Chapter 201: Battle of the Leaders

Wáng Shīxiān nodded and said, “Of course, you can watch, what’s the big deal? Our boss is great. By the way, did you also come by raft?”

At this moment, Yóu Zhèngháo and the other four had boarded the raft. Qín Xīn called out, “Shīxiān, hurry up and get on. If we delay any longer, we really won’t make it. Oh, and Sū Lí, if you’re interested, come along.”

Sū Lí saw how enthusiastically they were inviting him, so he nodded and agreed. In fact, he was very interested in the Financial City Apartments and the Maple View Center Building and wanted to understand them—whether there was a chance to form an alliance, and even better, to recruit them into his “Gold Eagle Alliance.”

“You get on the raft first, and I’ll come over to find you right away.” Sū Lí finished speaking and jumped towards the other side of the building. A Croc-Tooth Turtle emerged from the water, and he landed steadily on its back.

Wáng Shīxiān thought Sū Lí had gone to take another raft from the other side. She called out from afar, “Alright then, hurry up and paddle over, we’ll wait for you here.” As she spoke, she went downstairs and boarded her own raft.

Sū Lí , riding the Croc-Tooth Turtle, rounded the building. When he reappeared in front of the five of them, all five’s eyes widened, showing looks of astonishment.

They never expected Sū Lí to appear riding a large turtle.

“This… what is this thing?” Yóu Zhèngháo was a little stunned.

Qín Xīn looked at him and said, “It must be a sea turtle. Only a sea turtle could possibly grow this big. Sū Lí, how did you do it? Does this sea turtle listen to you?”

Sū Lí had already put away his Dragon Rhino Sword. Hearing his question, he smiled and said, “I fought it and beat it into submission. It listens obediently and lets me ride it.”

The five people were amazed to hear this.

Wáng Shīxiān excitedly said, “I want to try it next time, Sū Lí, can I ride up?” Girls are always curious about these things.

Sū Lí nodded and said, “Of course.” He had the Croc-Tooth Turtle stop beside the raft. Wáng Shīxiān reached out her hand, and Sū Lí took it, carefully helping her step onto the back of the Croc-Tooth Turtle.

“Just hold onto this rope harness,” Sū Lí instructed.

“Mhm.” Wáng Shīxiān sat down, grasping the rope tightly in front of her, a look of excitement on her face.

“Are you seated firmly?”

“Mhm, I’m firm. Sū Lí , you are truly amazing.” This was her first time riding a giant turtle on the water, and her impression of Sū Lí got even better. She felt that this man was very mysterious.

In the current circumstances, the thrill of riding a giant turtle on the water was no less than riding a Lamborghini before, which greatly satisfied Wáng Shīxiān’s vanity.

The four men standing on the raft looked at each other. Yóu Zhèngháo curiously asked, “Sū Lí, I just saw you holding a sword, why is it gone now?”

Just as Sū Lí was about to answer, Qín Xīn snorted softly and said, “Country bumpkin, that’s called Spiritual Source Equipment, it can be put away or materialized. Our boss has one too, but his isn’t a weapon. I heard him say that the crazy guy from the Oriental Tower has a Spiritual Source Weapon that he can draw out of his chest when he uses it, and put it back in when he doesn’t need it. Sū Lí, is that right?”

Sū Lí smiled slightly and said, “Yes.”

Wáng Shīxiān and the others were even more impressed with Sū Lí after hearing this, feeling that he was not simple—he could not only ride a giant turtle but also get a Spiritual Source Weapon.

“Let’s go, if we keep dragging our feet, we’ll miss it.” Qín Xīn picked up his paddle, and the group started paddling together. The raft left the building and headed east.

Sū Lí rode the Croc-Tooth Turtle, letting it slowly follow the raft.

Wáng Shīxiān was a little disappointed and said, “Can this turtle only swim this fast?”

Sū Lí said, “No, its speed is very fast, but we have to follow them together, we can’t just leave them behind, can we?”

Wáng Shīxiān laughed, “What’s the matter with that? You make the turtle swim faster, I’ll tell them.” Then she raised her voice and said, “Hey, we’re going ahead! You guys paddle slowly behind! Sū Lí , hurry—” She kept urging Sū Lí to speed up.

Sū Lí had no choice but to indulge her, knowing it was her first time riding the giant turtle and she was excited and curious. He had the Croc-Tooth Turtle speed up.

The Croc-Tooth Turtle immediately overtook the raft and rushed into the distance, moving extremely fast in the water. No matter how hard the four people paddled, it was useless, and the distance between the two groups grew larger and larger.

“That b****, she forgets about us when she gets a new man.” Yóu Zhèngháo on the raft watched as Wáng Shīxiān rode the Croc-Tooth Turtle with Sū Lí and drifted further and further away, and couldn’t help but curse.

Qín Xīn smiled faintly, “She’s that kind of woman. I estimate her previous men all had a nice, green prairie above their heads. Fortunately, we and her are just mutually utilizing and taking what we need without developing true feelings. Otherwise, who could tolerate her falling in love with a new person every time she meets one?”

“By the way, I heard she tried to seduce the boss, did she succeed?” Yóu Zhèngháo asked curiously, “You’re closer to the boss, do you know the inside story?”

Qín Xīn rolled his eyes and said, “The boss has Sister Xiǎoyǎ. How could she seduce the boss? Don’t spread such rumors. If Sister Xiǎoyǎ hears about it, she will definitely go after her, and we will also be in big trouble.”

Yóu Zhèngháo nodded and didn’t ask any more questions.

Sū Lí rode the Croc-Tooth Turtle , carrying Wáng Shīxiān. The Croc-Tooth Turtle’s speed was fully revved up, and the whistling wind felt indescribably comfortable on their faces.

Wáng Shīxiān kept giggling, looking very excited.

“By the way, Miss Wáng , who is the crazy guy from the Oriental Tower you mentioned earlier?”

Sū Lí was very concerned about the Oriental Tower. After all, it was a 72-story high-rise building , the landmark of the New Development Zone , and the second tallest building in the entire Nán Jiāng City, making it very famous.

The person who could occupy the Oriental Tower must not be simple. The fact that the crazy guy from the Oriental Tower also had a Spiritual Source Weapon , as Sū Lí had just learned from Qín Xīn, further piqued his interest.

Wáng Shīxiān said, “Are you talking about that crazy guy? He’s a very formidable person. He’s the younger brother of the leader of the Oriental Tower. I heard the leader of the Oriental Tower isn’t that strong; he only became the leader because of his crazy younger brother. Everyone says this crazy guy is especially powerful and dares to dive deep underwater to hunt monsters by himself. Even if all five of us went together, we wouldn’t dare to casually dive underwater.”

“Of course, I haven’t seen him myself. Anyway, I just heard everyone talking about it after meals. It seems someone from our Financial City Apartments accidentally ran into him and saw it with their own eyes. In short, he’s a very powerful and very crazy person, but he seems to be a little unhinged, so everyone calls him ‘the crazy guy.'”

Sū Lí said “Oh,” his heart slightly chilling. Dare to dive deep underwater to hunt monsters by himself? Even Sū Lí wouldn’t have that kind of courage right now. He wouldn’t be willing to dive deep underwater unless absolutely necessary.

“But you can ride this big turtle and have a Spiritual Source Weapon, so I think you are also quite impressive. Honestly, are you the boss of Shimao Center you mentioned? I don’t believe there’s anyone more powerful than you there.” Wáng Shīxiān was very curious about Sū Lí and felt he was quite mysterious.

Sū Lí said, “I’m just average. Getting this weapon was also luck. By the way, where should we go? Do you know the location of their fight?”

Wáng Shīxiān took a deep breath and smiled, “You are so humble, unlike some men who can’t wait to show off any skill they have, afraid others won’t know about it. As for the location of the fight between our boss and the boss of Maple View Center Building, it must be there. You just need to head in the direction of the Financial City Apartments, and you’ll naturally see it when you get close.”

“Okay, got it.” Sū Lí said, “By the way, what is your boss’s name?”

“Our boss? His name is Wáng Xù. He’s a good person and easy to get along with. I’ll introduce you to him later.”

“Good.” Sū Lí nodded slightly. The Financial City Apartments was getting closer and closer. Soon, he saw a building between the Financial City Apartments and the Maple View Center Building that was exposed approximately three stories above the water. At this moment, many rafts were parked there, and on the rooftop, they could faintly see many people gathered.

He immediately understood where the duel between the bosses of these two buildings was taking place.

“Did you see it? It’s over there.” Wáng Shīxiān didn’t need to point; Sū Lí already knew and immediately made the Croc-Tooth Turtle head towards the building between the Financial City Apartments and the Maple View Center Building.

Sū Lí didn’t want the Croc-Tooth Turtle to be seen by everyone, so as not to attract attention. He rode the Croc-Tooth Turtle around to the other side of the building, where no one had parked a raft and no one on the rooftop edge was paying attention. He then had the Croc-Tooth Turtle stop there.

“You’re so low-key. Are you afraid of attracting attention?” Wáng Shīxiān knew why he chose to stop here. She looked at Sū Lí again and was growing more and more fond of him.

Sū Lí didn’t know how to answer her and could only say as he looked up, “Let’s go up quickly. I wonder if it has started yet.”

“Let’s go.” Wáng Shīxiān led Sū Lí, climbing up along the exterior wall.

When they climbed onto the rooftop, they saw that quite a few people had already gathered there—at least thirty or forty people. They were mainly divided into two groups, with three people standing in the middle, talking. Everyone around was focused on the center, not paying attention to Sū Lí and Wáng Shīxiān climbing up.

Wáng Shīxiān pulled Sū Lí towards one of the groups. She knew all those people; they were from the Financial City Apartments. She was less familiar with the other group, which was clearly from the Maple View Center Building.

“Shīxiān, you’re here? Where are Qín Xīn and the others?” Someone in the group who was familiar with Wáng Shīxiān suddenly saw her coming with a strange young man but didn’t see Qín Xīn and the four others, so he asked curiously in a low voice.

The group’s attention had been on the three people in the center. Hearing this person’s words, they looked at Wáng Shīxiān and then saw Sū Lí, curiously sizing him up.

“Qín Xīn and the others are behind, they’ll be here soon. Hasn’t it started yet?” Wáng Shīxiān said this and then remembered something, pointing to Sū Lí and saying, “This is Sū Lí, a friend we met along the way, so we brought him along.”

After hearing this, the people nodded to Sū Lí as a greeting. It was not uncommon for wanderers or people from other places to seek refuge and join their Financial City Apartments , so they weren’t too surprised to see Wáng Shīxiān showing up with Sū Lí.

However, Sū Lí’s appearance and demeanor were outstanding, making them look at him a few more times. They guessed that Sū Lí was a newcomer to the Financial City Apartments and that Wáng Shīxiān was his recommender.

“Has it started?” Wáng Shīxiān quietly asked, while looking at the three people in the center.

“Soon, they’re discussing the rules of the fight,” a man next to her, who was quite familiar with her, said in a low voice.

Sū Lí stood beside Wáng Shīxiān and looked towards the center of the arena.

The crowd, divided into two groups, formed a large circle, with three people standing in the middle of this large circle.

One of the three was a man about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, about 1.7 meters tall. Although not old, he had an extraordinary bearing, especially his thick eyebrows and a pair of very expressive eyes, which exuded a sense of authority. Aside from being a little short, his appearance could be described as quite remarkable.

Wáng Shīxiān introduced in a low voice, “Sū Lí, the youngest and most handsome one is our boss.”

Sū Lí said “Mhm” and looked at Wáng Xù. He secretly activated the Peering Rune to observe and found that, like himself, he was already a Level 8 Spiritual Source Wielder.

Looking at the other two people in the arena, they were all Level 8 Spiritual Source Wielders.

Sū Lí was not surprised. After all, even Gōng Xiǎo , Líng Yī , and Wú Fēng had reached Level 8. Wáng Xù, being the boss of the Financial City Apartments , must be extraordinary, and it was not strange for him to be a Level 8 Spiritual Source Wielder.

The other two should have similar status to Wáng Xù, or they wouldn’t be standing in the center of the arena.

“The one opposite him is the boss of the Maple View Center Building, named Jiāng Xiǎodōng. As for the person standing between them, I don’t recognize him.”

Listening to Wáng Shīxiān’s introduction, Sū Lí saw that Jiāng Xiǎodōng, who was standing opposite Wáng Xù, was about thirty years old, had a cigarette in his mouth, wore a set of black leather clothes and pants, and had his hair combed back, looking a bit roguish.

And standing between Wáng Xù and Jiāng Xiǎodōng was another person.

This person was not young, at least forty years old. He was tall and sturdy, and his exposed neck was full of bulging muscles. These muscles were obviously not like the ones Sū Lí enhanced later.

The muscles developed through the basic enhancements obtained from upgrading to a Spiritual Source Wielder can be controlled at will and do not show or bulge in a non-combat state. For example, Sū Lí, under normal circumstances, looks like a young man with moderately developed muscles. His muscles will only swell when he activates his muscles or enters the “Demon Muscles” state.

However, this person’s muscles were already very developed before he became a Spiritual Source Wielder, so even after becoming one, his muscles remained bulging and developed in a normal state, like a bodybuilder.

Wáng Shīxiān didn’t recognize this person. Just then, the man next to her, who was familiar with her, whispered, “That person is from the Oriental Tower. Our boss respects him quite a bit. It is said that he is the second-in-command of the Oriental Tower. He came to our Financial City Apartments this morning. We don’t know what he wanted to see the boss about. Then, since the boss was about to fight Jiāng Xiǎodōng from the Maple View Center Building, he invited him to be the referee.”

“Oh.” Wáng Shīxiān nodded. She hadn’t expected this muscular middle-aged man to have such an extraordinary background, which was why he could stand between Wáng Xù and Jiāng Xiǎodōng.

Sū Lí, meanwhile, listened to the conversation between the three people in the arena. He heard Wáng Xù say, “The rules are set. Either one person falls and can’t get up, or one person admits defeat.”

Jiāng Xiǎodōng took a puff of his cigarette, exhaled a smoke ring, and said somewhat casually, “Fine, I don’t care. Anyway, you’re definitely going to lose this time.”

Wáng Xù chuckled and said, “Jiāng Xiǎodōng, that’s a big boast. We’ve known each other for more than a day or two. I admit you’re good, but to say you can definitely beat me? That’s not certain.”

Jiāng Xiǎodōng grinned and said, “We’ll find out when we try.” He then turned to the middle-aged man from the Oriental Tower and said, “Brother Zhào, shall we start?”

Brother Zhào nodded and said, “Alright. Since Brother Wáng thinks highly of me, Zhào Hàoyáng, and invited me to be the referee, and Brother Jiāng also agrees, I must do a good job as a referee. Both of you, don’t worry, I will be absolutely fair and impartial and will not favor any side. If neither of you has any other questions, I will count down from three to one, and then we’ll begin?”

“Deal.” Wáng Xù and Jiāng Xiǎodōng both nodded.

Zhào Hàoyáng slowly stepped back. Everyone else also retreated a bit further to make a larger space, understanding that the two bosses were about to fight.

“Three!” Zhào Hàoyáng’s steady voice rang out. The surrounding crowd instinctively grew tense, all hoping their own boss would win.

Wáng Xù clenched his left fist, and a blue glove suddenly appeared on his left hand.

Sū Lí noticed this and his heart stirred. This was Spiritual Source Equipment. Wáng Xù’s left hand had Spiritual Source Equipment similar to his Death God’s Gauntlet (Right).

Zhào Hàoyáng’s eyes lit up and he said, “So Brother Wáng also possesses Spiritual Source Equipment! Impressive. This is a treasure that can only be obtained by hunting Rare-class Monsters.” His tone was full of praise.

Wáng Xù smiled slightly at Zhào Hàoyáng.

“Two!” Zhào Hàoyáng immediately called out the next number.

Jiāng Xiǎodōng still had a lazy, casual demeanor. He tossed his cigarette butt onto the ground, stomped it out with his foot, and then began to retreat, trying to put distance between himself and Wáng Xù.

“One!” Zhào Hàoyáng finally called out the number, and then quickly stepped back, clearing the space.

Wáng Xù lunged forward almost as soon as Zhào Hàoyáng spoke the word “one.”

He knew Jiāng Xiǎodōng’s ability was suited for long range, and close combat was disadvantageous for him, so he wanted to close the distance with Jiāng Xiǎodōng.

Jiāng Xiǎodōng raised his right arm and contracted his five fingers. Suddenly, his right arm and palm began to twist, and cracking sounds rang out from inside.

In a short amount of time, Jiāng Xiǎodōng’s right arm was completely deformed, transforming into a giant gun made of flesh and blood.

He retreated while raising his right arm. His five fingers seemed to be the trigger of this flesh-and-blood giant gun. He pulled his thumb down, and a flash of fire shot out of the muzzle. With a “bang,” a bullet formed from the bones inside his body shot toward the pouncing Wáng Xù.

Wáng Xù shouted loudly, as if he had already anticipated it. His reaction was extremely fast. He abruptly spun his body and dodged the bone bullet. Flames had already risen from his hands.

These flames were very strange, with crackling blue lightning coiling within them.

“Thunder Fire—” Wáng Xù roared. He violently swung both arms, and the flames sprayed out from his hands. The blue lightning in the flames burst out with “crackling” sounds, looking incredibly imposing.