Chapter 57: Rewards

At a small stall near the cafeteria at Nanhua University, four stylishly dressed men were enjoying their food, drinking wine, and chatting about the latest interesting stories in “Jianghu.” Mid-conversation, one of them looked up and saw two figures—one fat and one thin—entering. A smile appeared on his face as he greeted them in a very familiar tone:
“Fat guy, Ronglang, you haven’t eaten yet, have you?”
“Wow, you’re still drinking? You guys seem in high spirits.”
The two smiled as they walked over to their table. The other three quickly stood up, addressing them respectfully as “Fat Brother!” and “Mang Brother!” before moving to another table.
“We’ve already eaten. We just have something to discuss with you.”
The two didn’t mind and sat down.
They were none other than the second-ranked “Xupang God” and the third-ranked “Bushuailang” on the “Nanhua Jianghu Ranking”—two close companions, much like a duo of loyal generals. The fat one and the thin one were inseparable.
The stylishly dressed man who had greeted them earlier was none other than “Brother Yucha,” a highly renowned player at Nanhua University who had always topped the rankings!
Brother Yucha’s real name was Yu Cha. A master in virtual games, he was excellent at CS. After entering “Jianghu,” he became utterly fascinated by its content and martial arts, dedicating himself entirely to it.
Xupang God and Bushuailang had also met while playing games before. Their relationship wasn’t very deep—just a nod of recognition when they saw each other. But with the emergence of the “Nanhua Jianghu Ranking,” their impressions of each other grew even stronger.
“What’s the matter?”
Hearing that the two had come specifically to see him, Brother Yucha showed curiosity.
“Has the person in charge of the ‘Nanhua Jianghu Ranking’ contacted you?”
“…Mm.”
Brother Yucha quickly understood and nodded, giving them a deep look. “Yes, about the combat arena. It seems they’ve contacted you too. Have you agreed?”
“Heh, of course not.”
Xupang God smiled like Maitreya Buddha. “Those three kids are smart, but they don’t know how to behave properly! Back then, having a membership didn’t seem a big deal, but a few days ago they suddenly introduced an offline trading system, charging a 5% fee on every transaction. Even I and Ronglang aren’t exempt—they’re treating us like mere workers.”
“That’s right,” added Ronglang, also in a displeased tone.

“If it weren’t for us brothers holding things up for him with ‘Nanhua Jianghu List,’ how could he have reached where he is now? Now that we’ve helped build his popularity and prestige, he not only makes a profit but also looks down on us.” Saying this, he appeared very angry. “This time, with this martial arts tournament, there’s no reward at all. I guess most of the benefits go to them, so I wanted to ask—have you signed up, Yu Cha? Be careful not to fall for it.”

After hearing their complaints, Yu Cha chuckled. “Well, I’m not sure. I’m quite familiar with the Lonely Three Wolves, and I know they’re busy working on this website every day, which must be tiring. Participating this time is just a way to help them out.”

Though he said this, he actually despised them in his heart… They created the website, and he became famous in school thanks to its rankings without contributing anything. Now he still wanted a share of their payment system—what audacity.

After saying that, he took a bite of food and started chewing. Since he had already made his decision, he didn’t want to continue the conversation.

“In that case, we won’t disturb you anymore. But we brothers warn you—don’t end up helping others while getting scammed… Well, goodbye!”

“Goodbye.”

Only after the two left did Yu Cha lift his eyes again, glancing at their striking silhouettes, smiling, and continuing to eat. In fact, he knew that although the payment system promoted by ‘Nanhua Jianghu List’ brought convenience to everyone, many people were envious of it. They resented what the Lonely Three Wolves had accomplished, especially those influential figures like Xu Pang, who had always looked down on them and never taken them seriously. Now, with the update of ‘Nanhua Jianghu List,’ the relationship between the two sides seemed to have changed, causing them to feel unbalanced.

Xu Pang, who hated being looked down upon, became frustrated and came up with the idea of sabotaging the Lonely Three Wolves’ tournament. Before Yu Cha, they had already contacted several influential figures, convincing them not to participate in this tournament. If these influential people didn’t join, those with weaker skills wouldn’t waste their time either.

Yet, what they didn’t expect was…

While they were making secret contacts, ‘Nanhua Jianghu List’ suddenly issued an additional announcement: The site planned to use the profits from the payment system to hold a major member appreciation event—the Nanhua University ‘Martial Arts Conference’!

This competition aims to select the most skilled martial artists at Nanhua University with the strongest practical combat abilities! Any member of the Nanhua Jianghu Ranking can participate! The results after the battles will be displayed on another competition ranking list. Although the payment system has only accumulated 10,000 yuan so far, the results and prize distribution are supervised by everyone to ensure fairness. There is one “Champion” who receives a prize of 3,000 yuan and is recommended to compete with top fighters nationwide in “Jianghu”; two “Runners-Up” each get 2,000 yuan; and three “Third Place” winners each receive 1,000 yuan. The prizes may not be large, but they are still highly attractive to students! After this announcement, all members received the news instantly via their phones, and Nanhua University campus immediately became bustling! This news not only dispelled jealousy among many students toward the Nanhua Jianghu Ranking but also inspired genuine admiration in them. In less than half an hour, the number of users on the Nanhua Jianghu Ranking surged rapidly, with the number of applicants for this competition quickly exceeding 500! Some influential figures who had initially planned to wait and see decided to set aside their reservations and doubts, and over a hundred skilled fighters from various places submitted their applications one after another. Popularity continued to rise. Even students from nearby colleges heard about it and wanted to take advantage of the situation to join in! Of course, these people couldn’t win any prizes, but they still hoped to participate in this grand competition. In the end… the first wave of promotion for the Nanhua Jianghu Ranking was a success. Even the “Fat God” and “No Bullshit” who had been secretly urging people not to participate couldn’t resist the temptation and signed up. They weren’t really interested in the prizes… what they cared about was the practical combat ranking system introduced by the Nanhua Jianghu Ranking! This ranking didn’t focus on internal strength or martial skills but rather on the true strongest fighters at Nanhua University… After all, young people care a lot about reputation. They didn’t want to be criticized later for avoiding battles with other strong fighters at Nanhua. In the boys’ dormitory… the Lonely Three Wolves, Happy, and Xu Xin, who arrived later, saw the rapidly increasing numbers on the registration website, and all five clenched their fists in excitement. It worked!