Chapter 14: All Are Keeping Secrets

Feng Zi merely tossed out a faint "I will fight nine," and said nothing more.

But at this attitude of his, the Martial Artists in the entire plaza were in an uproar—

"Fight nine? What a big mouth! How many years has it been since we in Wutai County have seen a one-versus-nine situation?"

"I wonder if that Feng Zi is arrogant, or if he is confident of success?"

"Heh, if he really loses the fight, then the show will be a big one..."

Not only the Martial Artists off the stage, but even Lu Hanwen, Li Shou, and even officials like the County Magistrate, upon hearing this, could not help but look at Feng Zi on the martial arts arena:

In a situation of one against many, the difference between seven people and nine people is not a simple numerical difference—

As long as the side with more people possesses the most basic tacit understanding, it will cause the side at a numerical disadvantage to become like headless flies, trapped in a war of attrition that wastes their stamina for nothing!

Therefore, although nine people are only two more than seven, the advantage they possess cannot be simply calculated by addition.

The commotion lasted for quite a while, and finally, five Martial Artists from the Zhao Family Martial Arts Hall and four Martial Artists from the Li Family Martial Arts Hall entered the arena together.

Leading them was a Martial Artist from the Zhao Family Martial Arts Hall; Feng Zi could not remember the other party's name, only that this person seemed to often hang around with Liu Zhong.

Of course, he did not care much about who his opponents were, but silently calculated the opponents he was facing in his heart, secretly pondering:

"Hmm... five short and four long; they can engage in close-quarters grappling or harass from a distance. It is indeed a very tricky combination."

While he was pondering, the disciple from the Zhao Family Martial Arts Hall in the lead gave a disdainful cold snort:

"Heh, Feng Zi... I don't know what means you used to forcibly become a Martial Master, but I will definitely tear off your disguise today!"

Regarding this kind of low-level provocation, Feng Zi did not take it to heart, but simply set his stance and said indifferently: "No point in talking more, let's finish this quickly."

He was no longer the powerless self he once was; he did not need to futilely vent the anger in his heart by throwing punches, and naturally, he would not care about such evaluations.

Seeing that he had already set his stance, the nine Martial Artists immediately scattered like a flight of geese, each standing ready in battle formation.

"Hah!" Hearing the head constable announce the start of the match, Feng Zi immediately let out a loud shout and stepped out—

The hard floor tiles could not support the power of this step and instantly crumbled into countless fragments, shooting out in all directions.

Facing this turn of events, the Martial Artists outside the arena also subconsciously used their own methods to neutralize these "hidden weapons" aimed at them.

If those outside the arena were like this, the impact on the Martial Artists inside the arena was naturally even greater.

Those nine people were too busy dealing with the fragments shooting at them to look out for one another for a moment.

This was, of course, Feng Zi's deliberate doing—now that he could freely control the Qi and Blood Power within his body, how could such an "accident" occur?

Lu Hanwen and Li Shou naturally both saw this and laughed one after another: "Quite interesting!"

At the same time, Feng Zi had already rushed in front of the leading Martial Artist and, taking advantage of the other party's inability to react, threw three punches in succession—

The next moment, that Martial Artist who also practiced Fist Technique was sent flying out of the arena!

One against many is certainly very tricky, but in Feng Zi's view, the method to deal with it is also very simple:

As long as one forcibly strikes regardless of the cost to eliminate one person first, the other party's response will naturally develop flaws.

As long as one seizes this loophole and continues to expand one's advantage, winning is not a difficult task!

And the development of the situation in the arena was exactly as Feng Zi had predicted:

The coordination between these nine people was not that tacit to begin with, and on top of that, they each had to deal with Feng Zi's "little tricks," so they were already powerless to handle Feng Zi's sudden attack.

And when the leader was eliminated and their formation was broken, the remaining eight people could not even respond in time.

Feng Zi's gaze was like an eagle's; he naturally would not let go of such a great opportunity.

Within a few rounds, those eight Martial Artists were "sent" out of the martial arts arena by him, one punch per person.

And during this period, the technique Feng Zi displayed was merely the foundation of Fist Technique!

In Feng Zi's view, this was only natural:

If he were forced to use his true ability when facing these Martial Artists, he would rather not have the top prize of this martial arts meet!

But in the eyes of the watching Martial Artists, the depth of the strength Feng Zi displayed also left a very deep impression in their hearts—

"I originally thought the strength of Li Shou and Young Master Lu was already hard to match... I never thought that this unassuming Feng Zi would also have such profound strength!"

"Judging from the strength revealed by those two, it is truly hard to say who is better, but the power they each displayed is different."

"That makes sense; the depth of the Spear Technique Li Shou displayed is incomprehensible, while what Feng Zi displayed is a martial foundation solid to the point of being abnormal!"

The crowd's discussion reached Feng Zi's ears, and he cast it to the back of his mind.

Once the head constable announced his victory, he walked toward the position where he had come from.

Seeing Feng Zi walk over, Lu Hanwen smiled: "Brother Feng Zi truly has good methods; watching it is admirable."

Regarding this kind of flattery that one could tell was not sincere, Feng Zi just waved his hand casually: "Even if Brother Hanwen boasts another hundred times, I will not hold back."

To this, Lu Hanwen just shrugged and stood up to walk toward the martial arts arena: "That is natural; a martial arts match should be fought to one's heart's content."

When the head constable loudly called out "Number Thirteen, Lu Hanwen," the other party gracefully entered the arena and said casually: "Let's do one against seven."

Having said that, Lu Hanwen casually took out a folding fan from his sleeve.

Looking at this appearance of Lu Hanwen, Feng Zi always felt something was not quite right:

Wait... wasn't he a Martial Master who practiced Blade Technique? Where was the blade? And what was with that robe with the wide sleeves?

Seeing this posture of Lu Hanwen, Feng Zi understood that the other party also did not want to easily expose his trump cards and let him easily analyze a way to break them.

Sure enough, in the following match, Lu Hanwen almost never took the initiative to attack.

Under the siege of seven people, the other party was like a graceful swimming dragon, easily dodging attacks from all sides.

But this was not a desperate, frantic escape; Feng Zi saw it very clearly:

On the surface, those seven Martial Artists always occupied the initiative and kept making moves, but in reality, they had long been led by the nose by Lu Hanwen!

Unknowingly, the formation of the seven Martial Artists had long been disrupted, and Lu Hanwen also seized the opportunity to strike at their weaknesses, causing these seven people to collapse to the ground one after another.

Until the head constable announced Lu Hanwen's victory, many Martial Artists had not seen clearly how the other party had won—

"This... am I blind? How, how did that Young Master Lu win?"

"Hiss, I don't understand; that movement technique is truly profound, actually playing seven Martial Artists around in circles."

"Have I studied martial arts for nothing? Why is it that I can't even understand the moves of those three Martial Masters?"

Even the County Magistrate and the officials sitting in front of the County Government Office had faces full of joy after seeing the sparring of these three:

"Not bad, not bad! These three are young, yet they all possess such solid fundamental skills; Wutai County has successors indeed!"

As for Lu Hanwen? He had long since slipped away to the side of the arena.

Meeting Feng Zi's gaze, he cupped his hands and said, "I have embarrassed myself; they were merely some minor tricks."

Regarding this answer, Feng Zi also sighed helplessly in his heart:

What the other party said was indeed true—including himself, the three Martial Masters had only employed proficient fundamental skills and had not yet used their true abilities!