"Who did I offend?" Xu Jingming asked.

Fang Xinglong looked at Xu Jingming and said a name, "Cheng Zihao."

Xu Jingming understood completely and asked calmly, "Shixiong, did he come to you?"

"Yes," Fang Xinglong nodded.

Xu Jingming nodded and said, "I do have a conflict with him."

"You're a professional martial arts athlete, selected for the provincial team in high school, and later entered the national team. You've been in the professional martial arts circle for so many years. How could you have a conflict with Cheng Zihao?" Fang Xinglong couldn't understand. The two weren't even in the same circle.

Xu Jingming smiled and said, "Life is full of infinite possibilities."

"Stop grinning," Fang Xinglong said, somewhat anxiously and worried. "Can't you resolve your conflict with him?"

"It can't be resolved," Xu Jingming shook his head.

Fang Xinglong put out the cigarette in his hand and looked at his shidi. "Jingming, that's Cheng Zihao! Offending him is the same as being blacklisted on the internet!"

"I know, the Cheng family!" Xu Jingming said with emotion. "The Cheng family controls the Tigershark Group, a company with a market value of over five trillion, one of the top three internet behemoths. It is indeed terrifying."

The Cheng family ranked in the top ten on Xia's rich list, with a family fortune exceeding five hundred billion. Xia's number one livestreaming platform, 'Tigershark,' was founded more than sixty years ago by the legendary figure of the Cheng family, Cheng Yunxiu. For more than sixty years, the Tigershark Group had not declined but had instead grown stronger. Now, with the Tigershark platform as its core, it had formed an internet behemoth group radiating across e-commerce, music, games, and other industries. The Tigershark Group had a market value of over five trillion, and the Cheng family, as the founding family, held 8.2% of the shares and had always held more than 50% of the voting rights, firmly grasping control of the Tigershark Group.

For a full thirty years, the Tigershark Group was completely controlled by its founder, Cheng Yunxiu. After his death, it had been managed by his only son, Cheng Liwei, to this day.

Cheng Zihao was Cheng Liwei's son, thirty-two years old this year.

"On the internet, the Tigershark Group is one of the top three behemoths. It's the number one livestreaming platform. As a martial arts athlete, you simply don't understand how terrifying its influence is." Fang Xinglong looked at his shidi, somewhat anxiously.

"Of course I know," Xu Jingming said with a slight smile. "Being blacklisted means no more commercial activities, no publicity on the internet, and a rapid disappearance of fame."

For martial arts athletes, fame was very important.

The greater the fame, the higher the income.

In terms of martial arts competition results, although Xu Jingming was quite strong, he could only be considered a third-tier athlete among the top martial arts athletes in Xia's history! Only legendary figures like his shifu, Liu Hai, could be considered first-tier, after all, he was still in the top three in five consecutive competitions at the advanced age of forty, and had even won first place in the world.

There were three first-tier athletes, each a legend. Their appearance fee for a peak duel was over one hundred million, and their cumulative career income was even more terrifying.

The historical top athletes, at the second-tier level, were those who had won a world top three, or who had barely won a world first and then retired. They would also be frequently mentioned, and the appearance fee for their peak duels was generally over ten million.

Xu Jingming had broken into the World Martial Arts Competition twice, once in the top sixteen and once in the top eight. His highest appearance fee was only 1.5 million, and his highest single income was the prize money for the top eight in the World Martial Arts Competition. After struggling for so many years, his total income was only tens of millions. His strength and status could be seen from his income.

In terms of results, he was a third-tier athlete in Xia's history. In terms of fame? If he was blacklisted on the internet, his fame would quickly disappear.

"Martial arts athletes also need to eat. Sometimes, taking a step back will broaden the horizon," Fang Xinglong advised.

"Shixiong," Xu Jingming said seriously, "You know that some things can't be retreated from."

Fang Xinglong paused, nodded slightly, and said worriedly, "It's only a minor matter if you're just blacklisted. I'm just afraid that Cheng Zihao will continue to make trouble for you."

Xu Jingming smiled and said, "At worst, I'll go back to my hometown of Mingyue City. In Mingyue City, my Bajiquan and Chuo Jiao styles have thousands of disciples. I'd like to see how he can make trouble for me. And in modern society, there are surveillance cameras everywhere. What can he do?"

"Then what are you going to do when you go back to Mingyue City?" Fang Xinglong pressed.

"Open a martial arts gym, do some high-end private tutoring, and I can still eat my fill," Xu Jingming said. "I'm also a Gun Demon, relying on my skills to make a living. I can eat my fill anywhere."

Fang Xinglong shook his head slightly. "In a second-tier city like Mingyue City, you'll be lucky to earn a million a year with hard work."

"I've earned so much over the years that I have a lot of interest and dividends to live on," Xu Jingming said. "Shixiong, don't worry about me."

Xu Jingming had prepared himself when he fell out with Cheng Zihao.

It just meant earning less.

He had been influenced by his father since he was a child and became a disciple of Mingyue City's two major traditional martial arts sects, the Bajiquan and Chuo Jiao styles. Since the World Martial Arts Competition became the world's number one combat event, domestic traditional martial arts schools had blossomed once again, and various weapon combat techniques had been unearthed.

In modern society, people didn't care how many schools a disciple joined.

Xu Jingming's father was a martial arts blogger in his youth, traveling around the world to explore various combat schools around the globe. He had joined more than a dozen martial arts schools domestically and had also obtained the true lineage of Bajiquan. After settling in Mingyue City, he founded the Bajiquan school in Mingyue City. In modern society, there were many martial arts schools all over the country, and there were hundreds of Bajiquan schools with orderly inheritance across the country.

Xu Jingming was the heir of the Bajiquan school in Mingyue City and also a disciple of the Chuo Jiao style's sect leader in Mingyue City! He could make a living by opening a martial arts gym, accepting disciples, and doing high-end private tutoring.

"Perhaps, focusing on practicing my gun techniques in my hometown is more suitable for me. If I can reach a higher level, I can make a comeback and try to win the world championship," Xu Jingming thought.

He had never given up his dream of becoming the world champion. His shifu, Liu Hai, had made it into the World Martial Arts Competition for five consecutive years at the advanced age of forty, and had ultimately won the world championship.

He was only twenty-nine this year. How could he give up?

If he won the world championship, the prize money would be five hundred million, and he would also be the focus of global attention. Official media would publicize him overwhelmingly. How could Cheng Zihao suppress him?

As for now? As a retired professional athlete, he couldn't be helped if he was blacklisted because he didn't have high enough achievements.

"Shixiong, what did Cheng Zihao say to you?" Xu Jingming looked at Fang Xinglong.

"Cheng Zihao asked someone to relay a message to me, asking me to fire you." Fang Xinglong said with shame, "Jingming, you know that I sell wine, and some of the sales channels are the livestreaming platforms and e-commerce platforms of the Tigershark Group, and a lot of publicity also has to go through the Tigershark Group. Although I'm very aggrieved, I can't afford to offend Cheng Zihao. After all, the company isn't just mine alone."

"Shixiong, I know your difficulties," Xu Jingming nodded.

He relied on his skills to make a living. With his nearly thirty years of top-ten global gun techniques, he wasn't afraid of not having a job. It was just a matter of eating more or less.

But his shixiong, Fang Xinglong, was a businessman. The wine company was his career foundation. In front of the Tigershark Group, he was even more constrained.

"I'll leave after this provincial team training camp ends," Xu Jingming said.

Fang Xinglong was a little tired. "Can you tell shixiong, what's the conflict between you and Cheng Zihao?"

"I don't want to say," Xu Jingming shook his head. "I can only say that he's a madman!"

"A madman?"

Fang Xinglong was thoughtful and nodded slightly. "Alright, I won't say anymore. This time, shixiong is sorry to you."

"It's not shixiong's fault. On the contrary, I've implicated shixiong." Xu Jingming knew Fang Xinglong's character very well. He was forthright, sincere, and his character was beyond doubt. Otherwise, he wouldn't have accepted his invitation to become the curator of this combat arena.

"Shixiong, I still have to go have dinner with Team Leader Liu. I'll go first. If there's anything, let's chat on the phone," Xu Jingming said with a smile and left.

Fang Xinglong stood there, watching Xu Jingming leave.

"Cheng Zihao."

Fang Xinglong whispered softly. He had made billions of dollars in the business world in his early forties, and he was also very proud at heart. He loved martial arts and weapon combat. For the sake of his hobby, he spent a lot of money to build the Starry Sky Combat Arena. This time, he had to obediently fire his shidi just because Cheng Zihao had sent a message. How could he not feel resentful?

"I can't afford to offend him," Fang Xinglong muttered silently. No matter how resentful he was, he would bow his head when he had to. He knew this very well after years of wandering in the business world. It was just that such aggrieved things had become very rare with his current status.

"Cheng Zihao, you don't follow the rules, you play dirty tricks. One day, you'll stumble," Fang Xinglong thought to himself.

Fang Xinglong was also thinking about how he could help his shidi.

He had no more than ten friends he truly acknowledged, and Xu Jingming was one of them. Naturally, he didn't want to see his shidi suffer such a big loss.

******

The night was hazy. Xu Jingming pushed open the door and entered a townhouse villa in the eastern suburbs of Binhai City.

In the bedroom, a slender woman in pajamas was lying half-reclined, leaning against the backrest, wearing a pair of large glasses, with a handle in each hand.

"Jingming, wait for me to finish this game," the woman in pajamas said with bright eyes. The glasses were virtual reality glasses, divided into immersive mode and reality mode.

In reality mode, the game scene was partially transparent, allowing her to see the outside world.

"Miaomiao, you need to exercise more. It's not good for your health to always lie down like this," Xu Jingming said.

"Okay, okay, I know," the woman in pajamas replied casually, moving her hands non-stop.

Xu Jingming was quite helpless.

This woman in pajamas was his girlfriend, Li Miaomiao.