Chapter 150: Though Skilled in Martial Arts, Can't Handle a Kitchen Knife

"The Martial Arts Tournament?" Li Nianlong was puzzled. "What's that?"

"You don't know!?" Xiang Youyou was astonished.

Li Nianlong frowned. "No one ever told me about it. Besides, isn't the Liu family in charge of military and political affairs? What does the Martial Arts Tournament have to do with the Liu family?"

Xiang Youyou slapped her forehead and smiled bitterly. "Brother, who told you that a family in charge of military and political affairs couldn't be a prominent martial arts family? Our Xiang family also holds significant power in Jingchu, but we've also dominated the position of Martial Arts League Leader for many years, overseeing the martial arts order. And the Long family is also a martial arts family. It's just that after becoming the royal family, they gradually distanced themselves from the martial arts world."

"Oh," Li Nianlong understood. "So the Martial Arts Tournament is a martial arts competition to select the Martial Arts League Leader?"

"That's just one aspect," Xiang Youyou explained. "The Martial Arts Tournament is a biennial martial arts event. All martial arts sects can participate, but smaller and less renowned sects usually just make an appearance. Spectators from the sidelines can join in, and if there are skilled individuals among them, they can start from the preliminaries and rise through the ranks. Finally, achieving a high rank can elevate the status of their sect and bring benefits for the next Martial Arts Tournament. Big families like the Liu and Xiang families can directly enter the main competition."

"How are the preliminaries and main competition determined?" Li Nianlong asked.

"The preliminaries are a qualifying competition for those who aren't well-known, aiming to secure a spot among the top hundred martial artists. The main competition consists of a round-robin tournament for the top hundred martial artists and a ranking match. The round-robin stage is divided into ten groups of ten, with the top two from each group advancing to the top twenty round-robin stage. The top twenty round-robin stage is divided into two groups of ten, with the top five from each group advancing to the final top ten stage. In the top ten stage, a knockout format is used. By this stage, besides having strong skills, luck also plays a role."

With a sense of pride, Xiang Youyou added, "For a century, it has been our Xiang family dominating the position of Martial Arts League Leader. In next year's Martial Arts Tournament, I... I mean, our Xiang family's eldest son, Xiang Cangtian, will represent the Xiang family. Xiang Cangtian is the second strongest in our family, second only to our family head Xiang Qiong. He's a strong contender for the position of Martial Arts League Leader."

"Ah?" Li Nianlong inquired, "Why isn't the family head, Xiang Zuzhang, competing?"

"There's no way," Xiang Youyou shrugged. "The Martial Arts Tournament has a rule that those over 65 years old aren't eligible to compete for the position of Martial Arts League Leader. Xiang Qiong just turned 66 this year, right on the edge of the age limit, so Xiang Cangtian has to compete instead."

Li Nianlong nodded in understanding, then asked, "So, does that mean I also have a chance to compete for the position of Martial Arts League Leader?"

"No, Brother," Xiang Youyou immediately shook her head.

"Why?"

"Because you're not yet thirty years old," Xiang Youyou said with a mischievous smile. "There's a rule for contenders for the position of Martial Arts League Leader: they must be over thirty but under sixty. You're only twenty-four this year, so you won't be eligible until the next... no, not until the following Tournament."

"Who made this rule? Discriminating against young talents?" Li Nianlong frowned, unhappy with this rule.

"It's not exactly discriminating against young talents," Xiang Youyou explained. "It's mainly because young people lack experience, tend to act impulsively, and may lack political acumen. Nobody wants a young and impulsive person to lead. There's a saying, how does it go? 'A person with power but no brains is like a wild beast.'"

"It's 'bravery without strategy, a man's folly!'" 

"It's similar!" Xiang Youyou chuckled. "But those under thirty can compete in the youth division to determine their ranking among the younger generation."

"Oh?" Li Nianlong rubbed his chin. "So, I can only compete for the position of the top young martial artist?"

"That's right!" Xiang Youyou smiled. "With Brother's skills, becoming the top young martial artist is within easy reach."

Li Nianlong smiled faintly, indifferent. "Why should I participate?"

"Huh?" Xiang Youyou was surprised. "You can gain both fame and fortune!"

"Fame and fortune mean nothing to me," Li Nianlong shook his head. "Whoever wants to compete can go ahead! If I have the time, I'd rather spend it with my family."

"Dream Dragon, you're mistaken," suddenly came the voice of Elder Liu. The three turned to see Elder Liu emerging from behind a tree, his expression serious. "For our Liu family, the position of Martial Arts League Leader used to be insignificant because our martial arts level was low. In past tournaments, we'd only rank between 30th and 60th. Although the martial artists treated us with some respect, they never really took our Liu family seriously in important matters."

With a resentful look on his face, Elder Liu stood in front of Li Nianlong, looking at him with anticipation. "Dream Dragon, you are an exceptionally talented martial artist in our Liu family's thousand-year history. Although you can only compete in the youth division this time, if you win the championship, you'll be able to compete for the position of Martial Arts League Leader..."

"Hold on!" Li Nianlong immediately interrupted Elder Liu. "Grandpa, I think I misheard you. Just now Youyou said that those under thirty can't compete for the position of Martial Arts League Leader. How can the youth division champion compete?"

"I forgot to mention that," Xiang Youyou immediately tapped her head and laughed awkwardly. "It's not that I was wrong; I just forgot to mention an additional condition."

"Additional condition?" Li Nianlong looked at her, with a hint of reproach in his eyes. "Don't forget to mention it this time."

"I'm about to explain it!" Xiang Youyou coughed. "The additional condition is that Brother holds the position of the Liu family's head."

"Head of the family?" Li Nianlong thought for a moment, seemingly understanding the reasoning. "A family head under 30 who wins the youth division can compete for the position of Martial Arts League Leader?"

"Brother, you're really smart," Xiang Youyou nodded. "Some small families might have young leaders, so to give them hope, the Martial Arts Tournament set this rule."

Saying this, Xiang Youyou patted Li Nianlong's shoulder. "Brother, I was wrong earlier. You can compete for the position of Martial Arts League Leader in this Tournament."

With a strong hand, Li Nianlong ruffled Xiang Youyou's hair, scolding, "You little rascal, you almost fooled me!"

"Ah! I spent half an hour styling my hair!" Xiang Youyou looked at her two braids, now a mess, and was close to tears.

"Serves you right!" Li Nianlong snorted. "With such short hair, why bother styling it? Just part it in the middle."

"Brother, I'm still a girl, right? Can't I at least try to look nice?" Xiang Youyou removed the hair ties and ran her hands through her hair. "It's your fault; my hair's now a mess."

"It's not that bad, just a couple of strands sticking up." Li Nianlong laughed at her. "You look cuter than before."

Xiang Youyou glared at him and turned to Nalan Ruoyue. "Ruoyue, help me fix my hair."

Nalan Ruoyue smiled, took the hair ties, and helped Xiang Youyou redo her hair.

Meanwhile, Li Nianlong and Elder Liu continued their conversation about the Martial Arts Tournament. "Grandpa, why didn't you tell me about the Martial Arts Tournament before?"

Elder Liu smiled wryly. "It wasn't that I didn't want to, but you had just taken over as head of the family, and a lot of things happened. It didn't seem appropriate to tell you then. And recently, you were in closed-door training. I thought there were still a few months left before the Tournament, so I didn't rush to tell you."

"I see," Li Nianlong nodded. "So, what benefits will participating in this Martial Arts Tournament bring to our family?"

Speaking of this, Elder Liu's spirits lifted. "The benefits are immense. If you win the youth division, it will greatly enhance the Liu family's status in the martial arts world. If you go further and become the Martial Arts League Leader, for at least the next five years, no one in the martial arts world would dare disrespect our Liu family. The League Leader has the authority to command the heroes of the world, and the entire martial arts community would follow the League Leader's orders. This kind of power is beyond monetary value. Our Liu family's influence would greatly increase."

After hearing Elder Liu's enthusiastic words, Li Nianlong nodded. "Alright, I'll help the Liu family compete for the League Leader position."

"Good!" Elder Liu was very excited.

"However..." Li Nianlong said, "I'm not interested in the power of being the Alliance Leader. When the time comes, Grandpa, you can handle it yourself."

Elder Liu's face immediately filled with a wry smile. "Menglong, while others are eager for power, you seem to avoid it as much as possible. Frankly, it makes me a bit disappointed in you."

"Everyone has their own ambitions." Li Nianlong smiled faintly and walked over to Nalan Ruoyue, putting his arm around her shoulders. "For me, being able to protect my family and keep them safe is enough."

Nalan Ruoyue nestled in Li Nianlong's arms, her face blushing shyly under the gazes of Elder Liu and Xiang Youyou, but with a happy smile on her lips.

A flash of envy appeared in Xiang Youyou's eyes. "So nice! Ruoyue, I'm so jealous of you."

Nalan Ruoyue gave a bashful smile and signed with her hands: Sister Youyou, you're also Brother's adopted sister!

Li Nianlong laughed and said, "That's right, Youyou, you're also my sister." He put his arm around Xiang Youyou's shoulders. "Don't worry! As long as your brother has food to eat, you'll have food to eat too."

Being held in Li Nianlong's arms made Xiang Youyou a bit nervous, but she still said, "Brother, I'll remember that. If you ever have food and don't share it with me, I'll definitely fall out with you."

"Don't worry!" Li Nianlong laughed, patting Xiang Youyou's shoulder. "I'll treat you to a good meal this noon."

Xiang Youyou's eyes lit up. "Brother, are you going to cook yourself?"

"Uh..." Faced with Xiang Youyou's expectant gaze, Li Nianlong scratched his head awkwardly. "Well... though I'm very skilled in martial arts and can handle a big sword, I can't really handle a kitchen knife, so... you get the idea."

"Oh?" The light in Xiang Youyou's eyes dimmed, and she said with some disappointment, "Forget it, cooking isn't really a man's job anyway, I can understand."