Chapter 134: Difficult Decision

  Yang Le has always been puzzled, Hu Dehua, this guy with a dark face and red hair that looks extremely out of place from any angle, has actually been in the top ten for some time now, before this he had never fought as desperately as he did in this martial arts competition.

  In fact, if it weren't for this guy using his strong body to protect Ji Fei at the critical moment and withstanding Du Gu's fatal blow, Ji Fei might not be just lying here now.

  Ji Fei saw Hu Dehua not speaking, turned his face to look at him. If before the four strong battles, they were just classmates who had said a few words that could be counted on one hand but had a very tacit understanding of good fighting friends, then after the key battle with San Tang, they were completely entrusting their lives to each other as sworn brothers.

  The 3v3 match of Hua Wu Tournament is not a rotational battle like KOF, simply put, it's a gang fight. This format is much more fatal for the team with one less player, Shi Dong, than the KOF tournament.

  Being able to make it to the finals in such a tournament, but having to forfeit due to injury, is undoubtedly a regret for a martial artist. Ji Fei believed that this feeling couldn't be hers alone.

  Hudewa looked at Jifei's expression and suddenly smiled, although that look was not good-looking. "We've already completed our mission, haven't we?"

  Finished the task? Ji Fei looked puzzled, somewhat unable to understand the meaning behind Hu Dehua's words.

  "Don't you understand even now why it's you who participated in the second stage of the Martial Arts Competition, and not those young masters from the four major families?" Hu Dehua said calmly.

  Ji Feileng's eyes widened, and suddenly the image of that person appeared in her mind - a despicable-looking guy who seemed to care about nothing but actually had a confident air about him. Could it be that during the Totem War back then, he was just trying to eliminate those few guys so that he could participate in the second stage of the trial?

  Thinking of this, Ji Fei broke out in a cold sweat. If it weren't for Hu Dehua's reminder, she wouldn't have thought of this at all. In her opinion, that was just one of Hu Gao's arrogant and self-aggrandizing performances, and had nothing to do with her.

  "Are you saying he'll be back for the final match?" Ji Fei asked, somewhat disbelieving.

  "Hu Dehua shook his head, 'Heaven knows, but this is no longer something we need to worry about. Yang instructor, you don't have to watch us here, go prepare for the final match at the martial arts arena instead.'"

  Hu Dehua's calm and composed words not only startled Ji Fei, but also Yang Le who was standing beside him. She had always been influenced by Hu Wusuo's factors and didn't have a good impression of Hu Gao, so she wouldn't think of this point either. However, as Hu Dehua said, time was pressing, but did that guy really want to participate in the final match in a 1V3 format?

  To know that Li Huo had already broken through to the late stage of Condensed Shadow Realm in the previous period, the difference between the middle and late stages lies in whether one can cultivate Yuan jue. Just this point alone is an insurmountable chasm. No, I must stop Hu Gao!

  Thinking of this, Yang Le didn't even bother saying goodbye to the two patients and rushed out of the medical team, sprinting all the way to the martial arts arena.

  The martial arts arena of the War Institute was not a small stage where Hu Gao had previously engaged in private duels with others. The area here was roughly the size of a football field from Hu Gao's previous life, and it could accommodate a massive number of spectators. After all, the three final matches of the second phase of the martial arts competition were open to outsiders.

  For many adventurers and even ordinary people in Ning City, the martial arts competition at the Martial Institute is absolutely a great place for leisure and entertainment. The bloody violence is exciting to watch, and you can also have fun with three or five good friends. If you can find a few handsome guys among the warriors, it's an event that makes rich young ladies cheer and jump for joy. If the other party's background isn't deep enough, they might even be tied up by their future husbands-in-law after the competition and end up in a situation like "uncooked rice becoming cooked rice".

  Such a grand event with the people, the official of the War Temple is also highly valued, and even for the convenience of the people, they have specially opened up public betting windows, and together with the ticket revenue from the martial arts competition, the profits are quite substantial.

  However, this year's special situation has indeed caused the organizing side of the martial arts competition to have a headache. Due to not being able to receive the decision on default matches in advance, although they clearly knew that the competition might not be held as expected, they could only make thorough preparations for the final match with great care.

  Of course, for the three finals to be held today, the ordinary hall final can only be considered as an appetizer at most. Everyone's attention is more focused on the subsequent entry hall and elite hall finals. Moreover, this year's ordinary hall final really lacks a highlight, so at this time point, the originally bustling martial arts arena only has a few scattered spectators.

  "This year's final is definitely the most boring match in years." said a warrior named Zhong Qing, yawning in the martial arts arena below.

  "You must be bored, this year's weird competition system made us directly enter the semifinals as a seed, and the only game was even taken away by that guy Li Nuo."

  Standing beside Zhong Qing, Hu Fang, also a participant in the second stage of the trial from the Hu family's Bloodline, smiled and said that compared to this damned martial arts competition, he would rather go to the Qingyuan mine to temper himself, for that was where real men should fight.

  "Stop chattering, you two! I always feel that Hu Gao might rush back!" Today, Li Rou, known as the Queen of Ordinary Hall, was unusually dressed in a plain black tight-fitting suit, covering herself from head to toe without revealing even a thread.

  Even so, her slender waist that can be grasped by one hand and her alluring figure set off against the others are still a bright spot in the landscape of the contestants.

  "So what if he's back? Can that guy still be your opponent?" Zhong Qing said with disdain, her arms crossed in front of her chest, looking towards the entrance of the martial arts arena.

  "Get out!" Hu Fang slapped his arm without any courtesy, "With your mediocre skills, where do you get the confidence to evaluate the successor of our prestigious Hu family?"

  Although they are all martial artists of the same school, Hu Fang and Zhong Qing have always had a good relationship, but when it comes to family matters, even good friends can't intervene.

  "I didn't underestimate Hu Gao!" Lei Wuo's eyes narrowed, "His totem is quite extraordinary, I suspect it may even be some kind of variant totem that we don't know about."

  "Mutated Totem?" The two exclaimed in unison. A mutated totem was a rare thing on the Totem Continent, and once it appeared, it would inevitably be coveted by the various aristocratic families of the Dragon Flower Country, and even the imperial family would take notice.

  Li Wan nodded, ever since she saw Hu Gao's Totem War last time, she had put away the contempt in her heart. She acknowledged that she was arrogant but not complacent. For an opponent who might possess a variant totem, any slight contempt could lead to eternal damnation, and end up like Wei Junzi, never having another chance at cultivation in this life.

  "Hu Fang, haven't you heard any news at all in the Hu family?" Zhong Qing asked.

  Hu Fang shook his head, "I've been in the war academy all this time, and with my position in the Hu family, what would I know? However, I heard from Big Brother that Young Master Hu Wushuang has returned after training outside. Perhaps Hu Gao is back too, since their wedding date is approaching."

  "This guy really doesn't know what kind of luck he's had! I heard that originally, he was just a useless piece of trash from the Hu family's Liuqing branch who couldn't even cultivate, but it's really true that some people are born with more luck than others!"

  He let out a sigh of resignation, he had relied on his own talent to squeeze into this gathering place for geniuses, but without any family background, he would eventually have to choose one side to attach himself to in order to truly stand firm in the Dragon Flower Country. This was perhaps the greatest sorrow of being an adventurer's family member.

  "How about falling in love, isn't it just changing your surname to Fang, Li, Wang or something, and you'll have no regrets for the rest of your life?" Just then, a teacher named Wen Zhong walked over and said with a smile.

  "That's not bad, but learning from Wen is good too, having a surname Hu isn't bad either." Zhong Qing said with a slanted gaze at Hu Fang.

  "Get lost, this guy is asking for a beating again. Can you please give him some more training?" Hu Fang said with annoyance.

  Wen Zhong did not respond to the teasing of the two, but instead looked up at the sky with a serious expression and said, "I met Yang yesterday, I think since they are not willing to give up, there must be a reason. You should prepare for the match, the outcome is not important, what's important is that as a martial artist, your heart cannot waver."

  Wen Zhong said, making a characteristic gesture of pounding his chest with his fist.

  "Forward one step!" Zhong Qing and Hu Fangli both made the same movement in response.

  They became one of the top sects because, under Wen Zong's leadership, they gradually rose from their original ranking of eighth. Wen Zong, like Zhong Qing, did not have a powerful family background, but after successfully leading everyone to this position, no martial artist dared to disobey him.

  As time went on, the audience in the arena gradually increased. For most people, after all, they had bought tickets, and it was not a bad choice to come early and chat with friends.

  Yang Le hurried over just as he ran into the organizer of this year's Martial Arts Competition, Vice President Dugu Sheng of the War Institute. This guy happened to be the father of San Dugu Yi, and previously Shi Dang had eliminated San Dang to enter the finals. Seeing Yang Le, this old man naturally didn't have a good expression.

  "How's that? There's less than a minute left before the match officially starts. According to the rules of the martial arts competition, if one side cannot come on stage after the match begins, it will be considered an automatic forfeit."