Chapter 138: Dare to Rob My Money?

The Gongliang City Martial Arts Association has agreed to admit Bao Tiefeng as a member!

This news was too explosive; once released, it quickly stirred up discussion throughout the city.

Whether they were locals or immigrants from Su Cheng, everyone found it inconceivable. What game were these martial artists playing? Every trade and profession was exclusionary, especially a closed circle like that of martial artists.

Resources are limited; if one more person comes to snatch food, the other peers will not have it easy.

Bao Tiefeng's addition is a huge challenge for all the martial arts halls. They were already rushing to drive him out, so why would they let him join the Martial Arts Association?

Word is that it was even the initiative of the Martial Arts Association President, Wang Laohu!

"Is Wang Laohu senile? Opening the door to invite in a thief?"

However, Wang Laohu was far from senile; on the contrary, his blade remained as sharp as ever.

He eats meat and drinks wine for all three meals a day, and every night he favors his concubines, appearing even more vigorous and robust than a young man.

Many people paid visits to confirm that the old man was not senile, but more doubts arose! Why was this? Soon, some suspected that it wasn't Wang Laohu who had a problem, but Bao Tiefeng.

Could it be that for the sake of his own family business, he had betrayed the Su Cheng immigrants and decided to integrate into the local fist-fighting circle?

It was not impossible; Su Cheng was already in the past, and in the future, everyone would be a person of Gongliang. Who would still remember the conflicts of the past?

The suspicion widened, and the funding from Su Cheng immigrants for the Tiefeng Martial Arts Hall and the Mastiff Gang plummeted.

The two major local gangs seized the opportunity to join forces. After one clash, the Mastiff Gang suffered heavy losses, and they even lost Liumin Jie.

The Mastiff Gang leader was severely wounded and is on the run, not daring to show his face for the time being.

The second branch of the Tiefeng Martial Arts Hall has been temporarily shelved, and the renovation of the Mengmen storefront stopped halfway through.

Zhou You passed by that storefront several times and had to marvel at his master's ruthless methods; this was the true majesty a mountain lord should have.

The conflict began to intensify.

Bao Tiefeng realized what was happening; this was sowing discord by Wang Jianxiong, and his intentions were sinister.

With just rumors, without spending a single soldier or weapon, he had been driven to a state of exhaustion and disarray. Wang Laohu was truly ruthless.

No, he had to retaliate! The students and Apprentices under his command provoked members of the Jianxiong Martial Arts Hall everywhere, fighting dozens of times in just a few days.

Heads were broken, ribs were fractured, and there were even internal injuries and vomiting of blood from exhaustion; there were both minor and serious injuries.

Both families had large businesses, so the escalation of the conflict was inevitable, growing more and more intense.

Zhou You could see that by this stage, not only were the two parties involved filled with deep hatred and difficult to reconcile, but other parties were also secretly fanning the flames.

To prove his innocence and draw a line between himself and the Martial Arts Association, Bao Tiefeng had to pick a scapegoat to fight.

The Jianxiong Martial Arts Hall had a large business, and the hall master, Wang Jianxiong, was also the Martial Arts Association President, so he bore the brunt of it.

Perhaps someone even deliberately leaked that the scheme came from Wang Jianxiong's own mouth.

The other martial arts halls were not well-intentioned either; they pushed Wang Jianxiong and Bao Tiefeng to clash, hoping both sides would be severely weakened.

As for the forces behind the two martial arts halls, they were also happy to see the conflict occur.

Ultimately, the conflict of interest between the locals and those from Su Cheng had become so intense that it was sparking friction.

Only by fighting a grand and spectacular battle and having many people die could it settle down.

At the Jianxiong Martial Arts Hall, because of the "One Mastiff Suppresses Ten Tigers" affair, many Apprentices and Disciples were holding their breath.

This time, the other side took the initiative to provoke them, which was simply bullying them too much.

A group of little tigers were howling; they didn't fear the enemy when they met, rolling up their sleeves and starting to fight.

Facts proved that there was only one Ao Nu, and ordinary Mastiff Fist Apprentices were not that terrifying.

The Apprentices of both sides sparred with fists, each having their own victories and defeats, proving that "One Mastiff Suppresses Ten Tigers" was an exception.

Li Hao participated in the street brawls between the two sides. He felt shame and then became brave, undergoing special training against the Mastiff Fist, which finally came in handy.

He used the General Unloading Armor to increase his defense, weakening the crazy attacks of the Mastiff Fist, and then used the killing moves of the Tiger-Subduing Fist to counterattack.

In one breath, he defeated 5 or 6 Strength Apprentices from the Tiefeng Martial Arts Hall.

Later, he encountered a veteran Apprentice of the other side with skilled strength and fought him to a draw, thus gaining great fame. After this battle, he finally wiped away his shame and cleared his name as one of the ten tigers.

However, it also further verified the terrifying combat power of Ao Nu.

As a woman, she fought ten Strength Apprentices of the Jianxiong Martial Arts Hall alone, and it was a crushing victory.

Fortunately, she had married; if she were still in the martial arts hall, which of the Apprentices could be her match?

"If the Senior Martial Sister were here, she would beat you to death."

"You bunch of sick cats, enjoy your arrogance for a moment; that's only because you haven't met my Senior Martial Sister."

Many Mastiff Fist Apprentices were stubborn, their mouths full of talk about the Senior Martial Sister.

Zhou You heard about this from Li Hao and was also amazed; Bao Shuixian's status in the Tiefeng Martial Arts Hall was quite significant!

"Zhou You, this time it is a hostility between two martial arts halls. She is a woman who has married into her husband's family, so she doesn't count."

"Although I am eager for revenge, I will not cause trouble for her. As a real man, I have at least that much magnanimity."

Li Hao sighed and said, "It's just a pity that I still want to challenge her again to wash away my shame."

Bao Shuixian married into her husband's family and was no longer considered a person of the Tiefeng Martial Arts Hall.

She was not a domineering person; the last time she took action, it was because Wang Yan was being aggressive, and she only acted when she could no longer endure it.

This world is extremely unfriendly to women; no matter how much talent or peerless aptitude you have, there is no way to display it.

In Zhou You's mind, the woman under the night sky appeared: wasp-waisted with long legs, phoenix brows and starry eyes, her heroic face full of stubbornness.

"Fists and kicks have no eyes. You should be careful yourself; if you can avoid injury, try not to get hurt."

Zhou You emphasized to Li Hao not to let injuries affect his progress.

Currently, the conflict between the two sides was still limited to Strength Apprentices; the Inner Court Disciples at the Qi-Blood level had not yet participated.

The scope of Zhou You's usual activities was nothing more than a straight line between the martial arts hall and home.

Listening to his master's tone, everything that happened recently was a small matter, not worth worrying about.

Since the old man was sitting still, he also remained calm, practicing his fists and improving as usual.

Then one day...

Zhou You heard a piece of news: some audacious fellow in the city had seized a street-front shop to open a business.

Hmm, the owner of this shop was named Lu Zhigang, Du Yan Lu Zhigang.

This shop was originally part of the bounty, and the Property Deed had fallen into the hands of Lu Zhigang; the whole city knew it.

After that night, Lu Zhigang had vanished without a trace and had not shown his face since.

As time passed, some audacious bully got ideas; after all, the shop was in an excellent location where any business could make a huge profit, so he found people to chisel open the locks, moved in, and opened for business in broad daylight.

As for things like rent, naturally, there was none!

"If Lu Zhigang wants money, he can come find me to get it; hiding like a rat is nothing—not a single cent!"

The bully clamored like this, publicly declaring he was not afraid of the other party.

When he heard this news, Zhou You was not angry; instead, he felt a bit of admiration.

He had seen plenty of people blinded by greed, but those who could be this desperate were rare; it was practically asking for death!

How long had it been since Lu Zhigang rested? The Seven Step Poison Sand palm was about to open for business again.

One night, he quietly left the martial arts hall, underwent a transformation, and appeared in the identity of Lu Zhigang.

Under the night sky, Zhou You stood on a rooftop, gazing at the thousands of lights in the city.

Among the countless buildings standing at various heights, one was the shop he would visit today.

"I've only had a few days of leisure, and now that I've heard the news, I have to kill; I really am fated to be busy my whole life without a moment of rest!"

(End of chapter)