Chapter 309: Fox Borrowing the Tiger's Might

"One to zero, Barrett wins. The second match will begin in five minutes; will both parties please prepare," Anlita said with a smile, her charming eyes glancing at Zuo Xiaotang.

The onlookers chatted and laughed, all treating it as a mere appetizer; the rematch between Wuzang and Jialina, and the clash between Cheng Konghai and Klein, were the real main events.

"Brother Zuo, you fought well. The opponent was just an experience-delivery baby, don't worry about the win or loss." Ma Long had Zuo Xiaotang sit down, then relaxed his shoulders for him.

Zuo Xiaotang had rushed out at the first opportunity and given Li Hao a big hug; Li Hao looked like he had a ball hanging off him, his mouth still making muffled noises.

"Damn it, get down, you're embarrassing me to death!" Li Hao pushed at him in disgust, but couldn't budge him.

Zhou Naiyi, Ma Long, and Wuzang also rushed over, unable to describe the excitement in their hearts; the others just watched quietly, not moving an inch.

At this moment, Lu Donglei coughed a few times, "Li Hao, come here for a moment, everyone else rest where you are." Li Hao nodded, "Alright, alright, stop messing around, save some energy for training later. The Mid-Season Tournament has only just begun. Ah, Class Monitor, what's wrong with you? Did you cry from being moved???"

"Get lost!" Zhou Naiyi hurriedly covered her face. Who cried? How could that be? In your dreams!

"Alrighty." Watching Aofei and Luo Bi looking on eagerly, Li Hao smiled, "Lao San is fine, he'll be okay after a rest. This kid has always been tough to beat."

Once Li Hao left, the whole venue exploded like a pot, everyone swarming around Aofei and Luo Bi. Luo Bi also looked at Aofei with a bewildered expression—what was going on?

Milner, Lomachenko, and Solomon all came over. They were all eyewitnesses to the events of that year, so of course they knew the key to the tragedy, and they knew why Chao Qinglong and Li Hao were at such odds. But what was this all about?

Aofei finally understood. In fact, she had suspected it from the very beginning, but the parties involved refused to speak... She glanced at Ye Tong. Ye Tong's face was pale; she had suddenly realized it too. Coming from a noble family, it wasn't as if she hadn't suspected it.

A girl's intuition is more delicate; the key was that they both understood Nangong Yuhang's ambition very well, or rather, the ambition of the Nangong Family.

"Sigh, I've basically figured out the events of that year. Third Brother intentionally sent Second Brother away; actually, he didn't want Second Brother to come back. But if Second Brother hadn't come back, everyone would have been doomed," Aofei said.

In an instant, those who had been involved in the accident that year understood everything. Because for these past few years, everyone had been struggling with this issue: why did Chao Qinglong send Li Hao away back then, only for Earth to suffer an ambush? Chao Qinglong explained that the instructor told him to, but it was just too coincidental that it happened at such a critical moment.

Chao Qinglong knew the inside story of that accident. Because if Li Hao had been there, in the Great City at the time, although Nanguan Yuhang was the eldest brother, Li Hao was the main force and would definitely have been charging at the front. He would have run into the kill-zone Xilian had prepared. Whether Xilian died or was injured, Nanguan Yuhang would have been fine, but Li Hao would have been finished.

Under the circumstances at the time, on any level, Xilian and Nanguan Yuhang were the only ones who could not afford to have anything happen to them.

In fact, with Nanguan Yuhang's meticulous mind, he had long known about Xilian's plan to collude with Mars. He had walked into the trap on purpose. In Nanguan Yuhang's plan, he would use Li Hao to take down Xilian.

That way, no one would threaten him anymore, especially since more and more people within the USE were leaning toward Li Hao at the time. At that age, absolute strength had more appeal than anything else; this had already seriously affected Nanguan Yuhang's prestige.

This move of "following the plan to deceive the enemy" and "borrowing a knife to kill" could simultaneously eliminate his main competitor, Xilian. This was truly killing two birds with one stone.

It could be said to be a flawless plan, and he could accept any outcome.

Yet he never expected that Chao Qinglong would cause a complication by sending Li Hao away before the great battle. This led to Nanguan Yuhang having to face Xilian head-on, because once the plan started, he had no way to retreat.

The final result was that Nanguan Yuhang died in battle, and the USE side had the moral high ground.

Under these circumstances, Li Hao finally had a way to survive. In that battle, Chao Qinglong was also on the verge of death. If Li Hao hadn't arrived at the very end, the elite forces on Earth would have been basically wiped out.

In the Tianqi Youth Class, there is only a fine line between a genius and a madman. One was the eldest brother he respected, the other was the second brother he worshipped. Helping either side was a betrayal.

Although he eventually made his choice and saved the second brother, he never expected that Nanguan Yuhang would die because of it. The hardest part was for Chao Qinglong; he had been trapped in guilt all these years.

The others from North Caro were also part of the Apocalypse Core. Except for Ye Tong, they actually all knew. So, by following Chao Qinglong, they were also acknowledging Chao Qinglong's actions.

As for Nanguan Yuhang, calling it right or wrong is a bit shallow; one can only say it was ruthless.

Chao Qinglong only wanted to save Li Hao, but he never thought Nanguan Yuhang would die.

Life is never perfect. Since the person was already dead, he would rather bear it all himself.

Li Hao was the same; neither of them spoke of Nanguan Yuhang. Someone always had to take responsibility. Li Hao was willing to be imprisoned for a year in exchange for the freedom of others.

Even someone like Luo Bi couldn't help but sigh. They hadn't realized it at all, but not understanding it back then didn't mean they didn't understand it now.

"Li Ge and Chao Qinglong are both true heroes!" Solomon exclaimed.

"Haha, Solomon, call him Second Brother. Don't be so formal. The past is in the past. Regardless, Second Brother and Third Brother are both back. We'll be damned if we see who can stop us this year!" Luo Bi laughed.

"Well said! I saw that last strike of Second Brother's, it looked like it pierced through Third Brother's body. I just felt that the way Third Brother released his power was a bit wasteful; there's an eighty percent chance he can reach an even higher level," Zheng Peng said.

"That goes without saying! In the Alliance Tianqi Street, ask around and see who's the daddy!" Dexuanya roared, baring his teeth. He had always been a loyal fan of Li Hao and was quite superstitious about him, while smugly glancing at Perkins.

Perkins's legs went soft. Damn it, you guys have all made up, what am I supposed to do???

"Perkins, look at that cowardly look of yours. You're getting worse as you get older. Back then you even dared to confront Second Brother, now what are you afraid of!"

Depuya couldn't help but say. "What am I afraid of? F-f-fart!" Perkins's mouth stuttered a little.

"That's that then. Although I lost, don't get cocky. I'll definitely win it back in this Mid-Season Tournament. Once I reach Burning Will, you just wait to eat shit!" Although Depuya was blustering, there was still a smile on his face.

"Screw you, I'll always be a step ahead of you!" Although Perkins was spraying hard, his mood was clearly much better.

That's right! Although Li Hao was brutal, he didn't look like the type to kill the innocent indiscriminately.

Everyone saw that Perkins's expression had improved and knew that Depuya was trying to protect Perkins; after all, he had to give Depuya some face, otherwise Perkins wouldn't be leaving this Mid-Season Tournament in one piece.

Even if Li Hao really possessed a bizarre absorption ability, this thing was useless in mecha combat. The zone training in the Mid-Season Tournament was only a small part; mechas were the big deal.

"Everyone, don't be discouraged, we'll win it back later!" The bowl-cut man Jilan Rao stood up to encourage everyone. He felt his opportunity had come; with Chao Qinglong leading, this was a god manifesting, his era had arrived.

Suddenly, the people around him started distancing themselves from him... This guy must be an idiot.

With such skills and such abilities, how could mecha combat possibly be overturned? It would only be stronger, wouldn't it?

Wuxiya smiled, "It seems our new king of the USE has been born. I just sensed it; his ability isn't absorption. Chao Qinglong's power was only controlled by him on the surface of his body. Of course, this move is even more terrifying."

"Wuxiya, it's not a new king being born, it's the return of the king!" Luo Bi said.

Wuxiya smiled blankly, "I know, the day the broken sword is reforged, the king shall return!"

In an instant, everyone went quiet.

In fact, some people were already guessing. There had been no movement for the first two years, yet he possessed invincible combat ability, defeating experts on the level of the Six Dragons, the Big Dipper Seven Stars, and the Three Wolves along the way, and he even used the Armor Series Three Brothers. Could such peerless experts be bought in bulk?

Right?

How could there be such an unreasonable appearance out of thin air in this world? Look at the peerless dominance he used to defeat Chao Qinglong just now; only Puppet could do it, and only Li Hao could do it. From beginning to end, there was actually only one god. Whether it was zone or mecha technology, this was the true arrival of terror.

"Holy shit~~~"

"Damn, so that's how it is. That's fucking awesome!"

"Haha, we knew it all along. We were dying to say it, but couldn't, couldn't, haha."

"Humanity only has one Li Ge, and that is our Li Ge Hao!"

"Li Ge is even more terrifying than he was five years ago. Before, you could still see his limits, but now you can't even touch the edges. From start to finish, it seems completely impossible to grasp his level."

"Nonsense, once you reach Li Ge's realm, how could the basic use of zone constrain him? It must be a return to simplicity."

"You really know how to butter someone up. I'll give you a chance to take that back; let me be the one to butter him up!" The members of Apocalypse were undoubtedly the happiest; not only had Li Hao returned, but he had also cleared up the misunderstanding with Chao Qinglong. What could be better than this?

Aofei looked into the distance. In truth, she knew that the ones who had suffered the most were Li Hao and Chao Qinglong; they were the ones who had trusted Nangong Yuhang the most. Fortunately, oh, fortunately.

"Ah? Ah! Ah? Ah!" Suddenly, someone began to scream wildly, his face full of disbelief.

"How is this possible!" It was Ma Long.

Hao Ge is Puppet? Ma Long clutched his head, feeling like he was going crazy. Holy crap, his ultimate life goal of latching onto a powerful figure had been completed ahead of schedule???

Zhou Naiyi stomped on his foot hard. It was truly embarrassing! Ma Long hopped around in pain, clutching his foot. "Ouch, Sister Yi, why did you stomp on me? They said Hao Ge is Puppet. Holy crap, how is this possible? Holy crap, isn't he best at delivering takeout!"

Even as he said it was impossible, his face was beaming like a lotus flower. Only Ma Laoshi could pull off such an exaggerated performance, but he was truly too happy.

Wuzang, Zhou Naiyi... even Zuo Xiaotang hurriedly distanced himself from Ma Long. He really wanted to dig a hole and bury him.

Even if he was happy, he should restrain himself a little; after all, they were in front of so many big shots. Ma Long didn't care about that at all. Is there ever a wrong time to show off? He subconsciously fumbled for his Skylink. Mom, why did you have to confiscate my Skylink?

... Ah, no, ah, holy crap, Hao Ge is in the same school as me, no, the same team, no, the same dormitory, there's no escaping that! From now on, I can take as many photos as I want, I can even take nude photos.

Damn, I already have a bunch in my Skylink.

Thinking of this, Ma Long smiled until he blossomed with happiness. "Everyone, some things are better kept among ourselves. Earth is a whole; I suggest everyone remain calm and silent. When it needs to be made public, Second Brother will handle it. If anyone acts rashly, don't blame us for being impolite."

Aofei's cold voice rang out. Blood Rose does not joke around with you.

All the members of Apocalypse were glaring like tigers. Basically, more than half of the people here were from Apocalypse; with the remaining few stragglers, who would dare to make waves?

Don't you know that the Mid-Season Tournament has a casualty rate?

Cang Gongtian and Luo Dongsheng were silenced. They had originally wanted to challenge the Six Dragons, but what was the point now?

Even Chao Qinglong had been defeated, and the person who defeated him was speechlessly strong. Not only was his Phase unfathomable, but damn, he actually turned out to be Puppet.

The New Five Tigers had already collapsed. They didn't even dare to challenge Chao Qinglong, let alone Li Hao and the Apocalypse members behind him. The respect these people had for Li Hao had already exceeded the limits of a normal brain.

When Li Hao and Chao Qinglong were not considered, on Earth's own turf, no one could contend with Apocalypse.

Luo Bi and the others were already grinning from ear to ear with excitement, itching to find some Moon People and Martians to have a fight with immediately. This year, Earth could finally bring out its full strength.

The Mid-Season Tournament has basically ended. I won't drag out the plot. Old Boy writes slowly, but my attitude is earnest. I will carefully ponder every chapter. A new journey is about to begin. Please give me a monthly ticket, thank you!