Invincibility Begins with Mastery of Fist Techniques-Chapter 201 - 194: Fermentation

The speaker was a young woman with glasses, exuding the rational beauty of an intellectual. Her name was Wang Ziru, and her parents were professors at Songyang University.

"You can't say that. My dad's a businessman, so he's had some contact with people like that. He told me they have real skills, and it's terrifying when they fight."

Jiang Yun retorted.

"Talk is cheap. The Martial Dao in Donghua Country has proven to be nothing but fancy posturing. Can it be used in a real fight? Can they step into a ring? Can they actually beat anyone? It's just a bunch of smoke and mirrors, isn't it? I bet this 'Hero Assembly' is just a front. They use the name to brag, flatter each other, and then scam disciples to line their own pockets."

"And that so-called 'heavyweight from the Martial Arts Realm' is probably just some fake master they've hired for this 'Hero Assembly.' I bet it's some white-haired old man who looks all sage-like, but if it came down to a real fight, I could probably take on ten of him."

The speaker was a young man with slicked-back hair named Weng Long. His parents were also high-ranking officials at Songyang University. Clearly, he'd been heavily influenced by stories of fake masters.

"Of course they can!"

Jiang Yun said, eyes wide, but he couldn't seem to find any examples to back up his claim.

"All right, all right, don't force it. If it's a sham, it's a sham. Nothing to be ashamed of. Times are changing. If you don't keep up, you get left behind. Just treat this whole thing as a joke."

Weng Long said, waving his hand dismissively.

"Weng Long is right. Jiang Yun, you should go home and talk some sense into your father. Don't let him get scammed."

"This is the modern age. There's no such thing as a Martial Arts Realm anymore. It's been proven that an individual's power has its limits. It's a genetic limitation. We should forget about this unrealistic stuff and focus on what matters: science and knowledge."

"Exactly. I don't know why the government doesn't do something about it. All this outdated nonsense is allowed to run rampant."

"..."

Most of the other students also supported Weng Long's view.

Ever since Donghua's gates were forced open by foreign guns hundreds of years ago, the people of Donghua Country had lost faith in the power of the individual. This was especially true in the modern era, where true masters often lived in seclusion, cultivating themselves in obscurity, while buffoons used social media to grandstand for attention.

"It's real."

Just as the group was about to draw a conclusion and end the discussion, a deep voice spoke up.

Everyone turned their heads toward the sound, where a handsome young man was lying on a deck chair.

"What's real?"

The group couldn't help but ask.

Jiang Yun's father was just a wealthy local businessman, and Jiang Yun himself wasn't particularly prominent in their social circle, so everyone felt free to joke at his expense. But the young man who had just spoken was different.

His name was Zhong Ming.

He had been admitted to Songyang University with the highest score in all of Songyang Prefecture. His ability to learn was exceptional; in just two years of university, he had already won countless awards. He was a true academic prodigy. Moreover, he had a knack for management and was a shoo-in to become the student council president next semester, at the start of his junior year.

Most importantly, his family background was anything but simple. His parents were high-ranking officials at Songyang University, and his family was said to have deep ties to the Longyun Group, one of the largest corporations in Songyang City. His family background and personal abilities were more than enough to command respect. He was the one who had brought this little circle together; he was their "big brother."

So, no one would casually refute what he said.

Power decides everything. That was the law, no matter where you were.

"What Jiang Yun said is true," Zhong Ming said calmly. "The Hero Assembly is real, and the Martial Arts Realm really exists. The person they've invited this time is a Martial Arts Myth."

A Martial Arts Myth...

If anyone but Zhong Ming had said that, the group of high-IQ "hecklers" would have already started tearing it apart.

Seeing their strange expressions, Zhong Ming knew they didn't believe him.

"We're all friends here, so I don't mind sharing some confidential information with you," Zhong Ming said with a slight smile.

At his words, everyone perked up. This was the benefit of being in an inner circle: you could learn secret information through everyone's collective resources. In the information age, being one step ahead with information meant being a class above everyone else in every respect.

"The host of this Hero Assembly is the renowned Songyang Sect, a major power in the Martial Arts Realm of the Northern Three Prefectures. Do you know who owns Wulong Manor?"

The group shook their heads.

"It's a property of the Longyun Group. And the Longyun Group is, in fact, controlled by the Songyang Sect."

The group was a bit stunned by this news. According to Zhong Ming, the Songyang Sect was the true owner of the Longyun Group. They all knew the Longyun Group was one of the top ten corporations in Songyang Prefecture. How could its owner be a Martial Arts Sect?

This fact was completely beyond their expectations.

'In this day and age, a Martial Arts School can have that much influence?'

"Brother Ming, how do you know all this? I heard your family has some connection to the Longyun Group. Don't tell me..." someone asked doubtfully.

"The Longyun Group is jointly owned by three families. The Songyang Sect is also jointly run by three families. One of those families... is named Zhong," Zhong Ming said.

Everyone was stunned. This meant Zhong Ming's connection to the Longyun Group was far from simple. They were, after all, part of the same family.

"The Zhong Family has been in Songyang Prefecture for over two hundred years, with the Martial Dao as its foundation. Only later did it gradually expand its influence into other fields. My own branch of the family is just a side branch, one without any Martial Arts Talent. You might not believe this, but my parents told me that not long after I was born, they were required to take me back to the main family. The clan elders were to test my constitution to see if I was suited for practicing the Martial Dao. Unfortunately, I had no Talent, so my parents took me away from the family, and I focused on my studies instead," Zhong Ming said with some self-deprecation.

The group was speechless. Zhong Ming spoke as if he were a failure who had been cast aside. They simply couldn't understand what was so special about a mere Martial Artist to warrant such importance.

"Those are the family rules. Those with Talent are kept in the family's core to practice the Martial Dao. Those without are sent out to work in various industries. If you don't accomplish anything, the family won't give you a second thought. To be honest, I was really resentful when I first found out. Later, I studied hard and became the top student in Songyang Prefecture, which was when the family started to notice me. It was only after I achieved some things at university that the family truly acknowledged my existence."

"That was also the first time I met the true Patriarch of the Zhong Family. Don't laugh, but during that entire meeting, I didn't even dare to lift my head. Have you ever been to a temple? You know that oppressive feeling you get when you stand before a large statue of a Buddha? That's what I felt. The person sitting in front of me didn't feel human, but like some kind of special being."

"After that, the family's resources and secrets were opened up to me. I started to come into contact with some extraordinary things and officially learned about the existence of the Martial Arts Realm. And that Patriarch is one of the most powerful figures in the Martial Arts Realm. You've all heard the story of the hero who fought a tiger, right? Well, he once subdued a fierce tiger himself—a Northern Tiger."

"After meeting people like him, I realized that humans are capable of such incredible feats. Sometimes I even resent the fact that I don't have Martial Arts Talent. Otherwise, I might have been able to do those miraculous things, too."

"And this Hero Assembly they're holding... it's rumored to be for a person so powerful that not even the three families of the Songyang Sect dare to offend them. I heard this person is a Martial Arts Myth. Someone like the Zhong Family Patriarch is already that terrifying, but even he would only be considered 'top-tier' in the Martial Arts Realm. I can't even imagine what kind of person could be called a 'Myth'."

"Maybe... there really are Superhumans in this world?" Zhong Ming mused aloud. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

The group listened in stunned silence, as if hearing someone recount a myth. 'Could such a person really exist in the real world?'

"Even if it's you saying it, Brother Ming, I still can't believe it," Wang Ziru said after a moment of silence, finally shaking her head. "I don't believe a mere human can reach that level. If they could, what would be the point of science?" She thought Zhong Ming was joking.

"That's right. Unless I see it with my own eyes, I won't believe it," Weng Long chimed in, nodding. "How could a person subdue a tiger? That's just something out of a storyteller's tale! Brother Ming, you can stop joking with us now."