Dragon Ball, simultaneously traversing countless worlds

Of the original twenty-six alphabet cities, only twenty-three remain operational.

In cities without S-class heroes, housing prices plummeted, and the population migrated to nearby areas with S-class heroes, causing housing prices in those areas to skyrocket.

If the Hero Association could add three new S-class heroes, then the association could buy up large amounts of land in cities where housing prices have plummeted, and then assign those cities to the three newly promoted S-class heroes for protection, thereby driving up housing prices and making trillions of dollars in profit.

The Hero Association was founded by the wealthy tycoon Algney. He is a pure businessman and would never do charity. Even if the Hero Association doesn't make money, he will continue to invest in it.

The claim that the association was established to commemorate the hero who saved his grandson is utter nonsense.

On the surface, it's the Hero Association, but secretly it's just a real estate company.

Without relying on real estate to make money, the association has built hundreds of venues, recruited tens of thousands of employees, equipped itself with more than a dozen satellites, and established countless laboratories. Does it really need to rely on social donations?

People might donate once, but they certainly won't donate every day or every month. Ultimately, the association needs to be profitable to survive in the long run.

Therefore, the emergence of each new S-class hero brings enormous benefits to the association.

However, S-class heroes are also a double-edged sword. If used well, they can bring huge benefits; if used poorly, they can cause losses.

For example, Guo Meimei alone caused the Red Cross's credibility to plummet. Similarly, an S-level hero who speaks recklessly and is morally corrupt will also affect the association's real estate investment industry.

After all, is it really that hard to choose between living in Metropolis, protected by Superman Clark, or in a city protected by Homelander?

If the association were to recruit a native of the motherland to be an S-class hero, then trillions of dollars in real estate investment would be wasted.

Therefore, in addition to emphasizing the physical abilities of heroes, the association places even greater emphasis on their morality and character.

The fact that both physical fitness and written tests are worth 50 points in the exam demonstrates the importance the association places on it.

If a hero fails the written test, no matter how powerful they are, they cannot be rated as S-class.

Because no one can afford to lose trillions of dollars in real estate investments.

Time passed by, second by second.

The physical fitness test has already ended, and all those who passed the physical fitness test are now taking the written test.

The written test consists of fifty questions, all created by psychology and safety experts, which are the most accurate way to understand a person's personality and knowledge level.

With all three having a perfect score of 50 in the physical fitness test, they would also need to get a perfect score in the written test to become S-class.

The written test is worth 20 points, and the total score must reach 70 points to barely pass, thus only qualifying as a C-level hero.

A written test worth 30 points, and a total score of 80 points, qualifys one as a Level B hero.

To become an A-level hero, one must score between 40 and 49 on the written test and have a total score between 90 and 99.

After a tense wait, the written test results were finally released.

Of the three heroes on whom high hopes were placed, only Genos achieved a perfect score.

In the locker room, Saitama clutched his report card, his face ashen and his expression dejected.

Saitama only scored 21 points on the written test, out of a total of 71 points, and was rated as the lowest grade, C.

Seeing his teacher's expression, Genos couldn't sit still any longer. He said seriously, "I know your strength best. How could you only be rated as a C-rank hero? There must be some mistake. I'll go and complain to the association right now."

"No, no, Genos, it's too embarrassing, let's just let it go!" Saitama quickly recovered from the blow of being ranked lower than his disciple.

But even louder wails came from the locker room next door.

"No, that's impossible. How could I only be rated A? There must be something wrong. The association is rife with corruption. I'm going to file a complaint with the association."

The wall of the adjacent changing room suddenly shattered, sending sheet metal and broken bricks flying everywhere, revealing the water dragon's furious expression.

In a fit of anger, his cosmos erupted and destroyed the water dragon in the locker room, which is when he finally saw Genos.

He asked instinctively, "Genos, what rank were you rated? Your strength is about the same as mine, so you were also rated A, right? I think the association is completely underestimating us. Come on, let's go complain to the association together..."

Genos shook his head and said calmly, "My rating is S-level."

"What!" the water dragon shouted, even more furious.

Chapter 227 Martial Arts Competition

After learning of Genos's evaluation, Suiryu promptly went to the association's head to complain.

He is not Saitama, so he can be indifferent to fame, fortune, and honor.

Shui Long had promised Luo Yan that he would become an S-class hero.

If he fails to accomplish his task, what will his master think of him?

He had already been belittled by Luo Yan as having a weak will. If he were to also be labeled as lacking in strength and prone to boasting, would his master still want him as a disciple?

The furious water dragon found the person in charge, but since the other party was in that position, their eloquence was far beyond what the water dragon could match.

After a heated argument, Shui Long was completely bewildered by the person in charge, who then used Tai Chi push hands to make him dizzy and disoriented. In the end, he failed to achieve his goal and was asked to leave the office.

"Damn it, since the normal appeal won't work, I'll just have to find my own way to get it done."

Heroes, heroes—ultimately, people's trust and respect for heroes depend entirely on their abilities.

If I could defeat an S-class hero in front of everyone, could I use public pressure to force the association to recognize me as an S-class hero?

If someone stronger than an active S-class hero is not ranked as an S-class hero, it will definitely trigger a crisis of trust in the Hero Association among the public.

Even without the need for the water dragon to spread rumors, people will naturally speculate whether there are any shady dealings within the association and question its impartiality.

Isn't the association supposed to rely on the reputation of heroes to maintain the steady rise in real estate prices?

That water dragon directly shakes the entire S-class hero rating system, which is a much greater blow to the association's reputation than a single S-class hero's moral depravity.

Since your rating system is flawed, how can anyone know how many of the current S-class heroes are truly talented?

Can an S-class hero really protect a city?

Once trust is broken, the association can collapse in an instant.

In the original story, both B City and D City were destroyed, so why was the association's reputation unaffected? On the contrary, after A City was destroyed, the entire association faced the crisis of heroes leaving the association and the organization collapsing.

Since there are no S-class heroes stationed in B City and D City, the destruction of the cities will not affect the association's reputation.

City A was different. The Hero Association headquarters had gathered almost all of the S-class heroes at the time. Even with the association's top combat power gathered, the entire city of City A was still reduced to ruins. How could the people of other cities believe that the power of those S-class heroes could protect them?

……

Suiryu found the female reporter he had met on the helicopter and asked her to publish the news about challenging an S-class hero.

A civil war among heroes—this is unprecedented news!

The news caused a public uproar, and countless eyes turned to the association.

The association's top management was also furious, and the boss was raging in his office.

"How dare he? How dare this newcomer do such a thing? Doesn't he know his place? He's a hero, not some street thug. Openly challenging other heroes, what a foolish thing to do!"

The person in charge of assessing the three people immediately apologized: "I'm sorry, BOSS. Shui Long was a martial arts professional before and was used to public competitions. He couldn't adapt to his current heroic status. I immediately mobilized public relations resources to quell the incident and persuaded Shui Long to withdraw from the competition."

"Calm down? No, public opinion has already fermented to this extent that it is impossible to calm it down with online trolls. The more the association forbids online trolls from challenging the association, the more people will question the association."

Furthermore, as KING's disciple, Shuilong's status means he cannot simply suppress public opinion through online trolls.

"Moreover, the association's stock has already dropped by one percentage point. If we suppress this incident, the stock will continue to fall. Therefore, we must accept Shuilong's challenge. Not only must we accept it, but we must also defeat him."

谷倵

"Then I'll arrange for an S-rank to accept the challenge?" the person in charge asked cautiously.

Although the S-class heroes in the association are all highly individualistic, and few are willing to follow his instructions to accept Suiryu's challenge, martial arts masters like Silver Fang and Atomic Samurai would probably be more interested!

The BOSS nodded: "Go and give it a try. If no S-rank hero is willing to accept the challenge, then arrange for Sweet Mask, the number one A-rank hero, to accept the challenge."

I've heard his strength is also at the S-rank level, but he hasn't been promoted to S-rank for some reason. If he can defeat the Water Dragon, that would be even more effective than an S-rank hero defeating him, and it would further prove that the association's ranking system is sound.

The fact that Suiryu was defeated by an S-class hero does not mean that his strength did not reach S-class.

Just like how S-class Superalloy Darkshine was defeated by Blast, can you say that Superalloy Darkshine wasn't S-class?

If Suiryu were to be defeated by Sweet Mask, an A-rank character, everyone would be absolutely certain that Suiryu's strength did not reach S-rank.

After receiving the task, the person in charge immediately called all the S-class heroes one by one.

As expected, most of the heroes showed no interest in challenging the Water Dragon; even Silver Fang and Atomic Samurai were unwilling to take action.

Both of them were senior masters in the martial arts world. There was nothing to brag about in defeating Shui Long; it was the loss that would be shameful, ruining their lifelong reputation.

Finally, the person in charge had no choice but to turn to Sweet Mask.

The stylish and handsome Sweet Mask received the person in charge in his dressing room. After hearing his purpose, he sneered, "Do you know why I've always been unwilling to be promoted to S-class?"

The person in charge was completely confused and tentatively asked, "You don't want to be at the bottom of the S-class rankings?"

"No," Sweet Mask coldly replied, "Being a hero is a noble profession. The reason I've remained at Rank A is to be a good gatekeeper, keeping out all those heroes who aren't qualified to be Rank S."

Sweet Mask stood up and paced around, saying, "I met the cyborg a few days ago. He has a very good eye, the kind of eye that only a true hero has, so I approve of him."

"However, what kind of hero is this Shui Long? Just because he uses public opinion to gain status, I absolutely cannot let him be promoted to S-rank."

Sweet Mask crushed the glass in his hand with a 'crack', and faint blue veins appeared on his face and neck: "Not only that, I want to knock him out of the ranks of A-class heroes. It's shameful for me to be an A-class hero like him."

The person in charge's eyes lit up and said, "You're willing to take on the Water Dragon's challenge?"

“That’s right. Tell Shuilong that I will fight him in the arena in three days. However, I have one condition: the arena must be set up in a deserted area, and the battle must not be broadcast live.”

Sweet Mask's true identity is an ugly monster who dares not fight in public, fearing that if he loses control, he will expose his true face.

"No problem, as long as you are willing to accept the challenge and defeat the Water Dragon, the association can meet all your requirements." The person in charge smiled obsequiously and extended his hand to shake hands with Sweet Mask.

The next day.

The fact that Sweet Mask took the Water Dragon's challenge in place of an S-class hero was like a bombshell dropped into a lake, causing a huge tsunami on the internet.

Sweet Mask is a very famous hero, and he generates much more buzz than Water Dragon.

The public opinion storms caused by the two events are completely incomparable.

To give an analogy, if Zhao Changjun were to challenge someone to a duel, it would be like Shui Long challenging an S-class hero—it would only cause a stir within the industry.

But if Kun Kun were to have a martial arts match with someone, it would immediately become the number one trending topic on the entire internet.

After Sweet Mask decided to fight, countless media outlets, like sharks smelling blood, swarmed to report on it.

Many fans even traveled from other cities to spontaneously form cheerleading squads to support Sweet Mask.

As for Suiryu, who was Sweet Mask's rival, he suffered a huge amount of cyberbullying in just a few days. If it weren't for the fact that his appearance was no less than Sweet Mask's, and that he had a playboy charm that could win the hearts of young girls and share some of the criticism, he would probably have been completely destroyed and lost all confidence.