New Opponent

The meals and medicinal baths in the Class A Room were like the best firewood, stoking the furnace within Li Yuan's body. He could feel the sound of blood surging beneath his skin growing louder each day, his strength seemingly inexhaustible, his whole body taut with energy.

But these comfortable days didn't last long before trouble came knocking.

The people in the Class A Room weren't the useless brutes who only knew how to yell like those in the Class C Room. When they looked at Li Yuan, their eyes held hooks, silent but piercing.

One afternoon, Li Yuan had just finished a set of stone locks in his courtyard, his body steaming. He was about to go inside to wash his face when the courtyard gate creaked open from the outside, unannounced.

Three people entered. The one in front was tall, named Zhou Meng, one of the headmaster's personal disciples, and quite famous in the Class A Room. He stood with his arms crossed, chin slightly raised, his gaze falling on Li Yuan as if appraising a newly stocked weapon, with scrutiny and a hint of undetectable disdain. The two behind him also looked like they were there to watch a show.

"Something wrong?" Li Yuan stopped, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and spoke calmly. He recognized Zhou Meng and knew that this person was tough and among the top tier in the Class A Room.

Zhou Meng didn't answer. His gaze swept over Li Yuan's sweat-soaked coarse cloth uniform, which outlined clear muscle lines, then glanced at the heavy stone locks in the courtyard that had clearly been used frequently. The corner of his mouth twitched.

"Li Yuan, right?" Zhou Meng finally spoke, his voice as hard as his person, carrying a tough edge. "Heard you broke the testing ironwood stakes with one punch?"

"Luck," Li Yuan replied concisely.

"Luck?" Zhou Meng scoffed, took a couple of steps forward, getting closer to Li Yuan. "Climbing from Class C Room to Class A Courtyard Number One was also luck? How come I don't have that luck?"

One of the men behind him chimed in sarcastically, "Senior Brother Zhou, maybe he ate something special, otherwise how could he have shot up so fast?"

Li Yuan's eyes remained unfazed. He just looked at Zhou Meng. "What do you want to say?"

"Simple." Zhou Meng stopped, standing three steps in front of Li Yuan. Their heights were similar, but their auras began to subtly clash. "Class A Courtyard Number One isn't a place anyone can live in. I, Zhou Meng, have trained in this martial hall for three years to get to the forefront of the Class A Room. You, a newcomer, haven't achieved anything yet, and you're riding on everyone's heads based on one test. The brothers are unhappy."

He paused, staring into Li Yuan's eyes. "Want to spar?"

It wasn't a question, but a declaration. Such things were common in martial halls, with veteran disciples suppressing newcomers, especially those like Li Yuan who were "air-dropped" in and occupied the best resources.

The courtyard fell silent, with only the rustling of leaves in the wind.

Li Yuan looked at Zhou Meng, clearly seeing the provocation and unconvinced attitude in his eyes. He knew this fight couldn't be avoided. In a martial hall, sometimes fists were more effective than reason.

He didn't speak. He casually draped the sweat-wiping cloth in his hand over a nearby stone lock, then turned and walked a few steps towards the open space in the center of the courtyard, stopping. The meaning was clear: Bring it on.

Zhou Meng's eyes sharpened, and he let out a low shout, "Good!"

The two behind him immediately retreated, clearing the area.

Zhou Meng wasted no time. He stomped his foot hard, leaving a shallow half-footprint on the bluestone slab. He charged forward like a predatory tiger! His right fist was clenched, his arm muscles bulging, carrying a gust of wind, aiming straight for Li Yuan's face! It was the Blustering Wind Martial Hall's signature technique—the Cracking Wind Fist!

This punch surpassed Zhao Hu and others in speed, power, and momentum. Before the fist even arrived, the oppressive wind pressure was already rushing towards him.

Li Yuan's pupils contracted slightly, but instead of retreating, he advanced!

He stepped forward half a pace with his left foot, his body tilting slightly to avoid the fiercest part of the punch, while his right arm, like a taut bowstring, suddenly shot out! There were no fancy moves, just a simple straight punch, aimed at Zhou Meng's wrist!

It landed first!

Can't find the book title? Try searching for the author, maybe they just changed their name!

"Slap!"

A crisp collision sound, like two pieces of hard wood hitting each other.

Zhou Meng felt a huge and tricky force coming from his wrist, both heavy and resilient, which actually forced his sure-to-win punch to be deflected! The momentum of his punch instantly scattered, leaving his center wide open!

His heart trembled, and he secretly thought it was bad. He quickly wanted to change his move and retreat.

But Li Yuan's movements were faster!

His right arm, which had blocked the opponent's punch, barely paused. His elbow shot out like a cannonball, using the momentum of his forward charge, and slammed fiercely into Zhou Meng's chest, which was wide open!

Zhou Meng only had time to hastily block with his left arm in front of his chest.

"Bang!"

A muffled thud.

Zhou Meng felt as if he had been hit by a charging wild bull. His blocking left arm instantly went numb, and a mighty force passed through his arm and smashed heavily into his chest. His blood churned, and he staggered back five or six steps until his back hit the courtyard wall before he finally stopped. His face flushed, his chest heaved violently, and his gaze towards Li Yuan was filled with shock.

One move!

In just one move, he hadn't even seen how the opponent made his move, and he had already lost!

The courtyard was dead silent.

The other two Class A Disciples who had come to watch the excitement had their mouths wide open, their eyeballs almost popping out. They knew Zhou Meng's strength; he was definitely among the top in Class A, and yet... he lost just like that? Lost so cleanly and decisively?

Li Yuan retracted his elbow and stood in place, his breathing steady, as if he had just casually swatted away a fly. He looked at Zhou Meng, who was leaning against the wall with a shifting expression, and said:

"Are you feeling better now?"

Zhou Meng's throat bobbed. He wanted to say something, but he felt the stifled feeling in his chest hadn't subsided yet. He looked at Li Yuan's calm, unruffled face, and the bit of unconvincedness and arrogance in his heart was completely shattered by that elbow strike. He wasn't someone who couldn't afford to lose, but the way he lost was too swift, too demoralizing.

He took a few deep breaths, forcefully suppressed the churning blood, straightened his body, cupped his fists towards Li Yuan, and said with a slightly dry voice: "...I'm impressed."

After speaking, he didn't linger. He turned and left, his steps a little hurried. Seeing this, the other two also quickly followed, looking dejected.

The courtyard gate closed again.

Li Yuan walked to the stone lock and picked up the cloth towel again, slowly wiping his elbow that had just collided. Not even a red mark was left there.

He raised his eyes and looked at the new layer of dust in the corner of the courtyard wall, his expression unchanged.

He knew this was just the beginning. The waters in Class A were much deeper than in Class C. After defeating one Zhou Meng, there would be Li Meng, Wang Meng.

But, it didn't matter.

He clenched his fist, feeling the surging power beneath his dermis.

He would defeat whoever came.