Chapter 394: Watching the Battle

Bai Lang's injuries were already about seventy‑plus percent healed during the ten‑plus hours flying back to Ri Ben; they were just a concussion, internal organ shock, and muscle strains, bruises and sprains, and all he needed was to seriously practice a few sets of fists, letting Internal Force circulate through his whole body to reforge the Golden Bell Shield, and basically he would be fine.

The power of the Southern Dipper White Tiger Fist doesn't really heal wounds, but the Internal Force of the Golden Bell Shield is immensely robust, so using it for this purpose is somewhat appropriate. Interestingly, in this world heavily restricted, the strength of the Thirteen Tai Bao Golden Bell Shield that should have been completely devoured by the Southern Dipper Sacred Fist actually resurfaced within the vigor of the Southern Dipper Sacred Fist.

These days Bai Lang occasionally recalls this martial path, wondering how in an ordinary modern world a martial art described as being as mighty as a bodhisattva or Buddha after breaking the Thirteen Barriers could appear, and that it can actually be practiced, with only Bai Lang, who has cultivated Internal Force, truly able to enter it.

Could it be that a "person" deliberately placed it there... The ability of this placed one is probably far from ordinary. So the supernatural aspect of this martial art is also normal—although his master gave him the Southern Dipper Sacred Fist and the Arhat King‑Fist, he originally thought the Southern Dipper White Tiger Fist had devoured the Golden Bell Shield, but now it seems the Golden Bell Shield has been operating in the deepest layer all along, becoming the foundation of the Southern Dipper White Tiger Fist.

"So that's it..." At this moment Bai Lang no longer ponders who devoured whom; the Golden Bell Shield and the White Tiger Fist are all his own martial skills, something only he can wield. In short, don't overthink what the technique is—just use it—because the Golden Bell Shield is the White Tiger Fist, and the White Tiger Fist is the Golden Bell Shield.

Poor Arhat King‑Fist...

On the plane Bai Lang's whole body was clank‑clank noisy, the three women were all dealt with, at least they wouldn't bother him much. Yasuda Yuko is a pervert, and Bai Lang has confirmed that—there's no doubt she both enjoys abusing and being abused. Has the old lecher Yasuda ever been tied up at home and beaten? Sometimes Bai Lang wonders, even imagining the old Yasuda perhaps only wearing underwear, tied up and beaten, forced to wear a blindfold while licking his wife's feet...

"Poor tram man," Bai Lang sighed, but felt no sympathy at all.

After the plane landed, Bai Lang took the car provided by the organizing committee back himself. After losing the match, this was the last time the committee would provide a chartered plane and car—besides paying the entry fee and settling the gambling company's commission, the committee also gave a perk: complimentary VIP tickets for the upcoming quarterfinals, semifinals and finals, guaranteeing front‑row seats for the best viewing experience.

But how to get there he solved on his own. The quarterfinals are scattered across various locations, but the semifinals and finals are in Ri Ben—as stipulated by this year's organizers. Everyone is itching to see the spectacle, wondering what twist will halt the competition this time. The betting odds are already out, ranging from aliens to demons and even earthquakes.

The whole world is watching the King of Combat's tournament, with average ratings exceeding twenty percent—meaning in developed countries the rating tops eighty percent, making the market huge, no wonder the contestants are all rolling in wealth. Bai Lang previously thought that only an Innate Expert or someone with a broken mind could get themselves that poor, and those two possibilities could be merged into one.

Bai Lang's current earnings are far from low; as a strong competitor who broke into the top sixteen and faced two seeded teams—each victory was a one‑against‑three—he has long been regarded as the top‑level among the seeded teams. Moreover, Bai Lang can be described as handsome, heroic, and robust, with a tall, mighty build, essentially the perfect advertising model.

The company that signed him early is now laughing uncontrollably, and An Chi thinks it's like a gigantic pie falling from the sky, acquiring image rights to five works at such a "low" price—they've hit the jackpot. A flood of endorsement contracts has come knocking, but Bai Lang only chose a small portion to sign—he has no intention of wasting most of his time on that.

Ban Tian and Taozi became assistants and housekeepers—since these two female utility people lack talent, they can use their meticulousness to help Bai Lang handle those advertising endorsements. They also participated in part of them themselves; after all, accompanying Bai Lang to compete is, in a sense, their debut in the entertainment industry, isn't it?

Bai Lang debuted in the fighting world, so they debut in the entertainment world like idol stars. Yet Bai Lang looked at Taozi and Ban Tian's faces and thought, "If these two are to debut, it can only be as adult video actresses... Their looks are decent, but their acting is truly poor." Bai Lang thought, and his savings now total tens of billions of yen, making him a billionaire.

Having traversed those worlds, this is still the first time Bai Lang has been so broke—when he was Bai Shaobao he had status but no money; when he was in the Great Tang, having money didn't matter either. Forget it, don't overthink those pleasures, and definitely don't imagine bikini parties by the pool, wine pools and meat forests, all of that— even an Arab prince in front of a martial artist is just lousy.

Since Bai Lang realized that the Thirteen Tai Bao Golden Bell Shield wasn't simple and that there was no need to separate himself from the Southern Dipper White Tiger Fist, his cultivation level has risen a notch. Although this world limits him, the finer details can still be honed, and once he returns to that world he is confident he can boost his efficiency further—at his Innate Expert level, even a slight increase in cultivation efficiency is hard to achieve.

The four quarterfinal matches are scattered across the globe, none held in Ri Ben—the most recent one also in Tai Guo. However, the four matches aren't simultaneous; they occur every other day, and Bai Lang decided that watching only the Tai Guo match would suffice—because it features Mai Shiranui, KING, and Blue Mary, while their opponents are a Korean team led by Kim Jiapian consisting of a dwarf and a big fat man.

Not surprisingly, the entire audience sided with Mai Shiranui, and even the Koreans themselves were in a dilemma—if the match were held in Korea, Mai Shiranui would be a sure loss, but in Tai Guo most Korean fans aren't that heated, so they lean toward the beauties... there's a slight chance, right?

Regarding the so‑called integrity of Korean "bangzi", Bai Lang has no confidence at all; "bangzi" are famously shameless worldwide. As a debutant of the King of Combat, he can of course secure a hard‑to‑get ticket—actually he can book a chartered plane, it's not that he lacks money, but that Bai Lang simply hadn't thought of it.

In Tai Guo, the match was held on a floating platform built over the sea at a tourist resort, while spectators watched from the beach and hotels using telescopes; VIP ticket holders could row boats for close‑up views, but martial‑artist spectators could use other means—such as Bai Lang, who swam in swimming trunks to the edge of the platform to watch...