Chapter 66: Fists Never Leave Fame and Profit

Void Charms are born in desolate wildernesses; their true form is a wisp of smoke, ethereal and intangible.

In order to grow and strengthen, Void Charms eagerly seek flesh-and-blood bodies to possess, for only with a physical form can they feed ravenously.

Generally speaking, the targets chosen by Void Charms are living people.

The Fang Guiqi and the woman Zhou You had seen were typical examples of this, and this is also the common choice for Void Charms.

However, there are exceptions.

Under special circumstances, a Void Charm possesses a wild beast, becoming... a Beast Charm.

Although a Beast Charm's intelligence is not high, its physical strength is greater, and its combat power exceeds that of an ordinary humanoid Void Charm.

Due to its peculiar appearance, it cannot sneak into cities like other Void Charms and can only wander the wilderness in search of prey.

Ordinary people who run into a Beast Charm are certain to die, ending up with not even their bones left to be eaten.

Even for a Blood-Qi martial artist, encountering a Beast Charm in the wild is a massive headache.

A large portion of travelers and merchant caravans that go missing on the road without a trace are killed in attacks by Beast Charms.

"You say this child killed a Beast Charm?"

As Wang Jianxiong spoke, he reached out and pinched Mao Lang's shoulder.

The movement was not fast, and everyone could see it clearly; seeing this, Mao Lang's hair stood on end, and he bared his teeth while dodging backward.

Yet, even though his speed in retreating was as fast as lightning, he still could not escape and was grabbed by Wang Jianxiong in one go.

"Remarkable bones, a natural material for martial arts."

Wang Jianxiong felt the joints and could not help but exclaim, "Mao Laoliu, you have good luck."

Whether the foundation is good or not becomes clear the moment one touches it.

Mao Lang's talent belongs to the top-tier bone structure found once in a thousand, destined from birth to practice fist martial arts, with extraordinary future achievements.

Why did Mao Laoliu want to show off?

It is no exaggeration to say that to fight for an Apprentice like Mao Lang, two martial masters could bet their lives and have a go at each other.

"He is also just a Force-Energy martial artist; how could he kill a Beast Charm?"

While Wang Jianxiong was feeling the bones, Mao Lang was still struggling, the Force-Energy within his body churning and surging, yet it could not shake off his palm.

The youth had a wild and untamable appearance, his expression growing increasingly fierce.

"Mao Lang, don't move; he won't hurt you."

A single sentence from Mao Laoliu made the wild and untamable youth stop struggling.

As it turns out, Mao Lang was not a child raised by his parents; he grew up in the deep mountains and wild forests from a young age.

After he was born, he was abandoned in the wilderness, grew up relying on the milk of a mother beast, imitated the running and fighting of wild beasts, and developed Force-Energy without a teacher.

Before meeting Mao Laoliu, although he had a human form, his behavior was no different from a wild beast.

"I also had good luck; when I went into the mountains to find a medicinal ingredient, I encountered Mao Lang, who was being besieged by a pack of wolves."

"The leader of that pack of wolves was a Beast Charm!"

With the power of a Beast Charm, occupying the position of the wolf pack's leader was a matter of course.

Mao Lang's talent was astonishing, and he had mastered Force-Energy, so his status was equivalent to a beast king; if it were an ordinary wolf pack, they certainly would not have been his match.

The Beast Charm led the pack in a fierce assault, chasing and killing him all the way, nearly tearing him to pieces.

Seeing it was a Beast Charm, Mao Laoliu intervened in time and saved Mao Lang.

That Beast Charm was a minor character and dared not face a martial master, so it sacrificed the wolf pack to hold back Mao Laoliu and escaped with its life.

Later, under careful care, Mao Lang recovered and was taken in as a Disciple by Mao Laoliu.

Mao Laoliu discovered his remarkable bones, that he was a natural martial arts prodigy, and immediately gave him his full Instruction.

This wild child bypassed the promotion process of the Outer Courtyard and Inner Courtyard as soon as he entered, directly becoming Mao Laoliu's trusted Disciple.

"Mao Lang is also determined; in just one month, he mastered the introductory fist technique, the Vajra Fist."

Mao Lang already had a foundation of Force-Energy, and after mastering the fist technique, his strength rose to a higher level.

One night, he left the martial arts hall alone without leaving a single word.

Mao Laoliu's group of Disciples and Apprentices all thought he had run away, complaining that they had raised an ungrateful wretch and wasted a lot of effort and Secret Medicine.

Could the youth who kept company with wild beasts truly be wild and untamable, returning to the mountain forests?

After six days and six nights, Mao Lang returned to the martial arts hall covered in blood, carrying the head of the Beast Charm; he had returned.

"When he returned to the martial arts hall, his body was covered in wounds, and he had lost more than half his blood."

Mentioning the scene that night, Mao Laoliu sighed endlessly.

"This child's thoughts are pure; he knows how to repay kindness, and after killing the Beast Charm, he stayed at the martial arts hall to learn fist techniques with me."

After listening, Wang Jianxiong sighed, "You've picked up a treasure."

Mao Lang's talent is extraordinary and cannot be judged by common sense; he is like a fish in water in the wild, and having practiced the Vajra Fist, his wild Force-Energy is now many times more powerful after being tamed.

Even so, in the process of killing the Beast Charm, he also faced life-and-death dangers and numerous crises.

"Mao Laoliu, this Disciple of yours is prepared to inherit your foundation, isn't he?"

Wang Jianxiong guessed the other party's intention and exposed Mao Laoliu's goal on the spot.

Besides showing off, this visit was also to let Mao Lang become a familiar face at the Jianxiong Martial Arts Hall.

The participants in today's social scene were all high-level members of the martial arts hall, basically all Blood-Qi martial artists.

Excluding special cases like Zhou You, everyone at the Jianxiong Martial Arts Hall was an Inner Court Disciple, each one a pillar of strength.

Introducing Mao Lang in such a setting and telling the story of him killing the Beast Charm was aimed at making a name for him.

"Mao Laoliu, you are worthy of having started out by panning for gold; you are calculating indeed."

"With two catties of tea leaves and a piece of jade, you think to make a name for this Disciple of yours."

Wang Jianxiong smiled and shook his head, "It's not enough; at least have him fight one of my students."

Mao Laoliu agreed readily, "Fine, let's have a sparring match, but don't use real force."

Zhou You was startled; could it be that he was expected to fight?

According to the principle of equal strength, Mao Lang was at the Jinli Level, so the person competing against him should also be at the Jinli Level.

On the side of Jianxiong Martial Arts Hall, most were Qi-Blood martial artists, and the only one who met the criteria was the sole seedling, Zhou You.

However, Mao Lang had a record of killing a Beast Charm and was by no means comparable to an ordinary Strength Apprentice.

If Zhou You were to fight him, he might have to expose his true combat strength, using the Wind-Chasing Triple Technique or even... Tiger Fiend.

As it turned out, Zhou You had overthought it; the Hall Master did not choose him.

"Wu Yanyi, you go and offer some pointers to the Junior Brother from Jiba Martial Arts Hall."

An Inner Court Disciple stepped out; it was precisely Wu Yanyi, whom Wang Jianxiong had named.

Wu Yanyi's complexion was sallow, as if he were suffering from a serious illness, and his voice lacked vigor, "Junior Brother Mao, please."

The chosen fighter was actually him!

Everyone understood tacitly that the Hall Master was intentionally throwing the match to build a reputation for Mao Lang.

When Wu Yanyi broke through the Qi-Blood barrier, he relied on external forces, which led to impure Qi-Blood and damaged his foundation, leaving him chronically ill.

Even the apprentices of the martial arts hall knew that Senior Brother Wu of the Inner Courtyard could at best be considered half a Qi-Blood martial artist.

Wang Jianxiong did not send anyone else but chose Wu Yanyi, and his intention was obvious.

The nature of this match was a performance, and Mao Lang would certainly not suffer a loss; he might even fight to a draw with Wu Yanyi.

In this way, besides killing a Beast Charm, Mao Lang would add another achievement: being a match for a Qi-Blood martial artist.

Zhou You suddenly thought of something and couldn't help but glance in the direction of Wang Jianxiong.

A tiger never suffers a loss; one could tell Wang Jianxiong's temperament from his nickname.

Both sides had reached a private deal: Jianxiong Martial Arts Hall would build a reputation for Mao Lang, and Jiba Martial Arts Hall would provide benefits in return.

Fame and fortune, displayed to the fullest!

It was just unclear what price Mao Laoliu had paid for this!

The waters of the martial arts circle were too deep!