Blocked in the Road

"Never thought four martial arts schools would be involved in this, Director Chen..." Ling Xiangshan wore a bitter smile, as if he truly knew nothing about the matter.

Chen Xu understood perfectly why Ling Xiangshan had thrown Secretary Wu into the Heavenly Prison. The reason was simple: Chen Xu's strength had reached what Chen Zhenwu possessed at his peak.

If he were still that young man who did not know Tiger Howl Fist, forget the Refining Liquid—he would not even qualify to keep his VIP card.

In any world, those with the bigger fists always received better treatment.

But his current strength was already the limit of what Deputy Director Ling would do for him. The Martial Pavilion would never recover those resources for his sake. How much he could reclaim would depend on Chen Xu's own strength.

"Deputy Director Ling, now that the culprit has been identified, I will not linger any longer." Chen Xu drained his tea in one gulp and cupped his hands toward Ling Xiangshan.

"Take care." Ling Xiangshan rose to see him off. "Director Chen possesses such strength at such a young age. Your future is bright indeed, bright indeed."

As if recalling something, he added, "In three days, a Martial Pavilion inspector from the provincial capital will arrive. Director Chen, you should prepare in advance."

Whether intentionally or not, Ling Xiangshan lowered his voice slightly. "The inspector has some connection to Deputy Director Xu."

"Deputy Director Xu?" The image of Director Xu in his gray robe surfaced in Chen Xu's mind. They exchanged a glance, and everything was understood without words.

"Congratulations to Senior Sister Tong for passing the martial artist assessment!"

Chen Xu had just returned through the VIP passage when he saw a banner stretched across the entrance, with dozens of people blocking the Martial Pavilion's doors.

Not only did the security personnel not disperse them, they even took the initiative to stop visitors for the Floating Light Martial Arts School.

A tall woman with long hair stood surrounded by the crowd. Though she kept modestly denying their praise, the smile she could not hide revealed exactly what she was thinking.

Chen Xu could not be bothered to wait. There were only a few hours until nightfall, and he still wanted to visit several more martial arts schools.

"Are you blind? Can't you see that our Floating Light Martial Arts School is taking pictures? Senior Sister Tong becoming a martial artist is a huge occasion. So what if you are delayed for a few minutes?" A visitor stepped forward to argue, only to be shoved to the ground by the martial arts school members.

"And you, get back twenty meters from the entrance!"

As he spoke, the man dressed as a Floating Light Martial Arts School disciple reached out to shove Chen Xu.

Chen Xu moved faster, grabbing his right arm and squeezing hard.

"Ahhh..." His cry of pain instantly drew everyone's attention, and the crowd turned toward the sound.

A Floating Cloud Martial Arts School disciple was clutching his right arm as he knelt before a teenage boy, his face twisted in agony.

"It's that Director Chen."

"Looks like he's going to force his way out. This should be entertaining."

"I hope he does. They're blocking the way and acting so arrogant. I really wish someone would teach them a lesson!"

"No matter what, one person can't possibly beat dozens of people, right?"

The visitors behind them whispered among themselves.

A man who appeared to be the security captain bowed and apologized to the tall woman, then roared viciously at Chen Xu, "What do you mean by this? You dare assault people inside the Martial Pavilion?"

Seeing him immediately pin such a charge on him, Chen Xu replied mockingly, "Anyone who knows better would recognize you as Martial Pavilion security. Anyone who doesn't might think you're just a lackey of the Floating Light Martial Arts School.

For Deputy Director Ling's sake, I'll reluctantly help him clean out the scum that has infiltrated the Martial Pavilion."

As soon as he finished speaking, he stomped the ground, seized the still-unresponsive security captain by the head, and smashed it into the floor.

"Captain Li!"

The two security guards beside him pulled out telescopic batons and closed in from both sides.

Invisible Tiger Might swept outward. The two guards were struck by Chen Xu almost simultaneously, sent flying several meters away, and knocked unconscious.

From the moment Chen Xu made his move to the moment all three lost their ability to fight, only a few seconds had passed. Many onlookers had only just taken out their phones.

"Damn! I didn't even see that clearly."

"That kid is incredible. This is my first time seeing martial artists fight."

"What fight? That was a one-sided beatdown."

There were even a few strange-sounding Great Abyss remarks mixed in: "Whoa, traditional Great Abyss kung fu!"

"I wonder if our Federation's mixed martial arts are this powerful."

The visitors' quiet mockery made the Floating Light Martial Arts School members unable to save face. Junior Brother Zheng looked back at the dozens of his fellow students and gathered his courage as he walked toward Chen Xu.

If he were alone, he would never dare act tough before that boy. But there were dozens of them. If they slunk away because of one person, the Floating Light Martial Arts School would be utterly humiliated.

"Director Chen, what exactly do you mean by this? Director Mu Zixiao of our Floating Light Martial Arts School's Floating Cloud Sword Style ranks second among martial arts school directors in Jinning Commandery!"

"Second among martial arts schools, maybe. Stop flattering yourselves."

Someone in the mixed crowd sneered, making the Floating Light Martial Arts School members' faces alternate between green and white.

"Coach Fu, what's wrong with martial arts schools?" A girl around thirteen or fourteen in the Floating Cloud Martial Arts School group asked in confusion.

She had joined the Floating Cloud Martial Arts School less than a week ago. Before that, she had barely practiced any foundational martial arts exercises and had simply treated it as an interest class.

At the Floating Cloud Martial Arts School, students like her accounted for seventy or eighty percent of the total.

"It's nothing. They're just a bunch of old antiques who have long failed to keep up with the times." Coach Fu gently rubbed the girl's hair.

"The wheels of progress cannot be stopped. Anyone who dares stand in the way of the great tide of development will be mercilessly crushed."

He stared coldly at Chen Xu, who was surrounded by more than a dozen Floating Cloud Martial Arts School students, and said gently, "This is the Martial Pavilion, after all. Just beat him half to death. Let him learn the consequences of opposing the Floating Cloud Martial Arts School."

"Got it, Coach. Brat, let me show you the Floating Cloud Martial Arts School's ultimate technique, the Flowing Cloud Palm."

As he spoke, his palms drifted unpredictably up and down as he slowly closed in on Chen Xu.

His fist came fast and fierce. Chen Xu drove a punch straight into his face.

So fast. That was the only thought left in the man's mind before he toppled backward.

"Adding a pile of flashy nonsense, then lowering the difficulty of rank-one martial arts to create a castrated version of martial arts—is that what you call martial arts?"

Chen Xu swept his gaze over the Floating Cloud Martial Arts School trainees. "I could take on a hundred weaklings like you!"

The level-one Tiger Might effect erupted. The footsteps of the few people closest to Chen Xu suddenly slowed. They all felt as though the person before them had transformed into a roaring tiger ready to devour its prey.

The sounds of fists and feet striking flesh blended with the screams of Floating Cloud Martial Arts School disciples. On average, one or two people were sent flying out of the circle or collapsed to the ground every second.

Coach Fu and Senior Sister Tong rushed in to attack, intending to capture Chen Xu.

Their long, straight legs kicked out in succession, flowing without end like water.

"You two have barely reached rank one. You do have the right to call yourselves martial artists."

Chen Xu commented softly. Clearly, the martial arts they practiced were already close to proper martial combat techniques, far superior to the flashy, impractical moves of those disciples from before.

But for the sake of spectacle, some techniques had been removed or altered. To Chen Xu, they were still equally vulnerable!

His hand formed a blade, and without hesitation, he knocked both of them down before striding out of the Martial Pavilion.

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