Chapter 222 - 172: The Curtain-Raiser Battle

Words : 2092 Updated : Oct 8th, 2025

Chapter 222: Chapter 172: The Curtain-Raiser BattleJi Xinghuo was dressed casually today, nothing out of the ordinary, but he was wearing Gale Battle Boots on his feet and had a Defender’s Brace on his left wrist, which made the combination somewhat mismatched. The two most eye-catching weapons. For convenience, he carried the Thunderbolt Battle Blade and the Purple Lightning Sword side by side on his back, with the handles protruding over his right shoulder. Under his coat, there was also a gun holster on his waist, carrying an Iron Hammer. Anyone who looked closely at Ji Xinghuo for a few moments could tell that he was fully armed, which appeared very strange. "I’m used to it, I always did this in the Star Realm," Ji Xinghuo didn’t explain much, "Anyway, it’s not illegal." Enemies from the Qianyuan Association could attack at any time, so he definitely needed to be fully prepared. Wang Zizhen also noticed something and worriedly said, "Third brother, can you get through security like this?" "Definitely no problem." Ji Xinghuo laughed, as a Chi Xiao Knight, he held high privileges. Even in a crowded venue like the Super League, he could still carry weapons. "Let’s go, it’s time to enter the arena." The family queued up at the entrance of Tianqin Sports Arena. Liangqiu Feiyan would not miss such a good opportunity, she had been streaming on the way there, a floating camera orbiting around her, broadcasting the scene to her live stream viewers. However, she had been exercising every day recently, which shortened her streaming time, and she had already lost quite a few of her few hundred viewers. While queuing, people around were talking about the upcoming match. Emperor Star Team’s fans were still immersed in the glory of the last season, filled with expectations for the new season, with pride and joy displayed on everyone’s face. They took pride in the team’s strength and were captivated by Zhao Manying’s beauty and strength, engaging in enthusiastic discussions. "This year, if the Sword Immortal wins three consecutive championships, she’ll be the first person in the history of global professional leagues!" "That’s right, there’s no other Mutant whose achievements are higher than hers." "Being the best in history is inevitable." Suddenly someone countered, "The feat of three consecutive championships is indeed strong, but Zhao Manying hasn’t won it yet! It’s a bit premature to call her the first person in history when there are people who have won five top league championships, even in different countries." "You’re talking about Zhang Xingran, aren’t you?" "His five championships, only one was won as the core of the team. Winning five league championships but only one Golden Crown in his entire career, how can he compare to the Goddess?" "The Goddess won two league championships, and both times she was the absolute core, earning two Golden Crowns!" The previous speaker was not convinced, wearing a coat of the Skywalker Team, "Historical status is only compared by the number of championships, since when have we started comparing Golden Crowns? Moreover, Zhang Xingran’s personal strength is also very strong, he is now a Legendary Second Dan." "With your championships-only standard, back when the global leagues weren’t mature last century, some people won eight championships, would you consider him the greatest in history?" "Sword Immortal’s career is still long, it’s just the beginning, and she could win at least five more championships." "And every time she’ll definitely wear a crown!" The two argued endlessly, even getting red-faced in their heated exchange. This was the home ground for Emperor Star Team, and Zhao Manying’s fans were numerous and powerful, quickly silencing the fan of the Skywalker Team into speechlessness. It was clear he was indignant, but surrounded by opposing fans, he feared he might get beaten if he continued arguing and quickly shut his mouth and slunk away. Ji Xinghuo and his group watched the entire drama unfold. S~eaʀᴄh the NôvelFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Such arguments were common online every minute of every day, debating historical status, personal strength, looks, character, team glory, and so on... every aspect of competitive Mutants was compared, leading fans into endless verbal wars. This era had its fair share of idle people with plenty of time to waste online. So these topics would never cease. After the Skywalker Team fan left, the topic quickly returned to Emperor Star Team, praising Zhao Manying’s strength. "Ah, everything about the new season is good, my only worry is that the Sword Immortal has fallen in love," a tall young man expressed his concerns. "Yeah!" someone immediately agreed, "It’s her first love to boot, I really worry it might affect her performance." A mysterious fan chimed in, "My uncle works at Emperor Star Club, and he told me inside information that the Sword Immortal took a few days off from training recently, supposedly to be with her boyfriend. That’s something that has never happened before." "Really?" someone was skeptical. "Absolutely true! I swear on my uncle’s integrity, everything I said is true." "Damn it!" "Who exactly is the Sword Immortal’s boyfriend, why hasn’t he been exposed yet?" the tall young man clenched his teeth in frustration, "Aren’t the paparazzi usually quite good? How come they drop the ball at a critical moment like this, not even a whisper of a rumor." "That man must also not dare to show his face." "Exactly, if people knew his identity and the Sword Immortal performed poorly, he’d probably be drowned in a spittoon by the crowd." "Even if the Sword Immortal isn’t affected, I’d still like to chop him." "It’s a grievance so deep, we can’t coexist under the same sky!" A few men glanced at each other and shouted in unison. "Pfft..." Liangqiu Feiyan couldn’t help but laugh out loud. The fans turned their heads angrily, but when they saw she was a beautiful female streamer, they quickly adopted friendly smiles. The siblings exchanged teasing glances at Ji Xinghuo, but found him expressionless, as if the person being discussed wasn’t him. "Xinghuo, how are you feeling right now?" Zhong Ming asked with a smile. "I’ve been numb to it for a long time." Ji Xinghuo shrugged his shoulders indifferently. Ever since Zhao Manying had announced her relationship, anyone online who mentioned her boyfriend gritted their teeth with a mixture of hatred and envy. This was especially true for male fans, who launched daily discussions against him, creating a huge outcry with endless slogans. The most prominent of these was, "Avenge the theft of a wife, we can’t coexist under the same sky!" It had now become a popular meme. By now, his enemies spanned the globe, numbering at least three hundred to four hundred million, and the number was growing. Initially, he had been concerned about what would happen if his identity were revealed, but he had stopped worrying about it. After all, when you’re deep in debt you stop worrying about it; when you’re covered in lice, they don’t itch anymore. The queue moved swiftly forward. It wasn’t long before it was Ji Xinghuo’s family’s turn. Everyone else passed through smoothly, but when it was Ji Xinghuo’s turn, the stadium security, seeing him carrying a weapon, became cautious. However, Ji Xinghuo swaggered through the security check without triggering any alarms. The security guards understood the situation once they saw this. This guy must be someone from the national armed forces with a legal permit to carry weapons, so they didn’t approach him. "He’s actually in!" Ye Dongyun was somewhat surprised. Being a government official, she had a deeper understanding of the levels of authority within government departments and knew how high a clearance was necessary to carry weapons in such public scenarios. But then she realized it made sense, given Ji Xing’s current strength, he must hold a high position in the Sword Bureau. They entered the interior of the stadium. Heaven Qin National Stadium was massive, capable of accommodating up to three hundred thousand spectators. The stadium appeared like a high-speed spaceship from the outside, but its main structure on the inside was simple: an open oval plaza with a hundreds of meters long field in the center, surrounded by rows of spectator seats that rose like rings on a hillside. Every end of the field featured a completely transparent building, allowing a clear view of the spacious platforms inside, which housed rows of capsules that could connect to the Spirit Realm World. Home and away teams each used one of these login stadiums. The field in the middle of the venue appeared empty but each square inch of surface was a high-resolution 3D projection screen, capable of vividly projecting scenes from the Spirit Realm World in real time, making it crystal clear for the audience. There was also a giant ring of screens overhead, displaying images from various angles. Staging a single match could cost upwards of a hundred million Ya Yuan. But the earnings were much greater. From broadcast rights, advertisements, endorsement fees, to ticket sales and more, a single match of the Super Mutant League could generate billions of Ya Yuan in revenue. For highly popular matches, earnings could even break ten billion! With more than an hour to go before the game started, there were no competitors in the login stadium, only the club staff making preparations. However, more than half of the spectator seats were already filled. Ji Xinghuo and his group descended from the top of the spectator stand, and when they found their seats, they discovered they were less than ten meters from the home team’s login stadium—not only was the view excellent, but they could also see all the competitors inside the login stadium for the whole event. Additionally, the entrance was right next to them, allowing them to come into close contact with the competitors as they moved in and out. "This is awesome!" Liangqiu Feiyan exclaimed excitedly. Zhong Ming, as a Class B league competitor, had also never experienced this feeling. Most Class B league matches were held online, only the championship matches were held offline in the Spirit Realm World, but his club did not have the capability. Such front-row seats, although not the elevated VIP boxes, rarely made it to the market and were generally kept within the club. The audience that could sit here were either very wealthy or well-connected. Liangqiu Feiyan looked around and quickly recognized a few celebrities, including top stars, major broadcasters, popular internet influencers, and ladder-ranked mutants, all well-known figures in society. Of course, there were also many die-hard fans who had spent a lot of money to come to the match, all ordinary people. It did not seem out of place for Ji Xinghuo and others to be sitting among them. As the match time drew closer, all the seats in the stadium were filled—the arena was truly packed, with over three hundred thousand people surrounding the oval field, their voices loud and bustling. Looking around, heads were everywhere, and one had to speak up to be heard by the person next to them. At seven in the evening. The entire stadium suddenly went dark. A giant digital countdown appeared on the ground in the middle, and the audience counted down together, erupting into a thunderous cheer when they reached zero. "Dear audience, fans of Emperor Star!" "Now, please welcome the reigning champions of the 2224 season of the Asia-Pacific Community Super League, the entire team of Emperor Star Club!" The host’s spirited voice echoed throughout the stadium, reverberating in the sky. In a grand burst of music, a spotlight shone on the entryway. A man in the Emperor Star Club uniform stood in the circle of light, about thirty years old, tall and robust, handsome and spirited, waving to the audience around him. "Martial King!" "Martial King!" The audience shouted his nickname, each wave louder than the last. Martial King Shi Renzhong, a Super Mutant, whose professional template was a combination of Martial Artist and Iron Guard advanced to "Horizontal Iron Guard." He ranked 148th on the Global Ladder and played a crucial role in matches, charging into the fray and drawing the opponent’s attacks, his strength second only to Zhao Manying and another Spiritual Power Stringer in the team. Shi Renzhong’s popularity in the Super League was incredibly high. Besides his formidable strength and handsome looks, he also had a well-known identity as the owner of the Emperor Star Club!

Chapter 222 - 172: The Curtain-Raiser Battle

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