Chapter 270 - 173: Plucking a Heart with Bare Hands, Challenging the Heroes of the World

Chapter 270: Chapter 173: Plucking a Heart with Bare Hands, Challenging the Heroes of the World

The three of them chatted as they walked, and soon they arrived at the barbecue joint.

The storefront wasn’t large. A red sign with gold lettering hung above the entrance, reading "Old Spot BBQ."

Inside were about ten tables, most of which were already occupied at this hour. The air was filled with the aroma of cumin and chili powder.

Lei Ming was clearly a regular. As soon as he walked in, he shouted to the owner, "Old Zhao, any tables left?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" The owner, a middle-aged man in his forties wearing a grease-stained apron, smiled upon seeing Lei Ming. "I saved your usual spot for you, the booth in the back."

The three of them sat down, and Lei Ming expertly placed their order—eighty skewers of lamb, twenty chicken wings, ten grilled chives, and a plate of peanuts and edamame.

After ordering, he leaned back against his chair.

As if suddenly remembering something, he said with a smile, "By the way, have you guys heard? An City is going to host a Martial Dao tournament."

Zhou Xianchuan froze for a moment. Then, sensing some gossip, he unconsciously leaned forward. "Brother Lei, what Martial Dao tournament?"

Lei Ming smiled, picked up a peanut, shelled it, and tossed it into his mouth, chewing slowly. "It’s a Martial Dao tournament exclusive to Jiangnan. An City is planning to host it this year. The last time South City hosted it was seven or eight years ago. I didn’t expect An City to be the first one to get restless and decide to bring it back."

"Huh? Seven or eight years? That long? Then why haven’t the Jiangnan Thirteen Grand Protectors held a Martial Dao tournament all these years?" Zhou Xianchuan couldn’t help but ask. He then felt his question might have been a bit blunt and quickly added, "Was it a lack of money? Or...?"

"It wasn’t a matter of money." Lei Ming shook his head, his smile fading slightly.

He hadn’t even started practicing martial arts back then; he only joined the Dragon Eagle Martial Arts Hall five years ago.

But he couldn’t escape Zhai Jia’s big mouth. Zhai Jia had dredged up the martial arts hall’s old stories countless times, and by hearing them over and over, Lei Ming naturally got all the juicy details.

"It’s a long story." Lei Ming picked up his water glass, took a sip to wet his throat, and said in a low voice, "Back during the first Jiangnan Martial Dao tournament, the Jiangnan Thirteen Grand Protectors were still on good terms. They thought about organizing a tournament for some friendly exchange and sparring, and also as a chance for the younger generation to make a name for themselves."

"And then?" Zhou Xianchuan stared at him without blinking.

"And then..." Lei Ming gave a bitter smile. "Things went wrong."

He set down his teacup, his voice growing even lower. "When the tournament started back then, the first few matches were fine. Everyone held back and knew when to stop. But with the Martial Dao, you know how it is—it’s easy to get carried away in the heat of a fight. Especially for those hot-blooded youngsters. The losers couldn’t accept defeat, and the winners wanted to prove they were even stronger. Once tempers flared, they couldn’t be controlled."

"It started as sparring, then it turned into raw competition, and then it became a fight to the death. By the end of that tournament, the death toll had skyrocketed... not from normal casualties in the ring, but outside of it. Some people lost in the ring and went back to have their guys blockade the opponent’s martial arts hall. Some were dealt vicious blows during a match, and their martial brothers couldn’t swallow their pride, so they grabbed weapons and went looking for payback. That year... seven Refining Grandmasters fell."

HSSS!!!

Zhou Xianchuan immediately sucked in a cold breath.

’Refining Grandmasters?’

’Fallen?’

’Seven of them?’

The combination of those words felt completely unreal to him.

In his mind, Grandmasters were figures who stood at the pinnacle of the Martial Dao, legendary beings. How could they just... die?

"Over a hundred Martial Artists below the Refining Force level were killed or injured," Lei Ming continued, shaking his head slightly. Those few words, delivered with such calm, were enough to send a chill down Zhou Xianchuan’s spine.

"What about our Dragon Eagle?" Zhou Xianchuan didn’t even notice the tension in his own voice as he asked.

Lei Ming glanced at him. "That year... our Dragon Eagle lost seven Refining Viscera Disciples."

Zhou Xianchuan swallowed involuntarily.

Although he didn’t know the exact skill level of a Refining Viscera Disciple, he knew they were the backbone of the martial arts hall, Direct Disciples taught personally by the master, the very foundation of the Dragon Eagle Martial Arts Hall.

’Seven people, gone just like that???’

"What happened then? Did our Dragon Eagle get revenge?" Zhou Xianchuan pressed.

"Of course we retaliated, and viciously. Later, the Master, along with Master Qin and Master Ma—the three Grandmasters—took action personally."

Lei Ming’s voice dropped to a hush. "They went straight to their hall to shut it down, resolving it with a martial duel... In the end, they beat everyone inside to death with their fists, including the other hall’s leadership! All forty-three people involved were slain!"

Zhou Xianchuan’s mouth fell slightly open, his eyes going wide.

’Forty-three...’

’That number was staggering!’

’It blew his mind, leaving it completely blank!’

"That incident completely alarmed the Royal City," Lei Ming said with a sigh. "Can you imagine? A peace committee composed entirely of Grandmasters flew directly from the Royal City. For two whole months, those Grandmasters went from hall to hall negotiating before things finally, barely, settled down... That was also when our Dragon Eagle truly became one of Jiangnan’s top-tier martial arts halls."

Zhou Xianchuan let out an "Ah," then asked cautiously, "Everyone... just obeyed like that?"

"Disobey?" Lei Ming chuckled. "The Martial Dao has always been about the survival of the fittest. The authorities had spoken, so who’d be stubborn enough to keep causing trouble? Anyone who didn’t listen would inevitably be made an example of. Otherwise, what would be the point of those Grandmasters coming all this way?"

Zhou Xianchuan was still reeling.

Lei Ming added in a low voice, "You really think those Grandmasters became Grandmasters by sitting in teahouses, sipping tea, and listening to music? Every single one of them is a killer. Without a bit of killing intent, you can’t reach their position."

Zhou Xianchuan was completely stunned.