Chaotic Battle

Having eaten and drunk their fill, streams of nourishment flowed into the Essence Flame, causing it to grow slightly stronger.

These past few days, Meng Yuan had been observing the Essence Flame and noticed that the type of food he ate affected how much nourishment the Essence Flame absorbed. Meat was the best, while rice, noodles, vegetables, and fruits were less effective.

Furthermore, there were differences even within meat. Eating lamb testicles and beef testicles was better than eating other types of meat.

Based on the current meals, Meng Yuan estimated that in about another month, the Essence Flame would be able to envelop his entire body, reaching a state of perfection.

What will happen then? Also, would eating other things be even better for the Essence Flame? Can I eat Demons... Meng Yuan couldn't help but think of Grandmother.

Just as he was thinking, a sharp pain shot up his arm.

"Why are you pinching me?" Meng Yuan quickly grabbed Tie Niu's hand.

"Brother!" Tie Niu said with a serious face, "My dad said that if you stare blankly at the tiger's mouth and laugh foolishly, I have to wake you up. I also have to ask you: Have you forgotten the little wife at home?"

"..." Meng Yuan didn't expect Uncle Big Head to have so little confidence in him, fearing he would be lured away by Demons.

"Did you forget? Tell me!" Tie Niu grabbed Meng Yuan's arm and shook him vigorously.

"Didn't forget..." Meng Yuan replied weakly.

By now, it was completely dark, and the moonlight was faint.

Everyone had finished eating and went to the training ground to practice Horse Stance Punch, followed by lifting Stone Rollers.

When the night grew deeper and they were covered in sweat from exhaustion, they finally dispersed.

Everyone else headed back to their living quarters, but Meng Yuan and Tie Niu were not in a hurry to leave.

As his body recovered and the Essence Flame within him flourished, Meng Yuan's strength had increased significantly. Lifting a twenty-jin Stone Roller was effortless.

Although he had been working hard at Pasture Manor, he had never tested his limits. Now was a good time to try.

Seeing that the training ground was empty, Meng Yuan chose a hundred-jin Stone Roller, settled into a horse stance, gripped the lifting points with both hands, and slowly lifted it with gritted teeth. He then silently counted to thirty before gently lowering it.

After catching his breath slightly, Meng Yuan went to try the two-hundred-jin Stone Roller. This time, he felt a sense of powerlessness. He could move it, but he couldn't lift it.

"Let me try!" Tie Niu grabbed the two-hundred-jin Stone Roller, grunting and using all his might, and actually lifted it slowly onto his shoulder.

The difference between people was indeed vast. This Tie Niu had strong muscles and bones, and great brute strength. He was truly born with divine power.

Meng Yuan estimated that his own limit was around one hundred and fifty jin, while Tie Niu's was around two hundred and fifty.

Of course, neither of them had undergone training. If they trained for a while longer, their strength would increase, and with more technique, they would be able to lift even heavier weights.

Besides, as the Essence Flame grew, his own strength would also increase.

The two of them chatted as they walked together to the well.

There were a total of twenty-seven people here, fifteen boys and twelve girls, all living in the training ground area, with their living quarters a hundred paces apart.

There was no hot water here, and the cold wind howled on winter nights, so most people went straight back to sleep. Only a few people would simply wash up by the well.

The girls were more particular and carried water back to their rooms to wash up.

"Master Nie said that martial artists shouldn't be bothered by minor details. It's so much better for us to wash up together here!" Wu Changsheng was also by the well, making lewd jokes to the female trainees.

Wu Changsheng flirted with the girls for a few sentences, and after being nudged by one of them, he eagerly carried a bucket of water to the girls' dormitory.

Meng Yuan and Tie Niu didn't say much. The two of them, bare-chested, washed up in the cold wind.

Seeing some female trainees approaching, praising Wu Changsheng for being observant and subtly encouraging Meng Yuan and Tie Niu to help, the two of them were honest people and didn't understand at all. They quickly dried themselves and headed back to the dormitory.

Pushing open the dormitory door, the oil lamp inside cast a dim light.

"Newcomers!" As soon as Meng Yuan and Tie Niu entered, the room fell silent, and then a few strange laughs broke out.

Meng Yuan looked over and saw a person sitting against the wall at the far end of the long heated brick bed, with their legs propped up high. Two boys were sitting cross-legged on either side, all smiling and looking over.

Two bundles were thrown on the ground, with shoes and socks scattered inside. They were clearly his and Tie Niu's.

Some of the others in the room were lying down to sleep, while others looked like they were waiting to watch a show.

"Go!" The boy with his legs propped up chuckled and pointed outside, "Go get me a basin of water to wash my feet."

"Where's the basin?" Meng Yuan asked with a smile.

"Are your eyes just for decoration?" The boy glared at Meng Yuan and pointed at the ground.

Where there were many people, there would inevitably be a hierarchy, with some bullying others and some being bullied.

Meng Yuan didn't want to cause trouble, nor did he have any intention of bullying others. But someone was trying to assert dominance over him, and those bundles were specially washed clean by Jiang Yatou in the cold weather!

Having experienced being on the verge of starvation once, Meng Yuan cherished his life and especially didn't want to cause trouble. But...

Meng Yuan walked forward, picked up the wooden basin, then suddenly stepped onto the heated brick bed. The wooden basin directly hit the boy's face, and then he followed up, raising his foot to kick the boy's head.

"How dare you hit me? I'm Steward Liu's son!" The boy didn't expect Meng Yuan to completely disregard martial ethics. At this moment, blood was spurting from his face, and he was crying and howling.

The two boys next to Steward Liu's son were stunned for a moment before they came to their senses and quickly tried to stop Meng Yuan. One of them was kicked in the lower abdomen, and the other was grabbed by the arm, then a strong force pulled him forward, and he was already lying on the ground.

Meng Yuan had dealt with the helpers, and his main target was still Steward Liu's son, who had provoked him.

"Quick, come help!" The boy covered his head with both hands, squatted on the heated brick bed, and howled.

Seeing this, the others quickly came forward. Some tried to hug Meng Yuan's waist, some tried to hug his legs, and some shouted to break up the fight, but they were throwing punches at Meng Yuan.

Tie Niu was an honest child. He was originally loudly trying to break up the fight, but seeing that no one was listening and that Meng Yuan was surrounded, he shouted and stepped forward, grabbing one person and throwing them back. "Don't hit my brother!"

He was incredibly strong, and in one go, he threw five or six people back. He grabbed another, but felt that this person was quite strong and he couldn't quite pull them.

"Tie Niu, it's me! Watch who you're fighting!" Meng Yuan was fighting fiercely when Tie Niu grabbed him by the waist.

"I haven't fought before, brother!" Tie Niu quickly let go and grabbed someone else instead.

For a moment, seven or eight people couldn't do anything to Meng Yuan and Tie Niu. The men's dormitory was filled with cries of pain.

"Don't fight! Don't fight!" Wu Changsheng was outside trying to please the female students. Hearing the commotion, he quickly came to mediate, but he couldn't stop them at all.

He wanted to go up and pull people apart, but someone kicked over an oil lamp, and the men's dormitory instantly became pitch black. He was also accidentally injured in the face.

For a moment, the heated bed became a battlefield. It was so dark that no one knew who was hitting whom, and it had already turned into a chaotic mess.

These people had only been learning martial arts for five or six days. They fought without any rules, it was a complete free-for-all.

After a while, the wailing grew louder and louder. People kept shouting for them to stop, but Meng Yuan didn't stop at all, only focusing on hitting that young man.

"Stop fighting!" The door of the men's dormitory was suddenly pushed open, and several female students shone lanterns inside.

"Everyone stop!" A tall female student holding an oil lamp walked in. This woman seemed to have quite a bit of authority. Wu Changsheng, while plugging the blood in his nose, lowered his head.

All the young men also stopped. For a moment, no one spoke, but there were many sounds of crying.

Fifteen young men were seen, except for three who hadn't moved, all the others were injured, all bruised and swollen, even Wu Changsheng, who was trying to break up the fight, was affected.

"Who started it?" the tall female student asked.

All the young men looked at Meng Yuan and the son of Steward Liu. Seeing this, Tie Niu quickly stood beside Meng Yuan.

Meng Yuan's hand was still grabbing the son of Steward Liu's hair at this time. He didn't look at anyone else, just pulled back hard, and the son of Steward Liu raised his head, his nosebleed still flowing heavily.

"From now on, if I find anyone touching my and Tie Niu's things again, I'll hit you." Meng Yuan was bare-chested, his front and back were bruised and purple, but he didn't care at all. He just looked around, then his gaze fell on the son of Steward Liu.

The son of Steward Liu was bruised and swollen, his clothes were tattered, tears flowed from his red and swollen eyes, mixing with the blood on his face and flowing into his mouth. He kept crying and whimpering, "You'll hit me even if I didn't do it?"

"Yes, I'll only hit you." Meng Yuan deeply understood the principle of striking first.

"Sister Qian, save me..." The son of Steward Liu cried even harder, looking pleadingly at the tall girl at the door.

"Crying? I'll hit you even if you cry." Meng Yuan let go, blew out a bloody snot, wiped his hand, and smeared it on the son of Steward Liu's clothes.

Tie Niu followed suit, but the sound of him blowing his nose was too loud and too rough, completely lacking any grace.

The tall female student glanced at Meng Yuan, frowned, and said, "Everyone go to sleep! If anyone dares to fight again, they'll be kicked out tomorrow!"

"Don't worry, sister." Wu Changsheng's face was swollen on one side, and he squeezed out a smile at the tall female student, then stepped forward and patted Meng Yuan and Tie Niu on the shoulders.

Everyone tidied up the things on the ground and indeed didn't cause any more trouble, each falling into a deep sleep.