Chapter 60 - 59: One Kick

Chapter 60: Chapter 59: One Kick

Seeing Black Bear get up from the ring,

Smiling Tiger quickly made a beheading motion at him.

This was their pre-arranged signal.

When Smiling Tiger made this gesture, it meant Black Bear should end the fight quickly.

Originally, Smiling Tiger had planned to let Black Bear play with this young master, Lu Jing’an, for a while longer.

But this young master, Lu Jing’an, seemed a little too uncanny.

To avoid any unexpected complications, it was best to end it sooner rather than later.

When Black Bear saw the gesture, his pupils contracted sharply.

A low, thunderous roar rumbled from his throat.

His massive body leaned forward abruptly,

and the stone beneath his feet instantly shattered.

The next moment, he moved!

His seemingly clumsy body erupted with astonishing speed.

Like an out-of-control steel chariot,

he charged Lu Jing’an with a foul wind, rumbling forward.

The momentum was terrifying.

The powerful gust from his charge

sent the loose stone fragments at the edge of the ring flying.

Only then did Lu Jing’an feel that this ring was finally getting interesting.

Lu Jing’an hadn’t come here to temper his Martial Arts will.

That could add points to Spirit.

Lu Jing’an was mainly here to hone his Martial Arts techniques.

So, Lu Jing’an suppressed his power to the level of Qi Blood Smoke, using only the bonuses from his passive entries.

He didn’t use any active entries.

After all, if he used the abilities from his active entries,

Black Bear would be defeated in a single exchange.

Black Bear’s characteristics were very obvious: he was tall and sturdy, and his attacks covered a very large area.

He had innate Divine Power and naturally tough, thick skin.

He must have also used some kind of Secret Medicine to make his skin as tough as ox-hide.

This allowed Black Bear, who was only at the Qi Blood Smoke level, to possess the strength of a Skin Martial Artist.

When he swung those fan-sized palms,

they actually produced a sharp "WHOOSH" as they cut through the air,

like a pair of heavy, blunt iron axes.

He didn’t even need to make contact; just the wind from the edge of his palms was enough to make one’s skin sting.

If one were actually grazed by them, a large patch of flesh would surely be torn to shreds.

A direct hit would absolutely result in broken bones and torn tendons.

Faced with this furious, sweeping Attack,

Lu Jing’an didn’t retreat a single step.

He stood with his hands behind his back, his body like a willow catkin in the wind.

Like a phantom, he drifted and shifted, always staying within two meters of Black Bear.

Every one of Black Bear’s seemingly inescapable strikes just happened to graze the corner of his clothes.

They slammed heavily into empty space, sending stone chips flying from the ring’s floor.

Lu Jing’an’s movements were minimal, yet astonishingly efficient.

He always dodged with perfect precision at the last possible moment, his posture completely at ease.

It looked less like a life-or-death battle and more like he was toying with a clumsy bear in a courtyard.

In less time than it takes to drink a cup of tea, Black Bear’s speed began to slow.

After all, maintaining such high speed with that much body weight was naturally very draining.

This was originally the ability of [Ghostly Shadows and Traces].

Now, it was the passive ability of [Ghost Shadow Instant Kill].

Chen Xuan had never seen Lu Jing’an display such an ability.

However, Chen Xuan didn’t show much surprise.

He knew the young master had his secrets.

Just as he himself had secrets.

’In such chaotic times, who doesn’t have a few secrets to survive?’

By now, the slick smile on Smiling Tiger’s face had completely frozen.

’This Young Master Lu is no rich fop looking for a thrill!’

’He’s clearly a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a demon star sent to wreck my establishment!’

The thought of the one thousand five hundred clinking silver coins he was about to lose

made Smiling Tiger’s chest ache, as if his flesh were being carved with a dull knife.

’I can’t just accept this!’

A vicious glint flashed in Smiling Tiger’s eyes as he made a ruthless decision:

’Kid, you brought this on yourself.’

’You insisted on barging into my Yama Hall, so don’t blame me for being ruthless!’

’This ring of mine has no rules to begin with...’

The muscles on his face twitched a few times before he forced out a smile that was uglier than a crying face.

At the same time, his right hand nonchalantly picked up the lid of the celadon teacup on the table.

He used the edge of the lid to tap the rim of the cup three times, not too heavily, not too lightly.

"TAP, TAP, TAP."

The sound was crisp, but unremarkable in the noisy arena.

Yet, it pierced like a needle into the ears of Black Bear, who had been distracted and watching the area below the stage.

Black Bear shuddered and hesitated no longer.

He suddenly let out a deafening roar as the Qi and blood throughout his body erupted without reserve!

His exposed skin instantly turned crimson.

Blue veins bulged like earthworms.

Even more bizarrely,

a large amount of sweat, vaporized by his steaming Qi and blood, turned into a pale gray mist,

gushing out from his pores,

and quickly spreading to a radius of three feet around him.

To an outsider, it looked like evaporating sweat, but Lu Jing’an, who was right next to him, smelled it clearly.

Poison!

The mist evaporating from Black Bear was poisonous.

’This is indeed a dirty trick.’

’A very dirty one at that.’

’When two people are fighting at such close range,’

’it’s very difficult not to inhale it.’

’Unless you hold your breath the entire time, which is actually very hard to do.’

’Unless you know about it in advance.’

Lu Jing’an could sense that the poison wasn’t lethal.

But it was enough to slow a person’s reactions.

And in the middle of a fight, slow reactions meant certain death.

As for the source of the poison, Lu Jing’an guessed.

’It was probably mixed in during the process used to toughen Black Bear’s skin.’

This had to be Black Bear’s final, desperate move.

However,

Black Bear had run into Lu Jing’an.

As the poison mist touched his body, Lu Jing’an didn’t even frown.

The [Immune to Hundred Poisons] entry activated silently.

All the foreign substances that invaded his body were like a clay ox entering the sea,

instantly neutralized into nothingness.

Seeing the poison mist spread, Black Bear thought victory was in his grasp.

He spread his arms like iron floodgates and lunged forward with a savage grin, trying to bear-hug Lu Jing’an.

He wanted to crush Lu Jing’an in his embrace.

At the very instant his two thick arms were about to lock tight,

Lu Jing’an’s figure, like a reflection in water shattered by a pebble,

flickered slightly and vanished from right in front of Black Bear.

Black Bear’s sure-win hug hit nothing but air.

The immense inertia made him stumble forward.

The savage grin froze on his face.

His eyes filled with confusion and terror.

’Where did he go?’

"Right here."

Lu Jing’an’s voice came from behind Black Bear.

Terrified, Black Bear tried to turn, but a foot in a black cloth shoe

had already silently struck his broad back, like a venomous dragon emerging from its lair.

"BANG!"

A muffled thud, not like the sound of flesh hitting flesh.

It was more like a heavy hammer striking an ox-hide drum.

Black Bear’s burly body, weighing over three hundred pounds,

was actually kicked off its feet,

like a tossed sandbag, it flew

in a short arc.

"BOOM!!!"

It landed solidly outside the ring on the hard-packed earthen floor.

The entire ring and even the surrounding ground seemed to tremble as dust flew into the air.

The remaining half-cup of tea in the teacup on Smiling Tiger’s table

sloshed, spilling most of what was left.

He lost.

One thousand five hundred silver coins, gone just like that.

A BUZZ went through Smiling Tiger’s head.

The first thought that came to mind wasn’t whether Black Bear was alive or dead,

but the image of that shiny silver growing wings and flying away.

The heartache was so intense he almost passed out.

’Black Bear?’

’He’s just a vicious dog I raised to make money. How could he be more important than silver coins?’

Below the stage, the once-boisterous crowd suddenly fell silent, plunging into an eerie hush.

Everyone stared with wide eyes,

looking in disbelief at the tall, slender figure standing with his hands behind his back on the stage.

Then they looked at Black Bear, lying motionless as a dead dog below the stage.

The outcome was too shocking.

Lu Jing’an dusted off his spotless lapels.

He didn’t savor the moment of silence and attention.

With a flicker of his body, he floated down from the ring like a falling leaf.

He hadn’t come to make a name for himself. Now that the show was over, it was time for business.

The referee re-entered the ring; the matches had to continue.

Lu Jing’an, however, led Chen Xuan straight to Smiling Tiger.

Looking at the returning Lu Jing’an, whose smile was warm and pleasant,

Smiling Tiger couldn’t manage the slightest smile.

He forced the corners of his mouth to twitch, revealing a set of yellow teeth.

"Young... Young Master Lu, what skill, what fine skill..."

"Where’s my money?"

Lu Jing’an held out a slender hand, his tone calm but unquestionable.

Smiling Tiger’s heart was bleeding. With a trembling hand,

he took out the bank note for one thousand one hundred silver coins, the money Lu Jing’an had given him earlier.

This was the "bait" he thought he was certain to win.

"And the rest?"

Lu Jing’an took the bank note, twirling it casually between his fingers, but his gaze remained fixed on Smiling Tiger’s face.

Smiling Tiger’s expression shifted. Finally, he gritted his teeth and said with a pained look:

"Young Master, please understand... this... this one thousand five hundred silver coins... you see... could you grant me a few days’ extension?"

Hearing this, Lu Jing’an pondered for a moment, then suddenly said, "How about this? Let’s make a deal."

Smiling Tiger was taken aback.

Lu Jing’an gestured with his chin toward Black Bear, who had already struggled to his feet and was standing off to the side.

"I don’t want the one thousand five hundred silver coins."

"Along with this one thousand one hundred."

He gently placed the bank note back on the table.

"I’ll give it all to you."

"You give him to me."

Smiling Tiger followed the direction Lu Jing’an was pointing.

It was Black Bear, his face covered in blood, not yet fully conscious.

An expression of extreme conflict and struggle immediately appeared on his face, his muscles twisting.

After a long moment, he finally squeezed out, "Young Master... this, this... Black Bear may be a crude fellow."

"But we’ve known each other since we had nothing. We’re like brothers. This is really..."

"Twenty-seven hundred," Lu Jing’an interrupted, coolly stating a number.

"Young Master, this isn’t about money! It’s about honor, about our bond..."

Smiling Tiger beat his chest and stomped his foot, his expression full of grief and indignation.

"Twenty-eight hundred."

"Young Master, please listen to me, my conscience can’t bear it..."

"Twenty-nine hundred."

"Young Master..."

"Three thousand," Lu Jing’an said, his tone still steady.

Smiling Tiger’s feigned grief froze on his face, the struggle in his eyes intensifying.

But Lu Jing’an suddenly changed his tune, dropping the number. "Twenty-nine hundred."

"Huh?!" Smiling Tiger nearly jumped. "Young Master, how... how can the price go down?"

"Twenty-eight hundred." Lu Jing’an was unhurried, dropping it by another hundred.

"Stop! Don’t lower it! Young Master! Young Master Lu!"

Smiling Tiger couldn’t keep up the act any longer. He lunged for the table, pressing down on the bank note, and said urgently,

"Three thousand! We’ll go with what you said at first."

"Three thousand! You can take him! Take him right now!"

The faintest trace of a smile touched the corners of Lu Jing’an’s lips.

He took out another bank note and wrote on it with a SWISH SWISH.

He placed it on the table next to the one for one thousand one hundred.

"Here is four hundred. I’m taking the man."

Smiling Tiger snatched both bank notes, clutching them tightly in his hand.

He finally squeezed out that trademark smile, which was still uglier than a crying face:

"Young Master is straightforward!"

"Black Bear... no,"

"this lummox,"

"will live a life of luxury with you from now on!"

"It’s his good fortune!"