A Master's Bearing (4)

After hearing Kai's words, Pei Shao thought that since he was going to gamble, he might as well make it a big one and wipe him out in a single stroke. So he put on an even calmer, more carefree front, clasped his hands behind his back, looked up at the sky, and said, "Though martial arts come in countless varieties and schools, all paths ultimately lead to the same destination. As long as you can see through the mysteries within, you'll realize that no move is invincible. Moves restrain one another, and softness overcomes hardness. Don't you even understand such a simple principle?"

"Softness overcomes hardness? Hmph!" Kai was so enraged by Pei Shao's words that he nearly spat blood. He raised his fist high, aimed it at Pei Shao, and was about to charge over and fight him to the death.

Pei Shao himself was beginning to waver inside, but he knew that he absolutely could not back down now, or all his efforts would come to nothing. So he forced himself to pretend not to notice Kai's fist and said, "Do you really think no one can withstand your punches?"

That expression of remaining unflustered even with Mount Tai collapsing before him immediately drew the attention of every girl present. At that moment, they felt that Pei Shao was masculine beyond measure. Dongfang Yinyin, in particular, wanted nothing more than to throw her arms around him and tell him that he was the most amazing man in the world.

Seeing hearts practically glowing in all the girls' eyes, Cui Jianhao, A Zheng, and Zhang Huaiyuan wanted nothing more than to tear Pei Shao to pieces on the spot.

Kai said from the side, "Other than you, who else can withstand my punches?" Though he spoke angrily, everyone could tell that Kai had tacitly acknowledged Pei Shao as an expert capable of matching him. From his tone, they could also guess that he wasn't certain he could defeat Pei Shao.

Pei Shao was thrilled beyond words. Damn it, what boxing champion, what expert? Didn't I scare him stiff with just two sentences?

Yet outwardly, he remained utterly composed. "Fine! Since you say so, let's make a bet! Give me half a day, and I can have one of the girls here defeat you! Do you dare?"

The moment he said that, everyone broke into another uproar of discussion.

They might have believed that Pei Shao had the ability to defeat Kai, but saying that he could train another girl to defeat Kai within half a day was simply a fool's dream.

No matter how strong Pei Shao was, he couldn't possibly be that strong, could he? Only Dongfang Yinyin's father, who lay in the corner and had regained a little consciousness, had a strange gleam flash through his eyes upon hearing those words.

Dongfang Yinyin also looked at Pei Shao in confusion. Pei Shao turned back and smiled at her. After they gazed at each other for a long while, Dongfang Yinyin lowered her head with a blush.

Just then—

Pei Shao suddenly let out a furious roar, not giving Kai even a moment to catch his breath. "Do you dare or not?"

Everyone involuntarily shuddered at that shout. This time, Pei Shao's imposing aura seemed three times stronger. No one dared underestimate him anymore; even Cui Jianhao and the others were stunned by his presence.

But Kai, who had extensive fighting experience, assumed that Pei Shao had no confidence in beating him, just as he himself had no confidence in beating Pei Shao. That shout was merely meant to disrupt his focus before they fought. How could he fall for such a low-level trick? So, thinking himself clever, he immediately said, "Fine! I'll give you half a day!" Little did he know that this bit of "cleverness" had played right into Pei Shao's hands.

Zhang Huaiyuan and the others were extremely anxious as they watched, but they couldn't directly warn him. They could only say to Pei Shao, "Why not fight him directly? Aren't you an expert? What kind of expert are you? Are you deliberately trying to ruin our martial arts school's reputation? Could it be that you're colluding with that guy on purpose, trying to..."

Seeing that they still dared to shift the blame onto him at a time like this, Pei Shao truly wanted to pin them to the ground and beat them senseless. But mindful of his current identity as a "reclusive master," he deliberately smiled faintly and treated their words like bullshit.

Dongfang Yinyin softly said from the side, "A Shao! I believe in you!"

Pei Shao smiled and nodded, feeling that Dongfang Yinyin was simply adorable at that moment. Unable to help himself, he took her hand and said to Kai, "Since you've agreed, good! This girl standing before us, Dongfang Yinyin, will stand here tomorrow and fight you!"

Kai had originally worried that some other hidden expert might be here, and he somewhat regretted agreeing too quickly. But when he saw Dongfang Yinyin, he was finally relieved. "Her? Fine! I accept!" He refused to believe that after dominating Southeast Asia's underground boxing rings for so many years, he would suffer an upset at the hands of a girl. Cui Jianhao and the others, however, regretted it so badly their guts turned green. If Yinyin really got hurt tomorrow, they would truly have tried to steal a chicken only to lose a bag of rice.

"I'll be here at this time tomorrow as promised!" With that, Kai swiftly turned around and walked out, as though afraid Pei Shao would change his mind. The other disciples in the martial arts school began worrying that Pei Shao had gone mad. He was actually sending Dongfang Yinyin out to fight—hadn't he seen that even Master Dongfang couldn't defeat that guy? And she was his daughter, whose strength was inferior even to her father's.

But Dongfang Yinyin looked at Pei Shao with an incomparably resolute expression, indicating that she was willing to listen to him and fight Kai.

At that moment, Pei Shao heard the whispers and discussions around him. To put everyone at ease, he had no choice but to once again put on an expression that said, "I'm so damn capable that everything is under control," and said, "Actually, you don't need to worry too much. Kai isn't as strong as you imagine. The reason Mr. Dongfang lost to him was because he injured his right ankle before the match. It not only affected his agility, but naturally also prevented him from using his most powerful Cross Chain Kick. Otherwise, how could that guy possibly be worthy of fighting our Master Dongfang?"

Pei Shao had made all of that up, but Dongfang Yinyin's father was shocked when he heard it. H-how did he know I was injured? Could that young man really be an unparalleled master? Even without being there at the time, he was able to judge everything. I didn't even tell Yinyin about this...

As he thought this, apart from shock, there was also a faint trace of gratitude in his eyes as he looked at Pei Shao. Though he was not someone who liked to make excuses after losing, Pei Shao had salvaged his reputation. How could he not be grateful?

But if Yinyin was really going to fight that man tomorrow, then unless he could... But... was that possible? Something he himself had failed to accomplish for over a decade—could that young man do it?

As he was thinking this, Dongfang Yinyin had already pulled Pei Shao over to him. One on each side, they helped him back to the dormitory.

Tomorrow was truly something to look forward to...