Invitation to Spar

In the days that followed, Zhou You continued training, hoping to break through the bottleneck as soon as possible.

Tiger Subduing Fist was stuck at lv9, as though just a little more effort would allow him to break through to lv10.

Yet when that bottleneck came down to reality, it was so difficult that it drove one to despair.

Zhou You practiced Tiger Subduing Fist over and over. Other than gaining Experience Points, he saw no sign whatsoever of a breakthrough.

He continued using Tiger Bone Paste as usual, but its effects diminished time and again.

As time passed, he had been in the Outer Court for nearly two months.

Only one month remained. If he still could not cultivate Martial Force, he would be expelled from the martial arts school.

The pressure instantly increased tenfold...

That day, his roommate Liu Bing's hundred days had run out. Having failed to cultivate Martial Force, he was declared eliminated and packed his things to return to the countryside.

The farm boy silently packed his luggage, and no one could make out the expression on his face.

Although Zhou You had not become particularly close to him, they had lived together for dozens of days and were at least familiar faces.

Their other roommate, Fang Guiqi, was not there. He had arrived a little over ten days before Zhou You, and his time limit had not yet expired.

This outsider from Su City was usually elusive as a ghost, shrouded in mystery, as if he were hiding quite a few secrets.

"Zhou You, we've known each other for so many days, yet we've never really had a proper talk."

Liu Bing came before Zhou You with his bundle on his back.

He had always trained diligently as well, never relaxing for a moment except to eat and sleep. But his talent was lacking, and he still had failed to cultivate Martial Force.

Such was fate. It could not be forced.

Zhou You had wanted to offer him a few words of comfort, but Liu Bing said,

"You need to be careful. Zhang Shu has been spreading rumors about you everywhere, trying to slander you."

"They've been spreading like wildfire through the Outer Court lately. Once they reach Senior Disciple Brother's ears, things won't go well for you."

Liu Bing was leaving the martial arts school and returning to the countryside, so he no longer needed to fear Zhang Shu. He told Zhou You everything in one breath.

It turned out that Zhang Shu had secretly spread rumors that Zhou You had been sent by the Mad Horse Gang to steal their teachings.

As the rumors spread and fermented, even more sinister versions emerged.

One could imagine that once the master of the school learned of it, he would fly into a furious rage and deal with Zhou You on the spot.

According to the martial arts school's rules, one signed a Life and Death Contract upon entering. Even being beaten to death by one's master was only natural and proper.

Zhang Shu's intentions were vicious beyond measure, afraid that he might somehow fail to get Zhou You killed.

"So that's what it was."

Zhou You suddenly understood. No wonder so many new apprentices had been looking at him strangely lately.

He had never paid it much mind before, only now realizing the reason behind it.

The person involved was always the last to hear the rumors. If he had known earlier, he would have had a way to deal with them.

"Zhang Shu, considering you let me farm quite a few gold coins, I haven't bothered you lately."

"But you don't know what's good for you and had to come provoke me yourself."

It had to be said that Zhang Shu had some talent. He was quite skilled at making things up, spinning lies so convincingly they sounded true.

That was right, he had offended the Wild Fox Gang, and one of his childhood friends had joined the Mad Horse Gang. Those were both facts.

But to claim that he had joined the Mad Horse Gang because of that was utter nonsense.

Zhou You suddenly thought: what if Zhang Shu's grudge was not the only force behind this, and there was another mastermind in the shadows?

"Tu Laosan."

A name surfaced in his mind. If Tu Laosan had planned this in secret, then everything made much more sense.

Tu Laosan was simply waiting for Zhou You to fail at learning his craft and be driven from the martial arts school after three months.

Without the martial arts school's protection, and without having cultivated Martial Force, Zhou You would be no match for the Wild Fox Gang. He could only let others carve him up like fish on a chopping block.

To achieve that, they could not allow Zhou You an opportunity to break through.

Thus, Tu Laosan found Zhang Shu and used his hatred to infiltrate the martial arts school from within.

They shared the same goal and hit it off at once.

Tu Laosan provided the information, while Zhang Shu fabricated the rumors and spread them through the Outer Court.

The vicious intent behind spreading the rumors had two purposes:

First, to make Senior Disciple Brother, or even the master of the school, detest Zhou You and punish him or drive him from the martial arts school, so they would not need to wait three months.

Second, even if the martial arts school's higher-ups reacted slowly, the rumors could still disturb Zhou You's state of mind, leaving him unable to focus on training and ultimately getting him eliminated.

"Since I know about it now, I definitely can't let you have your way."

Zhou You rubbed his chin, already having a plan in mind.

At noon, as Zhou You ate, he looked around and saw that the new students were all looking at him somewhat strangely.

The rumors were already beginning to show their destructive power. Tu Laosan and Zhang Shu's scheme was working.

He did not eat much, stopping when he was only seventy percent full.

Hungry Tiger Hibernation Diagram had given him this inspiration. Martial artists consumed enormous amounts of energy, so they could not skip meals, but neither could they eat too much. Being too full easily weakened one's fighting spirit.

Just like a hungry tiger, one was fiercest only when driven by hunger.

Zhou You wanted to turn himself into a hungry tiger, never satisfied and never stopping his pursuit of prey.

He saw Zhang Shu together with several new apprentices and strode toward them.

Zhang Shu was chatting and laughing with his companions when he suddenly felt a tightness in his chest. Looking up, he saw Zhou You standing before him.

"Need something?"

Zhang Shu asked with a frown, clearly displeased. He was no longer afraid of Zhou You.

The previous night, he had secretly gone to report Zhou You to Senior Disciple Brother Lu Qiang, saying that Zhou You had ties to gangs.

Though Senior Disciple Brother had said nothing openly, Zhang Shu was certain that Zhou You was about to be in trouble.

All the new students in the Outer Court knew about Zhou You. As long as Senior Disciple Brother made a few inquiries, his plan would succeed.

In Zhang Shu's eyes, Zhou You was already a stray dog with nowhere to go.

"Nothing much. This afternoon, I'm inviting you to be my sparring partner."

"Why should I?"

Zhang Shu refused without the slightest courtesy, pointing at his companion beside him. "I already have a sparring partner."

The next moment, Zhou You's action shocked everyone present.

He raised his right fist and drove it straight at Zhang Shu's companion's face, striking as fast as lightning.

That new apprentice was Zhang Shu's sparring partner and his close lackey. He had contributed quite a bit to spreading the rumors.

As he watched the fist grow larger and larger in his vision, every hair on his body stood on end. He could practically smell the faint scent of blood.

With a speed of 12 points, even the target had no time to react, much less Zhang Shu and the others.

"You..."

Zhang Shu's sparring partner hastily raised his arms before his face. Then came a muffled boom, and his body jolted several times.

Crash!

The table and chairs instantly fell apart, splintered wood spilling across the floor like flowing water.

The pitiful sparring partner collapsed unconscious, his breathing faint and his face white as paper.

On both his left and right arms, the dents in his flesh happened to join together into the imprint of a fist.

Zhou You grabbed him by the collar and casually tossed him aside. "Now you don't have a sparring partner."

The scene fell completely silent. None of the new students said a word.

Zhang Shu's sparring partner was not weak. He ranked above average among the new students of the Outer Court, yet he could not withstand even a single exchange beneath Zhou You's fists.

Now all the pressure had landed on Zhang Shu.

Zhou You had struck his sparring partner. If he gave no response, he likely would have no friends willing to associate with him in the future.

"Zhou You, what kind of skill is a sneak attack?"

"This afternoon, I'll be your sparring partner. We'll have a fair match."

"I'll also ask Senior Disciple Brother to be present as a witness."

Zhang Shu was terribly guilty inside, but his voice grew more impassioned with every sentence.

If there were an idiom to describe his predicament, there was only one: riding a tiger, unable to get off.