[Primeval Forest Safe Zone]
"Phew..."
Chen Kong and Liu Ma leaned against a large tree, heavily catching their breath.
After making sure they had completely shaken off the Tyrant Wyvern, Chen Kong immediately pulled open the collar of his tracksuit, revealing his sweat-drenched chest. At the same time, he didn't forget to reach up and pull at the hair on his head. Several strands of scorched hair stuck to his fingertips, snapping off with a pull, making him wince in heartache.
"Vivian! That last shot of yours was way too close!"
Chen Kong held the scorched hair up to Vivian, his voice full of accusation.
"This hairstyle cost me five hundred yuan! It's only been a few days, and you've roasted it into dry straw!"
Vivian looked up at Chen Kong's hair and calmly said, "It didn't scorch your scalp. Consider yourself lucky."
Liu Ma, standing beside them, let out a chuckle, then pulled out an old water flask from his backpack, twisted the cap, and took several large gulps. Wiping his mouth with his sleeve, he added insult to injury to Chen Kong: "Kong, be content! If that guy's tail had been a little further off, you wouldn't be standing here worrying about your hair."
Having finished speaking, Liu Ma looked at the pocket watch around Vivian's neck and asked curiously, "Speaking of which, Vivian, this pocket watch of yours is quite interesting. It must be quantum scaling technology, right? When did you master it? I've never seen you use it before."
"I mastered it not long ago. It used to be too bulky; I converted it into a pocket watch to make it portable."
Vivian unreservedly handed the pocket watch over, letting Liu Ma observe it himself.
Liu Ma took the 'pocket watch' with some curiosity and opened the cover.
As the camera zoomed in, all the dimensional viewers outside the screen could clearly see the watch's design. The pocket watch had intricate patterns, and inside, there was a miniature cannon model. The overall piece was as exquisite as a work of art, making it impossible to tell that it was actually a deadly weapon.
Just as the three were chatting, a whooshing sound came from overhead.
A silver-grey patrol airship flew low over their heads, bearing the unique Five-Beast emblem of the Martial Arts Capital on its fuselage.
Without any hesitation, Liu Ma stood up decisively and said, "Let's go. The Martial Arts Capital patrol is here. If we don't leave soon, we'll be subjected to endless questioning."
Vivian and Chen Kong nodded, then followed Liu Ma toward the gigantic city above their heads.
At the same time, the camera view began to elevate.
The closer the trio got to the Martial Arts Capital, the more they could feel its sheer size. The massive floating city resembled a continent suspended in a sea of clouds. Not only were the high towers on it neatly arranged, but the central Heavenly Martial Kylin Tower soared straight into the sky, seemingly blocking most of the sunlight.
In front of this colossal city, let alone Chen Kong and the others, even the towering Tyrant Wyvern from a moment ago seemed as tiny as an ant.
This was one of the New Federation's seven most important floating cities, a place where the martial arts spirit thrived: the Martial Arts Capital.
[Martial Arts Capital, White Tiger District, A Hotel Under the Qianxia Group]
Tinkle!
With the crisp sound of wind chimes at the entrance, Liu Ma and the others pushed open the hotel door.
Instantly, a warm blast of heat mixed with a faint tea fragrance rushed towards them.
The hotel was not large. A few wooden tables and chairs were set up in the lobby, and charcoal burned in the hearth in the corner, crackling softly. Behind the counter, a middle-aged man was lazily brewing tea while watching an old-fashioned television set. His sleeves were rolled up to his forearms, and a thin layer of calluses covered his hands, a sign that he was clearly trained in martial arts.
"Hello, we'd like one single room and one double room."
Liu Ma said, pulling out his Qianxia Group employee ID and handing it over. Although he was currently on vacation, he couldn't get a full reimbursement for his travel expenses. However, his Qianxia Group employee ID still allowed him to receive a substantial discount at properties under the Qianxia Group—a benefit for internal employees.
The owner took Liu Ma's ID, verified it, and began to process the check-in registration for the three of them. A moment later, he handed two room cards across the counter and looked at the trio curiously. "You must be here to participate in this Martial Arts Tournament, too, right?"
"Martial Arts Tournament?"
Chen Kong was momentarily stunned, his hand for receiving the room card suspended in the air.
Liu Ma patted his shoulder and explained, "It's the Starry Firmament Ladder Ranking Competition, but people here just like to call it the Martial Arts Tournament, because it sounds more epic."
"That's right."
The hotel owner showed a broad smile, indicating that Liu Ma's explanation was correct.
"Oh, I see."
Hearing Liu Ma's explanation, Chen Kong instantly understood.
Just as Chen Kong was about to take the room card and leave to get some rest before acquiring enough Martial Arts Badges, he noticed that Vivian seemed to be drawn to something. She was staring at the screen in the corner of the lobby, her gaze focused, having forgotten to even take her room card.
"What's wrong, Vivian? What are you looking at?"
Chen Kong leaned his head over, following her gaze.
The screen displayed a special ranking list, with the title 'Heavenly Human Ranking' written in large characters and the Heavenly Martial Kylin Tower as the background image. He squinted and watched for a while, quickly spotting many familiar names among the list of three hundred people.
"Hey! Isn't that Chen Xing? And Liu Li and Caroline! Why do they have so many badges?"
[NO.1 Name Hidden · Identity Unknown]
[Number of Martial Arts Badges: 99]
[NO.2 Chen Xing · Blazing Sun Family]
[Number of Martial Arts Badges: 96]
[NO.3 Jing Liu Li · Frost Tone Family]
[Number of Martial Arts Badges: 95]
[NO.4 Caroline · General Association President's Disciple]
[Number of Martial Arts Badges: 94]
[NO.5 Ye Shen Lin · Moon Shadow Family]
[Number of Martial Arts Badges: 90]
Looking at the double-digit number of Martial Arts Badges next to these familiar names, Chen Kong was surprised. "That's odd. Didn't they say you only need seven Martial Arts Badges to participate in the Starry Firmament Ladder Ranking Competition? Why did Liu Li and the others gather so many Martial Arts Badges?"
"Young man, is this your first time in the Martial Arts Capital?"
Before Liu Ma could give an explanation, the owner behind the counter spoke up.
Chen Kong nodded, indicating that he had just arrived at the Martial Arts Capital and didn't know much about the place.
In response, the hotel owner simply took on the role of commentator.
"That's because the more Martial Arts Badges you have, the more places you can access within the central Heavenly Martial Kylin Tower, and the more Heavenly Martial Coins you can earn."
Heavenly Martial Kylin Tower?
Heavenly Martial Coins?
Hearing these two previously unheard-of terms, Chen Kong, just like the dimensional viewers on Site B, showed a puzzled expression.
Seeing this, Liu Ma explained, "The Kylin Tower is the central high tower we saw outside just now."
"And Heavenly Martial Coins are the special currency unique to the Heavenly Martial Kylin Tower, only usable within the Kylin Tower."
Chen Kong asked curiously, "What can these Heavenly Martial Coins buy?"
"Buy what?"
Liu Ma spoke with a yearning tone, as if he had heard a joke. "They can buy anything you can imagine, and many things you can't."
"Not to mention, there are many things you won't even hear about outside the Kylin Tower."
Hearing this, Chen Kong thought for a moment and said, "In that case, it looks like we'll have to strive to acquire more Martial Arts Badges too."
"Pfft!"
Just as Chen Kong finished speaking, the hotel owner couldn't help but laugh, his eyes full of playful amusement. Meanwhile, Liu Ma wore a strange expression, as if Chen Kong had said something very naive.
In response, Chen Kong looked at the two in confusion, not understanding what was wrong with his statement.
"Kong, the way to acquire Martial Arts Badges is different from what you think."
This time, it was Vivian who spoke.
"Is it difficult?"
Looking at Kong, who knew nothing about the Martial Arts Capital, Vivian finally offered an explanation that he could relatively understand.
"You can think of it as... the acquisition of every Martial Arts Badge means you have mastered the corresponding martial arts style associated with that badge to a proficient level, and have thus received recognition from the tower guardian of the corresponding Martial Arts Tower."
"Ah?"
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