Dueling and Personal Disciples

Dueling and Personal Disciples

Following behind Li Xingwu, aside from Wu Ran, were a man and a woman.

The woman wore her hair in a high ponytail and was quite striking. Even in her training uniform, the sleek lines of her figure were faintly visible.

However, a vicious aura lingered between her brows, ruining much of her beauty.

Even so, the moment she stepped out, she still drew the gazes of most of the men in the Martial Arts Training Field.

The other man looked to be the oldest of the three.

Compared with Wu Ran's arrogance and the woman's viciousness,

his expression appeared much gentler, and he occasionally nodded and smiled at those in the Martial Arts Training Field.

At that moment,

Shi Jian, acting as commentator, very consciously began fulfilling his duty by introducing the two to Chen Sheng.

"That woman is Li Qian. She's our Head Instructor's maternal granddaughter, and also your master's nephew."

"She joined the martial arts hall half a year ago. I heard something happened to her family back then, and she was the only one left."

"That woman has an awful temperament. Whenever there's a sparring match, she's the one who holds back the least. She often injures the hall's disciples."

"But she's talented, and with that family connection, the Head Instructor only ever scolds her a little. He never truly holds it against her."

"Whatever you do, don't provoke her. Better yet, don't have anything to do with her."

As he said this, Shi Jian seemed to recall some painful memory, and his eyebrows twitched violently.

"As for that other man, his name is Guo Yang."

"He's the Head Instructor's final disciple. He's studied Xingyi Quan for over ten years, and in the entire martial arts hall, no one but the Head Instructor is stronger than him."

"Senior Brother Guo has the mildest temper among the three Personal Disciples. He often guides us, unlike the other two, who are so full of themselves."

"If you draw Senior Brother Guo during sparring, consider yourself lucky."

Hearing this,

Chen Sheng finally gained a basic understanding of the other two.

"Wait."

"The sparring you mentioned just now is...?"

He had noticed a term in Shi Jian's words that he had never heard before.

But Shi Jian did not answer. He merely patted Chen Sheng on the shoulder and grinned.

"You'll find out soon enough."

At the same time,

Li Xingwu walked slowly to the tea table with his hands behind his back and sat down.

He lightly clapped his palms together.

Clap! The crisp sound echoed through the entire Martial Arts Training Field.

The moment the sound rang out, everyone began walking toward the tea table.

"Come on."

Shi Jian led Chen Sheng over as well.

Before long, everyone had gathered in front of the tea table, while Li Xingwu leisurely drank his tea.

Chen Sheng looked around.

He found that all the martial arts hall disciples wore anxious expressions. Some even had their eyes shut tight and their lips moving faintly, as though they were praying.

Soon,

Li Xingwu set down his teacup.

Bang! He snorted coldly and slammed his palm against the tea table.

"Look at you cowards."

"If you don't engage in actual combat, do you expect to become experts by training behind closed doors?!"

"For martial artists, aside from talent, courage is the most important thing."

"With no courage at all, how are you supposed to strike down enemies?!"

Li Xingwu's voice boomed like thunder.

His sharp gaze swept over those with anxious faces.

They hurriedly straightened their backs, putting on looks of fearless resolve.

Seeing this,

Li Xingwu spoke again.

"Zhang San, Zhao Si, Wang Wu. You'll follow Li Qian."

He called out several names in succession.

When those called heard the last sentence, their faces immediately turned bitter.

Chen Sheng could clearly hear Shi Jian beside him let out a heavy sigh of relief.

"Shi Jian, Wang Qiang, Liang Yi. You'll follow Wu Ran."

The expressions on these people's faces were neither pleased nor displeased.

"What a pity. Didn't draw the best lot."

Shi Jian sighed at the side.

"The rest of you will follow Guo Yang."

"And you, your name is Chen Sheng, right?"

After saying that, before the remaining people could rejoice, Li Xingwu's gaze suddenly pierced through the crowd and landed on Chen Sheng.

"You haven't practiced martial arts before. Watch carefully today, and learn carefully."

"Before long, you'll be joining the sparring too."

"When the time comes, if you perform too poorly, don't expect my idiot son to bail you out."

"My Xing Wu Martial Arts Hall doesn't keep freeloaders!"

As soon as he finished speaking,

most of the surrounding gazes fell on Chen Sheng.

This included the Personal Disciples Guo Yang and Li Qian.

They had both heard of this disciple of the hall master's son.

But they were only curious about what kind of person could make Li Chenghu personally bring him to the martial arts hall.

After all, Li Chenghu was merely a nominal disciple at the martial arts hall.

Everyone respected him only because he was the hall master's son and the captain of a Martial Security Bureau apprehension squad.

What he truly excelled at was boxing.

If they were really comparing martial arts attainments, he was inferior to most of those present.

"Junior Brother, do you know this person's background?"

Guo Yang quietly moved closer to Wu Ran and asked in a low voice.

"An ordinary nobody. Senior Brother, there's no need to worry."

Wu Ran did not pay as much attention to Chen Sheng as the others did.

Even as he said this, his eyes remained closed, as though he were thinking about something.

Hearing that,

Guo Yang nodded in relief.

He asked because the resources for Personal Disciples were limited.

The more of them there were, the less each person received.

Therefore,

the fewer Personal Disciples there were, the better.

Once he learned Chen Sheng posed no threat, Guo Yang immediately gave him a polite smile.

As for the other disciple, Li Qian,

after hearing Wu Ran's assessment, she stopped paying attention to Chen Sheng.

Chen Sheng knew nothing about the undercurrents among these Personal Disciples.

After Li Xingwu finished speaking, he cupped his fist in acknowledgment.

Afterward,

the three Personal Disciples each led a group of disciples and spread out to different corners of the Martial Arts Training Field.

Chen Sheng followed Shi Jian over to Wu Ran's side.

He planned to take turns observing the strength of these Personal Disciples.

"Who's first?"

Once everyone was in position, Wu Ran, standing in the middle, asked expressionlessly.

"Senior Brother Wu, I'll go first."

Shi Jian raised his hand.

"Better to get it over with."

He muttered under his breath before walking up to Wu Ran.

"Please instruct me."

Shi Jian cupped his fists in salute.

"Mm."

Wu Ran nodded slightly.

"I'll keep my strength at your level."

Chen Sheng immediately focused with full attention.

This was his first time seeing martial artists fight in real life.

The two assumed their stances at the same time.

Shi Jian launched the first attack.

In three swift strides, his huge body surged before Wu Ran with the force of wind and thunder.

His arm was like an axe blade, his fist cutting through the air as it chopped toward Wu Ran's neck.

The entire sequence took only the span of a breath.

It was far faster than the earlier demonstration.

Chen Sheng stared intently at the two, unwilling to miss the slightest detail.

Fortunately, his senses had improved considerably over the past few days.

Otherwise, he might not have been able to see Shi Jian's movements clearly.

At that moment,

with the fist about to land on his neck, Wu Ran remained unhurried.

"Too slow."

The next second, he moved.

His left leg stepped forward, while his right arm shot straight into Shi Jian's ribs.

Bang! The sudden pain in his ribs brought Shi Jian's attack to an abrupt halt.

He clenched his teeth, barely managing to keep his body from tilting.

However, Wu Ran's attack did not stop.

He stepped forward half a pace, his fist driving straight toward Shi Jian's chest.

Shi Jian hurriedly raised a block.

"Too much of an opening."

With another casual remark, Wu Ran instantly changed his move, turning a cannon punch into a drilling punch and striking Shi Jian's left ribs again.

Bang! "Your footwork is too unsteady."

Bang! "Your defense is too loose."

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang.

The final sound

was Shi Jian's body crashing onto the floor.

In less than ten seconds,

Shi Jian had been knocked to the ground without any ability to fight back, clutching the places where he had been struck and sucking in cold breaths.

"Leave when you're done."

"Don't waste time here."

Wu Ran looked impatient as he kicked Shi Jian on the ground.

Such cold behavior made Chen Sheng frown.

Shi Jian endured the pain and climbed to his feet.

"Thank you for your instruction, Senior Brother."

Afterward,

he limped back into the crowd.

"Next."

Wu Ran's indifferent voice rang out once more.