"Disciple Yuan, right? I can still forgive you for your audacious behavior if you kowtow before me and beg for forgiveness." Wu Laohu laughed out loud in a provocative manner.
However, Yuan remained calm and said, "If you fight every person that you bump into, you'll eventually bump into the wrong person and regret it."
Yuan's words wiped the smile off Wu Laohu's face, and Wu Laohu sneered, "I changed my mind. Even if you beg for forgiveness, it's already too late. I'm going to beat you until even your mother won't recognize you!"
"Elder Cheng, you can start the match!"
Elder Cheng nodded and said, "The rules for this match are simple— you fight until either one of you faints!"
The disciples were shocked when they heard the rules. Normally, one can end the fight by surrendering or leaving the stage, but according to Elder Cheng's words, they only lose when one of them loses consciousness! Isn't this basically a death match but without the death part?
"What? I have never seen such rules before! Did Elder Cheng and Mad Tiger plan this fight? I have heard rumors of it happening before as well!"
"Shhh! Don't let them hear you or you'll be on the stage next!"
Yuan's eyebrows twitched when he heard these disciples' whispers. Apparently, this isn't Wu Laohu's first time doing something like forcing another disciple to fight him.
'Why am I not surprised?' Yuan sighed inwardly.
"This is the true nature of the cultivation world, Brother Yuan. People will do whatever they can to achieve their goals." Xiao Hua's voice resounded inside his head.
Elder Cheng then continued, "Weapons are allowed in this match, but you are not allowed to use treasures! Furthermore, you are not allowed to kill each other!"
Elder Cheng looked at Wu Laohu as he said the last sentence, almost like it was specifically meant for him!
After all, even though he can help Wu Laohu rig a match, he won't be able to save him if he kills another disciple.
Seeing Elder Cheng's gaze, Wu Laohu showed a smile that said, "Don't worry, I won't kill him."
Elder Cheng nodded. He then turned to look at Yuan and said, "Are you ready to fight?"
"I am," Yuan responded calmly.
Wu Laohu retrieved an ordinary sword from his storage pouch and swung it around a few times with excitement in his movements.
Meanwhile, Yuan simply stood there without moving a single finger. Since he couldn't use treasures, all of his weapons were restricted. With that being said, he never planned on using a weapon to begin with.
"Does that disciple intend on fighting Mad Tiger without a weapon?! He's a madman!"
The disciples were dumbfounded when they saw this, and they couldn't tell if it was arrogance or stupidity.
Wu Laohu frowned when he saw this, thinking that Yuan was looking down on him.
"Hmph! As if I need a weapon to best your ass! In fact, I can beat you even more without a weapon!" Wu Laohu tossed his sword back into the storage pouch a few seconds later.
Meanwhile, many meters in the distance, hidden from plain sight, an old woman wearing high-ranking sect elder robes watched the match with a smile on her face.
"The Sect Master told me to protect him, but he also told me to not interfere unless necessary. While I could have prevented this match from even happening in the first place, that wouldn't be fair to Disciple Yuan who wanted to experience life as a disciple, right?"
This old lady was a high-ranking sect elder who worked at the Dispute Hall. Even though she could've stopped Wu Laohu and Elder Cheng from rigging this match, she purposefully allowed this match to continue so that Yuan could experience the true nature of the cultivation world and sects where unfairness is in every corner.
While the Dragon Essence Temple tries its best to keep certain things fair for the disciples, they only keep it to a minimum as a way to teach the disciples the laws of the jungle and prepare them for the outside world where everything is much worse.
Once both disciples were ready, Elder Cheng left the stage and said, "You may now begin the match!"
Immediately after Elder Cheng's words ended, Wu Laohu kicked his feet and rushed at Yuan with a bloodthirsty look on his face.
"I'm gonna make an example out of you and show the others what happens when you offend me, Mad Tiger Wu Laohu!"
Once he was close enough, Wu Laohu began clawing his hands at Yuan like a tiger relentlessly.
"..."
However, to the disciples' surprise, Yuan casually dodged every strike with a graceful movement technique they have never seen before.
"What kind of movement technique is that?!"
"I don't know, but look at his feet! You can see a trail of flames wherever he moves!"
"I guess this disciple has some ability, after all!"
The disciples were excited to see Yuan holding his own ground, but some of them still wanted to see a beatdown.
"Is that all you can do?! Dodge?! Fight me!"
Wu Laohu began getting irritated after a couple of minutes, feeling as though he was fighting an invisible enemy who he cannot hit.
Yuan remained silent as he continued dodging Wu Laohu's strikes.
A few more moments later, Yuan suddenly said, "I didn't want to fight, but you forced my hands."
Suddenly, Yuan disappeared from Wu Laohu's view and distanced himself.
"Where do you think you're going?!" Wu Laohu quickly turned around and chased after Yuan.
However, before he could even take two steps, Wu Laohu suddenly stopped moving and stood there like a statue, puzzling the spectators.
Meanwhile, Yuan stood there with a cold expression on his face, his eyes glowing brightly with a golden color as he activated Dragon's Gaze for the first time.
"T-This is…"
Wu Laohu's body trembled uncontrollably after seeing Yuan's golden eyes that emitted a feeling of absolute dominance.
Under the effects of Dragon's Gaze, Wu Laohu suddenly felt as though the entire world had darkened and the passage of time had stopped, and the only thing he could see was these two glowing eyes in the distance that were threatening his very existence!