Steward Zhao's Delight

Ye Zhen pressed forward step by step, with no intention of letting Ma Yuanwu off.

At first, Ma Yuanwu had not intended to tangle with Ye Zhen. He had come in the middle of the night to ambush Ye Zhen, only to end up being chased and cursed at by him instead. No matter how thick-skinned Ma Yuanwu was, he felt somewhat embarrassed.

But after suffering losses again and again under Ye Zhen's pursuit, Ma Yuanwu could no longer keep a straight face.

Especially since it was the dead of night. The three hundred Menial Disciples of Hundred Pine Peak, who had been sleeping soundly, had all been awakened by the commotion. Every one of them craned their necks to watch the show. Now that he was being chased down and beaten by Ye Zhen, Ma Yuanwu could no longer bear the blow to his dignity as Hundred Pine Peak's foremost Menial Disciple.

"Ye Zhen, don't think I'm afraid of you!" After exchanging a move, Ma Yuanwu roared angrily beneath everyone's gaze.

"Senior Disciple Brother, if we're doing this, we might as well finish it! Take him out right here!" Yu Ping, injured at the side, continued to shout wildly.

"Not afraid? Then come!"

Ye Zhen, who had been pursuing Ma Yuanwu, suddenly withdrew his fist and stood still, assuming a stance to receive his move. It was as if he were plainly saying: if you aren't afraid, come fight. If you don't dare fight, then you're afraid.

Ma Yuanwu's expression turned solemn as well. He knew clearly that if he refused to fight tonight beneath so many watching eyes, he would never again be able to hold his head high on Hundred Pine Peak.

"Fine! Since you're courting death, don't blame me for granting your wish!" With an angry roar, Ma Yuanwu's fists stirred up a powerful gale as he charged at Ye Zhen, who stood with his fists withdrawn.

Black Bear Emerging from Cave!

"Hmph, well-timed!"

Ye Zhen neither dodged nor retreated. His fist stance changed, and he likewise met him with a Black Bear Emerging from Cave.

Even before breaking through, he had been able to fight Ma Yuanwu to a draw. Now that Ye Zhen had broken through, what was wrong with meeting him head-on?

Seeing Ye Zhen meet him with an identical fist stance, Ma Yuanwu could not help feeling a little intimidated. The scene of his earlier sneak attack from above, when he had still failed to gain any advantage, flashed before his eyes again.

Bang!

In an instant, Ma Yuanwu, who had collided head-on with Ye Zhen, felt as though he had been struck by lightning. The immense force transmitted through his fist sent his body stumbling backward against his will.

The next moment, Ye Zhen, having seized the initiative, kicked his entire body flying backward. A mouthful of blood sprayed wildly through the air.

The gazes of more than three hundred bare-chested Menial Disciples—some wearing only their underwear—instantly froze. When they looked at Ye Zhen again, their eyes had become grave.

"Impossible! You can't possibly defeat me! Even if you broke through, you're only at the initial stage of the Blood Refining Triple Layer, while I've already reached the Peak Blood Refining Third Level..."

After breaking through to the Blood Qi Condensation Pearl of the Blood Refining Triple Layer, a martial artist's destructive power would soar when their strength erupted. But that surge was still based on their original strength.

Ma Yuanwu's own strength was only a little over three thousand jin. After his Blood Qi Condensation Pearl erupted, his strength could exceed four thousand jin. Yet Ye Zhen's strength had already reached four thousand jin at the peak of the Blood Refining Second Level, due to the tempering effects of the Mirage Dragon Pearl.

Once it erupted, it was nearly five thousand jin of force. With such a vast disparity in strength, it would have been strange if Ma Yuanwu had not lost.

Ye Zhen ignored Ma Yuanwu's shouting and first helped Sha Fei up.

But Sha Fei's condition sent Ye Zhen into a towering rage. Sha Fei's entire body was covered in countless wounds. Clearly, Ma Yuanwu's group had beaten him viciously, even inflicting internal injuries.

"Ye Zhen, they broke down the door and stormed into the room in the middle of the night. They wanted to cripple you. When they found you weren't there, they forced me to reveal your whereabouts and tortured me," Sha Fei said. "Luckily, you weren't here, or those bastards would have succeeded. Right, where did you go so late at night?"

"Couldn't sleep. I went out for a walk."

Ye Zhen answered casually, but an icy chill had already filled his face.

He had heard before that Menial Disciples would fight over the seed candidate position by launching midnight attacks, severely injuring their opponents and making them lose their qualifications. But he had never expected such a thing to happen to him.

The more Ye Zhen thought about it, the more afraid he became.

If he had been asleep in the room when Ma Yuanwu and the others had charged in, then no matter how capable he was, a sudden attack while deeply asleep would likely have seen him fall prey to their scheme. If things had gone even slightly worse, his entire life might have been ruined by that bastard Ma Yuanwu.

This incident sounded an alarm for Ye Zhen.

His expression turning cold, Ye Zhen walked toward the injured Ma Yuanwu, who was lying on the ground. Baleful intent overflowed from his face.

"Y-you... what are you going to do?"

"What?"

The corners of Ye Zhen's mouth curled up, exposing a row of white teeth gleaming with cold light. Then he raised his foot and began stomping down on Ma Yuanwu without restraint.

"For stealing the things my mother gave me!"

"For plotting against me!"

For a time, the sounds of breaking bones, cracking bones, coughing blood, and miserable screams rang out without end.

Since Ma Yuanwu had wanted to cripple Ye Zhen, Ye Zhen would absolutely not let him off easily. Death was a great taboo among the disciples of the various Menial Peaks, but injuries and crippling were commonplace.

After dealing with Ma Yuanwu, Ye Zhen turned his gaze toward Yu Ping and Chen An, whose legs were trembling at the side. Since these two had dared to come attack him in the dead of night, they could not be spared either.

"What about you two? Will you do it yourselves, or should I do it for you?" Ye Zhen gave Yu Ping and Chen An a grim smile.

Before Ye Zhen could even make a move, Yu Ping, who had been shouting so fiercely before, saw Ma Yuanwu's miserable state. His knees went weak, and he involuntarily knelt before Ye Zhen. "Senior Brother Ye, spare me! It wasn't me, it wasn't me! It was all Wu Jian's idea! Wu Jian was the one who egged us on!"

"Wu Jian?" Ye Zhen's expression turned cold once more.

Not long afterward, several bloodcurdling screams rang out from the houses on the eastern side of Hundred Pine Peak, startling countless night owls in the mountains.

The night remained as it had been, yet no one knew that the fates of several people on Hundred Pine Peak had quietly changed.

Clang!

The next morning, the gong of Steward Zhao, Hundred Pine Peak's Menial Disciple steward, rang out as usual. After gathering all the Menial Disciples, Steward Zhao narrowed his eyes and said, "Is anyone challenging Ma Yuanwu today for the seed candidate position... Hm? Where is Ma Yuanwu?" Steward Zhao was taken aback.

"Steward Zhao, I'm here! You have to uphold justice for me!" Ma Yuanwu's crying voice came from behind the crowd of Menial Disciples. He was wrapped from head to toe like a club.

Seeing Ma Yuanwu's pale face and injuries all over his body, Steward Zhao was both shocked and furious. Ma Yuanwu was Hundred Pine Peak's seed candidate, and Steward Zhao had been counting on him to bring glory to the peak. Yet he was now in this state?

Once Steward Zhao asked, countless Menial Disciples naturally answered his questions. In particular, those who had usually suffered greatly at Ma Yuanwu's hands eagerly embellished last night's events as they recounted them.

When Steward Zhao grew angry, a trace of delight and three parts anticipation appeared on Ma Yuanwu's face. But Steward Zhao's next words shattered the last shred of hope in Ma Yuanwu's eyes.

"What? Ma Yuanwu, Yu Ping, and Chen An ambushed Ye Zhen, yet all three were defeated?"

"Ma Yuanwu was defeated by Ye Zhen with a single punch?"

"Ye Zhen, is everything they said true?" Steward Zhao looked at Ye Zhen with an anxious expression.

Ye Zhen nodded somewhat uncertainly. He could not understand what Steward Zhao was trying to do.

"Hahahaha..."

The moment he saw Ye Zhen nod, Steward Zhao burst into loud laughter.

"Good, good, good! If you can defeat Ma Yuanwu with one punch, then there is great hope of successfully passing the Fish Dragon Path. If a Menial Disciple from our Hundred Pine Peak can successfully pass the Fish Dragon Path this year, then this peak's annual evaluation will surely receive a high rating. When that happens, the rank of our Hundred Pine Peak Menial Peak can rise by at least one minor tier!"

After laughing to himself, Steward Zhao could not help bursting into loud laughter again. "If the Menial Peak's rank rises by one minor tier, then the number of Menial Disciples under my command can increase by at least a hundred... Hahahaha..."

Still laughing, Steward Zhao returned to his office. Before entering, he turned and called to Ye Zhen, "Ye Zhen, for the next two days, I will grant you sick leave. You need not perform your duties. Prepare with all your strength, and strive to pass the Fish Dragon Path."

At this, Ye Zhen was overjoyed. Envious expressions appeared on the faces of the many Menial Disciples, while Ma Yuanwu's face suddenly turned deathly pale.

But it was not over yet.

With one foot already through the door, Steward Zhao's expression turned cold as he shouted at Ma Yuanwu, "Ma Yuanwu, Wu Jian, though you are injured, you are not exempt from your duties. Figure it out yourselves!"

After saying that, Steward Zhao glanced at Ye Zhen, and an inscrutable smile flickered through the corner of his eyes.

Ye Zhen understood. Steward Zhao was currying favor with him.

"From this moment onward, this peak's seed candidate is replaced by Ye Zhen. Does anyone wish to challenge him?"

"No? Then what are you standing around for? Go perform your duties!"

With Steward Zhao's shout, the Menial Disciples scattered in a rush. Only Ma Yuanwu, covered in wounds, remained there alone, looking utterly miserable. There was not even anyone left to help him up.

After a long while, Ma Yuanwu struggled back to his own room. His face was filled with venom as he said, "Ye Zhen, just you wait!"