Chapter 122: Unexpected Finding
Translator: StackThatCoin Editor: Hitesh
A challenge? The group of burly men standing before the entrance was struck dumb. Each year, there would be a few new warrior clubs opening for business in Mighty Martial Street, and many of the existing warrior clubs would be pushed out by their competitors. Some would be challenged by some experts that came from outside the city and end up becoming a mere record in the history. However, how could such a matter happen to them?
Shi Tianmo was the Master of Shi Martial Club. Ninety years ago, he came to Ji City, set up a martial club and began teaching martial arts. After ninety years of hard work, currently, over thirty thousand apprentices were learning in Shi Martial Club, and among them, over seventy were warriors of Xiantian realm, and nearly one thousand were peak Houtian realm warriors. In addition to that, there was a rumor saying that although Shi Tianmo did not possess any Spirit Root in cultivating Dao, he was able to enter the path of Dao through martial arts, and had already cultivated to the peak Embryonic Breath tier of Xiantian realm. As long as he could break the barrier to the Dao of martial art with his formidable martial force, he would be able to transform his source energy and corporeal body with great determination and strength, which eventually would take a leap and allow him to step into the realm of Human Immortals from an ordinary warrior.
Over the last ninety years, Shi Tianmo had become a legend in all corners of this underworld of Ji City, an existence that could definitely be considered as a Grandmaster. Besides from those thirty thousand apprentices who were currently still practicing martial arts in his martial club, countless people had finished their apprenticeship from Shi Martial Club. Some of them had become the hanger-ons of influential clans, some became captains in the army, and some even became the leader of underworld gangs in Ji City. Although Ji City was an enormous place, except for those trades which were under the control of Imperial Clan, the apprentices of Shi Martial Club could be found in all other trades.
To be more specific, the overall strength of Shi Martial Club alone was stronger than the combined strength from tens of supreme influential and wealthy clans from the Lu Kingdom. No matter it was its absolute martial strength or its influence in Great Yan Dynasty, the Lu Kingdom was nowhere to be compared with Shi Tianmo, even if they poured in all their available power.
That was the reason why the plaque hanging on top of Shi Martial Club did not mention 'Shi Martial Club'. Instead, it showed 'Compel Submission by Martial', a bold and rather arrogant statement. If it was explained in a positive way, it meant Shi Tianmo's attainment in martial art was profound and extensive, and his virtue was lofty and respectable. Thus, he could compel someone into submission by martial arts. But when it was explained in a negative way, that simply meant, ‘If you are not convinced by him, Shi Martial Club will beat you with their fists until you are compelled.’ This was the true meaning of 'Compel Submission by Martial'.
With such a formidable overall strength, with such a mighty bearing, who could be so daring to shout for a challenge in the face of Shi Martial Club?
With a powerful kick, Princess Zhang Le knocked the front door of the martial club back into the courtyard. It was so sudden that all the burly men standing at the entrance were still in a trance. They stared blankly at Princess Zhang Le, their hands and legs stiffening as if they were dreaming. Their eyes were resting on her face, and for quite a long moment, none of them could understand what was going on.
Unlike their lack of response, Princess Zhang Le's movements were quicker and swifter than anybody else. Laughing merrily, she sprinted before two burly men, pulled out a handkerchief and placed on her palm. Then, she gave each of them a heavy and powerful slap on their face using it. *SLAP!* The loud and crystal clear slapping sound startled Wu Qi and made him shrink his neck, as he saw two burly men were being thrown in the air like feathers, blood bursting from their mouth while a few pieces of their teeth was shooting out together. Two men flew in a curve and then forcefully slammed into the courtyard behind the main entrance of Shi Martial Club, a large and spacious field that stretched nearly two miles in both length and width.
A loud boom rang out like a sudden thunderclap, as two front doors of the martial club, one foot thick and made from Golden-thread Sandal Wood, were thrown into the courtyard. Princess Zhang Le had exerted too much of her force in kicking them just now, causing them to continue sliding through the floor paved with stone slab after landing. A couple dozen young men were practicing martial art in the courtyard, but miserable cries instantly came out from their mouth as the doors knocked and broke their ankles, making them hold their legs while rolling and screaming on the ground.
It all happened way too suddenly. Over three thousand young men were standing in this large field, either lifting stone dumbbells the shape of padlocks or barbells, practicing martial technique with wooden dummies, or practicing blade and sword techniques. But all of them were now staring blankly towards the front entrance. Although it was a large field that was occupied by over a few thousand men, none of them made any noise. Only when the two burly men who were supposed to guard the entrance were thrown into the courtyard by Princess Zhang Le, a couple dozen young men who stood nearest to the front entrance roared out furiously, "Who is the fool that tries to court his own death in Shi Martial Club?"
Before their words could fade away, miserable cries were heard from the front entrance. Both serving ladies of Princess Zhang Le, Bai Zhu'er and Bai Zu'er [1], leaped off the coach with their eyes kindled with joy, and following what their master did just now, they gave each burly men standing at the front entrance a powerful kick, sending them into the courtyard. Although these two little maids did not have any real experience in fighting, after all, they were Imperial maids who owned a prestigious status in the Imperial Palace, and had consumed all kind of Spirit Pills, which gave them a cultivation of peak Houtian realm. Therefore, how could these doorkeepers withstand their powerful kicks?
As they were used to behaving lawlessly with the support of Princess Zhang Le, they did not know how to control their strength. The slap of Princess Zhang Le merely knocked off the teeth of two burly men, yet their kicks had nearly ripped and burst these men's viscera. Mouthful of fresh blood kept bursting out, and soon, a small puddle of blood was formed on the field.
Ringing clash of weapons being drawn out echoed in the entire courtyard. Nearly a few hundred apprentices of the martial club rushed over to weapon racks and pulled out all sorts of spears, blades, swords, while cursing furiously and dashing toward the front entrance. There were even some reckless youths who roared out loudly, "Let's find out where do these few girls come from! Kill the men behind them and feed their bones and flesh to dogs, then we'll have these few little girls warm our beds! Brothers, let's charge! The first one who captures them will be the first one to enjoy all three girls together!"
These apprentices who had their bodies soaking wet with sweat due to practicing lower grade martial arts in the courtyard of Shi Martial Club, they all came from the bottom layer of society, and they were infested with countless bad habits through their day to day life. Relying on their great numbers, these young men kept spewing out filthy words from their mouth, sweeping and flooding towards Princess Zhang Le, Bai Zhu'er, and Bai Zu'er like a thunderstorm. Initially, Princess Zhang Le was still having a bright smile on her face, thinking it was merely a game for him. But their words immediately ignited her and made her fume with rage as her face turned dark and stern. A five colored ring was seen flashing and flicking within her eyes.
With a wave of her arm, Princess Zhang Le snapped, "Break the limbs of all these men, then throw them into Myriad Red River and feed the fishes. Beat them hard for me, break their dog heads and seize this martial club! I want this martial club to be mine today!" Despite the fact that she was wearing a clumsy long dress, Princess Zhang Le thrust her leg out and kicked away a dozen of apprentices who drew closer to her. Then, she looked back and gave Wu Qi a sweet smile, "So you have taken a fancy to this martial club and want to open one yourself? Take it as a gift from me. When we return, I'll get those officials in Ji City Hall to bring you the title deed of this land!"
Flustered and exasperated, Princess Zhang Le did not control her force, and those who received a powerful kick from her had their bones and tendons broken instantly, with blood oozing out from their seven apertures. Before the other apprentices who rushed forth could see Princess Zhang Le's movements, their peers who came flying towards them had slammed into them and pushed them off the ground. Nearly one hundred men were rolling and struggling on the ground, crying out loud. It was a messy and sorry scene.
The large group of men who Wu Qi brought together had charged into the apprentices. Each wielded a long pike made from white wax, as tall as half the height of an adult and as thick as an adult's arm, swinging and hitting on those apprentices on the ground, breaking and shattering their limbs and ribs. It was especially so for those few experts from the Palace Guards, as they were greatly frightened on hearing how those apprentices of martial club cursed Princess Zhang Le in front of them. When the order was given out by Princess Zhang Le, they did not hold back their strength when attacking these foul apprentices, swinging their long pikes and hitting right on the vital points of these young and burly men.
Within a blink of an eye, more than a couple dozens of apprentices were killed, and nearly a hundred of them were severely wounded. Meng Xiaobai and a few men dragged these men out from the martial club and threw them onto the main street. A flood of people had gathered on the Mighty Martial Street. Countless rangers and warriors were rushing toward Shi Martial Club, unable to wait to witness who the brave man was that dared to come challenge Shi Martial Club.
The ferocious and brutal manner of Wu Qi and the company had forced all the apprentices to assemble in a group in the center of the field, throwing glances of rage and fear towards them. When an expert attacked, those in the same field would know his real strength. There were many warriors of Xiantian realm and peak Houtian realm in Shi Martial Club. Thus, these apprentices had cultivated a keen eye, and they could naturally tell that these group of a few hundred guards that Wu Qi brought were all top warriors of the Houtian realm, and not someone they could afford to offend.
Suddenly, a loud cry that sounded like the muffled roar of thunder came into the scene. A burly man, merely having a small piece of cloth clad before his crotch was seen sprinting forward from between the apprentices. He was exposing most of his fair skin and muscles, where nine wild tigers were beautifully tattooed, each with different expressions. The man who stood over nine feet tall stared at Princess Zhang Le and shouted out loud, "May I ask this young lady, what is the purpose of visiting Shi Martial Club?"
Arrogantly and proudly, Princess Zhang Le tilted her tiny chin upward, her eyes rolling and staring into the sky. She snorted coldly and said, "Are you deaf or something? I'm here to challenge you all! The location of your martial club is pretty good, and it covers a pretty large land. So, I've taken a fancy to it!"
Wu Qi had fully brought the supposed image of a henchman into play. From his sleeve, he fished out a chunk of gold and threw it on the ground. Then, he laughed loudly towards the man and said, "For those things my young miss takes fancy of, we never once fail to get it. Either you get Shi Tianmo here to talk with us, or here's three tael [2] of gold for the payment to the land of your Shi Martial Club. Trust me, you've made a big fortune with this three tael of gold!"
The burly man with tattoos of tigers had his face turned pale-green with anger. The land that Shi Martial Club occupied in Mighty Martial Street was really large. Many years ago, it took Shi Tianmo three years of hard work, challenging one martial club after another, and compelling each of them with his martial arts, eventually convincing the owners to sell the land cheaply to him. After ninety years, as Shi Martial Club had its fame spread throughout the place, the value of this mansion could no longer be measured with money.
But now, with just three teal of gold, they were trying to purchase such a large piece of land, and many buildings built on this piece of land? This was no different than a daylight robbery!
The burly man let out a cold laugh. He looked at Princess Zhang Le, shook his head, pointed his finger at Wu Qi and said sternly, "You have to prove that you have the ability to seize the foundation of Shi Martial Club. And, if you want to meet with our master, you better defeat us, the instructors of the front courtyard!"
A loud roar came from his mouth as his muscles began to poke right out. With a furious kick, he shattered two large pieces of stone bricks on the ground, then widened his eyes and let out a tiger howl. He wielded his fist and thrust it towards Wu Qi's chest. Apparently, compared to all other apprentices of Shi Martial Club, this burly man had a higher moral standing, as he did not want to fight with Princess Zhang Le, seeing that she was a girl. So instead, he chose Wu Qi as his opponent.
Before Wu Qi could move,, Meng Xiaobai, who just came back after throwing a few apprentices out to the street, was yelling while rushing towards the burly man.
"If you want to fight with my eldest brother, you'll have to defeat Xiaobai first!" A stream of white gas burst out from Meng Xiaobai's mouth, and a long and loud howling of a cow was heard. His muscles were poking right out as well, while he shook his body and produced a loud yet muffled boom that sounded like the roar of thunder, raising both fists high up and charging towards the burly man.
A loud rumble broke out, as Meng Xiaobai and the burly man exchanged a punch with each other. With blood flowing out from his mouth, Meng Xiaobai was forced back a couple of steps. On the other side, on the chest of the burly man was a one-inch deep mark of a fist. With a blank expression, he stared at Meng Xiaobai, then his body slowly softened and slipped off to the ground. Blood was oozing out from his seven apertures. The fist exchange between two men had brought Meng Xiaobai a severe injury, yet the burly man had his heart meridian shattered, dying on the spot.
Wu Qi let out a ferocious laugh, then grabbed on Meng Xiaobai's shoulder and slowly sent a thread of innate water energy into his body, helping him unclog the meridians and dissolve the congestion. While doing that, he snapped, "Is there anyone else? If no one dares to answer us, get Shi Tianmo here and talk with me!"
With an unsightly expression, all the apprentices of Shi Martial Club took a few steps backward, yet no one seemed to have the courage to say a word.
With a stern and aggressive glance, Wu Qi gazed at these apprentices. Suddenly, from behind this group of apprentices, he saw someone he never expected to see here!
When Wei Xiaoxiao paid a visit to Lu Chengfeng, this man was one of the guards that stood beside her coach! Right at this moment, he was seen bringing a few attendants and staring at Wu Qi with a shocked expression. Right when Wu Qi saw this man, he immediately spun and tried to leave.
[1] Bai Zhu'er and Bai Zu'er - Actually, both are having the same pinyin, one is 珠(pearl), the other one is 竹(bamboo). As they are not very important, I'll just use Bai Zhu'er and Bai Zu'er.
[2] Tael - A unit of measurement in ancient China. (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tael)
