Book 4, Chapter 263: Stay True To Yourself To Advance

It was a call from Lu Fang through the niche channel they used. After a month of getting ready, he had reached the peak of his condition, and he was going to fight against his opponent tomorrow.

The person he was facing was a disciple from the Heavenly Pardon Gang, who had also been searching for someone to help them reach a breakthrough. They had found each other through a niche channel. It would provide them with an arena and protection for being allowed to display their fight on their channel.

Once Chen Chuan learned about this, he looked up Lu Fang’s opponent.

The man’s name was Yong Dahu. He was from the Heavenly Pardon Gang, but something about him stood out: He came from a pretty well-off family and paid to study martial arts at the Heavenly Pardon Gang. That was why he didn’t have deep ties with the gang. He was going to follow the rules and only bring two people to the arena.

Since there was nothing wrong with him, everything would depend on the fight tomorrow.

The fight was meant to help them reach a higher limit, so both fighters were going to fight with everything they got. The one who lost might end up dead, so Chen Chuan was absolutely going to watch it.

He turned off his Realm Pass and said to Nian Qian, “A senior of mine from Martial Valor University is going to fight against someone with the goal of reaching a higher limit tomorrow at 10 a.m.. They’re highly likely to not hold back during the fight. If you’re interested, would you like to watch it with me?”

Nian Qian was absolutely interested and said, “If he’s your senior, then I definitely want to watch it. We only have a handful of soldiers in the army who graduated from Martial Valor University. Most of the graduates would much rather work at the government departments or other companies.”

“First, it’s because they don’t have to fight in wars, and second, it should be tied to their sponsors. Their future paths are decided while they’re studying, and they can’t do much to change that. Only a handful are able to graduate entirely on their own,” Chen Chuan explained.

Nian Qian nodded. He knew that Chen Chuan went through the same as well. It was truly hard to become successful in this day and age. Nian Qian was lucky to walk a path on which he could climb up the social ladder. He was grateful to his parents and Han Kuang for it.

After talking to Nian Qian for a bit more, Chen Chuan went to the underground training hall.

His cousin watched him leave while thinking, Xiao Chuan only has a bit of free time every day. He spends practically all his time training. Perhaps it’s just as he said, martial arts are fun for him.

Nian Qian went back to his room. Searching for information in Central City was beyond convenient. There were all sorts of new technology and implants in the market. As a commander, he couldn’t just turn a blind eye to them. After all, their enemies might use those things on them at some point. If he could gain an understanding of them, he wouldn’t be caught off guard if he ran into them. He needed to seize this moment to build up his knowledge.

***

It was 9:30 a.m..

Lu Fang arrived at the arena the niche channel had selected. It was on the roof of an abandoned building in Roaring Victory District.

His opponent had also arrived ahead of time. The man was half a head taller than he was and more built. He wore an elastic tank top, which revealed his toned muscles.

Both took some time to warm up before heading to the spot that had been allocated to them. The others, including Lu Fang’s two seniors and the gang members in charge of clearing the stage for them, backed away.

They didn’t need referees or protective gear for the fight, because they could use whatever methods they wanted, as long as they were using regular martial arts techniques.

It wasn’t as if they needed any underhanded tricks. They were aiming to get a breakthrough to reach the Third Limit, not just to win. While cheap shots could deceive others, they wouldn’t be able to deceive their own bodies into advancing.

Since the niche channel was involved, they had a shoutcaster for the event. Plenty of people had prepared snacks and drinks while sitting in front of their screens to enjoy the fight.

In truth, aside from Lu Fang and Yong Dahu’s fight, there were other similar fights slotted for the day. Once they were done, the niche channel was going to jump to the next one.

While such fights couldn’t compare to the tournaments arranged by Martial Valor University, the participants’ survival wasn’t important and most martial artists had been carefully picked by the niche channel itself, so the standard was very high, and they had quite a lot of supporters.

Chen Chuan and Nian Qian were sitting in front of the screen. Nian Qian cast a glance at Lu Fang. “Is that your senior?”

“Yup,” Chen Chuan answered.

Nian Qian checked the introduction provided by the niche channel and found that their names had been replaced by numbers. Both of them were at the Second Limit, of course.

This should be the limit Martial Valor University students reach around this age, right? Only people like Xiao Chuan are able to progress faster.

Lu Fang moved into the most classic of all Sanshou stances. Meanwhile, Yong Dahu shifted into the Heavenly Pardon Gang’s Great Transverse Fist. This was also a basic fist technique. Yet even though it was a foundational move, the practitioners could gain great impact resistance from it.

The two were in a standoff for a bit before charging forward. They exchanged a few blows at a rapid speed before falling away from each other. Then, they got closer to each other again to trade blows.

The shoutcaster was clearly a professional. He spoke quickly, clearly, and was able to narrate all the important bits. Even those without a martial arts foundation could experience the exciting parts of the fight through his emotional delivery and expressive tone.

During the three minutes of fighting, Lu Fang and Yong Dahu separated three times. Whenever they did, they would scrutinize their opponent. Clearly, this fight wasn’t easy for either of them.

The next time they split up, neither side moved forward again, even after a long time passed.

“What are they doing?” Nian Qian asked.

“They did their homework by learning each other’s techniques and preferred tactics through videos and the like to set up strategies before the duel, but they’re close in terms of strength, so all their strategies turned out useless. Strictly speaking, the exchanges just now were them testing the waters. Now, they’re going to have to rely on their combat reaction. If they make even the slightest mistake, they might end up dead. That’s why they’re being so careful,” Chen Chuan said.

“Will your senior win?” Nian Qian asked.

“I can’t tell, not until the very end,” Chen Chuan answered.

“Not even you can, even though you’re a martial arts master?” Nian Qian teased him.

“There are too many uncertainties in a fight. Even the slightest external factor or a brief moment of carelessness might lead to a person being too slow in attacking or their form breaking down. So, whether he wins or not depends entirely on him. Unless I can affect those in the fight, I can’t tell who will win. At most, I can see who has a higher chance of winning.”

Nian Qian nodded. This was the same as battles on the field. There was no way anyone could truly consider every factor. Even if one side appeared to be winning, if the commander made the slightest mistake, they might just end up causing their army to lose.

The standoff ended, and the two charged forward at the same time. This time, they traded blows so quickly that it looked like they were moving at lightning speed. The sound of blows landing on flesh rang loud, and the shoutcaster became incredibly excited.

Within that short period of time, the two fighters went all over the arena and exchanged a flurry of blows more than ten times. Suddenly, Lu Fang seemed to be unable to adjust his stance and revealed an opening. Yong Dahu seized the chance and punched his chest with a loud cry.

Even through the screen, they could hear the sound of bones cracking, and some of the spectators cried out in shock.

The expressions of Senior Guo and Senior Yu changed.

But Lu Fang didn’t seem to be affected. He jabbed at Yong Dahu’s throat with his fingers, as if they were knives. He stopped before releasing the final burst of power. Yong Dahu kicked him and sent him flying with a loud bang. Lu Fang tumbled on the floor a few times and nearly fell off. When he managed to push himself up by the elbows, his face was incredibly pale, and blood trickled out of his mouth.

Yong Dahu was stunned for a bit. Then, with a complicated look on his face, he said, “You won, Brother Lu.”

Due to him practicing the Great Transverse Fist, he was great at defense and practically had no weaknesses. However, without the complete legacy of the Great Transverse Fist, his defense was gone the moment his refined force spilled out after an attack. Lu Fang saw this and decided to trade injury for injury. If he hadn’t pulled back earlier, he would have pierced Yong Dahu’s throat and killed him on the spot.

Lu Fang managed to hold back, which was difficult. Because of it, Yong Dahu didn’t lose the ability to continue fighting and could use that small interval to kill Lu Fang, which would make him the winner of the match.

However, even if he managed to deceive everyone else, he wouldn’t be able to lie to himself.

The crucial point was that Lu Fang trusted Yong Dahu to pull back once he noticed that Lu Fang was holding back. His judgment was correct, and the final kick wasn’t actually that powerful. Yong Dahu was disappointed but also impressed. At the same time, he felt touched for being trusted.

He gave Lu Fang a fist-and-palm salute and said earnestly, “Brother Lu, once you recover from your injuries, let me treat you to a meal. You can’t say no, because it’s already been decided on!”

Lu Fang nodded and said, “Alright. If it’s already decided, then I will come.”

“I like how straightforward you are! I’ll be leaving now. Brother Lu, rest well. If you need anything, tell me. Don’t go treating me like a stranger now!” Yong Dahu walked over to pick up his shirt and left.

Senior Yu and Senior Guo ran over to help Lu Fang up. After checking him for a while, they sighed in relief. Even though Lu Fang was injured badly—all his ribs and one shoulder were broken—at least he was still alive.

“You might have won, but you’re injured far worse than the other guy, Lu Fang,” Senior Yu said.

“When you held back at the end, did you consider the fact that Yong Dahu might not?” Senior Guo demanded.

Lu Fang forced a smile and said with great certainty. “He wouldn’t. A martial artist’s fists don’t lie. I knew that Yong Dahu would hold back.”

“Eh. Whatever you say.” Senior Guo brought Lu Fang’s arm over his shoulder and helped him down. When the spectators saw that the fight was over, they left.

Once they were downstairs, they started walking away. A dozen or so steps later, Lu Fang sensed something and felt his heart racing. A moment later, warmth gushed out of his heart and flowed through his body. Cracking sounds came from his body. The shattered bones started moving back to their original places and healing.

Senior Guo and Senior Yu sensed what was happening and cried out in surprise, “Is this...”

Lu Fang pulled his arms back and stood up on his own, then sucked in a sharp breath. He looked at both of them. “I made it to the Third Limit.”

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