Chapter 391 - Glorious Tradition (1/2)
Heaven, Earth, and Man.
Sacred Martial Hall provided rooms for martial artists according to different contract types.
As martial artists under the contract of the Inner Sacred Martial Hall, the rooms they resided in were known as the Heavenly Rooms.
As for those under the contract of the Outer Sacred Martial Hall, their accommodation was known as the Earth House.
Qin Fen took his badge and searched for his building number among the houses in the Earth House: Accommodation Area One hundred twenty-second Building, Sixth floor Room A.
Building One twenty-two? Qin Fen looked at the badge in his hand and shook his head again in disbelief. Such an exaggerated number. Just how many martial artists were there in the Sacred Martial Hall?
“The cost of your basic necessities are fully covered by the Sacred Martial Hall, along with an annual bonus given according to your performance.” Xue Tuan pointed at Building One twenty-two in the distance, “Under normal circumstances, do you think many people are willing to leave?”
Qin Fen nodded in agreement. The welfare of the Sacred Martial Hall was as good as how Xue Tian described. Compared to the high living costs in modern society, the benefits of staying in the Sacred Martial Hall to practice martial arts was clearly a better choice. It came as no surprise that not many people were willing to leave.
“Eh?” Xue Tian looked at the crowd downstairs of Building One twenty-two cheerfully, “Why are there no crowds in other buildings except for ours? Could it be that the martial artists from the same block are throwing a welcome party for us? The people from the Sacred Martial Hall are so friendly.”
A welcome party? Qin Fen looked at the forced smiles of Caesar and the others. Why is there a sense of hostility emanating from the very people who were going to throw a welcome party?
Qin Fen roughly counted the number of people in the crowd. There were approximately forty people in front. Judging by their appearances, everyone was around the same age.
Standing at the forefront was a young martial artist with a burly build and a square face. His appearance gave the impression of straightforwardness. His massive stature was approximately one point ninety-five meters. Even if he just stood still on the ground, it would give off a feeling that his fighting ability was solid and grand. Furthermore, from his icy and disdainful stare, he seemed to be the leader of the crowd. Moreover, he was clearly provocative.
Xue Tian deliberately slowed down his steps to walk side by side with Qin Fen, all the while showing no intent to fight by hugging his katana tightly.
Yang Lie turned around to look at Qin Fen just to find out that the very martial artist that rang the fog bell also seem to have no desire to fight.
Shua!
Mourad Tschick suddenly came forward in big steps, surpassing Caesar and others in an instant and reaching the front of the team. His vermilion-colored spear radiated chilling reflections of light as the sun shone brightly on it.
Yang Lie smiled and slowed down his pace. Since someone was feeling aggressive today, there was no need for him to be aggressive as well. Confrontations and fights were inevitable in the Sacred Martial Hall, why bother picking a fight hastily?
“Stop right there!”
“Out of the way!”
Both sides became confrontational almost at the same time.
The burly young martial artist was stunned for a moment before his face turned pale. As his eyes assessed Morad, the initial iciness and inattention in his eyes transformed into unadulterated rage.
What a crazy newcomer… it seemed that Three Sacred Martial Exam had really inflated the egos of these newbies.
The crowd of forty martial artists laughed loudly. An inflation of ego? This is normal! Every newcomer acts with the same arrogance, as if they were gods.
“Out of the way?” The burly man looked down at Morad with his height advantage, “Hey kid, as a senior of yours that arrived three months ago, apart from welcoming you into the Sacred Martial Hall, I have to warn you – this place is different from the outside world. It is the Sacred Martial Hall! A gathering place of heroes! As a newcomer junior, you better tone down your arrogance and keep it low-key so you won’t land everyone in trouble.”
Low key? Arrogance? Qin Fen looked at the people around him curiously. Were we arrogant?
Caesar and Yang Lie had a helpless smile and shrugged their shoulders. We have just entered the Sacred Martial Hall, how was there even time for us to be arrogant? Furthermore, we are here with a clear mission – to broaden our horizons in this Holy Land of martial arts. So why do we even need to be arrogant? Maybe Mourad’s “out of the way” may come off as a little bit rude and arrogant, but there is a perfectly valid reason for that!
Good dogs don’t stand in the way. No martial artist was willing to retreat and not be confrontational about it if they were blocked by confrontational people in the middle of the road.
Qin Fen drew parallels with the Sacred Martial Hall and the military. The veterans or seniors would surely show off their power and scare you into submission regardless of whether you were low-key or showing off.
Morad turned to look at Qin Fen. Xue Tian remained silent, smiling as he watched the scene. Qin Fen had built a competent and compassionate reputation over time, making him the de facto leader of the group. Even Mourad, who harbored a deep hatred for Qin Fen, subconsciously assessed Qin Fen’s reactions before making a move.
“Oh, alright. Thank you, my dear seniors. Can we enter the building now?”
Qin Fen nodded humbly and smiled . There is no need to get involved in this confrontation as there is nothing to gain nor learn from fighting with these people. Plus, I don’t think that they plan to retain the same arrogance today in the future anyway.
…
The forty or so martial artists at the entrance frowned simultaneously. There was no fear at all in that calm smile. It was like the reaction of an elder listening to the reports of a junior! The actions of Qin Fen really pissed off the seniors! Why was his response so insincere and off-putting?
The burly leader locked his sights on Qin Fen and asked, “You are the leader of these people?”
Ring ring…
Qin Fen’s mobile phone interrupted his response with an incoming call.
Lin Liqiang was calling. Qin Fen did not hesitate with choosing between answering his seniors in the Sacred Martial Hall and answering the phone call from his old friend. He pressed the ‘answer’ key and moved aside as he ordered, “You guys deal with this. I gotta answer a phone call…”
Deal with this? Answer a phone call?
The forty or so martial artists were shocked for a few seconds. This newbie really got balls, ignoring the questions of a senior! He is really arrogant, more so than me in my early days!
“Very good, very good.” The burly man’s face showed a smile borne out of anger and nodded, “Remember my name: Huang Fengwan! Spare me the embarrassment by other seniors of not educating you when they give you another lesson later!”
Xue Tian smiled and quietly retreated to the side. Caesar and Yang Lie also did the same. Since someone wanted to pick a fight that badly, they would let anyone wanting the same to reciprocate.
“Huang Fengwan! Teach them a lesson! These newbies are too arrogant!”
“Beat the f**k out of him!”
Forty martial artists clamored for a fight. There were no shortages of arrogant newbies in the Sacred Martial Hall, but arrogant newbies shouting “out of the way” at first sight, followed by “alright”, and then totally ignoring the seniors, was really the first.
Morad looked at Qin Fen who was on the phone and looked at the encouraging eyes of Xue Tian. The spear in his hand suddenly stabbed the ground! The Joji Spear was three feet into the ground, and the spear shivered lightly in the air when released, producing a deafening humming sound.
Huang Fengwan squinted his eyes. The ground of the Sacred Martial Hall is much harder and sturdier than the ground outside, how could he easily stab his spear three feet into the ground? With someone of such caliber in the group, it is no wonder these newbies were so arrogant. Their leader doesn’t seem to be that strong, he must be relying on his powerful family. The strongest man in front of me must’ve been his bodyguard.
“Old Qin, long time no see. Did you miss me?”
Qin Fen listened to the cheeky question by Lin Liqiang that engulfed him into a sense of familiarity he had not had for a long time and replied without hesitation, “Nope.”
“No? I’m sad… you have to make it up for me!”
Lin Liqiang dragged a long, rogue-like tone that evoked laughter from Qin Fen again. This mate is still cheeky as always.
“How can I make it up to you?”