One Move

Chen Yue turned his head and met Zhou Qi's eyes—bloodshot, brimming with hatred.

Zhou Qi's voice was practically ground out between his teeth, carrying undisguised threat: "Kid, you've got some nerve, huh? Instead of staying in the sea scooping clams and gathering pearls, you dare to come here? Who gave you the dog's gall?"

Chen Yue's brow furrowed slightly, but he didn't take the bait. He replied flatly, "The court has opened the Martial Examination to recruit talent broadly. It hasn't explicitly banned Pearl Households from participating. I registered according to the rules—where's the audacity in that?"

"Rules?"

Zhou Qi laughed as if he'd heard a joke, his mouth twisting into a crooked grin that, paired with his cold eyes, looked especially savage. "In Hepu, the rules for you Pearl Folk are simple: obey!

"Talking to me about court rules? After today's County Examination is over, I'll go back and have the gang teach you some proper rules! Then I'll see whether that hard mouth of yours or those bones of yours are tougher!"

Zhou Qi paused, leaning slightly forward, his voice dropping lower: "Or... are those old bones of your parents at home just as tough as yours? Hm?"

Crack!

The knuckles of Chen Yue's hand, hanging at his side, popped from a sudden clench. He whipped his head around, eyes boring into Zhou Qi.

Zhou Qi met Chen Yue's gaze with a sneer, his eyes filled with vengeful glee and maddened hatred: "What? Want to fight? When you killed my brother, did you ever think that I, his younger brother, would tear your whole family apart and feed them to the fish?"

Chen Yue forcibly suppressed his surging blood and took a deep breath, his voice low: "Your brother's death has nothing to do with me. I don't even know him, and I have no idea what happened that night!"

"Heh!"

Zhou Qi snorted, his gaze venomous. "I don't need your confession. I suspect you—that's enough! So cherish this last bit of time you have to strut around on the platform. Once you walk out that door, I've got plenty of ways to make you remember what you ought to remember."

Chen Yue said nothing, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Zhou Qi looked Chen Yue's tense body up and down and sneered, "Or, you could wait until the County Examination ends, grab those old parents of yours, and run as far as you can. Let's see if your legs are faster than the Sea Shark Gang's blades. Want to... try?"

Chen Yue didn't bother responding to Zhou Qi's provocation. He knew any words now were futile.

He forced himself to refocus on the platform ahead, but Zhou Qi's threat about his parents stuck in his heart like a poisoned barb, chilling him further and fueling a desperate hunger to grow stronger and eliminate the threat.

Seeing Chen Yue stop replying, Zhou Qi snorted coldly and fell silent too, but he clung to Chen Yue's side like a haunting shadow, his viperous gaze fixed unblinkingly on him.

Match after match played out on the training grounds—some evenly matched brawls, others one-sided quick finishes. The sounds of fists and feet colliding, shouts, bodies hitting the ground, and the Official of Records' rulings rose and fell.

About half an hour later, the Official of Records' voice rang out again:

"Fist and foot match: Wu-Zi number five, Chen Yue, versus Geng-Zi number nine, Zhao Kui! Step up!"

Chen Yue's eyes sharpened. He pushed through the crowd and strode toward the designated platform.

His opponent was a burly man already standing on the platform. Nearly eight feet tall, he towered a full head above most men, with broad shoulders, a thick back, and a face full of rough flesh that radiated an intimidating pressure.

He looked at Chen Yue climbing onto the platform, especially comparing their size difference, and cracked a contemptuous grin, flexing his fist—as big as a vinegar jar—making his knuckles pop.

On the platform, Chen Yue and the hulking Zhao Kui stood facing each other.

Yet Chen Yue's attention wasn't fully on his opponent. His gaze first swept below the platform, meeting Zhou Qi's eyes—filled with malice and surveillance.

Then, Chen Yue's peripheral vision involuntarily drifted to the other side of the training grounds, where the Iron Mountain Hall group stood.

Yu Kan and Ma Jun were watching this way, and the steady middle-aged man in front of them seemed to cast a glance over as well.

"That middle-aged man... to command such respect from Yu Kan and Ma Jun, he might be Iron Mountain Hall's master, Zhou Jingfeng," Chen Yue thought.

"Match begins!"

The Official of Records' command had barely fallen when Zhao Kui, already coiled and ready, saw Chen Yue apparently distracted. Delighted, he charged forward like a wild bull, his right leg sweeping in with a vicious wind aimed straight at Chen Yue's chest.

Gasps rose from below the platform, as if they already foresaw Chen Yue getting kicked flying.

But just as the powerful kick was about to land, Chen Yue's head, which seemed to be looking elsewhere, snapped back.

His footwork shifted like treading on water, a subtle misstep at the critical moment, letting the essence of Roaming Mountains and Rivers' Drifting with the Current flow naturally.

Zhao Kui's seemingly sure-footed kick grazed Chen Yue's clothes and missed, the immense force finding no purchase, throwing Zhao Kui further off balance and leaving his center wide open.

In a flash, Chen Yue didn't retreat. Instead, he borrowed the momentum of Zhao Kui's charge, twisted his waist, and slid into Zhao Kui's embrace—a close-quarters step from Roaming Mountains and Rivers. The distance between them shrank to nearly face-to-face.

Zhao Kui only saw a blur; his opponent had already breached his inner circle. Startled, his arms instinctively tried to wrap around and grapple.

But Chen Yue was faster. His right hand formed a blade, and without deviation, he lightly pressed his palm against the center of Zhao Kui's muscular chest.

Thump!

An unusually heavy impact sounded. Zhao Kui felt an irresistible force penetrate from his chest. His charging bulk suddenly halted, then completely lost balance, toppling backward uncontrollably.

Chen Yue didn't withdraw his hand. Instead, he followed Zhao Kui's backward fall, pressing and pushing downward.

Boom!

Zhao Kui's body, weighing over two hundred jin, crashed onto the platform's hardwood floor like a toppled wall, producing a massive thud. The entire platform trembled with the impact, dust flying.

Zhao Kui lay there, chest tight, nearly choking on his breath, stars spinning before his eyes. He struggled to lift his upper body and looked at Chen Yue standing before him, his eyes filled with shock and confusion.

What happened? How was he on the ground? The other guy had only seemed to tap him lightly? But what was that irresistible force?

It was precisely because he couldn't understand how he'd been defeated that Zhao Kui felt such dread.

If the other had wanted to kill, that palm strike could have landed on his throat or heart... He shuddered, not daring to think further.

"I concede!" Zhao Kui shouted.

"You're too kind!" Chen Yue stepped back and gave a slight fist-and-palm salute.

After a brief silence below the platform, a burst of muffled exclamations and murmurs erupted.