Chapter 70: The Life-and-Death Duel of the Rock Mastiff Fist

Zhou You stopped by on his way home, took down the old wooden sign, and hung up the "Martial" sign condensed from tiger aura.

He was very satisfied; with the new plaque hung up, the aura was completely different, and he no longer feared that blind void-wraiths would break in.

Hmm!

Zhou You suddenly discovered something; logically speaking, it should have been the four characters for Jian Xiong Martial Arts Hall.

Lu Qiang had condensed it with tiger aura, yet only wrote a single "Martial" character—was it an unintentional act, or was he cutting corners?

It remained an unsolved mystery.

Zhou You thought that once he mastered the technique of imbuing objects with tiger aura, let alone a mere four characters, he would put up two couplets and a banner as well.

He ate a meal at home, then went for a walk after eating to return to the martial arts hall.

On the road, he could already hear rumors about the genius Mao Lang of the Jiba Martial Arts Hall.

The result of that duel was being spread all over the streets and alleys!

Mao Lang used his Jinli Level to beat a blood-Qi martial artist to death; he was the most outstanding fist-martial genius in recent years.

Mao Laoliu had spent an unknown amount of wealth to build momentum for his beloved disciple.

People said Mao Laoliu had panned for gold in the mountains in his early years and made his fortune after an accidental windfall, so his wealth was likely extraordinary.

Other matters in the fist-martial circle were all overshadowed by this major headline.

For instance, the only Su Cheng martial master to successfully challenge a local martial arts hall, Bao Tiefeng of the Mastiff Fist school, had married his beautiful-as-a-king daughter to a local down-and-out man, causing a small-scale sensation.

The direct impact of this matter was that the newly opened Tiefeng Martial Arts Hall was accepted by the local fist-martial circle.

Even Wang Laohu sighed that this fellow Bao Tiefeng could fight and had schemes, making him a formidable rival in the future.

If he could simply fight, that wouldn't be rare; there were many people who could fight, and there were quite a few well-known martial masters in the Gongliang City fist-martial circle, all of whom had emerged from hundreds of battles.

If Bao Tiefeng could successfully challenge a hall today, more martial masters would come to challenge him tomorrow, until they succeeded.

It still came back to that saying: the key to the empire you've conquered is whether you can sit firmly upon it.

Bao Tiefeng's move of marrying off his daughter was a stroke of genius, successfully allowing him to take root locally.

That down-and-out man was no ordinary person either; his ancestors were all natives of Gongliang City and had even produced a few great figures before the family fortunes declined.

Even though he was so poor he only had four walls and a straw mat left, Bao Tiefeng didn't want a single cent of the bride price and gave a generous dowry.

It wasn't a marriage by recruitment, nor was it moving into the bride's family, but a marriage down.

In this way, with his daughter married to a local down-and-out man, Bao Tiefeng also became a father-in-law to a local, successfully integrating into Gongliang City.

Tiefeng Martial Arts Hall was able to gain a firm foothold in Gongliang City, smoothly opening for business and recruiting disciples, and was recognized by the fist-martial circle.

Zhou You had heard of it and clicked his tongue in wonder; capable characters could make a comeback regardless of the environment!

The fist-martial scene in Su Cheng was also a large circle, and there were many capable figures like Bao Tiefeng.

If these people all flooded into Gongliang City, there would inevitably be conflicts and collisions with local martial arts halls, leading to the survival of the fittest.

No wonder Mao Laoliu was in such a rush to build momentum for Mao Lang; the general environment was becoming increasingly competitive.

"The road ahead is blocked, don't go any further, don't go any further, be careful of losing your life."

Halfway there, shouts rang out from the road ahead.

After inquiring, he learned that it was gangs fighting each other.

The previous large-scale armed conflict between the Wild Fox Gang and the Mourning Dog Gang had a great impact, and even the City Gate Guard had come forward to mediate.

The opposition between the two major gangs was, in the final analysis, a struggle for living space between the locals of Gongliang City and the refugees from Su Cheng.

The result of the mediation was that the gangs promised to restrain their subordinates and no longer break out into large-scale conflicts.

Future friction would be changed to individual duels to the death.

The gangs were still in a state of war, and instead of the usual crowds, they now decided the outcome through death matches between elites.

The two sides of today's duel were one person each from the Wild Fox Gang and the Mourning Dog Gang.

The Wild Fox Gang's representative was a hall master at the Jinli Level, and the cause of the matter lay with his sister-in-law.

His sister-in-law was an unmarried maiden who, while out shopping one day, passed by the shanty town of the Su Cheng refugees and was dragged into a dark alley by people from the Mourning Dog Gang, disappearing for a full four or five days.

By the time the hall master mobilized his men to find his sister-in-law, she had already gone insane, and her entire body had been tortured beyond recognition.

Afterward, his wife begged the hall master to strike and give her own sister a quick end.

The hall master rushed to the scene of the incident and killed everyone he saw, beating dozens of Su Cheng refugees to death in one breath.

With every gesture, he could tear apart a live ox, just like a fierce tiger entering a flock of sheep, killing until blood flowed everywhere.

The culprit still couldn't be found, so eventually, the Mourning Dog Gang stepped forward, and a Jinli martial artist was sent to duel him.

"That person's fist style on the other side is quite novel; which family from Su Cheng is it from?"

"You don't even know this? It's Su Cheng Mastiff Fist, the style of Tiefeng Martial Arts Hall."

Conversations from passersby drifted through the crowd.

Zhou You's heart stirred slightly; Mastiff Fist under Bao Tiefeng?

The Mastiff was a strange beast raised by the Hu people, resembling a hunting dog but much larger in size and far more ferocious and brutal.

As the name implied, the characteristics of this Mastiff Fist must be biased toward brutal and ferocious fighting methods.

After the duel began, both sides used killing moves from the very start, without any hesitation.

"This Mastiff Fist is somewhat interesting."

The Jinli martial artist of the Mourning Dog Gang used a fist style featuring clawing and kicking, with power as vigorous and fierce as a male lion.

His movements were as fast as the wind, and once he made contact with the enemy, he unleashed brutal damage output.

The hall master of the Wild Fox Gang practiced the locally famous Rock Fist, which excelled in Defense; as he threw his punches, they whistled with the wind, instantly creating a rounded defensive field.

Bang, bang—the muffled sounds of fists and feet colliding made the ground tremble slightly.

Although the two had different styles, their levels were not far apart.

Zhou You could see that these two had not broken through their Jinli in a martial arts hall, but belonged to the "wild" path of self-taught breakthroughs.

Compared to the Apprentices in the martial arts hall, such martial artists, while having richer practical combat experience, were inferior in overall strength.

Therefore, Zhou You raided the Wild Fox Gang at night and easily killed two of Wu Gang's force-type martial artists.

"Good!"

A shout of acclaim rang out, immediately followed by exclamations and cheers like a mountain collapsing or a tide surging.

It turned out the Wild Fox Gang's Hall Master was more skilled, utilizing the high-durability trait of the Rock Fist to endure a rib injury from his opponent, then counterattacking with a Great Millstone Hand that smashed in half of the opponent's head.

Zhou You saw the entire process clearly; the Wild Fox Gang's Hall Master had intentionally exposed a flaw to lure the opponent into reaching for his chest.

The opponent thought he had a chance for a killing blow, but his heart-gouging claw missed, and he was instead struck in the head by the Wild Fox Gang Hall Master's fist.

The head burst open like a Gourd filled with water, and brains mixed with blood sprayed out from the seven orifices, directly washing away half of the face.

In a life-and-death duel, life and death hang by a thread, and the outcome is decided in an instant.

After the corpse fell to the ground, someone immediately dragged it away and cleaned the bloodstains and bits of flesh remaining on the ground.

"The Hall Master is mighty!"

The underlings of the Wild Fox Gang cheered endlessly around the victor.

Although the defeated Lost Dog Gang was furious, they still suppressed their anger and left sullenly with the corpse.

The disturbance was settled just like that; although someone had died, the scale of the impact was not large, so the government turned a blind eye.

The City Gate Guard set the rules that life-and-death duels were allowed, but large-scale armed fighting was strictly forbidden, and this was the intention behind it.

It is easy to imagine that similar scenes will continue to be staged in various places throughout the city, both now and in the future.