One person: After starting with the academic atmosphere, I'll take down Xia He!

Ma Long stood in the cold wind, enjoying the worship from all directions, with cheers and shouts rising everywhere.

"Young Master Long, I love you!"

"Young Master Long is wise and mighty, we are willing to honor you as the number one person of our time!"

……

Lu Linglong clenched her fists, equally excited. Just as she was about to blend into the crowd of fans, Lu Lin blocked her way.

Lu Lin remained silent, simply staring at Lu Linglong with a blank expression.

Helpless, Lu Linglong had no choice but to leave disappointed.

Zhuge Qing had been standing in the center of the competition field for a long time, waiting for Ma Long.

We've done the warm-up exercises and drunk some water.

Finally, he even activated the Qimen Dunjia divination method.

But Ma Long didn't come down, still standing proudly in the wind, enjoying the worship from all sides.

"Ahem~ Young Master Long, that's enough!"

The fact that you hired shills is so obvious!

Look at the reactions of those around you; who wouldn't see such a stark contrast?

As Zhuge Qing pointed out, it turned out that the shouts and cheers did rise for a while at first, but the ordinary people quickly returned to calm.

Only a small group of people remained steadfast, speaking with all their might, even at an increasingly rapid pace, constantly repeating words of praise.

It's as if you get a bonus for every shout.

"Uh~!"

Malone awkwardly pulled his trench coat tighter. He suddenly felt a bit cold, and the cold wind blowing in his face made him uncomfortable.

He hadn't hired anyone; he had assumed they were his loyal followers, but now, after Zhuge Qing's reminder...

They seem to be shills without a doubt. The admiration in their eyes is shallow, but their longing for money is written all over their faces.

He immediately realized that it must have been done by his subordinates, which embarrassed Ma Long.

"Uh~ Zhuge Qing, are you ready?"

Zhuge Qing immediately replied, "Ready!"

"I've been ready for a while, what are you dawdling about?"

After hesitating, Ma Long said, "Did I say I wanted to challenge you?"

No, I don't think so!

Zhuge Qing's eyes widened in surprise: "Young Master Long!"

Isn't it no fun to play like this?

I admit I lost to you before, but things are different now, and I'm sure I'll surprise you.

Come down and try it for yourself!

"I know!

I'm just in a bad mood right now and don't want to play anymore.

"Baby, is dinner ready?"

Ma Long calmly wrapped himself in his cloak and slowly turned to look at Feng Baobao.

Feng Baobao immediately sniffed and replied, "Almost there!"

It seems like tonight's dish is pork stew with glass noodles. I've already turned off the heat and it's simmering in the pot.

We can set off now!

Although this place is far from the canteen in Zhuge Village, Feng Baobao can still keep a close eye on what is happening there.

Malone nodded: "Okay!"

"The sea paves the way, charge!"

Yuan Dahai was already standing at the foot of the stage, carrying the golden banner of the Salvation Palace, and headed straight for the canteen of Zhuge Village.

Feng Baobao and Ma Long rushed towards the kitchen of Zhuge Village.

In the blink of an eye, the White Tiger Terrace on the west side was deserted, and the rumbling footsteps were deafening.

Dust filled the air, and the hastily marching army vanished.

Zhuge Qing stood in the arena, gazing blankly at the Qimen formation.

The people in the other stands were stunned; even Bi Youlong, a director of the company, had never seen anything like this.

The highly anticipated battle between dragons and tigers ended up starving to death in the placenta.

The setup was clearly set, but Ma Long didn't play by the rules and went straight to eat.

Everyone was bewildered by the cold wind and the dust left behind by the group.

"Are you kidding me?"

"You, Ma Long, you really know how to have fun!"

Let's see how long we can hide!

"Aqing, what do we do next? Are you going?"

"Go to the cafeteria, what else can we do!"

The pork stew with glass noodles smells amazing, don't let them eat it all!

The character "坤" signifies a dragon swimming on the earth!

Zhuge Qing's Qimen Formation was open, so he decided to use it and disappeared underground in an instant.

"Hey, Qing, you're cheating! Wait for me, help me grab one!"

……

The Celestial Master's Mansion on Longhu Mountain.

Now it was Lu Jin's turn to curse, and he slammed his fist on the table angrily: "Nonsense!"

What nonsense!

How could Ma Long do this?

They've already set everything up, so why are they going off to eat? Isn't that just teasing us?

Does Zhuge Village have absolutely no rules?

How can we allow him to act like this!

The old master seemed to have expected the situation before him. He stroked his white beard and leaned back slightly against the chair behind him: "Alright!"

Old Lu, you wouldn't understand.

Zhuge Qing went first, and he had already set up a killing trap.

Is Malone stupid? Why would he want to step down?

Lu Jin was even more confused: "So what? Zhuge Qing just made some preparations in advance."

It's all Malone's fault for wasting his time.

Even if he's dissatisfied, he can just bring it up directly; why walk away?

This is utterly unruly!

"Heh! Is this the proper etiquette?"

There are no rules in this world; it's just that people's hearts shape things!

The old master looked at his somewhat weathered, dry, and wrinkled hands and murmured to himself.

The old master's hands were not thick; rather, they were rather long and slender.

There wasn't much flesh on his long palms, just a layer of dry, wrinkled skin.

The color gradually deepened over time.

After a long while, he looked at the southwest sky and murmured.

"Is there finally some movement?"

……

After a hearty meal, the group from the Salvation Palace slowly made their way back to their rooms.

Ma Long was very full and kept gently rubbing his stomach with his hands.

He has been quite relaxed these past few days, and the events he's been attending have been very lively.

He had almost forgotten all the things that had happened before.

But he had never forgotten what he did for a living, so he was treating this as a year-end vacation for himself, and would only need to wait three more days at most.

Ma Long then decided to leave. He wanted to go to Liupanshui again, as Mei Jinfeng's words to him last time seemed to have a deeper meaning.

Now Lu Jin owes him a favor, and he wants to talk to Lu Jin about the past. If he's right, Lu Jin should reveal some information.

In addition, he needed to continue recruiting soldiers. Qu Tong had been hiding in the Northwest for so long, and he didn't know what she was up to, which made Ma Long somewhat uneasy.

Suddenly, he caught sight of Wang Ye standing to the side.

Wang Ye was walking casually at the back of the group. He seemed to have become a different person since the start of the competition these past few days.

He neither spoke nor showed his face. Ma Long had paid attention to him several times before, but Wang only said that he was feeling unwell and that it was nothing serious.

But as perceptive as Ma Long was, having spent so much time with Wang Ye, how could he not understand Wang Ye's temperament?

He must have sensed a problem that was difficult to solve, and he couldn't say anything about it.

They couldn't even intervene, and could only keep their worries to themselves.

Wang Ye didn't even notice when Ma Long walked up to him again.

He was clearly preoccupied, but there was nothing Ma Long could do about it.

All I could do was pat him on the shoulder and say, "Try to think positively!"

Don't worry unnecessarily.

"If anything happens, your junior uncle will take care of it for you!"

Wang Ye snapped out of his daze, looked at Ma Long's carefree demeanor, and forced a smile: "Heh!"

Of course you'll have to shoulder the burden.

I'm just an employee; I don't take any risks!