Ye Zhen pressed forward step by step, showing no mercy to Ma Yuanwu.
At first, Ma Yuanwu had no intention of tangling with Ye Zhen. He had ambushed Ye Zhen late at night, but now the tables had turned, and Ye Zhen was chasing after him, hurling insults. Even with his thick skin, Ma Yuanwu started to feel ashamed.
However, under Ye Zhen's pursuit, Ma Yuanwu suffered repeated setbacks, and his face gradually couldn't bear it.
Especially in the middle of the night, when over three hundred servant disciples of Hundred Pine Peak, who had been sleeping soundly, were startled awake by the noise. They all craned their necks to watch the drama unfold. Now, being chased and beaten by Ye Zhen, and given his status as the foremost amongst the servant disciples of Hundred Pine Peak, his dignity was at stake.
"Ye Zhen, don't think I am afraid of you!" Ma Yuanwu roared annoyedly after parrying a move, under the watchful eyes of the crowd.
"Big Senior Brother, if we start this, we must finish it. Let's take him down here and now!" Yug Ping, who had been injured, was still shouting nonstop.
"Not afraid? Then bring it on!"
Ye Zhen, who had been chasing after Ma Yuanwu, suddenly stopped and stood ready to fight, as if to say, if you're not afraid, come and fight. Otherwise, it means you are afraid.
Ma Yuanwu's expression also became grave. He knew very well that under the watchful eyes of everyone, if he did not fight that night, he would never be able to lift his head at Hundred Pine Peak again.
"Fine, if you're courting death, don't blame me for obliging!" Ma Yuanwu roared furiously, swinging his fists to create a huge gust, charging towards Ye Zhen, who stood ready.
Black Bear Leaves Cave!
"Hmph, good timing!"
Ye Zhen didn't dodge or avoid, altering his fist movement to meet the attack with his own Black Bear Leaves Cave.
Before the breakthrough, Ye Zhen had been able to hold his own against Ma Yuanwu. Now that Ye Zhen had made a breakthrough, why not face him head-to-head?
Seeing Ye Zhen counter with the exact same fist movement, Ma Yuanwu couldn't help but feel intimidated. The scene of his high ground sneak attack not gaining any advantage earlier flashed before his eyes.
"Bang!"
In an instant, Ma Yuanwu, who had met Ye Zhen's force with his own, felt like he'd been struck by lightning. The immense force from the fist sent his body involuntarily flying backward.
The next moment, his entire body was kicked into the air by Ye Zhen, who had seized the initiative, spewing out a mouthful of blood in mid-air.
Over three hundred servant disciples, some shirtless and others half-dressed, watched, momentarily stunned, then looked at Ye Zhen with newfound respect.
"Impossible, you can't possibly defeat me! Even if you've had a breakthrough, you're only in the early stage of the Third Stage of Blood Training, and I... I'm at the peak!"
After breaking through to the Third Stage Blood Qi Condensing Pearl, one's martial strength could surge destructively, but this surge was based on one's original strength.
Ma Yuanwu's strength was just over three thousand jins. After the Blood Qi Condensing Bead exploded, his strength could reach just over four thousand jins. Ye Zhen's strength, however, had reached four thousand jins at the Peak of the Second Stage of Blood Training due to the tempering by the Mirage Dragon Pearl.
At the peak of his explosion, that would be close to five thousand jins of strength. With such a massive disparity in strength, it was no wonder that Ma Yuanwu was defeated.
Ye Zhen didn't pay any attention to Ma Yuanwu's clamor, instead, he went to rescue Sha Fei first.
The condition of Sha Fei, however, enraged Ye Zhen. Sha Fei was covered in countless wounds, having clearly been brutally beaten by Ma Yuanwu and his gang, and even suffering internal injuries.
"Ye Zhen, they broke into the house in the dead of night intending to cripple you. When they didn't find you, they forced and battered me for your whereabouts," said Sha Fei. "Luckily, you weren't there, or else these bastards would have succeeded. By the way, where did you go so late at night?"
"I couldn't sleep, just went out for a walk."
Ye Zhen replied casually, his face now emanating a chilling hostility.
He had heard of servant disciples attacking each other in the dead of night to cause severe injuries and disqualify each other from being the seed candidate, but he had never imagined it would happen to him.
Thinking about it, Ye Zhen felt a chill of retrospection.
Had he been asleep in his room when Ma Yuanwu and his men burst in, no matter how capable he was, being suddenly attacked while asleep, he would probably have fallen victim to their plot. One misstep, and his whole life could have been ruined by that scoundrel Ma Yuanwu.
The incident served as a stark warning to Ye Zhen.
His expression turning icy, Ye Zhen walked over to the injured Ma Yuanwu lying on the ground, his face brimming with a murderous aura.
"What... what... what are you going to do?"
"What am I going to do?"
As the corner of his mouth twisted into a cruel smile revealing flashing white teeth, Ye Zhen lifted his foot and mindlessly stomped down on Ma Yuanwu.
"That's for stealing the thing my mother gave me!"
"That's for ambushing me!"
.....
The sounds of bones fracturing, cracking, people spitting blood, and screams of agony resounded ceaselessly.
Since Ma Yuanwu wanted to cripple Ye Zhen, Ye Zhen certainly wasn't going to let him off easily. It was a taboo for disciples of the Chores Peak to kill someone, but causing injuries or disabilities was quite common.
After dealing with Ma Yuanwu, Ye Zhen's gaze turned to Yug Ping and Chen An standing beside him, their legs trembling with fear. Since they dared to attack him in the dead of night, he definitely couldn't let them go.
"What about you two, are you coming at me, or should I make a move?" Ye Zhen asked Yug Ping and Chen An with a threatening smile.
Before Ye Zhen could act, Yug Ping, who had previously been so brash, witnessed Ma Yuanwu's plight and, unable to control himself, dropped to his knees, pleading, "Senior Brother Ye, spare my life, it wasn't me, it wasn't me, it was all Wu Jian's idea, he instigated us!"
"Wu Jian?" Ye Zhen's expression turned cold once again.
After a short while, within the eastern cottages of Hundred Pine Peak, several blood-curdling screams rang out, startling countless night owls in the mountains.
The night remained normal, yet no one knew that the fate of several people on Hundred Pine Peak had been quietly altered.
"Dang!"
The next morning at dawn, the gong sounded by Manager Zhao, the steward in charge of the Chores Peak, rang out, gathering all the servant disciples. With half-closed eyes, Manager Zhao spoke, "Does anyone today wish to challenge Ma Yuanwu and seize the seed candidate spot... Eh, where's Ma Yuanwu?" he asked, startled.
"Manager Zhao, I am here! You must stand up for me!" The cry of Ma Yuanwu, wrapped up like a mummy, came from behind a crowd of servant disciples.
Seeing Ma Yuanwu's pale face and his injuries, Manager Zhao was both shocked and angry. Ma Yuanwu was his seed candidate from Hundred Pine Peak, and he relied on Ma Yuanwu to earn some prestige. What had happened to him now?
Upon Manager Zhao's inquiry, numerous servant disciples replied, particularly those who had been frequently bullied by Ma Yuanwu. They eagerly embellished the recounting of the previous night's events.
A flush of anger crossed Manager Zhao's face, and a glimmer of joy lit up Ma Yuanwu's, accompanied by a flicker of anticipation. However, Manager Zhao's next words shattered the last vestiges of hope in Ma Yuanwu's eyes.
"What? Ma Yuanwu, Yug Ping, and Chen An all ambushed Ye Zhen and were defeated?"
"Ma Yuanwu was defeated by a single punch from Ye Zhen?"
"Ye Zhen, is what they're saying true?" Manager Zhao urgently looked at Ye Zhen.
Ye Zhen nodded with some confusion, not quite understanding what Manager Zhao was getting at.
"Hahahaha...."
Seeing Ye Zhen nod, Manager Zhao burst into laughter.
"Good, good, good! If you can defeat Ma Yuanwu with a single punch, then you have a great chance of succeeding in Fish-Dragon Path. If our Hundred Pine Peak can produce a servant disciple who successfully passes the Fish-Dragon Path this year, our annual evaluation will surely rate highly, and at the very least, the grade of our Chores Peak will increase by a small degree!"
After laughing to himself, Manager Zhao could not help but laugh heartily again, "If the grade of Chores Peak increases by a small degree, the number of servant disciples under my jurisdiction will increase by at least a hundred... Hahahaha..."
As he laughed, Manager Zhao returned to his office, and before he entered, he turned back and called out to Ye Zhen, "Ye Zhen, I'll give you a couple of days off for medical leave, no need to perform your servant duties. Use this time to prepare fully in hopes of passing the Fish-Dragon Path."
Upon hearing this, Ye Zhen was overjoyed, and the many servant disciples revealed looks of envy, while Ma Yuanwu's face grew ashen.
But this wasn't the end of it.
With one foot inside the door, Manager Zhao's expression turned stern, and he barked at Ma Yuanwu, "Ma Yuanwu, Wuy Jian, though you're injured, this doesn't exempt you from your servant duties. Figure it out on your own!"
After speaking, Manager Zhao glanced at Ye Zhen, his eyes flashing with an unclear smile.
Ye Zhen understood that this was Manager Zhao trying to curry favor with him.
"From now on, the seed candidate of our peak will be replaced by Ye Zhen. Is there anyone who wishes to challenge him?"
"No? Then what are you standing around for? Don't you have duties to perform?"
Following Manager Zhao's shout, the servant disciples scattered, leaving Ma Yuanwu, riddled with injuries, standing there forlornly; so pitiful was he that not a single person remained to help him.
After a while, Ma Yuanwu struggled back to his own room, his face twisted with resentment, "Ye Zhen, just you wait for me!"
***********
PS: Just two places away from rising on the new book list. Brothers, please lend Old Pig a helping hand!
Won't you?
Old Pig will start rolling on the ground ::>_<::