Volume 1, Chapter 110 – Young? City Lord

“……”

Shi Lan was speechless for a moment. She had not expected Gufeng City to have this kind of regulation.

She stepped down from the arena, counted out three hundred spirit crystals, wrapped them up, and walked over to the old man.

The old man took the spirit crystals without even counting them and casually tossed the bundle to the person behind him. “Take the arena down as soon as possible.”

“I’ll pay the fine, but can this arena stay here? Just for one day. We’ll be leaving tomorrow,” Shi Lan said with a slight frown.

The old man pondered for a moment and nodded. “You’ll have to pay rent, and move the arena closer to the side of the road.”

The arena had just been set up and things were already off to a bad start. Shi Lan was naturally in no great mood. She said nothing more, walked to the edge of the platform, then lifted her leg and kicked straight into it.

Boom.

The square arena, more than ten zhang to a side, slid nearly three zhang sideways in an instant.

The old man’s eyes narrowed. What tremendous raw strength. He could tell that the woman before him had not used a shred of true qi in that kick, relying purely on her powerful muscles and bones.

The noisy surroundings fell silent in an instant, followed by a chorus of sharp intakes of breath.

Ironwood was even heavier than iron of the same volume. Even if parts of this massive arena were not solid, its weight was still terrifying. If a kick with that kind of force landed on a person, the result went without saying.

“How much is the rent for one day?” Shi Lan lowered her leg and glanced sideways at the old man. She had already made up her mind that if he opened his lion’s mouth and asked for a sky-high price…

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She would have no choice but to drag the arena over to the city gate. There were plenty of people there too, but if she had to pay a hefty amount of spirit crystals for this spot, she would really be reluctant. She was not rich at the moment.

The old man was just about to speak when a scholarly man in brocade robes, looking a little over forty, pushed through the crowd and stepped up to the edge of the arena with a smile.

“As for rent, waive it. Since this young lady has come from afar just to test her skills, it has not been easy. Allow me to do my duty as host.”

“Young City Lord.”

The black-robed men all lowered their heads and spoke in unison.

Young… City Lord?

Looking at the man before her, with hair at his temples already slightly white, Shi Lan was a little puzzled. His aura was not especially strong, around Innate Realm Seventh Layer at best. If he had not entered the Innate Realm very late, then this Young City Lord had to be at least over sixty.

Seeing the man step forward, the old man beckoned to the person behind him, took back the bundle of spirit crystals that Shi Lan had handed over earlier, and was about to return it when the Young City Lord stopped him.

“Rules are rules. The fine ought to be paid, so there is no need to give it back. I hope the young lady will not take offense.”

Seeing how polite the man’s words and manner were, Shi Lan felt a bit out of place. It was not that anything was wrong with it, but given the Young City Lord’s status and the fact that the two of them were complete strangers, his attitude was a little too courteous.

“Many thanks, Young City Lord.”

Shi Lan shook her head, then leaped straight back onto the arena.

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The black-robed men turned back into the market and, in the blink of an eye, moved out a table, chairs, and tea set, swiftly arranging a seat and tea service for the Young City Lord beside the arena.

Because of the intimidation of Shi Lan’s earlier kick, no one dared go up for a while, and things felt a bit awkward.

More and more people gathered, and soon quite a few Innate Realm martial artists were drawn over as well.

After another small quarter of an hour, the first challenger finally stepped onto the arena.

He was a short-haired man in his early thirties, of medium build and dressed in close-fitting fighting clothes. His cultivation was around Innate Realm Eighth Layer.

Shi Lan was no longer concealing her cultivation at all. The aura of an Innate Realm Seventh Layer spread from her without the slightest restraint. Anyone without real strength would not dare step onto the platform just to humiliate themselves.

“Arena Master, before I attack the platform, I have a few questions I’d like to clear up.” The short-haired man cupped his hands.

“Go ahead,” Shi Lan nodded.

“In a spar between martial artists, injuries are inevitable. If someone goes too far…”

“Each bears the consequences,” Shi Lan said succinctly.

“In that case, please.”

The short-haired man nodded. He lifted his hand and roused his true qi. Wisps of faint black mist, visible to the naked eye, coiled around his arms.

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Bang.

He stomped down hard with his foot.

The ironwood planks cracked in several layers under his step, and he thrust out his hand, fingers spreading into a palm that drew a black line through the air straight toward Shi Lan. A wave of cold yin energy rushed at her. Shi Lan’s expression did not change. She stepped forward, formed a fist with her right hand, and struck out later yet arrived first, a faint golden light spreading over her knuckles.

In the middle of a busy market, both Shi Lan and the challenger tried to keep the commotion to a minimum. They compressed their true qi as much as possible, using the least disturbance to bring out the greatest possible power.

Thud.

When fist and palm met, Shi Lan felt a damp, cold stream of air surge into her arm and begin to corrode her true qi.

She frowned slightly. Her arm bones shivered once, then her surging true qi poured into her arm, instantly grinding that stream of energy into fragments. Her fist then drove forward, and force roared out in a rush.

The short-haired man’s face changed dramatically. His body flew backward out of his control and tumbled off the arena.

When he landed, he staggered back more than ten steps, leaving over a dozen footprints an inch deep in the bluestone street before he finally managed to steady himself.

He took a deep breath and, with some effort, raised his trembling arms. “Thank you for holding back.” He could feel that if Shi Lan had not pulled her strength at the last moment, he might not have kept his arms.

“You let me win,” Shi Lan replied casually, then glanced at her system panel and saw her reputation value shoot up by more than three hundred. The corner of her mouth curled up slightly.

People loved shortcuts. Compared to the bitter grind of doing good deeds for everyone she met, the profit from one easy match like this was many times higher.

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Watching Shi Lan on the platform, the Young City Lord stroked his teacup, tapped a finger on the table, and a trace of satisfaction flashed in his eyes.

The lure of four thousand spirit crystals was not small. Several Innate Realm martial artists stepped up in succession, and without exception, all were defeated.

The weakest challenger was still at Innate Realm Eighth Layer and counted as somewhat famous in Gufeng City. In the space of just one afternoon, Shi Lan’s reputation soared by nearly two thousand.

As the sun neared the horizon, Shi Lan saw there were no more challengers and immediately began ordering people to dismantle the arena.

The top layers of ironwood were already a complete mess, practically reduced to splinters, and could only be thrown away.

“If the young lady has time, would you be willing to visit my residence for a chat?” The Young City Lord strolled up to Shi Lan.

Who invited someone home the first time they met?

Shi Lan frowned inwardly and shook her head in polite refusal. “We still have important matters to attend to and no time to intrude. I hope the Young City Lord will not take offense.”

Seeing Shi Lan’s reaction, the Young City Lord shook his head with a smile. “Miss Shi, please don’t misunderstand. By mortal reckoning, I am already over seventy years of age. My children are all grown and have families of their own. I have not the slightest improper thought toward you.”

“Young City Lord, you know who I am?”

“On your way here, Miss Shi has defeated no small number of heroes and experts. Your name has already spread far and wide.”