Chapter 2301 – Rivaling a Grandmaster

So fast! Lei Bao’s expression turned sour as he watched Fang Zhenyuan move. He hadn’t expected the man to attack without hesitation. Fang Zhenyuan had none of the magnanimity of a martial arts grandmaster.

Fang Zhenyuan’s punch was so fast that the human body had practically no time to react.

“Come!”

However, Shi Feng had reacted as Fang Zhenyuan’s fist had begun to move.

Neutralizing grandmasters’ mental processing speed was far faster than an ordinary human’s. Their sensitivity to danger was easily ten times sharper than an ordinary person’s, as well. They could sense an incoming attack before the enemy even moved, which was why neutralizing grandmasters were so frightening.

Since this was his first time fighting a neutralizing grandmaster in the real world, Shi Feng decided to greet the hit with a punch of his own, rather than dodge. Like Fang Zhenyuan’s punch, Shi Feng lacked any flowery movements. It was standard, textbook punch.

Suicidal bastard! Fang Mingyu could not help but grin as he watched.

Fang Mingyu had recognized that Shi Feng was weaker than he was during their clash in the Redstone Restaurant, not to mention his father.

His father might be old, but thanks to modem technology like the Life Potion, he maintained his peak condition even at his age. In fact, Fang Zhenyuan’s body wouldn’t even begin to deteriorate for another two decades. The fact that Shi Feng chose to face the hit head-on was suicidal.

Boom!

As the two fists collided, the air between them compressed and shattered, the shockwave cracking the marble ground beneath them. The room shook slightly, and even Bai Qingxue stumbled backward.

After the clash, Shi Feng and Fang Zhenyuan took a step back, the ground under their feet slightly sunken.

How is this possible?! Fang Mingyu stared at Shi Feng with wide, shocked eyes when he saw the younger man completely unharmed from the exchange. Ten days ago, Shi Feng had been weaker than he was, yet now, Shi Feng had taken his father’s punch without suffering any damage...

He stopped it?

The outcome greatly shocked Lei Bao, as well. He knew that Shi Feng was a neutralizing grandmaster, but Fang Zhenyuan had walked this path for decades now. Regardless of when he had become a neutralizing grandmaster, his fitness was inhuman. Shi Feng should have no hope of matching the older man in this regard.

Moreover, Fang Zhenyuan’s punch had been out of this world. Lei Bao was sure that if he had tried to take that hit head-on, he would’ve either died or been severely injured.

In truth, even Shi Feng was relatively surprised. He hadn’t considered that he’d improve so massively after his training in the Tower of Four Gods. Not only had his fitness rapidly improved, but he had also substantially increased his control. He had successfully implemented some of the Sword’s Transmigration’s principles in his punch, diverting a portion of Fang Zhenyuan’s strength downward. This was why he had been able to face that hit without injury.

If this fight had taken place after Shi Feng had just broken through to the grandmaster realm, he would’ve definitely taken damage from Fang Zhenyuan’s punch.

Is this the strength of neutralizing grandmasters? Bai Qingxue thought as she gazed down at the shattered floor and felt the stifling auras radiating off of Shi Feng and Fang Zhenyuan. This seemed more light a fight between mechanical beasts, rather than a fight between humans.

It was no wonder why Fenglin City’s various families were so afraid of the Fang Family.

Meanwhile, Shi Feng and Fang Zhenyuan didn’t continue to fight after exchanging hits. Instead, they took a moment to observe each other in silence.

“Excellent. To reach such a standard at such an age, it’s no wonder why you’re so confident,” Fang Zhenyuan said as he calmly watched Shi Feng. Smiling, he continued, “However, how long do you think you can protect Zero Wing by yourself? You know that more than one organization is targeting Zero Wing. Partnering with the Fang Family is your best option. Zero Wing can only contend with these organizations with the Fang Family’s resources and strength. If you refuse, only death will await you!”

“You don’t need to concern yourself with such matters, Mister Fang,” Shi Feng said. “Zero Wing will take care of its own.”

Zero Wing had already grown powerful enough that not even first-rate Guilds were a match for it, yet as luck would have it, Zero Wing didn’t have a powerful background. It was only natural that other organizations would have set their sights on the Guild. It was why Shi Feng was trying to accelerate the Heaven’s Rumble Training Center’s development. However, he hadn’t thought that a power like the Fang Family would try to annex Zero Wing so soon.

“Is that so?” Fang Zhenyuan laughed. “I hope you can keep this kind of confidence when the time comes.”

Fang Zhanyuan then turned and left the reception room, showing no intention of trying to persuade Shi Feng further. Fang Mingyu and the girl in the red dress stood from their seats, following after the older man.

After leaving Zero Wing’s main headquarters and climbing into his luxury car, Fang Zhenyuan turned to the young woman, who had remained silent, with a serious expression.

“Shihan, I’ll contact Fenglin City’s dojos and training centers later. I’ll leave Heaven’s Rumble’s virtual combat platform to you,” Fang Zhenyuan said coldly. “With your position in Mythology, you should have no problem suppressing a Guild like Zero Wing, correct?”

If a Guild wished to develop in God’s Domain, it needed sufficient manpower. Heaven’s Rumble had attracted quite a few talented fighters with the virtual platform it had set up, and as long as they dealt with the platform, Zero Wing’s development in the game would stagnate. Once they had suppressed Zero Wing from every angle, it would only be a matter of time before Shi Feng submitted to the Fang Family.

“Of course. Mythology is one of the top five Super Guilds of God’s Domain. However, Mythology is based on the western continent, and there’s no connection between the east and west continents yet. It’s not possible to connect to easter players’ data via the virtual combat platform yet. I’ll need some time before I can lead a team to the eastern continent,” the red-dressed girl named Fang Shihan said, smiling. “Once we cross over, we’ll trample over Zero Wing’s experts. Guilds on the two continents have different areas of focus, and the difference between combat standards is massive.”

“Alright. I’ll leave the situation to you. Mingyu will help you where he can,” Fang Zhenyuan said, nodding.

After Fang Zhenyuan’s group had left, an uproar rose in Zero Wing’s headquarters.

Zero Wing’s members knew about the conflict between the Guild and the Fang Family. Shi Feng had caused quite the scene in the Redstone Restaurant, after all, and as a result, the situation with the Fang Family weighed on everyone’s minds. Since the Fang Family had left without achieving anything, Zero Wing’s players breathed a sigh of relief.

“Hall Master, now that the Fang Family has revealed that it has two neutralizing grandmasters, Fenglin City’s dojos and training centers will side with the family. Some of the dojos and training centers we’ve signed partnership agreements with will likely pull out of the deals. I’m afraid that it won’t be possible to recruit a large number of talented combatants quickly,” Xiao Yu said. “Moreover, the Fang Family will most likely work with other dojos and training centers to compete with our pricing...”

“If they don’t want to work with us, so be it. Our priority is to set up more virtual combat platforms, so I want you to try to set up some small-scale training centers around the city,” Shi Feng replied. He, too, understood the influence the Fang Family would command with two neutralizing grandmasters. Furthermore, the Fang Family had the Qilin Corporation’s support. Zero Wing was utterly outmatched when it came to strength and financial resources.

However, the virtual combat platform would become the mainstream platform for combat in the future. As long as the Heaven’s Rumble Training Center developed its virtual combat platforms, it had some chance of competing with the Fang Family.

“Developing the platforms won’t be a problem, but with our current finances, setting up the training centers will be...” Xiao Yu said helplessly.

Although Zero Wing had recently earned quite a few Credits through Stone Forest Town, setting up a large enough virtual combat platform would cost a lot of money. The set up for a platform in the training center was already a huge burden on Zero Wing’s finances. Trying to set up more was simply unrealistic.

“Relax. Zero Wing is quite rich right now,” Shi Feng said, smiling.

“I’ll start searching for suitable locations then,” Xiao Yu said, his eyes glowing with excitement upon hearing Shi Feng’s response. If they had sufficient capital, Heaven’s Rumble wouldn’t have to worry about its development even without Fenglin City’s various dojos and training centers.

After discussing the training center’s future with Xiao Yu, Shi Feng returned to God’s Domain.

Other Guilds might struggle to earn money in God’s Domain at this stage of the game, but that wasn’t an issue for Zero Wing, especially after capturing the Northern Fortress. After all, the Gravity Mountain Range was becoming a hub for various wealthy powers.