"I'm not sure about the specifics either, they said that they will be waiting for you tomorrow at an independent garden villa in the southern suburbs, which is one of the Martial Alliance's Dingjing branch's offices."

Wu Feng replied to Jiang Chen with a hint of embarrassment.

"You don't know either?" Jiang Chen was taken aback for a moment, then after some thought, he asked with a hint of confusion, "Since that's the case, tell me more about the Martial Alliance. I'm not very familiar with it."

"Okay."

Wu Feng immediately started to explain patiently to Jiang Chen:

"The Martial Alliance is an alliance formed by independent martial artists without a sect and some smaller factions in the Flame Dragon Kingdom. It's a self-organized group without any official constraints, and it oversees scattered martial artists. Although the alliance has some rules, it also organizes exchange and trading activities. Overall, for those independent fighters and smaller factions without a sect, the Martial Alliance serves as a good harbor against storms and as a platform to improve their strength! Of course, if you want to join the Martial Alliance, and if the alliance has its requirements, those need to be followed."

"I see!"

Jiang Chen nodded, contemplated for a moment, and realized that he possessed a certain level of strength, yet there was still something that set him apart from martial artists, a difference he had yet to pinpoint. Moreover, his exposure to martial artists was limited to the few around him. With his growing power, Jiang Chen felt he might frequently deal with martial artists in the future. It would be useful to know more about them.

With that thought in mind, Jiang Chen nodded lightly, "Alright, I'll make a trip there tomorrow."

"Great, I'll relay that to the Martial Alliance then!" came Wu Feng's slightly relieved voice over the phone.

Wu Feng was also a member of the Martial Alliance, and although the presence of Shen Zhenguo meant that the Martial Alliance did not dare to treat Wu Feng lightly, the alliance did provide Wu Feng with considerable support. This time they had approached him to extend an invitation to Jiang Chen. If Jiang Chen had declined, Wu Feng would have lost some face within the Martial Alliance.

The next day, Jiang Chen drove to the Martial Alliance's office in the southern suburbs.

It was a garden villa with a large iron gate over five meters high at the entrance and a security booth next to it. At that moment, a gatekeeper was on duty inside the booth.

Squeak—

After parking his car in the open-air parking space outside the villa, Jiang Chen examined the villa.

"What are you here for?" the gatekeeper shouted at Jiang Chen as he came out of the security booth.

Jiang Chen responded politely, "My name is Jiang Chen, the Martial Alliance invited me."

"Invited you? Ha! Who do you think you are?" The gatekeeper scoffed, giving Jiang Chen's Knight Fifteenth a once-over, his eyes betraying a greedy glint. He turned back to Jiang Chen with an arrogant look, "Don't think that having a bit of money can give you clout in our Martial Alliance. This isn't some secular place. Here, your money is worthless!"

Jiang Chen frowned slightly and said indifferently, "Please open the gate."

"Wait. Do you think you can just walk into the Martial Alliance as you please? Just stay here honestly for now," the gatekeeper huffed, turning back to the security booth.

A cold light flickered in Jiang Chen's eyes as he forcefully contained his impatience. It was his first time at the Martial Alliance, so conforming to some of their protocols didn't seem too bad.

Woo woo... Squeak!

Soon after, another car arrived, and a rotund young man stepped out and walked up to the villa's entrance.

The young man glanced at Jiang Chen, smiled and nodded at him, then turned to the security booth.

Getting the same arrogant response, the chubby young man also ended up standing and waiting at the entrance.

In the midst of boredom, Jiang Chen struck up a casual conversation with the fatty, learning that the man's name was Li Fenglin and that he too was a newcomer summoned by the Martial Alliance.

Bang bang bang!

After a while, still nobody had come to receive them, and Jiang Chen was getting impatient. He went over to the guardhouse and knocked on the door.

The door to the guardhouse opened, and the same guard from before walked out, shouting at Jiang Chen, "What do you want?"

"When can we go in?" Jiang Chen asked, frowning.

The guard snorted arrogantly, "What's with all the questions? If I tell you to wait, then you wait!"

"You..." Jiang Chen glanced at the fatty beside him, thinking this might just be how the Martial Alliance operated, and forcibly held back his anger.

Woo woo... Squawk!

Just then, several sports cars pulled up in front of the villa, and a few young men stepped out and walked over.

"Young Master Wang, Young Master Liu, you're here!" The guard abandoned Jiang Chen and hurried over to the young men, greeting them with a polite smile.

"Hmm," one of them responded indifferently with a nod. The guard turned to open the door for them, respectfully ushering them inside.

Jiang Chen was stunned for a moment, watching their backs for a second before turning to glare at the guard, "Why can they go straight in, while we have to wait so long?"

"Heh, who do you think you are?" The guard sneered, "You think you're on the same level as them? Their elders are members of the Martial Alliance. And you? Just a Loose Cultivator, do you think you compare? Stop trying to gold-plate your face. If you want to wait, wait. If not, get lost! Your kind doesn't even deserve to enter the Martial Alliance's doors!"

"Fine, fine, fine," Jiang Chen said angrily, repeating the word three times, "I'm leaving."

After speaking, he turned and walked toward his car.

"Hey, kid!" But the guard suddenly shouted fiercely, a flash of cold light in his eyes as he said in a cold voice, "Do you think you can come and go as you please? If I tell you to wait, you damn well wait obediently! You really dare to leave?"

His words clearly carried a threat.

"Bro, just wait, the threshold to enter the Martial Alliance is high. I traveled here from Jincheng in Dingjing, and it was even worse over there, they couldn't be bothered to give us the time of day. Sigh, we Loose Cultivators can only rely on the Martial Alliance to improve ourselves quickly. Waiting a bit longer doesn't matter," Li Fenglin advised.

Jiang Chen glanced at Li Fenglin and shook his head slightly, "I thought the Martial Alliance was here to serve martial artists and would be a place where everyone is treated equally. But now it seems, this Martial Alliance is nothing like I imagined. What a load of crap! What's the difference between it and those worldly organizations? The same snobbery, the same unbearable vulgarity! What a waste of time!"

The guard's face darkened, and he rushed up to Jiang Chen, pointing at his nose and cursing loudly, "What did you say? You dare to insult the Martial Alliance? Are you looking for death? You damn Loose Cultivator, what are you acting so arrogant for? Talking like that, do you have a death wish?"

"Slap—" Jiang Chen's expression turned cold, and he fiercely slapped the guard across the face.

"You, you dare to hit me?" The guard was taken aback, looking at Jiang Chen with astonishment on his face.

"So what if I hit you? I've found you annoying from the start, just a gatekeeping dog putting on airs as if you were something special. Who do you think you are? In my eyes, you're nothing."

Jiang Chen scoffed at the guard, then delivered a harsh kick to the guard's stomach.

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