Chapter 5

In the towering skyscraper of Penghai City.

Cheng Zihao was lying on a gaming chair, wearing a virtual reality headset, when the sound of a knock came from the office door.

"Come in." Cheng Zihao switched his virtual reality headset to real mode and looked at the middle-aged man who walked in from outside the door.

After entering, the middle-aged man closed the door and said in a somewhat ingratiating tone, "Boss, the Star Fighting Gym in Binhai City has decided to fire Xu Jingming. I changed my account to contact Xu Jingming, but he blocked me again."

"Quite decisive indeed." Cheng Zihao, with his fair skin, smiled. "Li Miaomiao blocked me, and Xu Jingming blocked us. They are quite interesting. Is this what they call unbreakable love? Hahaha... really interesting. By the way, what about Li Yuanping? He is Li Miaomiao's uncle."

"Li Yuanping personally went to Li Miaomiao's parents, but they clearly approved of Xu Jingming as a son-in-law and kicked Li Yuanping out," the middle-aged man said.

"Really useless."

Cheng Zihao frowned slightly. "This Li Miaomiao is truly different from other singers. Does she really not care about fame and fortune?"

"She has even changed her live streaming platform. In her latest live stream, she was on Weijie." The middle-aged man also said helplessly, "And she has never signed a long-term contract with our platform. She only streams once a month and has never cared about making money from it. She is very laid-back. Boss, what should we do next?"

"Li Miaomiao and Xu Jingming are both public figures and are so resolute. Forget it, there are many things I like in this world, and I can't possibly get them all." Cheng Zihao shook his head. "For now, let's put Li Miaomiao aside. But continue to keep an eye on her... people can change. I don't believe she will always not care about fame and fortune."

"Yes." The middle-aged man nodded and smiled, "She might still be young, in her early twenties, and not care about fame and fortune now, but after a few years, after being beaten down by society and realizing the importance of fame and fortune, she might change."

"If she becomes materialistic in a few years, I might not even look at her." Cheng Zihao said calmly. "You may leave."

"Yes." The middle-aged man respectfully left.

Cheng Zihao's virtual reality headset switched back to immersive mode. To him, Li Miaomiao was just a small ripple in his life, and he didn't really care about her.

In the immersive mode, a huge stock market display appeared. Cheng Zihao watched it; the capital market was what he truly cared about.

"Why did Hu Sha's stock price fall by 8% today? I didn't see any negative news?" Cheng Zihao couldn't understand. Hu Sha Group, being a super-large cap stock, rarely had such a significant drop.

"Dad ordered me to diversify risks, and all my investments are prohibited from touching Hu Sha Group. Let Dad deal with it." Cheng Zihao didn't think much more about it.

The family's largest asset was 8.2% of Hu Sha Group's shares, and he was naturally concerned. However, according to family rules, his personal assets had no connection with Hu Sha Group. As for the significant drop in Hu Sha Group's stock? His father, Cheng Liwei, had controlled the group for over thirty years, and Cheng Zihao still had great faith in his father's abilities.

******

In the capital city, inside a traditional Chinese villa, the entire villa was inhabited by only one elderly man and a robot butler.

This robust elderly man was sitting at the dining table, eating a few cloves of garlic, then taking large bites of beef, and also eating a few bites of cooked vegetables.

He was the legendary figure in the world of martial arts, 'Fierce Tiger' Liu Hai.

At the age of 45, he participated in the first World Martial Arts Championship, competing against experts from all over the world. Only the top 32 in the world had the qualification to participate! Most participants were around 30 years old, and Liu Hai was definitely considered a senior competitor.

He made it to the top three for five consecutive championships, and in the fifth championship, he even won first place in the world! He served as the head coach of the national team for a full twenty years!

In terms of legendary status, in the past thirty years, only two martial arts experts in Xia could match him. In terms of seniority, he was the oldest, and most top professional martial arts athletes in Xia had to call him "Master"!

At over seventy years old, Liu Hai still spent half a year in seclusion each year, practicing intensively.

For meals, he ate five times a day, mainly beef, with vegetables and other side dishes as supplements. There was no choice; with his training intensity, he couldn't survive on less.

"Hmm?" Liu Hai had tiger-like eyes that exuded a dominant aura. This aura was mysterious, a powerful biological field brought about by his strong physique. Standing at 1.92 meters tall and weighing 110 kilograms, Liu Hai managed to make it to the top three in the first five World Martial Arts Championships, where the rules were the least developed, and he never got injured, showing his astonishing physical and technical abilities.

"What is this?" Liu Hai looked at the data displayed on the screen, his eyes wide. "This scoundrel, bullying my disciple?"

"Fang Xinglong." Liu Hai called out.

Fang Xinglong's image appeared on the screen, and he respectfully said, "Master, I thought about it all night and couldn't think of any other way, so I told you. My junior brother joined the provincial team in high school and has been like a monk, focusing solely on martial arts for so many years. Who would have thought that Cheng Zihao would bully him. My junior brother wouldn't say much to me, but I found out that it seems to be related to his girlfriend."

"Romantic affairs are truly troublesome. So many young people have their futures ruined by love." Liu Hai shook his head. At over seventy years old, he still spent half a year in seclusion each year, seeing no one.

Romantic affairs and worldly matters would only affect his speed in combat!

"Master, do you have any way to help my junior brother?" Fang Xinglong asked, knowing that his master had a vast network of connections.

"What can I do against a large commercial group? I'll think about it. Don't get involved in this matter." Liu Hai said.

"Yes, Master, I'll follow your instructions." Fang Xinglong replied.

The screen closed.

Liu Hai sat there, thinking while chewing on cooked beef, finding the beef tasteless.

"Jingming is still too weak in physique. If he had trained for three more years, he could have entered the World Martial Arts Championship without breaking his leg and ruining his future." Liu Hai sighed inwardly. "His talent in gun skills is too high, and his world ranking rose too quickly. Entering the World Martial Arts Championship too early actually harmed him."

At the age of twenty, he entered the highest-level World Martial Arts Championship, which was too young.

"With his talent, if he had entered the World Martial Arts Championship at the age of 23 or 24, he could have aimed for the world's first place. Winning the world's first place would have been glorious, and he wouldn't have been forced into this situation." Liu Hai pondered. He was just a martial artist and found it difficult to help his disciple.

"Old Guo." Liu Hai called out.

A figure appeared on the screen, an elderly man with gray hair sitting at a desk.

"Brother Hai, what's up?" The elderly man with gray hair was also a high-ranking official, but he still respected Liu Hai, who was three years younger, calling him "Brother Hai." They had been friends for decades.

"Old Guo, about that national key cultivation list." Liu Hai put down his beef. "I have a recommendation slot, and I've thought about it. I want to recommend Xu Jingming."

"Xu Jingming?" The elderly man with gray hair thought for a moment and said, "You have the recommendation right, but it still needs to be reviewed. This list has only twenty people! You martial arts masters take up twelve slots. Other fighting styles take five. Only three slots are left. For Xu Jingming to compete for these three slots... to be honest, his experience is a bit low."

"Jingming is only 29 this year and has great potential. Despite his severe leg injury, he still made it to the top eight in the World Martial Arts Championship. Without the leg injury, he could have aimed for the world's first place," Liu Hai said.

"We know all that, but I have to tell you, his chances of competing for the three slots are low. Are you sure you want to recommend him?" the elderly man with gray hair asked.

"Of the few disciples I've favored over the years, most have won the world's top three and received the title of martial arts master. Only Jingming and Xiaotong are a bit unfortunate. Xiaotong has long given up on martial arts, but Jingming has never given up. He has been consistent for years, and his character is more worthy of cultivation."

"Brother Hai, write a detailed recommendation letter as soon as possible, preferably today, and send it to me. I'll forward it to the selection committee," the elderly man with gray hair said. "As for whether it will be successful, it still needs to be reviewed by the committee."

"Okay." Liu Hai nodded.

After the screen disappeared, Liu Hai continued to chew on the beef, thinking: "In the history of the World Martial Arts Championship, Xia has had twelve people who have won the world's top three! Among these twelve, the oldest is me, and one is disabled, several have deformed bodies, and one even has cancer. Yet all twelve are included in the cultivation list, including the disabled, cancer patients, and the elderly?"

"The committee says it's a great opportunity, but they don't reveal the details."

"I don't know what great opportunity it is." Liu Hai thought. "If Jingming can also be included in the list, it would be a good opportunity for him."

Liu Hai's concept was very simple: when a disciple encounters trouble,

If the disciple becomes strong enough, the trouble will disappear, or even become the other party's trouble!