Making a Move

In the alley, in front of a low-slung brick house.

A man was squatting there; it was none other than Chen Da.

He had a Hademen dangling from his mouth, staring at the alley entrance in utter boredom.

"Damn it, that kid's life is truly tough. I used eighty percent of my strength on that punch. Even if it didn't kill him, he shouldn't be jumping around after only a few days."

"Did my hand slip on that last punch?"

Chen Da muttered to himself, his mind racing.

That poor wretch Fang Shuwen took a punch from him and yet appeared at Wenxuan Pavilion, lively as ever.

If he didn't know that Liu Mang wouldn't spout nonsense about such things, he wouldn't have believed it.

"But it's fine. Since the kid is fine, Liu Mang will have to bleed again. Making another ten yuan is great."

Chen Da squatted at his own doorstep, cigarette in his mouth, calculating how to hike the price when Liu Mang arrived.

He had charged five yuan for that last punch.

This time, he was being asked to kill someone; after thinking it over, ten yuan wasn't enough.

It had to be at least twenty.

He exhaled a ring of smoke, squinting his eyes as he watched the alley entrance.

The sound of footsteps arrived faster than he had anticipated.

Liu Mang was surprisingly quick this time!

A figure turned into the alley, moving with hurried, urgent steps, the soles of his shoes striking the bluestone slabs with a dull thud.

The sky had turned completely dark, and the only light in the alley came from the dim glow of the tattered lantern at his door, making it impossible to see the newcomer's face clearly.

"Liu Mang, why are you so fast? In such a rush to kill that kid!"

Chen Da stood up and brushed the dust off his backside, the cigarette in his mouth bobbing as he spoke.

"But I'll say this upfront: the price we discussed earlier doesn't count. You have to pay more this time. Ten yuan isn't enough; it's at least twenty, and you have to pay upfront."

Before he could finish, he suddenly felt that something was wrong.

The person approaching didn't respond.

He knew Liu Mang; the man had a voice like a broken gong, loud enough to be heard from half a street away.

Yet this person had walked from the alley entrance to right in front of him without a greeting, without saying a single word.

And this build...

It was wrong too!

This person wasn't Liu Mang!

Chen Da spat out his cigarette abruptly and squinted to look closer.

By now, the person had walked under the lantern.

He was more than half a head shorter than Liu Mang and much thinner.

He was wearing a washed-out grey cloth gown with a cloth satchel slung over his shoulder.

It really wasn't Liu Mang.

It was his target, Fang Shuwen.

Chen Da's pupils constricted.

He recognized him, his mind still reeling, wondering how this guy could be here.

His reaction was a beat too slow.

Fang Shuwen had already made his move.

Without giving the man a chance to say another word, he brought his right hand out from behind his back, clutching a brick.

He smashed it straight at his head.

Bang!

The brick slammed solidly into Chen Da's forehead, sending fragments flying everywhere.

Cigarette ash mixed with brick dust exploded outward. Chen Da let out a muffled grunt, staggering back two steps before his back slammed heavily against the doorframe.

"You!"

He instinctively reached up to cover his forehead; his palm came away hot, sticky, and wet, with red and white fluids streaming through his fingers.

The moment the brick connected, his ears began to ring, and his vision went black in waves.

But Chen Da was, after all, a man who had practiced martial arts and possessed the foundation of a bone-cracking expert.

Had it been an ordinary person, they would have collapsed long ago from a blow like that.

Yet he simply refused to fall.

"Fuck you! You dare hit me? You're looking for death!"

Chen Da's head was swimming, but his vicious nature made him advance instead of retreat.

His right hand whipped a short blade from his waist, stabbing toward Fang Shuwen.

"Go to hell!"

The short blade whistled through the air as it lunged forward.

Fang Shuwen did not step back.

The opponent's movements appeared slow in his eyes, scattered and riddled with openings.

After mastering the Body Strengthening Fist, the images of those thirty-six figures practicing in his mind had long been etched into his bones.

At this moment, he twisted his waist and rotated his hips, sinking his center of gravity as his spine sprang up like a great dragon.

He surged forward, side-stepping the blade, and launched his right fist from his waist.

Two cracks of bone sounded.

The first was the joints exerting force; the second was the power penetrating through.

"Bang!"

The punch landed squarely on Chen Da's chest.

Chen Da's eyes bulged, his sockets threatening to split.

He looked down at his chest, then back up at Fang Shuwen.

His lips moved twice, as if he wanted to say something.

What spilled from his mouth wasn't words, but bloody foam.

"Hah... hah... you... two... bone cracks..."

The short blade clattered to the ground.

Chen Da slowly went limp, sliding down the doorframe until he collapsed into a heap.

It was clear he was breathing more air out than he was taking in.

Fang Shuwen shook the blood from his fist and looked down at Chen Da on the ground, his gaze as calm as if he were looking at a dead fish on the shore.

This man had just drawn a blade and aimed straight for his vitals.

Since he wanted to kill, he had to be prepared to be killed himself.

If he died, he died!

Meanwhile, on the other side of the street.

Liu Mang, having just retrieved the silver dollars from his home, was walking briskly toward this location.

"Once Chen Da makes his move, I must have him confirm whether Fang Shuwen is dead or alive."

"If he's dead, no one will be left to compete with me. From now on, Young Master Guo will have no choice but to choose me as his attendant!"

Liu Mang thought to himself as he walked.

He had spent ten silver dollars for the sole purpose of taking Fang Shuwen out of the game.

If he beat him to death, that would be the end of it, and he wouldn't be an obstacle to his grand plans anymore.

Even if he didn't kill him, he had to leave him severely injured.

That way, Fang Shuwen would definitely miss the entrance examination.

Once the exam passed and the students were cleared out, Fang Shuwen would no longer be able to rely on his status as a classmate to stay by Young Master Guo's side.

Then, that attendant spot for Young Master Guo would surely be his.

Thinking of this, Liu Mang's eyes turned dark.

"I am determined to get that spot!"

A few days ago, he had accompanied Young Master Guo to a dinner.

During the meal, Young Master Guo had gotten drunk and vaguely mentioned that his family had already arranged a guaranteed admission spot for him at Shenghai Martial University.

He was just waiting for this winter to enter Shenghai Martial University as a guaranteed student.

Furthermore, Young Master Guo had said he intended to choose an attendant to accompany him to Shenghai Martial University.

Shenghai Martial University—

This was a top-tier martial arts university established in Shenghai, the largest city in the south, at the time of the founding of the Great Flame New Kingdom, and it was affiliated with the Southern National Martial Arts Headquarters.

Among its graduates, even the worst could manage to land a position as a deputy captain at a county public security bureau.

If luck were on his side and he caught the eye of some warlord's mansion or major merchant guild.

That would be a meteoric rise, living in luxury with nothing to worry about for the rest of his life.

And if he could follow Young Master Guo into Shenghai University, he would surely soar to success alongside him in the future.

Judging by Young Master Guo's usual behavior.

He and Fang Shuwen were the two with the most promise.

Fang Shuwen was tactful, thick-skinned, and possessed top-tier sycophancy skills.

He himself won out by being ruthless enough, having blocked two fights for Young Master Guo; the scar on his chin was proof of that.

After learning of this matter.

Fang Shuwen, whom he already found displeasing, immediately became a thorn in his side.

Therefore, Liu Mang sought out Old Chen, a senior apprentice he had trained with at the martial arts school.

He promised a reward of five silver dollars to have Old Chen step in and injure Fang Shuwen.

To coordinate it seamlessly and avoid arousing Young Master Guo's suspicion.

During the temple fair, he had even deliberately goaded and incited Fang Shuwen into acting like a big shot and pinching that wealthy girl's bottom.

Then, he had Old Chen pretend to step in righteously.

He just hadn't expected that, despite Fang Shuwen clearly coughing up blood and falling unconscious on the spot.

Only a few days had passed, and he had actually seen this kid full of vigor inside Wenxuan Pavilion.

He had even almost let Fang Shuwen meet Young Master Guo.

The more Liu Mang thought about it, the more furious he became, slamming his cigarette butt hard onto the ground.

He raised his head and looked toward the alley ahead.

The crouching figure of Chen Da came into view.

"Hmph, after today, Fang Shuwen will never be able to hinder my future again!"