Chapter 22: Defeating Zhou Yang

"Definitely succeed in gathering Qi? What a big mouth; even Lu Ren wouldn't dare say that."

Zhou Yang and Zhou Yuan, brothers, happened to pass by and couldn't help but make sarcastic remarks.

Xu Yang glanced at him without speaking, while Zhou Xia frowned slightly.

Seeing that Xu Yang didn't respond, Zhou Yang felt it was boring and immediately entered Weiyuan Hall.

"You go quickly; you’ll miss the meal time soon. Don't get into any disputes with anyone."

Zhou Xia thought of the previous incident and couldn't help but urge Xu Yang.

"Don't worry, Cousin!"

Watching Zhou Xia leave, Xu Yang turned and walked into Weiyuan Hall.

After eating, he first went to the medicine hall to pay the silver and arrange for the Body-Strengthening Soup and Health-Preserving Soup, then strode to the outer hall and shouted, "Zhou Yang, didn't you want to spar with me? Today, I’ll grant your wish."

He had always followed the path of caution, not showing off, and even though Zhou Yang had provoked him many times to spar, he had never agreed.

But today, having just been coerced by Qian Ming and seeing his cousin at Weiyuan Hall, he had finally felt a bit comfortable, only for Zhou Yang to jump out and bark like a dog, right in front of Zhou Xia.

If he endured any longer, he wouldn't be cautious; he’d be a spineless turtle.

"Xu Yang is taking the initiative to challenge Zhou Yang today. What kind of madness is this?"

"Hasn't he always been afraid to fight Zhou Yang?"

"Just now, Xu Yang was talking to a girl outside, and Zhou Yang seemed to be sarcastic again. I saw Xu Yang fuming with anger during the meal."

Xu Yang’s voice wasn't small, instantly attracting everyone’s attention.

"You? You finally dare to fight me?" Zhou Yang turned back, feeling somewhat incredulous.

"Not fight, spar!" Xu Yang corrected.

Weiyuan Hall did not allow disciples to fight privately, but if it was a spar, even if someone got injured, it was fine.

"Right, spar. Come on, Brother Xu."

Zhou Yang realized his mistake, corrected his wording, and took a large stride forward, heading straight for Xu Yang.

Just as he was about to reach Xu Yang, he leaped up suddenly, his five fingers curled, and he grabbed directly at Xu Yang’s shoulder.

"Good!" Seeing his cousin’s move, which was both skillful and handsome, Zhou Yuan couldn't help but shout.

Zhou Yang looked like a Bear King leaping up, with extraordinary momentum.

"Good my ass!" Lu Ren cursed under his breath.

This move was called "Bear King Probing Claws," an extremely domineering grappling move in the Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist, specialized in dislocating joints. But under normal circumstances, no one would use it as their first move.

Because this move was very arrogant. Using it without knowing the opponent’s background easily led to falling into a disadvantage due to leaving one’s defenses wide open.

Clearly, even though Xu Yang had taken the initiative to challenge him, Zhou Yang didn't take him seriously. After all, he had been training in martial arts half a month longer than Xu Yang.

"Idiot!"

Xu Yang hadn't expected Zhou Yang to be so arrogant and look down on him, thinking he had been avoiding the fight because he couldn't win. Not only did he use a move that left his defenses wide open, but he also leaped into mid-air.

All that training on the plum blossom stakes had gone to waste; he seemed not to know the importance of a stable stance.

A move meant for show—it looked domineering, but it was full of flaws.

Xu Yang’s running steps stopped abruptly, his body bending like a giant python, his muscles tensed.

Just as Zhou Yang’s five fingers were about to hook onto his shoulder, he assumed a posture of "containing the chest and pulling the back," raising his shoulder by half a foot. Zhou Yang grabbed empty air, missing his shoulder and grabbing his arm instead.

He was strong and sturdy; his arm, to exaggerate, was not much smaller than an ordinary person’s thigh. In a state of tensed muscles, it was terrifying; how could it be grabbed with one hand?

So when Zhou Yang hooked his five fingers tight, he found he had grabbed something like a giant tree; he couldn't hook in at all.

The next moment, his wrist had been grabbed by Xu Yang in a reverse grip.

"Not good!" ===== CHAPTER 42 =====

Zhou Yang secretly thought it was bad and wanted to react, but his body was still in the air, with no place to exert force.

A whistling sound rang out, and a fist struck from bottom to top, slamming heavily into his chin.

"Bang!"

Zhou Yang’s head tilted back, his eyes rolled, and his hundred-plus-catty body was sent flying upward.

His vision went black, and he didn't even feel the sharp pain because he was about to pass out.

Xu Yang didn't stop there!

He withdrew his fist, then folded his arms, and rammed forward with his whole body, his shoulder slamming heavily into Zhou Yang’s chest.

After a "bang," Zhou Yang’s body flew backward like a kicked ball, landing three or four meters away, splashing up a cloud of dust, and sliding a distance before stopping.

"Ah..."

At this moment, Zhou Yang’s screams finally came, his hands covering his chin as he wailed and rolled on the ground.

Xu Yang stopped his steps and didn't strike again.

"Second Brother..."

Zhou Yuan roared and ran over quickly to help Zhou Yang up. He saw drops of blood sliding from between Zhou Yang’s fingers; his chin was swollen beyond recognition, and he was twitching in pain.

"Zhou Yang lost!"

"I thought it would be a fierce battle; it ended so quickly."

"The one who lost wasn't Xu Yang. He’s so fierce; why was he afraid to fight Zhou Yang before?"

"One move, he defeated Zhou Yang in one move. Xu Yang is so fierce."

The whole place was in an uproar. Many people hadn't even reacted before Zhou Yang had lost.

Two moves in the blink of an eye, and it was over.

"It’s not that Xu Yang is fierce; it’s that Zhou Yang is stupid. Using 'Bear King Probing Claws' as the first move and leaping into mid-air to show off—his brain is full of shit."

Some veteran disciples saw this and pointed out the reason why Zhou Yang lost so quickly.

If he hadn't been arrogant and had fought Xu Yang on the ground, who would win and who would lose was hard to say.

"Xu Yang, it was a spar between fellow disciples, yet you used such a heavy hand." Zhou Yuan glared at Xu Yang.

As for Zhou Yang, he hadn't quite recovered yet.

"Heavy hand my ass. He’s the trash. How would I know that even though he’s been training half a month longer than me, he couldn't even take one move? Ask the fellow disciples here if I Xu Yang intentionally used a heavy hand."

Xu Yang said, walking over with concern, "Brother Zhou, are you alright? We agreed it was a spar. With so many people watching, don't try to frame me."

Zhou Yang had recovered somewhat and endured the sharp pain, saying, "I’m fine, just need to rest for a while. It was indeed a spar."

Looking at so many people around, he suppressed the anger in his heart. Losing to Xu Yang was already embarrassing enough; if he kept harping on about a "heavy hand," it would only be more embarrassing.

If his reputation stank, it would be hard to mix in this circle in the future.

The crowd dispersed; to them, this was just a small interlude, and they had to continue training.

"Brother Lu Ren, can you tell how strong Xu Yang is?" Luo Dehu whispered.

"Nothing special. If that move were me, I could have beaten Zhou Yang to death on the spot." Lu Ren revealed a confident smile.

He was confident that he would gather Qi this month at the latest. Xu Yang couldn't even get enough to eat; he was no longer qualified to be his rival.

"As expected of Brother Lu Ren, soon to be a martial artist master with Qi Gathering cultivation!" Luo Dehu couldn't help but flatter him.

"What is Qi Gathering? My goal is to advance to Marrow Cleansing within a year." Lu Ren raised his head proudly.

By now, his goal was no longer Qi Gathering, but the realm above it. Only people like Xu Yang would think about getting ahead after successfully gathering Qi. ===== CHAPTER 43 =====