Conflict

"Otherwise, I might not know my own strength and hurt you. That wouldn't be easy to explain to Senior Brother Chen."

Wang Jinquan cracked his knuckles, one joint at a time.

He grinned like a bullfrog sitting perfectly still, ready to snatch a fly.

Du Feng's lips moved. He wanted to say something, but his gaze swept over Wang Jinquan, then over the supporters behind him, led by Yang Jing and Chi Wen.

Every one of them was broad and burly.

In the end, Du Feng closed his open mouth and silently stepped back.

"Fine... fine. Then today, Senior Brother Wang can give everyone some pointers."

Du Feng's voice was weak, and his face burned as if someone had slapped him.

He lowered his head, lost in thought.

Seeing this, Wang Jinquan laughed smugly. "Hahaha! Du's still as mild-mannered as ever. You should quit martial arts and get yourself a job!"

As he spoke, he raised a hand and shoved Du Feng.

The shove sent Du Feng staggering back several steps before he barely managed to regain his balance.

He looked around, but not one person stepped forward to speak up for him.

He could only force a smile uglier than a grimace and keep backing away until he disappeared into the crowd.

Du Feng's face darkened, his pent-up resentment with nowhere to go.

"Damn it, aside from Senior Brother Chen, there aren't many decent people in this place!"

Though Chen Ping often beat him up too, Du Feng knew that, in the entire gym, Chen Ping was the only one who treated him like a person.

But because Chen Ping treated everyone equally, many people were dissatisfied with him instead.

Wang Jinquan... was one of them.

"Coward." Wang Jinquan glanced at Du Feng and spat in disdain.

He turned to face the dozen or so members about to take the assessment, his chin held high. "Who's first?"

"You?"

His gaze fell on Ma Yifan, who stood at the front, and his expression instantly turned mocking.

"I..."

Ma Yifan's face went pale, and his legs began to tremble.

He remembered this short, stocky man clearly. He'd been a formal student for at least two months.

He was far stronger than Du Feng.

And judging by the look on his face... he wasn't planning to go easy during the match, was he?

"What do you mean, 'I'? Are you fighting or not? Make up your mind!"

"I can't stand all this timid dithering!"

"Get over here!"

Wang Jinquan waited a few seconds, but Ma Yifan was still hesitating in place. His smile vanished.

He took several quick steps and rushed up to Ma Yifan, clamping a hand as large as a fan around his neck.

The members only saw a blur. Wang Jinquan had already dragged Ma Yifan, stumbling like a little chick, right into the center of the training area.

On the students' side, some had their arms around Yang Jing and the others, laughing as they offered their commentary.

"Take it easy, Wang. Don't actually break the kid's bones."

"Yeah. If he goes out and runs his mouth, the Falcon Wing's reputation will be ruined."

"Haha, Brother Wang knows what he's doing." A student with prominent cheekbones sneered mockingly. It was Yang Jing, whose wrist Zhou Kai had twisted earlier. "But seriously, if you come here to train in martial arts... what's the point if you don't break a few bones?"

Hearing their vile remarks, Du Feng grew even more disgusted. He looked at Ma Yifan, standing helplessly in the middle of the training area, his face full of concern.

Among the students on the first floor, Wang Jinquan was one of the strongest.

He'd heard Wang Jinquan was considered one of the most likely candidates to become a formal disciple before autumn this year.

Du Feng was no match for him... only when Senior Brother Chen was around did Du Feng dare to talk back.

Now Senior Brother Chen was God knew where. Sigh...

"Fight! Move!"

"Scared stiff? Don't just stand there like a hen!"

Ma Yifan shuddered at the shouting and had no choice but to grit his teeth and launch a stiff attack.

Wang Jinquan didn't move at all. He had no intention of sparring by the rules.

He casually tripped Ma Yifan by the foot, then rammed forward with his burly upper body.

Thud!

The dull sound was like a sandbag hit with brute force.

The impact lifted Ma Yifan off his feet. His breath caught in his chest, his vision went black, and he crashed to the ground. He couldn't get up for a long while.

"Hahaha!"

Wang Jinquan burst into mocking laughter.

He hadn't expected the kid to be done for after just a casual shove.

Too weak.

The physical pain and public humiliation made Ma Yifan's features scrunch up in anguish.

He cried out in fury, "That's not fair! The assessment isn't supposed to be like this!"

Wang Jinquan didn't care in the slightest. He snorted. "You worthless piece of trash. With skills like that, you still want to be a student and train for free?"

"Don't mistake Chen Ping's standards for the Falcon Wing's rules!"

"There are more and more useless people... all they do is waste resources!"

As he spoke, his eyes deliberately flicked toward Du Feng and the students around his level.

Those he looked at felt their faces burning, but all they could do was clench their fists, furious yet afraid to speak.

The Falcon Wing had limited resources to give its students. The more students there were, the less each person received.

Unless they could become disciples and shed their student status... this conflict would never go away.

"Get lost. You failed!"

Wang Jinquan raised his foot and started to bring it down on Ma Yifan's shoulder.

Ma Yifan struggled to dodge, but he couldn't even get to his feet. All he could do was grit his teeth and close his eyes.

At that very instant, the air in the training area seemed to freeze.

Just as Wang Jinquan's foot was about to come down, a figure flashed.

A faint sound, almost too quiet to hear.

The leg Wang Jinquan had raised suddenly went limp. Like a shoddy statue whose base had been shattered, he crashed down onto one knee!

"He's already lost. There's no need to keep hitting him, is there?"

Zhou Kai reached out and helped Ma Yifan up, then looked down indifferently at Wang Jinquan, kneeling on the ground.

The students around them fell silent.

Wang Jinquan... had been forced to his knees? By a member?

A new member who'd been here for less than a month and hadn't even learned all the basic fighting techniques?

Someone recognized Zhou Kai and murmured instinctively, "Isn't that... the kid Senior Brother Chen has been training one-on-one lately? Maybe he really is something."

Yang Jing and Chi Wen's eyebrows shot up. As they strode over, they shouted, "You again, you little punk! How dare you ambush Brother Wang?"

"Chen Ping's not here. You think you can still act so cocky?"

Yang Jing had suffered a loss last time. Now that he'd found an opportunity, how could he let it pass?

He called over his companions, and they quickly surrounded Zhou Kai.

"Enough!"

It was Wang Jinquan who spoke.

His face was dark as a pot, and he slowly stood up.

Chi Wen looked confused. "Brother Wang, you..."

Wang Jinquan ignored him. The anger on his face gradually faded, replaced by a menacing grin as he stared fixedly at Zhou Kai.

"Kid, I remember you were in line just now too, right?"

"Good!"

"I can pretend your sneak attack never happened."

"But there's one condition... you have to pass the assessment."

"By beating me."