Chapter 43: The Challenge

Li Si slowly walked onto the training ground. He looked at the people standing crookedly on the training ground, and a hint of contempt crossed his face. He pointed directly at Jiang Tianzheng, then casually cupped his hands and said, “Li Si of the Sea Dragon Gang. I have long heard of the famous Xinlu Divine Fist. Ten days from now, we sign a death waiver. On the arena at the pier, we fight to the death. Do you dare?”

The students nearby heard Li Si’s name, and their faces turned extremely ugly. They stepped back in fear.

Zuo Zhicheng’s left pupil slightly contracted. His Infrared Vision passed through his eyepatch and scanned Li Si’s body. From the soles of his feet to his calves, the other was completely covered by layers of pink Innate Primordial Breath, with a few threads of purple emerging, making up only about ten percent.

Based on the Spiritual Power and radiation emitted by Li Si, his strength was above Liang Wu and Qiao Zhen, but far below Jiang Tianzheng. Whether it was the coverage of his Innate Primordial Breath or its unit strength, he was no match for Jiang Tianzheng. If they fought, he probably wouldn’t be Jiang Tianzheng’s opponent.

But Zuo Zhicheng had Infrared Vision, which allowed him to see the Spiritual Power emitted by the human body and the presence of Innate Primordial Breath. Ordinary people with normal eyes could not see such things. In their hearts, the notorious Sea Dragon Gang was more feared.

Jiang Qing said worriedly beside him, “Father…”

Jiang Tianzheng raised his hand to stop her from continuing. He turned to Li Si and said, “If Fourth Master wants to exchange martial arts pointers, I am naturally willing. But I don’t think it’s necessary to fight to the death, is it?”

“Are you scared?” Li Si let out a wild laugh. The black dragon on his face twisted like a centipede, revealing a hint of ferocity. “Jiang Tianzheng, they say your kung fu is the best in Xinlu, but I don’t agree. Martial arts are proven through fighting, not by playing house like you do here every day.”

“I don’t know if Third Brother’s death has anything to do with you, but I just want to beat you to death in the arena. I’ll let everyone know that our Sea Dragon Gang is not to be messed with by anyone.”

Hearing this, Jiang Tianzheng’s face turned cold. “Fourth Master, there must be some misunderstanding here…”

“A misunderstanding? Your mother’s misunderstanding…” Li Si waved his hand. “If you don’t show up, don’t even think about keeping this martial arts school open.”

“Move! Drive them all away.”

At Li Si’s command, the Sea Dragon Gang members around them began rushing forward, intending to drive away all the students of the martial arts school.

“Get out, get out! Don’t come to this martial arts school to learn kung fu anymore.”

“What are you looking at? All of you, disperse! This martial arts school is going under.”

Driven and threatened by the Sea Dragon Gang members, many of the older students were indeed scared away by the fierce-looking gang members.

Jiang Qing and Zuo Zhicheng stepped forward to intercept the Sea Dragon Gang members. As the two sides pushed and shoved, Li Si sneered. His figure flashed, and he directly kicked toward Zuo Zhicheng. But it seemed like a coincidence—Zuo Zhicheng happened to be shoved by a gang member, causing him to fall backward and dodge the kick.

Jiang Qing was startled. She thought Zuo Zhicheng was just an ordinary person who had practiced martial arts for a few days. How could he be Li Si’s opponent? She immediately rushed forward and placed herself between Li Si and Zuo Zhicheng. She turned to Zuo Zhicheng and asked, “Are you okay?”

Zuo Zhicheng said, “I’m fine.”

“Outrageous!” A flash of anger crossed Jiang Tianzheng’s face. His fists, like two thunderbolts, shot toward Li Si, carrying the sound of wind and thunder.

But the moment he moved, Li Si moved too. His legs, twisting and flickering like a venomous snake, aimed at Jiang Tianzheng’s shoulders. With a series of loud bangs, the two exchanged several blows with their legs and fists in an instant, then each stepped back.

Li Si shook his foot to dispel the numbness. Although he was at a disadvantage in this exchange, a fierce grin still appeared on his face. “Good, worthy of the title Xinlu Divine Fist. Those were some nice punches.”

“Let’s go, boys.”

Just before leaving, Li Si turned his head and said, “Jiang Tianzheng, if I don’t see you in the arena ten days from now, don’t even think about keeping this martial arts school open.”

After saying this, he glared fiercely at Zuo Zhicheng. “Kid, if you have any guts, don’t hide behind a woman.”

With these words, the Sea Dragon Gang members left arrogantly. Only Jiang Tianzheng, with a grim expression, remained. Several students also silently left, fearing the Sea Dragon Gang’s threats and retaliation.

Zuo Zhicheng hadn’t expected that after he killed Liang Wu, the Sea Dragon Gang would mistakenly think Jiang Tianzheng was responsible. But after thinking about it, it made sense. First, in Xinlu City, the first person people thought of with such courage and strength was Jiang Tianzheng.

Second, even if it wasn’t him, Jiang Tianzheng, who had enough prestige among the people and even dared to shelter others from the Sea Dragon Gang, must have always been a thorn in their side. This time, even if Jiang Tianzheng wasn’t the one who did it, for the Sea Dragon Gang, removing Jiang Tianzheng would make their reputation in Xinlu Port unmatched, and the impact of Liang Wu’s death would be completely erased.

But just this Li Si alone probably wouldn’t be able to defeat Jiang Tianzheng in the arena. The reason Jiang Tianzheng had reservations was that he could defeat one Li Si, but he couldn’t possibly defeat the entire Sea Dragon Gang.

As a public figure, his martial arts school, his daughter, and his students were his biggest weaknesses. They made him afraid to let go of everything and confront the Sea Dragon Gang head-on.

The remaining students were also full of worry. They didn’t even know who was stronger between Jiang Tianzheng and Li Si.

A Fei, the thin young man who had sparred with Jiang Qing earlier, said, “I heard Li Si was raised by wolves until he was five years old. Fan Hailong found him in a wolf den while out hunting.”

“I heard he killed someone when he was just seven.”

“His nickname ‘Mad Dog’ isn’t for nothing. In all of Xinlu Port, the only one who can control this mad dog is Fan Hailong.”

For the rest of the afternoon, the students were all worried. Many left early, seemingly afraid of being implicated.

A teenage boy brought two salted fish to the martial arts school. He looked around for a moment, then walked over to Jiang Tianzheng.

“Master Jiang, my mom said to give these to you.”

A faint smile appeared on Jiang Tianzheng’s gloomy face. “Thank you, Xiao Zhong. Please thank your mom for me.”

But the boy lowered his head in embarrassment. “Master Jiang, my mom said it’s too dangerous here. She told me not to practice here anymore.”

Jiang Tianzheng’s expression froze. He sighed and patted Xiao Zhong on the shoulder. “It’s okay. But when you’re alone at home, remember to practice. If you have any questions, you can always come ask me.”

A Fei suddenly rushed forward and slapped Xiao Zhong on the back of the head. “What are you doing? Leaving at a time like this—do you have any loyalty?”

“A Fei, it’s fine,” Jiang Tianzheng said. “Xiao Zhong, you can go.”

In just a few hours, a quarter of the students had left, most of them children and middle-aged adults. Big Mouth Huang and A Fei were hopping mad, repeatedly saying these people had no loyalty.

But deep down, they knew this was completely normal. Jiang Tianzheng’s martial arts school didn’t have strong binding power. Usually, it was maintained by Jiang Tianzheng’s prestige. But once the Sea Dragon Gang pressed down on them, many ordinary students naturally couldn’t stand against the gang just out of a sense of loyalty.

The only ones in the martial arts school who could really fight were Jiang Tianzheng, Jiang Qing, A Fei, and Big Mouth Huang. Compared to the Sea Dragon Gang’s thousands of members, if they acted without honor and pressed down directly, the martial arts school’s situation would be even more worrisome.

Thinking of this, Jiang Qing’s face grew even darker.

Big Mouth Huang patted Zuo Zhicheng on the shoulder and said, “You’re quite loyal, kid. I didn’t expect you to dare to stay after only a few days at the school.”

Zuo Zhicheng smiled but said nothing.