Chapter 494 - 493: A Martial Arts Opponent Worthy of Exception

After leaving the airport, they boarded a shuttle bus.

Only once she sat down did Xiao Linger finally let out a sigh of relief. She glanced at Fenric beside her, her expression tinged with reproach.

"Fenric, I’m starting to regret becoming your assistant for this competition!" she complained, half in jest.

Fenric could tell she was just venting, trying to lighten the weight on her heart.

He himself could endure the criticism and ridicule hurled at him online, but Xiao Linger wasn’t as indifferent. Fenric could clearly see the pressure she had been under these past few weeks.

The worst came when she used her own account to defend him, declaring online that he wasn’t staging fake matches. That act drew the fury of frenzied netizens, who bombarded her with vicious insults.

Some went further, launching a human-flesh search to dig up her real information and socially destroy her.

If her grandfather, Old Xiao, hadn’t intervened—using his influence to suppress the troublemakers—Xiao Linger’s identity would have been completely exposed.

Fenric gave her a small smile. "I’ve really put you through a lot these days. But I promise you, in this national final, I’ll fight with twenty-seven different variations—brilliantly enough to prove your words true. Would that be enough for you?"

Her eyes immediately brightened.

"Really?" She leaned closer, suspicion laced in her voice. "You’re not just saying that to cheer me up, are you?"

By now, Xiao Linger vaguely understood how terrifying Fenric’s strength truly was. During the provincial competition, one of the participants had just advanced to Grandmaster—yet he couldn’t withstand even a single finger strike from Fenric.

"It’s true," Fenric said with an easy smile. "And this time, I even have an opponent worth adapting my style for."

"Eh?" Xiao Linger blinked in surprise.

An opponent that could make Fenric take things seriously? Even a newly advanced Grandmaster had fallen like paper before him.

"Who?" she asked eagerly.

Fenric slowly spoke the name: "Tang Zichen."

"Tang Zichen?"

Xiao Linger immediately recalled the details she had studied. To better serve as his assistant, she had done her homework thoroughly.

Tang Zichen was a young woman barely over twenty, without any renowned family background. Before entering the competition, she was practically unknown. It was her surprising performance in the provincial rounds that first drew attention.

Yet her greatest source of fame wasn’t her martial skill, but her stunning appearance and ethereal temperament. Admirers online had crowned her "Fairy Tang."

Thinking of this, Xiao Linger frowned slightly.

Although Tang Zichen had done well in her matches, her strength wasn’t extraordinary. At least compared to the seeded champions, she seemed weaker.

And yet, Fenric was taking her seriously?

"Fenric, based on everything I’ve found, this Fairy Tang isn’t that powerful. Judging from her fights, she hasn’t even broken into the Grandmaster realm. Why would you think so highly of her?" She hesitated, then asked half-teasingly, "Don’t tell me it’s just because she’s beautiful, and you plan to go easy on her?"

Fenric blinked at the accusation, then chuckled. "You’re overthinking. Beauty alone isn’t enough to make me pull punches. Her lackluster performances so far are because she’s holding back. Once she unleashes her true strength, she’ll astonish everyone."

"And how exactly do you know that?"

Fenric only smiled in silence. Of course, he couldn’t reveal the real reason—that he knew the plot.

In the original storyline, Tang Zichen was a pivotal supporting character with astonishing hidden strength. She hailed from a mysterious faction and had entered the martial arts conference both to prove herself and to contend for leadership within her clan.

Fenric remembered well: if events played out unchanged, Tang Zichen would end up taking the world championship trophy.

But with him here, could she still claim it?

The bus rolled to a stop at a luxurious five-star hotel.

Fenric took the elevator to the seventeenth floor, entered his room, and walked to the window. Through the glass, he gazed at a colossal structure in the distance.

It resembled a "bird’s nest" stadium—but many times larger, dwarfing ordinary arenas.

This was the venue for the national finals. Tomorrow, competitors from across the nation would battle for supremacy within its walls.

Fenric’s eyes lingered on the grand edifice, but his mind wasn’t on tomorrow’s matches.

Instead, he thought of another matter—the unsolved mystery of this body’s father’s death.

Half a month had passed with no real progress. It wasn’t for lack of effort; Zohyan had mobilized all his connections to help investigate. But the killer seemed to have appeared from thin air and then vanished just as suddenly.

The only tangible clue came from the autopsy: the victim had been slain with a claw technique.

But claw techniques weren’t rare. Narrowing down a culprit from that was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Fenric sighed inwardly. For now, he had no choice but to set it aside. Between training and the tournament, he couldn’t spare the time to pursue it further.

"Ding-dong."

His phone chimed, pulling him from his thoughts.

It was a text message from Xiao Linger:

Fenric, rest early and do well in tomorrow’s match!

A small smile touched his lips. She was in the room right next to his.

He set the phone down without replying. After half a month together, he could sense that her attitude toward him had changed.

But Fenric didn’t dwell on it.

To him, this world was just a passing stop. Once his mission was complete, he would leave. As for matters of romance—he simply didn’t have the luxury of time.