.

"In that case, since we’re only affiliated for now and there’s no breach of contract penalty, and since I’ve arrived, let’s just go independent and establish our own club," Zhang Ji said.

"The disciples need to eat. Registering a club, renting a venue... all of this costs money. The little money I brought with me back then isn’t enough," Chen Anhe said after a moment of thought. "And our future development won’t necessarily be smooth either."

"How much do we need, exactly?" Zhang Ji asked.

"For the initial investment, even for a simple setup, we’ll need at least six or seven hundred thousand Romance Coins," Chen Anhe said.

Zhang Ji estimated the price of gold. The gold he had brought from the Wind God Ruins Realm would definitely be enough.

But he didn’t intend to use all of it for this purpose.

Besides, selling a large amount of Gold would be too conspicuous.

"How much money do you have left?" Zhang Ji asked.

"Because I can’t compete, and daily expenses are a bit high, I only have a little over one hundred and seventy thousand left in my account," Chen Anhe said.

"First, let’s register a club. It doesn’t matter if the venue is a bit remote; try to get it as cheap as possible. We can endure harsh conditions for a while. Let’s get the qualification to participate in competitions independently first. Once we start competing and earn some money, we can move to a new venue. That should save us a lot," Zhang Ji said.

Chen Anhe frowned. "Let me calculate it then."

Then, they began to calculate the costs on the spot.

Before long, Zhou Hao had the result.

"In that case, we’re still short by about one hundred thousand," Zhou Hao said.

"I brought some gold from the Grotto-Heaven. It’s a decent amount, enough to exchange for that sum," Zhang Ji said.

"Then what are we waiting for? I’ve been wanting to get out of here for a long time, tired of taking crap from those foreigners!!" Shen Han said.

"Mm, Elder Chen, I’ll trouble you to handle the communications," Zhang Ji said.

"Alright, leave it to me," Chen Anhe said.

"Martial Uncle Zhou, you’ll be in charge of exchanging the Gold for cash, finding a new venue, and registering the club," Zhang Ji said to Zhou Hao.

"Alright, no problem," Zhou Hao nodded.

He wouldn’t dare say he was an expert in martial arts, but in this area, he was truly top-notch.

"As for Martial Uncle Shen, I’ll trouble you to do some morale work with the disciples who are still here. Reassure them, tell them we’re changing locations. The remaining disciples are our core now. We will definitely grow better and better in the future, so don’t let them become too resistant," Zhang Ji said to Shen Han. "Also, the people I brought from the Grotto-Heaven lack some common knowledge. You’ll need to show them some videos and explain things a bit to avoid any trouble. It might be a little tedious, so please be patient."

"Leave it to me."

Shen Han nodded as well. He was closest to the disciples, and they were all young and full of vigor, long since unable to hold back their desire to leave the Valentine Club and go independent.

After being wronged for so long, he could barely contain his excitement and wanted to go out, raise his arms, and share the good news with everyone.

Watching Zhang Ji take charge, Chen Anhe found herself inexplicably comparing him to Li Long.

Then she had a strange feeling. ’Perhaps, as the Daoist, Zhang Ji can do an even better job than Li Long.’

...

After arranging everything, Zhang Ji started looking into the various competitions held by the World Fighter Association.

Lanz had a permanent population of over eighty million, even more than Harry, the capital of Roman Country.

The competitions organized by the World Fighter Association covered all aspects, with new matches held almost every day.

However, there weren’t many that could be called world-class competitions.

The closest world-class competition they could currently participate in was the World Fighter Association’s Spring Fighting Tournament.

This tournament was divided into the Amateur Division, the Professional Division, and the Transcendent Division.

As the names implied, they were competitions for amateur, professional, and Transcendent Level fighters, respectively.

As long as you had a club qualification, were a member of the association, and had been ranked at the corresponding skill level, you could participate.

Each division could have three participants.

There was prize money for reaching the top sixteen.

The champion’s prize was even more generous, and it came with numerous endorsement opportunities. At that point, they would basically have no more money worries.

The amateur champion would win one million, the professional champion three million, and the transcendent champion ten million.

This monetary reward far exceeded that of other competitions.

However, Zhang Ji’s problem now was that Chen Anhe counted as one Grandmaster, and even if he shamelessly lowered his status to compete, that only made two. The Transcendent Division competition required three people.

’Where am I going to find a third Grandmaster?’

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