"The Martial Arts Tournament is held every five years, and each time it takes place in a different location, hosted by a different family of martial arts practitioners."
"However, not all martial arts families are qualified to host. After all, the tournament gathers young martial artists from all over China. During this period, disagreements and fights are inevitable. With so many people, all sorts of incidents are bound to occur. How to ensure that so many martial artists do not disrupt the lives of ordinary people is a true test of the hosting family's capabilities."
"Although the official competitions of the Martial Arts Tournament only last for three days, afterward, many like-minded individuals organize various exchange gatherings, some for trading items, others for exchanging information. It's quite lively."
Du Fei and Fang Chao walked along a winding mountain path, with Fang Chao explaining the details of the Martial Arts Tournament to Du Fei.
Today was the first day of the Martial Arts Tournament, and Du Fei had rushed to the venue with Fang Chao early in the morning.
Before coming to Wangchuan, Du Fei had informed Liu Shishi that he would be going out with Fang Chao for some business.
The original plan was for Liu Shishi to rest at the hotel or go shopping while Du Fei attended the tournament.
However, they had not expected to encounter Yu Suqin and her daughter after arriving in Wangchuan.
Previously, Du Fei had helped Yu Suqin recover the money her husband had lost to fraud, and she intended to move with Xinxin to a new place.
The current residence was in a slum, with a poor and chaotic environment, which was not conducive to Xinxin's growth.
Upon learning this, Liu Shishi volunteered to help them move.
Since Du Fei would be attending the Martial Arts Tournament for the next few days, there was no need to worry about Liu Shishi being bored alone.
After walking for a while, the number of people on the mountain path gradually increased.
As they neared the halfway point of the mountain, several burly men appeared at a junction.
They were all dressed in short, tight-fitting martial arts attire, with muscles on their arms thicker than an ordinary person's thigh. Their temples bulged, indicating they were masters.
"As expected of the Xie family of Wangchuan; even the guards at the mountain gate are martial artists. Their strength is truly astonishing."
"Of course. The current head of the Xie family is exceptionally capable. He has led the Xie family, which was once at the bottom of the second-tier, to become first-tier. Now, they are even hosting this Martial Arts Tournament, which clearly demonstrates the Xie family's power."
"Tsk tsk, I also heard that several members of the younger generation of the Xie family have been selected for this year's Dragon Group and Azure Dragon members. Their future achievements are limitless."
To prevent ordinary people or troublemakers from disrupting the Martial Arts Tournament, the hosting martial arts family had specifically arranged for guards at the mountain gate.
While waiting in line, people chatted in small groups.
When Du Fei heard them mention the Xie family, his eyebrows twitched involuntarily.
"Brother Fei, do you know someone from the Xie family?"
Fang Chao happened to look at Du Fei at that moment and noticed the change in his expression.
Du Fei shook his head, indicating it was nothing.
He had just recalled that Lü Gang had mentioned earlier that he was from the Xie family, a subordinate of the Third Young Master Xie.
Now, hearing people around them discussing the Xie family, Du Fei couldn't help but wonder if the Xie family mentioned by Lü Gang was the same one being talked about.
Perhaps it was just a coincidence, so Du Fei did not intend to mention the matter of Yu Suqin and her daughter.
The inspection process was actually quite simple, involving only questions about names and family affiliations.
However, even martial artists without a family could participate in the Martial Arts Tournament.
After all, there were not a few martial artists without families, and the Xie family would naturally not dare to offend such a large group.
Fang Chao announced his family name, the Fang family of Rongcheng, and the burly guard at the gate gestured inward, signaling they could proceed.
...
After passing the mountain gate and walking for another ten minutes, Du Fei and the two arrived at a very open platform.
This platform seemed to have been carved out of half the mountain and then constructed.
At a glance, the continuous rolling villas and courtyards gave a sense of immense wealth and power.
"Esteemed guests, do you require accommodation here?"
As the Martial Arts Tournament was held for five consecutive days, the hosting Xie family provided accommodation for the participants.
However, there were distinctions in accommodation. Renowned martial arts families or those with cultivation levels above the Hua Jin realm were allowed to stay in villas.
Those with cultivation levels below Hua Jin could only have ordinary single rooms. Nevertheless, all food, drink, and amenities for the martial artists participating in the tournament were provided by the Xie family, which represented a considerable expense. If a smaller martial arts family were to host the tournament, they would likely not be able to provide sufficient accommodation and provisions.
Before arriving, Du Fei had heard from Fang Chao that the host would provide accommodation. However, since he was not alone this time, he did not intend to stay here.
Fang Chao, on the other hand, was attending the Martial Arts Tournament for the first time, and his strength qualified him for a villa, so he decided to stay.
Firstly, it would broaden his horizons, and secondly, he wanted to take this opportunity to interact more with martial artists from other families.
"Esteemed guests, please keep your room cards. You may use them to enter and exit your rooms until the Martial Arts Tournament concludes."
The Xie family servant responsible for arranging accommodation clearly explained all the necessary matters.
Only when no one had any further questions did he bow and retreat.
Following this, Du Fei accompanied Fang Chao to the registration area for the Martial Arts Tournament.
However, to their surprise, the registration area was divided into two sides.
On the left, ten long queues stretched out like dragons, while on the right, there were only two lines with just two or three people.
They instinctively headed towards the right side, at which point a man wearing a badge with the character Xie on his chest stopped them.
"Excuse me, guests. This side is specifically for martial artists at or above the Hua Jin realm."
He then explained to Du Fei and Fang Chao that due to the large number of martial artists participating in the tournament, it would be too time-consuming to arrange competitions for everyone together.
Therefore, the Xie family had made changes based on previous years.
Ordinary martial artists could register as usual and then immediately proceed to the prepared arenas for their matches.
If they won five consecutive matches within a day, they would directly advance to the next round.
For masters at or above the Hua Jin realm, they only needed to prove their strength on the right side to directly advance without participating in the first round of matches.
This was because, in all of China, Hua Jin masters under the age of thirty were very rare, and most of them came from prestigious families, well-known throughout China. Therefore, it was not surprising that they could directly advance to the second round of the Martial Arts Tournament.
"Oh, there's such a good thing? My friend and I are both masters at or above the Hua Jin realm. We'll register here then."
Fang Chao was very pleased upon hearing about this convenient arrangement.
In fact, Du Fei had no intention of participating in this so-called Martial Arts Tournament at first, as he had already entered the realm of cultivation. Martial artists, in his eyes, were like how martial artists viewed ordinary people – they were not on the same level.
However, unable to resist Fang Chao's persistent persuasion, Du Fei thought he might as well participate casually and see what it was like.
"Certainly, esteemed guests, please proceed."
Upon hearing that both Du Fei and Fang Chao were masters at or above the Hua Jin realm, the person who had stopped them showed a look of great surprise, and his tone became more respectful.
Although masters at or above the Hua Jin realm were well-known, he couldn't claim to recognize all of them.
Furthermore, if Du Fei and Fang Chao failed the strength verification later, it would be embarrassing for them, especially with so many people present. Falsely claiming to be a Hua Jin martial artist in public would be extremely humiliating.