I'm Really a Superstar

Master Sun said angrily, "What's going on here? Why is everyone in such a sorry state?"

When they saw an elder of their sect, the Iron Palm branches' disciples started complaining to him.

"Martial Uncle!"

"You're finally here!"

"There was a fight yesterday!"

"The small sects and non-affiliates went too far!"

"They even framed our Iron Palm Sect!"

The several of them kept pointing in the direction of the small sects and non-affiliates.

The people from the small sects and non-affiliates were having none of it. Clearly, it was you people from the large sects who colluded with each other to scam our money. Your Iron Palm Sect even came over for a sneak attack in the middle of the night, yet here you are trying to shift the blame? In the blink of an eye, the small sects and non-affiliates all glared at them. Several hundred sets of eyes were now staring down the Iron Palm Sect!

Master Sun was furious and glowered back at them. He pointed at them and uttered a line that would probably get voted by netizens as the most likely to trigger the next world war. "What're ya lookin' at?" He did not know what had happened yesterday, but as that was his usual way of talking, he just said it like how would have anyway.

As a result, it escalated the entire situation!

The small sects and non-affiliates were suddenly angered and over a hundred people aggressively pointed back at him, saying in unison, "You! So what!"

It was deafening!

The reply was too uniform!

It was so uniform that it felt like he was watching the 50th anniversary military parade!

Master Sun, who had never witnessed such a strong show of force before, was startled. Fuck! What are you all trying to do? Did you people practice this beforehand? Why does it seem like everyone shot up!

The large sects were infuriated. They kicked aside their chairs and sprang up, then reflexively reacted by pointing at those several hundred people and shouting, "Look again, we dare ya!"

Master Sun jumped again when he heard so many people behind him shouting back. He stared with his mouth agape at his sect's disciples, as well as those from the large sects. Fuck, why are all of you able to do this so uniformly!?

The non-affiliates pointed. "Then we dare!"

The large sects pointed. "What're ya lookin' at!"

The small sects pointed. "You! So what!"

The large sects pointed. "Look again, we dare ya!"

The small sects and non-affiliates pointed. "Then we dare!"

There, they were at it again!

Chen Xi covered his face in dismay!

Those from the National Martial Arts Association were also getting quite fed up by this!

At this moment, the Zhou Family arrived.

Grandmaster Zhou Tianpeng and the Zhou Family Style's disciples were the last batch of attendees to arrive at the venue. Probably due to the Zhou Family Style's disciples being the center of conflict last night, they were the main targets of the non-affiliates, who "took care" of them. Their number of injured personnel was also much higher than the others. At least five people were limping, leading to their late arrival in getting up to the hilltop. When the Zhou Family finally got up here, they were also left speechless by the scene unfolding in front of them. Zhou Tianpeng's expression instantly became very strange!

This…

What the hell is this!

Zhou Tianpeng stayed silent.

Around him, there were sighs all around.

"Hai!"

"What's going on with this year's Martial Arts Conference!"

"What a shame! What a shame!"

"How did it end up like this!"

"This is unwatchable! What a mess!"

"Luckily this is just an internal meet and no outsiders are present!"

A few high-ranking seniors of the Chinese martial arts world marveled at the happenings. When had any of the past Martial Arts Conferences not been a flourishing and vibrant event, with everyone showing a deep interest in the pursuit of a higher level of martial arts, exchanging blows and learning from one another. But why did this year's conference devolve into such strife?

"This won't do. Where is the decency, where has all the decency gone to!" An 80-year-old veteran of the Chinese martial arts world could no longer watch. He was so infuriated that his mustache became ruffled as he said, "We have to teach them a lesson!" Then he pointed in a random direction, "All of you, shut up! Chinese martial arts emphasizes the self-cultivation of one's body and moral character. It is important to train your breathing and calm your hearts, but you all—"

The people over there reflexively reacted by pointing at him. "What're ya lookin' at!"

The old veteran nearly fainted from anger, as his temper flared too. "You! So what!"

Everyone: "Look again, we dare ya!"

The old veteran flicked his sleeves and roared angrily, "Then I dare!"

The old veteran, who was just questioning about values, had immediately joined in the scolding battle at the next moment!

Fan Wen: "…"

Chen Xi: "…"

Zhou Tianpeng: "…"

After the National Martial Arts Association spent a long time trying to calm everyone down, even needing Chen Xi and Zhou Tianpeng to act, the crowd finally ceased all their unpleasant activities and gradually quieted down.

After the farce, the venue was in total disarray. The main venue of the conference which had been neatly set up ahead of time was filled with scattered chairs and littered with spilled mineral water bottles.

Zhou Tianpeng walked up into the fight ring and picked up the microphone that was placed in there. He tested the sound system before looking down at everyone below the ring. "I am Zhou Tianpeng, the incumbent sect leader of the Zhou Family Style School and the vice president of the National Martial Arts Association. I believe all of you should know me, so I won't go into an in-depth introduction."

Below the ring, some people gave him their support.

"Sect Leader Zhou, who wouldn't know you."

"Yeah, do you even need an introduction?"

"Haha!"

Zhou Tianpeng smiled. "There are always new friends joining us for the first time."

It could be seen that Zhou Tianpeng commanded a lot of respect in the Chinese martial arts world. Even among those from the small sects and non-affiliates, there was no sign of any disrespect at this moment.

Below the ring, Zhang Ye deliberately observed him for a while. He was a man in his forties or fifties, and did not really look to have an outstanding physique. Although he couldn't be described as lean, he wasn't considered burly either. He looked to be around 1.7 meters tall and probably weighed around 60 kilograms or so. In the chilly weather with cold winds blowing, he only wore a single-layered black training robe that had the Zhou Family Style's logo printed on it. Just standing there, his aura was very domineering and anyone would know immediately that he was a tough person to deal with.

Was this what it meant to be a grandmaster in today's world of Chinese martial arts? It was quite different from what Zhang Ye had imagined, mainly because he wasn't really good looking. But when he remembered Rao Aimin's sharp tongue and stingy character, Zhang Ye was still somewhat relieved. Compared to her, these Grandmasters Zhou Tianpeng and Chen Xi still had the demeanor of a grandmaster.

Zhou Tianpeng then continued, "Dear friends who have traveled from afar, welcome to this year's National Martial Arts Conference. Before the commencement of today's event, there is a piece of good news that I would like to share with everyone." With that, he looked at Chen Xi and said, "Old Chen, why don't you do it?"

In the audience, Chen Xi waved it off and said with a laugh, "I'll let you announce it instead."

Zhou Tianpeng explained, "The National Martial Arts Association has always been fighting to get a special fiscal fund injection from the country, and it has finally been approved. The funding is substantial and will involve many aspects, like the restoration of the sect and school grounds, reimbursing travel expenses, and subsidizing the taxes involved in the opening of new training halls. All of the funding will be used in support of the building and protection of our Chinese martial arts world's intangible cultural assets. As long as the sects and schools are registered with the National Martial Arts Association, everyone can enjoy this subsidy. If your martial sects don't have a long enough history, or if the martial arts style being practiced is not officially recognized in the books, you may still apply for the funding, subject to our approval. If it doesn't pass, don't worry. Because the subsidy will still be given out without being a single cent less than needed. If the National Martial Arts Association doesn't have enough funding, our Zhou Family will chip in the difference!"

After that announcement, everyone suddenly got a little bit excited!

"We have money now?"

"This is great!"

"It's finally been approved!"

"This is a real cause for celebration!"

"Yeah, the government has finally loosened its purse strings!"

"Grandmaster Zhou, how can we make you pay the expenses as well!"

In the audience, Chen Xi smiled and added, "This issue, the National Martial Arts Association, Old Zhou, and I put in a lot of effort to make it work. It wasn't easy, and Old Zhou contributed a lot to push this through. When we met up a few days ago, he said that if the money wasn't enough to go around, he would fork out the additional amount."

The martial artists in the audience immediately gave their gratitude.

"Thank you, Grandmaster Chen!"

"Thank you, Grandmaster Zhou!"

"Sect Leader Zhou, thank you!"

"Thank you for keeping us in mind! It's really difficult to set up a martial arts training hall these days to bring in new disciples and to hand down our legacies! Not many young people have the determination to persevere!"

"Yeah, although everyone seems to be doing well, it has also been really hard!"

"Thank you!"

Zhou Tianpeng smiled. "We're all colleagues of the martial arts world; it's only right to help each other out. Since the Zhou Family has a slightly better income than most of the schools here, we must definitely take on the responsibility."

Other than the large sects that were deeply rooted in society—like the Zhou Family Style School which had set up training halls all over the country, or a well-known sect like the Shaolin Monastery which had even become a national tourism spot—the smaller sects, which also covered large sects like the Huashan Sect, did not have much income to speak of and were in fact very poor. Otherwise, they wouldn't have fought so aggressively over such a simple thing as the meal money. When Zhou Tianpeng stepped forward with his offer, even those from the small sects and non-affiliates appreciated his good intentions!

In the audience, the conference officially kicked off and moved onto the main event.

According to each year's arrangements, the opening event always started with the various sects performing a demonstration of their martial arts.

The first sect to do this today were the disciples of the Huashan Sect. Just over a decade ago, the Huashan Sect was not considered a large sect at all. But ever since Chen Xi reached the pinnacle and was recognized as a grandmaster, the Huashan Sect welcomed a period of expansion and quickly increased their number of disciples. In today's demonstration, they chose to showcase their sect's sword formation!

At least a dozen disciples were involved.

They went into the ring.

They put on an elaborate sword dance.

But what was meant to be a beautiful image was not so this year. Every one of the participants was wounded and bandaged, and looking at the dozen or so Huashan Sect disciples injured and limping as they brandished their swords, a lot of the martial artists below the ring formed the mental image of a grass mud horse galloping across their vision!

Next up was the Shaolin Monastery. One of their monks successfully performed the Iron Head skill with his head wrapped with bandages.

Then it was the Iron Palm Sect's turn as a disciple supported by a crutch demonstrated an Iron Palm routine, while rooted to the spot.

This was immediately followed by the Kunlun Sect's wounded, erm, heroes, who took to the ring.

"Hah!"

"Heh!"

"He!"

"Hoo!"

Those bros were really putting in a lot of effort into their performances. However, it resulted in an accident at the next moment. One of the Kunlun Sect's performers sprained his waist while going through their sequence and cried out with a loud "aiyo" as he sat down unable to move. His fellow disciples around him then started panicking because of this, before several people ran into the ring and carried him out. The Kunlun Sect's performance had no choice but to cease. Meanwhile, the Kongtong Sect disciples, who were up next, limped into the ring in a hurry with their crutches to rescue things and started their performance.

Zhang Ye could only roll his eyes.

A proper event like the Martial Arts Conference had become like a post-earthquake relief donation site!

Suddenly, the crowd stirred!

"They're here!"

"Ah!"

"Quick, look!"

"They're really here!"

No one bothered to watch the performance anymore as their gazes all fell on the pathway leading up to the hilltop behind them!

Chen Xi wore a dignified expression.

Zhou Tianpeng was resting his mind with his eyes closed.

Chenchen anxiously looked over!

Zhang Ye and everyone else also turned around to see!

There was only one thing that could make everyone turn their heads like this—the arrival of the Eight Trigrams School!