Chapter 28: Let the Bullets Fly for a While

Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Let the Bullets Fly for a While

Wei Mingze left, carrying a bellyful of questions and the sports lottery issuance rules that might just lead to his promotion and sudden wealth.

Soon after, Gongsun Jie asked Li Ye a few more specific questions about the club’s operations before also leaving in a hurry with Cao Bin. He needed to return to his sect to select personnel and prepare for the match five days later.

Zhong Wenhao and his junior sister from the Qingcheng Sect were left behind. Naturally, the Profound Light Sect’s club couldn’t accommodate two outsiders.

"Lord Li, we also want to cultivate with you. We want to join the Fun People Club." With a true bigshot sitting right in front of him, Zhong Wenhao naturally no longer held any expectations for Gongsun Jie. He shamelessly fawned over Li Ye.

"Me too," Zhu Zhirou said eagerly.

"Go back to the Qingcheng Sect!" Li Ye smiled. "The Fun People Club is already full. If you stay here, you won’t even get a chance to take the field. What Spiritual Power cultivation requires is fame. Why don’t you go back, find your master, and hurry to establish the Qingcheng Sect club? With your abilities, even if you can’t make the first team, you can at least be key players on the second team!"

Zhong Wenhao’s eyes lit up. He hastily stood up and bowed to Li Ye. "Thank you for the guidance, Lord Li. We will go back right now and ask our master to establish the Qingcheng Sect club."

Zhu Zhirou glanced at Li Ye, but she still followed behind Zhong Wenhao as they departed. She could tell that Li Ye didn’t care about them at all. Staying here really would mean riding the bench.

Once everyone had left, Shi Xiang and the others gathered around.

Liu Guangsheng looked full of worry. "Lord Li, the Profound Light Sect and the Qingcheng Sect are both prestigious sects with countless Innate Masters. Right now, our Fun People Club only has three Innate Masters besides you. Once we face them, winning will probably be difficult."

"If the odds aren’t high, then practice more." Li Ye swept his gaze over them and scolded, "You have followed me the longest and have the most Spiritual Power in your bodies. Why are you afraid of a few Innate Masters? The weak defeating the strong—if you beat a team full of Innate Masters, your Spiritual Power will grow even faster..."

A single sentence shut everyone up.

"What are you all doing gathered around here? Go practice your football." Li Ye glared at them, waving his hand to shoo everyone out.

After they left, the Team Emblem’s voice rang out in Li Ye’s mind. "Why didn’t you let Wei Mingze establish a club too? If he could experience the Demon Qi, the chances of persuading him would be higher."

"Once a man has no worries about food and clothing, he wants to be an official; once he becomes a high official, he wants to become an Immortal. If we let him experience Spiritual Power, Wei Mingze would focus all his energy on Immortal cultivation, making things much harder to execute." Li Ye smiled. "We need him to be half-believing and half-doubting. Only then will he push this matter forward with all his might. Hui, if we want to get things done, we have to communicate with the people who actually have the final say.

"Besides, what world is made up entirely of clubs? Selecting the best of the best is the only way to truly make football flourish. Hui, you don’t need to think too much about it. I will arrange everything. Just cooperate with me from the shadows."

"Mm," the Team Emblem said. "My Demon Qi is indeed growing. I have a feeling that once your league is successfully held, I will almost be able to break free from the Demon Suppression Tower’s control at any time."

"Hui, what about my Derived Skills? Do you really have no clue at all?" Li Ye curled his lip and asked.

"Derived Skills are just minor tricks. You should focus on improving your strength. Power is everything," the Team Emblem said.

Li Ye scoffed inwardly at the familiar rhetoric.

He could finally see it. A Demon Awakening its sentience was a gradual process. Just a few days ago, this guy had still been a bit ignorant, but now its way of speaking was actually quite similar to his own. It had even learned how to make empty promises. He wondered what was going on and who was truly influencing whom. He suspected that, in the end, it might be the demon that lost its original nature!

However, Li Ye also knew that awakening his Derived Skills would probably depend on himself. Relying on that guy was impossible.

The experts watch the technique, while the laymen watch the spectacle.

Although the first match in Sirius Valley was very short—and could even be called hastily thrown together—the level of excitement was unparalleled. After all, commoners had very little daily entertainment. When had they ever seen brothel women performing live? When had they ever seen Grandmaster Level martial artists fighting, complete with live commentary? Moreover, the Sect Leader of the Profound Light Sect had been knocked out with a massive slap right at the start! Let alone seeing such a thing before, they hadn’t even heard of it!

In every street and alley, everyone was discussing that day’s event in Sirius Valley, discussing the founder of the Fun People Club, Lord Li, and his Divine Dragon Tail Swing.

Unlike Shi Xiang, the Peerless Twin, the common folk spontaneously gave Li Ye a nickname: the "Divine Dragon Hand."

The gambling houses were very crafty. They didn’t mention refunding money at all. With a wave of their hands, they pushed the wager’s outcome to five days later and even set up new bets. Unlike the previous one-sided betting on Gongsun Jie, his mighty image had been shattered by Li Ye’s two slaps. Now, more people placed their bets on the Fun People Club.

What had happened on the field during the first football match in Sirius Valley gradually spread to neighboring towns through traveling merchants, further expanding the Fun People Club’s fame. People in the surrounding towns of Zhenjiang and Fu’an also began discussing this so-called football match. Many curious individuals even made a special trip to Weining City just to watch the official match between the Fun People Club and the Profound Light Sect up close.

Because it involved the Profound Light Sect, people in the Martial World were even more interested. Although it sounded absurd—as if someone were deliberately fabricating stories about the Profound Light Sect—many Martial World figures still rushed to Weining City to find out the truth. Of course, there were also martial artists familiar with the Profound Light Sect who went directly to the sect to ask Gongsun Jie what had happened.

As a result, they saw Gongsun Jie leading a group of sect Elders and disciples in practicing football right inside the sect, having the time of their lives. This scene immediately made everyone’s jaws drop. However, unable to get any answers out of Gongsun Jie, they hurriedly left in bewilderment, returning to their Master’s Sects to report this bizarre occurrence.

Meanwhile, rumors that the football league was an Immortal Cultivation Method were also secretly spreading among the common folk. But in this ancient era without video broadcasting, and where Spiritual Power lacked any concrete visual manifestation, such claims were simply too outlandish. Whether they were people of the Martial Arts World or ordinary citizens, they only laughed it off upon hearing it, not believing a single word.

Five days was neither short nor long.

The construction of Sirius Valley was still ongoing. Thanks to the growing fame of the Fun People Club, the Demon Qi within Shi Xiang and the others had advanced further, increasing their Skill Level significantly as well. Every one of them became even more excited while practicing football.

Since the other two streams of Demon Qi hadn’t come looking for him, Li Ye naturally wasn’t going to go out of his way to cause trouble. But he wasn’t idle, either. He wrote one spectator invitation after another and had people deliver them to the prestigious Three Sects and Five Schools, inviting them to watch the match between the Fun People Club and the Profound Light Sect.

Naturally, he also mentioned in the letters his idea for each sect to establish a club and participate in the league. Li Ye knew that unless he let the Knights of these traditional sects witness the wonders of Spiritual Power with their own eyes, they probably wouldn’t take his letters seriously. However, preparations had to be made in advance. By laying all the groundwork now, his future endeavors would yield twice the result with half the effort.

While all the pre-match preparations were being frantically organized, Wei Mingze’s memorial finally reached the imperial court, landing squarely upon the desk of the Emperor of the Great Chu Country.