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While Roland was studying the other guest, somebody was also studying at him.
How did it go? Did you find anything about him?
Carmen asked his men in an undertone.
Yes,
the latter whispered into his ear.
He’s just from an ordinary family. He became Lady Garcia’s neighbor purely by accident. There’s no record whatsoever of Roland on the contest registry, so I don’t think he has ever participated in any games. He joined the Martialist Associations just three months ago, which is highly unusual.
Although Carmen did not possess the Force of Nature, he knew all about the martialist contest. As it was the most popular sporting event among the mass, many people were familiar with its rules and procedure. Apart from the final match,
the Martialist Duel
, held every other year, there were also many tournaments and trial games every month to encourage new martialists to enter.
Normally, new martialists were very eager to partake in a contest to improve their skills and rankings so they could gain exposure and money. Only amateur martialists would feel reluctant to showcase their power. Carmen believed that these arrogant amateurs feared to be thrown in a spotlight because they were mostly former criminals.
As Garcia’s brother, Carmen was very concerned about the proxy his sister had chosen. Garcia was definitely not a very easygoing person. She was too headstrong. Her obstinacy naturally created a barrier that detached her from the rest of world and made people who attempted to approach her hesitant to further the relationship. With this being the case, Garcia trusted very few people.
Carmen was not remotely surprised at the disagreement between Garcia and her father. Garcia might be a competent martialist but was definitely not a good businesswoman.
Nevertheless, this was not the main reason he wanted to investigate Roland.
Another more important reason lay in the VIP table at the front of the hall.
He gazed upon the first row and saw a woman in pure white sitting there. She was not wearing any accessories. Her sheet of jet-black hair streamed down and gave her an air of aloofness and sophistication.
This lady, Fei Yuhan, was one of the most talented new martialists in the past five years. She had already successfully entered the final match of the martialist contest twice. Although she had yet to win the championship, most people attributed her defeat to her young age and lack of experience and firmly believed that she would soon gain her first championship. It was rumored that Fei Yuhan, as a genius martialist of the new generation, would eventually become another executive in the Prism City after she won her championship match.
Carmen did not expect a proud person like her to attend this party. Her attendance really gave Carmen’s father a pleasant surprise.
This party would definitely make the front page because of Fei Yuhan’s presence.
However, when Carmen had finally found a chance to talk to Fei Yuhan, he had been given an unexpected task.
Carmen calmed himself down and ambled over to the lady
Miss Fei Yuhan, what you asked me to do…
I heard your conversation,
Fei Yuhan interrupted Carmen and gave him a faint smile.
Thank you.
Carmen was astonished at her acute hearing. She was at least 10 meters away from him and surrounded by the buzz in the hall. Could normal people really do that?
I didn’t hear everything you said. Even though I could hear them, I need time to process the information,
Fei Yuhan explained to him good-naturedly in response to Carmen’s shocked expression.
When your men approached you, I concentrated my mind and read the conversation based on the movement of his lips and voices. Most martialists possess some lip-reading skills.
I-I see… You’re indeed the best martialist in the country,
Carmen said as he managed a smile.
The best?
she echoed in a silvery voice.
I haven’t got that cup yet.
It’s just a matter of time. Nobody except you has managed to enter the final match within one year of awakening and this even includes the ‘guard’ of Prism City…
His voice trailed off as he spoke.
Fei Yuhan was listening, but the nonchalant smile on her face clearly told Carmen that she had no intention of continuing with this conversation. She listened to him patiently only because it would be rude not to.
Then it suddenly dawned on Carmen that she had actually wanted to end the conversation when she had said
thank you
. She gave him an explanation simply because he was the organizer of this party. Nonetheless, she did not have the slightest interest in engaging in a personal interaction.
At this thought, Carmen felt a surge of anger blazing inside him. As the representative of the Clover Group, he had never been so slighted.
But Carmen managed to control his temper.
The Clover Group could not offend the Martialist Association, as the latter had an intertwined relationship with various governmental bodies and industries.
This was the exact reason his father put so much money in networking with these people.
Carmen smiled stiffly and walked off.
Fei Yuhan obviously noticed the affronted look in Carmen’s eyes.
She did not really care about what others thought of her. The only person she could rely on was herself to defend against the erosion. Wealth and power meant nothing to her.
Her eyes were back on Roland again.
She attended this party just because her master had asked her to. At first, she did not understand why she had to sacrifice her training sessions for such a superfluous networking event, until a man caught her attention.
Once an Awakened reached a certain level, they would be able to know how strong their opponent was. Fei Yuhan had gained such an ability three years ago. She noticed that very few people outside of Prism City were stronger than her.
Nevertheless, she could not read anything out of that person.
She sensed Roland’s conduct, the tone in which he spoke, the expression on his face, and the micromovement of his skin, which were exactly the same as those of a normal person, but she could not sense any fluctuations in his power. Therefore, she could not figure out how strong Roland was. Common people normally did not have the Force of Nature, however, Roland was a martialist.
That was why Fei Yuhan had asked Carmen for help.
Although she could do the investigation herself, she preferred to have others take care of these matters for her. Most people were more than happy to help her and, often, did a better job.
Then, she heard Carmen slip that man’s name, Roland.
Everything seemed to make sense now.
A week ago, Fei Yuhan had learned a piece of news from her master that there was a new
hunter
, a licensed martialist, in Prism City. Fei Yuhan was not surprised at the news because an outstanding martialist who fought against the Fallen Evils deserved some privileges. It wasn’t until a little later that she learned that this new licensed martialist was not an old member but instead a newbie!
This incident would have definitely stirred the whole martialist community had the Association not kept the personal information of licensed martialists strictly confidential. Licensed martialists were typically viewed as equal to champions of the martialist contest, and were sometimes even more respected by the public. This was like telling Fei Yuhan that some newly awakened martialist had just snatched the champion cup from her. How outrageous!
If that was the case, her two entries in the championship final suddenly seemed to not matter as much.
The new hunter’s name was Roland.
Fei Yuhan balled her right hand into a fist, but kept her face expressionless.
As a student of an old guard in Prism City, Fei Yuhan had also heard about the disagreement between new and old martialists. One of the main questions they argued about was which school of martialists was the stronger one. Were those who put their lives on the line and trained themselves through numerous battles against the Fallen Evils stronger than combatants on the stage, or vice versa?
Fighting against Fallen Evils was indeed challenging, but the chance of encountering a Fallen Evil was slim, and more often than not, the first battle would also be the last for a lot of fighters. Combatants, on the other hand, could train themselves in a more safe manner. However, as they were used to the way they fought, they would easily panic when coming across a difficult enemy. Both theories had a great number of supporters, and it was hard to tell which one was truer in practice.
However, Fei Yuhan now found a way to find that out.
Roland, who had never participated in any matches and had been continuously fighting against Fallen Evils since his awakening, was definitely an old-school martialist.
Compared to Roland, Fei Yuhan was obviously considered as a modern martialist.
Her master intended for her to come to this party, probably in hopes that Roland and she, as the representatives of traditional and modern martialists, could get to know each other.
However, Fei Yuhan had no interest in involving herself in the conflict within the Association. She never thought she was a modern martialist. In fact, she would have fought against Fallen Evils if her master had not explicitly forbidden her to do so.
Just like Roland.
She only cared about who was stronger.
And Roland seemed to be a decent competitor.
Fei Yuhan would have known how big her chance of winning had she been able to detect Roland’s power. Howeover, since she could not, it was hard for her to envision the duel between them.
In other words, they were tied.
Fei Yuhan curled up her lips. It appeared that this party had become a little more interesting.
She had also overheard some interesting conversations between the three girls Roland brought to the party.
She heard words like
the Dream World
.
Also something like
His Majesty
.
Was this some new trendy game?
However, judging from the three girls’ looks, she did not think they were doing some juvenile role-playing either.
She decided to ask Roland in person.
Fei Yuhan quickly came up with a few questions in her mind.
…
In the meantime, Roland finally found the person whom he was looking for.
Garcia’s father got a resounding round of applause as he ascended the stage at the center of the hall.
