Infinite Fighting

Chapter 86: Chapter 77: Fu Tian

Participation in the competition was pretty much set in stone.

They had already registered for the amateur and professional divisions.

As for who would actually get to compete, that would require an internal selection process.

However, Zhang Ji already had a good idea of how things would play out.

He didn’t know who would be in the amateur division.

But for the professional division, it would most likely be Shen Han, Zhou Hao, and Hudson.

That’s right—Hudson and the others he had brought out of the Ruins Realm were also taking part in the selection.

The fastest way to integrate someone into a collective is to have them participate in its activities.

It was also worth noting that Zhang Ji had brought out his simplified Little Five Elements Fist to teach the disciples of the Five Elements Sect.

The barrier to entry for this was much lower than practicing the Five Elements Fist itself.

It also made it easier to grasp the "unity of the five forms."

Once they mastered the Little Five Elements Fist, practicing the Five Elements Fist would no longer be difficult.

Their progress would surely skyrocket.

The amateur and professional divisions were one thing, but the real challenge was the Transcendent Level division.

Only by winning the Transcendent Level championship could they significantly alleviate the Five Elements Sect’s current predicament.

Sponsorships, endorsements, and prize money—all that combined would truly allow the Five Elements Sect to establish a foothold here and begin to grow again.

Moreover, he could then use the power of money to expand his influence and gather information on places like the Ruins Realms.

For example, Buci Island, which he had been searching for, wasn’t on any current world map. He would have to dispatch people to investigate, and wouldn’t that cost money?

And what about the potential conflict between endorsements and his wanted status?

There was more than one wanted martial artist who had fled to the Roman Country.

The International Council had brought it up time and again, but to no avail.

The Roman Country couldn’t care less.

As long as you made it to the Roman Country and didn’t commit a crime there, you were considered one of their own.

Of course, the underlying reason for all of this was the founder of the World Martial Artists Association, the Saint King Elaven Uth.

He was the one sheltering these martial artists.

His ambition was vast—unlike the A-rank martial artists of old, he wasn’t content with just conquering a piece of land.

He wanted to rule the world.

But it’s impossible for one person to rule the world alone.

Even if you were invincible, you still couldn’t guarantee the world would operate according to your will.

You need people to carry out and enforce your will.

That was why the World Martial Artists Association had been able to flourish.

From a certain perspective, this was all a foundation Elaven was building.

He was just waiting for the day he deemed the time right to issue a rallying cry, step out from behind the curtain, and completely transform the Roman Country’s governing structure.

Finding a third Grandmaster was proving to be quite difficult.

It wasn’t that there were no unaffiliated Grandmasters, but they commanded a high price.

You’d call one up, and as soon as you started talking about ideals and the future, they’d hang up on you.

They weren’t about to live on empty promises.

And no one had accepted the invitation posted online, either.

The offer was too low; they probably didn’t even give it a second glance.

With less than ten days until the Spring Tournament, finding a Grandmaster was going to be extremely difficult.

It would be impossible without paying a hefty price.

Zhang Ji was getting a real headache.

As long as they could enter, the other two wouldn’t even need to lift a finger. He alone could fight his way to the finals and win.

But alas, they were short one person.

The post had been up for a full five days, yet no one had responded.

In the meantime, Zhang Ji had managed to form another Iron Body Skill crystal, and his Horizontal Training Power had increased considerably.

By the seventh day, Zhang Ji had all but given up.

He decided to register for a lower-tier league, compete a little, build up some fame, and then reconsider his options.

He couldn’t get rich in one fell swoop, but given the circumstances, he had no other choice.

Walking alone down the street, he found a restaurant that served food from the Eastern Extreme Country, went inside, and ordered.

It was the only place that could make authentic dishes from the Eastern Extreme Country, and most importantly, they sold roast duck over rice.

As he ate his roast duck over rice, Zhang Ji’s gaze fell upon a street fighting ring not far away.

This pedestrian street was always bustling because of the ring.

A large crowd had gathered around to watch the fights.

If you dared to sign the waiver, the law here even permitted life-and-death duels in the ring.

Comparatively, the city of Lanz seemed to have violence in its very DNA, especially when contrasted with the outside world.

The primal savagery deep in the human heart could be fully unleashed here.

If two people talked enough trash online, they might actually sign a death waiver and get in the ring.

If you died, you died.

At that moment, a match was underway in the ring.

The fighters on the stage seemed to be professional martial artists.

They were fighting in a "king of the hill" style.

One defending the ring, one challenging.

Challengers had to pay a certain amount to fight. If the defender lost, they had to pay back double.

Unless you were incredibly strong, you wouldn’t dare to fight like this.

Facing a gauntlet of opponents was terrifying.

The one defending the ring was a young man in his early twenties with features reminiscent of the Eastern Extreme Country. He was panting heavily as he fought. Several martial artists, including professionals, had challenged him, but none had managed to take him down.

Zhang Ji saw through it. This guy was hiding his true strength, just like he himself had done when he threw those matches.

This was clearly a hustle, baiting a bigger fish.

Just then, the defender took a kick from his opponent, pretending to nearly fall out of the ring. It was a close call, making the audience break out in a cold sweat for him.

But Zhang Ji could see he was still clearly acting.

He gave the impression of winning by a hair’s breadth, but the gap was always much wider than it seemed.

’Professional Eighth Rank or higher? No, Professional Ninth Rank? Or...’

Zhang Ji’s expression grew subtle.

’Could he have stumbled upon a Grandmaster playing the wolf in sheep’s clothing?’

He discreetly took out his phone and snapped a picture of the man.

Then, an AI image search instantly pulled up the man’s information.

He really was a Grandmaster.

From a club called Fidesi.

His name was Fu Tian.

However, his club had failed to place in last year’s world finals. Now, due to high operating costs and breach-of-contract fees from operational mistakes, the club had been forced to disband.

He had become a free agent.

And because he was considered too weak, it seemed no major clubs wanted him; only a few small ones had sent him invitations.

’As expected of Lanz. Even Grandmasters are getting picked over...’ Zhang Ji murmured to himself.

This seemed like an opportunity.

Getting to his feet, Zhang Ji strode outside and approached the foot of the ring.

"Huff... puff... ’Is... is there anyone else?’ Fu Tian gasped.

His panting was an act. Although he was at the bottom of the barrel among Grandmasters, handling a few professional martial artists was no problem for him.

"I’ll give it a try."

Zhang Ji took out two thousand Romance Coins, placed them in the collection box, and stepped onto the ring.

Fu Tian looked at the newcomer, and his expression suddenly shifted.

With ordinary martial artists, he could more or less gauge the state of their aura.

But with Zhang Ji, he couldn’t get a read at all.

His power was so perfectly contained that it gave Fu Tian the same feeling he’d had on the awards stage of the world finals, when he saw the president of the World Martial Artists Association.

’But then he thought it was impossible. Why would a Sublimated Level martial artist be fighting in a street ring?’

Fu Tian could only guess that the man had practiced some kind of Concealing Breath technique.

"Make your move!" Fu Tian said, beckoning to Zhang Ji.

"Alright," Zhang Ji said with a smile.

BANG—!

The instant the word left his lips, Zhang Ji appeared at Fu Tian’s side. A fist shot out, sweeping past Fu Tian’s face, the force of the wind scraping painfully against his cheek.

Fu Tian barely managed to react in time to dodge the attack.

’He’s struggling to react even to this? He’s probably not even a Third Rank Grandmaster.’

Zhang Ji now had a measure of him.

He had used the strength of a Fifth Rank Grandmaster at most, yet Fu Tian had nearly failed to dodge. If Zhang Ji hadn’t intentionally missed, Fu Tian would have been knocked off the stage.

Zhang Ji switched tactics, launching a high kick that forced Fu Tian to block with both arms. The impact sent him staggering backward, almost to the edge of the ring.

’Around Second Rank Grandmaster?’

Zhang Ji had a rough grasp of his opponent’s base power level.

That’s right, his base level.

Zhang Ji could sense the Primordial Qi energy within him.

This was a martial artist from the Primordial Qi Sect.

Without using his Primordial Qi, his strength was effectively halved.

Fu Tian was also starting to understand. The man before him was clearly a Transcendent Level martial artist, and a strong one at that.

’This guy must have disapproved of his hustle and come to tear down his stage.’

But he had his own unspoken grievances.

He was a dignified Transcendent Level martial artist, yet he was completely tied down by his mortgage, car payments, and other debts. The big clubs didn’t want him, and he refused to lower himself by joining a small club. He was almost out of money for food. If he didn’t come out here to try and earn something, what else could he do?

"Show me what you can really do. Stop holding back," Zhang Ji said to Fu Tian.

"I’m afraid I won’t be able to hold back," Fu Tian said coldly.

"Only the incapable can’t hold back," Zhang Ji retorted.

Fu Tian certainly didn’t consider himself incapable.

With a flick of his wrist, the air in his palm began to distort.

The intense heat of his Primordial Qi vaporized the air, creating a refractive shimmer.

The next moment, he raised his hand and slashed it diagonally toward Zhang Ji from across the ring.

SHIING—!

A palm-sized, glowing red crescent of energy shot toward Zhang Ji.

It wasn’t just razor-sharp; it also radiated extreme heat.

Fu Tian didn’t aim the attack at Zhang Ji’s vitals, but rather at his leg.

’If Zhang Ji couldn’t dodge, he figured it would be a serious injury at worst—nothing that two or three months of treatment couldn’t fix.’

What he didn’t expect, however, was that Zhang Ji actually reached out to grab the crescent of energy.

HUMMM... PFFT!

Not a single mark was left on Zhang Ji’s palm as he simply crushed the energy blade into nothing.

The sharpness was useless. The heat was useless.

"A Horizontal Training Expert?"

Some unpleasant memories were stirred up in Fu Tian’s mind.

"Flame Blade Sect?" Zhang Ji asked, a look of recognition on his face.

He had read records about the Flame Blade Sect and knew their techniques were similar to what he had just witnessed.

"Someone from the Vajra Sect?" Fu Tian’s expression changed, and he switched to the language of the Eastern Extreme Country.

"Wrong. I’m from the Five Elements Sect," Zhang Ji retorted, also in the language of the Eastern Extreme Country.

"Hmph. So you joined another sect just to preserve your legacy?" Fu Tian sneered. "And here I thought you people were so unyieldingly righteous!"

Zhang Ji’s expression flickered.

’The Vajra Sect had indeed been that unyieldingly righteous, and now they were completely wiped out.’

’Only their legacy remained within the Ruins Realm.’

"That’s all in the past. Now, the Five Elements Sect is following in the Vajra Sect’s footsteps, forced to develop overseas," Zhang Ji said. "I am the current Daoist of the Five Elements Sect. I’ve established a club here, and we’re short one person for the Spring Tournament. You should join us."

"Ridiculous!" Fu Tian sneered, then immediately added, "Fine! If you can beat me, I’ll join!"

BAM!

The words had barely left Fu Tian’s lips when he felt a sudden impact. He was sent flying uncontrollably off the ring, stumbling back several steps before he could regain his balance.

Zhang Ji strolled leisurely to the edge of the ring. "354 Ford Street, the Senior Citizens’ Sports Center. Five Elements Gate Club. Remember to report tomorrow."

Fu Tian stared blankly at Zhang Ji, completely at a loss.

"Didn’t you hear me? Should I repeat myself?" Zhang Ji asked mockingly.

"I heard you!" Fu Tian bit out through clenched teeth.

’It was too humiliating. He’d run into an old enemy of his sect, boasted about getting revenge, and then gotten taken out in a single move.’

’And now he had to go work for the guy.’

He was resentful, but he couldn’t afford to lose face a second time. If he didn’t show up, the Flame Blade Sect would probably gain a reputation for being faithless.

Although the Flame Blade Sect was already in its twilight, its members scattered to the winds and the sect existing in name only, he still didn’t want to disgrace its name. After all, he had once been one of its core disciples!

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