I can return to the age of mysterious
Chapter 654 - 654 348 Eastern Martial Arts Exchange Competition

Chapter 654: 348 Eastern Martial Arts Exchange Competition begins (4000)_2 Chapter 654: 348 Eastern Martial Arts Exchange Competition begins (4000)_2 The entire first floor of the building has four circular arenas, similar to boxing rings, but somewhat different. The arenas specially made by the Evil Eye Fist school for the Eastern Martial Arts Exchange Competition are larger in diameter and made of tougher materials. The surface is covered with a special layer of rubber, underneath which is hard concrete, and below that, steel.

The protective net surrounding the arena, is made of a steel wire alloy, with iron pillars as thick as a normal person’s thigh for support.

This is because this is not a normal competition, but an event in the Secret Martial Arts World! Compared to ordinary people or even common boxers, any participant here could be regarded as a monster, and practitioners who have even broken through human limits are not uncommon.

Once their blood acceleration kicks in, their strength and speed surge along with explosive secret techniques. It’s not impossible to smash concrete with a stomp or bend an iron pillar with a punch, in fact, it’s highly likely.

The toughness and protective level of these four arenas are more than ten times that of normal boxing rings. Even so, after a whole day of fighting, the arenas may need to be repaired overnight.

Beyond the arenas, there is a circle of seats for the representatives of different schools to watch the competition. The seating layout is similar to that at the opening ceremony yesterday, stylized like a cafe.

There are yellow wooden boards around the cafe-style sitting area, creating a semi-secluded space. Basically, each school is in one of these spaces. The seats in the space are arranged in a U shape, akin to a leisurely sofa area for having discussions with guests. A table is in the middle of the U, for placing fruits, snacks, and tea.

The wooden barriers are not high; when sitting down, one can see other attendees from the shoulder up. The distance to the arena is just right, roughly within five to fifteen metres.

Observing the fight from such a close distance gives quite an accurate view for a Secret Martial Artist.

A passage is left between each area, convenient for the serving staff to pass through. One could say the Evil Eye Fist School has taken care of every detail.

Arena One, the Yun Quan Fist area, is quite quiet.

The competition hasn’t officially started yet, but a casual glance reveals a dense crowd of heads. Most are disciples and core disciples of various schools, hence they have younger faces.

Most of them are participating in the Martial Arts Exchange Competition for the first time, and young people are prone to impatience, unable to hold their excitement. Hence, there are many bubbling discussions, making the entire first floor as lively as a marketplace.

Only the Yun Quan Fist area is not so.

A dozen disciples appear frightened and even the instructors are somewhat silent. In the middle, a black-haired youth is smoking a cigarette indiscreetly, devoid of any expression. His mood is very bad, or rather, extremely bad. The strong aura released from his body is affecting the surroundings.

“Simon, what’s wrong with you? You’ve been upset since you returned from the guild hall this morning. The Martial Art Exchange is about to begin, adjust your state of mind. And withdraw your aura, it’s scaring your junior classmates…”

An elderly man with white hair walked over from the second-floor seats designated for elders of various schools. He obviously noticed the abnormal atmosphere in the Yun Quan Fist area and saw that Simon was the problem.

“I know, Uncle Fis…”

Simon took one deep final drag from his cigarette before grinding it out in the metal ashtray.

“Be careful…”

The old man opened his mouth, longing to pull Simon out and have a heart-to-heart talk. But the Martial Arts Exchange Competition is about to start, and now is not the time. Simon’s emotional instability may be related to his inability to break through to the Fighter realm. He will have to ask at dinner what happened this morning.

He turned and left, returning to the second floor to watch the competition.

Back on the ground floor, Simon’s eyes were lowered, his pupils filled with a trace of melancholy. The price to pay for his breakthrough into the Fighter realm, with the help of the Magical Golem Sect, turned out to be quite substantial. After meeting that young lad with the strength of a Fighter this morning and hearing part of the plan, including the role he was to play, Simon realized he would be seen as a person blatantly betraying his own school. Simon didn’t care much about his reputation, but he didn’t want his betrayal to be presented in such a blazing manner; he would prefer to deal with it quietly, as if he went missing.

Even though Amos promised that Simon would once again receive Casio’s life vibration energy reward, Simon was not very willing.

Nevertheless, he was in a situation that forced his hand.

Simonyi had no choice but to go along with it even though he was reluctant.

He even found himself wishing he had joined the original gate organization. But Amos, as if he saw through Simonyi’s thoughts, pointed out the flaws in the gate organization’s approach directly. Simonyi had talked with the Eye Demon before, and according to him, the way the gate organization helped was by obtaining a fragment of the gate, then letting Simonyi try to break through. As he became a fighter in the blink of an eye, he would perform the Gate of Physique opening ceremony and bear the aftermaths once it was done.

According to Amos, this approach was more remedial rather than curative.

Indeed you can withstand your body’s breakdown with this method, but the fact of your spine’s curvature will not change, and the pain brought by each explosive fight will still be there. The more you fight with all your might, the quicker your body will collapse, and you’ll end up starting from scratch. Unless you keep performing the opening ceremony of the Gate of Physique.

However, the right time for the gate fragments wasn’t fixed, and sometimes it took a long time. What if the interval was too long? Then you could only wait for your body to collapse again. The so-called solution of the gate organization was just to let you strengthen your physique and bear the aftermath. Sooner or later there would come a day when you couldn’t hold on any longer.

Furthermore, the back pain, the side effects such as the inability to use your full strength frequently, still existed. The Magical Golem Sect’s method, on the other hand, was completely different. They solved the problem at its root with a spine-straightening surgery.

Casio would be the surgeon, and a group of top-notch doctors would assist him. If luck was on your side, the operation would take a few hours; if not, a few days. If you were lucky, you would have one or two surgeries, but if not, up to a hundred. But you don’t have to worry about dying at all. As long as you have a breath left, Casio can save you. You’ll be under anesthesia throughout the whole procedure without a post-operative recovery period. When you wake up, you will see a healthy body.

Simonyi believed it and accepted the order. But that didn’t mean he was willing to do it, nor did it mean he wasn’t angry.

“I should have suspected it from the start, at our first meeting in Saka Park. This cocky boy didn’t seem like a good guy at all!”

“The Gate Master agreed to this plan probably because he was deceived. Otherwise, given the Gate Master’s admiration for me, he wouldn’t have made me do such a vexing thing that tarnishes my reputation!” Simonyi remembered the image of Casio extending his hand in the moonlight, inviting him to work under him with a hearty laugh.

His manner was frank and direct.

His thoughts shifted, and he remembered the ugly face of Amos wearing glasses this morning. Who was he trying to show his reflection-laden glasses to? Was he trying to conceal his shifty eyes?

If the gap in their abilities wasn’t so significant, Simonyi would have confronted Amos long ago. If not physically, he would have at least verbally retaliated.

Ding dong, ding dong….

The clear sound of the electric bell echoed through the hall on the first floor.

Suddenly, the noisy venue quieted down.

Apparently, it was nine o’clock on the dot, it was time to start.

On the four arenas, four referees appeared one after another. After scanning the surroundings, they each pulled out a match list.

On arena one, the referee with a goatee spoke out loud, “The Eastern Martial Arts Exchange Competition officially begins. The first match on arena one is between Yunquan Fist and Moon Fist School.”

“The format is tug of war, until all of one side fall.”

“Contestants have one minute to prepare, gather at the arena after one minute.” The goatee referee moved back to a corner of the arena.

“Finally, it begins! The first match is mine.” Among the disciples of Yunquan Fist, a young boy with a somewhat childish face was looking excited. Just as he was about to stand up after taking a deep breath.

A powerful hand suddently pushed him back down.

“Otto, your senior brother is not in a good mood today and needs to let off some steam. I’ll take care all of the Moon Fist School…”

The young boy looked up, only to see Simonyi’s deep and inexplicably grim-looking face.