THE MARTIAL KING - Season 8 Episode 9

“I’m telling the truth. I am really here to participate in the Martial Arts Contest. If you’re still doubtful, I can simply show you my token to prove it,” Zen insisted, about to bring out and show him his token.

But in spite of that, the steward didn’t even bother looking at the token at all. The only thing he did was let out a contemptuous smile.

Then he said, “Throughout the years that I’ve been a steward, I’ve had plenty of chances to meet jackasses just like you, but I have never come upon a person at the Illuminating Soul Realm who had the guts to try and fool me. You’re the very first person to ever do so.”

Zen’s eyebrows were deeply knitted from hearing the steward’s words. Silently standing still, he had been deep in thought, looking for an effective way to get the steward to believe him. Coming to the realization that Zen was intent on staying there, a devious smile crept onto the steward’s face. Turning his back on Zen, he yelled over to someone at the arena, “Monkey! There’s a stupid idiot right here looking for some trouble.

Would you be so kind as to teach this guy a lesson and shove him away?”

A towering and seemingly strong man darted out of the arena at breakneck speed. He looked so intimidating standing eight feet tall, much like an iron wall. Each time he would stomp on the ground, the earth would shake as a result.

“Who has the audacity to stir up trouble for the World Commercial Alliance?

You’re merely bringing forth your own demise,” declared the strong man being referred to as Monkey upon dashing out of the arena. On his arrival, he didn’t waste any time and instantly glared at Zen. With a jeering laugh, he quickly stretched out his hands, trying to get a hold of Zen

But because Zen had already strengthened his body with primordial energy, he possessed exceptional agility.
That being said, without even having to use life vitality, he swiftly moved and dodged the massive fan-like hands of the strong man without breaking a sweat.

“Eh!” the strong man exclaimed, with astonishment written all over his face.

Zen had been as slippery as an eel. The strong man really thought he had him in within his grasp, but in the end he wasn’t able to catch him. As a matter of fact, he couldn’t even so much as graze his clothes.

Meanwhile, as the strong man had been left dumbfounded, Zen had already positioned himself without delay to his side with a knife in his hand, shimmering much like frost and snow. He then pointed it at his ribs. “I’ve told you, I came here for the Martial Arts Contest. If I may say so, the old fellows of the World Commercial Alliance were not bad in worldly wisdom, but ones like you on the lower ranks couldn’t hold a candle to them,” Zen remarked.

The old fellows, the higher-ups of the World Commercial Alliance were really as sly as foxes, such as, Michael Mo.

Even those three fatties of the World Commercial Alliance whom he got acquainted with upon his return from the Dragon Soar Arena didn’t have the nerve to force him to spill the beans regarding the secret of the Dragon Soar Arena. As they were dealing with Zen, they were still holding back a little, leaving some room for possible future negotiations.

In contrast, these understrappers appeared to be quite the degenerates by virtue of the World Commercial Alliance itself.

The World Commercial Alliance was a grand alliance that could be on equal footing with the Ethereal Spirit Sect, boasting with a greater number of understrappers. Although those of the top brass of the alliance had a tendency to lay low, there was just no way for them to train every single one of their men to act the same way.

It wasn’t until the minute the steward witnessed everything first-hand that he finally realized he might have underestimated the capabilities of Zen.

Considering the tone of his voice, he suddenly thought that what Zen was telling them could possibly be the truth all along. He really didn’t come here to stir up trouble, and this guy who was merely at the Illuminating Soul Realm might actually be qualified for the main draw match.

“Could… Could you please bring out and show me your token, sir?” the steward stuttered, forcing out a disgusting smile.
Hearing his request, Zen shot the steward a dull glare. But afterwards, he pulled out the token from his pocket, swinging it in front of the steward’s very eyes and then quickly taking it back and leaving.

The dangling token was gleaming into his eyes, so much so that he couldn’t take a good hard look at the inscription on it. In spite of that, he didn’t bother prying any further about it and ultimately decided to just leave him be.

The Martial Arts Contest took quite a significant amount of time, even months long, to be carefully organized, that even the tiniest details of the contest had been truly well-planned. For that reason, as soon as Zen had entered the lobby, an elder noticed him in an instant, walking over to him and asking, “Have you passed the pre-qualifying match for the contest? Put out your token and show it to me.”

Right away, Zen handed the token over to the aforementioned elder. The elder grabbed the token, meticulously inspecting Zen’s identification which was also specified in a register he was holding. After a few moments, he bobbed his head as if to confirm the description, and motioned over to Zen, “Follow me.”

Zen walked closely behind the elder and headed toward the arena, the gathering place for a crowd of fighters who had successfully made it through the pre-qualifying match.

The pre-qualifying match took place in a span of about a dozen days, with only three people on each day who would get an opportunity to participate in the main draw match. That being the case, the martial artists who could proudly stand there could be considered some of the most remarkable martial artists among the hundreds of people who originally took part in the pre-qualifying match, and the strength of every single one of them, in no way, should ever be underestimated.

As Zen moved closer over to the group, the martial artists who had gotten there before him shifted their gaze at him, appearing to be quite astounded.

The majority of the martial artists who were entitled to participate in the main draw match were at the Internal Elixir Realm. And among those warriors, only two were currently at the ultimate level of the Illuminating Soul Realm.

One of them was Owen, the man who took part in the pre-qualifying match along with Zen on the very same day, and then the other was someone unfamiliar to him.

So far, it was already quite an unusual occurrence for a martial artist at the ultimate level of the Illuminating Soul Realm to have the chance to enter the main draw match. All things considered, a substantial difference existed between warriors in the Internal Elixir Realm and the ultimate level of the Illuminating Soul Realm in terms of their strength. That being said, it would be a gargantuan task for them to even make it through the pre-qualifying match.