A muscular girl is presented to the passionate world of crossover anime.

Although there was a lot of bickering from the beginning, and Elder Yang kept trying to build connections during the meal, even mentioning wanting to visit Jinzhao, which was incredibly annoying, Huayin did get to eat and was quite satisfied. This drinking culture may be a bit awful, but she could just treat it as a chance to revisit a familiar hometown atmosphere and put up with it.

Besides, the food at this restaurant is quite delicious. Not to mention that Chinese martial arts have a history of four thousand years, the history of Chinese cuisine is even longer and deeper! Even Butler Ito came over to praise Hanon: "Miss, the food at this restaurant is quite good." When Hanon was at the Takakaze family, the old butler often arranged Chinese meals for her, hiring chefs from China who were absolutely authentic. So don't underestimate him just because he's Japanese; his appreciation for Chinese food is quite good.

Some people don't accept the drinking culture, but others like and are familiar with it. As time went on, several foreigners were obviously drunk and started to shout and yell. Instead of making things difficult for the strong and unfamiliar girl, Huayin, they started to challenge Fan Haiwang and Elder Yang to a drinking contest. For a while, the drinking party was in a good mood, and everyone ate and drank as usual, and the atmosphere became much more harmonious.

until……

"Bang!" The sound of a plate breaking came from downstairs, followed by someone exclaiming, "Ah, Li Haiwang? What are you doing... Ah!" Then came a series of clanging and banging noises, exclamations, and hurried footsteps. Finally, the door to the private room was suddenly pushed open, and a gust of cool air rushed in, waking up the group of diners who were drunk and intoxicated.

The foreigners were quite surprised to see the stern-faced young man with small eyes who pushed open the door: "Li Haiwang?" "Li Dushou?" "What a spoilsport!" "Li... well, this meal is ruined."

Hua Yin looked at everyone's reactions with curiosity, not understanding why, while the newcomer Li Haiwang stared intently at Hua Yin.

"You're Ye Huayin? The little girl from Japan?" Although Li Haiwang arrived in a flurry, his tone was calm, perhaps the calm before the storm.

After Hua Yin nodded, Li Haiwang said again, "You just defeated Li Yangwang, so you're now Yangwang?"

Hanon nodded again.

"Next, you're going to conduct the Neptune assessment?"

Hanon nodded again.

"I... um?!" Just as Li Haiwang's eyebrows shot up and he was about to blurt out "I disagree," someone suddenly patted his shoulder heavily, startling him and causing him to lose his momentum, preventing him from shouting.

Looking back, it was Van Hen.

Li Haiwang's voice turned cold again: "What, you want to stop me? Brother?"

Author's Note: I'm procrastinating again today... Well, it's also related to being busy with online work. The second chapter today will probably be released around 10 PM tonight.

The "dross and essence" in the title refer to drinking culture and food culture. Speaking of food, the world's three major cuisines—Chinese, French, and Turkish—are all supported by thousands of years of history and culture. This requires the accumulation of hundreds of generations and is a unique source of pride for ancient civilizations. Countries with shorter histories like the United States, Canada, and Australia have yet to develop their own distinct culinary cultures.

Besides the three major cuisines, there are also excellent Indian and Japanese cuisines. However, India and Japan are ancient countries with over a thousand years of history, so their achievements are understandable. What's more puzzling is England. Human activity in England can be traced back to the Roman era two thousand years ago, and the Anglo-Saxons have been on the island for over a thousand years. England and France have a long history of conflict and frequent exchanges, yet they haven't developed a great culinary culture over all this time. In fact, in modern times, England has become a culinary black hole, which is truly perplexing...

Chapter 382, ​​Section 388: My Foolish Brother

Fan Haiwang stopped Li Haiwang and quickly pulled him away. Li Haiwang was clearly not a popular person; he was aloof and cold. The group of foreign tycoons from Guangdong treated him differently. As soon as Li Haiwang arrived, the atmosphere immediately fell apart. After he left, everyone lost interest, and the banquet ended unhappily.

Hanon didn't care; she was already full. She was worried that these people were having too much fun and wouldn't leave for a long time.

What really bothered Hanon was that Li Haiwang seemed to be hostile towards her as well, and...

"Hey buddy," Hua Yin asked as they followed the martial arts provincial staff to their lodgings, "Li Haiwang calls Fan Haiwang 'brother,' are they on good terms?"

Now that Hanon is a foreign king, the people from the martial arts province have a much better attitude towards her. They immediately replied, "Ye Yangwang, you've returned from abroad and don't know what's going on here. These two sea kings are true half-brothers."

Hmm, half-siblings, that's relatively rare. Hanon hadn't thought of it at first, but when she found out, she was a little curious: "Two playboys in one family, that's amazing!"

"Absolutely." The staff member also praised, "There are only twelve 'Sea Kings' recognized by the provincial martial arts department, and several of them are foreigners. There are so few 'Sea Kings' in the country, many provinces don't have any, but Guangdong alone has two of them. Together with Heilongjiang, which also has two 'Sea Kings,' they shine brightly in the north and south. It's truly a great honor for the Guangdong martial arts community. The last time we were this glorious was more than a hundred years ago during the era of the Ten Tigers of Guangdong in the late Qing Dynasty..."

Good heavens, they've even brought up stories from the Qing Dynasty! The staff noticed Hana's astonished expression and were delighted to see such a promising new foreign king shocked, especially since she was such a beautiful young girl. This gave them even more motivation to continue telling the story.

"To be honest, the two 'Sea Kings' from Guangdong are not as good as those from Heilongjiang. Liu Haiwang, the Fist God of Bailin Temple, is nearly a hundred years old but still so robust and strong. His martial arts skills are unbelievable, making him the most senior Sea King. The other one, Lie Haiwang, who also comes from Bailin Temple, is even more remarkable. He has mastered all kinds of martial arts at a young age and is also brave and righteous. In the martial arts world, he is regarded as the peerless genius with the best character and martial arts skills in the past thirty years!"

"Wow! That's incredible?" These two sea kings from Heilongjiang are indeed astonishing. First there was Guo Haihuang, who was over 140 years old, and now there's Liu Haihuang, who's over 100. Hua Yin couldn't help but wonder, could it be that in this new world she'd transmigrated to, Chinese martial arts truly possessed the magic of prolonging life and achieving immortality? If so, she'd better learn it and enjoy life to the fullest!

As for that Fierce Sea King, a top martial arts master in his prime, and a tough guy with a good reputation who came from a temple, if you removed his name, Hua Yin would think it was Qiao Feng.

"As for our Guangdong brothers, the Sea Kings, they are quite a spectacle in the underworld." After praising the other Sea Kings, the staff member turned to his own: "The two brothers are only three years apart in age, but Sea King Fan is more talented. He won the title of Sea King six years ago. Don't let Sea King Fan's gentle and refined demeanor fool you; he rarely takes action. However, to be promoted from Sea King to Sea King, a recommendation is required. Often, it takes another Sea King or hundreds of Sea Kings to be qualified to hold a Sea King evaluation meeting. Back then, Sea King Fan invited the newly promoted Sea King Sun to be his recommender. It is said that the two fought, and Sea King Fan won, which is why he got the recommendation."

"As for Li Haiwang..." The staff member couldn't help but shudder when he mentioned him: "Unlike his elder brother, who studied under the Boxing King, Li Haiwang practices Yaoyingquan, known as 'Poison Hand.' It's rumored that he has potent poison infused into his hands, killing without drawing blood. Even if he's not the most skilled Haiwang in the martial arts world, he might be the most troublesome one! Unfortunately, his talent has never been as good as his brother's. It wasn't until recently that he achieved mastery of martial arts, passed the Haiwang assessment, and was promoted from Yangwang... If you, Ye Yangwang, can quickly be promoted to Haiwang, then Guangdong will not only have three Haiwangs, surpassing all others in China, but also two within a year, no, within half a year! That would truly be a testament to Guangdong's talent!"

As they were talking, the staff led Kanon and Ito to their accommodation. The two were separated into two rooms, which could be considered an improvement for the conservative and old-fashioned Ministry of Martial Arts, as they were not given a double room with two beds like in an old-fashioned guesthouse... Or perhaps it was just because the Ministry of Martial Arts borrowed the property from their friend, the hotel owner, and that the hotel owner was actually being considerate?

However, Hanon's focus wasn't on that; she was still thinking about what the staff member had said.

“Li Haiwang has only been promoted for less than half a year…” Huayin suddenly had an idea: “In other words, he was also ‘Li Yangwang’ not long ago. Considering his attitude towards me just now, maybe he is the mastermind behind it all?”

Emmm, in a sense, Kanon has come close to the truth.

In another hotel in the temple tourist area, Fan Haiwang had just pulled Li Haiwang into the room when his first words were: "You're too hot-tempered. It's as if you're afraid others won't know that you sent assassins to attack Ye Huayin."

Li Haiwang was truly being tormented by his half-brother. He had just been about to lose his temper at the banquet but was stopped. Now, he was pulled back into the house and was about to get angry when he heard Fan Haiwang's words. He immediately lost his temper and softened.

"How...did you know?" The implication was clear: the assassins who attacked Hanon were sent by Li Haiwang.

“My foolish brother!” Fan Haiwang shook his head: “No one knows a brother better than his brother. I have always cared about you, so I can naturally notice your abnormality. Paying ‘Poison Knife Liu’ to do it was a foolish decision. Someone like him is only good at dealing with the level of Yang Wang. Ye Huayin is the queen of the Kengan Association. She is very strong. Even if that kind of assassin plots against her, he will not have any chance of winning.”

"Tch, she's just a little girl who won a championship in a village competition in Japan. What makes her qualified to be a 'Sea King'?" Li Haiwang grumbled indignantly. "Are we really going to make her a 'Sea King' and put her on par with us? Maybe bureaucrats like Old Man Yang would care about such things, but brother, how have you become so petty and calculating? What 'Three Sea Kings in Guangdong Province'? Bah, that's not our concern. Besides, even if Guangdong needs a third Sea King, we're so young. We have plenty of time to discover and cultivate talent. Is it really necessary to be in such a hurry to find some yellow-haired girl who just returned from Japan to be a 'Sea King'?"

Fan Haiwang shook his head vigorously: "You don't understand, you don't understand. Not only do I not feel anxious, but I also regret that I discovered it too late. I should have found out and stopped it when you contacted the Kunlun Sect experts to attack her..."

Then, Fan Haiwang changed the subject and actually praised Li Haiwang: "Speaking of which, you've become much more meticulous lately. When you were looking for the Kunlun Sect assassins, you went through the 'Insect' intermediary, and it took me quite a bit of effort to find any clues. When Ye Huayin returned to the country to investigate, you spread rumors in just two or three days that she was going to challenge the martial arts school. If I hadn't appeared in time, Ye Huayin and the Martial Arts Province would have become enemies. With the tempers of those old fogies in the Martial Arts Province, there would have been no possibility of reconciliation between the two sides."

however……

Li Haiwang looked puzzled: "What Kunlun Sect assassin? What rumors? I didn't pay much attention to that little girl's matter at all. I just casually asked Yao Yingquan's fellow disciples to contact the assassin to handle the matter. Other than that, I don't know anything."

"Hiss—" Fan Haiwang hesitated now: "Could it be that someone else is behind this scheme?"

Author's Note: This is just a small part of the plot development in the China arc. We'll talk about Fan Haiwang's thoughts tomorrow (I'm not staying up all night trying to figure out how to smooth things over, cough cough).

Section 389, Chapter 383: Explaining Cause and Effect (Part 1)

Although they were half-brothers and not particularly close, Li Haiwang and Fan Haiwang had been brothers for decades and knew each other quite well. Seeing the rare look of surprise and doubt on Fan Haiwang's face, he also felt that things were getting complicated.

"What, is there a problem?"

Fan Haiwang composed himself and was about to speak when he was interrupted by a phone ring. When he answered, he heard Elder Yang's loud, cheerful voice coming from the other end.

"Hey, is this Fan Haiwang? Great news! The Martial Arts Province is taking Miss Ye's return to the country to participate in the Haiwang selection very seriously. They've made special arrangements, and Elder Huang from headquarters has directly approved that Miss Ye's Haiwang evaluation will be held in three days! Moreover, Elder Wang from the North has no objections. Hahaha, now Guangdong is going to have three Haiwangs!"

"Three days!" Van Haiwang exclaimed in surprise, "So fast!"

"Haha, isn't that right?" Fan Haiwang fell into deep thought, while Elder Yang was simply delighted: "By the way, Miss Ye doesn't know the rules for the Haiwang evaluation yet, does she? Fan Haiwang, could you explain it to her when you have time? No, I can go... no, it would be better to have your secretary make a PPT for her to see in detail... Sigh, I have three days to arrange the venue, give explanations, and receive everyone from the Martial Arts Province and all the Haiwangs. I have too much to do here. That's all for now... *beep beep*"

Fan Haiwang didn't put the call on speakerphone, but to a martial artist of the Haiwang level, Elder Yang's loud voice on the other end was practically the same as playing it on speakerphone. After the call ended, Li Haiwang immediately said to his brother, "The reaction was so quick, and the other two old guys didn't stop us. There must be something wrong."

"Hmph, of course there's a problem." Van Haiwang sneered, "Give me time to think it over."

From the reactions of the other two elders, especially the Northern King Elder, Fan Haiwang had already vaguely sensed something. After circling the room a few times, he basically figured out the cause and effect.

"Hoo... Hahahaha..." Having figured it out, Van Hai laughed loudly, "It seems that this matter was planned by another old fox, but it doesn't matter, it won't hinder my plan."

Li Haiwang asked excitedly, "Brother, you've figured it out?"

Fan Haiwang nodded: "Actually, it's not hard to understand. The first person to contact 'Chong' to assassinate Ye Huayin should be Elder Wang from the Northern Martial Arts Province, or at least a high-ranking official from that Martial Arts Province."

"Huh? Why is that?"

"Hehe, why was old man Yang from the Southern Martial Arts Province so enthusiastic just now?"

Reminded by Fan Haiwang, Li Haiwang suddenly realized: "Ah! Elder Yang hopes that Guangdong will produce three Haiwangs, but Elder Wang does not want to see a third Guangdong Haiwang!"

"That's right, just a pointless power struggle." Fan Haiwang sneered, "Bailin Temple in Heilongjiang has produced the Fist God Liu Haiwang and the Demon Fist Lie Haiwang. Even the American Angry Li'an Haiwang has deep ties with Bailin Temple, which has always been a holy land of Chinese martial arts. Elder Wang holds this trump card and has been the leader of the three elders of the martial arts province for many years. Even Elder Huang of the headquarters has long been sidelined by him. If a third Haiwang suddenly emerges in Guangdong, he will overshadow Heilongjiang, and Elder Yang may very well turn the tables and suppress Elder Wang."

Li Haiwang curled his lip: "As expected, it's a boring power struggle. The three elders have been in that position for decades. What does it matter who overpowers whom?"

“My foolish brother…” Fan Haiwang shook his head. Perhaps he was too genius, so he could perceive the underlying issues better than his brother, who was focused solely on martial arts: “The power I’m talking about is the profit. These three elders of the Martial Arts Province have been entrenched for so long. Behind each of them is a huge industrial chain. For example, the evaluation of Yang Wang and Hai Wang, administrative expenses, cooperating martial arts schools, selection of weapon and protective gear suppliers, and even the assignment of martial artists to serve as bodyguards and thugs for large conglomerates. Once the power structure changes, the interest groups behind them will inevitably suffer, perhaps by hundreds of millions every year! Now, do you still think they don’t care?”

“Hmm…” Li Haiwang was once again speechless after being rebuked by his brother. After a long time, he finally managed to utter a sentence: “It’s really disgusting.”

Fan Haiwang shrugged, neither confirming nor denying: "Those old fogies aren't good at martial arts, so they can only worry about profits. You can't blame them; they're just a bunch of mediocre people." Then he recounted the events to his brother: "When the news of Ye Huayin becoming the champion of the Kengan Association reached China, the Northern Martial Arts Province discovered that she was Chinese and that her ancestors had registered in the Guangdong Martial Arts Province. Once she returned to China, she could become the Sea King, so naturally they were on high alert. Sending assassins to kill Ye Huayin was understandable—anyway, those guys from 'Chong' are secretive and have a lot of tentacles in Japan, so even if they failed, they wouldn't be able to trace it back to the Northern Martial Arts Province. Hmph, what a clever scheme! It's a pity they encountered an accident."

"Accident?"

"Yes, it's you."

Li Haiwang was stunned, pointing to the tip of his nose: "Me?"

"Yes, it's you." Fan Haiwang chuckled. "The Northern Martial Arts Province went into hiding after their failed attack, but unexpectedly, after learning about Ye Huayin's situation, you became indignant and sent assassins to attack her as well. Moreover, your actions were not kept secret, and she even found out that it was people from within the country who wanted to deal with her, which is why she returned to the country to investigate. The Northern Martial Arts Province may not know that you also sent assassins, but they panicked when they discovered that Ye Huayin was returning to the country. They were afraid that Ye Huayin would become the third Haiwang in Guangdong, and even uncover the Northern Martial Arts Province's assassination plan. This could cause chaos!"

Li Haiwang took a deep breath: "That's why they spread rumors that Ye Huayin returned to China to challenge other martial arts schools, inciting the Guangdong Martial Arts Province to attack her. Regardless of the outcome, this relationship will be difficult to salvage."

Fan Haiwang nodded: "That's right. Although it's just a guess, the truth is probably like this. Now that Elder Wang agrees to expedite the Sea King assessment, it's very likely that he wants to take advantage of Ye Huayin's lack of preparation and suppress her. Even if he can't stop her, he can at least make the matter of the Northern Martial Arts Province sending assassins disappear forever. After all, Ye Huayin has become the Sea King, and she and the Martial Arts Province are nominally one family. There's no reason to bring up old grievances."

Li Haiwang broke out in a cold sweat and quickly wiped his forehead: "These people are really cunning! Brother, it's rare that you saw through their scheme and eased the conflict between Ye Huayin and the Martial Arts Province. You're amazing! I'm confident I can compete with you in martial arts, but in terms of cunning, I'm far, far inferior to you."

"Heh, easy, easy." Seeing that Li Haiwang looked hesitant, Fan Haiwang said, "If you have any other questions, just ask."

"Alright!" Li Haiwang breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Brother, you... you're not the type to handle these kinds of things proactively. Could it be that you've taken a liking to Ye Huayin, which is why you stepped forward?"

Fan Haiwang shook his head: "Ye Huayin is indeed very beautiful and strong. If we have offspring, they will definitely be outstanding. But I am devoted to martial arts, and my decision to step forward this time was not for her... The fact that you noticed this shows that you have made great progress in your thinking."

The young Sea King walked to the window and gazed at the setting sun casting its rays on the temples and trees in the scenic area: "At first, I thought you were the one who assassinated Ye Huayin twice and spread rumors, but I still stood up to protect her and strongly recommended her to become the Sea King. Do you know why?"

Van Nasson raised a hand, clenching it into a fist: "That was all so I could become the Sea King!"

Author's Note: Because these two chapters are consecutive, revealing the cause and effect, the next chapter will be released in ten minutes so everyone can read them one after the other. In this chapter, Fan Haiwang deduces the motives and actions of the Northern Martial Arts Province; the next chapter will reveal his own plans.

Section 390, Chapter 384: Explaining Cause and Effect (Part 2)

"Sea Emperor..."

That is the most prestigious title in the Chinese martial arts world. The current Sea Emperor Guo is a martial arts legend who has dominated the martial arts world for over a hundred years. Upon hearing the name Sea Emperor, Li Haiwang was momentarily dazed: "Brother, you want to become the Sea Emperor? Hmm, although that is everyone's ideal... but how do you do it?"

"Of course, it's through martial arts!" Fan Haiwang looked at his younger brother with that look of utter disbelief. "There's no second place in martial arts. To become the Sea Emperor, you must win the Grand Tournament."

Li Haiwang grew impatient under his gaze: "What does that have to do with this?"

"Heh, although it will require the prestige of the Sea King, is protecting Ye Huayin really that difficult for me?" Fan Haiwang scoffed. "I'm merely taking advantage of the situation to add a new Sea King to Guangdong Province. Elder Yang will then owe me a huge favor, which will be very helpful in the future. As for Ye Huayin's Sea King evaluation, there will definitely be a Sea King from the North present, perhaps even the Fierce Sea King. When the two sides clash, I'll be able to get a glimpse of the Fierce Sea King's true strength. He will be my number one enemy at the grand arena competition at the end of next year!"

Li Haiwang frowned: "You did all this just to see Lie Haiwang fight one more time?"

“Of course.” Fan Haiwang answered decisively: “The art of war says, ‘Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.’ Do you think it’s easy to see a duel between top masters? Not to mention Lie Haiwang, even you yourself, in the past year or two, have you had a serious duel with anyone other than those assessed by Haiwang?”

"Now that you mention it..." Li Haiwang understood: "So you need to observe Lie Haiwang's battles and find out his special moves and weaknesses... Brother, you are too cautious!"

Fan Haiwang revealed a smug look: "Do you remember six years ago? Back then, I asked Sun Haiwang, who practiced Jiequan Dao, to be my recommender for the Sea King assessment. He disagreed, so we had a match. At that time, my martial arts were not yet fully developed, and it would have been difficult for me to beat him, who had become Sea King a year earlier. However, the reason I chose him to challenge was because I had investigated in advance and found out that after becoming Sea King, he wore rings on all ten fingers. That was both a training and a seal, and he could only exert less than 70% of his original strength! In addition, I was humble and guided him with my words, so Sun Haiwang was slightly frustrated and gave me the green light to become Sea King."