Book 3, Chapter 41: Exhibition

When Pan Xiaode made the suggestion, the quiet Qi Huixin suddenly looked up. Obviously, she was interested in it as well.

“Please don’t. We already spar enough on a daily basis. It’s our rest time, and we have a high-caliber match to watch tomorrow. You should save up your energy to get hyped for it instead,” Tan Zhi shot down the idea.

Pan Xiaode thought about it before stroking the back of his head. “You’re right. What about tomorrow? Anyway, what should we do after this?”

“There’s a ballroom here. I heard that quite a number of socialites are on board. Why don’t we go and dance with them?” Tan Zhi suggested.

Pan Xiaode and Qi Huixin exchanged a glance before shaking their heads. They were, without a doubt, not interested in the idea.

As for Chen Chuan, he was fine with watching other people dance, but him dancing? He wasn’t interested in that either. If he had the time to dance, he would rather just practice a few rounds of Principal Sanshou.

When Tan Zhi saw that they weren’t interested, he shrugged. “Fine. Then, we won’t go. I heard that Rhinoceros’ Horn has hired Solar to perform here, but they’re only going to do it when the ship sets off, so we won’t get to see them.”

“Solar?” Pan Xiaode’s eyes lit up, then filled with frustration. “I like their songs a lot, but they’re only going to perform when the ship sets off? That’s such a pity. If only we could stay here for a few more days.”

They chatted for a bit more before their conversation went back to martial artists. After talking to Pan Xiaode, Chen Chuan learned that he had a strong foundation in theory and a great understanding of various weapons. That was no easy feat. Martial artists usually only focused on one type of weapon, so people who were skilled in all of them, like Pan Xiaode, were rare. This interested Chen Chuan, and their discussion continued.

Qi Huixin also joined the conversation, and the three of them got engrossed in their own little world. Sometimes, Pan Xiaode would even stand up to gesture around a bit, completely uncaring about other people’s stares.

Tan Zhi felt resigned and had an expression that screamed he had it with them.

Once they finished their meal, Pan Xiaode suggested checking out the arena. Even though the main event would be later, they could watch some of the preliminary matches.

So, the group left the restaurant and rode the single-seated sightseeing cart up a slope. With the Realm Pass guiding their way, they went to the arena on the ninth deck.

What made Rhinoceros’ Horn unique was that it had an entire deck reserved to be an arena. Whenever the cruise ship anchored itself to a port, it would stay there for around three days and organize an offshore tournament.

The in-house arena was not open to non-martial artists. Only those who were at least First Limit martial artists were allowed to go inside to watch the matches.

When the group arrived on the deck, they headed straight to the in-house arena. The security guards only gave them a cursory glance before letting them in. As long as a person had a foundation in martial arts, they could judge another person’s martial arts foundation based on their gait and movements.

In their group, three of them were dressed in Martial Valor University uniforms, while their movements also showed that they were great martial artists.

Chen Chuan’s Realm Pass turned dark for a moment before lighting up again after entering. Then, he found himself in a circular arena resembling a colosseum. The virtual seats were full of holographic people.

They were all the cruise ship’s passengers. As long as they were in their cabins, their Realm Passes could show what was happening in the arena while conjuring a hologram of them in the arena, thus indirectly merging the virtual crowd and real crowd. This did not ruin the atmosphere for anyone and kept the virtual crowd a distance away from the arena.

When the group arrived, a match was just about to begin, so they picked a random spot and sat down.

Since it was just a normal match, the emcee only gave a simple introduction of the fighters’ origins and background. The two then walked on stage one after another, with the spotlights shining on them.

The first fighter came from a martial arts school. He held a machete and wore leather armor. His exposed arms were covered in numerous scars, and his eyes were calm. It was obvious he had a wealth of fighting experience just from his appearance.

His opponent’s exposed upper body showed distinct lines that screamed he had implants. One of his arms had also been modified into something resembling the fearsome ao.[1]

The moment he stepped on stage, he removed the apron covering his waist, and Chen Chuan heard surprised gasps through his Realm Pass.

His lower body resembled that of a scorpion. A tail rested on the floor and three pairs of curled legs supported his weight. Shells similar to those of prawns covered his body from waist to the tail, and with the ao, he was basically a human-sized prawn.

Chen Chuan observed him for a while, but didn’t look favorably on him.

With the ao as his arm, he could maintain his balance with the curled legs, but when he moved or turned quickly, he was bound to lose his balance.

According to Tan Zhi, the matches were meant for companies to sell their implants, so the man had kept one arm unmodified to make it easier to show the differences between the two.

Just then, the emcee’s voice rose in the Realm Pass, introducing the second martial artist who was using Ferris Wheel’s newest combat implants. They were highly suitable for marine combat. The multi-functional curled legs were also perfect for offshore platforms.

The screen before Chen Chuan listed the second martial artist’s modified parts: modified gills, manmade respiratory systems, a strengthened heart, pressure-adaptive membrane, water-resistant secretion glands...

The second martial artist also had modified underwater senses, which were a project that Bolun Corporation had participated in, allowing him to breathe and move at will underwater.

Then, in a joking manner, the emcee said that if necessary, they could even get reproductive organs of sea creatures. This led to the audience breaking into laughter, and some people even asking about the price.

Chen Chuan figured out what was going on at this point. The match was not going to be exciting, like he had hoped for. Instead, it was just a show from the companies to display their products.

He shook his head and stood up. “Sorry, guys. I’m not interested in this match.”

With that said, he walked out.

Pan Xiaode stood up too and grumbled, “There’s nothing fun about this.”

Despite not saying anything, Qi Huixin too, stood up and headed outside.

“Hey, you guys.”

When Tan Zhi saw the three of them leaving, he found it meaningless to be the only one sitting here, so he shrugged and left the place as well.

***

Twenty meters away from where the group had been sitting, Gong Zhanyi was staying in a private cabin. His manager came to him and bowed. “We checked, Young Master. He’s not here yet.”

“Wei Wusheng is a martial arts fanatic. He’s bound to come to the match tomorrow. Rhinoceros’ Horn is going to leave the day after tomorrow, so we have to find him and retrieve it before then,” Gong Zhanyi said coldly.

“Understood.”

After giving the orders, Gong Zhanyi changed his posture and watched the two martial artists fight. “I heard that Martial Valor University students will be joining the fighting.”

“Yes. Ever since that person became the vice chancellor, he began pushing for it, but the students who came aren’t the university’s official students. They’re just external students,” the manager answered.

“External students? That’s boring. These matches would only be worth watching if their official students joined the arena,” Gong Zhanyi complained.

“I don’t think that’d be easy to pull off.”

Gong Zhanyi didn’t agree with it. “The vice chancellor has already opened up this possibility. As long as there’s enough profit coming from it, official students participating in the tournaments might become a reality in the future.”

***

When Chen Chuan’s group left the arena, they had yet to decide where to go next. Just then, they saw a young man in a traditional martial arts uniform and canvas shoes walking toward them. He had a gentle smile on his face and radiant skin.

“This is Sun Zhiming. He’s our upperclassman, so we should call him Senior Sun,” Tan Zhi introduced and shook Sun Zhiming’s hand. He then introduced Chen Chuan, Pan Xiaode, and Qi Huixin to him.

Sun Zhiming shook their hands and welcomed them before smiling at Tan Zhi. “I saw you leaving the arena soon after you went in. Those matches were not arranged for you, so it’s no wonder why you found them boring. Why don’t you come with me? I’ll show you something I’m sure you’ve never seen before.”

He then turned to the security guards standing nearby. “I’m taking a stroll with my juniors. Don’t follow us.”

The security guards tactfully left.

Curious, Pan Xiaode asked, “What do you want to show us, Senior Sun?”

“You’ll know once you see it,” Sun Zhiming answered with a smile.

He brought the four of them onto a sightseeing cart and drove down the corridor to the exhibition hall in the hull of the ship.

There were two objects covered in a black cloth with spotlights shining on them. Sun Zhiming went up to one of them and removed the cloth to reveal a square glass cabinet.

There was a long worm coiled up inside it. The worm had multiple segments, sharp setae on its sides, a large spiked crown, and a transparent body that shone with crystalline light. It appeared to be about five meters long.

Chen Chuan noticed his second self showing signs of blurring out, but it wasn’t severe. Judging by the intensity, it was at a degree that even normal people could withstand. Without a doubt, though, the creature was causing the blurring out.

Shocked, Pan Xiaode asked, “What the hell is this thing?”

With a chuckle, Sun Zhiming said, “It’s not a ‘thing.’ This is a Crimson Sea Worm. Azure Dragon intends to use it to liven up the match tomorrow. If the two martial artists were given it as a boost, wouldn’t it make things more exciting?”

“Are they going to agree to it?” Tan Zhi asked.

“If they hadn’t agreed, I wouldn’t have shown it to you guys. After all, we need to respect the martial artists, you know? If there was no trust between us, they wouldn't approach us anymore to host their duels,” Sun Zhiming replied.

Pan Xiaode looked around before pointing at the even larger object to the right. “What’s that, Senior Sun?”

Sun Zhiming looked them in the eye before saying languidly, “That’s something else we’ve prepared, but I’ll keep you guessing for now.”

1. A mythical creature that has a turtle’s body and a dragon’s head. ☜