"Damn, I'm going to kill you!" Daniel roared explosively. He was completely mad and began to attack Han Shuo fiercely, as if he wanted to drag Han Shuo down to hell with him.
But Han Shuo was like a sturdy canoe in the middle of a raging ocean. He looked like he was going to capsize at any moment, but somehow, he was determinedly hanging on unharmed.
By now, everyone was fully aware of Han Shuo's dodging speed. No one thought that Han Shuo's previous dodges had now come to naught. Those who had been worried about him now wore carefree smiles. Even Jeff crossed his arms and laughed merrily as he looked over.
Finally, Daniel ran out of energy and stopped automatically, panting heavily. He glared angrily at Han Shuo, sweat dripping down like rain, and roared, "Kid, take one of my blows if you have the guts. What's the point of dodging?"
Daniel had only wanted to vent an angry complaint, even he didn't think Han Shuo would take a hit, but surprisingly, Han Shuo stopped his various bodybuilding poses and had the presence of mind to nod at Daniel, smiling, "No problem."
After this reaction, everyone reconsidered their opinion of Han Shuo, with many of them wearing puzzled expressions. Han Shuo's body was thin and small, so it was understandable that he was nimble and agile, but no one believed that the frail Han Shuo, with no martial aura, could hold his own in terms of strength against Daniel, an obvious muscle man.
Even Daniel himself was taken aback by Han Shuo's reaction. He recovered quickly and laughed wildly, "Good, good. You're the one who wants to die. You can't blame me!"
Daniel had always prided himself on his strong body and ferocious strength. It had been the basis of his deserved power. Although it hurt his pride, Danel could grudgingly accept that his speed and agility couldn't match Han Shuo's. Now that he had a chance to show off his awesome strength, it was up to him to see if he could wipe away the previous humiliation in one fell swoop. Daniel, of course, would take full advantage of the opportunity.
Gathering his strength, Daniel thrust his right first. The veins on his arm popped out as he increased his speed and strength to the limit and brought his fist down on Han Shuo.
Han Shuo narrowed his eyes slightly, a sinister coldness glittering in their depths. They were like those of a viper lying in wait for its prey, giving off a sense of poised cruelty.
As Daniel's fist flew towards his face, Han Shuo concentrated his magical yuan into his tightly clenched right fist and struck outward in a head-on collision course with Daniel's iron fist.
Pa
Daniel let out a devastating scream, like a pig being slaughtered, as a crunching sound rang out. His entire right arm dangled, and his right fist, which had been tightly clenched moments before, was now curled into a chicken claw, shaking madly with his right arm.
The severity in Han Shuo's eyes faded and a harmless smile appeared on his face. He pulled back the right fist he'd just put out and shook his right arm slightly, looking at his fist in shock. He muttered to himself, "Eh? I really took the hit?"
Daniel had put all his strength into that strike despite seeing Han Shuo's weak body. This was not just to teach Han Shuo a lesson, this was to give him a death sentence, but the current Han Shuo was no longer a timid coward who dumbly accepted everything that came his way. Though he might sometimes play dumb, he would obviously not be kind to someone who actually wanted to kill him.
The bizarre result of their two fists meeting had completely stunned the lobby full of knight students and human targets. Some of the nearby ordinary human targets now looked at Han Shuo with just a hint of fear in their eyes. The people next to him automatically shied away, leaving the prime spot for him.
All of the knight students were extremely excited and put their heads together in discussion. Some even suspected that Han Shuo was one of the rare barbarians on the continent, or an orc that had taken on human form.
Daniel was still moaning in pain as his right arm continued to shake. Everyone understood what the crack had just meant: Daniel's right arm was most likely destroyed and useless.
The old errand boy Jeff looked at Daniel regretfully and spoke soft words of comfort, "Daniel, I'm sorry that this has happened, but I'm afraid that your current physical condition has disqualified you from staying here.
Daniel involuntarily looked at Han Shuo with resentment when he heard Jeff's words. Then he brushed past Han Shuo and walked out of the lobby. Too many injuries had been caused by fights in the past, so some rules had been set. Daniel understood his place and his position. Add to that his clear understanding that he was no match for Han Shuo and his only option was to leave early.
When Daniel had left, Jeff let out a loud yell. "Alright, alright, everyone can continue your negotiations!"
Several knight students ran towards Han Shuo as soon as Jeff called out. All of them had their eyes fixed on him and shouted, "One gold coin!" "Two gold coins!" "Three gold coins!"
Under normal circumstances, an ordinary human target could be hired for ten to fifty silver coins, depending on their strength. Warriors with high potential could be hired for one to five gold coins, depending on their level.
The two or three gold coins these people were offering was an astonishingly high amount. Even though Han Shuo had just shown his strength, he still wasn't a warrior. A stronger warrior would have been able to use his combat aura to deal a single fatal blow to Daniel in the fight just now. Therefore, a price of two or three gold pieces was an unbelievable price for an ordinary human target.
Han Shuo had been ready to accept when the first student called out a gold coin, but when the subsequent price of two gold coins appeared, Han Shuo closed his mouth with an audible click and waited for higher offers.
Although he was not here for the money, Han Shuo fully understood that money was just as important in this world as it was on Earth. He would certainly not settle for just one gold coin when he could earn two.
The knight students all came up to Han Shuo and called out higher and higher bids. However, Han Shuo was still a commoner and not a warrior of superior strength. Therefore, most of them stopped after two or three gold coins.
"Five gold coins!"
Han Shuo's patience had won him a large sum of money. A handsome Sergeant Knight with golden curls, who looked kind and humble, offered a higher price than the others.
Most of them stopped bidding as soon as his offer of five gold coins appeared. They looked at him suspiciously, and one of them said, "Lawrence, a Sergeant Warrior is only worth five gold coins. Although this boy is a bit strong, he's definitely not worth five gold coins. Isn't your price a bit high?"
Lawrence smiled and said calmly, "It's a bit high, but we're a bit late and all the good warriors have been hired anyway. There aren't many left, so we can only choose him."
The others agreed as they pondered his words. Of all the human targets left in the lobby, Han Shuo's strength was most likely the highest. If the warriors who had been here earlier were still here, Han Shuo might not have been worth so much, but now that he was the strongest here, the knight students had no choice. They were also impatient to find a sparring partner, which would further increase Han Shuo's value.
"How does five gold coins sound to this amazing friend?" Lawrence smiled at Han Shuo and asked peacefully.
After looking around, Han Shuo realised that no one else was going to make a higher bid, so he assessed Lawrence as the strongest of those present. He nodded, "I accept!"
"My name is Lawrence, and here are five gold coins. I hope you can help me with our training later!" Lawrence walked over to Han Shuo and took out five gold coins from a colourful bag.
Han Shuo was a little emotional as he accepted the five gold coins. Bryan had been sold to the Babylon Academy of Magic and Force for five gold coins back then. Those five gold coins he'd earned by sparring with a knight student were enough to buy Bryan's life back! Five gold coins was a heavenly price for Han Shuo's current position; it was enough for his freedom!
"My name is Bryan, nice to meet you." Han Shuo smiled urbanly at his god of luck, Lawrence, after he'd put the gold coins into his own tattered money pouch.
"Come with me and let me see if you're worth these five gold coins!" Lawrence walked out determinedly, with Han Shuo following close behind.
The training grounds of the Martial Arts School were very similar to those of the Magic School. However, the corners were filled with obstacles instead of magical items. There was only Han Shuo and Lawrence in the large training area. The floor was tiled with rough, hard rock and the surface was extremely hard to the touch.
Lawrence changed into an athletic white training uniform after entering the venue. He disarmed his sword and laid it aside. Only then did he look at Han Shuo with some interest and smiled, "These five gold coins aren't easy to earn. Are you ready?"
Han Shuo inwardly thought that his body was worlds away from the original Bryan in toughness and strength, thanks to the forging from the magic yuan. Add to that the strange negating effect of the magic yuan against combat aura, and he wasn't that afraid of Lawrence damaging his body with combat aura. There wasn't much to prepare, so he nodded at Lawrence.
"Remember, you're sparring, so you can only dodge or block, not attack!" It seemed that Lawrence could tell that Han Shuo was new to this and gave a few reminders before he started. Only when he was sure that Han Shuo understood, did he slowly start walking towards him.
Just as Lawrence was about to reach Han Shuo's side, his speed suddenly increased like lightning. His empty left hand was like a sharp sword coming out of its sheath as it rushed towards Han Shuo's chest. His fingers were arranged together and pointed at Han Shuo.
Due to the training of his combat aura, a knight's strength and speed were completely beyond the realm of an ordinary burly commoner when he activated his combat aura. Lawrence's rushing hand was more than ten times the speed and strength of Claude's from earlier.
Han Shuo's eyes lost focus when he saw that Lawrence's hand was already close to his chest. His heart spasmed in fear as his magical yuan began to swirl rapidly. Han Shuo suddenly twisted his body and stepped aside.
Lawrence slashed the front of Han Shuo's shirt with a clear ripping sound. Han Shuo felt a cold breeze on his chest and saw his shirt fly away in the breeze. He was relieved that he had managed to dodge in time.
However, while Han Shuo was still inwardly celebrating, a great force surged into his lower abdomen. His body involuntarily staggered backwards as he sat down on the hard rock. His intestines and stomach felt like they'd been crushed together, and it hurt quite a bit.
He lifted his head to see that Lawrence's outstretched foot was still stuck in the air. The student looked at Han Shuo with a teasing look, "Bryan, I pulled my punches this time and didn't keep attacking. I won't be so nice next time."
Lawrence's kick had just been imbued with martial aura. However, Lawrence had only used his Fighting Aura to increase his body and attack speed, and had kept it contained within his body. He hadn't projected the martial aura into Han Shuo's body to cause further damage.
And that was why the magic yuan in Han Shuo's body hadn't reacted. His physical body had absorbed the collision, which had been filled with an insane amount of power. Even his enhanced body had taken damage.
He nodded, his eyebrows knitted tightly together. Han Shuo gritted his teeth against the pain in his stomach and rose from the ground. He looked at Lawrence coldly, "I'll be more careful from now on. Again!"