When Jack Young stepped out of Blue Lotus House, the moon was already high in the sky. He looked a little tired, but there was still a sharpness in his eyes. The Octagon Table crew had tried their luck at a round-robin challenge, but Jack knocked each of them down in turn. Eventually, too embarrassed to stick around, they cleared out and the night was over.
After this battle, they'd lost all their dignity and swagger. But Jack Young had established his authority among the younger generation of martial artists. Even though he'd taken first place in the tournament before, people still doubted him—always thinking, 'If so-and-so had gone up, Jack would only be second.' But this time, after stepping over the faces of those eight, Jack finally stood at the top in their minds.
Not that he cared about any of that.
There was someone waiting quietly for him outside Blue Lotus House. It was none other than Lillian Lee.
Lillian Lee strolled up and gave Jack a playful slap on the shoulder. "Wow, I didn't think you'd walk out in one piece! Honestly, I thought I'd be hauling out a corpse tonight."
Jack looked her up and down. "Don't tell me you were standing out here waiting the whole time?"
"You think I'm stupid?" Lillian Lee pointed back at Blue Lotus House. "Of course I was chilling in a private box inside, enjoying the show."
Jack grinned. "This is Blue Lotus House, you know. Girls come here too?"
"Why not? Who says women can't go to Blue Lotus House?" Lillian shot back, totally unfazed.
Jack gaped for a moment, then finally nodded. "Fair point. Nobody ever said women can't go. By the way, those Bagua Sect kids waving flags and cheering—did you call them over? I knew I wasn't that popular. Thanks."
"Heh, no need to be polite, it's only fair," Lillian Lee said breezily. "I've always found those guys annoying—skills aren't great, but their attitude is sky-high. If I went and taught them a lesson, even if there were no connections to worry about, the Bagua Sect would still get dragged into trouble. But you? You're not tied to anyone, and no sect would dare mess with Dr. Thomas Tang. So, you got used as a handy tool. Of course I had to cheer you on!"
Jack wasn't mad at all. If anything, Lillian's blunt honesty made him like her more. He laughed, "Well, in that case, you owe me. Let's spar again in a few days—I want to see how much I've really got."
"Huh? You still haven't had enough?" Lillian pointed at the Blue Lotus House. "Those eight just now—didn't they give you a good measure of your own skills?"
"Their scales are too small and flimsy—one push and they collapse. Old Tang's scale is way too big and heavy, so stepping on it feels like nothing at all. That's why I have to test myself against you."
"I used you as a gun, now you use me as a scale—karma sure comes fast!" Lillian grinned. "Alright, no problem. By the way, those so-called talented young martial artists you mentioned—how many have you actually met?"
"Two." Jack thought back over all the young martial artists he'd met—those with real skill, broad vision, and high ambition. Only two fit the bill.
"Which two?"
"First one's you." After watching Lillian Lee's matches these past days, Jack realized her skills ran deeper than he'd thought—way stronger than those at the Octagon Table. As the granddaughter of Grandmaster Samuel Lee, personally taught by him, she's truly something else.
"Heh, you're too kind!" Lillian scratched her head happily, then asked, "So, who's the other one?"
"The other one's a young woman too, a bit older than you, and probably even better at martial arts—definitely way above me." Jack pictured Rachel Yin, who'd managed to hold her own against that super-assassin for quite a while.
Doesn't matter how long—just holding out and not getting killed is already way more than I could manage. Even though I've been improving every day at this tournament, I doubt I could last more than a few moves against that assassin.
That assassin is just ridiculously fast—speed, power, technique, and killer instinct, all maxed out. Basically unbeatable. Good thing Dr. Thomas Tang crippled his hands. Still, I have no clue if the assassin gave up on hunting that certain someone, or if that big secret mission succeeded.
The next day, the official matches continued. Now that the weakest batch was out, things got way more intense and exciting. Jack was hooked—watching every fight, sometimes even shadowboxing along with the action.
The eight from the Octagon Table at Blue Lotus House had their egos crushed by Jack, dropping like flies in the ring. Meanwhile, Lillian Lee kept advancing, showing clear progress with every match—experts were buzzing, amazed by her talent.
Every time Lillian won, she'd hop off the stage and give Jack a crisp high-five. They'd share a grin, then each go off to watch their favorite masters' matches.
After each match, they'd either chat about techniques or test them out together, both learning a ton. Meanwhile, all the martial arts factions were busy scheming behind the scenes—dirty tricks, shifting alliances, chaos everywhere, like some ancient warlord free-for-all.
Jack couldn't care less about all that drama—he just focused on leveling up his own skills. And since nobody wanted to mess with Dr. Thomas Tang, everyone left Jack alone thanks to his Tang family badge.
Five days later, Lillian finally stopped at the top 32. By this point, only big-name pros were left—famous masters, even a few legendary ones. Making it this far was a huge deal for Lillian, and she was starting to look like the top young martial artist around.
Of course, haters immediately popped up, stirring the pot and comparing Lillian to 'number one among the youth,' Jack—trying to start trouble. Jack could guess who was behind it with his eyes closed.
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Besides, Jack knew those troublemakers would get shut down fast. With tensions running this high, nobody's dumb enough to poke the Tang bear. Anyone lacking that basic political sense is just hopeless.
Sure enough, whoever started the drama vanished without a trace—nobody saw them alive or dead. Their faction didn't even ask questions, like the person had never existed.
Next morning, bright and early, on a quiet patch of ground.
"Hah!" Lillian's shout startled a few birds as she launched a flying kick. Jack blocked with both arms, stumbling back three steps before steadying himself. Shaking out his numb hands, he asked, "I still don't get it, so let me just ask—how do you suddenly get so much stronger and faster all at once?"
"Huh? You don't know?" Lillian looked surprised. "Dr. Thomas Tang never taught you?"
"Nope." Jack shook his head with a wry smile. Dr. Thomas Tang's teaching style was... let's just say unconventional—something Lillian probably hadn't experienced. "He's been off doing who-knows-what these past couple days, totally MIA. So I had to ask you."
"You can't talk about your own master like that!" Lillian slapped Jack's shoulder, then sighed. "Alright, it's not a huge secret, so I'll tell you."
Jack immediately perked up, ready to listen.
"For martial artists like us, the body is everything—it's the foundation and the capital. If your body isn't strong, it's all just empty talk. You know the saying, 'train martial arts without conditioning, and you'll end up with nothing'? That's what it means. There are two stages to training the body. First, you need to unlock all your physical potential. You've already nailed this stage—pretty much maxed out everything."
Jack nodded, silently thanking all those TV shows, the first layer of Dragon Elephant Strength, and Brother Golden Wheel.
"But unlocking your body's full potential isn't the end—it's just the beginning." Lillian clenched her fist. "The real limit is way beyond that!"
As she spoke, Lillian exhaled sharply and punched a tree trunk. The whole tree shuddered, leaves rained down, and her fist left a clear imprint in the bark.
"With hard training, a martial artist can use their dantian to unleash near-limit strength in a single instant. For that moment, speed and power go beyond normal. But it's super exhausting—I can only do it about five times. If your training's weak, one hit and you're done. That's basically what those eight at Blue Lotus House are like."