Sparring

Before long, Fang Zhixing entered the cabin as well. He and Wang Yitong shared the same private room.

Luo Kegong stayed in the private room next door, making it convenient for the two of them to protect him at any time.

Not long after everyone had settled in, the large ship slowly set sail, leaving the dock and entering the middle of the river, riding the wind and cleaving through the waves.

"Old Wang, just who is this Mr. Qian?" Fang Zhixing could not help asking.

Wang Yitong smiled. "This Mr. Qian is far from simple. He's no ordinary businessman. The big boss backing him is a hall master of the Iron Mountain Sect."

"He's with the Iron Mountain Sect!"

Fang Zhixing was greatly startled. He had not expected the human trafficking business to be run by the Iron Mountain Sect.

It seemed this Iron Mountain Sect was no righteous and reputable sect either.

"Then could this large ship also belong to the Iron Mountain Sect?"

"Yes! Didn't you see the flag hanging from the mast? That's the Iron Mountain Sect's flag!" Wang Yitong replied.

On the mast flew a flag with a pure black background, its center painted with a vast, desolate mountain.

"So that's how it is!"

Fang Zhixing suddenly understood.

No wonder Luo Kegong had chosen to travel aboard this ship. With the Iron Mountain Sect escorting them, river pirates would surely be deeply wary.

At that moment, Skinny Dog sent him a voice transmission. "Fang Zhixing, there's something you may need to watch out for."

Fang Zhixing raised a brow. "What is it?"

Skinny Dog said seriously, "When we boarded, I caught a very strange scent. It was a little frightening, and a little nauseating.

"So I searched carefully and discovered that the source of the smell was inside a wooden crate. The crate was quite large, and Sun Gongchang was carrying it."

"Sun Gongchang, the young master's master!"

Fang Zhixing fell silent for a moment and asked, "What is inside the crate?"

Skinny Dog hesitated. "I can't see inside, but I'm certain there's a living thing in it, because I heard breathing."

Fang Zhixing was puzzled. After pondering, he said, "Does Sun Gongchang keep some kind of pet?"

Skinny Dog said gravely, "Whatever that thing is, it's pretty sinister. You'd better not get close to it lightly."

Fang Zhixing committed it to memory.

The large ship traveled along the river, sometimes fast and sometimes slow, gradually moving farther away.

The wind was not very strong today, and the ship could never build up much speed. It covered only a little over twenty li in an hour.

Staying in an enclosed space like a cabin made it very easy to become bored and restless.

By noon, Fang Zhixing and Wang Yitong could no longer stand it. They left their private room and went onto the deck to catch some air.

"Hey! Ha!"

At this moment, two young men stood on the deck, bare-chested and showing off their bulging abdominal muscles as they sparred.

"Good fight!"

"What fierce, powerful moves!"

Many people had gathered around to watch, and bursts of cheers erupted from time to time.

Fang Zhixing swept his gaze across the crowd but did not see the Cheng brothers.

Thump~

Suddenly, a dull impact rang out.

The two young men had already determined a victor. One had been knocked to the ground, his chest bruised red beneath the other's fist.

"Thanks for letting me win, thanks for letting me win. Are you all right?" The victorious young man wore a brilliant smile as he helped the other up.

"I'm fine. In the end, your skill is a cut above mine!"

The other young man chuckled. He accepted the result readily. It seemed this was not the first time he had lost to the former, and he was not the least bit furious.

Fang Zhixing watched them. It was not difficult to tell from their moves that these two young men were genuine martial artists, both at the mid-stage of the Force Unification realm.

The reason he could judge so accurately was that the martial art they had used was precisely the Iron Mountain Art.

"Come on, come on! Who wants to trade a few moves with me?"

A sturdily built young man pushed through the crowd. He had a dark red face, a high nose bridge, and tattoos of an azure dragon and white tiger on his body, cutting an imposing figure in all directions.

Everyone looked at one another.

"You going?"

"No, no, I can't do it. You should go!"

For a time, no one stepped forward.

Wang Yitong crossed his arms over his chest, his expression disdainful. He said quietly, "Brother Fang, these people are all disciples of the Iron Mountain Sect, and they practice the Iron Mountain Art too, but they're nowhere near your level. How about having a little fun with them?"

Fang Zhixing glanced at the system panel.

[2, Use First Layer moves to defeat or kill 5 lifeforms of the same level (1/5)]

Without question, the "lifeforms of the same level" here referred to people or exotic beasts with Force Unification realm strength.

I'm at Force Unification realm perfection. These people probably haven't reached perfection yet. Would they still count as the same level?

After a brief consideration, Fang Zhixing stepped forward and cupped his hands. "This brother may not be much, but I would like to experience your fine moves."

The dark-red-faced man sized Fang Zhixing up. He was a little over five feet tall, well-proportioned, with defined muscle lines that gave him an impression of compact strength.

"Please!"

The dark-red-faced man showed no fear. He assumed the opening stance of "Iron Mountain Opens the Way," and the muscles all over his body swelled.

Seeing this, Fang Zhixing adopted the same stance.

"Huh? Could it be that you practice the Iron Mountain Art too?"

The dark-red-faced man was surprised. Doubtfully, he asked, "Which hall are you from? How come I've never seen you before?"

Fang Zhixing replied, "Defeat me, and I'll tell you."

"...Fine!"

The dark-red-faced man's expression turned solemn. He pressed off the ground with his toes and drove force through his waist, shooting forward like an arrow released from a bow. At the same time, he swung his right arm in a wide hook toward Fang Zhixing's cheek.

The corners of Fang Zhixing's lips curled up. Fearless, he slid half a step diagonally forward to the right and lowered himself into a slight crouch. Then he drove a fist into the dark-red-faced man's flank.

The dark-red-faced man's heart tightened. He sensed Fang Zhixing's ferocity, but it was already too late to change moves. He simply fell backward, and the instant his butt hit the deck, he scissored both legs forward.

The move had no elegance whatsoever, yet it was highly effective. It forced Fang Zhixing to jump straight up, avoiding having his legs clamped between them.

Then Fang Zhixing dropped from the air, one foot stomping toward the dark-red-faced man's stomach.

The dark-red-faced man rolled away on the spot.

Fang Zhixing landed and immediately raised his foot for another stomp. The dark-red-faced man had no time to get up and could only keep rolling.

"Hah! Iron Mountain Crushes the Foolish Old Man!"

Fang Zhixing kept stomping, while the dark-red-faced man kept rolling.

The deck rang with banging tremors!

The onlookers hurriedly backed away!

Bang!

Suddenly, after rolling in a circle, the dark-red-faced man slammed into the ship's railing. He cried out inwardly that things were bad. Looking up, he saw the sole of a foot rapidly growing larger in his vision.

Terrified, he immediately shut his eyes.

But the foot stopped a hair's breadth from his face.

The dark-red-faced man opened his eyes. Fang Zhixing had already moved his foot away and extended a hand to him, smiling. "Still want to fight?"

The dark-red-faced man secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He took Fang Zhixing's hand and was pulled to his feet. Smiling, he said, "No more. You win."

The crowd clicked their tongues in amazement.

Their fight had begun quickly and ended quickly, tense and thrilling enough to dazzle the eye and leave people holding their breath.

Only after the fight ended did many realize they were able to breathe again.

[2, Use First Layer moves to defeat or kill 5 lifeforms of the same level (2/5)]

This works too?! Fang Zhixing was overjoyed.

The dark-red-faced man was actually only at the late stage of the Force Unification realm, far inferior to him!

It appeared that "lifeforms of the same level" was a range, encompassing all four stages of the Force Unification realm: early, middle, late, and perfection!

Haha, this makes things easy!

Battle intent flashed in Fang Zhixing's eyes. He looked around at the crowd and said, "I'm not bad. Does anyone else want to have a go with me?"

Then a burly young man standing six feet tall stepped out. He rubbed the stubble on his face and smiled. "I'll give it a try."

Fang Zhixing extended a hand. "Please."

The burly young man loosened up his hands. Then, with a sudden stomp, he lunged forward like a wild bull.

"Old Ape Embraces the Tree!"

He spread his arms wide and gave a low shout, about to wrap Fang Zhixing in a bear hug.

Fang Zhixing was familiar with the move "Old Ape Embraces the Tree" as well. He immediately met him head-on, spreading his own arms too.

The two grown men embraced.

The burly young man squeezed Fang Zhixing's waist with all his strength, but his own waist was also clamped by Fang Zhixing's arms.

Crack!

Suddenly, the burly young man's face turned red from the strain. He could barely breathe, and his feet even left the ground.

"Stop, stop, stop..." he cried.

Fang Zhixing smiled faintly and released him.

[2, Use First Layer moves to defeat or kill 5 lifeforms of the same level (3/5)]