Blade Clasped in a Tiger's Mouth

When Li Fei was practicing in a training room, Liu Xing also entered one.

There were already five people inside. Two were sparring, while the other three leaned against the wall, watching with smiles on their faces.

"Zhang-ge, Wang-ge, Zhao-ge."

Liu Xing piled a smile onto his face, bent slightly at the waist, and greeted the three men against the wall.

The three casually glanced at him but ignored him, continuing to watch the sparring in the middle.

Liu Xing was accustomed to this. He turned to look at the center as well and saw a man bare from the waist up, his lean, powerful muscles exposed, launching a fierce attack against another man wearing full protective gear.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Dull, thunderous impacts rang continuously through the training room. The man in full protective gear stood over 1.9 meters tall and was huge, clearly more than a weight class above his opponent, yet he was being beaten back again and again, able only to defend.

Liu Xing knew the burly man who stood 1.9 meters tall. His name was He Chao, and he specialized in the hard-body training techniques of Blue Hand—the Iron Shirt Cover. His naturally outstanding physique, coupled with that hard-body technique, had given him exceptionally strong resistance to blows, earning him third place in last month's Rank B Student Monthly Exam.

Yet at this moment, He Chao was being beaten without any ability to fight back.

The person sparring with He Chao was named Yuan Dao, a Rank A Student.

When Yuan Dao forced He Chao against the wall, he suddenly accelerated into a sprint, charging at the wall. Then he fiercely planted his right foot against it and used the force to leap into the air.

The familiar scene immediately reminded Liu Xing of the Flying Swallow Consecutive Kicks Li Fei had used on him before.

Sure enough, after Yuan Dao leaped up, he kicked his left leg toward He Chao in midair, knocking open a gap between the other man's raised hands.

Then his right foot shot through that gap and slammed heavily into the protective gear on He Chao's chest.

Bang!!! With an explosive crash, He Chao, man and gear together weighing over two hundred jin, was kicked completely off the ground and sent flying seven or eight meters!

After crashing heavily to the floor, He Chao let out a pained groan and failed to rise again.

Yuan Dao walked toward the fallen He Chao with his back to Liu Xing, allowing Liu Xing to clearly see the tattoo on Yuan Dao's back:

A white-browed tiger with hanging eyes, its gaze fierce with baleful intent, a blade clasped in its mouth.

Just looking at the tattoo made Liu Xing's scalp prickle, sending a chill down his spine.

It was the tattoo of the Tiger Sabre Gang. Only official martial artists of the Tiger Sabre Gang could have such a tattoo inked on their backs.

Yuan Dao walked over to the fallen He Chao and casually nudged him with his foot.

"Already done?"

He Chao clutched his chest and groaned in pain.

"I... I surrender."

Yuan Dao gave a scornful laugh and planted a foot on the man's chest.

"You would've won if you lasted ten minutes, but you couldn't even hold out five minutes wearing full protective gear. I gave you a chance, but you were useless."

Yuan Dao's foot nearly crushed the breath out of He Chao. In a tearful voice, he cried, "Dao-ge, I surrender! I was wrong!"

With one foot on He Chao's chest, Yuan Dao slowly crouched down. "If you run into one of my people in a Monthly Exam again, do you know what to do?"

He Chao hurriedly nodded.

"I know. I'll never dare do it again, Dao-ge!"

Only then did Yuan Dao stand up and remove his foot from the man. He then kicked him hard. "All right, get lost!"

He Chao struggled to climb to his feet, clutched his chest, and staggered out of the room.

Watching his miserable retreating figure, Liu Xing felt the sorrow of a rabbit dying before a fox.

The top three Rank A Students in the Monthly Exam could receive pills capable of changing one's aptitude, while the top three Rank B Students could also receive some resources. However, those resources had long been monopolized by others, forbidden to anyone else's touch.

"Liu Xing."

Yuan Dao turned around and looked at Liu Xing.

He wore his hair in a small braid and looked to be in his early twenties. He had a roguishly handsome air about him, with a trace of wickedness on his face.

"Dao-ge."

Liu Xing hurriedly jogged over to him.

"I just came from Mr. Hao's place."

Yuan Dao frowned slightly. "Didn't I tell you to be a sparring partner? Why did you come out so quickly?"

Liu Xing said cautiously, "Mr. Hao had me fight two matches against his student, then told me to leave."

Yuan Dao said, "Oh? Tell me exactly what happened."

So Liu Xing recounted his experiences from that morning in detail.

"Mr. Hao personally said he wanted this newly accepted student of his to compete for the top three in the Rank A Student Monthly Exam?"

After hearing this, Yuan Dao's expression darkened.

Liu Xing hurriedly nodded. "Yes. I heard Mr. Hao say it with my own ears."

"I understand. You did well. From now on, bring me any news related to this Li Fei as soon as you get it."

Yuan Dao patted Liu Xing on the shoulder, took a blue twenty-yuan banknote from his pocket, and said, "Take it. Payment for your trouble."

"Thank you, Dao-ge!"

Liu Xing accepted the note with both hands, a delighted smile appearing on his face.

For some wage earners in Xingcheng, twenty yuan was already a month's salary.

"Go on."

"All right, then I'll be leaving first."

Liu Xing left the training room with a smile on his face.

He recalled Li Fei's calm expression after defeating him, and an unusual thrill surged within him. So what if you're from a rich family? There are still things you won't be able to fight for!

After Liu Xing left, among the three men leaning against the wall, a fierce-looking middle-aged man with a scar across his face walked over and spoke.

"Dao-ge, what is this Hao Yi trying to do?"

Yuan Dao shook his head and looked at another young man with refined features. "Xiao Qi, did you find what I had you investigate?"

The refined young man named Xiao Qi nodded. "Dao-ge, I checked the archives. This new student Hao Yi accepted, Li Fei, is seventeen this year. He's a student in the Conflict Mitigation Department at Xingcheng Secondary Vocational School, and the son of a squad captain from the Overseeing Bureau."

"He has connections to the Overseeing Bureau. Looks like we can't recruit him."

Yuan Dao shook his head.

He looked at Xiao Qi. "Keep investigating Li Fei. I want to know the specifics of his family, what connection he has with Hao Yi, and the score from his most recent assessment."

"Understood, Dao-ge."

Xiao Qi nodded in acknowledgment.

"Dao-ge, he's only a freshman who just enrolled. Is there really a need to take him so seriously?"

The scar-faced middle-aged man asked.

"Even if he competes with us fairly, could he possibly beat us?"

Yuan Dao looked at him. "Before I came here, Master told me that throughout the entire Xingcheng Martial Arts Hall, the only one with real ability was Hao Yi. He told me to be extremely careful, because that man hated evil as though it were his mortal enemy and had a very poor opinion of our Tiger Sabre Gang."

"This..."

The other three all revealed grave expressions upon hearing this.

The Tiger Sabre Gang's Master had always planned every move without a miss. No one dared to take his words lightly.

"Before this, Hao Yi had not accepted any students and had not deliberately made trouble for us. But now he suddenly took on a student and is even having him compete for the top three rewards in the Monthly Exam. I have no choice but to be on guard."

Yuan Dao said, "Liu Xing's strength is already above average among Rank B Students, yet Li Fei defeated him easily. Clearly, Hao Yi's new student is no simple matter. If he merely wants the top three rewards from the Monthly Exam, then for Hao Yi's sake, it isn't as though I can't yield them to him. What I fear is that this person has ideas he shouldn't have."

"Should I go talk to him first?"

Xiao Qi asked tentatively.

Yuan Dao shook his head. "No rush. Someone will talk to him before we do."