Chapter 85: Charge! Charge
Chapter 85: Chapter 85: Charge! Charge
In the town center’s marketplace, a large area had already been cleared out, and a wooden stage about ten feet high had been erected.
Lion dance troupes, waist drum teams, acrobatic groups, and opera performers took turns on the high stage. They were celebrating the New Year, but more importantly, they were warming up the crowd for the upcoming sparring matches between Panlong Town’s martial arts halls.
The Black Tiger Fist Hall and the Divine Weapon Hall had long since cordoned off their own territories beside the stage, setting up awnings and raising their banners.
Their disciples assembled in neat formations, chests out and heads high, standing ramrod straight. The impressive display drew the attention of many onlookers from the town.
Meanwhile, Fang Wei and Wang Heihu, the two hall masters, sat under their respective awnings surrounded by their disciples, watching the stage performances absentmindedly.
The two were seated very close. Wang Heihu kept glancing toward the other side of the stage before whispering:
"Elder Fang, has that Fatty Liu really skipped town?"
"He won’t. After all these years in Panlong Town, I can read his character. He’ll most likely risk it all."
Fang Wei sipped his tea and scoffed.
"Besides, if he did run, wouldn’t that be even better?"
"That’s true. But I was just worried he’d keep stalling and we couldn’t settle this. As long as he doesn’t run, after today is over, we can have the Iron Cloth Hall completely delisted. Panlong Town will be ours to split."
Wang Heihu rubbed his hands together and chuckled in a low voice:
"Elder Fang, the Iron Cloth Hall’s property is close to my Fist Hall. As we discussed before..."
"You can take the building, but I want a larger share of the vacant medicinal herb business."
Fang Wei said with a wave of his hand.
The Divine Weapon Hall followed an elite path. After all, using weapons required a certain threshold of skill, unlike the Black Tiger Fist Hall, which accepted all comers and thus needed much more space.
"Alright then, thank you, Elder Fang."
Wang Heihu gave a sly laugh. In just a few words, the two had already carved up the Iron Cloth Hall, clearly considering today’s victory a foregone conclusion.
Such was the situation with three major powers. If any two joined forces, the third would find it difficult to resist.
What’s more, the Divine Weapon Hall and the Black Tiger Fist Hall had been plotting this for a long time, their actions relentless. And the Iron Cloth Hall was the weakest of the three.
Whether Fatty Liu showed up today or not wasn’t particularly important; the outcome was already determined. What mattered was the formality of it all. By using this grand occasion, the two halls could join forces to ensure the Iron Cloth Hall could never recover, defeating everyone from the master to the disciples, making it impossible for them to continue operating in Panlong Town.
Just as Wang Heihu was fantasizing about expanding his hall, filling it with disciples, the Black Tiger Fist Hall flourishing, and even opening a branch in Yunzhao County, he heard a commotion stir within the crowd.
He looked over, and his eyes instantly lit up.
’He’s here!’
He saw Liu the Monk, dressed in a brand-new outfit, followed by his Direct Disciples like Hodar and Lu Hong, as well as a dozen or so Core Disciples, walking to the edge of the high stage.
The crowd automatically cleared a space for them. However, compared to the imposing presence of the Black Tiger Fist Hall and the Divine Weapon Hall, their group of just over a dozen people—not even twenty in total—seemed rather dwarfed.
But Liu the Monk’s face was expressionless. He simply clasped his hands in a salute toward the two other hall masters.
"Gentlemen, if you please."
Seeing Liu the Monk being so straightforward, Fang Wei and Wang Heihu exchanged a look and nodded slightly.
Wang Heihu was the first to rise. He clasped his fist in his palm and said:
"Hall Master Liu, welcome. Today, the three of us will face each other in pairs for a total of three matches to determine the hierarchy of Panlong Town’s martial arts halls. There’s no need to draw lots for the order. You’ve just arrived, and Elder Fang and I have been resting for a long time, so we shall go first. We will then invite Hall Master Liu onto the stage."
He spoke with an air of magnanimity, and the crowd below, led by the disciples of the Black Tiger Fist Hall, erupted in cheers.
Xie Yuan, however, shook his head as he listened.
’Don’t be fooled by Wang Heihu’s fine words. With this arrangement, Liu the Monk will have to fight two consecutive matches with no time to rest.’
’Furthermore,’ Xie Yuan guessed, ’the two halls want Liu the Monk to suffer two straight, decisive defeats. His reputation would hit rock bottom, achieving the ’best’ possible effect for them.’
’And though they say they’ll fight first, it’ll probably just be a fake match.’
Sure enough, Fang Wei and Wang Heihu went on stage, saluted each other, and faced off bare-handed.
The master of the Divine Weapon Hall didn’t even bring a weapon. The audience was just starting to grumble in dissatisfaction when they saw the two hall masters engage in a rapid exchange of blows, deconstructing each other’s moves.
The sound of their fists and feet colliding was quite impressive. Between them was a blur of flashing fists, making it impossible for ordinary people to see clearly. The crowd roared in excitement.
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the two exchanged a final blow, then slid back about ten feet each, stopping at the edge of the stage. They then saluted each other simultaneously, declaring it a draw.
The audience below naturally applauded excitedly, remarking, "As expected of the Black Tiger Fist Hall and the Divine Weapon Hall! Their skills are countless, and they are evenly matched."
’To an ordinary person, this was a thrilling duel,’ Xie Yuan watched with a cold eye. ’But anyone with a little training could see it was just a choreographed practice session. Martial artists do this with their peers every day. It looks good, but in essence, it’s no different from a martial arts form demonstration.’
Liu the Monk could naturally see this as well, but it was all within his expectations. Even as his own disciples were indignantly shouting "Fake fight!", his expression remained unchanged as he slowly walked onto the high stage.
Wang Heihu remained on the stage. Seeing that Liu the Monk’s aura was somewhat different from usual, he couldn’t help but probe cautiously:
"Hall Master Liu, it seems you’ve come prepared today?"
Liu the Monk said flatly:
"I don’t have as many crooked schemes as you two, so don’t you worry. It’s just that I, Liu the Monk, have gone from a wandering beggar to a master of martial arts, and then came to Panlong Town to build this foundation. More than half my life has passed. I’m old. I don’t want to move, and I can’t move anymore."
"This hall is my root. To dig it up is to take my life. I accept that the Iron Cloth Hall won’t survive today. But I’m taking at least one of you down with me."
"Today, I, Liu the Monk, do not seek to live, but seek to die."
His expression showed no fluctuation, his tone calm and earnest.
He was truly ready to fight to the death.
Wang Heihu’s expression changed several times as he listened. He subconsciously glanced at Fang Wei below the stage, only to hear him say with a dismissive wave:
"Don’t listen to his blustering. He’s just trying to bluff you."
Wang Heihu’s face darkened, and he cursed inwardly:
’Old fox! You’re not the one up here on this damn stage. This is bad. I shouldn’t have gone up first. If Liu the Monk really fights me to the death and gets me injured, that old fox will be the only one left standing!’
His mind raced, but his words were unapologetically sharp:
"Hah! When Hall Master Liu says that, does he mean he can take down whoever he pleases? Aren’t you afraid of biting your tongue! I, Wang Heihu, am not falling for your act! Let’s see what you’ve really got!"
He stepped forward and threw a probing punch toward Liu the Monk’s chest.
Liu the Monk didn’t dodge or evade. He unleashed the Iron Cloth Long Fist, but instead of blocking, he aimed a strike directly at Wang Heihu’s head.
Startled, Wang Heihu didn’t dare trade injuries with Liu the Monk. He retracted his fist to parry, then threw several more probing attacks, only to find that Liu the Monk truly had no intention of dodging. It was a mutually destructive fighting style!
’Even with the Iron Cloth Shirt, you can’t just not block at all, can you? Fighting like this is a true life-for-a-life exchange!’
Wang Heihu’s heart pounded, and the style of his attacks instantly changed.
His speed increased, but his power lessened. His attacks were like a continuous spring rain—painless and ineffective—while his defense became impenetrable, leaving no room for error.
Fists like these couldn’t even break the skin when they landed on Liu the Monk’s Iron Cloth Shirt. Liu the Monk wasn’t skilled in offense, and he couldn’t do anything to the stability-focused Wang Heihu. After fighting for a long while, they separated once again, ending in another draw.
The crowd below broke into discussion. In terms of dangerous gambits, this match was actually far superior to the previous one, but the audience couldn’t see the subtleties. They just thought everyone was at a similar level and that the fight was less spectacular than the first.
In truth, if they had fought for real, Wang Heihu could have bested Liu the Monk by a slight margin. But his momentum had been stolen, and he had his own selfish calculations, so he naturally settled for a draw. As he passed Fang Wei’s awning, he stared straight ahead, ignoring Fang Wei’s scrutinizing gaze as if he didn’t see it.
Fang Wei snorted softly and sneered:
"Useless for any important task."
Wang Heihu turned a deaf ear to this undisguised rebuke. Sipping his tea, he sneered inwardly:
’If you want to fight to the death, go do it yourself. Don’t think you can use me as your vanguard.’
Fang Wei beckoned with his hand, and two disciples brought forth a greatspear. He grasped the shaft, leaped onto the high stage, and the nearly hundred-jin iron spear seemed weightless in his hand, drawing gasps of astonishment from the crowd.
DONG. The tall, thin old man slammed the butt of his iron spear heavily onto the stage and said coldly:
"Fighting to the death might scare a sick cat, but it won’t scare a real tiger. No matter what tricks you use today, you definitely won’t be able to save the Iron Cloth Hall’s reputation."
Liu the Monk caught a long saber tossed up by one of his disciples and smiled.
"Having the Divine Weapon Hall be buried alongside the Iron Cloth Hall doesn’t sound too bad either."
"With just you?"
A trace of undisguised disdain flashed across Fang Wei’s face. With a flick of his wrist, the longspear shot out like a venomous dragon emerging from the sea, thrusting directly at Liu the Monk’s heart!
Liu the Monk’s expression turned grim. He held the saber with both hands and struck with all his might, knocking the longspear aside, but he almost lost his grip on his own weapon.
An inch longer is an inch stronger. Whether in length or weight, Fang Wei’s greatspear held an enormous advantage against Liu the Monk, who was not skilled with weapons.
For a time, Liu the Monk could only struggle to parry as Fang Wei’s longspear danced relentlessly. He desperately tried to get in close but couldn’t find an opening.
As the saying goes: a month for the staff, a year for the saber, a lifetime for the spear. Fang Wei had immersed himself in Spear Skill for a lifetime. Even if his Cultivation Realm wasn’t particularly high, his Spear Skill was truly outstanding.
But beyond that, after watching these few matches, both real and fake, Xie Yuan felt they were nothing special.
He already understood that these famous masters of Panlong Town could probably no longer compare to him in terms of strength.
But standing here now, seeing that the movements of the experts he had once looked up to during his own arduous training now seemed so slow to his eyes, he couldn’t help but feel a little wistful.
On the stage, Liu the Monk had already been grazed by the greatspear many times. Only thanks to his proficient Iron Cloth Shirt had he escaped with mere flesh wounds; otherwise, his tendons would have been torn and his bones broken long ago. However, if this continued, his defeat was only a matter of time.
’Should I come up with an excuse to help Master Liu in the next match? Save his hall’s reputation, and then I could also bring up borrowing that book...’
Just as Xie Yuan was thinking this, his gaze suddenly froze, a look of shock on his face.
He saw Liu the Monk, facing the oncoming spear, flick his saber aside and actually move to ram his own large belly straight into the spear tip!
PFFT! With a sickening squelch, the longspear plunged through his abdomen, impaling Liu the Monk completely!
The crowd below cried out in alarm, and even Fang Wei was stunned for a moment.
He couldn’t understand. Liu the Monk clearly could have dodged that spear thrust, so why did he actively meet it?
’Does he think his Iron Cloth Shirt is a fully mastered Golden Bell Shield?’
Just then, blood trickled from the corner of Liu the Monk’s mouth. He let out a savage grin, raised his long saber, and actually charged forward along the shaft of the spear!