Chapter Seven: Domineering

“Wow, second brother, that was amazing!”

“This is real Chinese kung fu! You western-worshipping fools must be stunned!”

“Mighty! Knock a few more of them down!”

The members of the Wang Family Martial Arts School cheered loudly. The second brother clasped his hands and looked around. None of the disciples from Hongyi Martial Arts Hall dared to meet his gaze. Just as he was about to speak, a voice sounded first: “What’s there to brag about, bullying a newcomer as an expert of internal strength? Let me, Jin Junyi, take you on!”

Everyone turned to see three young people, two men and one woman, all with colored belts, descending slowly from the second floor of Hongyi Hall. The man at the front, with single eyelids and about twenty-seven or eight, spoke with a cold, sharp gaze—it had to be the famed Jin Junyi.

“Elder Jin!”

“Brother Jin! Brother Park! Sister Li!”

“Brother Jin is here, let’s see if they still dare to act arrogant!”

“Don’t worry, Brother Jin will surely avenge us.”

It was clear that Jin Junyi was highly respected and welcomed by the students; his appearance brought forth a chorus of greetings.

“Hmph, I was waiting for you! Enough talk—let’s fight first!” The second brother from the Wang School glared as if facing a sworn enemy, leaped agilely onto the ring, and provocatively challenged Jin Junyi.

“Elder, this man is also an internal strength expert like us. Are you confident you can beat him?” whispered another red-belted man behind Jin Junyi.

“Oppa is the strongest! Besides, we have Uncle Pei here, and he’s a master of advanced internal force!” sneered the red-belted woman beside him.

Jin Junyi raised a hand to silence their debate, speaking coolly: “I’ve been stuck at red belt ninth dan for a long time, but as I mentioned, I made a breakthrough two days ago. I haven’t had a chance to take the promotion test yet, but look—someone’s come here to court death.”

“A breakthrough! Oppa, you’re already…” The red-belted woman exclaimed with delight.

“Mhm.” Jin Junyi’s lips curled in a faint smile. “I’ll be right back!”

With that, he suddenly sped up, performed an aerial somersault like a nimble monkey, and landed steadily on the ring, his elegant, dazzling movement drawing gasps of admiration from the crowd.

“Let’s do this!”

From Jin Junyi’s movement, the second brother knew this man was no pushover like the blond youth before. He dared not underestimate him and struck first, pouncing like a fierce tiger to entangle and subdue his opponent. But Jin Junyi was no slouch either; with a sidestep and sweeping kick, he countered expertly. The two exchanged blows, strength against strength, moving back and forth across the ring.

Hands are but two doors; it’s the feet that truly strike. The second brother relied mainly on his fists, swift and impenetrable, occasionally adding whip-like kicks. Jin Junyi, however, was formidable in his kicks—extravagant, unpredictable, far faster and stronger than the blond youth earlier. They were evenly matched.

Just when it seemed the duel would drag on, Jin Junyi unexpectedly leaped up and brought his leg down in an aerial chop. The second brother blocked as before, using a powerful overhead move, unaware that this attack was different. The moment his arms met Jin Junyi’s leg, a stabbing pain shot through him, his meridians went numb, and his strength vanished!

At that instant, as Jin Junyi landed, he shouted and executed a stunning 540-degree spinning back kick. With his arms paralyzed, the second brother took the full force to the head, was flung from the ring, and crashed unconscious below.

The crowd was silent for a moment, blinking in disbelief, before erupting in thunderous applause.

“Petty tricks! With such low-level skills you dare to stir up trouble at Hongyi Hall? Take your people and get off the ring!” Jin Junyi looked down on the Wang School disciples, his face full of contempt, his arrogance making the girls in the audience swoon and scream ecstatically.

The Wang School members seethed with rage but dared not protest. They quietly carried off their unconscious second brother and left in frustration.

“Has Junior Wu woken up yet? He defended the hall bravely. I can apply to the head instructor to award him a ‘Training Stone’—but he’ll have to pay a difference of one hundred thousand yuan,” Jin Junyi announced as he stepped down, glancing at the blond youth in the crowd.

“Thank you, Brother Jin! Thank you! The money will be transferred right away!” The blond youth, just regaining consciousness, was overjoyed and repeatedly expressed his gratitude.

“Brother Wu is so lucky! He’s only at blue-red fourth dan and already got a Training Stone. I wonder when I’ll get one,” someone said enviously.

“Work harder, or make a contribution to the school!”

“Exactly!”

“Brother, I just joined. What’s this Training Stone? Sounds valuable.”

“Oh, you’re new? Let me tell you, the Training Stone is a real treasure—warm in winter, cool in summer, calms the mind, aids in daily practice, even extends life, and it’s a status symbol. If you have one, you get a chance to study at the main school in Korea! If I had one, I’d sell the car my dad bought for me.”

“Is that so…”

“Anyone who just signed up, come with me!”

“Me, me!”

“And me!”

“We’re all new here.”

The hall was bustling, with a steady stream of wealthy young men and women arriving, eager to join Hongyi Martial Arts Hall. On the second floor, the three red-belted experts, including Jin Junyi, looked down on the scene with detached indifference.

“These foolish Chinese—such cheap tricks, and they’ll still work themselves to death, handing over their money willingly,” Jin Junyi sneered to his two companions. As he turned, he found a handsome, unfamiliar man standing before him.

“Sign-ups are over there. Not just anyone can come up to the second floor,” Jin Junyi said irritably.

“You’re not the one in charge here, are you? Take me to your head instructor,” said the newcomer—it was Jiang An, who, having watched enough, decided to go straight to the point.

Jin Junyi’s anger flared, but as he was about to rebuke the man, he sensed a faint, dangerous aura about him, despite his unassuming appearance. Suppressing his temper, he replied, “Our head instructor isn’t available at a moment’s notice. If you have business, speak to me.”

“You can’t make the decisions. Just take me to your head,” Jiang An said impatiently, and reached out to grab Jin Junyi.

Furious, Jin Junyi reflexively stepped back, ready to fight. But no matter how he dodged, that hand followed relentlessly. In a blink, Jiang An’s large hand gripped his neck and lifted him up!

A wave of suffocating pressure flooded over Jin Junyi—he couldn’t breathe. That hand seemed to possess some strange power, sealing his acupoints, leaving his body numb and limp like a dying chicken, only able to gasp and wheeze. The other two, seeing their senior subdued in an instant, were terrified and backed away anxiously, shouting, “Who are you?!”

“Let go of Oppa!”

With a flick, Jiang An released Jin Junyi, glancing disdainfully at his own left hand and muttering, “Disgusting. Not only is this man greasy, but he even wears powder? Dirtying my hand. You didn’t put on powder, did you?”

Before his words faded, his right foot pushed off, and in a blur, he was in front of the man named Park. Before Park could react, he too was seized by the neck and lifted lightly, his face ghastly pale, eyes rolling back.

This man isn’t human! I’m no match for him at all!

The remaining red-belted woman trembled uncontrollably, paralyzed by the display of Jiang An capturing her companions so easily.

“You, come here,” Jiang An beckoned. The woman, teeth chattering, dared not disobey and walked over meekly, looking every bit the frightened rabbit.

“Sorry, just borrowing your uniform to wipe my hands,” Jiang An said as she approached, nonchalantly rubbing his hands on the soft white fabric over her chest. The shameless act and his indifferent demeanor made her flush with humiliation and rage.

I swear I will kill you!

Having finished, Jiang An casually tossed Park onto Jin Junyi, the two landing in a heap, and turned to the woman. “I know you want to kill me right now, but just think about it. Hurry and take me to your head instructor, I’m in a hurry!”

The woman nearly ground her teeth to dust but, lacking the strength to resist, glared at Jiang An with eyes of fire and stormed off toward the third floor.

Watching her retreat, Jiang An strolled after, thinking to himself, Being the villain isn’t such a bad feeling. Maybe those demon realm warlords love grabbing people by the neck because it’s addictive. Looks like I’ve picked up a bad habit from them. What a sin.

Soon, they reached a closed training room on the third floor. The woman glanced at Jiang An and knocked three light and four heavy knocks on the door.

“If you have business, come in. Bring the guest,” came a deep male voice from inside—their agreed-upon signal, clearly alert to outsiders.

The woman opened the door but did not enter, gesturing for Jiang An to proceed. He stepped inside, and she closed the door, leaving just the two men in the room.

The man stood barefoot, facing the sunset through a floor-to-ceiling window, wearing a white gi with a black belt. He slowly finished his breathing exercise, exhaling a visible white mist in the warm room, evidence of his extraordinary internal energy.

He turned, revealing a handsome, mature face, about forty years old. His eyes tightened as he sized up Jiang An—this young man was seemingly full of openings, yet none were exploitable. A true expert! When did Lin City produce such a young master? Was he from one of the seven great sects or three major clans?

“Pei Yongxi. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” the middle-aged man set aside his pride and bowed slightly—a gesture of respect between masters.

This annoyed Jiang An. With you being so polite, I can’t just bully you outright, he thought. “Who I am doesn’t matter,” he said bluntly. “Let’s get straight to the point. I’m here for this.”

As he spoke, he extended his palm toward a row of pendants on the wall. With a curl of his fingers, the nearest stone pendant shot into his hand as if magnetized. This miraculous display left Pei Yongxi aghast, instinctively retreating to the corner and exclaiming,

“External qi projection! You—you’re a grandmaster!”