Chapter 14: Tiger Mouth Holding a Knife

While Li Fei was practicing in the training room, Liu Xing also walked into a training room.

There were already five people inside the training room; two were sparring, while the other three leaned against the wall, watching with smiles on their faces.

"Brother Zhang, Brother Wang, Brother Zhao."

Liu Xing piled a smile onto his face, bowed slightly, and greeted the three people leaning against the wall.

The three of them swept a casual glance at him, ignored him, and continued to watch the sparring in the center.

Liu Xing was accustomed to this and also turned to look at the center of the room, where he saw a person with a bare upper body, revealing lean, tough muscles, launching fierce attacks against another person wearing full protective gear.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Dull, heavy sounds of impact echoed continuously in the training room. The man in full protective gear was 1. meters tall and had a massive build, clearly more than one weight class above his opponent, yet he was being beaten back repeatedly, with only the strength to parry.

Liu Xing recognized this 1. -meter-tall burly man. His name was He Chao, and he primarily practiced the "Iron Shirt Cover," a form of hard-body training in the Blue Hand style. Because of his naturally outstanding physique combined with this hard-body training, He Chao had extremely strong resistance to blows and had taken third place in last month's Grade B student monthly exam.

But at this moment, He Chao was being beaten by someone with no power to fight back.

The person sparring with He Chao was named Yuan Dao, a Grade A student.

When Yuan Dao forced He Chao to the wall, he suddenly changed speed and sprinted toward the wall, then slammed his right foot against the surface, using the force to leap into the air.

This familiar scene made Liu Xing immediately recall the "Flying Swallow Chain" technique that Li Fei had used on him earlier.

Sure enough, after Yuan Dao leaped up, he kicked his left leg toward He Chao in mid-air, instantly creating a gap in the hands the other man was holding in front of his chest.

Immediately following, his right foot kicked through that gap, striking heavily against the protective gear on He Chao's chest.

Bang!!!

With an explosive sound, He Chao, weighing over two hundred jin including his protective gear, was actually kicked off his feet by this blow, flying seven or eight meters away!

After falling heavily to the ground, He Chao let out a painful groan and could not stand up again.

Yuan Dao walked toward the fallen He Chao with his back to Liu Xing, and Liu Xing happened to be able to see the tattoo on Yuan Dao's back clearly:

A large tiger with hanging eyes and a white forehead, its expression fierce, holding a knife in its mouth.

Just looking at this tattoo made Liu Xing feel uneasy and shudder with fear.

This was the tattoo of the Tiger Knife Gang; only official martial artists of the Tiger Knife Gang could have such a tattoo on their backs.

Yuan Dao walked to the side of the fallen He Chao and kicked him casually with his foot:

"That's it?"

He Chao clutched his chest and groaned in pain:

"... surrender."

Yuan Dao sneered and stepped on the other man's chest:

"If you had lasted ten minutes, you would have won, but you couldn't even last five minutes while wearing full protective gear. I gave you a chance, but you're useless."

He Chao was being stepped on by Yuan Dao so hard he could barely breathe, and he shouted in a voice filled with tears:

"Brother Dao, I surrender, I was wrong!"

Yuan Dao kept one foot on He Chao's chest and slowly squatted down:

"In the future, if you run into my people during the monthly exam again, do you know what to do?"

He Chao nodded hurriedly:

"I know, I won't dare to do it again, Brother Dao!"

Only then did Yuan Dao stand up, move his foot away from the other man, and kick him hard:

"Alright, get lost!"

He Chao climbed up from the ground with difficulty, clutched his chest, and walked out of the room.

Liu Xing looked at the other man's wretched back, feeling a sense of sympathy for a fellow sufferer.

The top three in the Grade A student monthly exam could obtain elixirs that could change one's aptitude, while the top three in the Grade B student monthly exam could also obtain some resources, but these resources had long been monopolized by others and were not to be touched by anyone else.

"Liu Xing."

Yuan Dao turned around and looked at Liu Xing.

He wore a small ponytail, looked to be in his early twenties, had a bit of a roguish charm, and carried a hint of evil on his face.

"Brother Dao."

Liu Xing hurriedly trotted over to the other man:

"I just came from Mr. Hao's side."

Yuan Dao frowned slightly: "Didn't I tell you to go be a sparring partner? Why did you come out so soon?"

Liu Xing said cautiously: "Mr. Hao had me spar two rounds with his student, and then he let me leave."

Yuan Dao: "Oh? Tell me the details."

Thus, Liu Xing recounted his experience from this morning in detail.

"Mr. Hao said it himself, that he wants this new student he took in to compete for the top three in the Grade A student monthly exam?"

After hearing this, Yuan Dao's expression darkened.

Liu Xing nodded hurriedly: "Yes, I heard Mr. Hao say it with my own ears."

"I see. You did well. From now on, you come and tell me the first time you get any news related to this person named Li Fei."

Yuan Dao patted Liu Xing on the shoulder and took a blue banknote with a face value of twenty yuan from his pocket. "Take this, your hard-earned money."

"Thank you, Brother Dao!"

Liu Xing took the banknote with both hands, a joyful smile appearing on his face.

For some of the working class in Xingcheng, twenty yuan was already a month's wages.

"Go."

"Alright, then I'll be going first."

Liu Xing left the training room with a smile.

He recalled the calm expression on Li Fei's face after defeating him, and a strange sense of pleasure surged in his heart:

"So what if you're a rich kid? There are some things you still can't compete for!"

After Liu Xing left, among the three people leaning against the wall, a fierce-looking middle-aged man with a knife scar on his face walked over and said:

"Brother Dao, what is this Hao Yi trying to do?"

Yuan Dao shook his head and looked at another young man with a scholarly appearance: "Xiao Qi, did you find what I asked you to check?"

The scholarly young man named Xiao Qi nodded: "Brother Dao, I checked in the archives. This student named Li Fei that Hao Yi just took in is 17 years old this year, a student of the Stop-Conflict Department at the Xingcheng Vocational School, and the son of a squadron leader in the Inspectorate."

"With a background in the Inspectorate, it seems he can't be won over."

Yuan Dao shook his head.

He looked at Xiao Qi: "You continue to investigate this Li Fei. I want to know the specific situation of his family, what his relationship with Hao Yi is, and I also want to know the score of his final assessment."

"Understood, Brother Dao."

Xiao Qi nodded in agreement.

"Brother Dao, he's just a newly enrolled student, is it necessary to take him so seriously?"

The middle-aged man with the scar on his face asked:

"Even if he competes with us fairly, could he possibly beat us?"

Yuan Dao looked at him:

"Before I came here, the Private Secretary told me that in the entire Xingcheng Martial Arts Hall, the only one with real ability is this Hao Yi, and he told me to be absolutely careful because the other party hates evil like a nemesis and has a very poor impression of our Tiger Knife Gang."

"This..."

The other three all showed grave expressions upon hearing this.

The Tiger Knife Gang's Private Secretary was always calculating and never missed a beat; no one dared to slight his words.

"Previously, Hao Yi didn't take students and didn't deliberately make things difficult for us, but now that he has suddenly taken a student and is letting the other party compete for the top three reward in the monthly exam, I have to be on guard."

Yuan Dao said, "Liu Xing's strength is considered upper-tier among Grade B students, yet he was easily defeated by Li Fei, which shows that this student Hao Yi took in is not simple. If he only wanted the top three reward for the monthly exam, out of respect for Hao Yi, it's not like I couldn't let him have it. What I fear is that this person has ideas he shouldn't have."

"How about I go talk to him first?"

Xiao Qi asked tentatively.

Yuan Dao shook his head: "No rush, someone will talk to him first."

(End of chapter)