"Good lad."
Seeing Lin Sheng agree so readily, the tall man was taken aback at first, but soon bared a mouthful of yellowed teeth in a grin.
"Ma Qiang, know your limits. Lin Sheng is a newcomer who has only just stepped onto the Martial Way. If you act like you did last time, I'll skin you."
Wang Sanyang gave him a warning, his gaze carrying a trace of sternness.
"Don't worry, Captain Wang. Haven't I yet to enter the Body Tempering realm myself? What's there to worry about? That brat last time was just too weak."
The tall man, Ma Qiang, waved a hand and answered rather perfunctorily.
The commotion naturally did not escape the notice of the others in the yard. Seeing Ma Qiang about to spar with a newcomer, even those who had not been interested began to gather around with some curiosity. A few people even emerged from the rooms around the courtyard.
"That big Ma is using another newcomer for practice. Wonder how many moves this newcomer can last."
"Yeah. Bad luck on his part, running into big Ma the moment he arrived. Tsk, tsk..."
"But this kid was brought in by Captain Wang, so his talent should be decent. Maybe he can hold out a few more moves. Unlike that newcomer last time, who accidentally got his leg injured and ended up lying in bed for half a month before he could even start work..."
The watching team members chatted among themselves without deliberately lowering their voices. Lin Sheng heard every word clearly, but his expression did not change. He understood that even in the peaceful environment of his previous life, newcomers could not escape being given a show of force.
Much less in this ancient age of chaos. Beast Hunter Hall was, after all, a high-risk line of work that licked blood from the edge of a blade. The violent emotions and pressure in people's hearts had to be released somehow. Compared to sparring with one another, bullying newcomers was undoubtedly more entertaining.
"Shut the hell up, all of you."
Wang Sanyang frowned and barked coldly, finally silencing the team members.
The crowd formed a circle, leaving an open space in the middle for Lin Sheng and Ma Qiang.
Ma Qiang rolled his neck, his face full of keen interest as he stared at Lin Sheng.
He loved sparring with others, but compared to these fellows in the yard, he preferred sparring with newcomers—especially gifted young men like this. Watching them come up short in his hands gave him a twisted sense of satisfaction.
"My name is Ma Qiang. Remember it, kid."
He grinned, then strode straight toward Lin Sheng, who stood on guard across from him.
Without waiting for Lin Sheng to answer, he had already thrown a punch.
His punch was heavy and forceful, carrying a whistling rush of wind.
Though it was merely an ordinary straight punch, it was not so easy to deal with. He had been born powerfully built, had practiced the Raging Bull Fist for some time, and usually focused on honing his strength. Setting everything else aside, among the ordinary members of Team Eleven, his strength absolutely ranked near the top.
Thus, whenever he fought, he opened with a punch. Whether his opponent met it head-on or withdrew to dodge, so long as they were weaker than him, he would seize the initiative. From then on, the rhythm of the fight would be under his control.
That was the experience he had gained from fighting all these years.
Seeing the other man's movement, a hint of surprise appeared in Lin Sheng's eyes.
It was not because the punch was particularly formidable.
It was because it was too slow.
That was right. Far too slow. In his eyes, the other man's punch seemed to have slowed by thirty or forty percent.
He had no intention of dodging. Raising a hand, he reached directly for the fist coming at him.
Bang.
With a dull thud, Lin Sheng's noticeably smaller hand firmly gripped the other man's fist.
Hmm!?
Seeing that his punch had actually been stopped, Ma Qiang froze for a moment before quickly struggling, trying to pull his fist free.
Feeling the force of the struggle in his palm, Lin Sheng found it hardly amounted to anything. He had the feeling that he would not even need to use half his strength to completely suppress the other man.
Only then did he realize that although Ma Qiang was powerfully built, he had not yet entered the Body Tempering realm. Naturally, his strength was far inferior to Lin Sheng's.
The requirement for joining Beast Hunter Hall was merely to cultivate the Raging Bull Fist to beginner level. As for martial artists who had cultivated it to minor mastery and successfully entered the Body Tempering realm, they could not possibly be everywhere here. At the very least, they counted as elites within Beast Hunter Hall.
At that thought, Lin Sheng lost most of his interest in the spar. Fighting an opponent far weaker than himself held little meaning.
Besides, in everyone's eyes, he had only just reached beginner level in the Raging Bull Fist. If he performed too outstandingly, people would inevitably notice something.
With that in mind, he deliberately loosened his grip and let Ma Qiang pull his fist away.
When the other man punched again, Lin Sheng turned aside and dodged. After evading several blows in succession, he took advantage of an opening to kick Ma Qiang's shin, making him cry out in pain and fall to the ground.
"You let me win."
"Let your mother win!!"
Just as Lin Sheng clasped his fists and was about to speak, Ma Qiang sprang up from the ground with a savage expression. Taking advantage of Lin Sheng speaking, he smashed a fist toward Lin Sheng's chest.
Whoosh...
This punch carried a howling wind, clearly several degrees stronger than the previous ones. If it landed on an ordinary person, broken bones and torn tendons would be inevitable. And this was the vital point of the chest—if this blow connected, even if it did not kill, it would leave him gravely injured.
"Ma Qiang, stop!!"
Seeing this, Wang Sanyang's expression changed slightly as he shouted sharply from the side. But Ma Qiang turned a deaf ear, his movement not slowing in the slightest. If anything, it sped up further.
Feeling the forceful wind rushing toward him, Lin Sheng's expression turned cold.
If this sudden attack had come before his breakthrough, he might not have been able to react in time. If he failed to respond quickly enough, what would the consequences have been?
Even if he survived, with serious injuries, he might not have been able to remain in Beast Hunter Hall.
His reaction was swift. His body nimbly shifted aside to evade the punch, then he stepped forward and, without the slightest courtesy, drove an elbow solidly into the other man's jaw.
Bang.
Amid the dull impact came the sound of bone cracking.
Ma Qiang merely let out a muffled groan before his tall, sturdy body toppled backward to the ground. Blood flowed from the corners of his mouth and nose, and he had already passed out.
The scene instantly fell silent. Even Wang Sanyang, who had been preparing to intervene, froze where he stood.
Fortunately, he reacted quickly. He immediately stepped forward and crouched to inspect Ma Qiang. Only after confirming that Ma Qiang had merely fainted and suffered some superficial injuries did he have someone carry him away.
Then he turned, his gaze falling upon Lin Sheng as something inscrutable flashed through his eyes.
"Lin Sheng, you did well. This incident was Ma Qiang's fault. Fortunately, nothing serious happened. He's rash and impulsive by nature, so don't take it too much to heart."
"Of course."
Hearing this, Lin Sheng showed no expression, merely giving a slight nod. Yet the other man's reaction gave rise to a few guesses in his heart, though he did not reveal anything.
"There's nothing much to do this morning. Zhang Ding, take Lin Sheng around and help him get familiar with the place."
Seeing that Lin Sheng was not dwelling on the matter, Wang Sanyang called out toward the crowd again.
"Got it, Captain Wang."
A thin, dark-skinned man emerged from the crowd, answering with a smiling, genial laugh.
"Alright, disperse. Get yourselves ready—we still have to enter the mountains this afternoon."
Wang Sanyang said one more thing to the group before turning and leaving the courtyard, apparently off to attend to something.
The crowd soon dispersed as well, but by now, the way they looked at Lin Sheng had already changed somewhat.
"My name's Zhang Ding. I reckon you're a few years younger than me, so I'll take the liberty of calling you Brother Lin."
The dark-skinned man spoke to Lin Sheng with a hearty smile.
Without waiting for Lin Sheng to answer, he continued.
"I never expected you to be so young yet so capable. That strength of yours isn't much worse than Ma Qiang's, and you're far faster than that big fool. No wonder you could defeat that big idiot so easily."
"I merely had a bit of luck," Lin Sheng said modestly.
"This has nothing to do with luck. Even if it happened again—no, ten times—Ma Qiang would never be your match. Tsk, tsk... Looks like your talent is much better than those previous newcomers. So long as you can stay alive, reaching the Muscle Forging realm shouldn't be a problem."
"It's just a pity you're already a little old, and you started learning martial arts rather late... Otherwise, you might not have been without a chance to touch upon the Blood Circulation realm someday..."
As he said this, Zhang Ding's face revealed a trace of regret.
"Oh? Brother Zhang, is there some particular meaning behind the Blood Circulation realm?"
Lin Sheng raised his brows slightly and asked.
From Zhang Ding's words, it was clear that he knew quite a bit about the realms of the Martial Way.
Before you continue