Chương 32: Conflict

Everyone in the mess stood up upon their entry. One burly fellow among them looked at the standing crowd and grinned. He was addicted to this. It didn't matter how many times he saw this it always gave him the same satisfaction he got the first time. He looked at the handsome man in the center and thought 'How I wish they all stand in submission before me! Sigh, being a lackey isn't too bad either. I get free stuff without having to bear the family name, and all I need to do is flatter him every now and then. Sigh, still, this guy is lucky! His brother bears most of the weight for him and all he has to do is enjoy life. Whatever, he's a good young master to follow.'

He intended to allow them to take their seats after savoring the taste for one last moment when he saw one guy seated near the window. He was eating. when everyone was paying their respects, this fellow was eating! Infuriated he walked right to the table and smacked hard on it. He applied all his level seven strength which was sufficient to break a piece off the table. Food was splattered everywhere.

Zhang Wuji was shocked back to reality. He looked down at his dirtied clothes, then slowly lifted his head to look at the man responsible with reddened eyes. Blinded by rage, he jumped at the man with the support of the wall. Qiang Dahan looked at the oncoming punch with pure surprise before it turned to rage. He wanted to catch it and throw him away, maybe break some bones in the process, but the surprise gave enough opportunity to Zhang Wuji. The punch landed on his nose. It was a normal punch with no technique behind it so except for some mist covering his vision momentarily and just a smidge of blood, there was no injury.

The presence or absence of injury was not the issue. Some random guy hit him! Who was he? He was not just any lackey, he was a lackey of someone from the Wang family, one of the five noble families with a status equivalent to that of White Serenity Sect! He unleashed all his fury in a straight punch to Zhang Wuji's face.

Zhang Wuji dodged further into the lane between the two rows of tables away from the counter. That punch had great force, not something he could handle. This was serious, he got into battle mode. Qiang Dahan continued to throw punches in fury. The wide motion though adding great force, gave Zhang Wuji enough space to dodge.

Zhang Wuji immediately went into full concentration. These punches could be lethal for him and he couldn't guarantee a dodge every single time. Qiang Dahan's fury turned into embarrassment as not one of his punches landed. He started applying some of the techniques he learned especially tactics to use the qi burst. The fight was getting more and more perilous for Zhang Wuji. With a look of determination on his face, he took a step forward getting into preparatory stance for Obliteration Fist, barely missing a hit. Following which he started dodging in a circle around Qiang Dahan instead of dodging backwards like before. It was risky but it was the only way out he could think of.

He accumulated his momentum looking for an opportunity. An opponent blinded by anger is a treasure trove of opportunities. Finally Zhang Wuji got his chance and unleashed a combo of punches on his torso. He used his left hand to hold him in order to control him so as to extract momentum from him and then returned all that back to him with a modified Obliteration Fist.

This is what he achieved in his training and experimentation. Obliteration Fist gave too much importance to momentum. The final result, though powerful, was difficult to control. In accumulating momentum one is forced to move in a straight line and is carried forward even after the completion of the move leaving themselves completely vulnerable. He added some elements of the Eagle Claw Art which is mostly about control, and achieved two main things, one, he no longer needed to stick to a straight line and two, with the right leverage, in this case the enemy, he could use the move repeatedly simultaneously dealing with the vulnerability problem. Though it wasn't as powerful as the original, overall he felt it was much better. The original Obliteration Fist is best left as a finisher.

After a series of punches, finally, Qiang Dahan fell. With that Zhang Wuji got the opportunity to check his surroundings and understand what was going on. He rubbed his fist as he looked up. After the first few punches, that part was hardened with qi leading to his fists crying with pain. 'This move is still rigid. Had I distributed the punches, this situation of automatic qi protection would not have occurred. But that was awesome! I beat a seventh level guy!'

He saw disciples looking at him, shocked. That only made him happier, of course they'll be shocked, he jumped levels after all. His sight slowly landed on the entrance. His smile froze. He knew the guy in the middle. He comes to the mess in the morning, everyone stands with their heads turned to the ground to welcome him, sits at the very front and spoils the atmosphere of the mess. For the past six months he stood up to welcome him, tolerated the ruckus he creates, had his meal and left. Today he didn't see him come in. The burly dude must've been a new lackey as he didn't recognize him.

"Y-Young master Wang, I-I apologize for my rude behavior, I didn't see you come in." He bowed his head down. Then he saw the burly dude lying on the floor and he hurriedly helped him up.

"Big brother, you should have said something in the beginning, I'm really sorry about what happened, I must have been possessed by a ghost to have hit you, I hope you will kindly forgive me. No, I must be beaten, big brother hit me. I did such a grave mistake please punish me so that I may have some inner peace." He smiled and apologized repeatedly. He knew he was speaking nonsense, he knew they knew the same, but, it was necessary.

This guy wasn't just normal level thug. His elder brother was a core disciple, he was also an in-name disciple of a core formation realm Elder. If he weren't from the Wang family, he would've been taken in as a personal disciple. Their position in the Wang family was also high, their grandfather being a core formation Elder of the family. His elder brother was very protective so no one messed with him. If this guy were to hurt him, really hurt him, no one would help him out.

'Dear mind what have you done, I don't even know the girl. For a random woman, you have put me in such a perilous situation. Sigh, there is no way to change what has happened. I apologized, I'll kowtow if the need be. There shouldn't be any huge problems.'

Qiang Dahan regained his strength from somewhere and violently pushed Zhang Wuji away "FUCK YOU!!"

"MOTHERFCKER I'll KILL YOU!!" He rained down punches on Zhang Wuji. He fell hard on the floor. 'Endure gotta endure.' He curled up into a ball protecting his head between his hands and waited for the punches to stop. It hurt, he could feel his bones break. He bit down hard and endured. He wanted to apply some of the techniques to handle pain that he learned from Wan Lin but most of his mental energies were occupied in trying to cage his rage. It was humiliating, but he had to endure.

Qiang Dahan got tired after a while. He spat on his bloodied body and threw it out of the mess. Zhang Wuji was in no condition to go to classes. Though his ribs and left arm bones were broken, his legs were fine. Qiang Dahan had concentrated all his punches and stomps on his upper body. He got up slowly and walked back to his room. He didn't have any serious injuries. Just a few healing herbs would be enough to heal him. It will only take a lot of time. His training will have to be delayed for a few days.

He reached his room and with his intact right arm wiped away the spit on his face and looked at it. 'This is what happens when you think too much. Haah' He let out a long breath at the end of which his whole body involuntarily tightened and his nails dug into his palm 'And the worst part is, it doesn't stop.'

'And here I was thinking I no longer have to use the anger diary.'

'But isn't my anger justified? He broke my bones for no reason, spat on me and should I just..'

'I gotta shut up.' He took deep breaths in hopes of calming his boiling blood.

'Right, I beat him first. But he was the one that started the fight..'

'This is not good, I'll get the healing bath ready. I can't let my anger drown me further.' He took his herbs, pot and other tools and went towards the bath center.

After the bath, he ate some herbs and went to the library. He shouldn't be moving but he was afraid of the direction his thoughts would take if were to stay alone. It hurt and it was hard to concentrate but he somehow continued to read.

He didn't remember what he read the whole day but he managed to pass the day without any undesirable events. On his way back, he met Wan Lin.

"I've been looking all over for you! Did you forget about the training? How irresponsible!" Irritation was evident in his voice. Clearly he had been searching for long.

"Brother Wan, I forgot to tell you, I am out of gold and can no longer train with you. I'm really sorry about not telling you before." Zhang Wuji replied with an apologetic smile. He had already decided to come up with this excuse to stay away from Wan Lin for a few days. He couldn't train, the discussion would end up with him telling the truth. That wouldn't do either of them any good. Wan Lin himself was from a weaker background than him. It would be unnecessary trouble for him.

Wan Lin was about to say something but stopped and moved to touch his left arm.

"Ah!" Zhang Wuji screamed involuntarily.

"What happened?" Wan Lin was alarmed.

"It's nothing." He distanced himself and smiled to indicate the insignificance of the subject.

"What do you mean nothing?! Your arm is clearly broken. You seem to have multiple injuries on your chest too! What happened?" This time he asked sternly. Zhang Wuji sighed and told im the whole story.

"Bastards! If I see them I would.." Wan Lin couldn't help but say.

"What?" He cut him mid sentence. "There is nothing you should do, nothing we could do. It's just bad luck."

"Bad luck? What were you thinking not standing?"

"Dude, I've been eating there for six months, never had a problem. I'm not that foolish. It's just bad luck leave it."

"And why lie to me? You think I'm stupid? That I'll go confront them? How foolish, I was going to say I would cheer them the next time I see them. They got you real good. Missed a spectacle, sigh.

Anyway, go rest. I'll ask Li Xiaomei for some pills."

"Whoa there is no need to involve he.."

"Of course I won't. I'll just make up some random story. Delaying training for this makes no sense. One has to use all the resources one has. By the way, who did you get as your mentor?"

"Shit! I totally forgot about that. Ow." The jerk did not help his pain.

"It shouldn't be a big problem. Even if it is, Senior brother Shan will be able to take care of it. You go rest, I'll bring you some medicine."