Pang Hei Shan's fist never reached me. Instead, a foot came out of nowhere and kicked his arm, deflecting his punch to the side.
"Who?!" Pang Hei Shan roared as he was sent skidding back a couple of paces, smoke rising from his arm. "How dare you?!"
Zhang Ping staggered back, a bruise developing on his foot as a result of trying to kick Pang Hei Shan's punch aside. His leg trembled from the stinging pain and it was all he could to keep himself standing on both legs. However, he stood strong and grinned boldly.
"Pang Hei Shan, do you think this is your territory? You can't do whatever you want."
"That's right." Liu Yu Feng stood beside Zhang Ping, backing him up. "Don't you think you're going overboard here?"
"You dogs! Who do you think you are?"
"Shouldn't that question be directed at you?" Mu Zi Xing snapped, jabbing a finger at him. Zhang Ping and Liu Yu Feng blocked her because they knew Pang Hei Shan might attack her out of rage. Even without their intervention, Si Nan was already throwing himself bodily in front of his beloved childhood friend. But he didn't silence her because he agreed with her.
"Zhang Ping, are you all right?" Liu Yu Feng asked, concerned. She had noticed that he was slightly off balance because of his injured leg. He raised a hand and forced a smile to assure her.
"Yeah, it's nothing. My foot is just a little numb."
"Even your bosses wouldn't dare mess with me," Pang Hei Shan sneered. "Yet you two idiots dare to stick your noses in my business? Seems like you're both tired of living."
"Have you forgotten the school rules?" Zhang Ping retorted, a bead of perspiration running down his pale face. "Private fights are not allowed on school grounds."
Wait, what? Weren't you and Liu Yu Feng fighting just a few minutes ago? Then again, I guess in their case it was more of a lovers' squabble than an actual fight…
"Besides, this newcomer is already in our Blue Gang!" Zhang Ping pointed at me. I couldn't help but gape at him in exasperation. When the hell did I join his gang?!
"No, he is a member of our Red Gang!" Liu Yu Feng objected. Behind her, Mu Zi Xing giggled.
"Shu Cong is so popular!"
Pang Hei Shan's group burst into laughter. Their leader, in particular, threw his head back and guffawed. "Are the both of you here to embarrass yourself? Ha ha ha!"
What was so funny? I could hardly follow the train of conversation. I guess he must be wondering why the two vice-leaders were fighting over a "trash" like me.
Pang Hei Shan approached them with a sneer.
"After the disappearance of your bosses – the two leaders of the Red and Blue Gangs – my Shadow Gang is the most powerful faction in Seven Stars Academy!"
"That remains to be seen," Zhang Ping retorted. "Once boss returns…"
"Hah! How long has your boss been in isolation training for? A few months now? I'm afraid he screwed up his cultivation and has already died! Ha ha ha ha!"
"You!" Zhang Ping flared up. "Take that back!"
"Never!" Laughing hysterically, Pang Hei Shan threw a punch at Zhang Ping before the latter could defend himself. The vice-leader of the Blue Gang tried to defend himself, but he knew he wouldn't be able to block his opponent's fist in time.
Fortunately, I moved in and smacked Pang Hei Shan's arm to the side, deflecting his punch. Zhang Ping managed to retreat safely, but now Pang Hei Shan's murderous attention was turned to me.
"Are you really that eager to die?" he snarled at me. I pushed my glasses up in reply.
"What makes you think I'm trying to die?"
At the back, the Blue and Red Gang members were murmuring amongst themselves in surprise, unable to believe what they had just witnessed.
"Isn't Pang Hei Shan at the fourth level of Heaven realm? How did his attack get deflected by a newcomer who is only at the Earth realm?"
"Didn't you hear what Zhang Ping said?" I asked, swatting Pang Hei Shan's hand away. "Private fights are not allowed in Seven Stars University."
"You…! Who cares!? I will kill you…!"
"So if you want to fight, let's make it an official duel. That's allowed by the rules, right?"
"That's right." Si Nan nodded as he joined me. "As per regulations, if the challenger wins, he will be allowed to take the rank of the person he defeats."
"So if you win, you'll be ranked fourth on the Seven Stars list!" Mu Zi Xing said excitedly. Pang Hei Shan burst out laughing at that.
"You think this trash will win? Even though he's only at the Earth realm?!"
"Can't hurt to try," I replied with a shrug. "I don't have anything to lose anyway. As a newcomer, my rank is currently right at the bottom."
"Ha ha ha! What a fool!" Pang Hei Shan sneered. "Did you not know that these official duels are life and death? So if you die, you can only blame yourself for being weak!"
"Yeah, you should be careful," Liu Yu Feng warned me. "The rules allow for killing in an official duel. One's life or death is entirely one's responsibility. Combatants are allowed to use any weapons they possess. There are no safety measures, no prohibition against killing, mauling and crippling. Unless you surrender, the opponent can inflict however damage necessary to defeat you."
But there were still rules and restrictions, of course. No drugs, steroids or doping allowed. Nobody was allowed to interfere in the two persons' duel, no outside assistance or interference allowed. And of course, you weren't allowed to touch your opponent if he surrendered.
"All right, let's arrange the duel. Will today work?"
"Heh, you're so impatient to die today. I'll fulfil your desire then! Today works for me! I'll wait for your challenge then!"
"Yeah." I glanced at Si Nan, who nodded. He and Mu Zi Xing would help me with the procedures. They were already taking out their smartphones to apply for the duel, and asking for my personal information where relevant.
"Just so you know, it costs credits to issue a challenge."
In other words, the students couldn't just challenge an opponent as many times as they wanted. They were limited by the credits they owned. I realized that I might not have any credits because I was a new student.
"Oh, all students receive a bit of credits when they first enroll," Si Nan assured me when I raised that point. "You have enough to issue a single challenge."
"That's good. And how do we earn credits?"
"You will earn credits through winning duels. That's why Pang Hei Shan will accept – it's basically making easy money, or so he thinks anyway. You also get credits by completing tasks that are put on the electronic bulletin board in the school website. Missions and the like."
"Credits are like an in-school currency," Mu Zi Xing added. "They can be used to purchase resources in school. Martial arts manuals, equipment, weapons, gear, medicine, food and other necessities."
I noticed nobody said spirit pills or elixirs. Of course. No such easy or convenient way to get stronger existed in reality. As if gaining strength was as simple as popping a spirit pill into one's mouth. If that was the case, nobody would bother training, they would invest all efforts into making spirit pills.
"So the more credits you have, the better."
"That's right."
"You will also take the rank of the person you defeat," Si Nan said again. "But of course, if the person you challenged refuses, he will not be able to protect his rank for long. You need to consistently fight a set number of matches to preserve your rank. But you probably don't have to worry about that now."
"All right then." I took a deep breath and followed them to the coliseum. "Then I had best not screw up this challenge or I will pretty much fucked."
It didn't take more than five minutes for Pang Hei Shan to accept the challenge. We then waited for his gang to saunter into the coliseum that Si Nan and Mu Zi Xing escorted me to. I saw that the Red and Blue factions had also arrived to watch. Evidently these official duels were public affairs, but it also made sense in a way.
What better way to keep track of rivals and finding out about their techniques, skills and abilities than to watch them in actual combat?
"You really challenged me!" Pang Hei Shan laughed when he hopped onto the stage. He cracked his knuckles. "I hope you have your will ready!"
A teacher arrived, presumably to serve as a referee. He pushed up his round-rimmed glasses as he looked from Pang Hei Shan to me.
"I'm Su Yan," he introduced himself. "I'll be the referee for this match. Remember the rules, do not bring dishonor to yourself. No underhanded tricks, no steroids or doping. If you agree to these conditions, then you may begin the match whenever you're ready."
"I understand. I agree."
"So do I." Pang Hei Shan grinned and rubbed his hands together. "Then let's begin right away!"
He launched himself at me almost immediately, throwing a powerful punch in my direction. With Heavenly Flow and Earthly Paths, I managed to evade his strike. His follow-up punch blew a hole in the ground, but I deftly jumped to the side.
Snarling, Pang Hei Shan kicked at my head, but I ducked under his sweeping leg before retaliating with a palm strike. Pang Hei Shan spun about before throwing a barrage of punches that forced me onto the back foot, but I deflected each and every one of them. Inundating myself into the ferocious currents of his raging qi, I was able to move along with the flow and halt his attacks before he finished executing them completely.
Many a punch or kick was stopped before they could be executed, with my insertion of a fist or foot there to disrupt his rhythm and throw him off balance.
Even so, Pang Hei Shan remained a formidable opponent. His cultivation realm was a lot higher than mine, and he possessed far more qi than I did. It felt as if I was fighting a mountain. I had to deflect his strike and then swept him past me, making use of his momentum to throw him off balance. It also helped that I threw out a leg to trip him.
"You…!"
Pang Hei Shan stumbled forward, but he lashed out with a kick in hopes of landing a solid hit in. I managed to avoid his foot and withdraw, but the shockwaves buffeted me. Wiping the blood from my mouth, I righted myself and prepared for the next onslaught.
My opponent had already recovered and he was throwing himself at me, his palms and fists resembling an avalanche. Black qi shrouded his attacks like ravenous serpents, scorching my skin and leaving abrasions as his strikes grazed me. I did my best to evade and deflect whatever attacks I could, but my arms and legs were growing number as I parried the increasingly ferocious strikes.
"You only know how to dodge!" Pang Hei Shan sneered. "You're just a coward!"
He threw a fist at my face again, but I cocked my head to the side and allowed his punch to graze my cheek, feeling a trickle of blood across it. I grimly soldiered on, smacking aside his next punch before bringing up a knee to parry his kick.
The tremendous impact sent me hurtling several meters back. Coughing, I landed on the ground and skidded a couple of paces, leaving trails of broken concrete on the ground. My legs shook, numb from the violent vibrations that resulted from the attack.
"You can't hold out for much longer, can you?" Pang Hei Shan mocked me. "But don't you dare surrender just yet! I have yet to have my fill of fun!"
He lunged at me, but I disappeared. His fist rammed through a shimmering figure, which dissipated. His eyes narrowed and he turned around, catching sight of me reappearing a few meters away.
"An afterimage?"
Yeah, I had used Tui. Good thing Cheng Long taught me footwork techniques. They were helping me out a lot.
"That speed and evasive ability of yours is really getting on my nerves!" Pang Hei Shan swore. Then he grinned. "Not that it matters. I'll overwhelm your agility with volume of fire!"
Stomping his feet on the ground, Pang Hei Shan conjured dozens of black orbs, each as dense and heavy as balls of iron, and mercilessly hurled them at me.