Chapter 20: Rules of a Genius

Chapter 20: Chapter 20: Rules of a Genius

Everyone was bewildered. "???"

What did he mean? What was this guy trying to do? Was he feeling guilty and too scared to fight, so he deliberately changed the subject and tried to use the Government Office’s constables to intimidate them?

Zhou Peng chuckled inwardly, "Heh." The corners of his mouth curled up slightly. After all, Yangg Lian was the one who had asked someone to fetch him.

"Deputy Chief Yangg praised me highly and asked me to offer some pointers to a few of his subordinates," Lu Yuan said, glancing at the crowd. "I figured, since I am an unparalleled genius who has achieved an epiphany, I could certainly instruct people, but I absolutely cannot do it casually. A genius’s wisdom is priceless, after all. Therefore, I set a rule..."

"What rule?" someone couldn’t help but ask.

"Good question!" Lu Yuan praised. "It’s very simple. Anyone who wishes to challenge me or receive my guidance must first produce fifty taels of silver or one Qi Nourishing Pill."

"What?"

"Fifty taels of silver?"

"A Qi Nourishing Pill?"

"Are you robbing us?!"

The scene instantly exploded into an uproar. Everyone stared at Lu Yuan, rendered utterly speechless and itching to curse him out. Whether it was fifty taels of silver or a Qi Nourishing Pill, either was a massive sum for bottom-tier Martial Artists like them. It would take them a very long time to earn that much. And now they had to pay it just to fight a match...

"You must understand, I am an unparalleled genius who has experienced an epiphany..." Lu Yuan’s expression was grave and serious. "If there were no conditions, and I had to accept every challenge and offer pointers to every random person I met on the street, would I have any time left for myself? How would I even live? Wouldn’t I die of exhaustion?"

"I think you’re just guilty and scared. You deliberately set this threshold to make us back down..." Zhou Peng retorted angrily. He didn’t have fifty taels of silver, and even if he did, he wouldn’t give it to Lu Yuan.

"That’s right, you’re just guilty and doing this on purpose!"

"If you don’t dare to fight, just say so!"

"Admit that your epiphany was fake! You’re just a fraud!"

The others chimed in.

"Think what you want," Lu Yuan said indifferently. He wasn’t going to fight a pointless battle that offered no benefits anyway. "Do you have the silver or not? If you don’t have silver or Pills, then leave immediately. This is the front door of my house, not a public square. You’re disturbing the neighbors’ peace..."

"Ayuan, are you alright?" At that moment, Wei Huiling hurried out from inside the courtyard. Seeing the situation outside, she couldn’t help but feel incredibly worried. Were all these people here to make trouble for her son?

"What are you trying to do? This is the Lu Residence, the home of Lu Ming, a constable of the Government Office!" Wei Huiling stepped in front of Lu Yuan and shouted sternly, "Let me tell you, if anyone dares to lay a hand on my Ayuan, I will report you for home invasion and robbery! I’ll have the Government Office arrest every single one of you!"

At the foot of the Celestial Emperor’s Imperial City, the rules were strict. The power of the Court was unimaginably immense; no individual or faction could ever contend with the Dynasty.

"That’s right! Arrest them! Arrest them all!" Yaoyao echoed.

"Madam Lu, please don’t misunderstand. We came to challenge Lu Yuan, we bear no ill will!" someone immediately explained.

"Yes, we heard Lu Yuan is a genius and wanted to challenge him a bit."

"Is he feeling guilty? We just want to test him."

"Even his own mother has come out to protect him. Looks like the rumors of his genius are fake."

Others voiced their thoughts.

"Mother," Lu Yuan quickly tugged at Wei Huiling and shot her a look, thinking, "Don’t ruin my good thing!"

Wei Huiling was puzzled, but she knew her son well. He had been smart since childhood and wouldn’t let himself be taken advantage of. She wondered what trick he had up his sleeve this time, and whether he was confident.

Lu Yuan returned a reassuring look, thinking, "It’s in the bag!"

"You are not allowed to gang up on my son!" Wei Huiling declared, pulling Yaoyao to the side.

"Well? Do you have the silver or Pills? If not, get lost!" Lu Yuan looked at the crowd and waved his hand impatiently.

"And what if you can’t beat me? What happens if you lose?" Zhou Peng asked. He needed to clarify this; otherwise, he’d be paying money only to win absolutely nothing.

"Yeah, what if you lose?"

"That’s right, it needs to be fair for both sides!"

"We almost fell for it."

The crowd chimed in again.

"You guys were the ones who sought me out, and I am a genius!" Lu Yuan raised his chin.

Everyone was speechless.

"Have some shame!"

"Who knows if you’re just scamming us for money?"

"It must be fair!"

The crowd refused to yield.

"Fine." Lu Yuan pulled out a porcelain bottle. "This is the Bone Tempering Pill that Deputy Chief Yangg gave me yesterday. See that? When I instruct others, I charge a Bone Tempering Pill worth a hundred taels. Asking you for just fifty taels or a Qi Nourishing Pill is already a huge discount."

"A Bone Tempering Pill!"

"A Bone Tempering Pill!"

Both Zhou Peng and Cen Hui’s eyes lit up. Many others in the crowd were also tempted. If they won, this would be a fantastic double-your-money deal.

"Who has money? I want to ask everyone to lend me a hand. Once I win, I’ll give you a share of the profits!" Zhou Peng stretched out a hand and shouted loudly.

"Broke loser! Move aside! I’ll do it!" Cen Hui stepped forward. He happened to have a Qi Nourishing Pill on him.

"Huh?" Zhou Peng instantly flared up with anger. "Who are you calling a broke loser?"

Beside him were three junior brothers from the Yaoyang Martial Arts Hall, all Ninth-Grade Martial Artists. The four of them glared at Cen Hui simultaneously.

Feeling the sudden pressure, Cen Hui took a step back. "Then you go first."

"Heh," Zhou Peng sneered coldly. "Everyone, I am willing to do a one-to-one payout. I’ll cover the bet! It’s a guaranteed profit!"

"I’ll put in five taels!"

"I’ll put in three taels!"

"I’ll put in ten taels!"

"Ten taels is no good, that’s too much! One person can only contribute a maximum of five taels!"

Very quickly, the fifty taels of silver were gathered. Zhou Peng and his three junior brothers had also dug into their own pockets.

"Here, the silver is all here. Let’s do this!" Zhou Peng looked at Lu Yuan and smiled confidently.

He knew Lu Yuan’s background very well. A few months ago, it was confirmed that he hadn’t even entered the ranks... He had probably just broken through a few days ago, which was why the Lu Family couldn’t resist hyping him up. Meanwhile, Zhou Peng himself had broken through to the Ninth Grade over three years ago. He was already approaching the peak of this stage, and his boxing technique was nearing perfection.

He was one hundred percent certain he would defeat Lu Yuan!

"Alright." Lu Yuan handed the Pill to Wei Huiling for safekeeping. He wedged his saber into a crack between the bricks and walked down the steps. With one hand resting behind his back, he extended the other and beckoned. "Bring it on."

Zhou Peng shot a vigilant glance at the hand Lu Yuan kept behind his back. Then, he suddenly surged forward two steps and threw a devastating punch at Lu Yuan.

BANG!

The air popped with a sharp explosion. It was incredibly fierce.

BANG!

Lu Yuan also threw a punch, aiming right at Zhou Peng’s fist.

Zhou Peng thought, "Heh, you overestimate yourself!" He smiled, suddenly pouring another thirty percent of his strength into his arm.

THUD!

The two fists collided with a somewhat muffled impact.

CRACK!

It was the sound of bones fracturing. An arm bent at an unnatural angle, and a figure rapidly staggered backward.

What? It was... It was Zhou Peng! It was actually Zhou Peng? How was that possible?

The onlookers all widened their eyes in shock.

This had been a pure clash of physical power—fist against fist. It was a test of whose strength was greater, whose True Qi was more profound, whose explosive power was fiercer, and whose fist was harder. Logically speaking, Zhou Peng should have had the absolute advantage. Lu Yuan, who had yet to come of age and had only just entered the Ninth Grade, shouldn’t have been able to compare to Zhou Peng in any way.

Even Wei Huiling had been so tense with worry that she subconsciously squeezed her eyes shut.

Yet, the result was...

"Senior Brother!"

"Senior Brother!"

The three disciples from the Yaoyang Martial Arts Hall hurried over to support Zhou Peng.

"I lost? How is that possible?" Zhou Peng stared at Lu Yuan in utter disbelief. "You..."