Starting as dockworkers, they swept through Chongqing.

Risa led Daisy back to the top-of-the-line luxury suite the dojo had prepared for them.

As soon as she entered the house, Daisy couldn't help but break free from her mother's hand.

She looked at her mother, somewhat puzzled, and asked:

"Mother, your attitude just now was very strange."

"You seem to have a very bad relationship with Xilen's mother?"

Risa walked to the wine cabinet, poured herself a glass of red wine, turned around, blinked, and asked, "Why do you think that?"

Daisy analyzed carefully:

"If it's a close friend, upon hearing the news of their death, you will be immersed in grief and bow your head in tears; if it's a casual friend, out of aristocratic etiquette, you will at least pretend to squeeze out a few tears or say a few words of comfort."

Daisy looked into her mother's eyes: "But just now, you didn't say a single word of comfort, and your eyes were filled with nothing but indifference."

When her daughter exposed her, Risa didn't try to hide it or feel guilty.

She held her wine glass and gracefully walked to the velvet sofa, sitting down and crossing one of her long legs over the other.

Her expression was calm, even carrying an innate arrogance.

She took a small sip of red wine, gave a cold laugh, and said, "Is that so? So what?"

A flash of undisguised contempt and disgust crossed Risa's eyes:

"A dancer of lowly birth, relying on her beautiful appearance, spent her days posing and seducing men."

She looked at Daisy, her tone becoming stern:

"Do you know that back then, even at your father's university, there were many shameless people who talked about her in private!"

Such women are nothing short of a cancer that corrupts social morals.

She's dead, so what? Should I, a viscountess who's been awarded a medal, be expected to feign a few tears for her? Does she deserve it?

Daisy was stunned by her mother's unvarnished and extremely harsh words.

She never expected that her mother, who was always dignified and elegant in front of outsiders, would use such vicious words to curse a dead woman.

Although she and Xilun were just ordinary friends, Xilun had saved her life, and she thought he was a good person.

Therefore, she did not want to respond to her mother's words, lest she further offend Xilen's late mother's reputation.

Seeing Daisy remain silent, Risa put down her wine glass, stared sharply at her daughter, and continued her questioning:

"Tell me honestly, what exactly is your relationship with that poor kid named Xilen?"

Daisy felt a little uneasy under her mother's gaze and quickly explained, "They're just ordinary friends. We met by chance outside."

Risa snorted coldly and said in an unquestionable, commanding tone:

"Since you're just friends, then cut off all contact immediately. Don't go looking for him again."

Daisy blinked in confusion and protested:

"What's wrong, Mother? Why are you interfering with my making friends?"

"Sirlen is a good man; he helped me before."

"A good person?" Risa thought to herself that she had heard the biggest joke in the world.

She looked at Daisy earnestly and admonished her:

"My dear daughter, you are still too naive."

He may appear to be a good person on the surface, but he may not be on the inside.

But as nobles, we should not waste our precious time and resources to test the character of a commoner.

Do you really want to waste your precious youth slowly seeing through a poor guy who might be a villain, trying to curry favor with the powerful?

She stood up, walked to the window, looked towards the lower town, and spoke with an arrogant prejudice:

"Moreover, I don't think a son raised in a slum filled with sin and filth, with the blood of a lowly dancer, can amount to anything."

Getting close to you is nothing more than an attempt to gain your favor and resources.

Daisy didn't want to argue with her mother, but she also didn't want her mother to belittle Celeste so baselessly.

She retorted softly, "Mother, don't say that."

Xilun is actually very capable. Although he came from a poor background, he worked very hard.

He just told me that he's confident he'll make it to the semifinals this time.

Upon hearing this, Risa couldn't help but let out a cold laugh.

"Make it to the semifinals? Hahaha..."

Risa turned around, looked at Daisy, her eyes filled with mockery:

"It seems that the son Avira gave birth to is utterly useless except for inheriting his mother's good looks, which she used to deceive people."

"Not only is he mediocre in talent and has an ordinary background, but now he's even picked up the habit of spouting nonsense! Does he think this is a street brawl?"

Risa walked up to Daisy and mercilessly exposed her:

"He came from that so-called Iron Cross Fight Club."

Before I came here, I read the information. It was a terrible club that was always at the bottom and hadn't even made it into the top eight for five consecutive years.

"Him? A poor kid with no decent resources, you expect him to make it into the top four on this stage where all the geniuses gather?"

Risa, still not satisfied, continued her questioning: "I'll ask you again, do you know who his father is?"

Daisy was somewhat taken aback by her mother's barrage of questions. She tried to recall what she was saying, and then hesitantly replied:

"He...he doesn't seem to have mentioned his father. I heard from others that he was an orphan and didn't have a father."

Risa's sneer intensified, her eyes filled with utter contempt.

"What else is there to say?"

Risa turned around, picked up her glass and drank it all in one gulp. "A man who crawled out of the sewers of the slums, the son of a lowly dancer, a bastard who doesn't even know who his father is!"

As a noblewoman of high birth, what need is there for you to associate with this kind of person? It only lowers your status!

Daisy argued vehemently, her eyes even reddening slightly:

"Mother! Please stop speaking ill of Xilun like that! You don't understand him at all."

"His life was really tough. In order to save a little money to buy medicine for his cultivation, he even hesitated about whether to buy a second suit to change into."

He tried so hard to change his fate, why are you so viciously belittling him?

Risa raised her head proudly.

She was beautiful and mature, and even with a cold smile and sarcasm on her face, she maintained that superior and beautiful demeanor.

She looked at her innocent daughter, her voice tinged with pity:

"My silly daughter. You think he's suffering, you think he's pitiful."

But your so-called "friend" is a liar driven by vanity.

Risa walked to Daisy's side and gently stroked her hair:

"I think he might pretend to be hardworking, ambitious, and persevering in front of you to gain your sympathy and favor."

But at crucial moments, his inherent tendency to boast and deceive, typical of people from the lower classes, was fully exposed.

Risa turned her head and looked out the window at the night sky washed clean by the rain, a hopeful smile curving her lips.

"Wasn't he bragging to you that he could make it to the semifinals?"

Risa's voice echoed in the luxurious suite, carrying a look of anticipation:

"Let's wait and see what laughable results this bastard can achieve in this arena!"

Inside the luxury suite, Risa's arrogant and prejudiced sneer had not yet completely faded when a soft, rhythmic knocking sounded at the door.

Daisy took a deep breath, suppressing her displeasure at her mother's belittling of Xilen, and turned to open the heavy solid wood door.

She paused slightly as the door opened.

Standing outside the door was a handsome young man with a somewhat familiar face, dressed in a well-tailored pure white fitted suit.

The moment the man saw Daisy, a fleeting, undisguised surprise and deep infatuation flashed in his narrow eyes.

He gave a slight, gentlemanly bow, a confident smile playing on his lips: "Daisy, long time no see. Do you remember me?"

Daisy frowned slightly, quickly searching her memory for the face. After a moment, she said with a hint of detachment, "You are... Li An?"

"It's me." Ang Lee's gaze swept boldly yet restrainedly over Daisy's increasingly beautiful face, his voice soft:

"We used to study at the same school, and you were the most dazzling person in the school back then."

Later, when I heard that you had abandoned the orthodox path to extraordinary learning and instead turned to studying those dry and esoteric arts, I felt sorry for you for a long time.

Daisy didn't reply, but politely stepped aside to let Ang Lee into the room.

Ang Lee strolled into the living room and his gaze fell on Risa, who was sitting on the velvet sofa.

He immediately abandoned his casual demeanor towards Daisy, his expression becoming extremely respectful. He bowed deeply to Risa and said:

"Silver Hand Club, Ang Lee, met Aunt Risa."

My father, Li Lei, often spoke to me of your nobility and elegance.

Risa held her wine glass, her gaze lingering for a moment on Ang Lee's expensive suit and the badge on his chest that signified him as a core disciple of the Silver Hand.

A warm smile instantly bloomed on her face, which had been harsh because of Xilun.

She nodded slightly, her eyes revealing undisguised admiration.

Having spent many years navigating the circles of nobility, Risa possessed an extremely keen sense of smell.

She immediately saw the burning passion in Ang Lee's eyes for Daisy.

The son of the Silver Hand Club president, a genius who was already close to the first-tier extreme realm at the age of twenty-two, is the kind of superior bloodline worthy of her daughter.

"You young people are chatting, and I'm getting a bit tired."

Risa, being very tactful, stood up without any intention of disturbing anyone, picked up her wine glass, and walked straight back to her bedroom, closing the door behind her.

Only the two of them remained in the living room.

Daisy walked to a nearby armchair, sat down, crossed her arms, and asked in a calm tone:

"What brings you here?"

Ang Lee sat down on the sofa opposite him, a gentle smile on his face.

"I heard you came to Daewoo Dojo to watch the competition, so I rushed over right away."

It's been years since we last met. You've become even more beautiful than before; it's simply captivating.

"Thank you for the compliment." Daisy pursed her lips, long since immune to such aristocratic flattery, and said directly:

"But you've got it wrong. I didn't come here to watch those brutal fighting matches."

I'm using the dojo's top-notch lab for occult experiments; I don't have time to watch the match.

Upon hearing this, Ang Lee's face showed a perfectly timed hint of regret. He leaned forward slightly and looked intently at Daisy:

"You didn't even have time to watch a single game? That's such a shame."

I prepared for this competition for a long time, and I was hoping to receive your applause.

Daisy felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze and casually replied:

"My experiments were in the critical period for the first three days, and I think I'll have some time on the fourth day... the fourth day."

"The fourth day?" A hint of arrogant confidence flashed in Li An's eyes. He leaned back on the sofa and laughed, "That's the same. The fourth day is already the semi-finals. Just watch how I perform on the fourth day."

I will give you the first-place trophy as a gift for our reunion.

Only then did Daisy notice that in the shadows behind Ang Lee stood a man with a calm expression, as imposing as an iron tower.

That was Xiu Kuo, another core disciple of the Silver Hand.

Seeing that Daisy seemed uninterested in continuing the conversation, Ang Lee tactfully stood up, straightened the hem of his suit jacket, and smiled:

"Then I won't disturb your rest any longer. See you on the fourth day."

After saying that, he turned around and led Xiu Kuo out of the suite.

As the door closed, the gentle smile on Ang Lee's face vanished instantly, replaced by an extremely cold and possessive aura.

He narrowed his long, narrow eyes, and as he walked down the luxurious corridor, he casually asked Xiu Kuo behind him:

"Daisis seemed to be chatting with another man in the hallway downstairs just now. Did you see him?"

Xiu Kuo nodded expressionlessly, his voice low and rumbling like thunder:

"I saw him. That guy's name is Xilen, he's a competitor from the Iron Cross Fighting Club."

"The Iron Cross?" A cold, contemptuous smile curled at the corner of Li An's lips, a shadow flashing across his face. He lowered his voice, his tone carrying an undeniable killing intent:

"How dare a piece of trash from a perennial bottom-ranked club stand and talk to Daisy?"

Check this guy's information. If I meet him in the ring, I'll make sure he doesn't even have a chance to admit defeat.

"Understood," Xiu Kuo replied in a deep voice.

……

Over the next three days, the atmosphere at Daewoo Dojo grew increasingly tense as the competition drew near.

Xilun, on the other hand, was like an ascetic monk who lived in seclusion, leaving early and returning late every day, completely isolating himself in the primary gravity chamber.

Under twice the pressure of gravity, even breathing felt like swallowing razor blades.

Xilun was shirtless, his muscles taut to the extreme.

Instead of wielding his spear, he sat cross-legged on the cold metal floor, intently exploring the nascent "external circulation" system.

He carefully communicated with the "charge enrichment" talent hidden deep within his flesh and blood, extracting the violent silver-blue charges bit by bit, and letting them flow slowly along the hidden patterns formed on his body surface by the alien talent "coiled dragon".

At first, it felt like countless red-hot steel needles were frantically piercing under his skin, and the intense pain caused his facial muscles to twitch uncontrollably.

But his deathly rationality fiercely suppressed the instinctive trembling of his body.

On the one hand, he needed to solidify this entirely new training path; on the other hand, he was surprised to find that when these violent charges formed an external circulation on the surface of his body, although the progress was extremely slow, it was frantically tempering his physical skin in a persistent and profound way.

The muscle fibers, which had already become incredibly tough due to the "pure water potion," saw their density increase again at a visible rate under the continuous stimulation of lightning.

Besides tempering his physical body, Xilun's second core task every day is to practice shooting.

Under the pressure of twice the force of gravity, the 70-pound military-grade alloy gun now felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.

Xilun gritted his teeth, gripping the gun barrel tightly with both hands, repeating the basic thrusting and slashing techniques of the Natan Heavy Gun Technique over and over again.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

A muffled sonic boom echoed continuously within the enclosed gravity chamber.

Originally, he would only practice marksmanship for two or three hours a day before he would be exhausted.

But during those three days, relying on the terrifying recovery power brought by the external circulation and his almost self-destructive ruthlessness, he devoted himself to ten hours of extreme training every day!

The sweat, barely seeping from the skin, was evaporated into white mist by the intense body heat.

In the extreme environment of the gravity chamber, every bone and tendon in his body underwent the most intensive training.

His marksmanship, too, gradually improved through these tedious and outrageous repetitions, shedding its initial awkwardness and gaining a deadly edge that returned to its original simplicity.