Volume One, Chapter Thirteen: An Appetizer

"Brave warrior, may I know your name?"

Stone Yong, proud on the stage, sheathed his long whip at his waist, dusted off the dirt from his clothes, then leapt onto a wooden chair. He looked down arrogantly at the crowd and announced his name.

"Lin’an, Ba Body Academy—Stone Yong!"

"Stone the Brave, winning three consecutive matches grants you a Ba Body Primordial Pill. If you manage four wins in a row, the entire box here will be yours. Would you like to withdraw early...?"

"Old man, do you think I’m a fool? One Ba Body Primordial Pill fetches nearly ten taels of silver at auction, and this box contains twenty or thirty of them. Do you think I’m that short-sighted?"

The elderly host of the arena was not offended by Stone Yong’s rudeness. Instead, he turned his body and raised both hands.

"This Stone Brave chooses to continue the challenge. Is there anyone here who objects?"

Looking at the arrogant Stone Yong, the crowd murmured quietly, but no one stepped forward.

"No one? Then I hereby declare this arena match—"

"Wait!"

From the audience, a stout man dressed entirely in black approached.

He appeared somewhat clumsy, yet his steps were steady and unwavering. Walking onto the stage, he locked eyes with Stone Yong, showing no fear.

"I'll give it a try."

Stone Yong sized up the older, plump man with disdain. "Old geezer, how old are you now? Got family at home? Don’t make me carry you to the infirmary later if you can’t get off the stage. Ha ha ha..."

The stout man grinned widely. "Truly, ignorance is fearless."

That contemptuous remark utterly infuriated Stone Yong. Within the Ba Body Academy, he lacked talent and was looked down upon by the instructors; among his senior brothers in the Spirit Cultivation Institute, he was nothing but a pest.

What he hated most was being underestimated. Facing this black-clad stout man, Stone Yong shouted, "Let's see what you’re really made of!"

"Old Wu?"

From below, a veiled girl named Little Glaze pointed at the man in black on the stage, curious, and looked toward Si Nanxi.

Si Nanxi gave her a thumbs-up, confirming Little Glaze’s guess.

It was clear that the box of Ba Body Primordial Pills had been donated by Si Nanxi to the Immortal Spirit Pavilion, and the fourth challenger to Stone Yong was someone Si Nanxi had arranged long ago.

At the Spirit Identification Academy, students fighting were severely punished. If expelled, system tasks couldn’t be completed, which would be a huge loss for Si Nanxi.

He had to follow the academy’s rules, but Old Wu didn’t.

If Old Wu fought Stone Yong, it would be classified as a brawl between an outsider and the academy’s bully, and the blame wouldn’t fall on him.

Only now did Si Nanxi suddenly recall that when he was studying, fights between two groups in the grade always ended with calling in some street toughs to settle the score.

When showing off toughness, they never forgot to announce their affiliations—“Such and such is under my protection; watch your step from now on.”

In the end, win or lose, everyone took a beating. What a pointless waste.

Two groups fighting only resulted in losses. The winners paid medical fees and received demerits, punishments, or expulsions. The losers ended up in the hospital for months or worse, with lifelong disabilities.

Someone like him, who could beat others without giving them any reason to retaliate, was in an ideal situation.

Lost in thought, Si Nanxi watched as Old Wu calmly assumed a defensive stance against Stone Yong’s assault.

Stone Yong had been at Ba Body Academy for five years; his talent was mediocre. It took him three years to break through to the first level of Ba Body, and only by his fifth year did he barely advance to the second level, the Fierce Realm.

His fists were as hard as iron and stone; the long whip he wielded seemed capable of driving ten wild horses.

Every move he made radiated a powerful, domineering aura.

If not for Si Nanxi’s cultivation being crippled overnight after more than twenty years of practice, Old Wu wouldn’t have ended up drifting in this shabby Lin’an City cultivation institute alongside him.

If Si Nanxi, with his restored triple-layered power, could take on ten Stone Yongs, then Old Wu could easily handle a hundred, and that would still be an understatement.

Old Wu skillfully dodged Stone Yong’s blows without rushing to counterattack. Despite his stout figure, his agility was almost excessive.

To the untrained eye, Old Wu seemed passive—constantly retreating and evading, unable to retaliate.

But experts could see at a glance that Old Wu’s strength far surpassed Stone Yong’s relentless offense.

Frustrated after failing to break through, Stone Yong became increasingly anxious. Old Wu deftly stepped on the long whip and executed a brilliant dodge, causing Stone Yong to whip himself hard with his own weapon.

Blood surged through Stone Yong’s body, and stung by his own whip, he charged wildly like a bull released from captivity, relentlessly pursuing Old Wu.

"If you’ve got the guts, don’t run, old man!"

Ba Body Academy disciples excelled in defense, not pursuit. After a dozen rounds, Stone Yong was exhausted, leaning on his knees, gasping noisily.

"Old… old man, are you only good at running?! If you’re so capable, come fight me openly!"

What Old Wu had been waiting for all along was precisely those words.

"Fine, then let’s fight. Since you’re so confident in your fists, I’ll let you throw three punches. If you can withstand one of mine, you win. Fair enough?"

"Who do you think you’re looking down on, old man? One punch for one punch, I, Stone, won’t take advantage."

On the third floor, Si Nanxi sneered. Stone Yong’s character wasn’t great, but at least he had some backbone. He decided to tell Old Wu to take it easy, not to beat him too badly.

Old Wu took his stance, lightly curling a finger, clearly not taking Stone Yong seriously.

In response to Old Wu’s provocation, Stone Yong condensed his Ba Body energy into his right fist. The clenched fist emitted faint glimmers.

"Those who look down on me—die!"

Stone Yong roared and charged at Old Wu, delivering a full-powered strike.

"Young man, your courage is commendable, but… you still need practice."

Old Wu’s voice echoed in the air, his calm smile revealing an unfathomable depth.

As Stone Yong’s fist swung, it stirred a fierce wind, the air itself cracking with the force.

Yet at the very moment the fist was about to land, Old Wu flicked a finger lightly.

"Bang!"

Stone Yong’s body flew like a meteor, crashing heavily against the wall behind him, spitting a mouthful of blood.

"The gap… is too vast!"

The onlookers were stunned.

"What a powerful body."

"What just happened? How did that brute fly so far?"

"I didn’t… see clearly, it was too fast."

Stone Yong struggled to rise but found his right hand broken. Cursing inwardly, he thought, “Damn it, I’ve met a master. Should’ve taken the prize after three wins.”

Knowing the overwhelming gap in strength, Stone Yong was ready to surrender, but Old Wu’s fist, like a lightning bolt, struck again.

"Young man, you can’t go back on your harsh words now."

Using only a fraction of his power, Old Wu’s punch slammed Stone Yong into the wall once more. The impact made Stone Yong dizzy, as if hit by ten speeding chariots at once.

Stone Yong’s body lingered against the wall briefly before sliding down its smooth surface.

Watching Stone Yong’s defeat, Si Nanxi on the upper floor covered his face and gave Old Wu an “OK” signal, indicating that was enough.

Old Wu, seeing the gesture, was puzzled. “Three… three what?” But he decided, “Whatever, three more punches won’t hurt.” He “gently” delivered three more punches to the fallen Stone Yong.

Then, smiling cheerfully, Old Wu turned and returned the “OK” sign to Si Nanxi on the third floor.