"I'll fight you to the death! Our Fierce Tiger Sect won't lose!"
He acted like he was about to charge forward, but it seemed like some invisible hand was holding him back.
"Don't hold me back! I'm not afraid of him!"
His expression and tone were top notch acting.
Lin Fan observed the situation. Both sides were injured. Logically, at this point, the two sect masters should be having a verbal fight.
Sure enough, the two sect masters appeared.
Yuan Jiang, the master of the Fierce Tiger Sect, was skinny with a long face and narrow eyes, giving him a shifty look.
His own side's master, Wang Changhai, though middle aged, was burly and looked like a formidable fighter. But this was far from the truth. His master's body had long been weakened by wine and women. He'd be panting after just a few steps.
But rumors said that in his youth, Wang Changhai was daring and fearless. He could take on four opponents by himself, carving a bloody path with a machete to become the master of the Loyalty Hall.
"Yuan the Monkey, Jili Wharf is not something your Fierce Tiger Sect can touch. You want to fight? I'll fight you to the end. Let's see how many men you have left."
Wang Changhai was quite satisfied with the current situation. Overall, their Loyalty Hall had a slight advantage.
Yuan the Monkey's expression was calm.
This startled Wang Changhai. Something felt off. He was too calm.
Something was wrong.
Sure enough, Yuan Jiang clapped his hands and looked toward the shadows not far away. Wang Changhai followed his gaze and only saw a faint flame burning. But when torches were lit nearby.
He realized that a man was sitting there, leisurely eating hot pot.
"Brother Chen, it's your turn to make your move," Yuan Jiang said.
At this moment, Lin Fan also noticed there was someone there. Only one thought came to his mind: this guy was such a show off. Sitting there eating hot pot in the pitch black, completely ignoring the fight between the two sects. This situation gave Lin Fan a bad feeling.
Could it be... a master?
After all, only a master could be this calm.
Calmness was a standard trait of a master.
In Lin Fan's eyes, the middle aged man called Brother Chen slowly put the last bite of meat into his mouth, picked up his wine cup and downed it in one go, then wiped his mouth with a cloth, slowly got up, and walked toward them.
The man was very muscular, half a head taller than Wang Changhai. Especially when he rolled up his sleeves, revealing his two thick arms, they looked incredibly powerful.
Lin Fan considered quietly retreating to let the people in front protect him.
But with Wang Changhai standing right beside him, retreating was impossible.
"Who is he?" Wang Changhai asked seriously.
Yuan Jiang said confidently, "Wang Changhai, this is the famous Iron Fist King Chen Niu, a master I specially invited. Today, this Jili Wharf definitely belongs to my Fierce Tiger Sect. And you, Wang Changhai, I'm going to beat you to a pulp."
Iron Fist King?
Chen Niu?
Wang Changhai's mouth gaped slightly, as if he was stunned. But that wasn't it. It was just that the nickname reminded him of his own nickname from his youth.
Nine Times a Night.
"Never heard of him. Where'd this nobody come from? Kill him!"
Wang Changhai glanced to the side and waved his hand. The lackeys standing to his right, armed with staffs, didn't dare hesitate at their master's command. With a roar, they charged forward, staffs raised, and smashed them down on Chen Niu's head.
Facing the incoming staffs, Chen Niu growled and raised his arms to block.
Crack!
Crack!
Wood chips flew everywhere. The staffs snapped on contact with the lackeys' arms.
To the lackeys' shock, Chen Niu punched and kicked, knocking several of them to the ground.
Cries of pain filled the air.
Wang Changhai looked horrified, his face full of disbelief.
"Hahaha... good."
Yuan Jiang was overjoyed. As expected of the expert he'd hired for twenty taels of silver. He really was formidable. No, he had to get him on his side permanently afterward. Even if it cost more silver, it would be worth it.
Lin Fan's expression was equally serious. The opponent's ability to break the staff with a horizontal swing was enough to prove he was a master. And he hadn't even shown the slightest pain.
Could he really be a martial arts expert?
Thinking of this, his hand gripping the staff was sweaty, and his heart pounded with tension.
He really wanted to ask the man, "Brother, where did you learn martial arts? Can you show me the way?"
But clearly, now was not the time.
Chen Niu looked arrogantly at Wang Changhai, blew away the wood chips stuck to his arm, raised his hand, and made a provocative gesture toward Wang Changhai.
Enraged, Wang Changhai's chest heaved as if on fire, and he roared at Lin Fan and the others standing on his left.
"Attack!"
The lackeys were afraid, but facing their enraged master, they didn't dare disobey.
Lin Fan gripped the staff tightly and followed the others as they charged toward Chen Niu.
Ever since he first grasped the basic staff technique, his use of the staff seemed to have undergone years of hard practice.
From beginner to minor mastery, and now to mastery.
With each improvement, he felt his strength increase, and he became more familiar with the techniques of exerting force.
As the people around him roared and swung their staffs.
Lin Fan roared back, lowering his center of gravity, transmitting power from his waist and hips to the tip of his staff. His arm muscles were as solid as stone. He didn't dare hold back any strength. He unleashed his full power.
The whistling sound of the staff was chilling.
The calm and composed Chen Niu didn't take the scene before him seriously at all.
He just wanted to tell everyone.
Do you know that these iron arms of mine have broken countless staffs? They've been beaten so much they can't even feel pain anymore.
Bang!
Several wooden staffs slammed into his arm at the same time.
Crack!
The staffs broke.
"Ah..."
A scream erupted.
Chen Niu's arm was bent at a strange angle. Meanwhile, Lin Fan's staff struck his neck with lightning speed.
Bang!
A dull thud sounded.
Chen Niu dropped to his knees, his body falling forward, lying motionless on the ground.
[Basic Staff Technique Proficiency +1]
Lin Fan was shocked. That was it?
When he attacked, although the opponent's arm was hard, he felt his strength would be enough to crush it. Honestly, he was prepared to get kicked over.
But the current situation was unexpected.
It seemed this wasn't a master after all.
Zhao Er, who had been worried about Lin Fan, was about to shout "Nice!" when he suddenly remembered his own side and quickly covered his mouth. He almost gave himself away.
Yuan Jiang blinked, mouth wide open, frozen in place.
Wait, what happened?
He's down already?
He confidently claimed to be a master?
Wang Changhai was stunned for a moment, then burst into loud laughter.
"Haha, an expert? This is your expert? Yuan Monkey, did a donkey kick you in the head?"
"Good! Well done! Your sect master will reward you handsomely."
Yuan Jiang's face was ashen. He waved his hand and led his men away in defeat, not even glancing at Chen Niu lying there.
Lin Fan glanced at Chen Niu and followed the others back.
Wang Changhai patted them on the shoulder, praised them a few times, then waved his hand and led his lackeys to celebrate. That's just how things worked in the sects.
Lin Fan didn't join the celebration.
Instead, he was somewhat disappointed. He had hoped that the appearance of a martial arts master would lead to clues about martial arts. But so far, there wasn't even a single lead.
...
Inside the house.
He lit an oil lamp, went to the table, and looked at the book placed on it.
"Direct Explanation of Laws and Decrees."
That was it. He needed to study it now.
Sects had no future. To put it bluntly, they were just for commoners. To find clues about martial arts, you needed status and position.
Therefore, he needed to take the imperial exam.
The higher the position, the more access he could have to the core.
He studied hard to prepare for the entrance exam for the government office in a month.
Turning the pages, his eyes met dense text, making his head spin and his vision blur.
He just wanted to say, it was really painful.
But there was no other choice. He could only grit his teeth and keep going.