However, considering his current relationship with Gao Neng, he naturally understood some things. Gao Neng probably still held a grudge over the battle in the Eastern District.
That being the case, he decided not to stay any longer.
He pushed the door open and left.
Fang Tangtang waited until Liangshan was out the door before finally letting out a sigh of relief.
"Perfect!"
...
...
When Gao Neng came out after his shower, he saw Fang Tangtang standing quietly in the living room, spitting out sunflower seed shells and looking completely at ease.
"What are you so happy about?" Gao Neng asked casually.
"I’m going out!" Fang Tangtang said immediately.
"Going out? Where to?" Gao Neng was a little surprised. Fang Tangtang had been staying at his place for the past few days without returning to the Celestial King Group, seeming to have nothing to do. Now that she suddenly announced she was going out, he was naturally curious.
"I’ve thought of a fun place to go," Fang Tangtang said, her face alight with excitement.
"Oh?"
"I’m not telling you. I can’t wait any longer, so I’m leaving now. You can get back to your training." Without another word, Fang Tangtang spat out the sunflower seed shell in her mouth and went upstairs to change.
’Strange.’ Gao Neng watched Fang Tangtang’s retreating figure, a sliver of doubt rising in his mind. ’Judging by her expression, it looks like she’s going off to pick a fight.’
Gao Neng was very familiar with what got Fang Tangtang excited.
As long as there was a fight to be had,
she was happy!
’But there isn’t a war on right now, is there?’
’Could it be that Tangtang’s also hit a bottleneck and needs a fight to break through?’
The thought put his mind at ease.
Since he was going to challenge the Strongest, he should probably let Shen Ning’Er know. After all, their wedding was in just a few days.
He casually made the call.
"Did you break through?" Shen Ning’Er’s voice came through almost immediately.
"No, but I’m preparing to challenge the Strongest," Gao Neng explained his plan.
"That’s not a bad idea," Shen Ning’Er replied. "But you’re still only at the Tier Nine Late Stage. If you’re going to issue challenges, you should probably start with the weakest and work your way up. That way, you can find your own limits."
"Oh? Any suggestions?"
"My suggestion is to fight Li Tiannan first. For one, you’re familiar with him, so you won’t have to pull your punches. For another, you’re both from the Military Department. If you make him your first opponent, everyone will understand your intentions when you challenge the other Strongest."
"Haha, I was thinking the same thing," Gao Neng said with a nod.
Shen Ning’Er was truly on the same wavelength as him.
Plus, there was another, more important advantage: if he broke one of Li Tiannan’s legs, the other Strongest wouldn’t have anything to say when he maimed them later.
In short, the more brutally he beat Li Tiannan, the more justified he would feel about not holding back against the other Strongest.
After all, if he was that ruthless with his own master...
...what could anyone else possibly say?
They could only call him an absolute savage!
"Also, there’s one other person you should go see," Shen Ning’Er added.
"Who?"
"Wuxin of the Esoteric Sect."
"Mm... I understand." Gao Neng nodded.
He hung up.
Just then, Fang Tangtang came back down, having changed her clothes. She now had several small pouches hanging from her waist, which were bulging with who-knows-what.
"Are you going to a fight?" Gao Neng was taken aback for a moment, because Fang Tangtang wasn’t wearing casual clothes, but a full combat uniform.
"Yup. Just focus on your training and wait for my good news." With that, Fang Tangtang skipped cheerfully out the door, completely ignoring Gao Neng’s astonished gaze.
Gao Neng watched her go, his brow furrowed.
Then, he made another call.
"Auntie."
"Well, well. Calling me at this hour... have you changed your mind and decided to marry my daughter, too? It would be a little unfair to her, but you’re the Speaker now. I’ve thought about it, and it’s not a huge problem." A sultry voice came through the line.
"..." Gao Neng was speechless.
’Marry my ass!’
’This Auntie Luna is unbelievably open-minded!’
’I have no idea how the Patriarch of the Yi Family...’
’...puts up with her!’
Not wanting to waste any more time, Gao Neng got straight to the point.
"Auntie, could you keep an eye on Fang Tangtang for a few days? I want to see who she’s going off to fight."
"What’s this? Is little Tangtang jealous and running away from home?" Luna teased.
"She’s acting a little strange. In any case, just help me keep an eye on her for a few days." Gao Neng really didn’t dare broach any other topics with Luna.
"Fine. So, are you going to marry Qinglian or not?"
"A bottle of evolutionary energy."
"What was that? I couldn’t quite hear you."
"A large bottle!"
"OKAY! Just you wait for my news!"
"..."
After hanging up, Gao Neng didn’t give it much more thought.
After all, Luna had successfully broken through to Tier Nine. Under normal circumstances, with her tailing Fang Tangtang, there shouldn’t be any safety issues.
’So, should I call Li Tiannan next?’
’But what would I say?’
’That I’m coming to beat you up?’
’Prepare yourself?’
’No, that doesn’t sound right. It would be better to just show up at his door, hurl a bunch of insults at him, and force him into a big fight.’
’Not a bad idea.’
’I should probably tip off some reporters, too.’
’That way, since Li Tiannan is so concerned with his reputation, he’ll have no choice but to fight me. Plus, it would serve as an advance "notice" to the other Strongest.’
’Kill two birds with one stone!’
’A perfect plan!’
After a moment’s thought, Gao Neng made a call.
"This is Gao Neng. Get a few hundred reporters to Li Tiannan’s place immediately... Yes, my master’s residence. Have them surround his house!"
"Yes, sir!"
They didn’t understand why, but who would dare disobey an order from the supreme Speaker of the Alliance?
All that mattered was carrying it out!
...
...
At heart, Li Tiannan was a man who yearned for freedom.
This was a major reason why he had stepped down as the head of the Military Department and taken a backseat role. As such, his residence wasn’t actually within the military district.
Instead, it was on a small mountaintop about a hundred li from the district.
According to Li Tiannan...
...it was very peaceful and quiet there.
In reality, however, Gao Neng knew that Li Tiannan harbored a little fantasy of being the king of his own mountain.
At this very moment, Li Tiannan was happily soaking in a medicinal bath in his bathroom. After all, Gao Neng had given him an enormous amount of resources recently.
’To have a disciple like this...’
’What more could a master ask for?’
’Look at those other Strongest. So what if they’re stronger than me? Are their disciples as amazing as mine? Did any of their disciples become the Speaker?’
’And this disciple of mine is so devoted! Whatever resources he gets, he thinks of me first.’ The more Li Tiannan thought about it, the happier he became, and he couldn’t help but let out a burst of laughter.
"Hahaha..."
"This is the life!"
"I can just kick back and enjoy my retirement now!"
"All those old geezers will have to suck up to me!"
"So what if it’s Qin Lei? When he sees me now, he has to call me Brother Tian Nan. Does he dare call me Old Ghost Li like he used to? Does he?!"
"Ha! He wouldn’t dare!"
"Hahaha!"
Just as he was laughing, a sudden hubbub of chattering voices erupted from outside.
It was incredibly noisy.
"What the hell? In the middle of the night, who dares trespass on my mountain?" Li Tiannan shot up from the bath, his Spiritual Power instantly spreading out.
Then, he discovered... the trespassers seemed to be all ordinary people.
More importantly, every single one of them was holding a still camera, a video camera, or some other kind of advanced live-streaming equipment.
"???" Li Tiannan was baffled.
’What’s going on?’
’Has an army of paparazzi shown up?’
’But... I don’t have a starlet in my room today, do I?’
Li Tiannan was a bit lost.
However, since they were ordinary people, he had no intention of attacking them right away. He quickly threw on some casual clothes and walked straight out of his mountaintop villa.
The moment he stepped outside, a mob of reporters started shouting like mad.
"Elder Li, what are your thoughts on Gao Neng coming to challenge you?"
"Elder Li, could you comment on Gao Neng’s motives for making you his first target?"
"They say the student surpasses the master. Elder Li, are you confident about this challenge?"
"..."