It turned out that disguising oneself was indeed necessary.
Li Chonglou’s deliberate cough soon covered up the shock he had just caused. A powerful individual acting as if nothing happened was vastly different from a master who had achieved a breakthrough through some secret technique.
At least, everyone felt much more at ease facing the latter.
Wang Fei hurried to Li Chonglou’s side and asked, "Do you want to continue fighting or..."
"Fight!"
Li Chonglou gritted his teeth and struggled to stand up. Seeing this, Wang Fei’s eyes filled with admiration. A true man never admits defeat!
"Then please, Senior Li, continue choosing your opponent."
In fact, the crowd below the stage watched Li Chonglou's 'stubborn resistance' with complicated feelings.
Who knew if he was really like this? What if he got shot down again with a single shot?
The last three matches were almost all decided with one punch. Only with Ma San, the crowd couldn’t quite figure out what had happened, but it could also be considered a one-move victory!
With such a fierce opponent, who would dare to step onto the stage?
It was fortunate that Wang Fei had given Li Chonglou the choice. Otherwise, if this choice were given to the crowd, it would likely be silent and incredibly awkward right now.
Even so, wherever Li Chonglou’s gaze fell, everyone quickly averted their eyes, not daring to meet his gaze, fearing that their eye contact would draw his attention.
"You."
As the crowd endured several seconds of agonizing wait, Li Chonglou’s voice was suddenly heard. When they realized that Li Chonglou had not chosen them, everyone heaved a sigh of relief.
At the same time, they looked in the direction Li Chonglou was pointing.
It was an 'ordinary-looking' man.
The latter currently had a bewildered look on his face.
"Who is this guy? I don't recognize him either."
"Could he be another hidden big shot?"
Having experienced this once, the crowd started to murmur. The people next to the chosen man instinctively moved a step outwards, as if afraid of getting too close to a big shot and incurring his displeasure.
Zhang Tianshan was completely dumbfounded. He was merely a bodyguard from an ordinary security company. His company wasn't even ranked in the top tier in Shangjing. The only reason he could appear here was purely because the person who hired him happened to have met him before and was taking advantage of him.
And the actual person who hired him wasn't even from the Sixteen Great Families.
Liu Shan, twenty-five years old, although sharing the surname Liu with Liu Qiang, this Liu was not from the Liu family, one of the Sixteen Great Families in Shangjing. His family was indeed somewhat wealthy, but they couldn't be considered a prominent family.
The reason he was here was that his grandfather had met someone from the Sixteen Great Families by chance, thus obtaining a spot. He was sent here purely to broaden his horizons.
Of course, if he had enough good fortune, he might also get to know some people from the upper circles.
However, Liu Shan had never attended such grand events and lacked experience. Since entering, he hadn't greeted anyone.
From beginning to end, both he and Zhang Tianshan had squeezed into the crowd with the mindset of watching a show.
As for why Zhang Tianshan signed up, it was also an accident…
At that time, both of them, out of curiosity, had squeezed to the edge of the arena, thinking they could see more clearly. Little did they know that when Tong Wu started calling for participants, he was standing above them and immediately got Zhang Tianshan to sign up…
If the crowd were to check the registration list at this moment, they would find that the first name on it was Zhang Tianshan.
It was only then that the two realized that being too close to the arena was not a good thing, so they squeezed back into the middle of the crowd.
Who would have thought they would still be chosen!
Let alone Zhang Tianshan being dumbfounded, even Liu Shan beside him was equally bewildered!
"What, what do we do?"
Because too many people were staring at him, Zhang Tianshan didn't dare to show any emotion. He secretly swallowed, and in a trembling voice, quietly asked Liu Shan next to him.
"I don't know either."
Liu Shan shook his head directly.
"What's going on? Why isn't he going up? Is he scared?"
"Who is that person shaking his head? I don't have any impression of him at all. Who is this hidden prodigy from which family?"
"I know most of the Sixteen Great Families. Could he be from the Eight Great Families?"
Seeing the two standing still, the crowd started to speculate wildly. Because of Li Chonglou's previous 'stunning' performance, they all subconsciously believed that anyone Li Chonglou chose was no ordinary expert!
Of course, Ma San had already been ignored by the crowd.
Upon hearing these remarks, Liu San felt panicked. He was just an ordinary person from the lower-middle class. Aren't all the wealthy second-generation heirs present here? If his identity were exposed, Liu Shan couldn't even imagine the embarrassment.
Therefore, Liu Shan quickly urged Zhang Tianshan, "Hurry up and go up. It'll be bad if they find out about our identities! We might even be kicked out! If we really lose face, I won't pay you!"
As soon as he heard about not getting paid, Zhang Tianshan became anxious.
He was just an ordinary bodyguard. Although he had built up some muscle, he could at most deal with two or three ordinary people. Thus, his daily life depended on this money. How could he say no to it?
Fine, if I have to go, I'll go! At most, I'll get beaten up. I'll just surrender, which is better than not getting any money at all!
With this thought, Zhang Tianshan no longer hesitated. His expression turned grim as he steadily walked towards the arena.
This time, the crowd had some experience. They all made way. Although Zhang Tianshan didn't reveal any aura, no one present dared to underestimate him in the slightest.
Perhaps he was another hidden big shot who had returned to simplicity? He just disdained to reveal his aura!
Even Hua Nanhhu, who was on the high platform, dared not make a hasty judgment. Although in his perception, Zhang Tianshan was just an ordinary bodyguard, possibly not even capable of joining the Martial Arts Association.
Just as the crowd speculated, what if he was another hidden big shot? Hua Nanhhu's eyes also showed a hint of anticipation.
Meanwhile, Ya Lili's hand was, at some unknown time, held by Hua Yin.
"It's okay, Xiao Li. No one will die in this competition. Didn't you see the elders of the Martial Arts Association are all here? They are here to prevent such things from happening."
Hua Yin comforted Ya Lili while patting her hand, but even she didn't believe her own words. If Li Chonglou had intended to kill his opponents in the last two matches, Hua Nanhhu might not have had time to react.
However, Ya Lili did not know that Hua Yin's inner thoughts were completely opposite to what she was saying.