Inside the magnificent and bustling venue, a sudden shift occurred due to Zhao Jianhua's low voice.
Old Master Xu's decision could be considered unchangeable, yet Zhao Jianhua had stepped forward, and the entire venue's atmosphere had turned oppressively tense, as if it could ignite at any moment.
Xu Wenqing said nothing. He raised a hand slightly to stop his two bodyguards, then turned to look at Zhao Jianhua, a questioning look in his eyes, wanting to know his reasoning.
As one of the sponsors of the Jinhai City Social Mixer and a board director of a major corporation in Jinhai City, Zhao Jianhua's opinion was not something even Xu Wenqing could simply dismiss.
"Old Master Xu, forbidding Shi Feng from entering was indeed my doing — I had Lin Feilong handle it. And I don't think there's anything wrong with that decision, so please don't give Feilong a hard time," Zhao Jianhua said with a smile. "The reason I didn't allow Shi Feng in was simply that I didn't want him pestering Ruoxi. I hope Old Master Xu can understand."
"Second Uncle, I already told you, it's nothing like what you think," Zhao Ruoxi said, her elegant brows furrowing as she immediately protested.
Hearing the two of them, Xu Wenqing, with all his experience, instantly understood what was going on. He chuckled and said, "Youth is truly wonderful. Since this is a matter between young people, I won't interfere."
Lin Feilong let out a sigh of relief upon hearing this. If he had actually been thrown out, his face would have been completely ruined. Fortunately, Zhao Jianhua was on his side. He then shot a smug glance at Shi Feng, as if to say: So what if you got Old Master Xu's praise? I'm perfectly fine and not facing any consequences.
Shi Feng simply shrugged his shoulders, utterly indifferent. His goal was to get upstairs and find the Five Demon Generals. He couldn't care less about what happened to Lin Feilong. But if Lin Feilong dared to pick a fight with him again, he wouldn't be so polite.
Just then, the dashing Lan Hailong glanced at Zhang Luowei beside him.
"Student Shi Feng, please wait," Zhang Luowei called out, stepping forward toward Shi Feng. "I've long admired the reputation of the Zero Wing Guild. I never expected to run into them at this Social Mixer. I hear Zero Wing has numerous experts, all of exceptional skill. As a mid-level manager of the Zero Wing Guild, Student Shi Feng must surely be highly skilled. I'd like to learn from you — consider it a little entertainment for this mixer. What do you think, Student Shi Feng?"
This suggestion caught the attention of Xu Wenqing, Zhao Jianhua, Chen Wu, and the others. They all thought it sounded interesting, but since this was a matter between young people, they didn't particularly want to interfere, so they watched quietly from the sidelines.
The most eager of them all was Zhao Jianhua. He knew full well how formidable Zhang Luowei was. Even Chen Wu, a martial arts master, thought highly of Zhang Luowei, believing he could win the Jinhai City fighting championship within a few years. If Shi Feng lost face in front of Zhao Ruoxi, it would at least show her how mediocre he really was — that the two of them belonged to entirely different worlds. Perhaps then, Ruoxi would give up on him.
"So it's a fight!"
"Awesome! Getting to see the number one fighter from Jinhai University go up against a top expert from Zero Wing — coming to this mixer was totally worth it."
Many people in the venue began to look forward to it.
"Ha ha ha! Student Shi Feng, look how excited everyone is. It would be such a disappointment to let them down. Don't worry — it's just a friendly spar, nothing more. Purely for entertainment," Lan Hailong said with a smile. "I am also a director of the Shadow Guild. We've always wanted to learn from a powerful guild like Zero Wing and see where we stand in comparison. We want Shadow to become a guild that's no less impressive than Zero Wing. Surely Student Shi Feng won't refuse?"
The shrewd Lan Hailong was quite eloquent. He framed the spar between Zhang Luowei and Shi Feng as a contest between the two guilds, clearly hoping to ride Zero Wing's coattails to prominence.
Originally, the star of this Social Mixer was supposed to be the Shadow Guild, but Shi Feng had stolen the spotlight midway, making Zero Wing the absolute center of attention. On top of that, Zero Wing had recruited quite a few promising new members. Lan Hailong and Zhang Luowei naturally couldn't stand for that, so they wanted to step on Shi Feng to elevate themselves — that way, Shadow's reputation would instantly surpass Zero Wing's.
And Lan Hailong's plan didn't stop there. He intended to use Shi Feng's defeat as ammunition, publicizing the event far and wide so that everyone would know — including those inside the Divine Realm. He already had the headline in mind: "Zero Wing Expert Crushingly Defeated by Shadow Guild Player." The impression it would create was that the Shadow Guild was every bit the equal of Zero Wing.
As for Shi Feng, he would become the laughingstock of the Zero Wing Guild and would surely be expelled. Such an outcome was only fitting as punishment for daring to steal Shadow's thunder.
Moreover, with the venue buzzing with excitement and many people already cheering and shouting Shi Feng's name, he was backed into a corner and left with no room to refuse.
"How can they do this?" Zhao Ruoxi said, displeased. "Shi Feng is a gaming expert, not a fighting expert. Having the two of them spar proves nothing!"
With Zhao Ruoxi's words, the crowd realized she had a point. Being skilled at the game was one thing, but that didn't mean he was a fighting expert. Even if Zhang Luowei defeated Shi Feng, it wouldn't prove he was superior in the game.
"Miss Zhao Ruoxi, you must be joking. Divine Realm is a virtual reality game, and every aspect of it leans toward realism. I think anyone who has fought monsters in Divine Realm would know — while it's not necessarily true that someone who's good at fighting will be good at the game, being good at the game does generally mean your real-world combat skills aren't bad either. I happen to know how capable Student Shi Feng is. He defeated Zhou Yuhu, who ranks third in the school's martial arts rankings. With that kind of strength, it would be such a waste for the two of them not to compete." Lan Hailong smiled faintly. He had absolute confidence in Zhang Luowei's abilities. As for Shi Feng — while his strength was decent, he was no match for Zhang Luowei. After all, Zhang Luowei was already at a professional level, far beyond someone of Zhou Yuhu's caliber.
"Wait — that Zhou Yuhu, ranked third in the entire school, was actually defeated by Shi Feng? As a mid-level manager of Zero Wing, he really lives up to the name. Zero Wing really is something."
Many people present were stunned by the revelation, and their anticipation for the match between Shi Feng and Zhang Luowei grew even stronger.
"You really can't underestimate young people. To have that kind of skill and keep it hidden all this time — modest and composed, no arrogance at all. That kind of temperament is truly rare." Xu Wenqing's estimation of Shi Feng rose even further. "With that temperament, his future achievements certainly won't be low. Director Zhao, your standards are simply too high. Let the young people handle their own affairs. It's better that we of the older generation don't intervene."
"No way — that little runt of his could have beaten Zhou Yuhu?" Zhao Jianhua looked at Shi Feng with great surprise, finding it utterly unbelievable. He knew a fair amount about Jinhai University's martial arts tournament. It was precisely because Lin Feilong had managed to claim ninth place that Zhao Jianhua had taken a liking to him.
"Fine. Since everyone is so eager to see it, how could I refuse?" Shi Feng said with a smile.
Lan Hailong was just as smooth-tongued as ever.
Shi Feng knew Lan Hailong all too well. It was precisely because of Lan Hailong that ten years of his previous life's hard work had gone to waste — a fact he remembered all too clearly. But that had been his previous life. If Lan Hailong didn't provoke him, he couldn't be bothered to meddle with the man. However, if Lan Hailong decided to come after him, then he wouldn't hold back either. It would be a perfect opportunity to sever the lingering obsession from his past life. (To be continued…)