Yi Luo was currently fighting with the piece of steak on the table. Downing his wine in a single gulp, he gave an extremely wretched burp before replying. “Can I speak honestly? This alcohol is fucking terrible, and is really inferior to their beef!”
“Just enjoy the things you like.” said Solomon with a laugh. “There’s no need to impose on others.”
…
The hundred-year celebration and the closing ceremony was a great success, allowing Stuart Dimensional Stadium to improve its reputation. Furthermore, Stuart City’s organising capabilities, wealth, and various other aspects had also obtained the recognition of the entire Federation. Despite being the hosts, they had only made it to the semifinals in this CHF; however, their loss had a negligible effect on the overall status of the Stuart Family.
After all, ordinary people might view the champions as heroes, but the higher-ups of the Federation still judged the various powers and influences as an entire whole. Although the final rankings of the squadrons might yield some insight into their future capabilities, that was the future. Who dared to guarantee that there won’t be any unexpected situations?
The craze that began with the CHF had started to die down, while in the Skylink, the discussions about the CHF had rapidly declined in activity.
A competition was just a competition, and similarly, idols were just as transient. The commoners of the Federation didn’t have the freedom to kick back and relax all the time. Everyone still had their own livelihood, their own hustle. The clamouring and relaxation during this period of time was merely a small reward for themselves. After that, everyone still had to proceed with their respective “fights”. This was the most important matter for commoners.
A couple of days after the end of the competition, Stuart City had already gradually returned to its usual order. Of the participating squadrons that had come all the way here for the CHF, the majority of them had already returned to their respective cities.
Naturally, as some squadrons left, some had remained.
Stuart, Menkeller Hospital.
In Stuart City, with insanely high land prices, building such massive doors and having a vast, spacious garden was a textbook example of extravagance.
This was Menkeller Hospital, one of the very best hospitals within the entire Federation. Other than soldiers, doctors were the most highly regarded profession. In fact, this was the most sought-after occupation in the hearts of the commoners, even above that of soldiers. After all, this was an occupation that one could join, regardless of status. Although these 2 jobs had their similarities, doctors did not need to risk their lives in combat. Furthermore, the hospital systems in the various great cities were one of the wealthiest organisations out there.
The reason for Mankeller Hospital’s massive fame definitely wasn’t due to the luxurious infrastructure. It was the most comprehensive and advanced healthcare facility within the entire Federation. Furthermore, they possessed top-notch medical teams ranked among the best in the Federation. In terms of equipment and medical personnel, the quality here was top-notch.
At this moment, Wang Zhong was resting peacefully on a hospital bed within Menkeller Hospital. He had been unconscious for 2 days. Mo Wen’s final strike was truly too powerful; Wang Zhong had been left in this condition despite being in an optimal state immediately after awakening his Great 5 Elements Constitution. If not for that, he wouldn’t have been Mo Wen’s match at all.
Now, as he recalled the fight, his heart still palpitated in dread. If not for Laura and Scarlet having immediately notified the organizing committee to send the medical squad down, and subsequently having him sent to the emergency department of Menkeller Hospital, he might not have got off with something as light as being unconscious for 2 days straight.
Through the Skylink replays for his match against Mo Wen, which showed the duel from the audience’s perspective, coupled with his first-hand experience from the fight, he was able to gain a better understanding of what he had experienced and comprehended.
Indeed, he had obtained numerous benefits from this duel. Furthermore, the final exchange was truly too astonishing. In fact, before that duel, Wang Zhong had never imagined that he would have been able to reach that realm within this short of a time frame. Everything was a result of Mo Wen’s “pressure”. This was also his first time seeing the Dharma Idol attacks from the angle of cameras. Despite personally experiencing their effects, he still felt shocked when thinking about it. After all, he had caught the attention of the entire Federation.
Reading through the comments left on the Skylink, Wang Zhong noticed that many people felt that him pulling off the win was simply a fluke, as Mo Wen was stronger in terms of strength and realm. In fact, there were some within the Parliament who were purposefully spreading information that weapon-type Dharma Idols were classified as low-tier Dharma Idols. However, for some unknown reason, Wang Zhong’s Soul Domination attack had unexpectedly managed to pierce through Mo Wen’s Dharma Idol in an inconceivable manner. The various cameras set up were utterly incapable of recording what had actually happened in that instant. Of course, the only ones who were able to gain some understanding about it were those bigshots present in the stadium, though they clearly wouldn’t provide an explanation for the commoners.
Although this evaluation wasn’t correct, Wang Zhong agreed with part of it.
Indeed, there was some luck involved in his victory. After all, it was his first time condensing his Dharma Idol and using a Soul Domination attack. His Dharma Idol possessed the power of fate, and was something that he had no control over. In that instant, he had been completely at the mercy of those fate energies. It was only due to it that his strength had skyrocketed for a short moment, allowing him to break through Mo Wen’s blockade and clinch the victory. This was the terrifying might of fate power. Although there existed the possibility of failure, if it worked, no one could stop it…
The evaluations from Skylink, from the analysts, as well as his own comprehension.
Wang Zhong reflected on all of them for a very long time. Only powerful opponents could cause him to be filled with fighting spirit.
After the end of the competition, the majority of the people had already gone home, and Tianjing was no exception. This time, the Tianjing people could hold their heads high. It was said that on the armored train journey back Tianjing, anyone who was seen wearing the uniform of the Tianjing squadron would receive enthusiastic applause and cheers.
However, not all of the squadron had returned. Scarlet and Ma Dong had chosen to stay behind. Ma Dong had some matters that he needed to handle and facilitate, while Scarlet wanted to take care of Wang Zhong. Naturally, there was also another unrelated person who had stayed behind. Laura had also took the initiative to stay behind, a cause of considerable grievance for Arnold, Anlor and the other Copperfield members, making them feel as though their captain had been kidnapped.
At this moment, the newly conferred Tianjing goddess, Scarlet, was currently peeling an apple as she sat on the left of Wang Zhong. Laura was also present, seated on his right hand side while flipping through the Skylink. Wang Zhong’s hands were still wrapped in thick layers of bandages and medical ointment, and it was best for him to not move about, to facilitate his recovery process. Therefore, matters like reading information present in the Skylink were handled by either Laura or Scarlet.
With 2 beautiful women by his side, this scene was too beautiful to behold. If this matter were to be circulated, it would definitely cause many men to go crazy! Wang Zhong was experiencing a gentle bliss that would make any red-blooded male go green with envy.
“Finally, the list of the top 10 experts had been released.” said Laura as she tapped on the announcement excitedly. Hearing that, Scarlet moved over, causing 3 heads to be squished together as all of them looked at the tiny Skylink screen.
A serene and refreshing fragrance wafted over from his left, while a fiery and passionate perfume wafted over from the right. Furthermore, sponge-like masses came pressing over from both sides, pushing Wang Zhong to the brink of getting a nose bleed.
Wang Zhong felt slightly blissful, and slightly troubled. Although he was laden with injuries, he was still a perfectly healthy man. His ruptured blood vessels would definitely not take kindly to this sudden gush of excitement and emotions. “Cough cough…”
“Why are you coughing?” Not noticing any weird changes in Wang Zhong other than his sudden coughing, Laura proceeded to move closer to him. Extending her small hand to touch his forehead, she asked, “Do you want some water?”
It was even more stimulating than before! Our student Wang’s eyes were about to roll back into his head! Nevertheless, he could not voice his thoughts; after all, Laura’s intentions were pure, and she only wanted to care for his well being. Therefore, he had no choice but to suffer in silence. On the contrary, Scarlet had managed to pick up the signs. As with most commoners, she had matured faster than many people.
Her face turned flushed, while she wanted to laugh out loud. In any case, there wasn’t anyone else present in the room. There was no harm with occasionally teasing Wang Zhong and seeing him blush, which was extremely cute in her eyes.
“Don’t care about him! Look at the list.” This was the first time Scarlet had lied like this, causing her face to turn hot with embarrassment. While doing so, she subconsciously tilted her gaze down towards the other side. Indeed, hers’ are much bigger than mine. Although I’m also a girl, I can feel my heart racing, and I also want to reach over and…
The warm and sweet atmosphere in the room was more than sufficient to cause people’s hearts to race. Despite his amazing willpower, Wang Zhong still had to forcibly turn his attention towards the Skylink screen. As the namelist was short, he was able to see all of them with a single glance.
Wang Zhong was the first name on the list.
His final duel had become a Federation classic. Furthermore, he had defeated almost all of the ranking experts in this CHF by himself! In accordance with his merit, his number one placing was absolutely guaranteed. However, in the past CHF, this number one placing, with the corresponding title of “number one under the heavens”, had always been given to the captain of the winning squadron. This was similar to the FMVP (finals MVP) title. Yet, this time, it had been snatched by the captain of the runner-up squadron, breaking this trend.
Displayed in order below Wang Zhong’s name were: Mo Wen, Carolyn, Vladimir, Gui Xinying, Gui Hao, Grai, Mo Ling, Napier Mo, and Divian.
Without taking the squadrons’ victory and defeat into consideration, and only basing it on personal combat results, Wang Zhong was indeed worthy of being the strongest king ins the younger generation.
There was no contest for Mo Wen, with his absolute eruption of strength, to be ranked 2nd. Truthfully speaking, there were quite a few people who still believed that he was stronger than Wang Zhong, and that he had lost the final exchange simply due to poor luck. However, when viewed from another perspective, while the entire Heaven’s Fate squadron was insanely strong, the pressure felt by Tianjing had been immense, having faced tough challenges in practically every round. In this aspect, other than defeating Carolyn in that one semifinal duel, he had not encountered any other opponents of a similar calibre. On the other hand, Wang Zhong had defeated powerful opponents in succession, maintaining this trend all the way to the finals. What Wang Zhong had suffered through was undeniable. Therefore, in the end, Mo Wen had been ranked at 2nd place, something that many Heaven’s Fate supporters could only express regret over.
As for Carolyn and Vladimir.
Carolyn, with her radiant talent and coupled with her Spiritual Soul Dominion, should be on the same level as Vladimir in terms of actual combat strength. In fact, if the 2 of them were to duel, the fight could go either way. Nevertheless, Carolyn was a goddess of the Federation, and had the homeground advantage, so it was without question that Vladimir would be ranked lower than her.
As for the names further down the list, there were some who felt that Grai’s ranking was too low, and some who felt the same for Napier Mo. After all, Napier had remained undefeated in this entire CHF… naturally, the one that sparked the greatest controversy, was none other than Gui Hao.
Gui Hao’s special ability was powerful, something that everyone had witnessed. In terms of combat strength, it was reasonable for him to be in this list. However, the problem was that this fellow’s character was atrocious. When judging a soldier, the assessment needed to be comprehensive, and various aspects had to be taken into consideration. Placing him above Grai and Napier Mo had truly made many people unhappy, resulting in a whole slew of curses aimed at him being posted on the Skylink. Now, there were countless questions and comments surfacing, discussing the “shadiness of the aristocratic families”, while the comments left behind were very “eloquent”, causing Scarlet, Laura and Wang Zhong to grin and chuckle as they read on.
“Ha, this ranking has probably made quite a few people disappointed.” Scarlet had clearly relaxed, and was feeling rather good. Earlier, there had been news circulating on the Skylink, mentioning the possibility of Wang Zhong being ranked lower than Mo Wen as a result of Tianjing losing to Heaven’s Fate. This had definitely triggered Scarlet’s feeling of injustice for Wang Zhong.
“The aristocratic families have also reacted to this, and there seemed to be an argument over this matter, going on about this situation being unprecedented and whatnot.” Laura replied with a smile. “It was due to the Parliament’s insistence and debate about the influence this ranking has over the commoners that changed their decision.”
Wang Zhong chuckled upon hearing that. Truthfully speaking, he didn’t care about this ranking at all. After all, the competition was already over, so this ranking held no meaning to him. Neither him nor Mo Wen were pursuing useless concepts like fame. Instead, they were gunning for the vast future ahead of them. Naturally, this was still a hot topic for the outside world for a considerable period of time. After all, the officials needed to quell the needs of the public.
Compared to those useless fame, he was much more interested about the “recovery method” currently being employed on him.
Frankly speaking, when he had regained consciousness, and noticed that he was being simultaneously cared by Scarlet and Laura, our student Wang Zhong was utterly incapable of relaxing. In fact, even the great president Ma had also privately informed our student Wang about his worries.
Everyone would always talk about what 2 women would do when they were competing over the same “resource”; it was highly likely that they would show their dislike for each other all day long. Therefore, Wang Zhong was really afraid of the possibility of them entering a conflict. However, reality had proven that, both Wang Zhong and the love saint Ma Dong still didn’t have a good understanding of how women were. The 2 girls by his side had actually managed to coexist amicably over the past couple of days, and had even started to develop some kind of tacit understanding.
Scarlet could be described as the warm and gentle type, while Laura was the opposite. Nevertheless, both of them were considered to be the delicate type. Both of them knew that they both liked Wang Zhong, though that did not mean that they would become enemies, and it definitely wouldn’t prevent them from becoming friends.
Intelligent ladies would definitely understand how to limit the control her emotions had on her actions. There were no absolutes in love. Furthermore, both of them had the same motive, which was to take care of Wang Zhong until he recovered fully. As for other things, they were left for the future.
Therefore, Wang Zhong was the one who had struck gold.
The great care and concern shown by these 2 great beauties made Wang Zhong feel as though he had gone to heaven, with the occasional embarrassing interruption from his bodily reactions. Furthermore, being in a hospital, he had managed to obtain a rare period of peace and tranquility, as this wasn’t a place where reporters could stroll in wantonly and create trouble.
Naturally, there were still quite a lot of people who had come to pay a visit. There were those representing the various aristocratic families, and those who came on behalf of the parliament and the various other powers and influences. All of them had come to see Wang Zhong in the name of care and concern. It was difficult for Scarlet and Ma Dong to handle such matters, therefore it was fortunate that Laura was around.
Being the big miss of the Potter Family, and coupled with her firsthand knowledge, it was child’s play for Laura to handle these matters. She was all too clear about the benefits of being born in an aristocratic family. With Wang Zhong in mind, there were some things that could not be rushed.
They thought that the peace would last until Wang Zhong got discharged, but the week after, an unexpected visitor arrived.
At this moment, Laura, Scarlet, and Wang Zhong were currently playing a card game. Laura and Scarlet’s face were almost covered to the brink with stickers as they competed with Wang Zhong, causing them to grumble in frustration. In the game of poker, these 2 girls were truly incapable of keeping up with Wang Zhong. In fact, Laura had just learnt how to play this game.
They were currently having fun.
Knock knock knock.
“What liveliness.” A clear sound rang out. “May I come in?”