Supreme Electromagnetic Tyrant
Chapter 248 - 188 Emperor Star Club

Chapter 248: Chapter 188 Emperor Star Club

The next day.

Ji Xinghuo did not go to the Sword Bureau base again but stayed at home and soaked in the cultivation room for the entire day.

He spent half the time practicing Electric Light Spiral Force and the other half cultivating. Although practicing Star Force could also serve as cultivation, it did not consume physical fitness and Star Power quickly enough, resulting in inferior cultivation effects. He had not cultivated much these days, and his Star Power growth had slowed.

He did not make any particular preparations for the duel tonight.

After ending his cultivation, he ordered a lavish meal from the restaurant in the building, ate part of it himself, and Qing Hong consumed the rest.

While eating, he browsed his phone.

Ji Xinghuo discovered that news of tonight’s duel had spread online by noon.

"Martial King challenges Ji Xinghuo!"

This topic was quite popular and attracted a lot of attention.

However, most people were more interested in the gossip; Shi Renzhong’s pursuit of Zhao Manying for many years had been an open secret. Now that her official boyfriend had appeared, Shi Renzhong immediately issued a challenge, leading to widespread speculation — could this be a rivalry between love rivals?

Many were also discussing the fight itself.

The majority supported Shi Renzhong, with over 95% of voters online siding with him in a poll.

The reason was simple: it was leaked that Ji Xinghuo would not use his electric flying sword.

Due to the Sword Bureau’s intervention, information about the Purple Lightning Sword had been suppressed; it could not spread online, and to this day, everyone was unaware of the sword’s name. Various media, news channels, and bloggers also refrained from discussing it.

However, anyone who had seen the video of the curtain-raising battle knew how terrifying the power of the Purple Lightning Sword could be.

Even though many experts, including ADC’s professional team, had pointed out that Ji Xinghuo’s skills did not solely depend on the Purple Lightning Sword.

Still, the impression left by the Purple Lightning Sword was profoundly deep.

On the contrary, "Martial King" Shi Renzhong was famous worldwide and often had impressive performances in the arena.

His skills were evident and well recognized.

Although his ranking on the ladder was only 148, nearly a hundred places below Ji Xinghuo’s rank of 49, people instinctively favored Shi Renzhong, believing that he would win.

More importantly, everyone "hated" Ji Xinghuo.

Even if some people were optimistic about Ji Xinghuo, they did not want to see him win.

"You’ve already won Zhao Manying, isn’t that enough? You still want to keep winning? Dream on!"

"Lose, lose, lose!"

"Go Martial King! Kill him!"

Online public opinion was almost unanimously against Ji Xinghuo, with less than one in ten supporting him.

"Heh..."

Ji Xinghuo, looking at these resentful and sour comments, not only wasn’t angry but felt it made his meal tastier, leading him to eat more than usual.

Before departing, he took a pair of fist armor from his Dimension Stomach.

This was a trophy he obtained from the body of Shen Yucheng, a Superpower One Star, with attached "Durable" and "Quick Recovery" ability effects. Wearing it slightly enhanced his physical fitness and accelerated physical recovery—it was only slightly better than nothing.

However, the material of the fist armor was very hard, marked by only a few scratches when struck by the Thunderbolt Battle Blade.

Its appearance was also appealing.

The silver-black fist armor fit snugly over the palms up to the wrists, giving the appearance of a single piece of fist armor that was lightweight, agile, and breathable.

After putting it on, Ji Xinghuo tried throwing a few punches with Electric Light Spiral Force, experiencing no clumsiness.

"Not bad!"

He changed into a neat martial arts uniform, carrying a war blade and two swords at his back, hiding an Iron Hammer at his waist, and then he went downstairs to the garage.

Zhao Manying was waiting there in her super magnetic levitating car.

Ji Xinghuo noticed someone else in the car next to hers.

The person was sitting in the driver’s seat with the window down, allowing a view of his upper body—a young man in his early twenties, exceptionally handsome, almost too pretty, which at first glance might make someone mistake him for a woman. A closer look was needed to confirm his gender.

Ji Xinghuo had always been confident in his own appearance, but even he felt somewhat inferior in front of this person.

He had already guessed who this was.

"Brother-in-law."

Zhao Manying quickly reprimanded, "Don’t call him that!" and then looked at Ji Xinghuo, "This is Cangming. He heard that you were going to face Shi Renzhong and insisted on coming along."

Ji Xinghuo nodded.

Today was the team’s day off; Zhao Manying spent each week’s this day with her mother and brother.

Zhao Cangming was still in university and wouldn’t graduate until next year.

Ji Xinghuo had noticed as much.

Zhao Cangming was an Intermediate Mutant, his strength was considerable, definitely among the best of his peers.

But the guy seemed somewhat indolent, not the type to persist in cultivation, similar in character to his sister Liangqiu Feiyan, making it unlikely for him to advance far on the path of evolution.

"Nice to meet you, Cangming," Ji Xinghuo stepped forward to shake his hand, smiling. "Your sister has mentioned you to me many times."

Zhao Cangming was flattered, "I begged my sister for a long time before she agreed to bring me to meet you."

"It’s just a small matter to come here," Ji Xinghuo reassured.

"Brother-in-law, you’re the best!"

Zhao Manying glared at him, "You’re still calling him that."

"Hehe..." Zhao Cangming grinned sheepishly, "He is my brother-in-law, after all. Mom told me you two are living together."

Zhao Manying blushed at this, stealing a glance at Ji Xinghuo, but noticed he didn’t react much and instead got into the car.

"Let’s go."

The magnetic levitating car started up, with Zhao Cangming’s vehicle following behind.

A short while later.

Both cars arrived at the private training grounds of the Emperor Star Club. Although Emperor Star Team’s main venue was at Qin Athletic Stadium, each club had its headquarters for collective training. The coaching teams and staff also worked there on a regular basis.

The Emperor Star Club was not far from the sports stadium and was located in a cluster of buildings in the center of Chang’an City.

This was a property of the Quartz Group, with several skyscrapers closely clustered together. The club itself occupied the bottom ten floors of one of these buildings. It was sumptuously decorated, had a private environment, was equipped with all kinds of facilities, and boasted tight security. Outside, it was surrounded by a forest-like park.

In the parking garage of the club, three people got out of the car.

"Follow me."

Zhao Manying led the way, with Ji Xinghuo and Zhao Cangming following behind.

Ji Xinghuo noticed Zhao Cangming looking around curiously and asked, "Cangming, haven’t you been here before?"

"No."

Zhao Cangming was very tall, nearly 1.9 meters, with a well-proportioned body that didn’t seem exaggerated. Like his sister, he had long legs, and with his strikingly handsome face, he was a natural male model who could make women swoon.

However, Ji Xinghuo sensed a trace of nervousness in his eyes.

"This is just a pre-determined friendly match," Ji Xinghuo said very casually, smiling, "You don’t have to compete, so don’t be nervous."

Zhao Cangming looked surprised, "Brother-in-law, are you that confident?"

"Ask your sister, she knows best."

It was then that Zhao Cangming realized something. His sister had never seemed worried about her husband in tonight’s match, not even taking it to heart at all.

Zhao Manying turned and said, "Below Legendary, no one can defeat Xinghuo."

"You can’t either, sister?" Zhao Cangming hesitated.

Zhao Manying did not answer, which essentially confirmed it.

"Then I am relieved," Zhao Cangming laughed. He said it for Ji Xinghuo’s sake, but really, it was his own internal tension that had been alleviated.

The three of them walked through the club. Along the way, the people they encountered cast curious glances at them.

"Captain."

"Captain Zhao."

People greeted Zhao Manying and then turned their eyes to the two men behind her.

Zhao Cangming’s appearance was 70% similar to hers, and his aura was much the same, making it easy for everyone to guess that he was Zhao Manying’s brother.

However, most people were even more interested in the other man.

Because of privacy, it was the first time they were seeing Ji Xinghuo in person, and some looked disappointed after seeing him.

"Is that Ji Xinghuo?"

"He doesn’t look particularly impressive. The fact that he carries three weapons is somewhat intimidating."

"I wonder what the captain sees in him?"

"Don’t judge a book by its cover."

A murmur rose from the back; Ji Xinghuo heard everything clearly, but he didn’t mind. These people were Shi Renzhong’s employees, and naturally, they would favor the boss. Since he had come to stake a claim today, their attitudes wouldn’t be friendly.

They soon arrived at the Emperor Star Club’s training ground.

Two guards stood outside the door, and as the trio approached, they saluted and then opened the doors to the training ground.

Upon entering, they found a medium-sized martial arts arena, spanning over two thousand square meters. The impeccably clean floor was made from a metal alloy and had undergone insulation treatment. There were several rows of spectator seats, and the walls were covered with large screens, with cameras installed in every direction.

Ji Xinghuo also detected a superconductive shield array through his magnetic field senses.

There were already quite a number of people in the arena, and their eyes uniformly turned towards them.

"Welcome!"

Shi Renzhong approached with a smile on his face, looking at Ji Xinghuo and loudly welcoming, "Brother Ji, welcome to the Emperor Star Club!" He extended his hand.

Ji Xinghuo shook his hand briefly then pulled away, "That’s very kind of you."

Shi Renzhong’s gaze fell on Zhao Cangming, his surprise evident, "So you are Man Ying’s brother Cangming, right? I’ve heard a lot about you and am finally meeting you today."

Zhao Cangming, excitedly, "The Martial King knows me, it’s such an honor."

"Consider this place your home and visit often, don’t be a stranger," Shi Renzhong patted his shoulder, turning his attention back to Ji Xinghuo, "Let me introduce you to a few people."

He pointed to a few individuals beside him.

"This is my elder brother Shi Daoyuan."

Ji Xinghuo nodded to the man, who appeared serious and much older than Shi Renzhong, in his fifties. Judging by the strength of his magnetic field, he was a super mutant, with strong ether energy fluctuations, indicating profound strength.

The family situation of Shi Hongyi was no secret outside.

He had two wives, fathered four sons and two daughters.

All six children were trained as mutants, but only the eldest, Shi Daoyuan, and the youngest, Shi Renzhong, possessed cultivation talents; the other four, being less famous, took up positions within the family business.

Before Shi Renzhong became famous, Shi Daoyuan was unshakeably the "Crown Prince" of the Quartz Group and currently served as the deputy president of the group.

Rumors existed of a fierce competition and strained relationship between the two brothers.

Here, however, was Shi Daoyuan.

"President Shi," Ji Xinghuo’s greeting was neither humble nor haughty as he mentally noted this person’s magnetic characteristic.

Shi Renzhong introduced the second person.

She was a woman in her twenties, quite beautiful, lively, and dressed boldly. Her eyes had been observing Zhao Cangming since he entered, sparkling as if she had discovered some treasure she couldn’t look away from.

"She is Shi Buk, my niece."

Shi Renzhong continued to introduce Ji Xinghuo to the others present. The entire competition team of mutants from the Emperor Star Team was there, including the head coach and assistant coaches, more than a dozen people in the coaching team, including a Legendary. This was the team responsible for the Emperor Star Team’s back-to-back championships.

These individuals were spectators and, to some extent, bodyguards.

Every one of them was observing Ji Xinghuo, their emotions ranging from curiosity, scrutiny to hostility, and some were just there for the show, a diverse mix indeed.

Another person might have felt the pressure.

But Ji Xinghuo’s heart remained undisturbed, treating these people as if they were air. He simply wanted to finish the fight quickly and leave, to win respect for Zhao Manying.

"Brother Shi, how do you want to proceed?" Ji Xinghuo dispensed with the niceties, "Death match mode? Martial arts contest? Or just until a point is scored?"

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