Chapter 19: Inviting a Fist

In the days that followed, Zhou You continued his training, seeking to break through his bottleneck as soon as possible.

The Tiger Subduing Fist was stuck at level 9, as if a little more effort would allow it to break through to level 10.

Yet, this bottleneck, when applied to reality, was despairingly difficult.

Zhou You practiced the Tiger Subduing Fist over and over, but apart from gaining Experience Points, he saw no signs of a breakthrough at all.

He used the Tiger Bone Ointment as usual, but its effects diminished with each application.

As time passed, he had been in the Outer Courtyard for nearly two months.

With only one month left, if he still could not cultivate Force, he would be expelled from the martial arts hall.

The pressure instantly increased tenfold...

This day, his roommate Liu Bing reached his hundred-day limit; having failed to cultivate Force, he was declared eliminated and packed his things to return to the countryside.

This farm boy packed his luggage in silence, and no one could read the expression on his face.

Although Zhou You did not have a deep friendship with him, they had lived together for dozens of days, so they were at least familiar with each other.

Another roommate, Fang Guiqi, was not present; he had arrived about ten days earlier than Zhou You and had not yet reached his limit.

This outsider from Su Cheng was usually elusive and mysterious, seemingly hiding quite a few secrets.

"Zhou You, we've known each other for so many days, but we haven't really talked."

Liu Bing, carrying his bundle, came before Zhou You.

He usually practiced very diligently, not relaxing for a moment except to eat and sleep, but unfortunately, his talent was insufficient, and he still failed to cultivate Force.

Such is the will of heaven; one cannot force it.

Zhou You wanted to offer him a few words of comfort, but heard Liu Bing say,

"You must be careful; Zhang Shu is spreading rumors about you everywhere, attempting to slander you."

"It has been spreading like wildfire in the Outer Courtyard recently; once it reaches the ears of the Big Senior Brother, the situation will be unfavorable for you."

Since Liu Bing was leaving the martial arts hall to return to the countryside, he no longer needed to fear Zhang Shu, so he told Zhou You everything at once.

It turned out that Zhang Shu had been privately spreading rumors that Zhou You was sent by the Wild Horse Gang to steal their techniques.

Through circulation and fermentation, even more sinister versions had been derived.

It was easy to imagine that once the Hall Master found out, he would surely be furious and deal with Zhou You on the spot.

According to the rules of the martial arts hall, one signs a life-or-death contract upon entry; being beaten to death by one's master is considered justified.

Zhang Shu's intentions were too vicious; he was terrified of failing to kill Zhou You.

"So that's how it is."

Zhou You suddenly realized; no wonder many new Apprentices had been looking at him with such strange expressions lately.

He hadn't paid much attention to it before, but now he understood the reason.

The person involved is always the last to hear the rumors; if he had known in advance, he would have had means to respond.

"Zhang Shu, considering you let me farm quite a few gold coins, I haven't bothered you recently."

"Yet you don't know what's good for you and have taken the initiative to provoke me."

It must be said that Zhang Shu did have some talent; he was quite skilled at fabricating stories, making lies sound like the truth.

It was true that he had offended the Wild Fox Gang and had a childhood friend who joined the Mad Horse Gang; these were facts.

But to say that because of these things he had joined the Mad Horse Gang was pure nonsense.

Zhou You suddenly wondered, if behind this matter, there was not only Zhang Shu holding a grudge, but also some other mastermind?

"Tu Laosan."

A name surfaced in his mind; if he were secretly plotting this, the matter would be quite logical.

Tu Laosan was just waiting for three months to pass, for Zhou You to fail in his training and be kicked out of the martial arts hall.

It was easy to imagine that without the protection of the martial arts hall, and without having cultivated Force, Zhou You would be no match for the Wild Fox Gang and would be left at their mercy.

To achieve this, he could not allow Zhou You any chance of a breakthrough.

Therefore, Tu Laosan found Zhang Shu and used his hatred to strike at the interior of the martial arts hall.

Both sides had a common goal and hit it off immediately.

Tu Laosan provided the information, and Zhang Shu was responsible for fabricating the rumors and spreading them in the Outer Courtyard.

The vicious intentions behind spreading the rumors were twofold:

First, to incite the Big Senior Brother or even the Hall Master to loathe Zhou You, and to punish him or expel him from the hall, so they wouldn't have to wait three months.

Second, even if the hall's leadership reacted slowly, the rumors could affect Zhou You's state of mind, leaving him unable to focus on training and ultimately leading to his elimination.

"Since I know about it, I certainly cannot let you succeed."

Zhou You rubbed his chin, having already made a plan in his heart.

At noon, while eating, Zhou You observed his surroundings; the new students were all looking at him with strange expressions.

The lethality of the rumors was beginning to show; the conspiracy of Tu Laosan and Zhang Shu was working.

He did not eat much, stopping when he was seventy percent full.

This was inspired by the Hungry Tiger Crouching Picture; those who practice martial arts consume a great deal, so they must eat, but they cannot eat too much, as being too full tends to weaken one's fighting spirit.

Just like a hungry tiger, it is only at its most ferocious when driven by hunger.

Zhou You intended to turn himself into a hungry tiger, never satisfied, never stopping his pursuit of prey.

He saw Zhang Shu with a few new Apprentices and strode toward them.

Zhang Shu was still talking and laughing with his companions when he suddenly felt a tightness in his chest; he looked up to see Zhou You standing before him.

"Something up?"

Zhang Shu frowned as he asked, his expression dissatisfied; he was not afraid of Zhou You now.

Last night, he had secretly gone to report to the Big Senior Brother, Lu Strong, claiming that Zhou You had connections with gangs.

Although Big Senior Brother did not say anything on the surface, he could be certain that Zhou You was about to be in trouble.

The new students in the Outer Courtyard all knew about Zhou You's affairs; as long as Big Senior Brother made a slight inquiry, his plan would succeed.

In the eyes of Zhang Shu, Zhou You was already a stray dog.

"Nothing much, just asking you to be my sparring partner this afternoon."

"On what grounds?"

Zhang Shu refused without any courtesy, pointing at his companion nearby, "I have a sparring partner."

The next moment, Zhou You's actions shocked everyone present.

He raised his right fist and struck straight toward the face of Zhang Shu's companion, his move as fast as lightning.

That new Apprentice, serving as Zhang Shu's sparring partner, was his close crony and had contributed quite a bit to spreading the rumors.

He watched as the fist grew larger and larger in his vision, the hair all over his body standing on end, and he could almost smell a faint scent of blood.

A speed of 12, so fast that the person involved could not even react in time, let alone Zhang Shu and the others.

"You..."

Zhang Shu's sparring partner hurriedly raised his arms to block in front of his face, then heard a muffled 'Boom', and his body shook several times.

Crash!

The tables and chairs fell apart instantly, and the broken wood spilled all over the floor like flowing water.

The poor sparring partner collapsed to the ground unconscious, his breathing weak and his face as pale as paper.

Looking again at the dents in the flesh on his two arms, they fit together perfectly to form a fist print.

Zhou You grabbed him by the collar and tossed him aside, "Now you don't have a sparring partner."

The scene was silent, and all the new students stopped talking.

Zhang Shu's sparring partner was not weak in strength and was ranked in the upper-middle level among the new students in the Outer Courtyard; who would have thought he could not even withstand a single exchange under Zhou You's fist.

Now the pressure was all on Zhang Shu's side.

Zhou You had hit his sparring partner, and if he did not provide a response, he feared no one would be friends with him in the future.

"Zhou You, what kind of skill is it to launch a sneak attack?"

"This afternoon, I will be your sparring partner, and we shall have a fair contest."

"I will also invite Big Senior Brother to be present as a witness."

Zhang Shu felt very guilty, but his voice grew higher and more intense with every sentence.

If there were any idiom to describe his predicament, it would only be... riding a tiger and finding it hard to get off.