Free Web NovelChapter 44: Chapter 44: Next
It wasn’t just the dozens, even hundreds, of people in the hall who were confused. Xie Yuan himself was completely baffled.
’I was just enjoying the show, and now the drama has landed right on my own head?’
Besides, if it had been anyone else, it might have been understandable. But why would Lin Tao suddenly think to recommend him?
Xie Yuan’s gaze shifted over to Lin Tao. Seeing the look on his face, Xie Yuan’s eyes narrowed slightly.
At that moment, everyone in the martial arts hall was looking at Xie Yuan, and the same thought crossed all their minds:
’Who is this guy?’ ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
Liu the Monk included.
He looked at Xie Yuan but, for a moment, couldn’t recall ever having such a disciple in the hall.
For one, Xie Yuan rarely showed up. For another, Liu the Monk had been overwhelmed with troubles recently and paid no attention to the nominal disciples.
’This doesn’t seem to be a Core Disciple, right? What does Lin Tao mean by recommending him?’
Liu the Monk cast a questioning glance at Lin Tao, but before the latter could explain, Hodar leaned in and whispered a few words in his ear.
Liu the Monk’s face lit up with understanding as he instantly remembered who Xie Yuan was.
He then looked at Hodar, his eyes searching, and received a firm nod in return.
Liu the Monk’s eyes brightened. He snapped his gaze back to Xie Yuan and asked in a slow voice:
"Xie Yuan, if you were to fight, would you be confident?"
Seeing Liu the Monk ask the question, the corners of Lin Tao’s mouth curled up secretly.
Xie Yuan took in Lin Tao’s expression and gave a cold smile.
’He just wants to embarrass me, make me look like a coward in public, and cause me to lose a great deal of face so he can feel better about what happened between us before?’
He retracted his gaze and calmly cupped his hands.
"Sect Leader, this disciple is willing to fight."
Liu the Monk’s eyes went wide. He slapped the armrest of his chair and declared loudly:
"Good! Xie Yuan, if you win, you will be handsomely rewarded!"
Xie Yuan smiled. This was exactly the outcome he wanted.
’I don’t want the price of the sect’s medicinal herbs to go up, and I was just worrying about how to get a breakthrough method. Isn’t this the perfect opportunity?’
He glanced at Lin Tao and saw his eyes were wide, as if he’d never imagined Xie Yuan would actually agree.
In Lin Tao’s eyes, even if Xie Yuan was a little stronger than him, the opponents from Black Tiger Fist Hall and Divine Weapon Hall were highly skilled and ruthless. Xie Yuan was no match for them and wouldn’t dare step into the ring.
But he actually agreed to fight. How dare he?
Lin Tao was stunned for a moment, then sneered. ’Overestimating his own abilities. This is even better! When he gets seriously injured, Master will be deeply disappointed and kick him out.’
Liu the Monk was now clearly clutching at Xie Yuan like a drowning man clutches a straw. Although he didn’t really believe this nominal disciple, whom his senior apprentice favored, could truly save the Iron Cloth Sect from this crisis... what if?
’A loss is a loss, anyway. This is a desperate gamble. But if he really wins...’
’It wouldn’t be out of the question to take him as a personal disciple!’
With a final glimmer of hope in his eyes, Liu the Monk watched intently as Xie Yuan walked into the center of the training grounds.
Xie Yuan looked at the disciple from the Divine Weapon Hall, cupped his hands slightly, and asked:
"My friend, do you need to rest?"
"I don’t need to rest to beat you lot."
His answer was identical to the one from the Black Tiger Fist Hall disciple.
Xie Yuan chuckled and nodded.
"Then don’t go crying foul later."
’Crying foul? About what?’
The Divine Weapon Hall disciple frowned and snorted coldly.
"Let’s begin."
Xie Yuan assumed a fist stance. Once his opponent was also ready, he took a single step forward and sent a straight punch toward his opponent’s chest.
The Divine Weapon Hall disciple saw this and felt a wave of contempt.
’I already demonstrated my grappling skills, yet he still dares to throw such a slow, straightforward punch right at me? So foolish. I’ll have to dislocate his entire arm to teach him a lesson.’
Outside the ring, anyone with a discerning eye shook their head at the sight. Liu the Monk was especially disappointed and let out a sigh.
"I’m such an idiot. Truly. I never should have trusted a nominal... huh?"
His gaze froze. He had suddenly noticed something was wrong.
In the ring, Xie Yuan’s fist met his opponent’s two claws. Just as it was about to be caught, it suddenly exploded with speed, accelerating at a rate completely disproportionate to its initial movement. It pierced through the gate of his opponent’s palms and struck him heavily on the chest.
CRACK! The Divine Weapon Hall disciple had two ribs broken. He spat out a mouthful of blood as he was sent flying backward to the ground.
The victor was decided in an instant.
Xie Yuan retracted his fist and stood still, letting out a breath. "Next," he said calmly.
The clamor at the edge of the grounds suddenly fell silent. Many people who had just started to shake their heads in disappointment froze mid-motion.
’It’s over?’
’That fast?’
’How is the result... not what I expected?’
Lin Tao’s eyes were wide. He felt that something was very wrong.
Wang Heihu shot to his feet, exclaiming in surprise:
"Fast and Slow Fist?"
Xie Yuan cupped his hands.
"Iron Cloth Long Fist."
Hearing this, Liu the Monk burst into laughter, his expression triumphant. "Wang Heihu, shows what you know, doesn’t it? That move is called ’Direct Assault on the Central Army,’ a killing blow from my Iron Cloth Long Fist. When mastered, one can control its speed at will, its transformations born from the mind. Not bad, not bad at all!"
Wang Heihu’s face darkened. He knew perfectly well what the Iron Cloth Long Fist was capable of. It was nowhere near that profound.
Xie Yuan played along by remaining silent. The fist was indeed ’Direct Assault on the Central Army,’ but the slow-then-fast motion was purely a mimicry of the technique his opponent had just used against Lin Tao. He had simply been holding back. It wasn’t some profound killing blow where he could change it at will.
It was a simple trick, but an effective one. The opponent knew how to use it, but failed to see it used against him.
But if Liu the Monk wanted to boast, Xie Yuan was happy to play along.
The Iron Cloth Sect’s side erupted in cheers, many disciples looking at Xie Yuan with excitement. In contrast, their opponents’ faces were grim as they silently carried their fallen comrade back.
The disciple from the Black Tiger Fist Hall who had fought earlier snorted and strode into the ring.
"Petty tricks, nothing worth mentioning."
"Understood. You don’t want your teeth."
Xie Yuan nodded.
The burly disciple’s face darkened. He gave a savage grin.
"You like to run your mouth? Let’s see if you’re still smiling in a moment!"
He attacked immediately, his fist like a fierce tiger emerging from the forest—both ferocious and fast!
However, Xie Yuan attacked at the same time. He didn’t use any fancy techniques, just blasted out a straight punch.
A fiercer, faster straight punch!
The Iron Cloth Long Fist was no more profound than the Black Tiger Fist Skill, but enhanced by Xie Yuan’s Inner Strength, its power was more than double his opponent’s!
Having reached the 2nd Layer of the Nourishing Regimen, Xie Yuan’s internal breath flowed like a stream, his stamina seemingly endless!
Seeing the power of this punch, the opponent’s expression changed drastically.
He hesitated for a split second, thinking of defending, but it was too late. Caught between offense and defense, in just an instant, the fist struck him right below the nose. His front teeth shattered, and his eyes rolled back in their sockets.
Xie Yuan’s punch had completely ignored his opponent’s attack. His fist flew straight for the man’s face, moving forward relentlessly.
His punch was heavier, and he was protected by the Iron Cloth Shirt technique. Why would he be afraid to trade injuries?
This was how the Iron Cloth Shirt and the Iron Cloth Long Fist were meant to be used together!
The opponent slowly crumpled, but Xie Yuan grabbed him by the collar. He landed three consecutive punches to the man’s abdomen, jolting him out of unconsciousness before tossing him aside.
Watching him on the ground, clutching his stomach and wheezing as he spat out bloody teeth, Xie Yuan chuckled.
"Still thinking of fighting back? You really don’t want your teeth."
This line was an exact copy of what was said before.
"Senior Brother Cao has a kind heart. Even though you were his opponent, he didn’t want to take advantage of you. But you’re the type who refuses a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit. You were just asking for a beating, so I was happy to oblige."
The arena fell silent. Even the disciples of the Iron Cloth Sect were speechless.
’The expert who had just easily defeated two of their own had also been beaten in a single move?’
But a moment later, they erupted into ferocious cheers, waving their hands excitedly at Xie Yuan! freewebnσvel.cøm
Wang Heihu shot to his feet, his expression grim.
"Kid, let me give you a piece of advice: where you can spare someone, you should."
"Hey, hey, hey, that’s not what you were saying just now. Something about ’Martial Artists,’ something about ’sparring’..."
"Oh, dear, my memory is so poor. What was it you said again?"
Liu the Monk grinned and picked at his ear, his sarcastic tone shutting Wang Heihu down. The latter sat back down with a grunt.
Liu the Monk looked at Xie Yuan with absolute admiration in his eyes.
’What a surprise! What an incredible surprise!’
Xie Yuan stood in the middle of the grounds. His gaze swept across the crowd, and the eyes of every disciple from the Black Tiger Fist Hall and the Divine Weapon Hall showed fear.
"Next."
Xie Yuan’s calm voice echoed across the training grounds. This time, however, it carried an invisible, oppressive weight.
A few disciples from the two visiting halls were eager to fight, but their confidence was shaky.
The two who had just been defeated were the top experts of their respective sects. According to their plan, those two alone were supposed to sweep the Iron Cloth Sect and build up their prestige. But both had been defeated in succession, and in just a single punch!
The others who wanted to win glory for their sects hesitated, comparing their own strength to what they had just witnessed.
Seeing that no one was stepping up to the challenge, the morale of the two visiting sects sank lower and lower, while the cheers from the Iron Cloth Sect disciples grew louder and louder.
Just then, Fang Wei, the Sect Leader of the Divine Weapon Hall who had been silent the whole time, spoke for the first time:
"Ah Jin, you go."
"Yes, Master!"
