CHAPTER 31: CHAPTER 31 BROKEN CHAPTER_1

He clicked on the top link, which showed the highest relevance.

A promotional webpage appeared before Lu Yuan.

A stark black backdrop highlighted four bold, blood-red characters spelling out "Night of Fury," exuding an aura of mystery and fervent determination.

"...This competition is organized by the Mosa Fighting Fans Association; the contest consists of preliminary rounds—quarter-finals—semi-finals—..."

The host, the competition rules...

When Lu Yuan saw the prize money, his eyelids twitched slightly.

"1,000,000!"

The grand prize for the champion of the so-called Night of Fury Supreme Fight competition was an astounding 1,000,000.

To Lu Yuan, this was definitely appealing.

If I could nab this 1,000,000... Forget it, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

The championship was far too distant for the current Lu Yuan. Although he could already punch with the Fist Strength equivalent to an amateur sixth-dan Martial Artist, in the fighting world, he was still undoubtedly a "greenhorn."

Unless I can train my Leg Skill to the level of that middle-aged man... The chances aren’t high.

Lu Yuan shook his head, decisively dismissing this unrealistic thought.

He continued to read on.

Registration methods, competition location...

The webpage ended with a small line of text: "Night of Fury—please enjoy the joy that battle brings!"

At the end of these tiny words was a goat head logo, its eye painted blood red.

After reading all the information on the poster, Lu Yuan thought for a moment and promptly dialed the contact number displayed.

A woman answered the phone. After Lu Yuan expressed his intention to register, she instructed him to bring his ID card to a specified location for an interview the next day.

An interview for registration?

Lu Yuan was a bit speechless, though this did make the organizers seem more professional.

Lu Yuan then searched for more information about the "Mosa Fighting Fans Association" mentioned on the poster.

He discovered that Burnt Rock City did indeed have such an association, though there was very little information about it.

It seemed they organized two to three fighting competitions similar to "Night of Fury" almost every year.

The prize money was substantial, yet the number of participants was small.

The primary reason seemed to be the complexity of the competition format and its long duration.

Lu Yuan rechecked the poster. Indeed, this competition’s rules were far more complicated than ordinary fighting competitions.

Actually, it wasn’t so much complicated as it was extensive, with numerous stages.

Preliminary rounds, qualification rounds, group stages, resurrection matches...

The initial stage alone had multiple formats.

Typical fighting competitions would be over in just two to three weeks, or at most one to two months.

However, the "Night of Fury" competition spanned almost half a year!

Even professional Martial Artists, who made their living from such competitions, would rarely participate. This type of event was too time-consuming and strenuous, despite the substantial prize money and the cash award for simply passing the preliminary round.

According to past years’ practices, once this competition ends, the association will immediately start organizing the next one. So it’s like boiling the first half of the night right after boiling the second half, boiling for an entire year? Remaining in ’combat’ mode all year round. It had to be said, this Mosa Fighting Fans Association was truly passionate.

I’ll see how reliable they are after visiting the place tomorrow.

Speaking of which, Lu Yuan still had no idea how Lin Zhiquin planned to make money by asking him to help compete.

Before reaching the finals, the prize money for winning even a single match was quite small, and they would have to split it.

As a coach of a large martial arts gym, could Lin Zhiquin really be interested in this small sum? That was another thing he needed to figure out tomorrow.

Anyway, Lu Yuan had already made up his mind: he would not get involved unless he fully understood what was going on.

Even though he was short of money, he preferred a safer and more stable way to earn it.

Just as Lu Yuan was about to close the webpage, the instant messaging software icon in the bottom right corner of the computer desktop suddenly started flashing.

It was a video call.

From—his sister, Lu Jing.

Lu Yuan casually clicked on it.

Lu Jing’s face quickly appeared on the computer screen.

Lu Jing and Lu Yuan shared some similar features, but hers were considerably more delicate.

However, the Lu Jing that Lu Yuan was seeing now was quite different from the Lu Jing in his memories.

"Sis, you’ve gotten so much darker..."

In the video, Lu Jing wore a large, light brown sun hat, a scarf around her neck, and a dark green outfit that resembled hunting gear.

Her face was dark, and she had lost quite a bit of weight.

Altogether, she looked just like a professional explorer from a movie.

Well, that wasn’t far from the truth. She was, after all, exploring in the desert right now.

"Don’t say it, I know I’ve gotten much darker," Lu Jing said. She seemed to be sitting in a tent; behind her, a large piece of dark canvas billowed occasionally. The sound of wind and sand could clearly be heard.

"...There’s no human habitation for miles around here; I can’t even buy a pack of instant noodles, let alone sunscreen. The two bottles I brought were used up last week, sigh...." Lu Jing sighed lightly, her expression tinged with melancholy.

Seeing her distress, Lu Yuan couldn’t help but ask, "Do you want me to buy some and mail it to you?"

"You must be joking! You expect to send express mail to a place that doesn’t even have a supermarket? Even if you buy it, it can’t be delivered here."

"I know," Lu Yuan nodded. "So I was just saying it casually."

"Lu Yuan, you!" Lu Jing feigned anger, revealing two cute little canine teeth.

The two of them laughed and joked for a while, then Lu Jing asked, "How’s Grandpa’s health? Any improvement?"

"He’s had his surgery and is resting now. He should be able to leave the hospital in a while."

At first, Lu Yuan was surprised, but then he figured that his parents must have told Lu Jing after Grandpa’s surgery was successful and he was out of danger, so she wouldn’t worry.

"That’s good. When you’re going to the hospital next time, remember to tell me in advance. I’ll see if I can video call Grandpa."

"Okay."

Lu Yuan nodded. Then, remembering something, he asked Lu Jing, "Sis, after all this time, have you gone into that temple yet? Also, I don’t think I’ve seen your archaeology team on the news."

Lu Yuan had asked casually, but upon hearing him, the expression on Lu Jing’s small face immediately tensed.

"Don’t even mention it! I wouldn’t dare go down there now, even if you asked me to."

"Why?"

"I’ll tell you, but don’t share it with anyone else..." Lu Jing nervously glanced around, as if to confirm no one was nearby. After making sure, she leaned conspiratorially towards the screen and whispered, "Because... someone died down there!"

...

"Why is there no signal again?!" Lu Yuan exclaimed.

He tried calling back several times, but Lu Jing didn’t respond. He had no choice but to give up.

The video call had cut off just as Lu Jing was telling him about what the first group from the archaeology team had unearthed when they entered the temple, before she even got to the part about someone dying.

It was like reading a novel where the author suddenly stopped at the climax, a feeling that frustrated Lu Yuan immensely.

Never mind, I’ll just ask her next time.

He casually typed a few exclamation marks into the chat box and sent them to Lu Jing.

Lu Yuan turned off the computer and stood up from his desk.

He found his training mat and spread it out in the bedroom.

His daily Martial Arts practice had to continue; he had already wasted a lot of time today.