Free Web NovelChapter 43: Chapter 43: Him
Seeing Wang Heihu had something else to say, Liu the Monk said impatiently,
"What is it?"
"Sect Leader Liu, Direct Disciples are all powerful Martial Artists. If they fight, things could get out of hand and spoil the friendly atmosphere. This is just a friendly sparring session; there’s no need to get so serious. Let’s just have some Core Disciples fight and keep the Direct Disciples out of it, shall we?"
Wang Heihu said with a smile.
A vein throbbed on Liu the Monk’s forehead.
’Fucking friendly sparring?’ he thought. ’They have some nerve. They’re trying to rip the Iron Cloth Gate out by its roots, and they call *this* friendly?’
’He obviously knows that after the First Training in the Iron Cloth Shirt, our Defense Power skyrockets. His disciples might not be a match for ours, which is why he’s insisting on keeping it below the level of Direct Disciples!’
’Before a disciple masters Skin Training, the effects of the Iron Cloth Shirt are limited. They’d be no match for the offensive techniques of the other two schools.’
Wang Heihu wore a smile that screamed he had everything under control. And while Fang Wei, the master of the Divine Weapon Hall, stood by without a word, his intentions were just as clear.
Liu the Monk glanced at them, swallowed his anger, and didn’t argue.
His opponents had set the rules. The situation was out of his hands. What choice did he have but to accept? It wasn’t as if they would listen to reason.
Whether they were regular or Direct Disciples, the members of the Iron Cloth Gate all felt wronged and frustrated. Even if they didn’t know about all the scheming behind the scenes, they could feel the condescending attitude of their opponents.
Xie Yuan frowned as well, thinking,
’They’re not here for a friendly visit. It seems they’re after the Iron Cloth Gate’s shares in the pharmacy business. If those are taken away, it would be like pulling the rug out from under the school. The Iron Cloth Gate already struggles to attract disciples; this would just make a bad situation even worse.’
’Doesn’t that mean the prices for the school’s medicinal supplements and baths are about to skyrocket, or even disappear altogether?’
Xie Yuan’s mood instantly soured.
He had come here just to watch the drama unfold. ’And now it’s going to affect my own training?’
Xie Yuan mulled it over for a moment.
’Core Disciples...’
In the middle of the training grounds.
A disciple from the Iron Cloth Gate and one from the Black Tiger Fist Hall now stood facing each other. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
The disciple from the Iron Cloth Gate was Zheng Dongxiang, one of the most senior Core Disciples. His skills were considerable, and he wasn’t far from mastering Skin Training.
The disciple from the Black Tiger Fist Hall was tall and brawny, dressed in a tight-fitting uniform, and radiated an intimidating aura.
Once the two were in position, they bowed to each other. No referee was needed; the match began at once.
The Black Tiger Fist Hall disciple attacked first, stepping forward and launching a punch like a pouncing tiger straight at Zheng Dongxiang’s chest!
The punch was wickedly fast and fierce. Zheng Dongxiang, not expecting such a swift attack, tried to parry with his hands but failed to stop it.
The fist shot past his hands and slammed into his upper arm. Zheng Dongxiang felt as if he’d been struck by a sledgehammer. He let out a muffled grunt and stumbled back two steps.
Seeing his opening, the Black Tiger disciple pressed his advantage. A storm of heavy, powerful punches rained down, enveloping Zheng Dongxiang’s entire upper body.
At first, Zheng Dongxiang tried to counterattack using the Iron Cloth Long Fist, but he was gradually reduced to simply parrying. When it came to the quality of their Fist Skill, he was completely outmatched.
The fight devolved into a one-sided drill, with one attacking and the other defending. Zheng Dongxiang was completely on the back foot, apparently trying to stall his opponent with his Iron Cloth Shirt.
But where in the world was there such a thing as an impenetrable defense? Even if one existed, it wouldn’t be found at this level of training.
Before long, Zheng Dongxiang had taken several heavy blows. Only the resilience granted by his Iron Cloth Shirt kept him on his feet.
Anyone could see that Zheng Dongxiang’s defeat was only a matter of time, and the spirits of the Iron Cloth Gate disciples sank.
Wang Heihu watched from the side, sneering to himself.
’What a turtle shell,’ he thought. ’Anyone else would have been defeated by now. But no matter how hard the shell, it can always be cracked.’
Sure enough, a few moves later, Zheng Dongxiang took another punch to the chest. The wind was knocked out of him, his hands faltered, and he was struck by a three-punch combination that sent him to the ground.
"Yeah!"
The disciples of the Black Tiger Fist Hall and the Divine Weapon Hall cheered in unison. In contrast, the grim-faced disciples of the Iron Cloth Gate remained silent, making it feel as if this were their opponents’ home turf.
The Black Tiger Fist Hall disciple’s Fist Skill was ferocious, his presence overwhelming—he was like a tiger descending from the mountains. Even though Zheng Dongxiang was one of the Iron Cloth Gate’s top disciples, he had been utterly outmatched.
Xie Yuan folded his arms and mused,
’No wonder the Iron Cloth Gate isn’t popular. Setting aside the actual power level, their Fist Skill just looks impressive and full of might. It’s much more visually appealing. And on top of that, their techniques are clearly more refined.’
Liu the Monk’s face was grim. He had expected a loss, but he hadn’t imagined Zheng Dongxiang wouldn’t get a single chance to fight back. There had been no hope of victory from the start.
Even if their skills were inferior, it shouldn’t have been this one-sided—and Zheng Dongxiang was by no means a poor fighter.
That disciple of theirs was incredibly skilled.
After all, they recruited far more disciples, so they had a larger pool of talent to choose from. It was only natural that they’d produce a few gifted fighters.
Liu the Monk swept his gaze coolly over his opponents and said in a low voice,
"Cao Shan, you’re up."
"Yes!"
Cao Shan stepped into the arena and cupped his fist in salute. His opponent was the same disciple as before, who simply folded his arms, tilted his head back arrogantly, and asked,
"You ready?"
Cao Shan returned the salute and asked,
"Do you need to rest?"
"I don’t need one to beat you lot."
The man grinned.
Anger flashed across Cao Shan’s face. He hadn’t wanted to take an unfair advantage, but he was stunned by his opponent’s hostility.
He snorted in anger.
"Then let’s begin!"
In the blink of an eye, the two were locked in combat.
However, even though Cao Shan was fresh and his opponent had just fought, he was still at a disadvantage.
The knowledge that his opponent had already fought a match made him anxious; it would be too humiliating if he couldn’t secure a win. This impatience made him rush, and his constant search for a counterattack threw his form into disarray.
He threw a punch at his opponent’s face, but he overcommitted, causing his footing to waver.
His opponent saw the opening, tilted his head slightly to dodge, and caught Cao Shan’s fist. His other hand shot out like a cannonball, smashing directly into Cao Shan’s face.
CRACK! The bridge of Cao Shan’s nose shattered, and blood streamed down his face.
Cao Shan had clearly lost the ability to fight, but his opponent didn’t let go. Pinning Cao Shan’s fist with one hand, he repeatedly punched him in the stomach. After several blows, he finally shoved him away and spat.
"Still trying to fight back!"
The disciples of the Iron Cloth Gate were ashen-faced and silent, a stark contrast to the opposing side.
Liu the Monk’s face was black as thunder.
"Wang Heihu, this is hardly a friendly spar! My disciple was already beaten. What was the meaning of that?"
"Hahaha, young people can be a bit hot-headed, that’s perfectly normal. Besides, this is a martial arts contest, not child’s play. It’s not like we signed a life-and-death waiver. At this level, what is this if not sparring?"
"Good. Good. Good."
Liu the Monk repeated the word three times without turning his head.
"Lin Tao, you’re up."
As Lin Tao stepped into the arena, the disciple from the Black Tiger Fist Hall, who was catching his breath, gave him a glance and then abruptly walked off.
A wiry disciple from the Divine Weapon Hall silently took his place and gave Lin Tao a slight bow.
Liu the Monk’s eye twitched. He sneered,
"You two are certainly in sync. So it’s a gauntlet today, is it?"
"It’s a three-way spar. Why be so particular about the order?"
Wang Heihu boomed with laughter.
The fight began. After exchanging a couple of probing moves, Lin Tao discovered that the Divine Weapon Hall disciple was using a Grapple Skill, targeting his joints with vicious precision.
But Lin Tao was no weakling. Having learned from Cao Shan’s defeat, he first focused on holding his ground before looking for a chance to counterattack.
Thanks to the Defense Power of his Iron Cloth Shirt, his opponent couldn’t get the better of him. They grappled for some time, and it seemed his opponent’s stamina was draining, his movements growing slower.
Lin Tao saw it clearly. His eyes lit up, and he lunged forward with a straight punch.
But unexpectedly, the wiry disciple’s movements suddenly accelerated. Far from being exhausted, he was now even faster than when the match began!
He seized Lin Tao’s entire arm with both hands. With a sharp twist and a pull, Lin Tao let out a choked grunt as his shoulder was dislocated!
The wiry disciple pressed his advantage mercilessly. Moving down from the shoulder, he proceeded to dislocate Lin Tao’s elbow and wrist as well.
Lin Tao could no longer bear the pain. He let out a wretched scream and collapsed to the ground, drenched in a cold sweat.
The match was decided.
Two Iron Cloth Gate disciples silently helped Lin Tao back to Liu the Monk’s side.
With a grim expression, Liu the Monk set Lin Tao’s dislocated joints. Then he let out a weary sigh.
"Forget it. We can’t win, so we won’t fight."
The surrounding disciples looked utterly dejected, remaining silent.
Lin Tao gritted his teeth. A glint flashed in his eyes as he shouted,
"Master, there’s someone in our school who’s stronger than me."
"Hm?"
Liu the Monk raised an eyebrow in confusion. The disciples who fought today were already among the top-ranking Core Disciples. Who could possibly be stronger?
Hearing Lin Tao deliberately raise his voice, Xie Yuan suddenly had a bad feeling. Sure enough, he saw Lin Tao turn and point directly at him.
"Him!"
Following Lin Tao’s finger, the three masters and dozens of disciples from the Iron Cloth Gate, the Divine Weapon Hall, and the Black Tiger Fist Hall all turned their heads in unison.
