Beaten to Death

"What happened?"

"Over at the Bright Force ring, a disciple from White Crane Martial Hall was beaten to death."

"Tsk, tsk. I've seen the one who beat him to death. He's Fan Hao, one of Deng Yang's men. Deng Yang's the Mountain Gang's Internal Affairs Hall chief."

"..."

Someone had died!

In martial contests between warriors, injuries were inevitable.

But this was the first time anyone had died in a match.

The hall masters on the raised platform wore grim expressions.

They had long suspected the other side had come with bad intentions, but they hadn't expected them to be so vicious as to strike to kill right there in the ring.

Bai Yu's face darkened with anger.

"Gang Leader Shi, can you give me an explanation?"

"An explanation?"

Shi Tao looked as though he'd just heard the biggest joke in the world. He raised his brows, feigning exaggerated astonishment.

"Hall Master Bai, that's an interesting thing to say. In a contest between warriors, life and death are left to fate. There's no such thing as absolute safety.

"My subordinate merely lost control for a moment and failed to rein in his strength, which led to this accident. Things like this happen all the time in martial contests."

As he spoke, he turned to Bai Yu, a mocking curve tugging at his lips, and asked in return:

"Could it be that Hall Master Bai thinks these contests are just child's play?

"You can't even handle a little risk?

"What explanation do you want?"

Bai Yu's chest rose and fell, veins showing at his temples. Then he suddenly threw back his head and laughed.

"Good. Very good. 'A common occurrence in martial contests,' and 'no explanation needed'!

"Gang Leader Shi, I hope you remember those words. Don't go back on them later!"

He then called over a disciple from White Crane Martial Hall and whispered something to him.

Seeing this, Fu Huaixing and Hou Wei did the same.

The other hall masters from the Outer City hesitated at first, exchanging glances. But when they saw the three hall masters—Fu, Bai, and Hou—acting in perfect accord, they immediately understood.

Shi Tao had already cast aside all pretenses and struck to kill. If they continued to yield meekly,

the people from the Inner City would only grow more brazen.

For now, everything depended on the three men before them, along with the unseen Wild Wolf Gang leader—the four Transforming Force experts holding the line.

If they didn't stand together, sooner or later they'd have no place left in Crow Mountain City.

The hall masters stopped hesitating and waved over their trusted disciples one after another, leaning in to whisper to them.

Li Yun, who had just finished a fist match, also received a message from a senior disciple from the Inner Courtyard:

"If you encounter a disciple from an Inner City faction, show no mercy."

The once-boisterous competition grounds now carried an undercurrent of tension.

The wealthy spectators' cheers gave way to hushed whispers.

The martial hall disciples were being hurt one after another.

One disciple took a punch to the chest and spat out a mouthful of blood. His body flew to the edge of the platform like a kite with its string cut, his chest caved in as he curled up in agony.

Another disciple couldn't dodge in time. His right leg was kicked into a grotesque angle, and he screamed as he tumbled off the ring.

Their opponents' every move was a killing blow.

As Li Yun fought more and more matches, more and more people began keeping an eye on him.

That was because two rankings on the raised platform were being updated in real time, listing the top six in the Body Tempering Realm and Bright Force divisions.

This drew even more attention to Li Yun, who currently ranked fifth.

On the raised platform,

Shi Tao rubbed the scar on his face with his left hand and looked past the crowd toward the ring.

"Well, Hall Master Fu, your Subduing Tiger Martial Hall is showing quite a bit of promise this year.

"That Zhu Daqi in the Bright Force ring has punches that break the air, with his strength all in one. I'd say he's already reached the ninth Bright Force resonance, wouldn't you?

"He'll soon be ready to knock on the gate again, turn outward strength inward, and cultivate Dark Force, won't he?"

Shi Tao glanced at Zhu Daqi. Though he phrased it as a question, his tone was certain.

Then he turned toward the Body Tempering Realm ring and looked at Li Yun.

"And there's Li Yun. His qi and blood are abundant, and his boxing is polished...

"Tsk, tsk. Is Subduing Tiger Martial Hall planning to sweep the whole competition this year?"

Fu Huaixing didn't take Shi Tao's taunts to heart.

Now that the Inner City had made its move, they would simply respond in kind.

In the end, it came down to whose fists were harder.

He had great faith in Zhu Daqi and Li Yun.

Zhu Daqi had actually reached the ninth resonance that very morning, much to his delight.

And the two hadn't let him down. They'd surged forward without pause.

Neither had lost a match so far, and both had made it into the top six.

"Ding Liuwu versus Yi Sisi."

Li Yun had just finished another match when he happened to hear the referee on the neighboring platform.

He took advantage of the rules and stopped to rest.

He wanted to watch this match.

Ding Liuwu was Zhuo Yong, and Yi Sisi was the fellow who'd mocked him yesterday.

"Senior Brother, be careful. That fellow's qi and blood are strong, and his legwork is sharp."

"Don't worry, Junior Brother. After these few real fights, I can feel my boxing is about to reach minor mastery.

"Maybe this match will be the one that lets me break through.

"Besides, I bet on myself making the top six. I'm sure to win this one."

Zhuo Yong didn't pay much attention to Li Yun's well-meant warning.

He'd been lucky enough to avoid any seeded fighters and had won his way through every match so far.

His confidence was soaring.

The two stepped onto the platform and cupped their fists.

"Tiger Subduing Fist, Zhuo Yong."

"Fish Leaping Leg, Tang Feng."

Seeing that both were ready, the referee announced:

"Begin."

Before the words had even left his mouth, Zhuo Yong drove off the ground and surged forward. He twisted his waist, sank his shoulder, and drove his right fist toward Tang Feng's face, wind howling around it.

Tang Feng lightly tapped the ground with his toes. His body slid aside like a willow fluffing in the breeze, and Zhuo Yong's fist grazed past his shoulder.

Zhuo Yong couldn't pull his punch back in time, leaving his lower back exposed.

Tang Feng spun and snapped out a kick, the top of his foot lashing toward Zhuo Yong's side like a whip.

Thud!

A dull impact rang out.

Zhuo Yong grunted and staggered several steps.

Just as Zhuo Yong regained his balance, Tang Feng closed in. His left leg feinted to draw Zhuo Yong's attention, then his right leg suddenly drove forward, kicking straight at Zhuo Yong's lower abdomen.

Zhuo Yong hurriedly raised his arms to block. His forearms collided with Tang Feng's foot, and his joints went numb. His muscles instantly tightened like stone.

The impact sent him stumbling back three steps, a metallic sweetness rising in his throat.

Tang Feng's legwork grew fiercer with every move—snapping, sweeping, thrusting, and spinning without pause.

Zhuo Yong flailed with both fists, barely managing to defend himself, but Tang Feng nimbly dodged him again and again.

His shoulder and ribs took hit after hit.

Thud, thud~

The muffled blows rang out without end.

Suddenly, Tang Feng bent low and swept Zhuo Yong's legs. Zhuo Yong lost his balance, and just as he tried to get back up,

Tang Feng was already on his feet and closing in. He drove his knee viciously into Zhuo Yong's chest.

Crack~

The sound of breaking bone rang out sharply. Zhuo Yong flew backward like a kite with its string cut.

Zhuo Yong struggled to get up, but the agony in his ribs made his whole body tremble. Every breath felt like a knife cutting into him.

"I surren—"

Tang Feng gave Zhuo Yong no chance to concede. He rushed forward, then suddenly raised his leg and planted a precise kick in Zhuo Yong's heart.

Thud~

Zhuo Yong's body flew off the platform. His eyes rolled back, and he spat out a large mouthful of blood.

"Senior Brother!"

Li Yun rushed over to check on Zhuo Yong.

Zhuo Yong's chest had caved in completely. He clearly wasn't going to survive.

Li Yun turned to look at Tang Feng.

Tang Feng calmly dusted the dirt from his trouser cuffs, a playful smile on his lips.

His gaze passed over Zhuo Yong, who lay dying on the ground, without a flicker of emotion.

Then it settled on Li Yun. Slowly, Tang Feng raised his right hand and lightly drew it across his own throat.

The gesture was simple and unmistakable.

Li Yun was now certain that Tang Feng had to be connected to the Inner City factions.

Gurgle~

Mouthfuls of blood poured from Zhuo Yong's mouth.

His body twitched from time to time, his face contorted in agony.

"Take... revenge..."

His head lolled to one side. Zhuo Yong breathed his last.