Free Web NovelChapter 42: Chapter 42: Village Bully, Sparring
Xie Yuan tossed Zhang the Second to the ground and dusted off his hands.
Everyone else in the woods, including Wang Lei and his three companions, had a dazed look on their faces.
How long had Zhang the Second been running roughshod over the village?
It probably started a few years ago, when his older brother, Brother Zhang, became a Martial Artist and joined the county yamen. Since then, Zhang the Second had been the village tyrant.
It began with petty theft, escalated to bullying men and preying on women, and now involved seizing farmland. Not even the village head or the clan elders could control him. Little Stone Village had long grown accustomed to the sky above them being owned by the Zhangs.
And now, this local despot was being beaten to a pulp, without even the strength to fight back?
’The tides are turning.’
Xie Yuan had flipped their world upside down.
Many of the thugs exchanged subtle glances. The quicker-witted ones had already used this chance to secretly scramble to their feet and slip away.
Take Wang Ergou, for example. He knew how vicious Xie Yuan could be. He had already crawled to the edge of the clearing, gotten up, and bolted.
Sure enough, after he finished with Zhang the Second, Xie Yuan ran over and gave each of the remaining thugs on the ground a hard slap across the face.
"Speak! Will you ever block my path again?"
"We won’t, we won’t! Yuanzi—no, Brother Yuan, we won’t dare!"
"Will you cause any more trouble in the village?"
"We won’t, we won’t dare!"
SMACK!
Xie Yuan slapped him again. The thug was baffled.
"Brother Yuan, what did I say wrong?"
Xie Yuan nodded in approval.
"I’m praising you for a good answer! Now, get lost!"
The thugs scattered like birds and beasts. The two who were slightly more loyal remembered to haul Zhang the Second up and drag him away with them.
He couldn’t just kill all of them. All he could do was teach them a lesson and let them go.
But after this, the village should quiet down significantly.
With the alpha wolf down, the remaining wild dogs wouldn’t necessarily stay obedient.
And unorganized wild dogs were nothing to worry about.
The real trouble was the person who was intentionally keeping these dogs.
Just then, Zhou Feng came over with a look of pure adoration and exclaimed,
"Brother Yuan, that was so cool!"
The others also looked at him differently now.
Although they had all felt that Xie Yuan had changed dramatically lately and was becoming more and more capable.
It was only after he had truly taken down the former village tyrant that they realized just how extraordinary Xie Yuan had become.
He was even more of a tyrant than Zhang the Second!
Wang Lei and the others were still thinking about how ruthless and decisive Xie Yuan’s actions were, single-handedly scattering this group of troublemakers. ’As expected of someone who has trained in martial arts.’
Only Zhu Dongming wasn’t particularly surprised. He knew that Xie Yuan hadn’t even been that ruthless.
「A few days later.」
As expected, the village was much quieter. News of what happened in the woods had quietly spread. Xie Yuan already had a high reputation for hunting tigers and bears, and now he had beaten up Zhang the Second...
Xie Yuan had eliminated the "three pests." Now, everyone in the village looked at him with a hint of respect. The young girls were even more fond of loitering by his gate, passing by several times a day.
It was only because his ambitions lay elsewhere. Otherwise, with a single shout, he could definitely gather another gang and become a village tyrant himself.
[Chopping Wood: (2712/10000)]
[Iron Cloth Shirt 3rd Layer: (673/1000)]
[Nourishing Arts 2nd Layer: (1369/2000)]
[Iron Garment Long Fist - Greater Mastery: (21/500)]
In his small courtyard, Xie Yuan finished his practice and stood still, glancing at the panel before him.
The progress for Chopping Wood had slowly but steadily increased. Although the next breakthrough was still a long way off, the abilities gained from the first two had completely changed the course of his life. He was quite excited to see what new ability he would get.
As for Iron Cloth Shirt, he was already past the halfway mark. It was time to start thinking about the breakthrough.
The Nourishing Arts progressed at a slow but steady pace, just like the art itself, which was subtly strengthening Xie Yuan’s constitution. The slowly growing internal energy also enhanced his power.
Finally, there was the Iron Garment Long Fist.
Xie Yuan threw a punch. It was so fast it was almost a blur, the wind from his fist howling with ferocious power.
"The techniques at Greater Mastery are so much more powerful!"
A smile appeared on Xie Yuan’s face.
"Though the Fist Skill is simple, once trained to this level, its power can’t be underestimated. If I had been at this level a few days ago, I wouldn’t have needed to cut down a tree to divide the battlefield. I could have just gone in, one punch per person, and taken them all out!"
Right now, the Blood Qi in his chest was gradually thickening, now about as wide as two thumbs pressed together. His Skin Training had reached a certain level. Added to that was the internal energy flowing like a stream through his meridians, providing an endless source of strength. With his Greater Mastery of Iron Garment Long Fist and his devastatingly powerful "Three-Axe Strikes," his strength had completely surpassed that of an ordinary person. Below the rank of a true Martial Artist, it would be hard to find anyone who could match him.
’My Iron Cloth Shirt is about to reach the peak of the 3rd Layer, but to truly master Skin Training, I need a special method. Only then can I become a true Martial Artist.’
Xie Yuan pondered.
’I should go to the martial arts hall and ask. Senior Brother Huo seems to think highly of me. Maybe he’ll be willing to recommend me to become a Core Disciple and teach me the method.’
「In Panlong Town, inside the Iron Cloth Sect.」
As soon as Xie Yuan entered the martial arts hall, he noticed disciples coming and going with serious expressions. The large training ground had been cleared out and swept spotlessly clean.
’What’s going on? Why isn’t anyone training? Is someone important coming?’
Xie Yuan pulled aside a probationary disciple he vaguely recognized and asked. freёwebnovel.com
"You don’t know? Today’s the day the Black Tiger Fist Hall and the Divine Weapon Hall are coming for an exchange."
"Nobody told me."
"Umm..."
Seeing the disciple’s expression, Xie Yuan let out a grunt and sheepishly let him go.
He came to the hall so rarely and was only a probationary disciple. It didn’t matter whether he showed up or not, so no one had bothered to inform him.
Xie Yuan’s interest was piqued. ’Looks like I came on the right day.’
He could see what a spar between Martial Artists actually looked like. He might even learn something to improve himself.
「The sun was high in the sky.」
A commotion suddenly erupted at the martial arts hall’s main gate. Then, the gates swung open, and two groups of people walked in.
One group was led by a burly, dark-skinned man. In the dead of winter, he wore only a cotton vest, revealing a pair of muscular, tiger-like arms.
The other was led by a white-haired old man of average height with a calm expression. But behind him, two disciples carried a large black iron spear that glinted menacingly under the sunlight.
Each leader was followed by about ten disciples. Crowded together, they blocked the entrance to the Iron Cloth Hall, making for quite an imposing sight.
Liu the Monk was already standing at the entrance to the main building. Seeing this display, his face darkened.
"Gentlemen, what’s the meaning of mobilizing so many people and making such a scene?"
The burly man laughed heartily.
"Sect Leader Liu, you call this ’mobilizing so many people’? We only brought a few disciples. Hey, what’s this? Are all the people from your Iron Cloth Sect here? Is this all you have?"
Liu the Monk’s expression turned ugly. The Iron Cloth Sect was already the weakest of the three. In terms of the number of disciples, they certainly couldn’t compare.
The burly man, who was none other than Wang Heihu, the master of the Black Tiger Fist Hall, continued,
"Ah, our two halls have so many disciples to raise, but the apothecaries in Panlong Town are always short on stock. Our disciples’ progress is slowing down, which makes us masters anxious. Look at you—your Iron Cloth Sect has so few disciples, yet you still occupy a large share of the apothecary’s supplies. A large portion of the medicinal herbs are sent directly to you. This isn’t right."
"Elder Fang and I have discussed it. The three of us will hold a martial tournament to re-negotiate the shares from the apothecary. As for the rules, we’ll have our disciples fight! Whoever wins the most is the strongest. We’ll rank ourselves one, two, and three, and then we’ll divide the shares accordingly!"
Liu the Monk’s brow furrowed. The shares from the Panlong Town apothecary had been set long ago, with the three schools getting roughly equal portions. But now that the Iron Cloth Sect was weak, the other two wanted to seize his share.
With the aid of medicinal supplements, martial arts training yields twice the results with half the effort, and disciples grow faster. If the Iron Cloth Sect’s share was reduced, the already weak sect would find it even harder to develop—and this was likely just the beginning.
Wang Heihu and Old Ghost Fang claimed it was about ranking them through a tournament, but it was obvious they had joined forces. Coming to the Iron Cloth Sect like this, they were clearly ganging up on him, two against one.
’I can’t even beat one of them. How can I fight two?’
A sense of helplessness washed over Liu the Monk, but given the circumstances, he had no choice.
He snorted coldly.
"Fine, so be it. Hodar, you’re up first!" freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
Although the Iron Cloth Sect was weak overall, his few Direct Disciples had been with him for a long time and their skills were not to be trifled with.
Moreover, his Iron Cloth Shirt was truly extraordinary. Among First Training disciples of the same realm, their defense was nearly unbreakable. He wasn’t afraid of any of the other two schools’ direct disciples!
Hodar’s expression was grave. Just as he was about to step into the arena, Wang Heihu suddenly chuckled and said,
"Hold on."
