Under One Person: I, Jiaqian Jushi, work from nine to five

Seeing that Lu Jin looked like he was about to slap him if he didn't listen, Zhou Fengliu could only sigh and then said to the old celestial master in the distance:

"Old Celestial Master, you've been watching all night, aren't you going to do anything about it... I admit there are some conflicts and misunderstandings between me and Zhang Lingyu, but it's not enough to make you stand by and watch him die."

"Alright, Lao Lu."

The old master seemed to have confirmed Zhou Fengliu's strength before telling Lu Jin to stop.

"Old Master... that's not fair of you. You only told him to stop after he slapped me..." Lu Jin said that after fighting with Zhou Fengliu that night, his anger hadn't subsided but had actually grown stronger.

“Old Lu, my eyes are like a ruler… You were the one who ran under someone’s sword and got touched, how can you say he slapped you?” the old master said.

"Huh?" Upon hearing this, Lu Jin looked closely at the old master's eyes: "Old master... your eyes are so small, they're not even as big as mine, how can they be a ruler?"

"..." The old master was silent for a second upon hearing this, then gave Lu Jin a look that said "figure it out yourself." Lu Jin shook his head and released the triple reversal state.

After comforting Lu Jin, the old master turned his gaze to Zhou Fengliu.

"Young man, tomorrow's match against Lingyu..."

Upon hearing the old master mention the competition, Zhou Fengliu raised an eyebrow slightly. He then recalled being invited out by Lu Jin that evening and asked:

"Old Celestial Master, you wouldn't be trying to make me lose to Zhang Lingyu, would you?"

"If that's the case... you really don't need to go to such lengths. I'm not that interested in the Celestial Master's successor or the Heavenly Talisman. I'm only here because of a company assignment—to sweep the floor for Zhang Chulan..."

"If you want me to lose to Zhang Lingyu, just say so and give me a little money... As long as the money is right, I don't even have to show up tomorrow... There's no need to use Senior Lu to give me a hard time."

Having read the plot, Zhou Fengliu knew very well that this Luo Tian Grand Ceremony was a stage set up by the Old Celestial Master, and it was all an inside story. Since he wasn't interested in the Celestial Master's position or the Tongtian Talisman, he could simply go along with it and send Zhang Lingyu up to fight Zhang Chulan, knowing that Zhang Chulan would win anyway.

As for the prize money from the company for the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony rankings... as long as the Old Master gives enough, it doesn't matter... we're already in the semi-finals, so it won't make much difference. Plus, we'll have the Old Master's favor to do us a favor. It's a win-win situation no matter how you look at it.

"Is that what you think?"

Hearing Zhou Fengliu's thoughts, the old master smiled and said, "Old Lu is going to beat you up tonight, but it's not because I let him. He's been holding back for days."

"In tomorrow's match... I don't want you to hold back either. Just play to your strength. If Zhang Lingyu loses, it's because he's not as skilled as others... He can't blame anyone else."

What the old master said next was something Zhou Fengliu hadn't expected.

"Master Celestial Master...you stayed up all night just to tell me this?"

"Of course, it's not just that. I also want to see just how deep your water is... Just think of it as this old man having some selfish motives, wanting to see a great match," the old master said slowly.

"..."

Hearing this, Zhou Fengliu felt a little disappointed for some reason.

I didn't earn any extra money... and I wasted a whole night.

blood loss.

...

A moment later.

Zhou Fengliu is gone.

Looking in the direction Zhou Fengliu had left, the old celestial master asked Lu Jin beside him, "Old Lu, do you think Ling Yu can defeat him?"

Upon hearing this question, Lu Jin didn't hesitate and replied bluntly, "Probably not... This kid is incredibly strange; I'm afraid even I won't be able to take him down in a short time..."

Chapter 88 The Battle of Oscars! (Bonus Chapter)

"Where did that kid come from? The methods he used were very basic, but they were strange in a way..." Lu Jin commented on his recent exchange with Zhou Fengliu.

"Old Celestial Master, did you see that clearly just now...? That kid used some kind of evil method; I appeared under his sword in the blink of an eye..."

Lu Jin described it to the old master in vivid detail.

Hearing Lu Jin's words, the old Celestial Master shook his head with his hands behind his back and sighed, "The older ones are all more competitive than the last, while the younger ones are all more adept at hiding their true intentions..."

"OK..."

He said this and walked away into the distance.

"Old Master...where are you going?" Lu Jin asked.

"Go back to sleep..."

The old master's voice faded into the distance, leaving Lu Jin to survey the messy courtyard in the cold night wind, his mind replaying the battle with Zhou Fengliu.

Although neither he nor Zhou Fengliu used their full strength, it is undeniable that this battle was still of considerable value.

This junior has the right to be arrogant.

...

At this moment.

Zhou Fengliu rushed back to his residence, where he was also reflecting on his battle with Lu Jin. However, his thoughts were completely different from Lu Jin's.

He felt that he did not yet have the right to be arrogant.

Although the battle just now seemed evenly matched, Lu Jin actually didn't use much of his power at all, simply bombarding him with the Five Thunder Talisman. You should know that, according to the old celestial master, Lu Jin's use of the talisman was completely ineffective.

Although he held back some of his strength, he couldn't guarantee that he could defeat Lu Jin unscathed in a life-or-death battle.

"I still need to build up my strength," Zhou Fengliu thought to himself.

...

The next day.

Before the semi-finals.

The members of Na Du Tong gathered in front of the competition venue. Feng Baobao yawned and looked rather listless.

"Sister Bao'er? Didn't you sleep well tonight?" Zhang Chulan noticed and asked.

"I didn't sleep well, I didn't sleep at all..." Feng Baobao slapped her forehead:

"We originally planned to bury Zhang Lingyu alive, but who would have thought that Zhang Lingyu was so heavily guarded... people were constantly coming and going, so we couldn't find an opportunity to make a move."

“... Zhang Chulan.”

"..." Zhou Fengliu.

"Fine, Sister Bao'er, you really want to take down the only heir of the Celestial Master's Mansion?" Zhang Chulan sighed, feeling inexplicably fortunate. If Feng Baobao had really succeeded today, the Celestial Master's Mansion would probably have dug three feet into the ground to find Zhang Lingyu.

Just as Zhang Chulan was sighing, Zhang Lingyu, the protagonist who had escaped death last night, also appeared in everyone's sight.

Zhang Lingyu glanced at Zhou Fengliu first, then recalled the scene of Zhou Fengliu's verbal sparring yesterday, and decided not to talk to Zhou Fengliu before entering the venue.

"The first match is between Feng Baobao and Zhang Chulan."

"Contestants, please enter the arena immediately upon hearing your name called!"

At the referee's call, Zhang Chulan looked at Feng Baobao and instructed her, "Sister Baobao, you must act convincingly in a moment. We must play it safe."

"Okay, don't worry, my acting is incredibly realistic!" Feng Baobao said seriously, and then gave herself a thumbs up to indicate that her acting was top-notch.

"Then I'm relieved." Zhang Chulan nodded, then led Feng Baobao into the competition venue.

...

"Is this some kind of civil war within the All-Tong system?"

"It seems so..."

"What was Zhang Bilian's opponent's name again? Feng... Feng Baobao, right? Was he strong?"

"I haven't paid much attention, but anyone who makes it to the semifinals must be quite skilled. Since it's the semifinals, every match should be exciting."

As the audience was discussing this, they saw Zhang Chulan and Feng Baobao enter.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Zhang Chulan swallowed hard, his expression slightly tense. This competition was different from his previous shameless contests; today, he was openly putting on a show against Feng Baobao.

If he doesn't perform well, he'll probably get mobbed and kicked by the audience.

"Come on, Bao'er..."

"Ah."

Feng Baobao nodded, indicating that she understood, and then began her Oscar-worthy acting performance.

"Zhang Chulan! I'm going to kill you!"

"Prepare to die, Feng Baobao!"

The two delivered their lines and began an incredibly exciting duel, only to see Zhang Chulan's fist land softly on Feng Baobao's face.

The latter took a punch, his expression blank, and he even scratched his face.

"Sister Bao'er...give me some response." Seeing that Feng Bao Bao didn't move, Zhang Chulan whispered a reminder.

"Oh... okay."

Feng Baobao responded, and then, with extremely exaggerated acting skills, fell to the ground in slow motion, while still providing her own voiceover as she fell.

"Ouch—I've fallen."

"Zhang Chulan is so powerful, I can't beat him..." Feng Baobao fell to the ground, her head tilted and her eyes squinted, looking like she had been knocked unconscious.

"..."

"..."

The audience members present, including Zhou Fengliu, remained silent.

Zhang Chulan, watching Feng Baobao pretending to be dead and scratching her butt, felt like a million alpacas were stampeding through his mind.

Is this what she meant by...good acting?

Ok.

It is indeed good.

It's obvious at a glance that it's acting!

Zhang Chulan scanned the faces of the audience and sensed a pie chart in their eyes.

Three parts speechless, three parts confused, three parts angry, and one part wondering why I even came to watch this Go8 game.

...

"Geneva, give us our money back! This match was blatantly staged! How could they possibly justify sending us all this way?"