"Zhou Ze is here. Does that mean he lost his spot as the representative? Did he lose the qualifying match?"

"So who exactly is the representative for Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall? Is there any info on them? Could they be a secret weapon Xiaolin has been hiding?"

"This year’s Three Halls Martial Competition is looking interesting. Golden Blade Martial Arts Hall has held the championship for two years running. I wonder if there’ll be an upset this time?"

"..."

Inside the ballroom, disciples from the three major martial arts halls, martial artists from unaffiliated organizations, and celebrities whose industries intersected with the Martial Arts Realm were all discussing the matter.

Some people approached Zhou Ze directly to ask him about it, but he refused to say a word. Weng Xiaolin had ordered him to maintain complete secrecy before the tournament and not reveal any information about Zhao Qi.

Standing in the magnificent, gilded ballroom, he watched the elites of society mingle and toast. His eyes were fixed on the brightly lit ring in the center of the hall. He took a light sip of the red wine in his glass. The aroma was rich, but to him, it tasted of nothing.

Meanwhile, in a corner of the ballroom, a fashionably dressed man and woman stood at the edge of the crowd. Holding glasses of red wine, they appeared to be chatting, but they were actually observing everything in the hall.

Identities, interactions, relationships... Information rapidly assembled itself in their minds. The pair committed any exploitable intelligence to memory.

"So Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall really did switch its representative? We investigated Zhou Ze before. His talent for the Martial Dao is extraordinary, and he seemed like a perfect match for the Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall’s Secret Transmission. Weng Xiaolin must have been very pleased with him; otherwise, he wouldn’t have spent a fortune pulling strings to arrange killing practice with death-row inmates. That’s a privilege usually reserved only for a Martial Arts Hall True Inheritance. How could they just swap out someone they’ve groomed so carefully at the last minute?"

The woman of the pair was named Chu Jiaxuan. She wore a teal qipao and appeared to be in her mid-twenties. With her fair skin and light makeup, her face wasn’t stunning, but her features were neat and well-proportioned.

What was most memorable was a small, dark mole at the right corner of her mouth, which added a unique touch of charm to her face.

"I find it strange, too. I made a point of looking into it, but Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall has done an excellent job keeping things under wraps. I only managed to identify one possible suspect: a disciple named Zhao Qi. I can’t confirm if it’s actually him, though. Time was short, so I couldn’t dig up any more detailed intelligence."

The man’s name was Ma Maocheng. He looked to be in his thirties, dressed in a suit and fedora. He had an aquiline nose and stood just under one-point-eight meters tall.

"This complicates things. We’ve been looking into Zhou Ze for a long time. He comes from a poor family, a fact we could have likely used to win him over. With his qualifications, he had a high chance of becoming the fourth True Inheritance of Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall. If we had actually gotten him on our organization’s side, we might have been able to leverage the Luo Family’s power. That would have been a massive breakthrough for our entire organization’s operations in Celestial Sea Prefecture."

"What a shame. With the change in representative for the Martial Arts Hall this time, Zhou Ze’s chances of achieving True Inheritance are probably shot."

Chu Jiaxuan murmured to Ma Maocheng beside her.

"It can’t be helped. Plans change. We’ll just have to make new arrangements later. Still, I’m very curious about this replacement—who he is and what he’s capable of."

Ma Maocheng said, his expression calm.

"Then let’s wait and see," Chu Jiaxuan said.

On the other side, Weng Xiaolin was with the masters of the other two major Martial Arts Halls. Liu Changfeng and other True Disciples followed behind, holding wine glasses, moving through the hall to greet and toast important guests.

Among these people were key officials from the Civil Affairs Department, high-ranking officers from the city guard, representatives from the City Defense Army, and influential gentry of Celestial Sea Prefecture.

After making their rounds and toasting all the important guests, Weng Xiaolin and the other two masters gathered together. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"Old Man Weng, your Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall is swapping fighters right before the match? I heard you poured your heart and soul into that Zhou Ze. Did he have some sort of accident during training that forced you to replace him?"

Dong Wenhui, the master of Hengchang Martial Arts Hall, spoke to Weng Xiaolin. He was a towering man with the build of a giant.

"What do you know? I’ve been saving my real trump card for last. This time, the championship is coming home to Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall."

Weng Xiaolin said coolly.

"Hah! Your Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall has been at the bottom of the barrel for years. You old coot, your mouth is tougher than your fists. If your disciple can actually take the championship from my Golden Blade Martial Arts Hall, I’ll give you the business from three of my ballrooms."

Yansong Mountain, master of Golden Blade Martial Arts Hall, said with a sneer.

"We’ll see who’s just talking tough in a moment."

Weng Xiaolin’s expression remained unchanged. ’Even if I’m not that confident that Zhao Xuanqi can actually win the championship,’ he thought, ’I can’t lose face before the fight even starts. I absolutely cannot back down on presence.’

"Fine. Talk is cheap. Let’s move on to the official matches and settle this in the ring."

Yansong Mountain said dismissively.

Afterward, the ballroom attendants quickly cleared the floor and arranged seating around the ring for the audience.

The three masters and the most important guests were given seats, while everyone else stood to watch.

As the master of the reigning champion hall, Yansong Mountain stepped into the ring. After a brief opening address, he called for the competitors from the three martial arts halls to enter.

As the reigning champion, Golden Blade Martial Arts Hall had two competitor slots, while the other two, Hengchang and Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall, each had only one.

According to tradition, the Three Halls Martial Competition would consist of a maximum of three bouts. First, Hengchang and Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall would draw lots to determine their fighting order and which of the champion hall’s two competitors they would face. If the champion’s competitors won both of the first two bouts, the championship would remain with them.

However, if one of the champion’s competitors was defeated, a third and final bout would be held, where the winners of the first two bouts would fight for the championship title.

Then, from a passageway leading to the backstage boxes, the competitors were led out. They were escorted by True Disciples dressed in their respective Martial Arts Uniforms.

First came the two competitors from Golden Blade Martial Arts Hall, followed by the one from Hengchang Martial Arts Hall, and finally, the competitor from Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall.

Because of the last-minute substitution, the competitor from Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall was shrouded in mystery. As a result, all eyes in the room were fixed on him, full of interest.

A figure slowly emerged from the shadows of the entryway.

Instantly, a murmur rippled through the hall.

The reason was simple: the height and build of Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall’s representative were drastically different from those of the other competitors.

The other three competitors were all tall and imposing, standing at least six-foot-one. The competitor from Hengchang Martial Arts Hall was even taller, approaching six-foot-three. Each of them had a large frame, broad shoulders, and a powerful, well-muscled physique.

By comparison, the competitor from Xiaolin Martial Arts Hall looked almost out of place standing next to the other three.