As Roland sized up the crowd, they were also sizing him up. Sanzun Renjian
"How is it? Did you find any information about him?" Jia asked his subordinate in a low voice.
"Yes," the latter leaned in to give a brief report. "His family and background are both ordinary. Becoming Ms. Jia’s neighbor was just a coincidence. There are no records of Roland on the Martial Arts Ranking, so he shouldn't have participated in any competitions. He joined the Martial Artist Association three months ago, which is not a common occurrence."
Although Jia had not awakened a natural power, he was no stranger to the Martial Arts League. As the most popular event with the largest audience, most people were familiar with its promotion rules and regulations. Apart from the biennial top-level event, the Martial Artist Convention, all other competitions could be considered as qualifiers. The levels were so diverse that even newly awakened rookies could participate in corresponding beginner-level competitions every month.
Generally speaking, rookies who have just joined the association are eager to compete on stage to improve their abilities and rankings, as this means higher status and income. Only those awakened individuals who joined midway were resistant to this kind of competition that publicly displayed their abilities. Of course, the credibility of this reason was also questionable. He believed that these self-proclaimed individuals had committed crimes and did not want to expose themselves in front of the cameras.
As Jia’s older brother, Jia was naturally very concerned about the surrogate chosen by his sister. In his impression, Jiaxiya was definitely not an easy person to get close to. Because she was too persistent in her beliefs, she was separated from outsiders by an invisible wall. Crossing it would cause great pressure on both sides. Therefore, there were very few people who could gain her trust.
Jia was not at all surprised that Jiaxiya had reached this point with her father. She may be a qualified martial artist, but she was definitely not a qualified businesswoman.
However, this was not the entire reason for his investigation of the other party, but only one of them at most.
Another main reason was in the VIP seats at the front of the banquet hall.
He looked towards the first row of seats, where he saw a woman dressed in pure white silk. The martial arts robe without any decoration added a touch of ethereal and otherworldly temperament to her. Her jet-black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, and just looking at her back was enough to amaze people.
Fei Yuhan, the most dazzling rising star in the Martial Arts League. In just five years since her debut, she had already made it into the Martial Artist Convention finals twice. Although she had not yet won the championship, most people believed that it was only because she was too young and lacked experience. As long as she was given time, the title of the strongest would definitely be in her grasp. Such outstanding talent made her a representative of the new generation of geniuses, and there were even rumors that when she won the championship, it would be the day she entered the upper echelons of Prism City.
Jia had thought that someone like her would not even bother with the Three-Leaf Group's invitation, but he did not expect her to attend the banquet in person, which really surprised his father.
With Fei Yuhan's attendance, this banquet would inevitably become the most eye-catching headline in recent news.
However, when he finally found an opportunity to talk to her, he was entrusted with an unexpected task.
Jia suppressed his thoughts and slowly walked up to her.
"Fei Yuhan Ms., the matter you asked me to inquire about..."
"No need to repeat it, I heard it all," she interrupted, then smiled slightly. "Thank you."
Heard it? Jia looked back in surprise at the position he had come from. It was almost ten meters away, and it was in a noisy banquet hall. Could martial artists really have such keen perception? It was simply... not human!
"Of course, not all information can be heard - even if the ears can do it, the brain can't process it." Perhaps sensing his surprise, Fei Yuhan rarely explained a few words. "When your subordinate approached you, I deliberately strengthened my attention. Then, as long as I focus my mind, I can restore the entire content of the conversation through lip movements, sounds, and expressions. For most martial artists, this is not difficult to do."
"I see... No wonder everyone praises you as the strongest martial artist," Jia said awkwardly with a smile.
"The strongest?" Her voice was as crisp and pleasant as a wind chime. "I haven't won that trophy yet."
"It's only a matter of time,
It's only a matter of time. Besides you, who else can step onto the Martial Artist Convention arena in the first year after awakening? Even Prism City’s «Guardian»…” As he spoke, Jia's voice gradually faded away.
Although Fei Yuhan looked like she was listening, the expression on her face that seemed to be smiling but not smiling gave him a feeling of being completely ignored - as if maintaining a smile was just politeness, and in fact, she had no interest in his words and didn't want to talk any further.
He suddenly realized that her thank you actually contained the meaning of ending the conversation. The subsequent explanation was just out of consideration for the Three-Leaf Group, the host, but this bit of face was only enough for two more sentences.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a surge of anger in his heart. He, who was sought after wherever he went, had never been treated like this!
However, just as the anger rose, Jia forcibly suppressed it.
The Martial Artist Association was not an organization that the Three-Leaf Group could afford to offend - it had countless connections with the national government and various industries.
Otherwise, his father wouldn't have to spend a lot of money to befriend these people.
He forced a smile and turned to leave the guest seats.
Of course, this subtle change in expression did not escape Fei Yuhan's eyes.
However, she did not care about the thoughts of these ordinary people. In the face of erosion, wealth and power were of limited significance. The only thing that could be relied on was one's own strength.
She turned her gaze back to the direction where Roland was.
At first, she had only agreed to attend the banquet at the request of her master. She did not understand why she had to waste precious cultivation time to participate in such social activities - until the appearance of the man, which slightly aroused her attention.
After raising the Heart of Nature to a certain level, awakened individuals could roughly sense the level of their opponents. This was not due to some special ability, but a comprehensive manifestation of observation that had been elevated to a new height. Fei Yuhan had reached this state three years ago and discovered that as long as she was not in Prism City, there were very few people who could surpass her.
But her insight lost its effectiveness in front of that person.
His movements, tone, eyes, and slight tremors of his skin were all the same as ordinary people, but she could not feel the slightest fluctuation of the Heart of Nature. Without this, she lost the benchmark for judgment. If the other party was just an ordinary person, then there was nothing to blame, but judging from the waiter's reception, he was a martial artist.
So Fei Yuhan brought Jia over.
Although she could check information such as rankings herself, she preferred to leave trivial matters to others - with just a simple word, they would spare no effort to complete her commission, and they would often do it better.
Then she heard the name "Roland" from Jia.
All the confusion was resolved.
As early as a week ago, Fei Yuhan had learned something from her master... A new "Hunter" had been born in Prism City, and he was also a martial artist holding a Hunter's license. There was nothing strange about this. In order to fight against the evil Fallen, martial artists had to be given some powers that exceeded the limits, so that they could eliminate the enemy more efficiently. In general, there were not many people who could become Hunters. The few she knew were all seniors whose names she could call out. However, this time, the Hunter's license was issued to a new member who had just joined the association!
If the Hunter's identity information had not been classified as top secret by the association, this matter would have caused an uproar immediately. It should be known that the association usually regarded Hunter's license holders and Martial Arts Tournament champions as martial artists of the same level, and even the former often had a higher status. This award also meant that someone had just awakened and won the league championship trophy, which was an incredible thing!
If that were the case, her two consecutive appearances in the finals would not be worth mentioning.
And that Hunter's name was Roland.
Fei Yuhan stretched out her right hand without any expression on her face and clenched it into a fist.
As a disciple of an old Guardian, she had also heard about the conflict between the old and new factions. One of the key issues that had been debated endlessly without a solution was - which martial artist was stronger? Was it the one who walked
on the edge of death, using all means to fight against the Fallen, or the one who honed his skills every day, competing fairly with different opponents in a ring?
The former certainly tested a person's abilities more, but fighting against the Fallen sometimes might not happen even once every few months, and for many people, the first battle was the last. The latter, although able to spend a lot of time on cultivation, had rules set for safety reasons that not only limited the martial artist's performance, but also formed habits in their thoughts and actions, making it easy to panic when encountering an opponent who would not stop until death - there were many supporters of both views, and it was difficult to come to a conclusion through practice.
Now, it seemed that there was a standard for measurement.
Roland, who had never participated in a martial arts competition and had been fighting the Fallen since awakening, undoubtedly belonged to the old school.
And she, in the eyes of everyone, was obviously the new school.
The reason why her master let her attend this banquet was probably this intention - as colleagues in the association and "image representatives" of the two factions, it was never wrong to familiarize themselves with each other in advance.
It was a pity that Fei Yuhan had no interest in the ideological dispute. She didn't even think she was the new school. If her master hadn't strictly forbidden her from handling erosion incidents alone, she would have wanted to find a few Fallen to test her skills.
Like Roland.
From beginning to end, what she cared about was only who was stronger.
Fortunately, from the looks of it, the other party had not disappointed her.
If it were the other martial artists in the hall who had been clearly seen through, Fei Yuhan would have simulated the results of different types of battles in her mind, and she could roughly obtain a win rate whether she had the first move or was taken by surprise. But she could not determine Roland's level, and the situation of a confrontation could not be simulated.
In other words, the two were still tied.
Fei Yuhan raised the corners of her mouth slightly. This banquet would finally not be so boring.
And she had also "heard" some interesting conversations from the three girls who were with him.
Such as "Dream World."
Such as "Your Majesty."
What kind of new game was this?
But looking at the girls' expressions, it didn't seem like the kind of vulgar role-playing.
If there was a chance, it would be good to ask him in person.
She retracted her gaze and silently noted these questions in her heart.
...
After scouring every dining table once, Roland finally waited for the person he wanted to find tonight.
Jiaxiya's father walked onto the central podium of the banquet hall to applause.