Chapter Eighty-Seven: Putting on an Act, Plotting for Greater Gains

"Rest assured, Young Master. So long as I make a move, I will snap that live-in son-in-law’s limbs, destroy his manhood, and make him a eunuch for the rest of his life," said the towering man named Li Qingshan with grim certainty. His skin was bronze-dark, his muscles knotted and savage, like some ancient beast.

Three sticks of incense later.

The appointed hour arrived, and Su Yang and the Zhou family’s enforcer, Li Qingshan, stepped onto the arena one after the other. The crowd around them held its breath, and the atmosphere grew taut to the breaking point.

Zhang Qingshi sat beneath the platform, one hand clutching the hem of her garment, silently praying for Su Yang’s safety.

In the shadows, a figure in black, wearing a bamboo hat, was also watching the arena. From the shape of the figure, it seemed to be a beautiful woman.

Zhou Bao rose from his chair, nervously fixing his gaze on the match. This concerned the great matter of the fairy in his heart; there must be no mistake.

...

"Zhou Bao, have you brought the title deeds?" Su Yang asked from the arena, looking down at him.

"Bring them up."

Zhou Bao had already made preparations. With a wave of his hand, the household servants immediately carried up one wooden box after another and placed them on the table at the side of the arena, then opened the lids.

Inside were valuable medicinal herbs and a bundle of title deeds: the deeds to more than twenty vacant residences around the Su family estate.

At the sight of them, a look of excitement and delight spread across Su Yang’s face.

These would all soon be in his pocket.

"Stop wasting time. Begin at once," Zhou Bao said, already unable to wait to see Su Yang begging in pain, his limbs shattered.

If he had not wanted to step on your corpse and tell Zhang Qingshi that you were nothing but a worthless fool, your family would already have been wiped out.

"I am Li Qingshan, an eighth-rank fighter."

"Please instruct me."

Li Qingshan let out a low roar like a beast’s bellow and charged at Su Yang with a massive hammer in hand. With every step he took, dust surged up from the ground.

Whether it was Zhou Bao or Zhang Qingshi, whether servants or maids, everyone watching was tense beyond measure. The black-clad figure in hiding, however, did not seem especially worried. Instead, it fixed its gaze on Zhou Bao and the seventh-rank guard standing beside him.

Whoosh!

As the distance to Su Yang shrank, Li Qingshan swung his heavy hammer with all his might. It crashed down toward Su Yang, even drawing sharp cracks of sonic thunder through the air.

Only when the hammer closed in did Su Yang dodge. He then drove a fist straight into his opponent. The power of Savage Bull Long Fist was still terrifying; Li Qingshan was blasted backward several steps by the blow.

"Not bad, boy. I didn’t expect you to have a few tricks."

Seeing his attack so easily deflected, and suffering a slight disadvantage instead, Li Qingshan’s fighting spirit was stirred at once. He raised the giant hammer in his hand and smashed at Su Yang again, his footing steady.

The crowd’s nerves were drawn taut.

Yet many of the Su family’s martial servants and maids knew Su Yang was a seventh-rank fighter, so they felt no concern at all.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Muffled impacts rang out one after another as the two fought back and forth, fiercely and without restraint, every blow landing on flesh. Sweat flew across the arena, and Su Yang appeared to be pressed entirely onto the defensive by Li Qingshan.

At a glance, it was easy to tell who was stronger and who was weaker.

"Young Master, Su Yang is no match for Li Qingshan. He probably won’t hold out much longer," said the steward beside Zhou Bao while watching the battle.

"I never expected Su Yang to last this long against Li Qingshan. If not for Li Qingshan being here as an eighth-rank fighter, this would have been rather troublesome."

"I only hope he can be taken down within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, with his limbs broken. I can already imagine the look of disappointment on Miss Qingshi’s face."

Zhou Bao said eagerly, "Good. Very good."

"Young Master, rest assured. Miss Qingshi will surely become a daughter-in-law of the Zhou family. Once this is over, we can ask Master to concern himself with your lifelong marriage."

"Well said. Miss Qingshi will surely become my woman, Zhou Bao’s woman. Aside from me, no one in this world is worthy of a fairy like her..."

Zhou Bao gazed at Zhang Qingshi in a daze.

If not for the teacher behind Zhang Qingshi, he would have already used his methods to take her down and throw her onto the bed at his mercy.

...

"Die!"

On the arena, Li Qingshan gave a thunderous roar and brought the iron hammer crashing down on Su Yang’s chest. A tremendous force erupted, sending Su Yang flying backward through the air.

He finally struck the ground with a heavy crash, sending dust billowing everywhere.

"Husband...!"

Zhang Qingshi went pale with fright at once. She sprang up from her chair, her beautiful eyes full of anxiety and worry, already ready to rush onto the arena and save her husband.

"Good, good... Look, that kid is finished...!" Zhou Bao was overjoyed at the sight. He seized the steward beside him in excitement and pointed at Su Yang, who lay injured on the ground.

"Haha... Some worthless scholar. In front of me, Li Qingshan, he’s nothing but a piece of trash. He can’t even beat my eighth-rank servant. If he met the seventh-rank fighter under Young Master Zhou Bao, he wouldn’t even have a chance to strike back!"

"In this chaotic world, without strength, one is nothing but a lamb to slaughter. One can only watch helplessly as one’s woman is bullied and defiled by others."

Li Qingshan tossed aside the hammer in his hand and rushed toward Su Yang, eager to see Su Yang’s limbs broken and his manhood ruined, eager to complete the task his young master had given him.

Below the arena, Zhou Bao shouted his approval loudly. Li Qingshan was truly sensible; once they returned, he would certainly be rewarded handsomely.

Bang!

But just as Li Qingshan reached Su Yang, a dull thud rang out. The burly Li Qingshan was sent flying backward at once, and a mouthful of old blood sprayed from his mouth in midair.

Su Yang’s momentum did not slow. He rushed forward, seized Li Qingshan by the ankle, hauled him back, and smashed him onto the ground. Then his foot, filled with terrifying blood and qi power, came down hard.

Li Qingshan had not even understood what had happened before a searing agony tore through his chest. His chest bones shattered and drove into his heart, and he could not suppress another spray of blood before dying on the spot.

"Many thanks for that hammer strike, Brother Li. It helped me break through to the seventh rank."

Su Yang stood with one foot on Li Qingshan’s body and laughed toward the sky. "From this day on, I, Su Yang, am a seventh-rank fighter."

Pfft!

Zhou Bao, unable to contain the surge of rage in his chest, suddenly vomited a mouthful of old blood. He stared fixedly at Su Yang, eyes wide and body trembling violently, wishing he could tear Su Yang into a thousand pieces right then and there.

The Zhou family servants who had come with him were equally stunned, staring blankly at Su Yang on the arena, hardly able to believe that any of this was real.

"Th-this... he broke through in the middle of the fight?"

"How is that possible?"

"The Su family’s master... what a prodigy."

"To reach the seventh rank during battle... unbelievable."

...

"Husband won...!"

The heavy stone in Zhang Qingshi’s heart beneath the arena finally fell away, and she could not help but let out a long breath of relief.

Meanwhile, Su Yang stepped down from the arena. Acting was truly exhausting, but fortunately his talent was fairly good. This outcome should hit Zhou Bao even harder.

Look at that—he’d even been angered into vomiting blood.

The effect was excellent indeed.

If he had revealed his seventh-rank strength from the start, Zhou Bao would certainly have called a halt, and perhaps even taken action himself.

If that happened, how could Su Yang possibly cheat him a second time?

Postscript: five updates today. I’ve been slipping more and more these past two days, mostly because there have been a lot of matters at home. My apologies.