Three Punches

"Interesting, but a fight is unavoidable."

Shen Qingxue's eyes lit up slightly. It seemed she had heard of Lu Meng before.

Wasn't he one of the gang's young men her father had arranged for her to meet tomorrow? She'd heard he hadn't entered Bright Force yet and had only opened six of the Seven Apertures at Martial Pass.

What a coincidence. If the younger brother of the Sea Whale Gang's leader showed up at the Jade Pavilion tomorrow with a bruised and swollen face, that would be quite amusing...

"Then we'll do as you say. Lu Meng, if you can last a quarter of an hour against Brother Xiong here, you can take this junior apprentice away."

Wang Lan smiled with narrowed eyes. "And I'll give you a Blood Coagulation Pill, too."

As soon as he finished speaking, the burly man surnamed Xiong rubbed his fists and said coldly:

"Young man, your qi and blood haven't reached Heaven Gate. I doubt you've even opened the Seven Apertures, have you? Apologize now, and I'll let you off..."

Bang!

The burly man hadn't finished speaking. He'd heard of Zhou Yun's reputation and had even meant to give him a chance to back down.

But Zhou Yun suddenly darted in front of him and landed a solid punch squarely on his face.

In that instant, not one of the onlookers reacted in time—not even the man surnamed Xiong.

It all happened too fast. Zhou Yun's face was grim, and once he threw a punch, he didn't hesitate.

He knew how far his qi and blood fell short of his opponent's, so he immediately unleashed the Black Ape Movement Technique at full force. He went straight for a killing blow; he'd never intended to last a quarter of an hour.

As expected, the burly man had let his guard down. He'd even dared to speak, leaving his vital breath exposed.

He hadn't expected Zhou Yun to strike with a killing blow, aiming straight for his face!

An ordinary martial artist with six apertures might have been able to block the punch, but Zhou Yun was using the Black Ape Movement Technique.

The burly man staggered, barely managing to steady himself and recover his wits, when another enormous fist came flying at him.

He tried to force himself to dodge. Qi and blood surged through his Seven Apertures at Martial Pass, and the strength in his legs rose to its limit.

"I dodged it!"

The burly man's heart leaped with joy. Qi and blood rushed to his fist, and he prepared to counterattack Zhou Yun.

But he suddenly realized the fist before him was only an afterimage.

Bang!

The real Zhou Yun had already darted behind him and landed a solid punch in the small of his back.

The burly man spat out a mouthful of blood. Before he could recover, Zhou Yun punched him in the jaw.

His jaw dislocated completely, and his thickset body crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

Three punches. He'd needed only three.

Zhou Yun, a martial artist with four apertures, had knocked out a seven-aperture expert who was already halfway to Bright Force!

And that was with Zhou Yun holding back because he didn't want to make enemies of the two men before him. Otherwise, two more punches would have done far worse than simply knocking the burly man unconscious.

"Six apertures, and he knocked out someone with seven in just three punches?"

Shen Qingxue was quite surprised. She didn't know Zhou Yun's true identity and thought he had six apertures, but even so, his talent was remarkable.

And this kind of genius was the person she was supposed to meet tomorrow.

Though anyone who hadn't entered Bright Force was still a mere mortal, the gap between six and seven apertures was as great as the gap between one and six.

Opening all seven apertures at Martial Pass meant one had touched the threshold of Bright Force and gained the right to enter the martial path in earnest.

But with only six apertures, not only was one's qi and blood nowhere near as full, one's body was far less tempered, too.

There was only one way to win with a single strike like that... movement technique.

"Senior brother, I yield."

Zhou Yun's expression remained calm. He knew he'd only seized the opening while the burly man was speaking, before he'd had time to steady his breathing.

And he'd used the Black Ape Movement Technique at tremendous speed, striking his opponent's weakest points. That was how he'd won by luck.

But in the martial world, no one cared what methods you used. All that mattered was who was left standing.

"Junior brother, your movement technique is quite interesting."

Wang Lan had assumed that even if Lu Meng had six apertures' worth of qi and blood and knew one or two techniques, he wouldn't last a quarter of an hour.

After all, the burly man named Xiong Meng was a loyal retainer who'd been at Wang Lan's side since childhood, and he'd honed his body into a wall of flesh and muscle.

Ordinary martial artists below Bright Force couldn't last three exchanges against Xiong Meng. Even when he faced a truly troublesome opponent, his thick hide and solid flesh let him wear them down.

But today, it seemed he'd stumbled into a ditch...

As a senior brother of the Inner Courtyard at Black Stone Martial Hall, Wang Lan could recognize the Black Ape Movement Technique Zhou Yun had used, even though he rarely visited the hall. That only made him take a greater liking to Zhou Yun.

For a mere mortal martial artist with six apertures to comprehend a technique that normally required Bright Force was proof of extraordinary aptitude.

Perhaps he could recruit him to Xiang City for the Martial Hall Rankings Tournament?

No, he'd have to observe him further. Those places were far too precious for just anyone to get.

"It was only luck. Senior brother, will you honor your promise?"

Zhou Yun wasn't arrogant. He could tell that this well-dressed senior brother from the Inner Courtyard was at least a Bright Force expert.

It wouldn't be wise to give the enemy resources right now. Better to avoid trouble where he could.

Besides, he had his own cheat. If he trained steadily, his path through martial arts would be smooth.

Once he reached a higher realm, wouldn't everyone go down with a single punch?

"Of course. Catch."

Wang Lan tossed Zhou Yun a small porcelain bottle. Zhou Yun opened it and saw that it held a Blood Coagulation Pill, a treasure that even Bright Force martial masters struggled to get their hands on.

"This Blood Coagulation Pill is yours."

Zhou Yun put the little porcelain bottle away and tucked it carefully into his robes.

This Blood Coagulation Pill would give him enough capital to break through to Bright Force. He only needed to open all seven apertures at Martial Pass.

Many martial artists failed to break through to Bright Force because their qi and blood ran short, and some even showed signs of physical decline.

The martial path was like rowing upstream: if you didn't advance, you fell back.

"Thank you, senior brother. Actually, that robe belongs to me, too. Could I trouble you to..."

Zhou Yun hadn't finished speaking when Wang Lan tossed the brocade robe over.

Wang Lan laughed. "I thought that robe didn't look like something that kid would wear. I'll return it to its rightful owner."

"You're welcome to visit my family in Xiang City if you get the chance."

With that, Wang Lan laughed heartily and left with Shen Qingxue.

"The Xiang City Wang Clan? One of the great lineages in the Twelve Main Cities?"

Zhou Yun paused, remembering something.

The Great Jing emperor had divided the territory of Jing Kingdom into seventy-two counties, twelve main cities, and several islands.

Black Stone County was a dependency of Xiang City, along with five other counties that belonged to it.

Generally speaking, one had to cultivate Dark Force to be qualified to venture into one of the Twelve Main Cities. But that was still a long way off for Zhou Yun. For now, he only needed to steadily knock on the door to Bright Force.

"Let's go home, Hu."

Zhou Yun bent down and hoisted the unconscious Zhang Hu onto his back.

They'd grown up together, so Zhou Yun wouldn't leave his old friend to fend for himself. Zhang Hu's mother had looked after him when they were children, too. Even the apprentice-entry fee for the martial hall had come from the old woman's borrowed coffin money.

Though it was the previous owner she'd cared for, and the one who'd borrowed the money wasn't the Zhou Yun of today, he still remembered her as a kind old woman.

Unfortunately, in this world, the kinder you were, the faster you died.

So Zhou Yun wouldn't play the good Samaritan.

Zhang Hu had repaid the debt he owed the family with his leg.