Chapter 91 - 74: Weathering the Storm, Sharing Adversity

Chapter 91: Chapter 74: Weathering the Storm, Sharing Adversity

Seeing this, Du Ding did not hesitate. He stepped forward directly and threw a punch!

The muscles all over Du Ding’s body twitched violently; he had put his full strength into this punch. He wanted to strike his most impressive blow to amaze Captain Zheng and earn himself a highly valued position!

"THUD!"

A muffled sound echoed, like the toll of a massive bronze bell.

Zheng Jun didn’t move an inch.

Du Ding, however, felt as if his fist had struck an impenetrable fortress of copper and iron. Immediately after, a tangible, intense pain spread from his fist up through his arm, causing him to instantly gasp in cold air.

"HISS..."

The sharp pain throbbed like needles piercing his fingers. Yet, Du Ding didn’t utter a single sound. He retracted his hand, his body trembling slightly.

What kind of Horizontal Training was this? Standing there and letting him attack, yet he couldn’t even budge the man and only ended up hurting himself! Du Ding felt somewhat dejected. He realized that the gap between him and Zheng Jun was like an uncrossable chasm.

"Not bad. Your mastery of the Ma Family Fist shows some promise."

Zheng Jun nodded and then offered his guidance, "However, there are some issues with the way you exert force. The Ma Family Fist originates from the Eight-direction Concealed Fist Form. Therefore, its core lies in the word ’conceal.’ When exerting force, you must achieve Six Harmonies Penetration, sink your waist, lower your elbows, and use Skillful Strategy..."

Hearing Zheng Jun’s words, Du Ding froze in place, as if experiencing a sudden epiphany. The aspects of the Ma Family Fist that had previously puzzled him were instantly resolved under Zheng Jun’s earnest teaching. His admiration for Zheng Jun deepened, and he immediately cupped his hands and bowed. "Thank you for your guidance, Captain Zheng! I will never forget your profound kindness and virtue!"

Saying this, he was about to kneel and kowtow to Zheng Jun.

"There is no need for this. We are comrades-in-arms; the bond of brotherhood is what matters." Zheng Jun smiled faintly, stepping forward to support Du Ding. He then looked at the crowd and declared with a smile, "Through wind and rain, we sail the same boat; through hardships and trials, we stand together!"

"Through wind and rain, we sail the same boat; through hardships and trials, we stand together!" the crowd immediately echoed.

Meanwhile, a line of small ink-wash text surfaced before Zheng Jun’s eyes.

[Attacked. Iron Sand Demon Suppression Skill Repayment Progress +7. Current Repayment Progress: 1654/2500.]

Seven points. Du Ding’s skill level was lacking. But he was a Blood Refining Martial Artist, after all. For a full-force strike to provide this much repayment progress was still quite decent.

Zheng Jun glanced at Du Ding and noticed his fist was red, with faint hints of blackening bruises. He knew Du Ding had used all his strength and would struggle to throw another punch. Blood Refining Martial Artists offered limited improvement. The only one capable of advancing his Martial Arts further was Xu Tianfang.

Thinking of this, Zheng Jun raised his head and looked at Xu Tianfang.

Xu Tianfang astutely caught Zheng Jun’s gaze, and his heart skipped a beat.

"Does Captain Zheng have some deeper motive for doing this? I know the power of the Iron Sand Demon Suppression Skill. Even if my Mountain-Opening Palm can shatter monuments and crack rocks, it absolutely cannot shake Captain Zheng in the slightest! Could it be that he wants to use this opportunity to establish his dominance?" he wondered.

Xu Tianfang pondered inwardly but soon felt that this reasoning was flawed. After all, with Zheng Jun’s status and reputation, did he even need to establish dominance? Slashing down the Outer Gang Martial Artist and Black Mountain County Magistrate Meng Xian was already the greatest display of dominance in Black Mountain County! Just one word from him could make the Chief Clerk tremble in fear and the County Captain bow his head!

However, with Captain Zheng’s eyes locked onto him, Xu Tianfang had no choice but to bite the bullet and stand up. He addressed Zheng Jun respectfully, "Captain Zheng, I will now strike."

"Mhm."

Zheng Jun gave a slight nod. Seeing this, Xu Tianfang abruptly exerted force in his arms, his veins bulging as his face flushed red. Gathering his True Qi into the Mountain-Opening Palm, he thrust it toward Zheng Jun with overwhelming momentum. Bolstered by roaring True Qi, the palm strike packed enough force to shatter monuments and crack rocks!

Witnessing this, Zheng Jun couldn’t help but nod, feeling rather excited. Not bad; this skill level was very high. It should increase the repayment progress significantly.

Zheng Jun was delighted. He quickly composed his expression, adopting a serious and stern demeanor as he awaited Xu Tianfang’s blow!

The immense momentum of the strike astounded banquet attendees Ma Zhiyuan and Du Ding. Xu Zhilei, however, was somewhat horrified. "Master, what are you doing? Do you want to become the boss of the Tongzhou Association?" he wondered.

However, when such a formidable blow landed on Zheng Jun, he didn’t feel anything at all. It just felt like a light pat. Immediately after, Xu Tianfang let out a loud "AH!" and was sent flying backward. He crashed directly into the wall of the private room, shaking the dust loose from the surroundings.

This scene left everyone present thoroughly stunned.

And Zheng Jun was even more stunned.

Because...

[Attacked. Iron Sand Demon Suppression Skill Repayment Progress +1. Current Repayment Progress: 1655/2500.]

Motherfucker, was this guy an award-winning actor?!

Then, Xu Tianfang rose to his feet, feigning immense weakness. His eyes were filled with horror as he bowed submissively to Zheng Jun, cupping his hands. "C-Captain Zheng’s divine might is peerless! With such power, I am no match at all! Just seeing Captain Zheng exert his force is enough to make my legs tremble!"

Seeing him in this state, Ma Zhiyuan couldn’t help but feel shocked. A full palm strike from Xu Tianfang couldn’t harm Captain Zheng in the slightest, and he was even sent flying by the rebound?! It seemed Captain Zheng’s strength had advanced yet again. He was probably... no different from an Outer Gang Martial Artist now!

Ma Zhiyuan was deeply terrified.

Meanwhile, Zheng Jun took a deep breath and said calmly to Xu Tianfang, "It has not been easy for Hall Master Xu, either."

Zheng Jun didn’t say much else. After all, Xu Tianfang was just trying to kiss up to him, and saying anything more would be inappropriate. Instead, he simply added, "I will visit your home tomorrow. We can spar in private and exchange insights on the Iron Sand Demon Suppression Skill."

Xu Tianfang, who had been feeling rather smug and thought his performance was an absolute stroke of genius, suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. Realizing he might have outsmarted himself, he quickly forced an apologetic smile. "There’s no need to trouble Captain Zheng with a visit. I will seek out Captain Zheng tomorrow morning."