At the very least, this was an opponent whose strength was genuinely on par with his own.
Being able to fight him to a standstill meant the opponent truly possessed the strength equivalent to a Dragon-level monster.
*"Boom!"*
Sweet Mask punched away a large expanse of lightning in front of him, then looked up at Qingshui.
"That's enough. We'll stop here. You've passed. Congratulations, you've officially become a top-tier figure in the hero industry."
Sweet Mask shook his torn clothes and said to Qingshui.
If they kept fighting, all his clothes would be ruined, which would be rather unbecoming.
"Next time you speak, don't adopt such an arrogant posture. Otherwise, it won't be so easy for you, and you might lose terribly."
Qingshui put the black steel longsword back into his Devouring Pouch and said to Sweet Mask.
With his current strength, if he continued to fight Sweet Mask without risking his life, they could go on for a very long time.
Neither of them could truly defeat the other.
However, Qingshui's strength was still improving, and it was a precisely directed improvement, so his rate of becoming stronger was definitely not slow.
If there was a next encounter, without any surprises, he would be the one to win.
"Is that so? But everything I said was correct, wasn't it? I've said what I needed to say, and you've passed. I hope you won't tarnish beautiful justice in the future."
Sweet Mask chuckled softly, then stomped heavily on the ground with one foot. He shot up into the air and, with several consecutive leaps, jumped out of the massive, now greatly altered meteorite crater. He then got into the luxury car that had been parked outside all night.
First, he changed clothes in the car, then retrieved a pen and a form from the storage compartment in front of the passenger seat.
"Speed is a bit faster than mine, but the gap isn't wide. I'll give it a pass. Technique is excellent, methods are numerous, and combat experience is very rich. For these aspects, I can give an outstanding rating. Attack power and destructive power... barely a 'good,' since he managed to break my defense multiple times.
Appearance... while not perfect, it's barely outstanding. Personality... attitude towards justice... hmm, in other areas besides strength, while not entirely satisfying, it's much better than those who are just dead weight, or even dangerous individuals masquerading as heroes.
Overall, it looks decent and meets the standards of a high-quality S-class hero."
Sweet Mask quickly filled out the self-made hero analysis form with a few swift strokes, nodding slightly. Then he took out a new phone from the car's front storage compartment.
His previous one had broken during the fight.
"Mosquito mosquito, is this Sweet Mask-sama?"
"Yes, Black... Qingshui has received my approval and can be promoted to S-class."
Sweet Mask held the phone, watching the Black Samurai Armor ascend outside the car window, returning to City D. He continued, "Also, there's another matter. He requested to change the hero name Black Whirlwind Samurai. I heard he already submitted an application to the Association's higher-ups?"
"Yes, Sitch believes that if changing a hero name can increase hero motivation, it can be attempted, but it must have requirements for the hero's rank and cannot be changed multiple times.
However, Mr. Coates, who is in charge of personnel, believes this is a meaningless waste of resources and should be ignored."
On the other end of the phone, a gruff-voiced Association executive with stubble on his chin spoke to Sweet Mask.
His name was Bujing, Sitch's assistant, and the person responsible for contacting several important heroes when the higher-ups were absent.
"Tell the higher-ups that I support his decision to change his hero name. Additionally, we can use the internet to involve the public in this hero name change, for example, by having the public vote on a few suitable names and letting him make the final decision."
"I will convey your request."
Bujing nodded in response.
"Also, notify the publicity department that they can allocate more resources to him. His strength and overall conditions are quite good, making him worthy of promotion. His popularity shouldn't be bad, and it can, to some extent, improve the Association heroes' image and recognition among the public."
Sweet Mask drove while holding the phone to his ear.
"It seems you think highly of him."
"He's alright. Mostly, many of the S-class heroes in the Association don't satisfy me. He's one of the more suitable ones."
Sweet Mask said casually.
There were far too many abnormal people among the S-class heroes.
Among the few with relatively good images, Tatsumaki refused to cooperate, King was a low-key shut-in, Flashy Flash was a lone wolf, Bang had no interest in fame or fortune, Atomic Samurai was solely dedicated to swordsmanship, Child Emperor had cram school every day...
They couldn't possibly let Pig God and Puri-Puri Prisoner shoot promotional posters, could they?
The former was grotesque, but still tolerable to look at, and even quite suitable for food endorsements. The latter was no longer just grotesque; it was pure mental pollution.
Qingshui already possessed excellent promotional conditions, and given his tendency to guide and hype things up himself, he likely wouldn't resist.
"Understood."
Bujing understood that even if Qingshui's other conditions were excellent, the fact that Sweet Mask deemed him to have sufficient promotional value meant that Qingshui's strength had definitely reached a level that would make Sweet Mask look at him in a new light.
At the very least, he wouldn't be too far behind Sweet Mask; he was at least on the same tier.
The next day, six in the morning.
The Hero Association's News and Publicity Department held a press conference. The former A-class hero Black Whirlwind Samurai had been promoted to the Hero Association's seventeenth S-class hero due to his significant contributions and powerful strength in several recent major disasters.
"Master! Black Whirlwind Samurai-sama has been promoted to S-class!"
In the Fist of Flowing Water, Crushing Rock dojo, Charanko held the remote control and shouted to Bang in the bedroom.
"Faster than this old man expected, but it's a good thing. With outstanding young people constantly emerging, the burden on these old bones of mine can lighten a bit."
Bang slowly walked out of the bedroom, carrying a cup of tea. He smiled as he watched the promotional video of Qingshui, filmed overnight at the City D Hero Association branch, playing on the living room TV.
At the same time, in the beautifully decorated Haragiri Sword Dojo in downtown City D, business was booming.
This was because the Black Whirlwind Samurai endorsed the dojo and was also an honorary instructor there.
Although he was an honorary instructor, he had given two public classes there.
In the luxurious office on the second floor, Haragiri pressed one hand on Tiger Soul, watching the steady stream of students signing up. He felt like he was making a huge profit.
That one hundred million was truly worth it!
As a member of the Sword Saint Association and a renowned sword master, his teaching fees were very expensive, so much so that commoners couldn't afford them, and even the middle class had to grit their teeth to pay for them.
Just the one-month trial course fee, paid upon registration, was 200,000 to 300,000 yen. Afterward, there were beginner, formal, and advanced courses. The beginner course had the same price as the trial course but lasted longer, while the formal and advanced courses were even more expensive.
If Qingshui had only been a B-class hero, it would have certainly had some positive impact, but that one hundred million wouldn't have brought in much profit. However, after Qingshui became an A-class hero, that one hundred million was well worth it, especially given Qingshui's current high popularity.
And after Qingshui became an S-class hero, hundreds of City D residents signed up just today.
The opportunity to be taught by an S-class hero wasn't something money could simply buy.
With everyone signing up for the trial course, half of that one hundred million could be recouped today alone.
What's more, as the news spread and the connection between Qingshui and the Haragiri Sword Dojo was promoted, even more students from surrounding cities would flock here.
"Is this the fame and fortune that an S-class hero can bring? Divine Wind, no wonder you wanted to join the Hero Association and become that Atomic Samurai. You must really enjoy this life of being admired by thousands and having wealth at your fingertips, right?"
Haragiri's fingers caressed the hilt of Tiger Soul as he watched Qingshui's personal promotional video playing during the Hero Association press conference on the public display screen of the building across the street, his eyes flickering.
He was tempted.
If becoming an S-class hero could bring him immense fame, how much wealth could it bring to his Haragiri Sword Dojo?
Having an S-class hero as an endorser and honorary instructor couldn't compare to the benefits of Haragiri himself becoming an S-class hero.
"That guy forced me to use seventy percent of my power when we fought last time. Looking at the promotional video, his high-tech battle suit has been upgraded again, and he even resolved a Demon-level monster disaster yesterday. Perhaps his current strength is no longer below mine.
I wonder how long it would take for me to become an S-class hero if I joined the Hero Association with my current strength."
Haragiri was still hesitating.
As a fellow member of the Sword Saint Association, though Haragiri wasn't convinced by others, he knew in his heart that Atomic Samurai, the youngest member of the Sword Saint Association, was far stronger than him.
His concern was, what if he joined the Hero Association and his rank was lower than Atomic Samurai's? Wouldn't that be admitting he was inferior to Atomic Samurai?
The problem was that Atomic Samurai was already ranked very high among S-class heroes, at fourth place. The one ahead of him was Bang, a titan in the martial arts world, who had been practicing longer than Haragiri.
When Bang's name shook the martial arts world, Haragiri was just a young man starting his journey.
Atomic Samurai was hard to surpass, and Bang was even harder.
And there had to be a process from joining the association to becoming an S-class hero, right?
Even Divine Wind's three disciples were in the Hero Association and were already three top-ranked A-class heroes. Wouldn't he be overshadowed by Divine Wind's three disciples before he even became an S-class hero?
As for whether he could become an S-class hero, Haragiri didn't see that as an issue.
"Forget it. S-class heroes have fewer restrictions, but there are still restrictions. There's no need for this old man to have another Hero Association above his head. Let's see if we can renew Qingshui-kun's endorsement for a longer period and expand our cooperation."
The Haragiri Sword Dojo had only signed an eighteen-month contract with Qingshui.
Apart from Bang and Haragiri, many other S-class heroes from the Hero Association, including Atomic Samurai, Child Emperor, Superalloy Darkshine, and Metal Bat, also noticed that there was a new peer of their rank in the Hero Association.
This included a certain older loli watching TV at home.
"What?! That guy also got promoted to S-class? Why wasn't I informed first? What? The main person in charge of S-class hero promotions is that pretty boy Sweet Mask? Why not me? I'm unhappy!"
Tatsumaki sat on the sofa, holding her phone, chattering and venting her anger at a high-ranking association official on the other end of the line.
"Then... how about you and Sweet Mask jointly take charge of future S-class hero evaluations?"
Costes, the high-ranking official in charge of association personnel on the other end, said helplessly.
"Forget it, don't give me such troublesome things. But the people you promote had better be useful. Don't just promote anyone to S-class. Otherwise, if they can't handle things, it'll just cause me more trouble."
Tatsumaki looked at Fubuki, who was walking in through the door with her bag, and continued speaking into the phone.
"Miss Tatsumaki, please rest assured. The association's selection process for S-class heroes is extremely strict, with absolute hard requirements for achievements. In fact, Mr. Sweet Mask personally tested Mr. Qingshui yesterday evening and uploaded a comprehensive evaluation report. According to Sweet Mask's evaluation of Mr. Qingshui, his overall ability should be considered quite good among S-class heroes. If you need it, I can send you this internal report."
At the Hero Association headquarters, Costes pulled up the evaluation form uploaded by Sweet Mask and spoke to Tatsumaki on the other end of the phone.
He felt that Tatsumaki might have some objections to this Black Whirlwind Samurai, who was about to change his hero name.
Costes suddenly remembered a few pieces of gossip from yesterday, from his colleague McCoy in the operations department.
Could what he said be true?
That Fubuki, Hellish Blizzard, the top-ranked B-class hero and Tatsumaki's sister, was now pursuing the Black Whirlwind Samurai?
That was truly astonishing news.
Hmm... I wonder if these two would mind the association using this news for hype and promotion, to generate traffic and increase popularity.
Tatsumaki's attitude also needed to be considered. Looking at her, she seemed to be a sis-con, so she probably wouldn't agree.
It seemed that they would have to quietly hire some media outlets. As long as the association didn't get directly involved, Tatsumaki wouldn't be able to blame them.
On the other end of the phone.
"You all can handle it yourselves. Just do what you're supposed to."
Tatsumaki hung up the phone, clearly annoyed.
"Was big sister just talking to the Association higher-ups about Mr. Qingshui?" Fubuki asked cautiously.
"Fubuki, I admit that guy might have some real skill to make it to S-Class, but you need to be careful when you're dating men. You're still young, and it's easy to get tricked," Tatsumaki said to her sister, floating up from the sofa with her arms crossed, her tone serious.
"Huh? Ah? Big sister, I've already explained! I just wanted to bring Mr. Qingshui into the Blizzard Group. Both his strength and his insights and abilities would be a huge help to me!"
-----------
Machine Translation by: https:// beta.randomtranslator.com/
Read 1111+ original & fanfic translations in English, Español, Português, Deutsch, Français, or Русский at: https:// beta.randomtranslator.com/
Join our Discord: https:// discord.gg/NSWvfN7vua
-----------