"Huh?" A lot of people cried out in surprise. The faces of the two old men instantly changed, and several others—including Liu Shaohong and Guo Yongnian—looked downright sour. There was a lot of whispering, and the way people looked at them got weird. Eight Directions City isn’t exactly tiny, but when the Grand Brothel gets booked out, everyone hears about it. There are no secrets in the martial arts world; after a few muttered words, the crowd’s gaze turned downright mocking.
"Oh, so you’re the ones who got stripped naked and tossed out onto the street by the Four Vagabond Knights!" Fang Lingji landed another blow, making everyone else’s looks even more bizarre.
"Nonsense! Utter rubbish!" The sinister old man couldn’t sit still anymore. He slammed the table, beard and hair bristling: "You brat, spouting lies and slandering my good name—I won’t let you off today!" With that, he leapt up and struck at Jack Young’s face with a palm. His sleeve billowed with energy, murderous intent radiating—he was truly furious, and going for the kill.
Right now, Eight Directions City was packed with famous sects from Jiangnan. If he lost face here, the whole martial arts world would know in a heartbeat. What bothered him wasn’t getting caught visiting prostitutes—it was losing so badly he got tossed out naked. The Four Vagabond Knights were known for their carefree style and never gave details, but over the past two days, the brothel girls had been gossiping—like how the previous challenger got flattened, stripped, and thrown out without a chance to fight back.
That was a major humiliation! Everyone swore that day: first, to get revenge on the Four Vagabond Knights, and second, anyone who dared spill the story would be dead meat!
So today, no one knew how this young guy found out, but with a lifetime’s reputation on the line, there was no way he’d let anyone walk away alive!
But in the next instant, Jack Young didn’t even change his posture—he just slapped out a palm. Bang! The two palms collided, but the result was nothing like anyone expected. Not only did Jack Young survive, but the old man’s face suddenly flushed red and then pale. He stumbled backward, landing on the ground and retreating two more steps before finally steadying himself. When he looked at Jack Young again, his face was full of shock.
It wasn’t just him—everyone who knew their stuff had the same look. The old man couldn’t help but cry out, "Impossible! How did you..."
"How did I hit the weakest point of your internal energy, right?" Jack Young shook out his hand. The old man’s skills weren’t even forty years deep, but Jack’s own power was still a bit lacking—hitting the weak spot still sent energy surging into his meridians. Plus, the chair he was sitting on snapped with a crack from that blow. Guess he still couldn’t quite pull off that full-on internal energy master act.
So Jack Young simply stood up, dispelling stray energy as he said, "Naturally, it’s because I’m very familiar with your Broken Stream Palm. Didn’t that palm technique I just used feel a bit familiar to you?"
"You..." The old man suddenly thought of something, his eyes going wide: "Don’t tell me..."
"No, it’s not just Broken Stream Palm." Master Leonard Liu suddenly spoke up, his eyes flashing coldly as he slowly stood up. "Tell me, where did you learn Iron Palm Blade Transformation?"
"Huh?" Even more people cried out. Iron Palm Blade Transformation was the signature move of the Iron Palm Sect’s Master Liu Tongxuan—so how could this young man know it?
"You should ask your dear son. He lost everything at the Grand Brothel—ended up handing over the family’s martial arts secrets." Jack Young pointed at each of them in turn: "Broken Stream Palm, Heart-Shaking Fist, Returning Wind Dancing Willow Saber, Long Song Rainbow Sword, Iron Palm Blade Transformation—you guys lost your moves, and now you’re scared people will talk?"
"What?!" This time, a particularly sharp voice rang out from the crowd—it was Yvonne Yuan, the Deadly Lady of the Hui Feng Blade Sect. She slammed the table and stood up: "How could our Returning Wind Dancing Willow Saber..." She suddenly turned and glared at Guo Yongnian: "You? Guo, you actually went to the brothel? And you gave away my sect’s technique?!"
Guo Yongnian was mortified. He’d been on edge these past few days, and now it was all out in the open. In the end, he could only force a topic change: "This isn’t the time for that. First... let’s get our sect’s martial arts back!"
"That’s right," Leon Liu Jr. pointed at Jack Young and shouted, "If you have our martial arts, then you must have our valuables too! Hand them over, or today—"
"Or what? If I don’t hand them over, what are you going to do?" Jack Young was done playing defense—he strode forward with confidence. "You still think I’m some pushover? Here’s the deal: if you want your stuff back, or want to kick me out, fine—let’s see if you’ve got what it takes!" Jack stared down Leon Liu Jr. "You’ve been yapping all this time—why don’t you come at me first?" He beckoned with a finger.
"Uh..." Leon Liu Jr. wanted to speak, but hesitated. The image of that old man getting smacked across the room was still fresh in his mind, and he wasn’t so sure anymore. Jack Young had seemed easygoing before, but now he was all sharp edges—those eyes of his felt like swords stabbing right through, making Leon’s confidence waver.
"Scared, huh? Hahaha, didn’t expect much from you anyway!" Jack Young brushed past him and turned to the other sect leaders. "Listen up—I don’t care how you split the loot or team up, but if you think you can strong-arm me, you’re dreaming. I’ll buy whatever herbs I want from the Herb Boutique—nobody gets to stop me. If you’ve got a problem, come over and try your luck!"
As Jack Young stood there tall and proud, everyone went quiet for a moment—then the place erupted. If things had just been targeting Master Liu Tongxuan’s group before, now Jack was challenging the interests of all the sects working together.
"Arrogant brat!" the snide old man shouted. "With so many martial artists here, you think you can act wild? We don’t need to play fair with someone like you—let’s all gang up and teach him a lesson!" The brothel sect leaders, led by Guo Yongnian, immediately joined forces, all in agreement. But some saw this as a chance to hit Master Liu Tongxuan’s group and tried to talk them down. For a moment, the fourth floor of the Drunken Moon Pavilion was total chaos.
Jack Young stood with his hands behind his back, glancing around with disdain. All these blabbermouths who wouldn’t actually fight bored him. Just seeing how they acted today, he knew none of them would ever reach true mastery. Want to break through to the next level? Not with this bunch!
This chapter isn’t over yet ^.^, click next page to keep reading!
Just then, footsteps sounded from the third floor—someone was coming up the stairs, slow and steady. But the power in those steps made the fourth floor quiet down; everyone could tell, this was a master, someone with over fifty years of cultivation.
"What’s all the fuss about?" A man in his fifties came up, glanced around, and gave a polite fist salute. "Sorry I’m late, folks—please forgive me."
Master Leonard Liu immediately got up, beaming: "Brother Sam, you’re finally here—I’ve been waiting ages!"
So it was Sam Lee, the Swallow King, who had arrived.
The other sect leaders with fifty years of cultivation exchanged serious looks. Master Leonard Liu had actually brought Sam Lee as backup—now, when it came time to split up the herbs, they’d probably have the upper hand. They still thought dividing the loot was a sure thing, no surprises. But soon, they’d realize they were wrong—this time at the Herb Boutique, they wouldn’t be able to monopolize things like before.
"It’s you?!" The young sect heir following Sam Lee spotted Jack Young and shrieked, "Dad, that’s him! He’s the one who stole my money!"
"Oh?" Sam Lee’s gaze turned cold, locking onto Jack Young. Master Leonard Liu sneered: "So that’s it—this kid stole my nephew’s money, swiped all our sects’ secret techniques, and slandered the reputations of the sect leaders. He’s got a rap sheet a mile long and no respect for anyone—he’s beyond saving. Even if people say I’m bullying the weak, today I’ll rid the martial arts world of this menace!"
"Leonard, you’re too fired up. Young people make mistakes—it happens." Sam Lee tried to sound conciliatory, but his tone was icy. "Just cripple his hands and feet and destroy his dantian and qi sea—then he won’t be able to cause trouble in the martial arts world again." He’d heard from his son about Jack’s amazing footwork and counterattack skills, and he’d been itching to get his hands on them.
"That’s exactly right!" The old Broken Stream Palm master, emboldened by the backup, snarled: "You little bastard, I think you should just—" He didn’t even finish before Jack Young flashed in front of him, chopping his hand like a blade right at the man’s throat. The move had the structure of Bagua Palm, but Jack had layered in muscle, Broken Stream Palm, and even Returning Wind Dancing Willow Saber.
Especially Iron Palm Blade Transformation—Jack realized his powerful physique was great for body-protection techniques. He only had ten years’ worth of internal energy, but combined with his micro-sensing skills and the superhuman body from Tier 7 Dragon Elephant, this chop was like a divine weapon. Lightning-fast, almost a blur, the old man was so caught up in talking, he didn’t even react—
Crack! The old man’s eyes bulged as he flew backward. His disciples rushed to catch him, but he clutched his throat, face red, barely able to breathe—let alone fight again.
"He’s attacking people! Somebody stop him!" someone shouted, and a group led by Guo Yongnian rushed in. Sam Lee and Master Leonard Liu just watched, apparently waiting to see how Jack Young would handle the mob.
"Don’t waste words when facing the enemy—don’t be stupid like him." Jack Young still had time to instruct his disciples: "Watch carefully. If you’re outnumbered and outclassed, here’s what you do. First, use the terrain—turn it into a one-on-one fight. That means you need good footwork."
A bunch of people charged at Jack Young, but the tables and chairs in the hall hadn’t been cleared away. Jack’s footwork was like magic, and he easily moved to the worst spot for a group attack. It was just like blocking units in a strategy game—leaving only one space for the enemy to come through, perfectly controlling the flow. People rushed him, but only a handful could actually reach him first. Except for the sect leaders, Jack took down everyone else in one clean move.
Especially those who jumped up on the tables and chairs, thinking they’d have the high ground—Jack took them out with a single palm strike to the knee. If he’d gone all out, he could have chopped off their legs entirely. Even holding back, he left bones broken and tendons snapped, with people collapsing and clutching their legs in agony.
"Move all the tables and chairs! Clear everything out!" The attackers finally caught on and started clearing obstacles.
Jack Young’s expression didn’t change as he continued teaching: "If the terrain is flat and you can’t use it, block the strong with the weak. Form a ring around yourself, but leave one person as your main target—the rest are just meat shields. For this, you need sharp eyes and quick hands."
He kept his words brief and his movements precise, but the results were truly outstanding. Jack Young grabbed, pushed, and pulled the people around him with ease—none of the sect disciples could fight back at all.
The snide old man suddenly realized that, even though there were plenty of people circling Jack Young, he was the only sect leader in the group—the rest were just a wall of disciples blocking everyone else. Even surrounded, he was completely isolated!
Then Jack Young looked straight at him. Their eyes met, and the old man shivered, then his anger boiled over and he roared, "Take my Heart-Shaking Fist!"
"Third, in close combat, know yourself and know your enemy. If you can read your opponent’s qi flow, you can beat the strong with the weak." Jack Young raised his hand: "This takes insight. Without it, you’re just memorizing moves. When the Heart-Shaking Fist is thrown, the qi always passes through these pressure points—" Bam, bam, bam, Jack tapped three spots on the old man’s arm like lightning, each time sending ten years’ worth of Bright Jade Skill into his meridians.
The old man’s cultivation far surpassed Jack Young’s—it should’ve been impossible for him to be affected by just ten years’ worth of energy. But Jack’s triple strike was so precise, far more ingenious than a single hit. It was like a structure made of gears and steel rods—letting you lift something much heavier than yourself. You could say these three taps were like three consecutive Flower-Shifting Moves, and Jack had completely mastered the Heart-Shaking Fist’s patterns.
In the next instant—bang! The old man spat blood and flew backward, his own Heart-Shaking Fist slamming into his own chest.