Translator:Radiant TranslationsEditor:Radiant Translations

Laura nodded her head in agreement and replied, “My sunglasses too, I don’t know who had grabbed it off me.”

Exchanging glances, both of them could not help but chuckle heartily.

This was a different kind of feeling.

This was unlike the free-flowing emotions he had with Carolyn in that little dormitory room, yet felt more natural, comfortable. And of course, there was no lack of the throbbing of youthful hormonal pulsations.

As for Laura, all of these were novelties. In the face of the large streets and massive amounts of people, she had even felt feel a sense of security when Wang Zhong had grabbed hold of her hand.

To this big miss from the Potter Family, a sense of security was something that she originally possessed every single time of the day.

However, the sense of security was a completely different “sense of security” that Wang Zhong had provided when he had held her hand in that crowd.

The rush of excitement, body numbing feeling, as well as the intense feeling of being protected, while feeling safe for handing herself over to this person’s hands. It were those feelings that Laura had never seen before.

That sweetness, so unforgettable, and so bewitching.

“Wang Zhong.”

“Yes?”

“Thanks.” Laura said with a happy smile. “Also, all the best!”

The girl raised her head and blinked towards, her intensely pounding heart causing her to blush, while her chest heaved slightly in response. At this moment, Laura was so beautiful there was nothing that could compare to her. In fact, there was even some anticipation in her heart. However, Wang Zhong did not make any actions to further their relationship, causing her to feel slightly disappointed. Naturally, with a great battle dawning upon him, Laura could understand that this wasn’t the time for him to delve into boy-girl relationships.

Calm, carefree and relaxed. Ever since the start of the CHF, it had already been a while since he had relaxed this much. This was especially true after the arrival of the old Potter and old Greene at the villa, which caused Wang Zhong to feel even more joyful.

The semifinals that would start in a few days didn’t bring about any nervous atmosphere for Wang Zhong. In his words, there was no use for any last minute training before the impending match. On the contrary, adjusting one’s mental attitude and state of mind was the best way to welcome a fight.

While everyone relaxed, Scarlet and Emily have recovered considerably quick. Despite suffering serious injuries in the previous match, Barran had received the best medical care, which allowed him to best possible chance to recover. In reality, his injuries weren’t as severe as everyone had thought. Indeed, Gui Xinying had shown mercy in her attacks. Naturally, it was due to this that Wang Zhong had to show mercy. If not, Gui Hao would have really turned into a ghost by now.

Grai and Wang Zhong runic research were still ongoing. Although their combination subwoofer cannon was extremely shocking, that was only due to it the element of surprise. By itself, this technique possessed quite a few loopholes. However, the Old Potter just so happened to be nearby, and was extremely interested to join in. Nevertheless, it was a pity that this comfortable peace didn’t last for too long.

Early into the next morning, the organization committee sent over an urgent order for Wang Zhong and Ma Dong to report at the CHF organization’s main hall.

Initially, Ma Dong was extremely excited at the presumed prospect of being able to put their next opponents for the semifinals. However, upon pushing open the doors of the CHF organization’s great hall, he could immediately feel that something was amidst in the atmosphere within.

At this, the discussion table was already filled with people. Other than Mo Wen, Vladimir and Carolyn, who had brought the mainstay members of their squadrons, the 4 great committee members as well as the chairwoman, Long Mei’er were present. However, to Ma Dong and Wang Zhong was that Zhao Yilong was actually present in here. Frankly speaking, after getting eliminated from the CHF, there should be nothing else for the Zhao Family left in here.

The hum of discussions reverberated across the great hall, while abald middle-aged guy was sent saliva spewing in all directions as he gave an account to everyone. Upon seeing Wang Zhong and Ma Dong walk in, the middle-aged man halted in his words, while the entire place turned silent as everyone raised their heads, Zhao Zimo had even sent a faint smile towards Wang Zhong.

“Hu…”

However, before Wang Zhong and Ma Dong could regain their senses, the bald middle-aged male shouted emotionally: “That’s him! That’s him! That’s the shameless thief, that scumbag thief! I beseech on the organization committee to immediately ade in the search to regain stolen property, which also expelling these shameless thieves! You cannot let these black sheep into a glorious stage like the CHF! That’s basically bare naked tarnish and disdain! At the same time, I’ll officially report this theft as a criminal lawsuit to the Federation’s Parliament!”

Thief? Steal?

The entire meeting room turned silent, with everyone being able to hear his laboured breathing from the earlier indignant vocal rampage. Mo Wen, Carolyn and Vladimir did not show any opinions about this matter It was extremely clear that this was a collaboration between the Gui and Zhao Families, and everyone knew that they wouldn’t give up that easily. Although they did not dare to take direct due to the involvement of various other powers in this matter, if they were able to make Wang Zhong expelled from the Federation, and thereby eliminating Tianjing from the CHF, the heavy blow that would occur was more than sufficient to force any genius into collapse. After all, the Casted Soul Stage was the most important growth period in one’s life.

Long Mei’er and the organizing committee members present here did not utter a single word in response. Although they had shown their good impressions of Tianjing, not a single person said a single word as they waited quietly for Wang Zhong’s reply. By the side, Zhao Yilong’s gaze was impossible to unravel, while the bald middle aged guy would occasionally exchange glances with him.

Wang Zhong and Ma Dong had a deep impression to this Zhao Family armed forces “strategist”.

Looks like he had come over here with malicious intent.

Wang Zhong gave a faint smile, showing not any other bit of emotion on his face in the process. In front of him, Carolyn and the others were also focused on his face, with them seemingly surprised at how calm the latter was.

Beside him, Ma Dong had already pointed to his own nose while saying, “This mister, are you talking to us?”

“Could it be that you’re admitting your crimes?” asked the bald middle-aged guy with a sneer.

“No, that’s utterly not the question.” replied Ma Dong with a smile as he waved his hands. “Firstly, I would like to know which rock you have squirmed out from under. Do you know that slander is a criminal offence?”

Having controlled the territorial expansion of his family for a period of time, our president Ma had already gained the air of an authoritative figure. Although he might not reveal it before his friends, he naturally was able to impose a sense of dignity when circumstances required him to.

Taking a step forward, his domineering aura instantly caused the bald middle-aged guy to feel his scalp turn slightly numb. “I just want to let you know that slander is a serious criminal offence, and your slander will have extremely serious consequences. Do you know that with Tianjing’s current status, the soldiers coming out from Tianjing will become the pillar stones of the Federation? Do you know what kind of damage your slander can lead to? Do, you, know?”

The bald middle-aged guy gulped his saliva down, as he was almost stunned into silence by the sudden burst of domineering aura radiating from this youth’s body.

“Ha ha, Ma Dong. There’s no need for such exaggeration. I’m just speaking about the current matter. There’s no need for any threats in here.”

“Oh, who are you? We the 4 semifinalists are discussing matters. Ah, could it be that the Divine Dragon squadron has become one of the semifinalists?” said Ma Dong in an exaggerated tone. If the former wants to unleash something sinister,he would gladly accompany him. He usually doesn’t go out to harm idiots. However, since the other party wanted to end him, Ma Dong would no longer maintain his courtesy, and would also definitely not stop at just a few ridiculing sentences.

Zhao Zimo gave a faint smile before replying, “Don’t get agitated. Just as you’ve said, our Zhao Family is also one of the people eliminated from this CHF. Naturally, I’ve been entrusted by captain Gui Hao to be his representative over this matter. If Tianjing violates the rules, they will be disqualified, and be replaced by the Gui Family for the semifinals. Director Marina, please give a rundown of the situation.”

In the face of Zhao Zimo’s calm tone coupled with the big figures, what can a mere Ma Dong account to anything? This change cause Marino to calm himself down and clear his throat, while alleviating the imposing and pressurizing aura that Ma Dong had radiated.

“I’m Alpha City’s museum director Marino, and the legendary and precious Laforgue Infinite Slash Crosswheels were precisely stolen from our museum. This matter had caused a huge commotion when it happened a year ago, and had also become turned into an unsolved case in the Federation. That was all till Wang Zhong displayed in on the CHF competition stage, which I immediately recognized. However, it had taken too long of a time to make an accurate confirmation and head to Stuart City, and this had led to so many unfair fights. The Laforgue Infinite Slash Crosswheels is one of the most valuable spiritual inheritances our Federation have from the glorious civilization, and are also evidence of our history! They’re the treasures of our Federation! However, they were stolen by this little thief, and were even used without any shame before the public…naturally, if not for him bringing them out, even I would not know where to find the stolen treasure from our museum! The heavens really have eyes!”

Marino’s articulation grew increasingly quick, with him turning exceedingly emotional in the process.

Long Mei’er looked towards Wang Zhong and Ma Dong before saying, “Do you two have anything to say?”

In response, Ma Dong gave a faint smile and replied, “There’re thousands of replica cross wheels present in the world. Are you sure that you used to possess the genuine one?”

“Ah, I knew it! You 2 want to shift the blame!” said Marino with a sneer. “Our museum has had the Laforgue Infinite Slash Crosswheels for a couple of decades! I know every single detail of it at the back of my head! I will be able to identify it even if I turn into dust! Furthermore, our museum has records of everything in our collection! If you want, you can bring it out to make a comparison! How can a mere replica compare to them!”

“As for the intricacies of their runic engravement and 5 indentations…” he proceeded to pull a thick set of documents, before saying a large string of numbers sufficient to cause everyone to turn dizzy. He finally wrapped up by saying: “You better not say that I’m slandering you, as these statistics were already recorded during the thief last year. These are the official documents on the records on that. There are thousands of cross wheel replicas out there in the world. However, not a single one of them have the same exact numbers as the ones I’ve just said! If any of you doubt my eyesight, you can just ask this little thief to hand over hisLaforgue Infinite Slash Crosswheels and immediately compare them to those numbers! In fact, you can immediately find if any replicas are able to have such similar numerical statistics!”

In the face of such detailed statistics, coupled with such overbearing words, the noisy hum within the hall disappeared, replaced with absolute silence.

Frankly speaking, even Wang Zhong did not have such a detailed understanding of the cross wheels he was using, as such statistics were really hard to ascertain without a detailed inspection. Nevertheless, the other party definitely have absolute confidence to dare to bring up such statistics in this formal discussion.

In the current laws of the Federation, anything concerning the known divine weapons would absolutely constitute a serious offense.

“Direction Marino had found me yesterday, and thus I brought him over to the committee.” Finally, it was Zhao Yilong that broke the silence. With a smile, he continued speaking, ” However, I only want to ask captain Wang Zhong for the honest truth. Do you think it would be any good if rumours of this gets out in the public? Compared to that, this is a good thing. Therefore, would Captain Wang Zhong please take out your cross wheels for inspection and verification? With such detailed statistics, it should be extremely easy to reach an outcome. If there’s anything that doesn’t add up, I believe that the rumours then would naturally be automatically squashed without any further effort needed.”

A frown appeared on Wang Zhong’s face upon hearing this. Indeed, Ma Dong had gifted him an antique set of cross wheels to use. Having used all the way till now, he was definitely able to tell that these were the real Laforgue Infinite Slash Crosswheels. This whole matter would become troublesome if the other party was able to grasp hold of this. From the looks of it, his enemies had come here prepared, with the Zhao Family definitely being the ones that had pulled that museum director over. He felt that his victory had caused the Zhao and Gui Families to feel unhappy, yet never expected for them to go to such far lengths to deal with him.

With a faint smile on his face, Zhao Zimo proceeded to sized Wang Zhong up. Perhaps the latter was able to fight. However, there were many things in this world that cannot be dealt with using strength. Those with intellect could find a hundred and one ways to kill one. At this moment, the other 3 squadrons present here remained extremely quiet. Everyone present could clearly see that this was a conspiracy, with Wang Zhong’s enemies had managed to grasp hold of the origins of the former’s cross wheels. Although this was a slightly despicable way to deal with him, the Freedom Federation was always run like that. This was already much better than the order areas of the world.

Long Mei’er didn’t immediately open her mouth to speak, and so did the 4 other head judges. All of them were extremely clear about how serious this matter was, as well as Tianjing’s critical importance to this current CHF. It was all to clear that this was the Zhao and Gui Families venting their anger, with them doing so without being able to gain any benefit at all even if they were to succeed. However, even the 5 of them weren’t going to recklessly offend the Gui and Zhao Families without gaining a clearer picture of the entire situation.

As a frown appeared on Ma Dong’s face, he looked towards Zhao Yilong and said, “There’s no need for that much trouble. You’re assuming that the one we’re using is the one that was stolen. It’s based on it that you’re assuming that it was us who had stolen it. According to the baldy’s information, their cross wheels have been missing for over a decade. During then, I and Wang Zhong were still kids, with me not even knowing where Alpha City was.”

With a laugh, Zhao Zimo replied, “Ha ha, that’s true. However, the question is that you 2 definitely have some connection to this. Who knows if the Assassin Family was the one behind this matter!”

He’s trying to implicate everyone, and even wanted to drag the Assassin Family into this matter, with the intent of accusing them of being the masterminds of the theft, before giving it to Ma Dong, who then proceeded to lend it to Wang Zhong. In all, the Zhao and Gui Families wanted to involve every one of their target into this matter.

Marino smiled in response. He was seeking riches in the midst of danger. What’s more, he wasn’t in much danger, as he was only just hanging on the Gui Family’s legs, and that was enough to allow him a meteoric rise in status. From what Zhao Zimo said, once this matter was over, he would be able to become Alpha City’s speaker within 3 years! That was a way, way massive rise from a mere museum director.

Clearly, their goal for to force Ma Dong and Tianjing into a dead end. Ma Dong had bought his cross wheels from the black market, which was in reality control by a few large families, with the final controller being the Zhao Family. Therefore, it was extremely easy for Zhao Zimo to easily find this weakness, which also goes to show how considerably formidable the Zhao Family was. Truthfully speaking, all that information about the cross wheels were useless before Wang Zhong used them in the CHF. In fact, it would be a waste to even consider this into the factor. However, after the show of god-like might by Wang Zhong, the entire matter about them had completely changed.

Eliminating Tianjing, as well as giving a beating to Assassin. The Assassin Family had been extremely active in Tianjing, and once Tianjing squadron’s momentum reaching sky high levels, the Assassin Family would have great opportunity to raise in status, with them definitely being able to threaten the Zhao Family in the future. Although they would still not be able to reach the level of the Zhao Family, any threat to them would be sufficient to warrant the execution of a complete slaughter and removal.

Even though Ma Dong had bought the cross wheels from the black market, Zhao Zimo was still able to find ways of manipulating the matter. Things like rumours were able trigger the dark side of people’s hearts, especially with an extremely good bedding in the form of the Assassin Family. Who would have guessed that Ma Dong was just a small figure during the time when he had bought the cross wheels, with the sole intent of it being to purchase a souvenir for Wang Zhong?

On the side of the participants, the faces of Carolyn and the others were still devoid of expression. In reality, they were also participants of this matter, yet did not open their mouths. This wasn’t a fight, but a struggle of benefits between the great families. No one wanted to offend the Gui and Zhao Families just for the sake of Wang Zhong. The most outspoken person for this matter was Noriba, and he only spoke a bit about this. Nevertheless, he was silenced with a glare from Pomo. At this moment, even with his sub genius level intellect, Noriba knew that this wasn’t the time to blurt out nonsense.