“Old f*ck! You’re despicable!” Infuriated, Murong Xiaoyao pointed and screamed at Hu Haifeng.
However, Hu Haifeng himself was a hateful but experience Jianghu elite. He would not care about the words of a young girl like Xiaoyao.
“It’s useless to keep spewing nonsense.” He replied flatly, fiddling with the two jade balls in his hand once more. “According to our rules, I will let one more person leave if one of you can win the next fight. Naturally, all of you could just stay here if you’re afraid of taking the challenge. If so, don’t blame me for not giving you a second chance!”
“Hmph! For you weaklings, I alone am more than enough!” Hu Gaoyi strutted forward, and grinned while cracking his fists. “No mercy this time! I will cripple any who come against me!”
Murong Tian and Jinliu were upset Hu Haifeng’s words. His son, Hu Gaoyi was much more powerful than both of them – it was impossible for them to defeat him, much less fight three more rounds against him so that all four of them could leave.
“It’s ridiculous! How are we supposed to do that?!” Xiaoyao retorted tempestuously.
“Lady, you’re too naïve. This is Jianghu, not a kindergarten! Combat power is the only thing that matters here. So just try and beat me, and you could leave – or just kneel like a good doggy! Understood?” Hu Gaoyi mocked haughtily.
“Young master is right! Combat power is the only rule of Jianghu!”
“Those with the highest combat power are the only ones fit to rule. That’s the single iron rule of Jianghu!”
“Our young master’s combat power is extraordinary; his fist alone can scare them to death! He’s so great… And cool!”
The other Iron Gut members were excited once more, and they started to refill the air with their chorus of groveling and boot-licking. To them, Murong Tian and his party would never have the courage challenge their young master once more. His victory was assured.
“I…” Xiaoyao was speechless but visibly livid. It was the same for Murong Tian and Jinliu as well – the three of them thought the entire situation was hopeless.
“I’m going to count to three now. Face me, or stay here! Hahaha…” Hu Gaoyi started to laugh as if a winner who stood at the top of the world. There was no question that he brimmed with arrogance.
Meanwhile, Hu Haifeng had closed his eyes and continued his meditation while fiddling with the jade balls in his palm again.
That was when Chen Xiaobei stepped up.
“I shall grant your wish since you insist on being defeated by one of us!” He declared calmly.
“What?!” The crowd, including Murong Tian and Xiaoyao, gaped at the young man. They could not believe that he would have the guts to volunteer himself and challenge Hu Gaoyi.
Unbeknownst to them, Chen Xiaobei did not go through the Labyrinth of Wooden Dummies, which led to his own allies to believe that he was still very much a weakling.
That, of course, includes Jinliu.
“Mr. Chen, don’t risk your life!” He squeaked nervously. “This time, Hu Gaoyi will unleash his true combat power, and you will be crippled even if you manage to survive-”
Before he could finish, Chen Xiaobei had already dashed into the arena.
“I just want to make sure that I hear the rules right. Is there a line drawn for our battle? Or, there is no line drawn at all?” Chen asked calmly.
“Bahahaha… I think there is something wrong with this kid. How could he ask such a stupid question?” Hu Gaoyi laughed coldly. “Boy! There’s no line drawn in the Iron Gut Faction. As the saying goes: ‘weapons have no eyes, while fists and legs are out of our control sometimes!’ Death and injuries are extremely common in Jianghu, get lost if you don’t have the balls to fight!”
“Haha! Young master, you’re right! The disciples of Iron Gut Faction are real men. We never draw a line in our fights!”
“That’s right! Injuries are so common during our daily practice, only wimps draw a line in battle!”
“Brat, run home and ask your mom to breast feed you! Don’t embarrass yourself here! Hahaha…”
The disciples of Iron Gut Faction were taking turns to mock Chen Xiaobei, keenly anticipating his surrender like a piece of garbage.
“Fine, I agree with your terms.” He stared at all of them coldly in return. “No line should be drawn in the fight, but I just hope each one of you can remember that!”
“Hahaha… Of course we can remember that! Soon, you will be crippled. Look, the wheelchair and walking stick are waving at you!”
The crowd did their best to belittle and mock Chen Xiaobei, their waves of jibes and taunt surging at the young man mercilessly. Hu Haifeng, too, narrowed his eyes and threw his own snide.
“You arrogant bastard! You’re being real stupid right now!”
“Xiaobei! Be careful! He… He is really powerful…” Murong Tian frowned, beside himself with worry for Chen Xiaobei.
“Asshole Xiaobei! Just take a step back if you can’t defeat him…” Xiaoyao, too, was so worried she kept tugging at her own shirt unconsciously.
“Save your breath. Five moves, I will cripple this bastard within five moves!” Hu Gaoyi declared pompously.
“Hahaha… Young master, I think you overestimated him! You’ll beat his butt in less than five moves!” The crowd laughed at Chen Xiaobei again.
“Exactly! I don’t think I need five moves to defeat him as well – one move is all I need!” Chen Xiaobei roared, and charged towards Hu Gaoyi.
“Hehe! You don’t even know the basic martial arts… You are unworthy!” Hu Gaoyi guffawed and was prepared to simply ignore his attack.
However, everything changed in a split second.
Chen Xiaobei was moving at a demonic speed that was impossible for ordinary people to even catch his shadow. He had caught Hu Gaoyi’s throat before the ugly man even realized it, and his fingers kept digging into flesh.
“How… How is it possible that his movement is getting faster and faster?!! So fast!!!” Some who were fast enough to catch his movements exclaimed.
“What the hell just happened… What kind of speed was that… It’s scary…” Hu Gaoyi was already gasping for air while he was still trying to figure out what the deal was with Chen Xiaobei’s speed.
He did not realize the other, more immediate, major threat that was about to devour him.
*Slap*
A loud and powerful slap landed on Hu Gaoyi’s face. The echo from the slapping sound was deafening.
“Argh!!” Hu Gaoyi squealed like a pig. Three teeth coated with blood flew out of his mouth in perfect arches, and landed a few meters away.
*Gasp*
The crowd inhaled sharply and rubbed their faces unconsciously, as if the slaps landed on their own faces. It hurts to look at it.
*Slap!*
Chen Xiaobei landed another slap on Hu Gaoyi with his backhand before the crowd and Hu Gaoyi could gather themselves.
“Ouch!!!”
Another few more teeth escaped from Hu Gaoyi’s mouth. His cheeks were already swollen while the corners inside his mouth were dripping with blood. Somehow, the bleeding was also neatly arranged!
