Chapter 163: Heart

A moment later, the door of the martial arts school opened. A middle-aged man of average height and somewhat thin build slowly walked out, under the surprised gazes of the crowd.

Jiang Tianzheng’s body still looked a bit weak, but his eyes were calm, his expression gentle, and he wore a peaceful smile on his lips. Looking at Styx and the others, it was as if he was seeing friends who had come from afar.

He waved his hand and made a gesture, saying, “Please.”

The surrounding crowd followed Styx and the other four into the martial arts school. They saw that a square fighting platform had been set up in the open space of the school. Jiang Tianzheng walked up step by step. A Fei, Big Mouth Huang, and others followed by his side, still trying to persuade him.

“Master, forget it. Your injuries haven’t fully healed yet. You really can’t fight.”

“Let me go instead, Master.”

“I’ll go, let me go!”

Jiang Tianzheng smiled and shook his head, walking firmly step by step toward the platform. “What kind of master sends his disciples out to take his place? Besides, since I am the head of this martial arts school and also the association president, no one is more suitable for this fight than me.”

His eyes were calm and steady, and he exuded a serene and distant aura, as if he had seen through life and death and the mortal world.

Below the platform, more than ten disciples including A Fei and Big Mouth Huang knelt on the ground, watching Jiang Tianzheng ascend the platform step by step with sad and angry expressions. The current atmosphere made them feel extremely oppressed.

In the crowd, the martial arts instructors and students from various schools, who had been noisy earlier, all fell silent. They looked at the lonely figure of Jiang Tianzheng on the platform with complicated expressions.

Suddenly, someone raised their head and started clapping. Then more and more people began to applaud and cheer, silently supporting Jiang Tianzheng, even though they knew how slim the chances of victory were in this match.

It seemed that only then did they remember that Jiang Tianzheng was the real president of the Martial Arts Association, and Zuo Zhicheng was only the vice president.

At the very back of the crowd, Qingyue Qiu’s elegant brows remained furrowed.

“Is there still no news from Haijing? Didn’t they send even one person?” There was an indescribable anger in Qingyue Qiu’s tone.

“Young lady, they are also very short-handed right now,” Tang Yuan glanced at Qingyue Qiu and stammered, “The leader has temporarily decided not to send anyone. He also gave orders that as long as the Crimson Sun Monk doesn’t go too far and doesn’t harm our interests, we should not conflict with them. Everything must be considered with the bigger picture in mind.”

“Nonsense,” Qingyue Qiu said coldly. “If we can’t even protect our own territory, what bigger picture is there? Those guys, afraid of conflict with the Dìyù Gate and afraid that I might grow too powerful, they delay everything just for their own comfort.

A bunch of useless people.”

“Young lady, don’t be impulsive,” Tang Xianghui said from the side. “The guys in Haijing are just waiting to see you make a fool of yourself. This time, the Crimson Sun Monk brought all five of his disciples, clearly determined to win. Even if Ghost Fist and Zuo Zhicheng joined forces with us, we probably still wouldn’t be a match for them.

You saw the old monk’s power yourself that day, young lady.”

Thinking of the Crimson Sun Monk’s display of power that day, Qingyue Qiu felt a deep sense of helplessness. The other’s Spirit Refining path was just one step away from achieving the Invisible Fire of the White Sun. In a direct confrontation, numerical advantage would be meaningless, and they might even be instantly killed.

Moreover, the five disciples led by White Asura were all formidable in their own right.

And once a fight broke out, regardless of the outcome, they would have to bear the responsibility of starting a conflict with the Dìyù Gate. Thinking about the attitude towards her from those at home now, her eyes could only reveal a hint of resignation.

Qingyue Qiu turned to Lin Ganghao beside her and asked, “Have the city defense forces arrived? And the Shanhu Army troops, are they here too?”

“They have all entered the city,” Lin Ganghao said nervously. “But I’m afraid they won’t be able to stop the Crimson Sun Monk. And are you sure, young lady, that they will start killing?”

“The people of the Dìyù Gate are all beasts. No beast refuses meat.” Qingyue Qiu’s words carried a sense of finality. “They are just toying with their prey now. Once they’ve had enough fun, they will definitely kill. When they start killing, we send in the troops. Even if we can’t keep the Crimson Sun Monk, we must at least take down a few of his disciples.”

This was Qingyue Qiu’s plan. Once the Crimson Sun Monk and his group started killing, she would immediately dispatch the troops to blockade them. Then, the blame for inadequate work or lightly starting a conflict could not be easily placed on her.

Meanwhile, at the edge of the platform, White Asura Styx looked around at the cheering, applauding crowd, then at the calm-faced Jiang Tianzheng on the stage, and suddenly smiled.

“Interesting.” Compared to Jiang Tianzheng’s slow ascent, he simply leaped and landed on the platform in one move.

He narrowed his eyes and looked at Jiang Tianzheng before him, saying, “Compared to those wastes, you do have some backbone. But your body probably won’t last long on this platform, will it?”

Jiang Tianzheng nodded. His injuries had indeed improved with the help of the Psychic Energy Fruit, but even at his peak, he was no match for White Asura, let alone now when he was still severely injured and not fully recovered.

“I can probably guess the outcome of fighting you, but in life, there are always some challenges one cannot avoid. As long as my Martial Arts can be passed on, then losing doesn’t matter.”

“Even if you die here?”

“Even if I die here.”

Styx scoffed. “Then go die!”

In the next moment, in Jiang Tianzheng’s eyes, Styx’s figure instantly became a blur. This was because the other’s speed was too fast, exceeding the limit of his visual perception.

However, facing this, Jiang Tianzheng’s face showed no panic. Instead, he raised his hand and lightly placed his arm on Styx’s fist.

Styx felt as if his punch had hit a ball of cotton, with no force behind it at all.

‘What kind of weird technique is this?’

Styx’s fist trembled, and the muscles all over his body made a hoarse grating sound. His other hand changed forms in an instant, displaying over a dozen hand seals in a flash, like a blooming lotus, finally striking toward Jiang Tianzheng’s chest.

With this move, the air seemed to carry a strong smell of blood, and an intense killing intent rushed forward.

But Jiang Tianzheng bent his body, stepped back, and raised his hand. At the critical moment, he actually caught Styx’s move. From beginning to end, it was as if he were a piece of paper, moving backward along with Styx’s force. Styx felt his punch was like hitting a rubber ball—the ball bounces away, but itself doesn’t bear the force.

With a flash, Styx retreated to a spot five meters away. He saw Jiang Tianzheng assume a strange stance, full of a stable aura, as if he weren’t in a life-and-death struggle on the platform but rather sipping tea or playing chess.

In Jiang Tianzheng’s heart at this moment, a great sense of peace rose. His mind was like a calm lake, and Styx’s aura was like a stone thrown into the lake. Every trace of hostility, every movement, was clearly reflected in his heart.

Not only Styx, but even the emotions of the others around—their anger, anxiety, disdain, and worry—were all mirrored in his heart’s lake.