“Your women?” Liria cast a displeased glance at Zhang Wen as the two pretty maids disappeared beyond the staircase. However, if one looked closely, they could also notice a faint blush creeping onto Liria’s cheeks.
“Hehe! Our relationship… I’m not exactly wrong to say that, am I?” Zhang Wen smiled slightly at Liria.
“Right. Who asked this poor girl to willingly follow you?” Liria sighed helplessly, then leaned close to Zhang Wen’s ear with a grin. “So? How does it feel to be a hero saving a beauty?”
“Not bad.” Zhang Wen nodded. He immediately caught Liria’s subtle meaning. “Thanks for your help.”
“You’re welcome. It’s my duty as your deputy to assist the captain’s actions.”
So saying, Liria shot Zhang Wen a flirtatious glance. At the same time, she became even more convinced of her judgment of Zhang Wen’s abilities—although his strength wasn’t particularly high, his perception was beyond ordinary people.
In Liria’s eyes, Zhang Wen’s feat of punching the ape-man Nashon away and later easily defeating the last accomplice didn’t necessarily reflect his true strength. Because clearly, Zhang Wen had taken Nashon by surprise when he wasn’t paying attention.
Then he had frightened the postmodernist man so badly that he had achieved such a glorious result.
However, this performance was enough to prove Zhang Wen’s ability to seize opportunities. As soon as the moment of greatest vulnerability appeared in Nashon’s gang, Zhang Wen had seized it firmly, striking decisively for a quick victory!
Of course, part of the credit also belonged to Liria. The force of the punch that sent the golden-haired Nashon flying could not have been withstood by the blond man Kelor, who had nearly saint-level strength. It was impossible for him not to catch the blow, let alone be knocked away by it! The reason such an unbelievable result occurred was clearly because Liria had secretly intervened from behind when everyone was focused on Zhang Wen.
“Huh?” Just as Zhang Wen and Liria were exchanging glances, a startled exclamation from beyond the staircase door suddenly shattered the “romantic” atmosphere inside.
Startled, Liria jumped away from Zhang Wen’s embrace and turned around. To her surprise, the unexpected visitor at the staircase was none other than Ryan, who had been following Zhang Wen’s group all along!
“You… you two…” Ryan extended a finger, pointing at the entwined figures of Zhang Wen and Liria, clearly astonished beyond words.
“What’s wrong? I finally got a chance to play the hero saving a beauty. You don’t need to be so surprised, do you?” Zhang Wen deliberately shrugged, borrowing Liria’s earlier line.
“A hero saving a beauty?” Ryan blinked, only then noticing the three battered and unrecognizable figures lying on the floor inside the staircase, besides Zhang Wen and Liria.
“Zhang Wen, teacher, I’ll be off first.” Liria seemed to dislike being seen in such an intimate moment with Zhang Wen. She stood up, straightened her clothes, and then walked away with a calm smile.
“What’s your relationship? And what’s going on here?” After passing Liria, Ryan suddenly seemed to regain his senses and eagerly asked Zhang Wen.
“What’s going on here—you can’t see for yourself?” Zhang Wen gestured at Ryan. “These guys wanted to harass the maids on the Star Moon. I couldn’t stand it, so I helped them out. As for my relationship with the maid just now, that’s none of your business. Besides, at your age, even if you wanted to get jealous, you’d probably have to wait a few more years, right?” Zhang Wen teased Ryan again.
“Jealous… jealous?” Ryan’s face immediately turned bright red.
“Haha! You’re blushing already? What a kid!” Seeing Ryan’s flustered expression, Zhang Wen couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
“Who’s a kid? I’m not!” Ryan, his face flushed with embarrassment, suddenly shouted and ran off without a trace.
“Heh! And you said you’re not a kid.” Watching Ryan’s hasty back, Zhang Wen and Liria couldn’t help but laugh together.
However, their lightheartedness lasted only for a few seconds.
“I’ll give you useless lot one last minute. Anyone not present in the third-floor hall will pack their bags and leave!” Suddenly, Gro’s arrogant voice came through the staircase’s built-in telepathic communicator.
“Oh no!” Almost simultaneously, Zhang Wen and Liria’s expressions changed dramatically. They both looked at the telepathic clock hanging at the top of the staircase door.
The clock’s pointer was at 3:59 PM. Only one minute remained before the ten-minute deadline Gro had previously set…
“Hurry!” Liria cried out in alarm, grabbing Zhang Wen and rushing out. Zhang Wen had never seen such a panicked expression on Liria’s face before…
Meanwhile, in the corridor near the third-floor hall of the Star Moon, a major commotion was brewing.
“What? Useless? Who do you think you are, daring to call me useless?”
“Hassan, don’t think you’re invincible just because you’ve got some money! Even the Emperor of the Empire himself wouldn’t dare to talk to me like this!”
Gro’s offhand use of the word “useless” immediately caused the ten-ranked experts aboard the Star Moon to flash with menacing glints in their eyes. When had these ten-ranked experts, who were famous in the Southlands, ever suffered such an insult?
“Hmph! How arrogant! I’d like to see what that kid is really capable of!” Besides the furious roars, a few martial artists still remained calm. However, they all wore grim expressions, exchanging glances while heading toward the hall.
※※※
“Huh? What does Gro mean by this? Isn’t he offending everyone by shouting like that?”
At the top of the Star Moon, there was a room that even the ship’s crew couldn’t enter. In fact, most of the crew didn’t even know that such a room existed on the top deck of the ship.
The walls of this small room were all made up of pieces of highly pure raw stone. In addition, the decorations and furnishings inside the room were all meticulously crafted. Even the third-floor hall of the Star Moon couldn’t match the luxury of this small room!
And the person residing in this small room was none other than the organizer of this selection contest—the wealthiest merchant in the Southlands, Hassan.
Unlike the fat and prosperous image most people imagine of a rich man, Hassan, although already in his later years with white temples, maintained a remarkably fit physique. His pair of sharp eyes also revealed the shrewdness and capability of this top merchant of the Southlands.
At this moment, Hassan was lying on a bed wrapped in a towel, enjoying a massage from a pretty maid behind him, while looking up at the wall in front of him. Embedded in the wall was a large telepathic screen. The left side of the screen was divided into a dozen television-sized images. Everything happening at every important location on the Star Moon was clearly displayed on these images. On the right side of the screen was the familiar face of the blue-clad man, who all the ten-ranked experts who had boarded the ship were very familiar with.
“Gro deliberately provoking those ten-ranked experts isn’t meant to disrupt our plan,” the blue-clad man calmly answered Hassan’s question.
“Is that how you see it?” Hassan raised his eyebrows in doubt.
“Exactly. Gro just wants to use this opportunity to intimidate the contestants participating in the selection. Omega, the Thunder God, has been hiding in Alpha Planet for ten years. This time, he brought four saint-level disciples to compete for the Southlands’ supremacy, clearly determined to win. Omega agreed to send the second team to join the competition to increase his chances of victory. However, on the other hand, he also worries about someone else taking advantage of the situation. Therefore, Gro naturally wants to warn these potential candidates for the second team’s members—martial artists—to obediently follow behind and act as assistants. They shouldn’t even think about the Southlands’ supremacy.”
“Oh! So that’s how it is.” Hassan sat up, waved his hand to dismiss the maid, and then adopted a more consultative tone. “Anthony, in this regard, I trust your judgment. However, if you think there’s no problem, then just don’t bother with Gro’s little schemes. I promised Omega that I wouldn’t interfere with their actions during the test period.”
“Alright.” The blue-clad man nodded indifferently. After a moment, he spoke again. “Also, we’ve basically figured out the origins of Nashon and the other ‘rats’ who sneaked in. We’ve confirmed that there are three groups of rats who infiltrated the Star Moon. Besides Nashon’s group, who were spying for the Drake family, there’s also a cardinal under the Red Bishop Orach, and two agents from the Alliance. Additionally, we intercepted a telepathic signal sent to the Federation’s diplomatic office on the planet Cassares, but we haven’t identified the sender.”
“Haha! So the Star Moon is indeed a place where dragons and snakes mingle. The Federation, the Alliance—everyone is here.” Hassan laughed heartily. “These rats want to snoop around for our secrets. Let them look. They probably don’t know that everything is already under our control. Anthony, play along with them. Consider it a warm-up before the competition begins.”
“Alright. I’ll take care of everything.” The blue-clad man nodded calmly, ending his conversation with Hassan.
※※※
“Damn it! Damn it!” While dragging Zhang Wen desperately down the corridor, Liria angrily cursed. They had already wasted too much time dealing with the blond man’s group and now had no way of reaching the third-floor hall within the time limit.
“Forget it. We’re already late anyway.” Zhang Wen simply grabbed Liria and slowed down.
“If you get eliminated, we’re done for!” Liria gritted her teeth and struggled.
“Don’t panic. Maybe there’s another way.” Zhang Wen held Liria’s shoulders. “First, tell me what’s going on with Nashon and Kelor. From their expressions, they didn’t seem to care whether they could continue in this competition.”
“There are more than just Hassan who wants to claim the title of Southlands’ Overlord. The Southlands’ top noble family, the Drakes, the Church of the Divine, and even the Empire and the Federation all want to control the underground forces of the Southlands through the title of Southlands’ Overlord. The selection contest Hassan is holding is well-known throughout the Southlands. Of course, those factions would send spies to sneak in. First, to find out what kind of talents Hassan can select, and second, to also take a peek at the Thunder God Omega’s strength…”
Finally calming down, Liria walked toward the third-floor hall with Zhang Wen while softly explaining the identity of Nashon’s group.
At this moment, Liria was like any normal frightened girl, obediently leaning against Zhang Wen. Zhang Wen, as if to comfort her, gently patted Liria’s back. However, his gaze didn’t linger on Liria but frequently fell on the telepathic surveillance devices in the corners of the corridor.
Before long, Zhang Wen and Liria arrived at the door of the third-floor hall.
However, the door to the third-floor hall was already tightly closed. Four bodyguards in black combat suits stood solemnly at the entrance. Besides Zhang Wen, several other martial artists were also blocked outside. They cursed and roared, trying to get the guards to let them in, but the guards didn’t change their expressions at all.
Only when they saw Liria, who had arrived at the door of the third-floor hall with Zhang Wen, did their faces show a trace of doubt.
“Wait! What’s your name?” Several guards blocked Liria, who was leading Zhang Wen toward the hall.
“My name is Julie. I’m a first-class maid responsible for serving the guests in the third-floor hall.” Liria calmly gave her false identity.
“Julie?” The guard who stopped Liria looked at her dubiously, quickly taking out a communication stone. After letting Liria input some telepathic energy, the communication stone immediately projected a personal profile, including a full-body photo, into the air.
“Why are you so late? You’re five minutes behind schedule.” After carefully comparing Liria’s face with the photo on the communication stone, the guards still weren’t convinced.
“There was a problem with the elevator on the east corridor. You can ask the steward Anthony for details.” Liria replied again.
“Alright.” The guards exchanged glances and made way for Liria, but still firmly blocked Zhang Wen. “You can go in, but he has to stay.”
“Why? He was a guest stuck in the elevator with me.”
“This is Mr. Gro’s order. After 4 o’clock, no guests are allowed to enter the hall. Sir, please return to your room.” The guards politely gestured for Zhang Wen to leave.
“This… this is unfair! If it weren’t for the accident in the elevator, he definitely wouldn’t be late.” Liria flushed with anger, arguing with the guards.
“Sorry. We can’t help it.” The guards replied mechanically. One of the female guards even quickly opened a gap in the door, intending to push Liria into the hall forcibly.
“No! You can’t treat Mr. Hassan’s guest like this!” Liria struggled fiercely.
As Liria and the female guard were locked in a dispute, Zhang Wen had already peered through the gap in the door and seen the situation inside the hall.
At this time, the hall was already filled with four or five dozen martial artists. Of course, when I say “gathered,” I don’t mean they were all standing together. These ten-ranked experts were all local strongmen in the Southlands, used to scheming against each other. They were equally cautious when they came aboard the Star Moon.
Therefore, most of these three or four dozen ten-ranked experts were like the beasts in the Sandara Forest, dividing the hall into many spheres of influence, each guarding their own territory.
Only around the hall’s perimeter were there a few martial artists with relatively good relations, gathering in small groups, whispering to each other while occasionally breaking into mocking laughter.
After a quick scan, Zhang Wen didn’t spot Xiu Luo and Agate in the hall, but to his surprise, Ryan, who had fled in panic earlier, was standing alone in a secluded corner with a stern expression.
The dispute between the female guard and Liria continued. The female guard clearly hadn’t expected Liria to be so strong. She, a powerful eighth-ranked martial artist, was more than qualified to be an instructor at the academy, yet she was helpless against Liria.
The struggle between the female guard and Liria also gave the martial artists blocked at the door an opportunity. They were naturally troublemakers who thrived on chaos. Seeing that Hassan’s subordinates had caused trouble themselves, how could they resist the temptation to stir things up?
“Exactly, it’s great that this maid girl is speaking up for us! It was clearly your own elevator that had a problem. How can you blame us for being late?”
“It’s unfair! We’ll protest to Mr. Hassan!”
Several martial artists took the chance to shout and push forward.
The guards blocking the door dared not really use force against these martial artists, and their strength was far inferior to these ten-ranked experts. As a result, the guards were quickly pushed aside by the martial artists.
“What’s going on?” Just as the martial artists were about to take advantage of the situation and rush in, the calm and authoritative voice of the blue-clad man, Anthony, suddenly rang out in everyone’s ears.
“Lord Anthony, this maid named Julie says that the floating staircase in the east corridor had a problem earlier, causing her and the guest named Zhang Wen to arrive late, and she insists on bringing Mr. Zhang into the hall. As for the other guests… they refused to listen to our advice, and we really couldn’t stop them…” The disheveled bodyguards seemed to see their savior and shouted desperately at Anthony.
“Tch!” The martial artists, who had just been worked up into a frenzy, grumbled and stepped back a few paces.
“Hmm? What’s wrong with the floating ladder on the east side?” Anthony, the man in blue, frowned and looked straight at Riley.
“Just now, the floating stairs on the east side mysteriously stopped between the second and third floors. Several guests even tried to take advantage of the situation to harass me. It was only after Teacher Zhang Wen defeated them that we managed to get the floating stairs moving again and arrived here,” Lirial said, speaking with righteous indignation.
As a qualified adjutant of the Praetorian Guard, Liria had already achieved complete mastery of language. Every word she spoke to the blue-clad man Anthony was technically true, yet the implied meaning was entirely different from what had actually occurred.
“Oh? Is that so…” Anthony remained in quiet thought for a moment, then politely gestured to Zhang Wen with a “come in” motion. “Since Mr. Zhang Wen’s lateness was caused by a malfunction of the Star Moon’s gangway, naturally we cannot hold Mr. Zhang Wen responsible for the consequences of this mishap.”
“What? Huh? Why is he the only one allowed to pass? We were also late because of the floating ladder malfunction!” Several other martial artists immediately started shouting in protest.
“If you indeed had an issue with the floating ladder, you may proceed in now. But if I later discover that you’re lying, are you prepared to face the consequences?” The blue-clad man, Anthony, scanned the group of rowdy martial artists with a chilling gaze, and the entire crowd immediately fell silent.
“Alright, you two should leave now!” Several bodyguards quickly reformed a protective barrier, separating the martial artists from Zhang Wen and Liliya.
“Tch!” Several martial artists grumbled and dispersed. Zhang Wen and Liliya then pushed open the grand doors and entered the hall on the third floor.
As soon as the doors on the eastern side of the hall swung open, nearly all the martial artists inside turned their gazes toward Zhang Wen and Liliya. The intense aura of killing intent filling the hall made Liliya involuntarily feel a bit nervous. However, Zhang Wen remained calm and composed, as if he had completely failed to sense the heavy atmosphere inside the hall.
In Liriya’s eyes, Zhang Wen’s reaction was perfectly normal. After all, Andrei Stanco had once been the leader of the Ruby Staff and the former Mithril Hunter. The current situation aboard the Star and Moon was nothing out of the ordinary for him.
“I’ll go first. Be careful,” Riley said. On the Star Moon, Riley and Zhang Wen had different identities, so of course they couldn’t always stay together. After entering the grand hall, Riley quickly parted ways with Zhang Wen.
Just as Riley had walked away not long ago, Zhang Wen suddenly heard a loud shout filled with surprise from the crowd.
“Oh! Teacher Zhang Wen!”
Then, Zhang Wen saw the two pretty maids he had just rescued from Nashun. They were now approaching, carrying trays full of various drinks, weaving their way through a group of people. When the two attractive maids spotted Zhang Wen, they rushed to his side like girls seeking salvation.
“You scared us to death!” Standing beside Zhang Wen, the two attractive maids sighed in relief, patting their sexy little chests before hurriedly pulling Zhang Wen to a corner at the side of the grand hall.
Dozens of tenth-stage experts gathered together—an impressive sight that these two pretty maids had never encountered before. Moreover, this large group of tenth-stage experts did not seem to be from the imperial army or aristocratic families. Those experts from reputable backgrounds usually possessed at least some composure and would maintain a degree of etiquette in their every word and action.
Now, the group of experts gathered in the hall were all powerful individuals who had fought their way up in undeveloped regions. Put nicely, they were local warlords; put more harshly, they were a pack of extremely powerful thugs, beasts at heart who believed in the law of the jungle—survival of the fittest! And now, these very ruffians and beasts had been provoked!
Seeing the fierce glint in the eyes of those tenth-stage experts, the faint sinister smiles at the corners of their mouths, hearing the hissing sounds of their battle energy activating, and the deliberate or accidental cracking sounds from their clenched fists… even the black-clad bodyguards standing near the door turned pale with fear, not to mention the two delicate and charming maids.
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