"Huh?" The boy had been thoroughly enjoying An Jing's one-sided beatdowns, nearly cheering, "Hit him harder!" and "Knock that guy flat!" He was instantly dumbfounded. In disbelief, he pointed at himself. "Knock An Jing flat?"
"Me?"
This boy was one of the three who had finished the run but hadn't challenged An Jing. His name was Cang Linzu, and he was indeed quite capable. He had even attended the Dachen Martial Academy, and his eye for these things was sharp.
That was precisely why he knew An Jing had probably just been a little "tired" the day before yesterday, while he himself was already nearly spent. The gap in their stamina would be difficult to overcome.
A man ought to know his own limits. Why bother?
Still, being singled out by the instructor only piqued Cang Linzu's interest. He looked toward the platform.
By now, after defeating nine challengers in a row, An Jing had indeed begun to show a trace of fatigue.
It's not as if I'll get seriously hurt... This really is a good chance!
"Fine. I'll give it a try."
Don't blame me, An Jing. You're too strong. I can only share the ring with you by taking a small advantage.
With that thought, Cang Linzu stepped into the fighting ring, while the original tenth challenger announced his forfeit.
An Jing turned his head and looked at Cang Linzu.
He wasn't tired at all, actually. But when he defeated the fifth challenger, he had noticed Instructor Li's change in demeanor.
He wasn't stupid. It only took a little thought to understand that this "challenge," secretly encouraged by Xuanming Manor, along with all the meat he'd been eating, was meant to spur the disciples to compete with one another.
From now on, the manor's training would grow increasingly strict. The instructors would encourage the disciples to challenge and fight one another, selecting the best in both ability and martial prowess. Before graduation, they would determine who truly deserved to be the "Senior Brother."
But that depended on the top spot changing hands, giving the disciples a reason to fight for it.
If he was too strong, he'd crush everyone else's enthusiasm. Faced with an opponent they had no hope of beating, everyone would just give up.
No wonder Instructor Li was so troubled.
But that had nothing to do with him.
An Jing wasn't going to lose. At most, he could pretend to have a harder time winning, so the others would feel they might have a chance.
"Pardon me!"
Cang Linzu didn't take a weapon, and An Jing tossed aside the short staff in his hand. Clearly, they were going to spar barehanded.
They saluted each other. The next instant, the wind whistled as Cang Linzu stepped forward and threw a straight cannon punch.
The Dachen Martial Academy had branches throughout the realm. The imperial court used it to seek out talent and draw the nation's outstanding youths into its fold. Every student who could enter the academy would one day reach at least the Tide of Internal Breath realm, enough to serve as a guardian of a region.
Cang Linzu hadn't studied at the academy for long before the Frost Calamity struck and reduced him to a refugee. But for that very reason, his martial skills had been tempered by blood and fire. His cannon punch was nothing like those of the other challengers. It carried a hint of ferocity, thundered forward, and aimed straight for An Jing's heart.
An Jing narrowed his eyes. He raised his left hand to parry and met Cang Linzu's strike head-on. Both of them swayed slightly from the impact. Then An Jing reached forward with his right hand, while actually stepping in with his right leg to stomp on Cang Linzu's instep.
But Cang Linzu's footwork was just as solid. He angled his left foot aside to dodge the stomp, then hooked his rear leg around An Jing's, making it difficult for him to evade. Twisting at the waist and putting his strength behind it, Cang Linzu followed up with another fluid punch to the heart.
An Jing had seen it coming. Cang Linzu's punches and footwork were solid; he was clearly classically trained and had real combat experience. Even with An Jing's greater experience, he couldn't spot an opening and beat him with a single move the way he had the others.
So, before Cang Linzu even threw his punch, An Jing had already put strength into his outstretched right hand and aimed straight for Cang Linzu's right shoulder.
This exchange of blows, each man taking a hit to land one of his own, was beyond Cang Linzu's experience. When An Jing struck his right shoulder, his strength immediately ebbed and his aim went off. His punch only hit An Jing's left shoulder, and it felt like striking a leather sack packed with hard sand.
They each landed a blow and stepped back. They seemed evenly matched, but only a few people could tell who had the advantage.
This is bad!
Realizing he'd lost the initiative, Cang Linzu dropped into a crouch and rolled across the ground. As expected, An Jing had already darted in, and his knee strike missed.
Taking advantage of the opening, Cang Linzu lunged sideways, only for An Jing to smash him with a left elbow. He had no choice but to meet the blow head-on again, his body stiffening in place.
This time, Cang Linzu was at a disadvantage. Just as he prepared to retreat a step and avoid An Jing's attack, An Jing had already turned sideways and rammed into him.
Cang Linzu had wanted to kick An Jing in the groin to force him back, but An Jing had already stepped on his other foot, throwing him off balance. At the same time, An Jing leaned in and slammed into him. Cang Linzu was knocked into coughing out a breath, nearly passing out.
"I give up!"
Swaying unsteadily, Cang Linzu finally dropped onto his backside. An Jing didn't pursue him, and Cang Linzu simply lay back on the ground, shamelessly shouting at the sky, "Brothers and sisters, if any of you have been holding back, hurry up and make your move! If you want to beat Big Brother An, today might be your only chance!"
An Jing caught his breath, then smiled as he looked around at everyone.
But no one stepped forward. Even though Instructor Li tried his hardest to signal them with his eyes, no one was willing to take the challenge.
The eleven-match streak had ended without taking even a quarter of an hour and a half. An Jing had won by an overwhelming margin and become the undisputed Senior Brother. The next challenge would come in ten days.
But everyone knew that even ten days from now, no one would challenge An Jing. Unless someone made extraordinary progress, no one would go looking for trouble.
"Ah. All right, all right. An Jing wins!"
Instructor Li announced An Jing's victory with little enthusiasm. Then, amid the cheers from Gu Yeqi, Zhang Ying, and the others, he grumbled, "Training starts now!"
He put the youngsters through a brutal workout until they were all wailing for their fathers and mothers. Even An Jing's legs trembled after a set of deep squats and horse stance drills clearly designed to target him. Then Instructor Li returned to the center of Xuanming Manor, the Medicine Pavilion.
"Vice Envoy Yao."
He respectfully addressed the old man on the fifth floor of the Medicine Pavilion, who had watched the entire challenge from above the training grounds. "An Jing is indeed the most talented of this group, but I never expected him to be this strong. The others aren't even willing to challenge him."
"If first place is fixed, what should we do?"
"Fixed in first place?" The old man turned and looked at Instructor Li as if he were an idiot. "If first place is fixed, then let second and third place eat meat too. Wouldn't that give those little things a reason to compete for second and third?"
"If that still doesn't work, let the top five eat meat. We can just add a little more."
"Do you think we're short a few pieces of meat?"
After giving Instructor Li a good scolding, Vice Envoy Yao turned back toward the training grounds, watching them with keen interest. "Still... this batch of disciples really is outstanding. There are some unexpected surprises."
After pondering for a while, the old man nodded. "Then let's start early. Eliminate the disciples with the worst stamina and use the resources we save on the others."
"It's time to make them fall in love with the feeling of 'eating meat.'"
Before you continue