Chapter 249 - Gathering of Elites
The first rays of the morning sun pierced through the window, shining on Shi Feng, who was currently working out in the living room.
Currently, Shi Feng no longer carried out the intense muscle exercises of the past few days. He quietly stood still for a long time, before slowly lowering his body, entering into a horse stance[1]. Closing his eyes, Shi Feng relaxed his body. Suddenly, his chest expanded as he inhaled deeply. He then exhaled, a trail of white mist coming out of his mouth.
Like a water pistol, the white mist that shot out from his mouth managed to actually reach a distance of over two meters before gradually dissipating.
If any normal person were to witness this scene, they would definitely be shocked by it. The season right now was summer. Yet, Shi Feng had recreated a scene that could usually be found only during winter time.
After repeating this process for an hour, Shi Feng stopped his rhythmic breathing.
“The effect of this Eight-sectioned Brocade exercise is quite good. I’ve only trained in it for an hour, and I can already feel my body becoming lighter. The exercise has also significantly cleared my mind.” Shi Feng clenched and released his fists. His entire body felt comfortably warm, and his five senses felt keener than usual.
This Eight-sectioned Brocade exercise was something he had accidentally stumbled upon in the past, after becoming the Guild Leader of Shadow, when he visited an antique shop.
Originally, he had planned to test the effectiveness of the exercise. However, after the company hired a martial arts master as an instructor at the Workshop, Shi Feng gave up on that notion.
During those days, people were already going crazy over God’s Domain. In order to improve their actual combat skills, they would practice martial arts like madmen. Naturally, Shi Feng was no exception. At that time, however, he was no longer young, and his body was similarly no longer in its prime. The things he could do were limited, and the most he could do was practice some Taichi and Eight Trigram Palms, training his techniques as much as he could.
However, his current self was different. Not only had he started consuming Nutrient Fluids at a much earlier period than in the past, after undergoing several workout sessions, his current body’s physique far surpassed the one of his past.
There was a saying in martial arts: “Internally, spirit and breathing are practiced; externally, muscles, bones, and skin are practiced.” Meanwhile, Shi Feng related this saying to the Eight-sectioned Brocade.
Only, he had not thought the exercise would yield such good results.
Although the exercise did not increase his body’s strength, it refreshed his psyche and allowed him to remain calm at all times. Such an effect was an unexpected harvest for Shi Feng.
After Shi Feng had his breakfast, he received a call from Zhao Ruoxi. She said that she was going to give him a ride to the Fellowship Party.
When Shi Feng arrived downstairs of his apartment, he immediately discovered Zhao Ruoxi standing in front of a blue sports car. She wore a pure white dress today, while her hair was tied up into a double ponytail. Her pure and beautiful appearance attracted the attention of every man that walked past her, sending them into a daze as drool leaked out of their mouths.
“Let’s go.” Zhao Ruoxi smiled sweetly when she noticed Shi Feng walking over.
“Is this your car?” Shi Feng looked at the blue sports car before him, feeling somewhat surprised. Suspicion of Zhao Ruoxi’s identity started growing within him.
This blue sports car was a limited edition Maglev Ferrari Z75, and it had a selling price of six million Credits. One would not be able to find one even in the entire Jin Hai City, yet Zhao Ruoxi actually owned one herself.
“Of course. What? Surprised? It’s just that, normally, I don’t like driving it to school. However, we are going to a formal occasion today, so I need to make an impression.” Zhao Ruoxi nodded her head slightly in reply. “Hurry up and get on. The venue of the Fellowship Party is quite a distance away.”
Although Shi Feng was mildly astonished by this new revelation, he didn’t attempt to delve further into the matter. After all, everyone had their own secrets. Hence, he slid into the passenger seat. Soon after, Zhao Ruoxi stepped on the accelerator, and with a whoosh, the Ferrari Z75 sped along the road of the neighborhood.
Envy filled the eyes of the many pedestrians walking on the street as they watched the Ferrari Z75 speed down the road. They inwardly wished that they too could drive such a sports car one day.
The trip, which should have taken over an hour by car, was reduced to just slightly over 30 minutes by Zhao Ruoxi.
“Hmm? Are you carsick?” Zhao Ruoxi asked curiously, looking at Shi Feng’s pale complexion after she alighted from the car.
Shi Feng was a fighting expert within the school, and he was a person capable of knocking down a powerhouse like Zhou Yuhu in a single move. Yet, he had actually gotten carsick. If others heard about this, probably nobody would believe it.
“It’s nothing. My body just feels slightly uncomfortable. It might be due to the breakfast I had this morning.” Shi Feng casually made an excuse. In truth, however, Shi Feng really wanted to say, “You call that driving? That’s practically attempted murder!” However, since Zhao Ruoxi had brought him here out of goodwill, he naturally would not say such words.
“Then, have you taken some medicine?” Zhao Ruoxi asked in worry, blinking her eyes.
“…” Shi Feng turned speechless.
The Jin Hai Fellowship Party was being held at a five-star hotel. Although the event was organized by Jin Hai University, the participants were not limited to the students and staff of the university. Other universities and elites of society would also be participating in this event, and it would not be an exaggeration to call this Fellowship Party a gathering of elites.
The Jin Hai Fellowship Party was an annual event held in Jin Hai City. Even though plenty of people wished to participate in this event, not everyone received the chance to actually do so. Moreover, the Fellowship Party held today was unlike any other before it. Aside from having invited personages that participated in Jin Hai City’s fighting competition, the event organizers had also invited many experts from gaming workshops this time around.
As to why they would decide to invite such gaming experts, it was mainly due to the growing popularity of God’s Domain. People could already see the limitless potential of God’s Domain. Hence, many wished to form a good relationship in advance with these gaming experts. The decision of the event organizers was undeniably the correct one to make, because several years from now, every single gaming expert that participated in this Fellowship Party would grow to become a famous celebrity in Jin Hai City.
Just as Zhao Ruoxi and Shi Feng were about to enter the hotel, Shi Feng was unexpectedly blocked by the security guard at the door.
“I’m sorry, sir, but your name is not on the list of invited guests. You cannot enter this place,” the tall and robust security guard leader said in a cold voice, looking at Shi Feng with a sharp gaze.
This security guard leader was a former member of the Special Forces, and he had experienced multiple battlefields before. The murderous intent he radiated could scare most of the people he met, and others usually did not dare to look directly at him.
If a normal person was the focus of the stare of this security guard leader, their hearts would immediately palpitate with fear as they redirected their gaze somewhere else. Yet, even after receiving this security guard’s glare, Shi Feng’s expression still remained as placid as before, his lack of reaction confusing this security guard greatly.
“That’s not possible. I registered Shi Feng myself. Can you check again?” Zhao Ruoxi’s brows wrinkled. She had personally gone to the Student Council at the university, and had directly handed two person’s worth of participation fees to the Student Council President. How was it possible that she was registered, while Shi Feng was not?
The security guard captain scanned Shi Feng once more. In the end, the results he got still showed him as “Unknown” and that he was not allowed entry. To make sure that nothing was wrong with the machine, he tried it on other people as well, and the results showed that nothing was wrong with the machine.
“That’s not right. I registered both of us together. I’ll contact He Youcai. Something must’ve gone wrong somewhere. I’ll get him to fix it immediately,” Zhao Ruoxi said.
“Sorry, but I have to do things according to the rules. Anyone not registered is not allowed to enter. Impromptu registrations are not acceptable, either. These are the rules,” the security guard captain said coldly.
“Who is the person responsible here?” Zhao Ruoxi asked angrily.
Shi Feng was someone she had personally invited. Now that Shi Feng was barred entry, how could she not get angry?
“Miss, please stop making things difficult for me. This is how the rules have always been. I can’t change it just because of one person.” The security guard captain could not help but soften his tone when he discerned that Zhao Ruoxi’s identity was not simple.
At this moment, several people walked out from the hotel. One of them was none other than the person Zhao Ruoxi was looking for, the President of the Student Council, He Youcai. Walking beside him were people Shi Feng were familiar with: Ling Feilong, Zhou Yuhu, and Qin Shuyu.
Meanwhile, it was Shi Feng’s first time to meet the Student Council President, He Youcai. The person in question had a stout body and round face, and his voice when he spoke was extremely gentle. It was very hard to imagine such a person being able to actually become the Student Council President.
“Fellow student Zhao Ruoxi, what urgent matters do you have? Why are you looking for me so frantically?” He Youcai asked.
Zhao Ruoxi then gave a short summary of what had happened.
“I am truly sorry about this, fellow student Zhao Ruoxi. I never would have imagined that such a mistake would occur in the registrations. I sincerely apologize, but since things have already gotten to this point, I am helpless as well; these are the rules that the school set long ago. Regarding your loss, I’ll compensate you with double the amount you paid.” He Youcai sent a glance at Shi Feng, a smile on his face as he spoke.
Standing to one side, both Ling Feilong and Zhou Yuhu looked at Shi Feng with mocking smiles on their faces. Even an idiot could tell that this matter had something to do with them.
TL Notes:
[1] horse stance: https://www.wikihow.com/Do-the-Horse-Stance-in-Kung-Fu