Jack Young walked forward without a hint of hesitation, the bright red sign on his shoulder as glaring as a fire truck. Soon, people from all the shops came out, curious, trailing after Jack to see what he was up to with that sign.
The ones sticking closest to Jack were the regulars from Monroe Fitness Lounge. Some of them, having trained here for ages, knew the backstory and explained it to Jack along the way.
"There used to be a guy at Monroe Fitness Lounge, pretty handsome too. After coming a few times, he got a crush on Maggie Monroe and started chasing her all over the place. Maggie wasn’t interested, but the guy just wouldn’t take no for an answer."
"Oh?" Jack asked, "So this guy couldn’t win her over, got bitter, and just happens to be the owner of Dragonforce Dojo—so that’s why all this is happening?"
This kind of thing isn’t unheard of, but usually, even if a guy gets rejected, he wouldn’t stoop to using nasty words to block the door, right?
A female regular quickly spilled the tea: "Nope, that guy’s just a useless pretty boy, a kept man for some rich lady! That rich lady owns Dragonforce. When she found out, she got furious and started sending people to stir up trouble all the time. Because of the drama, Monroe Fitness Lounge lost a bunch of members—everyone’s too scared to come anymore."
"Hmm, got it." So it was this kind of ridiculous mess—talk about bad luck. No wonder Maggie Monroe was off today. At the business meeting, she’d probably have a showdown with that rich lady too.
"Mr. Young, there are more than a dozen martial arts instructors at Dragonforce Dojo. Are you sure you’ll be okay going in there alone?" one trainee asked, worried.
Another trainee thumped his chest: "Don’t worry, Mr. Young, we’ve got your back! In broad daylight, with all these witnesses, I bet Dragonforce wouldn’t dare lay a finger on you!"
Jack just smiled at that, but in a flash, his grin turned icy, sending shivers down everyone’s spine.
Fight? That’s exactly what I want! Today, I’ll make sure Dragonforce Dojo’s reputation is trashed so badly, they won’t dare recruit another student!
Inside Dragonforce Dojo, two people rushed in. The dojo was in the prime spot of the whole shopping complex—big, bright, and bustling. Even though martial arts weren’t as popular anymore, there were still dozens of trainees. With the lights on and everyone shouting and practicing, it was quite a scene.
"Master Grant, we’re back!"
A burly man in his thirties quickly asked, "Benny, how did the boss’s job go? That girl from Monroe Fitness Lounge was pretty feisty today—she really ticked off the boss."
"Boss’s orders are taken care of. The whole second floor saw it—let’s see how that little minx keeps her doors open now!"
"Good, good. Benny, you’re slippery and quick—this kind of thing is right up your alley." Master Grant nodded, then asked, "Nothing went wrong, right?"
"What could go wrong?" Benny scoffed. "Unless you catch someone red-handed, who’s gonna say anything? With our boss’s connections, you think they can really check the security footage? Some guy came out earlier, looked pissed, but he’s just all bark—no bite!"
Just as he finished, there was a loud bang—the main door of Dragonforce was kicked open.
Everyone whipped around to see Jack Young slam the sign down with a crash and shout coldly, "This sign is perfect for your front door, so I’m here to return it!"
Instantly, the crowd erupted into chaos.
The crowd gathered to watch, and plenty of folks whipped out their phones—some snapping photos, others recording video.
Even the trainees from Dragonforce joined in. Sure, they trained here, but deep down, they were just here for the drama—and they pulled out their phones too.
But the ones who really looked ready for a fight were the Dragonforce Instructors.
In a blink, Jack Young was surrounded on all sides.
"Who are you, anyway? Ever heard of social decency? Do you even know the law?" Benny Tiger shouted, "Which eye of yours saw us put that sign there? I say you’re just here to cause trouble!"
A Monroe Fitness Lounge trainee yelled back, "Both our eyes saw it! You shameless jerks put it there!"
"Yeah! We’re all eyewitnesses!"
"Lying through your teeth! Are you even a man? If you’re so tough, why don’t you own up? Bet you’re just a limp noodle at night!"
When it comes to arguing, guys are no match for women. Women pull out all the stops, and Benny’s face turned red and white from the verbal smackdown.
"You—you bunch of loudmouths!" Benny fumed, his forehead throbbing as he rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward.
But Master Grant grabbed Benny and barked, "Enough! Everybody, quiet!"
The room fell silent.
Master Grant looked at Jack Young, realizing this guy was the real deal, and said, "Brother, I don’t know who you are, but bringing this sign here is straight-up provocation! Doesn’t matter who made it—if you can’t prove it’s ours, saying you’re 'returning' it is just slinging mud!"
Jack just sneered, standing his ground: "Say whatever you want—evidence or not, let’s pretend I made the sign myself. But today, you’re taking it, no matter what!"
"You!" Master Grant hadn’t expected Jack to be so stubborn.
"Listen up, I’m not here to argue. You’re taking this sign whether you like it or not!" Jack pushed through the crowd toward the training area. He waved, "Aren’t you all professional instructors? Come on, let’s spar!"
The crowd buzzed with excitement. A dojo challenge? That’s something you see in movies, not real life! In seconds, the onlookers cleared a space.
Only the Monroe Fitness Lounge trainees looked worried for Jack. He taught dance, not martial arts, after all. The girls whispered, already planning to call the cops if things went south. One even said her dad worked at the police station—anyone who started a fight would get hauled in, and those bullies would get a taste of justice.
"Oh wow, what kind of hero are you?" Benny chimed in, "You think you’re Ip Man or Wong Fei-hung? Let me tell you—our rules say a challenger has to fight four at once!"
He wasn’t stupid—he could see this was getting out of hand, and he didn’t want Dragonforce’s reputation trashed. But with all the trainees watching, a dojo can’t back down now. He had to come up with a way to make Jack quit. Win or lose, it wouldn’t look good, so he decided to play dirty!
Nobody actually fights four-on-one, right?
Sure enough, Jack Young looked at Benny and snorted, "Four-on-one? That’s just bullying."
"Yeah, it’s bullying!" "Martial artists ganging up—shameless!" "If you’ve got guts, do a one-on-one!" This time, it wasn’t just Monroe Fitness Lounge trainees yelling—the whole crowd joined in. Even some Dragonforce trainees shouted, "Coach, one-on-one! Take him down!"
"Everyone, calm down!" Master Grant spoke up, instantly catching on to Benny’s game. He said smoothly, "It’s a martial arts tradition—first, you face the Four Gates. If you want to challenge us, you have to beat four of our instructors. If not, we’ll have to ask you to leave—and take your sign with you. So, pick any four you want."
Ignoring the crowd’s jeers, the Dragonforce Instructors cracked their knuckles and glared, trying to scare Jack off. Four Gates? What kind of rule is that? Master Grant just made it up, but once you call it a martial arts tradition, nobody can argue.
Since the four-on-one was set in stone, the hope was Jack would just leave, right?
But Jack just smiled and, with one sentence, silenced the whole room: "You guys misunderstood me. Four-on-one means I’m bullying you!" He sounded lazy and casual, then pointed around at all the Dragonforce Instructors: "With you lot, let’s save time—just come at me all together."