Chapter 55 - 54: Come Again Tomorrow

Chapter 55: Chapter 54: Come Again Tomorrow

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK.

A rhythmic knocking sounded. Soon, the courtyard gate was pulled open. A ruthless, apathetic face full of fierce flesh peeked through the crack. He spoke expressionlessly, "Here to practice fist techniques..."

But before he could finish, the plump man with fierce flesh sensed something was off. Looking up, he jumped in fright and blurted out instinctively, "Why are you here again?!"

"Am I not welcome?" Zheng Jun looked at the plump man with a half-smile.

The plump man forced a stiff smile. "Of course not! Lord Zheng gracing us with your presence brings great honor to our Xu family’s Martial Arts Hall! Lord Zheng, please come in quickly."

Saying so, he pushed the door wide open to welcome Zheng Jun, asking tentatively, "Lord Zheng, are you here to..."

He had originally intended to call him Squad Leader Zheng, but upon seeing the ferocious rhinoceros beast embroidered on Zheng Jun’s chest, he forcibly swallowed the words and changed it to "Lord." After all, not knowing what rank the other party had been promoted to, calling him "Lord" was the safest bet.

Without batting an eye, Zheng Jun said with a stern face, "I’m here to challenge the hall today. Please ask Hall Master Xu to come out and fight."

The plump man was dumbfounded.

"This sounds a bit familiar," the plump man thought. "I seem to have heard it somewhere before. Wait. Didn’t you come to challenge the hall yesterday? Why are you back again?!"

His smile froze.

Zheng Jun actually felt a little embarrassed, but those destined for great things never cared about face. He immediately said, "What, is this all your esteemed Martial Arts Hall amounts to? Aren’t you going to invite Hall Master Xu?"

Hearing Zheng Jun’s words, the plump man could only take a deep breath and scurry off toward his master’s room. Meanwhile, Zheng Jun, quite self-aware and familiar with the layout, made his way to the arena from last time.

Inside the Martial Arts Hall, Xu Tianfang was practicing martial arts in front of a wooden dummy. Although he had been unilaterally beaten up by Zheng Jun yesterday, Xu Tianfang faintly felt that his Horizontal Training skills had become a bit more dynamic.

"From this perspective, clashing with Zheng San is actually beneficial to me," Xu Tianfang pondered. "To think that Zheng San’s mastery of Horizontal Training is so profound. I’ve wasted years practicing Horizontal Training in vain, only to find myself completely inferior to Zheng San..."

He now felt that even if Zheng San came to challenge him again, he would have confidence—he would even welcome it with joy.

"Master, Master!" But at this moment, the plump man’s voice rang in his ears.

Xu Tianfang frowned slightly, looking up at the anxious disciple. "What is it?"

"Zheng Jun, Zheng Jun..." The plump man was a bit incoherent.

Before he could finish, Xu Tianfang chuckled. "Who did Zheng San challenge today? I heard Luo Lei also lost to him. He should be fighting the ’Lotus Water Sword’ next, right? Among the Qi Storage Realm Martial Artists in Black Mountain County, that ’Lotus Water Sword’ has some level of skill."

After saying this, Xu Tianfang added with a tinge of regret, "Unfortunately, I’ve already been challenged once. If only Zheng San would come fight me again."

Hearing Xu Tianfang say this, the initially panicked plump man froze and asked, "Master, do you mean it?"

Seeing his disciple’s sudden retort, Xu Tianfang sprang to his feet, his face full of shock and disbelief. "What do you mean by ’do you mean it’? Did that man surnamed Zheng not go look for the ’Lotus Water Sword’ and actually come to fight me?!"

"I was just saying that casually. You’re actually here?!" Xu Tianfang thought.

"He’s right at the door," the plump man said with a bitter expression.

Receiving the confirmed answer, Xu Tianfang’s eyes instantly lost focus.

"What does this mean? Challenging the hall twice?" he thought.

Xu Tianfang took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing his fear of Zheng Jun, and stepped out. "Let’s go meet this Zheng Jun!

"This time, I won’t be in such a sorry state! At the very least, I’ll show Zheng Jun that the strength of Black Mountain County’s number one Martial Arts Hall is absolutely not something he can humiliate so easily!"

Xu Tianfang’s gaze was resolute, his expression revealing an unyielding will. As he passed through the doorway, unable to contain himself, he struck out with his palm, blasting the doorframe. The wooden door instantly splintered, sending sawdust flying everywhere.

BANG!

...

BANG!

Half a two-hour period later, with a muffled thud, Xu Tianfang was knocked to the ground by Zheng Jun’s punch. He flew backward, tumbling off the arena into a cloud of dust.

He looked up at Zheng Jun on the stage. Zheng Jun stood bathed in the glaring sunlight, blinding him so much he couldn’t even open his eyes. He only felt that Zheng Jun’s figure was tall and stalwart, like a towering mountain.

"Is this the brilliance of a genius?" Xu Tianfang thought.

On the stage, Zheng Jun wasn’t smiling. All his attention was focused on the small ink-wash text floating before his eyes.

[Attacked. Hard Qi Skill repayment progress +653. Current repayment progress: 1853/2500.]

Seeing this, Zheng Jun couldn’t help but feel very satisfied. Coming to Xu Tianfang to grind repayment progress was indeed the right choice. Six to seven hundred points at a time—just one more round and it would be paid off!

Unfortunately, Xu Tianfang had too little True Qi each day and could only manage this one session. If they could fight non-stop for twelve two-hour periods, it would be much better. He would definitely be able to finish the repayment in a single day, and even find time to complete the Iron Sand Demon Suppression Skill.

Then again, his own physical body might not be able to withstand such high-intensity attacks. This outcome was already considered quite good.

At this moment, Xu Tianfang casually stood up from the ground, dusted off the dirt, and cupped his fists at Zheng Jun. "Captain Zheng’s divine might is awe-inspiring. I am truly full of admiration!"

Yesterday, when he was defeated by Zheng Jun, he only felt it was a great humiliation. Today, being defeated by Zheng Jun, he felt absolutely nothing. Why should he feel humiliated? Was it not perfectly normal to be defeated by Zheng San?

"Hall Master Xu’s skills are also incredibly superb. Looking across all of Black Mountain County, no one can match your Mountain-Opening Palm." Zheng Jun gave a faint smile and cupped his fists in Ritual.

The surrounding martial arts apprentices were also watching, but this time they didn’t feel the excitement and disbelief they had yesterday. Their current mindset was that they had already seen this episode. With the exact same plot, there was nothing left to say. All they had was adoration for Zheng Jun.

Previously, they thought their master was already a prominent figure second to none in the county. Little did they expect there to be such a young talent who could defeat their master with just a single punch! Although it was because he had endured several of their master’s palm strikes, exhausting their master’s True Qi and rendering him powerless to parry, that was also a skill.

Hearing Zheng Jun’s praise, Xu Tianfang felt a warmth in his heart. Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly heard Zheng Jun continue. "Then, same time tomorrow, I will come challenge the hall again. Please prepare yourself well, Hall Master Xu."

Hearing Zheng Jun’s words, Xu Tianfang’s smile froze.

"Are you just going to keep shearing the same sheep?" he thought.

Xu Tianfang spoke against his conscience, "Captain Zheng, I feel it’s necessary to introduce you to a young talent in our Black Mountain County. He is the strongest Martial Artist in the Qi Storage Realm, the ’Lotus Water Sword’ Yuan Yaoyang, who lives in seclusion in Lotus Water Township!

"This person’s strength is superb, just one step away from the Outer Gang Realm. You should go find him, Captain Zheng!"

Yuan Yaoyang’s skills were half a catty to his eight taels—they were practically on par. But right now, he sincerely hoped Yuan Yaoyang was the number one Qi Storage Realm expert in Black Mountain County.

Hearing Xu Tianfang’s words, Zheng Jun pondered for a moment, then shook his head.

"Please don’t decline, Hall Master Xu. Same time tomorrow. Be there or be square." Saying this, Zheng Jun turned and left.

Lotus Water Sword? Didn’t that sound like a master swordsman just by the name? If he asked the man to help repay the Hard Qi Skill, how many sword strikes could he possibly withstand? It wasn’t worth the risk. Xu Tianfang still offered a better cost-to-performance ratio.