This house was similar to a boutique guesthouse in an old tourist town. From the outside, it looked like a quaint, ancient building, but pushing the door open felt like stepping through time; the interior was completely modern.

Chen Zheng showered, then lay on the bed, resting and messaging Wei Zixuan.

About an hour later, Li Yitong knocked on his door.

Chen Zheng followed her to the main hall of the Li Family residence. Many people were already seated inside, and the moment Chen Zheng arrived, all eyes converged on him. Some smiled amiably, while others remained expressionless, but Chen Zheng could clearly sense the tension in the room.

Li Yitong led Chen Zheng directly to Li Cangyun's side.

"Chen Zheng, you are our family's honored guest. There is a seat for you at the main table!" Li Yitong said earnestly.

Chen Zheng smiled. "Well, in that case, it would be rude to refuse!"

With that, he sat down next to Li Cangyun.

"Little Brother Chen, we're counting on you for the Grand Competition tomorrow!" Li Cangyun said, pouring him a full cup of wine.

"Family Head Li, there's no need to be so polite. It's not like I'm doing this for free!"

Hearing this, everyone at the table paused for a moment before bursting into laughter.

"Hahaha! Little Brother Chen is truly a man of the world. Your words have the distinct air of the jianghu. Come, drink!"

Li Cangyun boisterously raised his cup in a toast to Chen Zheng and downed it in one go. With that cup of wine, the dinner officially began. Throughout the evening, the Li family chatted happily with Chen Zheng, and the incident from the afternoon was never mentioned.

「The next morning.」

Just as Chen Zheng finished washing up, Li Yitong knocked on his door.

"Chen Zheng!"

"Coming!"

Pushing the door open, Chen Zheng emerged, dressed in plain cloth clothes. Perhaps out of a peculiar sense of humor, the Li family had also prepared a bluish-gray Daoist robe for him, which had taken him the better part of the morning to figure out how to wear properly.

"Let's go. The Su and Liu families have already arrived. The Grand Competition will be starting soon!"

Chen Zheng nodded and followed Li Yitong outside. They walked past several courtyards, finally arriving at a large, plaza-like area. In the very center stood a massive combat stage, reminiscent of the "World's Strongest Martial Arts Tournament." It almost made him wonder if a super-saiyan Kakarot was about to appear.

By now, the surrounding area was filled with people, all dressed in Zhongshan suits, none of whom looked like ordinary individuals. The Li, Su, and Liu families were three great clans of the traditional martial arts world, each with a large number of members who were elites in various industries. This competition was critically important to each family, so ordinary clan members weren't qualified to attend.

"Chen Zheng, the Grand Competition has two possible formats," Li Yitong explained. "One is a round-robin, where everyone has to fight. Winning two consecutive matches counts as a victory. That's the usual format for the competition."

"The other is an arena match, a method that hasn't been used for a long time. One champion defends the stage while the other two families send challengers to attack. If a challenger fails, their family has to give up ten percent of their annual profits to the defender. If a challenger succeeds and defeats the champion, the defending family forfeits ten percent to the new champion's family!"

"Ten percent?!"

Chen Zheng was stunned. "So you're saying if we do an arena match, and I defeat both challengers, we could win a twenty percent swing in profits? Wouldn't that be worth tens of billions more every year?"

As he spoke, he couldn't hide his shock. These great families are betting tens of billions on a single competition. It's something an ordinary person could never imagine!

"Yes!" Li Yitong nodded, fine beads of sweat forming on her forehead. It was obvious she was extremely nervous.

"Alright then, I'll defend the stage," Chen Zheng said with ease. "If I win, you'll have to pay me a hefty bonus!"

He quite liked the idea. With his strength, it was entirely achievable. Besides, if they fought one by one and people got injured, they'd have to wait for them to recover before continuing. The whole thing could drag on for months. Li Yitong had told him the last Grand Competition took almost a year to complete.

Forcing me to waste a whole year here? That's a death sentence!

Li Yitong looked at Chen Zheng and couldn't help but laugh. "Hahaha, you really are confident. If you actually win the arena match, forget a bonus—I'd even marry you!"

"Then the arena match it is," Chen Zheng joked back. "But I wouldn't dare marry you. What if I did something wrong and you decided to uphold justice by getting rid of me? That would be too embarrassing!"

"Oh, get out of here! Keep dreaming!" Li Yitong laughed. Then, her expression turned serious. "Chen Zheng, an arena match is no joke. The risk is too great for both the Li Family and for you! It's better to stick with the round-robin."

Just as Chen Zheng was about to reply, an angry voice cut in from nearby.

"Yitong, you'd marry *him*?!"

Chen Zheng turned to see a sullen-faced young man glaring at him, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

Li Yitong frowned, her voice turning cold. "Su Baiyu, who I marry is none of your business."

Su Baiyu ground his teeth. "Li Yitong, I've loved you since we were children. I've trained so hard just to meet your standards for a husband. Are you just going to pretend you never noticed?"

A flicker of annoyance crossed Li Yitong's eyes. "Su Baiyu, I've told you before, I don't like you. Nothing you do will ever change that. I will not marry you!"

"So... you don't like me, but you like *him*?" Su Baiyu shot a resentful glare at Chen Zheng.

"Enough. I don't have time to waste on you. Chen Zheng, let's go," Li Yitong said, ignoring Su Baiyu completely as she pulled Chen Zheng away.

"You! You're the Li Family's hired help?" Su Baiyu snarled at Chen Zheng's back. "I'll choose you first. I'm going to kill you!"

Li Yitong didn't even bother to look back, but Chen Zheng's brow furrowed slightly.

What a mess. How did I suddenly get dragged into this and make an enemy? Guess having a gorgeous woman by your side isn't always a good thing.

Soon, they arrived at the Li Family's designated area. Standing beside Li Cangyun were two middle-aged men, presumably the heads of the Su and Liu Families.

"Dad! We're here!" Li Yitong said softly as she approached.

Li Cangyun nodded, then looked at Chen Zheng. "Little Brother Chen, I assume Yitong has explained the rules of the Grand Competition to you?"

Chen Zheng nodded.

Li Cangyun let out a slow breath. "Then we'll be counting on you, Little Brother Chen!"

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