Things in This World Always Went Against One's Wishes

In the Heavenly Peng Daoist Temple not far away.

Zhou Tianchen looked exhilarated and cheered under his breath:

"Attaboy!"

He had actually won!

As for whether his victory had been honorable, Zhou Tianchen couldn't have cared less. Was it honorable for six people to fight one?

Besides, his senior brother's favorite thing back in the day had been "overcoming the stronger." He had always fought those of lower realms from a higher realm, and in nearly a thousand battles throughout his life, he had never suffered a defeat.

And how many people in the world today dared to find fault with that?

Staying alive was a skill.

And staying alive to the very end was an even greater skill.

In Evergreen Mountain's residence, bamboo shadows swayed.

Zhang Qingtong's face showed approval.

This battle had been a complete strategic victory.

He had always believed that a martial artist who could one day reach the pinnacle needed not only extraordinary talent, but also unshakable resolve.

And brains, too.

Over the past few years, he had greatly admired the boy's character. Someone who could find himself in desperate straits without losing heart was truly rare.

And only now had he discovered that the boy possessed far more than they had seen before.

Like an uncut jade buried in dust, with no one to carve it, he had been polished over and over by the grit around him, until he had shed the dust himself and revealed the sharp edge within.

"Huh-"

Zhang Qingtong's gaze suddenly sharpened as he looked at the boy in the alley. He fell silent for a moment, but the appreciation in his eyes only deepened.

Yu Tunzhou's question caught Xue Huaiyi off guard. Then he sneered even more openly:

"Who else? Me?"

Even as he spoke, his eyes swept warily over the surroundings, afraid that Yu Tunzhou might play another trick.

Come to think of it, why hadn't the others arrived yet?

Where was Brother Jiang Yungu?

His martial attainments were the highest, as was his lightness skill. Having been warned, he shouldn't have been this slow.

And there was Xi Luoyi. That woman was the most quick-witted of them all, and her five senses were far sharper than an ordinary person's. She couldn't have failed to notice the commotion on his side...

"What are you doing?"

Xue Huaiyi's expression suddenly darkened.

In the alley, Yu Tunzhou showed no sign of trying to flee. Instead, he walked toward him, one step at a time, his pace slow and steady, his bearing unremarkable.

But to Xue Huaiyi, he was like still water that ran deep: seemingly calm on the surface, yet beneath it surged an indescribable undercurrent. It weighed on him until he could scarcely breathe, forcing him to retreat.

"You still dare to attack me?" Xue Huaiyi forcibly steadied himself, putting on a fierce front to hide his fear. "Do you think I'm Ji Pan or Chang Jian?!"

His words were tough, but panic had already begun to rise in his heart. Not only was there still no sign of anyone coming to his aid from the surrounding area, but Yu Tunzhou's gaze was far too calm-

That was not how a man at the end of his strength, driven into a desperate corner, should look!

Remembering Yu Tunzhou's earlier reaction, a startling thought exploded in his mind.

Impossible!

That was Jiang Yungu!

Yu Tunzhou hadn't stopped walking. By the time those thoughts erupted in Xue Huaiyi's mind, he was already standing before him.

Under that inexplicable pressure, Xue Huaiyi attacked instinctively, his internal Qi erupting. But with his composure in complete disarray, he left a hundred openings. His defeat had been decided before he even struck.

With Yu Tunzhou's Primordial Spirit perception, he could not only observe himself, but also detect the changes in Xue Huaiyi's muscles and bones and predict the path of his punch.

So he merely turned slightly to the side, avoiding the punch. He reached out, hooked an arm around Xue Huaiyi's head, and with a little force, slammed it hard against the wall beside them.

Silence returned to the alley.

Only the whimper of the wind blowing through the narrow passage remained.

Yu Tunzhou didn't leave.

He looked down at the boy, who had fallen asleep as soon as he hit the ground, and his expression grew dazed.

Was this fight over?

No.

It had only just begun.

After all, they had only been knocked unconscious. How long could that last?

Once they woke up, most of them would still refuse to accept defeat, thinking they had been ambushed, and their anger would only grow.

Just like that fellow at the orphanage in his previous life, only by beating the other party until he was truly afraid would he beg for mercy. Otherwise, all warnings that caused no real pain would only make him more unrestrained.

He knew full well that although these people were no match for him now, they weren't without strength. If they fought in an open space instead, he could only turn and run.

If only...

Yu Tunzhou didn't want to get involved in the town's disputes. He only wanted to cultivate in peace and eventually leave the town. In particular, after learning what the true "Luofu Dao Contention" was, he felt even more strongly that this kind of fighting was meaningless.

But things in this world always went against one's wishes. If he didn't contend, others would.

Yu Tunzhou slowly raised his foot and planted it on the right leg of the boy his age, without the slightest hesitation on his face.

This world wouldn't ask what you wanted.

Still less would it give you something just because you wanted it.

So you had to learn to fight for what you wanted.

Crack-

The crisp sound of bone breaking carried clearly on the wind, as if it had been blown into the ears of those stationed in the town by its various households.

The intense pain roused the boy from unconsciousness, and he let out a piercing scream. But as Yu Tunzhou stepped on his other leg, the extreme agony sent him into unconsciousness once more.

Yu Tunzhou withdrew his foot, pressed his lips together, and looked up at the narrow strip of daylight overhead.

From beginning to end, he had known full well that he was different from these people. Everything he possessed was what he held in his hands right now, so he had all the more reason to learn to protect it.

He couldn't afford to lose.

Nor could he lose.

Yu Tunzhou turned and walked out of the narrow alley with steady steps.

The wind blowing toward him brushed the ends of his hair and stirred his sleeves.

He recalled the places where the other five had fallen, one by one.

Since he was going to do it, he would see it through and keep the bowl of water level, so no one could call it unfair.

He hoped twelve legs would spare him some pointless disturbances in the days to come.

At the center of the town.

Inside a residence representing Great Yan.

An old man held a scroll in his hand as he gazed into the distance at the face of the boy in the alley.

There wasn't the slightest joy of a great victory on that face, nor a trace of viciousness from crippling someone else's legs. There was only calm, as if it matched the boy's long-held belief-

Take care of your own affairs.

The old man sighed softly.

As for today's fight, ambushes aside, nothing had been more brilliant than the way the boy had used his bearing to crush his opponent at the end, shaking the Xue boy's state of mind until he forgot every bit of his martial skill.

Otherwise, how could he have lost so badly?

He had never imagined that a country boy who had never heard of the martial path before could teach himself such a method.

What they had expected even less was that this lad, who didn't even count as someone newly emerged into the world, could be so ruthless as to break the legs of six people in succession, including two young women and Jiang Yungu of the Luo River Jiang Clan.

It truly was...

"Brilliant."

The old man murmured, then looked at the cynical young man before him, who had casually tossed his book aside.

The young man had an upright figure and was somewhat older and larger than the boys and girls in town. A dot of red cinnabar marked the center of his brow, closely resembling a woman's chastity mark.

Most remarkable of all, deep in his eyes, several golden dragons and serpents seemed to be swimming slowly.

The old man turned his gaze toward the young Tanhua before him and warned him sternly:

"Tanhua Qin, you must face that boy called Yu Tunzhou squarely, and then take him seriously."

"Oh? That young friend who came from the countryside, just like me?"

The young man slapped the table and laughed aloud.

"Master Yan, that goes without saying! In this town, I, Qin Shaoyou, look down on everyone, but I would never look down on this 'fellow countryman'!"