Liu Maolin mused to himself. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

She wore a pale lavender dress, her body turned sideways as she gazed toward Arena Seven. The silver hairpin at her temple swayed gently with her gaze.

His suspicions confirmed, Liu Maolin couldn’t help but let a small smirk grace his lips.

’Heh, this little missy. So you acted all high and mighty back then? Looked down on my junior brother, did you?!’

’Now my junior brother has broken through to Inner Strength and is tearing it up in the tournament. I bet you’re kicking yourself now!’

’Heh heh, but it’s too late now. My junior brother isn’t the type to go crawling back to someone who rejected him.’

Liu Maolin chuckled to himself. ’Although,’ he thought, ’if Zhao Yuman could convince the Zhao’s Escort Agency to offer a massive dowry, maybe I could talk my junior brother into it. If all else fails, he could just take the little missy as a concubine.’

Zhao Yuman, however, didn’t notice Liu Maolin sizing her up. Her mind was still replaying the conversation she had just overheard.

She had vaguely heard parts of Yang Jing and Liu Maolin’s talk by the railing.

Liu Maolin was clearly very wary of Shen Lie, calling him a "tough nut to crack at the Inner Strength level" and "one of the top Core Disciples of Po Mountain Martial Arts Hall."

’And what about Yang Jing? He barely said a confident word from start to finish, just stood there nodding. His heart must be pounding out of his chest right now, right?’

’Then again, what greenhorn who’d just reached the Inner Strength realm wouldn’t be terrified when facing someone like Shen Lie?’

’Yang Jing had some ability, true. His performance in the arena had surprised her—he had actually defeated Qian Feng and made it to the same stage as Shen Lie. But Zhao Yuman knew Shen Lie. If Yang Jing didn’t concede quickly, the outcome would be more than he could handle. He might not even get a chance to open his mouth and forfeit later on.’

A smug smile touched Zhao Yuman’s lips as she glanced toward Yang Jing’s position inside the railing. Although a few people blocked her view, it was as if she could already see him, fidgeting restlessly and wringing his hands.

’Nervous? Anxious? Even afraid? Of course he is!’

’Shen Lie’s reputation wasn’t built on empty talk; it was earned, one punch at a time!’

She puffed out her chest slightly and tilted her chin up, just like a proud peacock.

Inside the railing, Shen Lie finished his meditation. As he opened his eyes, his gaze swept idly across the crowd and fell upon Zhao Yuman. Seeing her looking his way, he gave her a slight nod.

Zhao Yuman’s heart skipped a beat. She quickly averted her gaze, a faint blush rising to her cheeks, and the pride in her heart swelled even more.

The half-hour rest period passed quickly.

Inside the railing.

Yang Jing hadn’t taken an Elixir like Shen Lie. Instead, he found a quiet corner, sat cross-legged, and silently circulated his Inner Qi, reviewing the forms for the Mountain-Shattering Fist and the Raging Wave Kicks in his mind over and over.

Although Senior Brother Liu had given him a bottle of ’Rejuvenation Pills,’ he hadn’t actually been injured during his bout with Qian Feng, only depleted some of his Inner Strength. After eating Spirit Fish and the meat of a ferocious beast for lunch, his qi and blood were already roaring. The half-hour of rest was more than enough to replenish all the Inner Strength he had used.

At the sound of movement, Yang Jing and Shen Lie opened their eyes simultaneously. Their auras erupted in an instant, more terrifying than any mountain beast.

The middle-aged Official stepped onto the arena stage, his gaze sweeping over Shen Lie and Yang Jing below.

The final match of Arena Seven began.

...

P.S.

As I was writing the second Chapter for today, one of my amazing readers gave me a piece of advice.

They reminded me not to get caught up in describing every little thing in exhaustive detail, as it’s impossible to give every character and every emotion the attention they deserve.

So, I started revising my outlines and making adjustments to the plot. I actually wanted to write more about Zhao Yuman and characters from the very beginning of the book, like Lv Yang, but after thinking it over, I wrote it and then deleted it. I felt it was slowing down the rhythm of the story.

I wonder if you all noticed that the pace in today’s third Chapter is a bit faster. I actually skipped over some content and cut more than a thousand words.

I’m trying this out for now. If it works well, I’ll continue to make these kinds of adjustments in the future.

If you see any problems, please don’t hesitate to let me know. I’ll make revisions bit by bit. I believe this is all part of the process of an author improving their craft.

Finally, a huge thank you to the great reader [Zhou Chun] for the 1,100 Qidian Coin donation!

And also, please vote with your monthly tickets! My ranking has dropped quite a bit, sob sob sob~