Chapter 126: Lord Tang
As the Genius Competition drew to a close, the First District seemed to return to its usual rhythm. Gradually, contestants and city lords from other districts began to return home. Some who had earned rankings and special item purchase privileges lingered for a few days longer.
In the following days, Song Qi led a very orderly life. Each morning, he drank a cup of Origin Water, then rolled on the floor for half an hour. After lunch, he practiced his skills, and in the evening, he strolled casually to experience the nightlife of the First District. Compared to the scarce resources of the Seventh District, the First District offered much more variety in food and daily necessities. Whenever Song Qi encountered novel snacks or special dishes, he sampled them immediately. If he liked the taste, he would buy in bulk and store them in his system backpack, intending to bring some back for his family. After all, he had money now, and these few days of indulgence had only cost him a few hundred thousand credit points.
...
On the morning of the seventh day, Song Qi lay in his room, drenched in sweat. He had just finished his daily “Origin Water time” when he received a message from the city lord. It turned out the city lord had purchased all the equipment he wanted last night, so today was the day they would return.
“Gather at the entrance at nine o’clock?” Song Qi asked.
“It’s currently 7:50 a.m., so there’s an hour to spare. Better take a shower first,” he replied calmly. He rose leisurely and headed to the bathroom. While bathing, he reflected on his gains over the past few days. The greatest benefit, of course, was the attribute boost from the Origin Water! His spirit attribute had surpassed the 1,200 mark, and the other three attributes had slightly improved as well. Additionally, all his skills had seen significant enhancement.
Most notably, his skill [Directional Teleportation] had reached the maximum level!
[Directional Teleportation LV10: The user can instantly teleport to any visible location within a maximum range of 2 kilometers. No cooldown.]
According to his tests, with his current spirit power, he could continuously use it around 120 times before experiencing dizziness and other adverse effects.
Moreover, he had been consistently using [Soul Link] this past month, resulting in its level increasing:
[Soul Link LV4 (2/50): The summoner can designate one summoned beast to share all its attributes and skills for 50 minutes. Cooldown time: 20 hours.] (Maximum level: 20.)
“This skill will take at least half a year to master fully,” Song Qi thought. “But there’s no rush. Once I reach level 60 and trigger the world’s origin integration, there might be new developments.”
After changing into fresh clothes, Song Qi stepped out of his room. Upon opening the door, he saw Chu Shaojiang waiting, apparently having been there for some time.
“Brother Song, let’s go together.”
“Alright, let’s go.”
...
Soon, Song Qi and Chu Shaojiang arrived at the city gate. Alongside City Lord Fu, there was another city lord and three peers. Upon seeing Song Qi, City Lord Fu smiled warmly.
“Just in time—we were just talking about you,” he said. “Come, greet City Lord Tang.”
“City Lord Tang,” Song Qi and Chu Shaojiang said politely.
“Hmm... impressive. Not only the genius competition champion with remarkable talent but also quite handsome,” City Lord Tang responded with a smile. “As for this one, he’s also quite the outstanding figure. The Seventh District truly breeds many talents.”
It was only then that Song Qi got a close look at City Lord Tang. He was dressed in a loose martial arts uniform. His physique was not exaggerated—muscles slightly bulging but perfectly proportioned, exuding an indescribable explosive power. Just a glance sent a shiver through one’s body hair, evoking a faint sense of danger.
What puzzled Song Qi, however, were the distinct scars on Tang’s right cheek and the dense scars covering his exposed limbs. The sight was harrowing, a nightmare for those with trypophobia.
“The density of his scars is as if he had been tortured,” Song Qi thought. “If these weren’t self-inflicted, then the battles he endured must have been terrifyingly fierce.”
Sensing Song Qi’s thoughts, City Lord Fu began to introduce him.
“This is City Lord Tang, the lord of the Thirteenth District.”
“Don’t underestimate him just because his district ranks lower. Even I have to respectfully call him Brother Tang!”
“At the time when the First District was still unstable, to open up the Second and Third Districts, Elder Mu and Emperor Li Er went out to fight, and the demon tribe took advantage of the situation,” Fu explained.
“It was City Lord Tang who burned his origin power, squeezing even his vital essence dry! He single-handedly held off 500,000 demon troops for several dozen days without retreating an inch!”
“He did so until Emperor Li Er returned with reinforcements and repelled the demon army!”
“If he hadn’t been so severely injured back then, the position of Second District lord would have been his.”
Upon hearing this, Song Qi bowed deeply in respect.
City Lord Tang’s real name was Tang Chengfeng. Song Qi did not know him personally, but the “First District Defense Battle” was something he was very familiar with—it was recorded in the history books of humanity and hailed as the battle that changed the fate of the human race.
“So this is City Lord Tang!”
“Greetings, young Song Qi!” Song Qi bowed deeply again.
If the First District had fallen back then, tens of millions of human compatriots would have perished. Given the human population at the time, such losses would have been nearly half the entire race—a catastrophe of extinction-level proportions.
It was no exaggeration to say that if not for City Lord Tang, even with Emperor Li Er leading, humanity’s rise would have been delayed by several decades.
Calling him a hero of all humanity was wholly justified.
“Heh... no need to be so formal, kid,” Tang said, his expression twitching awkwardly, as if still nursing old wounds.
Noticing this, City Lord Fu ceased further small talk.
“This time, for your safety, Elder Mu specially arranged for City Lord Tang to return with us,” he said.
“Now that everyone is here, shall we depart?”
“By the way, Tang, will you ride my Black Mist or—”
“Black Mist is fine. My old ship is nothing to show off,” Tang replied indifferently.
“Don’t joke, Brother Tang. Your ship is one of only two sacred spirit-class equipments the human race possesses. If that’s nothing, then how many equipments does the entire human race have to show off?” Fu teased with a laugh as he summoned the Black Mist and sat in the middle. He then gestured for the others to board.
However...
As soon as Song Qi stepped on board and settled himself, Fu’s voice came to his ear again.
“Song Qi, sit behind me. Don’t get too close to City Lord Tang...”