Red Flag High School had clearly established itself as the dominant force in the league, with its victory all but guaranteed. However, Hongye High School had also unexpectedly risen into the top three.
Yet, the high school league no longer held much interest for Li Xiaofei. He maintained his status as a high school student to make the transition into Xiajing University easier.
Over the past month, Li Xiaofei had attempted to contact Tan Qingying multiple times. Unfortunately, the only response he received was that she was in seclusion and was focusing on refining her bloodline with no contact with the outside world.
Li Xiaofei even began to suspect that Tan Qingying might be imprisoned or restricted by her maternal family. He had asked his teacher, Li Zhoumin, to investigate through some discreet channels.
However, he received reassuring news, Tan Qingying was now highly regarded within her family and had been designated as the new heir by the family’s patriarch. The strange, middle-aged man with a black hat who always protected Tan Qingying even video-called Li Xiaofei once to explain the situation. This put Li Xiaofei’s mind at ease.
At the same time Li Xiaofei was surprised that the new city leader, Xie Renyu, truly hadn’t stirred up any further trouble. He had faithfully followed through on all of Tan Zhenwei’s previous policies, even going so far as to entrust Tan Zhenwei’s former subordinates with important responsibilities. Contrary to many expectations, there was no dramatic new leader’s purge as many had feared.
Everything had transitioned remarkably smoothly. This struck Li Xiaofei as curious.
Where had all the noisy, provocative articles on the light-network come from in the first place?
Moreover, while Xie Renyu had shown respect to Tan Zhenwei’s old guard, he had singled out Secretary Song for public humiliation. Li Xiaofei began to realize that this new city leader wasn’t as simple as he had initially thought. Xie Renyu wasn’t just a spoiled noble; he was highly strategic and capable of restraint.
Still, whatever Xie Renyu’s intentions might be, Li Xiaofei didn’t really care. He was strong and influential enough to move throughout Liuhe Base City without much concern. The only person who warranted some caution was Inspector Wu Fohai. Since Tan Zhenwei’s departure, Wu Fohai had become strangely low-profile, in sharp contrast to his previous demeanor.
He had withdrawn from public life even more than Li Zhoumin, showing no interest in the city’s affairs. He hadn’t even bothered to investigate the death of his subordinate, Zhen Jiahui. But as long as Wu Fohai wasn’t causing trouble, Li Xiaofei saw no need to take any action either. After all, Wu Fohai represented the Star Council.
Although Li Xiaofei had begun to develop some new perspectives on the Star Council, he wasn’t foolish enough to challenge such a global powerhouse. The Star Council was such a colossal entity that Li Xiaofei, despite his growing strength, couldn’t afford to provoke it.
What truly bothered and angered Li Xiaofei, however, was that an entire month had passed, and there was still no official announcement regarding Tan Zhenwei’s death. There had also been no news about the destruction of the Eye of the Northwest either. It was as if the battle between Golden Body Realm experts that had taken place four hundred and fifty miles east of Liuhe Base City and the resulting terrifying explosion had never even happened.
This was clearly a deliberate effort to erase evidence. The only entity capable of such a cover-up was likely the Star Council. Li Xiaofei began to feel a bit more anxious. The Star Council wielded unimaginable power. If they fully investigated the Eye of the Northwest incident, they would undoubtedly uncover many hidden details.
Moreover, the involvement of the Wilderness Free Sect members, such as the fox demon and Ye Liuying, could also be exposed. Right now, one was hidden at Li Xiaofei’s school, and the other was stationed in a military camp. Truthfully, the former was particularly concerning.
If it were discovered that the Cloudy Sky Youth Academy, a school connected to the Cloudy Sky Gang, was harboring a star beast and a Wilderness Free Sect member, that would be a disaster.
A shiver ran down Li Xiaofei’s spine.
Perhaps I should find an excuse to get rid of the fox demon? No. That wouldn’t work.
Tan Zhenwei had specifically entrusted her to his care. Eliminating her would be a betrayal of his promise to Tan Zhenwei.
Sigh... what a headache.
Ultimately, it all boiled down to one thing: he was not strong enough. He needed to grow more powerful, and quickly. Just then, Li Xiaofei received a notification from the Longya Group. His registration for the Online Martial God Tournament had been approved, and the competition was about to begin.
Li Xiaofei was overjoyed. Longya Group was a nationally renowned conglomerate, and it was rumored to have ties with the government. Thus, Longya Group’s online tournament could bypass the regional restrictions of the light-network and allow a nationwide simultaneous competition.
This tournament was also the key that allowed Li Xiaofei to connect to the national network through the light core virtual world. He could finally step outside Liuhe Base City for the first time and truly experience the allure of the Second World.
He received his competition number: 3392289. This was his identifier, meaning he was the 3,392,289th contestant to register and pass the screening. It wasn’t surprising for millions of people across the country to register for a tournament of this scale. According to the super light core draw system, Li Xiaofei would face his first match in just 24 hours.
There were no team battles in the Online Martial God Tournament. Everything was a true 1v1 showdown: a real test of individual strength. It suited Li Xiaofei’s goals perfectly.
After a brief period of preparation, the time for the competition arrived. Li Xiaofei logged in on time, using his Your Grandpa account. He entered the competition through the portal provided by Longya Group and found himself in a bustling preparation hall.
The hall was filled with noise and activity. As Li Xiaofei glanced around, he noticed that there were at least ten thousand contestants waiting for their turn to enter the competition. They were all dressed in various outfits, representing different styles and personalities. The hall itself was fully equipped with everything one could imagine, from sofas and cafés to restaurants and even entertainment facilities.
It resembled a large-scale business club that offered an array of services that provided everything one could think of. Many of the contestants were spending lavishly. The terrifying aspect of the light core virtual world was its absolute realism. What did that mean? Drinking coffee not only tasted real but also had the same energizing effect.
Massage treatments not only felt relaxing but genuinely helped relieve fatigue and restore energy. There were even online brothels offering hyper-realistic simulation dolls for those seeking an outlet.
In fact, even the sensation of certain adult activities in the light-network virtual world was indistinguishable from that of real life. This had given rise to certain unsavory industries within the virtual world.
For many, the light-network virtual world had become a second home, where they could escape and indulge in pleasures with full realism. Of course, not everyone could enjoy and access this Second World.
For someone like Li Xiaofei, his previous opportunities to experience this level of immersion were limited to when he participated in high-level simulations during the High School War God League as a contestant or entered the live streams of major broadcasters.
Outside of that, his experience was much like any other regular internet user. But this was his first time enjoying such a complete and unrestricted experience in this fully open, hyper-realistic, and free-form light-network virtual world.
The eastern wall of the competition hall was dominated by a massive screen. It was filled with countless names, scrolling rapidly. Every few moments, a name would fade away and disappear, signaling that the person had lost their match and was eliminated. Losing meant losing the right to remain in the competition.
Just as Li Xiaofei was observing the screen, he felt a light tap on his shoulder.
"Hey, first time here, huh?" A voice followed the tap. "Wanna head upstairs for some real fun? We’ve got some thrilling stuff going on."