"What?!" Everyone—Monroe Fitness Lounge members, Dragonforce Dojo members, and random bystanders—shouted the same word in disbelief.
Even the instructors and Master Grant from Dragonforce Dojo couldn't believe their ears.
Master Grant stared at Jack Young, eyes wide: "Young man, you must be joking, right?"
But Jack Young ignored him, glanced around, and picked up a magazine from Dragonforce’s table. He shot Master Grant a cool look and said, "Honestly, this feels a bit too much like bullying. To give you folks a fighting chance, let’s do it this way—" With a smack, he tossed the magazine onto the floor and stood on it with both feet. The magazine was just big enough for both feet to fit.
Pointing down at his feet, Jack Young finally flashed a wild, razor-sharp grin: "If anyone can make me step off this magazine, I’ll admit defeat!"
Everyone was stunned—dead silence filled the room.
After a beat, an excited female voice shattered the silence: "Mr. Young is awesome! Go, Mr. Young!"
That cheer set off the Monroe Fitness Lounge crowd. Faces flushed, everyone started shouting support. Win or lose—though losing seemed pretty likely right now—they were all behind Mr. Young!
With cheers all around, the Dragonforce crew was starting to lose face. Martial artists pride themselves on guts and glory—being mocked like this was too much. The Dragonforce Instructors couldn't take it anymore. Before Master Grant could say a word, they let out a battle cry and charged. They swore they’d knock Jack Young off his feet and then give him a good thrashing!
Master Grant reached out to stop them—once fists started flying, things would get out of hand fast. But then he dropped his hand. This cocky kid was asking for it. If the dojo didn’t fight back when challenged, how could it keep its doors open?
All Master Grant could hope for was to take down that cocky kid cleanly, without anyone getting hurt.
Just as he was thinking that, Master Grant heard a loud smack—someone was sent flying!
Master Grant’s heart skipped a beat—he didn’t want the kid to get seriously hurt! He was about to tell his people to go easy, but suddenly realized—the one flying wasn’t Jack Young?
The guy flying through the air with a twisted face—was that Benny Tiger?!
How could that be?!
Smack, smack, smack—the hits kept coming. People were flying, people were dropping, but none of them were Jack Young.
The Dragonforce Instructors had planned to rough up Jack Young, but they quickly changed their minds—this guy was way too tough!
Punches and kicks flew—every move was sharp, every strike landed. Even stuck on that little magazine, totally surrounded, Jack Young was steady as a rock!
The instructors quickly switched tactics. Forget beating him up—they just wanted to get Jack Young off that darn magazine.
Because they realized—even that tiny goal might be impossible!
Someone tried to sneak-attack from behind, another swept in low from the side, and someone else charged straight ahead like a football player. The magazine was so small Jack—no, Jill Young—could only stand upright, no fancy footwork allowed. They didn’t believe pure brute force could fail to knock Jill down.
But in the next instant, Jill Young kicked the sneak-attacker in the chest, then stomped down on the leg of the sweeper. There was a nasty crack—the sweeper broke out in a cold sweat as his ankle popped out of joint. Then Jack Young slapped the charger’s shoulder, not hard, but it sent him careening sideways into another instructor, and the two of them rolled across the floor like bowling pins.
In the blink of an eye, people were down all around Jack Young, but he was still standing firm on that magazine.
Whoosh—a sharp sound split the air. Master Grant had grabbed a spear and was lunging at Jack Young. In just these few moments, he’d realized he was dealing with a true master. He didn’t care about saving face anymore—today, no matter what, he was getting Jack Young off that magazine!
They say a longer weapon means more power—Master Grant was confident in his spear skills after more than ten years of practice. He was sure his spear would get Jack Young off that magazine!
"So many people fighting one guy—and now they’re using weapons!" "Shameless!" "This dojo should just shut down!" The crowd was fired up. The Monroe Fitness Lounge girls had just explained the backstory to everyone, and now the whole audience was rooting for Jack Young.
Even the Dragonforce students felt ashamed. Heads down, they quietly decided to quit the dojo for good—this was just too embarrassing.
But even as Master Grant spun his fancy spear, Jack Young’s expression didn’t change a bit.
Maybe it’s because every world has its own quirks,
Or maybe Master Grant just hadn’t trained enough.
Or maybe Master Grant was just a minor player in the Earth martial arts scene.
Basically, after returning from the Martial Arts Realm, Jack Young looked at Master Grant’s spear technique and thought—it didn’t even count as spear work, more like ‘crap-spear.’ The other Dragonforce instructors were only a bit stronger than the Blackridge Bandits’ henchmen, and Master Grant wasn’t even on Gavin Gong’s level!
Buzz—a spear thrust sliced the air. Jack Young’s eyes flashed; he reached out as casually as grabbing an apple, and in the next instant, the spear was in his hand.
Master Grant’s face changed dramatically. He tried to yank the spear back with both hands, but Jack Young just gave it a gentle twist. Suddenly, the white waxwood shaft whipped around like a crazed snake, bouncing and writhing. The force transferred straight to Master Grant, who found himself completely off-balance, stumbling all over the place.
Crack! The spear shaft couldn’t handle the strain and snapped. Master Grant tumbled forward, arms flailing like a boyfriend running to his girlfriend in a cheesy TV drama—wide open and totally off guard.
With such a flashy move, even the bystanders wanted to give him a kick. Some couldn’t help shouting, "Kick him!"
And right on cue, Jack Young delivered—a solid kick to Master Grant’s chest.
Master Grant went flying like he was riding a cloud. The crowd scattered—no one tried to catch him. He crashed to the floor with a bang, and something cracked underneath. Dizzy, he looked down and saw he’d landed right on the dojo’s plaque!
This chapter isn’t over yet ^.^, click next page to keep reading!
Slut! Bitch! Harlot! Tramp!
Eight big red characters and four exclamation marks—cracks split the plaque from the impact. Master Grant tried to stand, but his legs gave out. He collapsed right back onto the plaque with another loud thud.
His body hit the ground—and so did his pride. Master Grant knew: Dragonforce Dojo was finished.
Jack Young walked over, followed by the Monroe Fitness Lounge crew, faces flushed with excitement. Jack looked down at Master Grant, eyes cold: "Take this plaque, and deliver it to your boss. Those eight characters—only she’s worthy of them. Let’s go."
Jack Young turned to leave, the crowd parting like the sea for a hero. He pushed open the door and stepped out of Dragonforce Dojo. Waiting under the moonlight wasn’t Lillian Lee this time—it was Maggie Monroe.
—The crowd held its breath.
"You’re here," Jack Young said, patting Maggie Monroe’s shoulder, voice gentle as if nothing had happened. "Let’s head back. It’s almost closing time."
"Mm." Maggie nodded, her eyes sparkling like stars, almost as if she was about to cry.
—The crowd stared wide-eyed.
"Also, I’ve got something to tell you, but you have to promise me." Jack Young looked seriously at Maggie Monroe.
Maggie blushed, her eyes darting away before coming back: "Just say it—I promise."
—The crowd got ready to applaud, mouthing "Bo-yao" and "Bo-ai" syllables.
"Alright." Jack Young took a deep breath, clenched his fists, and—pulled off a Twin Dragon Drill!
"From now on, if you have any problems, tell me!" Jack Young gritted his teeth. "Why are you keeping secrets? Am I an outsider or something?"
"Ow, ow, ow!" Maggie threw a punch back, flustered and annoyed. "You idiot, Jack! Dumb Jack! Big dummy! Way to kill the mood!"
"Aww—!" The crowd groaned, booing and yelling, "Lame!" as Jack Young and Maggie Monroe walked off together. (Today's chapter is pretty wholesome, so I'm uploading it early. About guessing the next world: I saw someone guess 'Lost Horizon,' but—nope! The next world is from a super famous novel, known everywhere, written by a now-deceased French author. Keep guessing, folks!)