Chapter 50: If You Can

“I’ll be your opponent.”

As soon as Cang Luo spoke, a wave of uproar erupted; the disciples from both sides began whispering among themselves, and those unfamiliar with Cang Luo hurriedly asked about his identity.

How strong is his cultivation base? What’s his actual power? How dare he step onto the arena to fight Chen Da Hu?!

Among the three dormitories, fewer than ten people recognized Cang Luo, aside from Zang Feng, Liu Xuande, and Li Zhan.

But they had only seen him once on the day he registered, knew little of his circumstances, and only knew his cultivation base was Warrior Third Layer.

The other dozen or so didn’t know Cang Luo at all—including the six disciples from Xin Yi Qi Sixty-Six Dorm, including Zhao Ren.

Zhao Ren and his five companions had been on an expedition and hadn’t met Cang Luo, but upon returning, they’d all heard from Li Zhan about Cang Luo’s encounter with Chen Da Hu, and knew he’d been tricked by him—they felt sorry for him.

They also knew Cang Luo had defeated Chen Da Hu through “clever tricks,” crippling his genitals and making him a sworn enemy.

Fearing retaliation from Chen Da Hu’s older brother, Chen Da Long, he’d fled into the Beast Forest for training, hiding there for nearly a month.

Why did he suddenly return today?

Has he made breakthroughs in his cultivation and no longer fears retaliation? Is that why he dared come back?

Impossible!

He was only Warrior Third Layer back then—how could he surpass Chen Da Hu’s Warrior Sixth Layer in just twenty days?

What nonsense!

According to Li Zhan, Cang Luo came from an ordinary family that couldn’t afford vast cultivation resources, and he wasn’t any kind of genius.

Otherwise, how could he still be at Warrior Third Layer at age twenty-two?

His talent was the worst among all the disciples present.

But now, why did he dare return? Had he stumbled upon some opportunity and made a sudden leap in cultivation?

Even so, it was highly unlikely he’d reached Warrior Sixth Layer in just over twenty days.

Warrior Fourth Layer was possible, Warrior Fifth Layer maybe—but the odds were extremely slim, unless he’d found a Level Five or higher spiritual herb in the Beast Forest.

But the regions where Level Five or higher herbs grew were deep within the Beast Forest’s Inner Ring, where all beasts were Fourth Rank or above—he couldn’t possibly have survived.

Even if we assume he’d reached Warrior Fifth Layer, he still couldn’t match Chen Da Hu, who was Warrior Sixth Layer.

Even if we assume he could defeat Chen Da Hu as a Warrior Fifth Layer, what then? Chen Da Hu still had an older brother, Chen Da Long, a Warrior Eighth Layer.

What would he do when Chen Da Long came for revenge? Was he looking for death?

Warrior Fifth Layer might overcome Warrior Sixth Layer, but absolutely could not overcome three levels to defeat Warrior Eighth Layer!

Everyone stared at Cang Luo, unable to understand why he’d returned to die—did he think Chen Da Hu and his brother wouldn’t dare harm him within the sect?

That was far too naive. With ten thousand disciples in the outer sect, occasional disappearances or accidental deaths were normal—the Enforcement Pavilion wouldn’t investigate deeply...

As everyone speculated about Cang Luo’s cultivation, Zhao Ren, who had been knocked unconscious by Chen Da Hu, regained consciousness.

Zhao Ren had the highest cultivation base among the three dormitories and was known for his righteousness, so he held considerable prestige among the disciples; as soon as he woke, over a dozen disciples rushed forward to check on him—they often teamed up with him on expeditions and followed his lead.

“I’m fine...”

Zhao Ren shook his head and immediately said, “Quickly call Cang Shidi back—he’s no match for Chen Da Hu.”

“Chen Da Hu has perfected the Tiger Subduing Fist—he’ll surely seize the chance to retaliate during the match.”

Hearing Zhao Ren’s words, Li Zhan, who had been curiously watching the spear-boar, snapped back to reality and shouted, “Cang Shixiong, come back! You’re no match for Chen Da Hu—he’s now Warrior Sixth Layer, his power has surged!”

Liu Xuande also shouted, “Cang Shidi, don’t be reckless. This is a fair match—you can’t use weapons, not even throwing stones, and he won’t agree to blindfolded combat.”

Others also urged Cang Luo not to fight Chen Da Hu; though they had little connection with him, due to the ties between the three overseers—Liang, Wang, and Liu—their dormitories maintained decent relations.

So they didn’t want to see Cang Luo humiliated, nor did they want others to say their dormitory was so weak they’d sent a Warrior Third Layer to fight...

Among the crowd, only Zang Feng remained silent, observing the spear-boar Cang Luo had dragged back.

He studied the fatal wound on the spear-boar, puzzled—had it been killed by a single strike? Was this Cang Luo’s work?

The spear-boar’s combat power rivaled a Warrior Fifth Layer—could he have killed it with one blow? What power does he possess?

Zang Feng analyzed it, then recalled what his Master Wu Sheng had told him: Cang Luo carried something even more terrifying than Wu Sheng himself...

Cang Luo naturally didn’t know about Zang Feng’s conversation with his Wu Sheng master; hearing the others’ warnings, he felt warmth—but remained unmoved.

With a confident smile, Cang Luo turned to the crowd and said, “Brothers, wait a moment—I’ll settle this first, then we’ll drink heartily.”

After speaking, Cang Luo walked over to Overseer Liang, bowed slightly, and said, “Overseer Liang, please allow me to fight Chen Da Hu—I’m confident I can defeat him.”

Overseer Liang frowned—he had no idea where Cang Luo’s confidence came from. Arrogant overestimation?

After a moment’s thought, he placed a hand on Cang Luo’s shoulder and sent a trace of Yuan Qi to probe his cultivation. The moment his Yuan Qi touched Cang Luo’s Yuan Wheel, Overseer Liang’s eyes widened in shock—but he quickly forced himself to remain calm, inwardly stunned.

How?

Seven Yuan Wheels? Warrior Seventh Layer?

This kid—in just over twenty days, he’d advanced from Warrior Third Layer to Warrior Seventh Layer, even surpassing Zhao Ren.

Did he really find some opportunity in the Beast Forest?

After a moment of shock, Overseer Liang’s lips curled into a faint smile, then he feigned reluctance and said, “Fine, if you want to fight, go ahead—if you lose, just yield...”

At these words, Overseers Wang and Liu instantly turned to look—confused, wondering why he’d agreed to let Cang Luo fight—but they instantly understood upon seeing his glance.

Can he win?

Why would he win?

Overseers Wang and Liu were baffled, staring at Cang Luo, wanting to probe his cultivation—but held back, fearing Overseer Zhang would suspect something.

The three overseers’ silent exchange was seen by Cang Luo, who smiled slightly, then returned to the arena.

Cang Luo couldn’t help glancing again at Chen Da Hu’s crotch—he hadn’t expected him to recover so quickly; he could still fight?

Apparently, the medicine from this world isn’t ordinary—if I could bring back a pile to Earth, I’d become rich in minutes...

Seeing Cang Luo’s gaze, Chen Da Hu’s eyes bulged with rage—he wanted to flay Cang Luo alive, tear his tendons, strip his skin, eat his flesh, drink his blood, too furious to speak.

His first thought was that Cang Luo had gotten lucky—his brother hadn’t found him, or else how could he appear here unharmed?

But then again, it made sense—the Beast Forest was vast beyond measure; finding one person was like searching for a needle in an ocean.

But he’d returned—that was fine—but why dare show himself before me?

And now he boldly challenges me to a match? Does he think he can beat me again after using underhanded tricks once?

After a long silence, Chen Da Hu exhaled deeply, his face twisted with malice: “You want to fight me?”

“Mm. Afraid? Did you get scared after losing last time?” Cang Luo replied casually, his tone flippant.

“Hah... Hahahaha! Afraid?!”

Chen Da Hu laughed bitterly, sneaking a glance at Overseers Liang, Wang, and Liu across the arena, then turned to his own overseer and said, “Overseer Zhang, in a fair match, fists and feet are blind—please watch over me.”

“No problem. Give it your all—I’m here to ensure no one interferes with your fair fight,” Overseer Zhang smiled, casting an unkind look at Overseer Liang and the others.

He knew Chen Da Hu intended to strike hard during the match, feared the opposing overseers might intervene, so he’d asked him to block them—he was more than happy to oblige.

As they spoke, the disciples behind Overseer Zhang learned Cang Luo’s identity—they knew he was the one who, over twenty days ago, had used dishonorable means to injure Brother Chen—and they all turned on Cang Luo in unison.

“Despicable coward! Can’t beat Brother Chen fairly, so you resort to low tricks—how disgraceful! How could the Xuantian Sect have someone like you?”

“Exactly! How could such a scoundrel exist? They say he’s twenty-two and still only Warrior Third Layer—how hasn’t he been expelled from the sect?”

“Right! Why hasn’t this trash been expelled? Did he bribe the overseers? Such a despicable, shameless worm—if it were a fair fight, Brother Chen would’ve crushed him with one punch!”

Cang Luo remained unmoved by the insults and mockery—he didn’t want to argue, only to speak with power. He calmly said, “Can the match begin?”

In truth, if possible, Cang Luo didn’t want further contact with Chen Da Hu—he’d already crippled him once, killed his brother, and that should’ve settled the score.

But Cang Luo knew: ending the grudge was his own wish; Chen Da Hu would surely come for revenge, and behind him, Ouyang Lie would also come after him again.

What infuriated him was that he didn’t even know what he’d done to deserve this—why did they want him dead?

Fine. If you want to kill me, and I have nowhere to hide, then I’ll face you head-on—until you doubt your own existence!

Constantly hiding, constantly avoiding—it won’t do!

Warrior Ninth Layer? At my current pace, I’ll surpass it in no more than a few months...

As Cang Luo pondered life, Overseer Zhang across the arena suddenly barked: “Both sides, prepare! No weapons, no hidden tools, no treasures, no pills—no lethal strikes. Begin!”

The moment the words left his mouth, Chen Da Hu—who had already been secretly activating Leopard Shadow Leg and Tiger Subduing Fist—launched his attack.

Having learned from his last defeat, Chen Da Hu knew: no words, no delay, no underestimation—he had to strike at full power from the start, using overwhelming speed and strength, his strongest technique to crush his opponent!

Within the sect, unless it was a life-or-death duel, killing someone meant paying with your life.

But fists and feet are blind—accidentally crippling an opponent was inevitable; Overseer Liang wouldn’t dare say anything.

As he thought this, Chen Da Hu appeared less than three feet from Cang Luo—his speed startled everyone present.

Three feet was the perfect striking distance.

Chen Da Hu was certain: this punch, Cang Luo couldn’t dodge. The perfected Tiger Subduing Fist, if it landed on his shoulder...

The humerus, scapula, even the collarbone—shattered, beyond repair—his martial path ended forever.

Smirking, Chen Da Hu unleashed the long-suppressed, hatred-filled Tiger Subduing Fist, slamming it toward Cang Luo’s shoulder...

But he never expected—this punch was effortlessly dodged.

Missing his target, Chen Da Hu’s pupils dilated in a millisecond—shocked. But worse was yet to come.

The next instant, he felt his arm seized, then hurled violently—he crashed face-first into the ground.

Chen Da Hu lay sprawled on the ground, dazed, replaying what had just happened.

The watching disciples from both sides were also stunned, thinking about the exchange—some confused, some bewildered, some cautious.

What had they just seen?

They’d seen Cang Luo, the so-called “waste,” effortlessly dodge Chen Da Hu’s Tiger Subduing Fist—then seized his punching arm, using the principle of “four ounces deflecting a thousand pounds” to hurl him away...

What eyesight and power were needed to accomplish that?