Chapter 118: Probing Around
Chapter 118: Probing Around
After the boss of the Iwamoto Group personally spoke up, Fang Jing was respectfully escorted out by a group and found a black Mercedes-Benz waiting just outside.
“Hop in, young Nishizuka!”
A man in sunglasses called out from the driver’s seat. Fang Jing didn’t overthink it and got right in.
“I’m Yuantai. Old Man Wakabayashi sent me to give you a ride back.”
The sunglasses-wearing man introduced himself as “Yuantai.” Fang Jing greeted him with a casual “Hello” before calmly settling into the passenger seat.
“I watched your entire match. Somehow… I got the feeling you weren’t going all out.”
Yuantai chuckled. “So, if you really went full force, how long would it take you to knock out that guy, Iron Fiend?”
“Mr. Yuantai, you really know how to joke around. That ‘Iron Fiend’ isn’t some small-time opponent.”
Now outside the fighting ring, Fang Jing acted more low-key to keep up his image as a regular high schooler. Instead of answering directly, he sidestepped the question.
“…True, he’d trained in Ryukyu Kenpo for over ten years and competed in national Karate tournaments. If it hadn’t been for that drunken brawl, he wouldn’t have ended up fighting in underground rings. Still, even so, he’s the top underground fighter in this area.”
Rolling down the car window, Yuantai stuffed out his cigar in the ashtray before shaking his head with a sigh.
“Sorry, old habits die hard… He rarely loses, let alone one this total. Thinking about how young you are, yet so skilled… it’s really impressive.”
“Nothing impressive about it. Martial arts are outdated these days. No matter how strong a fighter is, they can’t beat a gun aimed at their head…”
“That might be true. But I remember a rumor from a decade ago—a gang offended a powerful martial artist. Barehanded, he stormed their place. They had guns and men, yet he tore them apart till they were in total disarray…”
Holding the steering wheel, Yuantai spoke without hurry, almost thoughtfully.
“A gun is a weapon; martial arts are skill. There’s no comparing one to the other… Plus, anyone can use a gun. But mastering martial arts to where you can kill with bare hands? That’s hard. Guns and martial arts both hold different kinds of power depending on the situation.”
“Yeah?”
“Alright, we’re here…”
The sunglasses-wearing man held open the car door and handed Fang Jing a business card as he prepared to leave.
“Hope we meet again!”
The Benz roared to life and sped off in a cloud of dust.
Left standing there, Fang Jing finally looked down at the card in his hand.
“Murakami Group Sunao-gumi • Higashi Yuantai.”
On its back was the phone number for the Sunao-gumi office office.
This Higashi Yuantai guy clearly wasn’t part of the Iwamoto Group. Why had he insisted on driving him back? Why those mysterious comments? No idea what he was plotting.
Fang Jing stood rooted, shook his head, and finally turned to walk towards his apartment.
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With a powerful jump, Fang Jing used his bare toes to strike a hanging sandbag.
Thump!
Like a deflated ball, the bag ripped open under his blow, spilling sand everywhere.
“Next time I’ll hang up a car tire. It won’t tear so easily… But I’ve got the Toe Kick move down now.”
He hadn’t just learned the Toe Kick either. About seventy to eighty percent of Ryukyu Kenpo’s “Tiger Claw” move now clicked for him.
Just by watching or facing off against a technique a few times, he could grasp seventy to eighty percent of it.
In his skills section now appeared “Amami-ryu Ancient Karate.” But it hadn’t fully unlocked. Only two moves were visible below: “Toe Kick (Partial Version)” and “Tiger Claw Fist (Partial Version).”
“Initiate Skill Deduction?”
Exactly like when “Torrent Skill” appeared, the option popped up again after he repeatedly practiced the Ryukyu Kenpo moves he’d learned during his fight with Iron Fiend.
The Dragon Division’s “Cloud Dragon Willow” and Snake Division’s “Coiling Stream Skill” had already reached Advanced Level and also showed a “Deduction Option.” This time though, he’d barely scratched Amami-ryu Ancient Karate’s surface, so its appearance surprised him.
“So, the mechanism grows as I do. Before this, I couldn’t just face an opponent and master their skills so easily. This ’Deduction’ truly relies on my own ’frame.’ The wider my ‘frame,’ the more it can pull from within me to complete deductions.”
He’d finally figured out how the “Deduction Mechanism” operated.
“YES!”
This time, using only 5 Growth Value, he deduced the Elementary Level portion of “Amami-ryu Ancient Karate.”
His mind flooded with new information—mostly foundation-focused knowledge about this martial art.
Fang Jing believed this came from combining his own understanding. Yet his grasp remained shallow. To master it completely, he needed deeper exposure.
With that in mind, he grabbed his phone and dialed his teacher’s number—Kume Nansho’s.
…
Planning to visit the hospital, Fang Jing bought a basket of oranges as a gift.
Thanks to Kume Nansho, he quickly found out which hospital the man he’d fought was recovering in.
After asking a nurse at the front desk for the ward number, Fang Jing made his way to the sixth floor hallway.
“Room 607. This must be it. The name plaque says ‘Sakomizu Daigoro.’”
Sakomizu Daigoro—clearly just the alias Iron Fiend used for underground fights.
Why the fake name? Simple: “Sakomizu Daigoro” sounded dull. In the gritty blackmarket ring, he used a fiercer, more imposing moniker.
Sakomizu himself was the Iwamoto Group-controlled underground circuit’s star fighter—its “ace.” He too practiced Amami-ryu Ancient Karate.
Sakomizu had been injured by Fang Jing and now was hospitalized. Yet Fang Jing had held back, so Sakomizu’s wounds weren’t serious. A few years’ rest should heal him fully.
Walking through the door, Fang Jing noticed the man wearing glasses and holding an English textbook.
Caught off-guard by a visitor, Sakomizu dropped the book in a fluster.
“Distance Learning Higher Education English Textbook…”
Fang Jing sounded surprised. “Ah… So you’re secretly taking online classes?”
“Sigh… Why are you here?”
“Partly to visit you. Partly to ask a few questions.”
He placed the gift basket atop the bedside table.
Snap!
Sakomizu Daigoro snatched it back immediately, a flicker of anger crossing his face.
“Why come chasing after your beaten opponent…?”
“Mainly to ask about Amami-ryu Ancient Karate.”
Hearing that name visibly jolted him—eyes widening as he looked Fang Jing over head-to-toe.
“How’d you know that name?”
“Just curious. Asked my teacher, Kume Nansho. He told me…”
He pinned Shimizu’s question on Kume Nansho without hesitation.
His teacher was famously enigmatic—incredible martial arts prowess aside, his origins were shrouded in mystery too. Blaming him spared awkward explanations.
“Your teacher…?”
Sakomizu’s tone was skeptical.
As a practitioner of Ryukyu combat styles, Shimuzu Daigoro knew Okinawan martial arts were deeply rooted, with countless masters over centuries. His own Amami-ryu Ancient Karate was obscure—barely a trace left beyond its name.
An opponent might recognize his moves as Ryukyu-based, but pinpointing Amami-ryu? Impossible.
And he’d never revealed his style to anyone.
How had this young man drilled straight to its core? It was baffling.
“My teacher’s name is Kume Nansho. Ring any bells?”
Fang Jing pulled an orange from the basket and began peeling it.
“Kume Nansho… That name sounds so familiar… Hold on…”
He paused, then suddenly slapped his thigh.
“Right! That famously eccentric ‘Kume Immortal,’ yes?”
—Immortal? Like from fairy tales?
Fang Jing’s expression showed complete confusion.
“I thought everyone knew! The old man’s been called ‘Immortal’ for ages. He’s legendary in martial arts circles—more like an urban myth, really.”
“Urban myth?”
“Exactly…”
Sakomizu stroked his chin, eyes thoughtful.
“His seniority easily outranks my master. Even decades back when my master was young, stories about Kume Nansho’s exploits were already circulating…”
“How old is your master now, Shimizu?”
“In his fifties?!”
Sakomizu shot him a puzzled look—why’d he ask such a random question?
Fang Jing felt a growing wave of suspicion.
Come to think of it—just how old was his teacher, Kume Nansho? He looked 40… no, even 30-something. But judging from Sakomizu’s master being in his fifties… Kume should logically be older than that. Yet you’d never know based on appearance alone.