"You want to enter the Kengan Annihilation Tournament?"
Sitting formally in the antique tearoom, Erioh Kure furrowed his ancient brow. "Our clan has indeed received a commission to enter a fighter, but we have already selected Raian as our representative. Furthermore, you are an outsider. This is internal clan business; it would be highly inappropriate to have you fight on our behalf."
"You misunderstand me, Patriarch. I have no intention of entering as a proxy for the Kure Clan," Lu Li shook his head.
He had come to formally bid farewell to Erioh, and before leaving, he wanted to see if he could secure a small favor.
"Oh? I must have momentarily forgotten. With your monstrous strength, any mega-corporation would undoubtedly grovel at your feet to have you represent them. Since you specifically brought this up with me, I presume you have a very particular target in mind?" Erioh asked, his eyes gleaming with curiosity regarding the powerful young man's true intentions.
"Nothing escapes your insight, Patriarch. I wish to enter the tournament under the title of the 'Fang of Metsudo'." Lu Li smiled.
The Fang of Metsudo was the undisputed apex of the Kengan Association. They were the personal, exclusive fighters of Metsudo Katahara, the Chairman of the Kengan Association, and universally recognized as the absolute strongest gladiators in the underground arena.
Erioh froze for a second before his eyes narrowed into terrifying slits. He stared at Lu Li for a long time. "Hahahaha! Young friend, it seems your ambitions are truly boundless."
"I wouldn't call it ambition. I simply have a favor to ask of Chairman Metsudo. But if I don't aggressively demonstrate my value, he likely won't be inclined to help me," Lu Li explained calmly. "And since you are the First Fang of Metsudo, a personal introduction from you would undoubtedly save a significant amount of bloodshed."
Erioh instantly understood Lu Li's strategy. Lu Li absolutely possessed the capability to violently kick down Metsudo's front door and slaughter the current Fang to claim the title. But doing so would undoubtedly trigger a massive, fully armed corporate war.
However, with a formal recommendation from the First Fang, Lu Li could challenge the current Fang to an official, sanctioned duel, entirely avoiding a chaotic, unnecessary bloodbath. It was a win-win scenario.
"That is a trivial matter. I will gladly pass a message to that old bastard. But I sense you have another, more pressing request for me, don't you?" Erioh asked.
He hadn't personally witnessed the current Fang of Metsudo fight, but he had absolute confidence in Raian's strength. Even if the current Fang was stronger than Raian, the gap couldn't be astronomically wide. Lu Li, however, was an entirely different species of monster. He was a "limit-breaker."
Honestly, even if Erioh were back in his absolute prime as the "Mighty Demon," he genuinely doubted he could defeat the young man sitting across from him.
After observing Lu Li over the past few days, Erioh's conviction had only deepened. Lu Li's overwhelming strength didn't merely stem from his "superhuman constitution"; it was rooted in his absolute, transcendent mastery of martial "Arts."
In Erioh's professional opinion, Lu Li didn't even need to learn Removal. Relying purely on technique, Lu Li could effortlessly dismantle opponents with significantly higher raw physical strength. And frankly, there were very few entities in this world whose raw physical output actually eclipsed Lu Li's base state anyway.
Erioh knew perfectly well that Lu Li replacing the current Fang would be child's play. Even without his personal introduction, Metsudo's private army, the Bodyguards, couldn't possibly stop Lu Li. Knowing Metsudo's magnanimous, eccentric nature, the old Chairman would gladly welcome a monster like Lu Li into his ranks once he witnessed his power.
Therefore, asking for an introduction was simply Lu Li giving the Kure Clan face. He definitely had a secondary objective.
"I truly cannot hide anything from you, Patriarch. I do have a commission for the Kure Clan. However, as you know... I am a wanted fugitive. My pockets are currently quite empty. I cannot afford your astronomical assassination fees," Lu Li admitted, rubbing the back of his neck slightly awkwardly.
Erioh took a slow sip of tea. "The amount of advanced martial theory you imparted to Raian outside of our initial contract is more than sufficient payment. Speak. What do you need us to investigate?"
Lu Li smiled internally. Dealing with highly intelligent, pragmatic people was so much easier. He hadn't even mentioned it was an intelligence-gathering mission, yet Erioh had already accurately deduced the nature of the request.
"I want you to investigate the fighters participating in the upcoming Kengan Annihilation Tournament. I need to know if any of them are exhibiting extreme anomalies. Specifically... any fighter whose combat strength has experienced an explosive, incomprehensible surge recently."
Lu Li had reasoned that the Terminus Space wouldn't deliberately screw him over entirely. The Origin Seed would almost certainly surface during the tournament. But he absolutely could not afford to wait that long.
He had no idea what the specific failure penalties for the other Explorers' missions were, but if he failed to secure the Origin Seed, he would be instantly eradicated. Every single day the host of the Origin Seed remained alive, they grew exponentially stronger, massively increasing the difficulty of his mission.
He loved challenging strong opponents, but he wasn't a braindead Saiyan. Only by surviving could he continue to enjoy the thrill of combat and scale the absolute pinnacle of martial arts.
Furthermore, there was a specific, ultimate Grandmaster in this world he desperately wanted to fight. He absolutely refused to die before crossing fists with him; it would be the ultimate regret.
Therefore, the absolute optimal strategy was to locate and secure the Origin Seed before the tournament officially commenced. That was the only way he could proceed with his other objectives without a sword hanging over his neck.
"A truly peculiar request. But I will not ask for your reasons. Once my network has gathered the intelligence, I will dispatch someone to contact you," Erioh agreed smoothly. As the Patriarch of an assassination syndicate, his professional discretion was absolute. He never interrogated a client's motives.
Lu Li clasped his hands together in a traditional martial arts salute. "Thank you, Patriarch. I am deeply grateful for your clan's care over these past few days. In the future... if I happen to cross paths with the Westward Faction... assuming you don't mind an outsider interfering in family business, I will slaughter them for you."
Erioh's eyes violently sharpened. "You know quite a lot, don't you..."
"I was born on the mainland, Patriarch. I've always had a deep interest in the history of the Wu Clan. I merely stumbled across some interesting lore. If you prefer I don't meddle, consider my words unspoken," Lu Li smiled casually.
In this world, the overarching 'Wu' lineage was split into three factions. The mainland Wu Clan and the Japanese Kure Clan could generally be classified as "Lawful Evil." However, the Westward Faction was pure "Chaotic Evil."
Calculating the timeline, it was highly likely that a massive, joint operation had recently taken place. The Kure Clan, the Wu Clan, and the Westward Faction had allied to eradicate a base belonging to "The Worm."
The Worm was an ancient, shadowy syndicate operating globally—essentially a world-class terrorist organization pulling the strings of geopolitics. During this joint assault, the elites of the Kure and Wu Clans had suffered catastrophic casualties and never returned... because the Westward Faction had violently betrayed them.
To be more precise, the Westward Faction had actually been deeply allied with the Worm for a long time, serving directly under the legendary "Connector," Shen Wulong.
Due to the Westward Faction's betrayal, the Kure Clan had suffered agonizing losses and had been desperately plotting their revenge, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.
Having caught up on the sequel manga in the Terminus Space, Lu Li knew perfectly well that the leader of the Westward Faction, Edward Wu, was an absolute, apocalyptic monster. In the canon timeline, Erioh Kure had to mobilize the absolute strongest elites of both the Kure and Wu clans to jump Edward in a massive 5-on-1 deathmatch. Even then, Erioh had to sacrifice his own life as bait just to barely secure the kill.
Lu Li felt he had genuinely benefited from the Kure Clan's hospitality. If he happened to run into Edward Wu, casually hacking him to pieces as a favor was perfectly reasonable.
"No. If you are truly capable of doing so, the Kure Clan will forever remember this debt," Erioh stated firmly. He wasn't rigidly bound by foolish pride; as long as he got his revenge, he didn't care who held the blade. "But I must warn you. You are undeniably a peerless god in the realm of martial arts. But when it comes to the pure, unadulterated art of murder... the 'Wu' are the absolute undisputed experts."
Lu Li flashed a feral grin. "Have you forgotten, Patriarch? I'm a maximum-security death row inmate convicted of mass murder. Rest assured... if the Westward Faction runs into me, they're the ones who will be unlucky."
After a brief, polite exchange, Lu Li stood up and left the tearoom, departing the Kure Village under Erioh's watchful gaze.
Half an hour later, Karla practically sprinted into the tearoom, frantically looking around. "Grandpa! Where's Lu Li?!"
"He has departed."
"Where did he go?!"
"To scale the towering peak known as Martial Arts."
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