Starting as dockworkers, they swept through Chongqing.

Xilun lay in bed, listening to faint rustling sounds coming from next door.

He thought that Daisy, the viscount's daughter who had been pampered since childhood, must be quite flustered to suddenly be staying in such a simple, commoner's inn.

After all, his leg was injured, making it difficult for him to move around, and he had no servants to take care of him.

He muttered something under his breath in the empty room: "What a hassle..."

But there was no hint of impatience in his tone; instead, it revealed a tranquility that even he himself was unaware of.

In another room, separated by only one wall.

Daisy didn't panic as Celen had imagined. She dampened a towel, quickly wiped her face, brushed her teeth, and then lay quietly in bed.

She randomly pulled out a few worn-out magazines about Victorian customs and culture from a drawer in the hotel and began to read them page by page by the light of the gas lamp by the bedside.

The content was incredibly boring, but she found it fascinating.

She would occasionally pause, her gaze involuntarily drifting to the somewhat flimsy wooden wall.

She knew that on the other side of the wall, the boy was resting quietly, waiting for her possible command.

This feeling is wonderful.

Although she didn't make any requests all night, nor did she knock on the wall to call him over, the thought of having someone next door gave her a sense of security and comfort.

This humble hotel room seemed to offer her more reassurance than her heavily guarded luxury suite.

As night deepened, all the noise inside and outside the Daewoo Dojo gradually subsided.

In this brief and precious tranquility, each with their own thoughts, they drifted off to sleep.

……

At five in the morning, the sky was still tinged with a cold, hard gray-blue.

Xilun opened his eyes right on time.

He went to bed early and woke up feeling exceptionally refreshed.

The cramped, unassuming hotel room was filled with the smell of old wood. He rolled out of bed without making a sound and began to loosen his joints.

The bones emitted a faint popping sound, and the muscles gradually awakened as they stretched.

He sat cross-legged on the hardwood floor and began to practice the "Great Sea Whale Guiding Technique".

The icy air seeped into my lungs through my respiratory tract, and a deep, heavy feeling flowed through my limbs and bones, completely crushing any lingering drowsiness.

After breathing exercises for about half an hour, regaining that fighting instinct where muscles and blood were perfectly aligned, he pushed open the door and walked out of the hotel.

The streets of the downtown area were chilly and damp in the early morning.

Xilun ran a long circle along the gloomy streets, relying solely on his physical endurance without any additional strength.

He only slowed down and walked back to the hotel when he was drenched in sweat and breathing heavily.

The clock hands had just passed seven o'clock.

I changed out of my sweat-soaked clothes and took a cold shower.

Xilun walked to the street corner and bought two steaming hot rye breads and smoked meat. Carrying the paper bag, he went to the door next door and knocked on the door with his finger.

After a full minute, Daisy's humming voice, thick with a nasal tone, finally came from inside the door.

"What are you doing...?"

"Get up and have breakfast." Siren's tone was flat and emotionless. "We need to go back early."

From inside came Daisy's indistinct mutterings, as if she were complaining about being disturbed from her sweet dreams.

After a while, the door lock clicked open.

Daisy's hair was slightly disheveled, her eyes were half-open and half-closed, and she dragged her feet toward the bathroom.

She grabbed her toothbrush and mechanically brushed her teeth while mumbling a complaint:

"I've never gotten up this early before. At this godforsaken time, even the roosters in the manor aren't awake yet."

Xilun leaned against the door frame, looking at her: "Aren't you going to watch the competition? You need to get to Daewoo Dojo early to get a good spot."

Daisy spat out the foam in her mouth and grunted twice:

"I have a special VIP lounge, so I don't have to squeeze in with those people."

"At worst, I'll just go to the Iron Cross Club area; Instructor Ryan will definitely arrange a chair for me."

After washing up, she combed her long, smooth, black hair and skillfully braided it into a neat plait.

It was only then that she noticed that Xilen's gaze had been fixed on her feet.

Daisy glanced down at her feet, which were clad in bunny-print slippers, and immediately raised an eyebrow, exclaiming, "What are you looking at? Are you a pervert?!"

Xilun raised his gaze expressionlessly, his eyes clear and without a trace of impurity, and said calmly, "It seems less swollen now."

Daisy's ears turned slightly red, and she gently tapped the edge of Xilun's leather shoes with her rabbit-shaped cotton slipper: "Much better, let's walk back. I can barely keep up with your pace."

After Daisy changed into her slightly fussy dress, the two went downstairs to check out of their room, left the secluded street, and headed towards the Daewoo Dojo.

Back inside the dojo, in that luxurious and secluded residential area, Daisy pushed open the door to her suite.

She yawned and glanced at the brass clock on the wall.

8:30.

The competition doesn't officially start until 10 o'clock, so I can take another nap.

She was about to ring the bell to call the maid to help her change when suddenly, the door to another room deep in the corridor was pushed open without warning.

Mrs. Risa came out from inside.

She wore an exquisitely tailored dark purple dress, her back ramrod straight, but her well-maintained face held no smile; her expression was so grave it seemed as if water could drip from it.

Her sharp, piercing gaze was fixed on Daisy, her voice low and stern: "Where did you go last night?"

Daisy's heart skipped a beat, but she pretended to be relaxed and casually replied, "My cousin Locke had a private party, and I went dancing for a while."

Risa's expression didn't soften at all because of this excuse; she pressed on, "Why didn't you come back after dancing? Who did you go home with?"

Daisy sighed helplessly and met her mother's gaze with composure:

"Mother, I just wore those new high heels to dance and twisted my ankle. It hurts terribly, so it's really inconvenient for me to walk that far back."

I found a hotel nearby and slept there alone for the night.

Upon hearing this, Risa frowned deeply, and the fine lines at the corners of her eyes became more pronounced due to her effort.

She said coldly, "It would be best if you were alone."

You're only eighteen, the future hope of our family. You absolutely cannot spend the night outside with other men. If this scandal gets out, where will your father's face be?"

Daisy nodded perfunctorily, eager to end this tedious lecture as soon as possible.

Risa emphasized, speaking slowly and deliberately, "Especially that Xiren, stay away from that lowly peasant."

Upon hearing the name, Daisy's previously languid expression instantly vanished, replaced by a hint of annoyance.

She retorted impatiently, "Mother, why do you have such a big problem with him? He doesn't seem to have ever offended you."

Risa sneered, her eyes filled with undisguised contempt:

"Who told him to repeatedly reinforce my stereotypes about slums?"

Shortsighted, arrogant, and conceited, they have no idea what a big-picture perspective is!

Yesterday, Li Lei from the Silver Hand Club, your Uncle Li, condescended to personally invite him to join the Silver Hand, offering him a smooth path to success. And what happened?

He actually rejected me to my face! And his words were sharp, vulgar, and utterly uncultured.

This kind of ungrateful stray dog ​​deserves to stay in the mud forever!

Daisy completely stopped the movement of preparing to unbutton her collar.

She turned around and looked at her mother with an extremely serious expression.

"Isn't the way Uncle Li Lei invited him questionable? His condescending and altruistic attitude might not be genuine."

Mother, you're too prejudiced against him. You always see him through tinted glasses.

Daisy took a deep breath and continued without backing down:

"In your subconscious, the people in the downtown area should be grateful to you."

Even if he actually made it into the top four today, you'd probably find a million reasons to belittle him, saying he got there by luck or that he lacked manners.

"You..." Risa's chest heaved with anger at her daughter's defiance.

"Speaking of which," Daisy said, not giving her mother a chance to interrupt, "you previously said that Celen was arrogant and spouting nonsense."

But he has now actually made it into the top four.

This precisely demonstrates that he made those remarks after weighing his own capabilities; it wasn't arrogance, but confidence.

Mother, the greatest respect is to maintain awe for the unfamiliar.

You taught me that phrase when I was little.

How come you can't do it yourself now?

These words were like a sharp awl, precisely piercing Risa's hypocritical aristocratic pride.

She was speechless for a moment, her face turning ashen.

Daisy lost all interest in sleeping.

She turned around angrily and dragged her slightly heavy steps to the restaurant.

Sure enough, Susie was sitting alone at the huge long dining table, quietly eating the bacon and fried eggs in front of her.

Seeing Daisy enter, Susie looked up, forcing a smile onto her otherwise unremarkable face. She waved, then quickly lowered her head again to continue munching, looking just like a hamster hoarding food.

Daisy sat down opposite her and watched Susie intently eating her rice. Inexplicably, most of her annoyance dissipated, and her mood gradually improved.

At 10 a.m., sunlight streamed down through the giant glazed dome atop the Daewoo Dojo.

An eerie, almost suffocating atmosphere permeated the area around the training ground.

Especially in the Silver Hand Club's rest area, the air seemed to freeze.

Li Lei stood at the front of the rest area with his hands behind his back.

His face, which usually carried an air of authority, was now etched with solemnity.

He took a deep breath and turned to look at his son beside him, who was carefully wiping the blade.

"Xiao An, we must win this battle. We absolutely must win."

Li Lei's voice was low, yet it conveyed an undeniable resolve:

"The other semi-final is between the Blackthorns' Cole and the Platinum's Rose."

We all know Rose's strength; he's bound to win and has already secured the number one spot.

If you beat that Silen in this match, even if we lose to Rose in the final, we can still secure second place.

But if you lose to Siren, you'll have to compete with Colley for third place...

Li Lei paused, a hint of anxiety flashing in his eyes: "If even Colley loses, then this year our Silver Hand won't even be able to hold onto the top three among the eight clubs, and will fall directly to fourth place! This is a disgrace, and I absolutely cannot accept it."

Ang Lee stopped wiping the blade.

He slowly sheathed the battle sword named "Pale Howl," a cold, extremely contemptuous smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Father, rest assured." Li An's eyes were as cold as a venomous snake. "If I were to encounter either Ross or Cole, I would never underestimate them; I would treat them as true opponents. But this Siron..."

He scoffed coldly, his gaze sweeping towards the gaunt figure in the Iron Cross rest area in the distance:

"He doesn't even deserve my attention. He's a piece of trash with an overall score of only 15, who got to where he is today through a bit of luck and brute force."

If I can't even beat someone like him, how can I possibly have the guts to challenge Rose?

Li Lei nodded slightly, but his furrowed brows did not completely relax:

"It's good that you're confident. However, you still need to take the enemy seriously tactically."

This kid's ability to reach the semi-finals might have been partly due to luck, but his skill is definitely not weak.

Yesterday, Xiu Kuo was defeated by him, a bloody lesson. We must never underestimate our opponents.

At this point, Li Lei lowered his voice and added, "I observed the fight carefully yesterday."

That Xiren exhibited an unusual power, seemingly accompanied by some kind of pale blue electric arc energy.

You must be careful. However, given his poor overall physique, his body should not be able to withstand that kind of violent energy for long.

Perhaps he had already exhausted all his strength in yesterday's battle against Xiu Kuo.

In that case, he shouldn't pose much of a threat to you today.

Li Lei secretly calculated in his heart. The Silver Hand only came in third place last time, completely overshadowed by Blackthorn.

This time, he had planned for a long time and poured a huge amount of resources into his son, so that nothing could go wrong.

When the draw results came out and Ang Lee was matched against Sillen, Li Lei almost thought it was a sure win.

If Ang Lee beats Westren, he's guaranteed at least second place.

However, to be on the safe side and to demonstrate the magnanimity of a powerful force, he personally visited yesterday, hoping to persuade Xilun to surrender without bloodshed, under the guise of recruitment.

If Xilun is sensible enough to agree and join the Silver Hand, he has plenty of ways to make him fake a defeat in the arena.

At worst, we can trick this kid into revealing his breathing technique and trump card during the conversation, and then kick him out in the end.

But he never expected that Xilun, a poor peasant from the slums with no background, would dare to refuse the Silver Hand's invitation in public and even dare to mock him.

"What a pity." Li Lei looked at Xilun in the distance, a ruthless glint in his eyes. "If he had obediently agreed yesterday, he could have won the match without bloodshed and secured second place."

Since he doesn't know what's good for him, Xiao An, don't hold back in the ring, cripple him!

Li An gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, his knuckles white, his eyes burning with a savage excitement: "Understood. I'll let him know the price of refusing the Silver Hand."