Chapter 377: This Is Very Bad

"Mrs. Baihezi, breaking into a private residence is a crime—and why are you dressed like a female sky‑thief? If you really intend to steal, please wear clothes that allow movement—like sportswear." Bai Lang crossed his arms and said offhand. The woman got up, her face showing fear—Bai Lang knew it was all a sham! Now she shuffled over, trembling, looking exactly like a woman caught stealing…

Bai Lang instantly saw through her heart, liver, spleen, lungs and kidneys; he knew exactly what scheme was brewing in her belly. "Addicted to role‑playing, huh?!" he sighed. "Think of your happy family, madam! You really can't keep going like this!"

The next day Bai Lang decided to disappear for a while—Yuri's midnight taxi ride home and the morning entanglements with Taozi and Ban Tian were starting to bother him. "Sigh, I'm a martial artist, not a walking massage robot!" So Bai Lang slipped away, leaving Ban Tian and the others in the house, and headed off to soak in a hot spring.

Using the hot spring to relax the mind and soothe the muscles was a nice treat. Bai Lang's team had already qualified, and now they only had to wait a month or two for the finals—by then they'd be flying worldwide, and the venues would be varied. "Speaking of this world, besides Japan I haven't been elsewhere; this time I can tour around while competing in the so‑called King of Combat tournament."

Bai Lang had once visited the world after the Ming Dynasty's White Jade Pillar, which also had a martial league, but now the world's power limits seemed much lower—at least in some aspects. Physically the gap wasn't huge, but the world's tolerance for waves was far greater. He realized the original world was mainly made of "concepts"; how concepts are counted is probably a matter of personal judgment, though there must be some rules.

Soaking in an open‑air hot spring, Bai Lang cleared his thoughts—things like "hot‑spring maid AVI" will never happen, and mixed‑gender bathing now only exists in a few rural Japanese springs. The attendants never go to places where opposite sexes bathe, so the "scene" remains just a scene. This spring is a genuine volcanic geothermal spring; the mist carries a sulfur scent, and the roughly forty‑degree temperature is perfect.

The spring water isn't crystal clear; it has a faint white hue. Bai Lang, with his short hair and clean‑shaven face, sat in the pool while the water around him constantly formed vortex‑like ripples. He flexed his muscles, creating a strong undercurrent that also extended the flow of Qi, making everything more effortless. The feeling of being undisturbed was great, and Bai Lang steadied himself—he couldn't let Dong Jing stay hot any longer.

"That White Jade Pillar wasn't like this at all; it's the world's fault!" Bai Lang muttered, sighing repeatedly. Twenty minutes later he got out, dried off, put on a robe, grabbed a bottle of cocoa milk from the fridge, and chugged it in one gulp. "Refreshing!" He then grabbed a dozen beers, some snacks, and walked back to his reserved room. He would spend three days of vacation there, and of course he left his teammates a business card with his address and phone number.

Sure enough, the annoying fairy showed up the next day. "Is it really okay not to deal with Mr. Teng Tian Gang? His hospital situation looks serious; he still hasn't been discharged." Bai Lang had to hurry Taozi over to Teng Tian Gang—after all, she was his wife, and Taozi truly loved him. Ban Tian was a different story; the girl's grades were average, and now she was attached to Bai Lang, so she also stopped going to school—no big deal, she already received over 200 million after‑tax cash from her contract fees—seems she could live a whole life carefree.

The woman probably thought this was a honeymoon, but she could only go eat Taozi… Bai Lang had no extra interest in fooling around—after the hot spring he became much more serious.

The hot‑spring inn had internet and TV; the three‑round group stage was finished, the qualifiers had emerged, and the final qualifying spot would be decided among three second‑place teams—this showdown would be exciting. It's a round‑robin: each team fights the other two once, the winner advances, the loser eats dust. The result was that after Bai Lang returned to his new house, the Martial Artist Wandatu Team, with two martial artists, secured the last qualifying slot.

Four teams—the Bai Lang Team, the Martial Artist Wandatu Team, the Sky Team, and the Extreme Intent Flow Team—will represent Ri Ben in the King of Combat. But the team that Japanese people truly see as the Japanese team is actually the Kusanagi Team, composed of Kusanagi Jing, Er Jie Tang Hong Wan, and Da Men Wu Lang. This time the King of Combat finals will feature sixty‑four teams, starting in a month and completing all matches over three months.

"Next up is a feast of combat! Everyone guess why the King of Combat is being suspended again this time?" The host's hoarse shout echoed on TV, and outside the Western‑style building, combat fans held signs. After qualifying, Bai Lang gained a batch of fans because of his "toughness" and his highly recognizable aerial techniques that are almost identical to those of famous martial artists.

As for accusing Bai Lang of "plagiarism," stop it—this is a martial artist's world; you can learn another's finishing move at a glance, that's pure talent! Moreover, the moves Bai Lang uses are no worse than the originals… and a martial artist's "plagiarism" isn't plagiarism at all; it's borrowing! Raging Wind Fist isn't only used by Ji Si Huo Wa De, and Caesar Wave isn't exclusive to Ke Lao Sa's finishing move…

"Angry Giant Wave"—that's one of Bai Lang's fan nicknames. Using that as a hook, a video‑game company actually approached him for a promo clip and wanted to use his image for character design. "What? A new generation of Romance of the Three Kingdoms? Or a Three Kingdoms Warriors? They all want my likeness?" The licensing fee made his heart race. He has a heroic, traditionally East‑Asian classical male aesthetic—broad brows, star‑like eyes, a dignified appearance.

"Um… Lu Bu?" Bai Lang hesitated; that three‑surname slave doesn't seem ideal. "How about sticking on a fake beard and playing Guan Er Ye? Oh—eyes too big and bright for Guan Er Ye." In the end, Bai Lang just put on a papier‑mâché painted armor, held a plastic‑resin Fangtian Huaji, filmed a series of short clips, and provided the studio with multi‑angle 3D models.

"Finally, someone who isn't just a brother comes to cut me down…" Bai Lang said, touching his bank card with a sigh.