Tao Pai Pai Flees in Defeat

Bu Chen glared at Mercenary Tao, murder in his eyes, as though he could kill him with a look alone. Seeing Bu Fan lying on the ground, Bu Chen remembered the scene from their childhood when their parents had entrusted his younger brother to him, telling him to take good care of him. Under Bu Chen's care, Bu Fan had never been unhappy. If anything, he had grown lively and mischievous.

In Bu Chen's eyes, his younger brother didn't need to be exceptional, so he had never placed too much pressure on him. He could say he had given his brother everything, letting him enjoy a happy childhood!

His brother's lively nature had also made Bu Chen feel he had done right by their parents, who were now in the afterlife. Even a hundred years later, he could face them with pride and say, "I took good care of my brother."

And now!

His younger brother had been killed. Bu Chen regretted letting him face such a terrifying enemy as Mercenary Tao alone. But he had never expected the people of the Crane School to be so shameless as to actually attack a junior. They had no Martial Virtue whatsoever.

"Mercenary Tao! As a senior in the martial arts world, you openly attacked someone younger than you. Aren't you afraid people will laugh at you?"

Bu Chen shouted angrily.

"Laugh at me? What's that? Hahaha!"

"I can't believe anyone's still so naïve. In this world, power is the only truth. As long as I have power, how dare anyone laugh at me? They'll only fear me, dread me!"

Mercenary Tao said maniacally.

In the martial arts world, people generally didn't attack juniors unless they had a life-or-death grudge. The Martial Alliance and the Crane School clearly hadn't reached that point. Yet Master Shen had sent Mercenary Tao to kill the Martial Alliance's disciples. It was utterly despicable.

Bu Chen knew Mercenary Tao had no principles, but he hadn't imagined he could sink this low. He decided not to waste any more words. There was no point talking to someone who didn't share his values. They would settle things with their fists!

Looking at his brother, who was either dead or unconscious, Bu Chen didn't feel like arguing. Irritably, he said, "Don't give me that crooked nonsense. We're on different paths, so we have nothing to discuss. Let's settle this with our fists!"

Ha!!!

With two quick strides, Bu Chen was in front of Mercenary Tao, throwing a heavy punch. Mercenary Tao sensed Bu Chen's energy. It was only a little greater than that of the kid from before, so there was no way he could be a match. But Mercenary Tao had forgotten that the others all knew secret techniques to raise their power. Why wouldn't Bu Chen?

Bang! Bang! Bang!

In the blink of an eye, the two exchanged dozens of blows. A series of loud sonic booms rang out. Although Mercenary Tao's battle power was higher than Bu Chen's apparent level, he couldn't defeat him in a short time. Mercenary Tao once again resorted to a dirty trick. He used one of Bu Chen's side kicks to create some distance between them.

Just as everyone was congratulating themselves, thinking Bu Chen had the upper hand, Mercenary Tao repeated his old trick!

He quietly took a bomb out of a Hoi-Poi Capsule, intending to blow Bu Chen to pieces. To everyone's disbelief, he hurled it at Bu Chen.

Boom!!!

A deafening explosion rang out, followed by a cloud of dust.

"Hahaha!!!"

"Damn brat! This is what you get for crossing me, Mercenary Tao!"

Mercenary Tao laughed triumphantly. Then a voice rang out: "Is that all you've got?"

The voice carried a trace of anger. Mercenary Tao had clearly enraged him. If Bu Chen hadn't instantly doubled his battle power just now, he would have been seriously injured, if not killed. Mercenary Tao's treacherous tactics had also made Bu Chen decide he was done playing around.

He had planned to deal with Mercenary Tao slowly, but what had just happened made Bu Chen decide to kill him. With his full battle power unleashed, Bu Chen sent Mercenary Tao flying with a few quick blows. He struck him with an elbow, then appeared above him in a flash and clasped his hands together like a hammer, smashing him hard into the ground. Mercenary Tao spat out a mouthful of blood and lay motionless.

When Bu Chen approached, Mercenary Tao suddenly sprang up, trying to catch him off guard. But Bu Chen was far too alert. He grabbed Mercenary Tao by the neck and slammed him hard into the ground. Another mouthful of blood sprayed out. After just a few exchanges, Mercenary Tao was badly injured.

"Big brother!"

A delighted voice rang out. Bu Chen turned toward it and saw Bu Fan standing there, full of life.

Mercenary Tao also looked over, utterly astonished. That brat took a Dodon Ray from me. How could he be completely unharmed?!

But he had no time to think about it. While Bu Chen was distracted, he pulled out a smoke bomb and smashed it on the ground, hoping to escape. But that was pointless in Bu Chen's eyes.

Yet Bu Chen didn't move at all. He watched Mercenary Tao escape.

It turned out Jiang Yun had been hiding nearby. When he saw Bu Chen lose his composure after Mercenary Tao attacked Bu Fan, he had rushed to fight Mercenary Tao. Bu Fan could still be saved, and Jiang Yun feared Bu Chen might die, so he had hurriedly used a Senzu Bean to save Bu Fan, who had been on the brink of death.

That was how they had ended up with the scene they had just witnessed. But why had Bu Chen let Mercenary Tao escape without doing anything? Jiang Yun had used telepathic communication to tell him to let Mercenary Tao go. Bu Chen didn't know why Jiang Yun wanted to let him escape, but he figured Jiang Yun must have had his reasons.

Jiang Yun had developed this method of telepathic communication by drawing on the techniques he had read about in the novels of his previous life. Ki could be used in many ingenious ways. Some people could even use it to learn mind reading, so why couldn't Jiang Yun use it to master Dragon Ball-style telepathic communication?

"Alliance Leader, you're here. I'm sorry we let you down!"

When the others saw Jiang Yun appear, they couldn't help feeling ashamed. Jiang Yun had taught them so many techniques, and they still hadn't been able to defeat their enemy. They felt they had failed to live up to their Alliance Leader's efforts.

"You don't need to say anything. You've already done well. Your opponent was Mercenary Tao, a veteran who's roamed the martial arts world for years. You haven't trained for long, so it's no surprise you lost to him. But once you get back, train twice as hard. Remember how powerless you felt today. If you want to protect yourselves and others, you need enough strength! Understood?"

With just a few words, Jiang Yun lifted everyone's spirits and gave them a lesson.

"Bu Chen, I had my reasons for letting Mercenary Tao go. I hope you understand."

Jiang Yun looked at Bu Chen, who had just finished fighting.

"I trust you. You wouldn't make the wrong call!"

Bu Chen replied firmly.

Jiang Yun hadn't expected Bu Chen to trust him so completely. He had let Mercenary Tao go because Mercenary Tao was destined to be one of Kid Goku's major trials. Jiang Yun didn't have to concern himself with any of this, but he still hoped not to interfere with Kid Goku's journey—not until after King Piccolo, at least. The reason would become clear in time.

"By the way, all Martial Alliance disciples! As for this incident, our Martial Alliance isn't going to take this lying down. If the enemy dares to come, we'll fight back and drive them out of West City! They'll also compensate us for our losses! And send the Crane School an ultimatum. We won't demand that they punish Mercenary Tao, but they must compensate the Martial Alliance for our losses. Ten billion! If they fail to pay on time, their entire school will cease to exist!"

Jiang Yun's tone turned forceful. Cheers rang out from the Martial Alliance disciples around him!