Chapter 86: Beating Zhu Hong (Part 2)

"I knew it would come to this!"

Seeing that his three moves were either straightforward or reversed, Zhu Hong was already on guard.

As the fourth-ranked entrant, he had experienced many battles, big and small. Such crude techniques might have caught him off guard at first, but now that he was prepared, how could they possibly defeat him?

Sneering inwardly, he blocked with his right hand, sealing off the opponent's attack path and protecting his vital point. Just as he was about to counter, he saw that Zheng Yang's downward-striking finger was a feint, while the other fist was already flying toward his face.

Bang!

Before he could react, he was hit squarely.

"Damn it, you dirty..."

Stumbling back two steps, Zhu Hong's nose ran and tears streamed.

Zheng Yang's fist was far more powerful than Yuan Tao's; one blow nearly knocked him out.

"Dirty? There's no such thing as dirty in a fight!"

Zheng Yang wasted no words. Having landed a hit, he pressed forward, his left hand's fingers constantly poking at Zhu Hong's vital point, while his other fist kept swinging at his face.

He attacked on two fronts without hesitation, bearing no psychological burden.

"You..."

Every time Zhu Hong tried to defend, one of the moves turned out to be a feint. After a few exchanges, his face was even more swollen, his vision blurry, and he was so frustrated he could spit blood.

How shameless!

Even if you know my vital point, do you have to keep attacking it like this? It's like constantly checking in chess—what's the point? Where's the sportsmanship?

My face is already this swollen, and you still hit...

Wasn't this supposed to be a fair duel?

Where's the fairness?

Where's the justice?

And 'stop when the point is made'... 'don't harm the goodwill'...

Where exactly is your 'point'...

"Stop..."

Knowing that if he continued, he might end up dead here, Zhu Hong had to swallow his grief and quickly retreat: "I concede..."

He had no choice. The opponent knew his vital point and had no martial honor, attacking relentlessly—how could he defend?

Before getting injured, he might have relied on footwork to dodge and counter, but now his eyes were so swollen he could barely see. If he kept fighting, he feared he would die here.

"Good that you concede. Zhao Ya, it's your turn..." Zhang Xuan said.

"Please enlighten me!" Zhao Ya walked over and, without waiting for any objection, launched a fierce attack.

Her attack pattern was no different from Zheng Yang's—either the vital point or the face.

"..."

Zhu Hong cried.

"Alright, Wang Ying, you try too!"

He conceded again, but before he could speak, Wang Ying also came over.

Then Liu Yang...

Soon, all five of Teacher Zhang's students had taken turns thrashing him. By now, Zhu Hong's eyes were swollen into slits, almost blind.

"Alright, pay up quickly. One thousand gold coins each, plus the door repair—ten thousand total!"

Yuan Tao stepped forward.

"Ten thousand? There are only five of you, how does it come to ten thousand?" Zhu Hong was going crazy.

"Our door costs five thousand!" Yuan Tao said matter-of-factly.

"Five thousand?" Zhu Hong's tears flowed freely.

This crappy door—you could get five for a hundred gold coins—and he dares to say five thousand? Even if you're extorting, you don't go this far!

"If you don't want to pay, that's fine too. Teacher Zhang, we'd like to spar again with this top-four entrant. Please grant your permission!" Zheng Yang said.

"Mm, when fellow disciples spar, you must go easy on him!" Zhang Xuan nodded seriously.

"Go easy... no need... no need, I'll pay, alright?"

Hearing Teacher Zhang agree directly and say the same words as before, Zhu Hong's mouth twitched. Not daring to waste words, he quickly took out ten one-thousand gold notes from his pocket and handed them over.

As he handed them over, his heart bled.

Although his family was wealthy, ten thousand gold coins was all his savings over the years, all lost just for delivering a challenge letter...

After paying, afraid that staying any longer would get him beaten to death, Zhu Hong turned and fled.

He had charged in so valiantly, thinking himself unrivaled among the students, never dreaming he would end up like this.

"Teacher..."

After Zhu Hong left, Zheng Yang, Yuan Tao, and the others looked at Teacher Zhang sitting in the middle, their eyes full of admiration!

The reason they could defeat Zhu Hong was thanks to his three moves of guidance.

With just a little guidance, they easily overcame the opponent, as if he knew exactly what martial skills the other would use—how did he do it?

...

"Teacher Lu, do you think this Zhang Xuan will accept your challenge?"

Elder Hong Hao stroked his beard and smiled.

With Teacher Lu Xun making a move, this Zhang Xuan was bound to suffer. His students would soon be taken away, leaving him a commander with no troops again.

"I don't care if he accepts or not. If he dares to snatch my students, if I don't teach him a lesson, how will I, Lu Xun, maintain my authority in Hongtian Academy?" Teacher Lu Xun snorted.

"True!" Elder Hong Hao nodded. Just as he was about to speak, he saw a man with a swollen, pig-like face walk in.

"Teacher Lu, please seek justice for me..."

The newcomer knelt directly on the ground and burst into loud sobs.

"You are..."

Seeing the man's unfamiliar appearance, Lu Xun was startled.

"I am Zhu Hong..." The newcomer suffered another ten thousand points of damage.

"Zhu Hong? Didn't I send you to deliver the challenge letter? How did you end up like this?"

Hearing him say his name, Lu Xun indeed recognized Zhu Hong's faint traces on the swollen face, and couldn't help asking.

Just delivering a challenge letter—how did he end up like this?

"I was beaten..."

Zhu Hong's tears flowed.

"Did Zhang Xuan disregard his status as a teacher and attack you?" Lu Xun's face darkened as he abruptly stood up, his powerful aura surging.

He had already opened dozens of acupoints, a genuine Acupoint-Opening realm expert.

No wonder he was a star teacher; such strength was enough to become an academy elder.

Zhu Hong was ranked fourth in the entrance exam. Although this ranking didn't fully reflect strength, it showed he was among the top freshmen in combat ability.

Zhang Xuan had no senior students; the only one who could have beaten him like this was Teacher Zhang himself!

"It was... his students... Teacher Zhang... didn't make a move."

Zhu Hong was deeply embarrassed.

"Students? You mean Zhao Ya, Zheng Yang, and the others?" Since he was going to compete with the other, Teacher Lu Xun had also done some investigation and found that the students Zhang Xuan had recruited this semester weren't too bad: "Did they gang up on you? No, that's not right. Although their rankings aren't low, I gave you special guidance, and your cultivation could break through at any time. Even if they teamed up, you should have been able to handle them!"

Although Zhao Ya and the others were not weak, this Zhu Hong was stronger. In the past two days, he had also invested considerable effort. In terms of pure combat ability, below the second level of martial artist, he had almost no rivals. Even if those few joined forces, they probably couldn't beat him!

How could he have been beaten like this in such a short time?