Chapter 244: A Dojo Challenge? Another Master Ma?

That afternoon, Ning Fei punted his wooden boat across South Lake, bringing Dark Circles along for the ride.

He sprinkled the fish feed he'd won from the lottery into the water.

Every handful of feed made the lake surface boil as a massive school of fish thrashed their tails, rushing over to fight for the food.

The fish in South Lake clearly had incredible vitality.

This was a good thing.

Fish like this yielded the firmest, most satisfying meat.

Dark Circles stared at the churning water, big eyes shining with excitement. It looked ready to snatch a fish right out of the lake for a snack.

Pandas had bear blood in them, after all, and bears loved fish.

"These fish are too small right now. They wouldn't even be enough to fill the gaps between your teeth,"

Ning Fei said with a laugh.

Once the fish were fed, Ning Fei rowed the boat over to the mountain crevice. He let Dark Circles climb up first before tying off the boat and following behind.

They had come in high spirits, and they left just as pleased.

He strolled along with the little panda trailing right behind him. The sight of the man and the bear walking together left the viewers burning with envy.

Most people struggled to even catch a glimpse of a real panda, yet Temple Master Ning got to walk home with one.

There was simply no comparison.

Meanwhile, another topic was quietly exploding in popularity across the internet.

A certain Master Ma, who claimed to be the head of the Hunyuan Xingyi Taiji School, had arranged a match against a martial arts expert. He was knocked out in just two punches, hitting the floor three times in thirty seconds.

Afterward, this Master Ma accused his opponent of "lacking martial virtue" and warned him to "reflect on himself." He even went on to boast that "a two-hundred-jin English strongman couldn't even bend one of my fingers," among other ridiculous claims.

The incident took the internet by storm, especially on Bilibili. Following the previous viral basketball meme, this became the platform's new favorite obsession, spawning an endless flood of short video edits.

This normally wouldn't have had anything to do with Ning Fei, but he happened to be trending right at the same time.

It didn't take long for people to draw connections. They began asking, "Is Ning Fei, the master of Qingfeng Temple, just another fraud like Master Ma?"

This thoroughly pissed off Ning Fei's fanbase.

After all, the proof was right there in his videos.

Fans quickly dug up clips of Ning Fei tossing a bear, slamming a timber wolf, throwing a massive python, and dropping from the sky to pin down a prairie wolf. The skepticism vanished instantly.

However, an amateur freestyle kickboxer named Nie Quan decided to use Ning Fei to farm some clout for himself.

He started drumming up hype online, pushing narratives like, "The Qingfeng Temple Master's kung fu is fake. He's a total fraud," and "I'm going to expose him."

His provocations worked. A massive crowd immediately flooded his page to curse him out.

After all, the world was never short of clowns desperate for attention.

Nie Quan got into a screaming match with the netizens, boasting that Temple Master Ning wouldn't last two rounds against him and that he could drop the Daoist with a single punch.

When people get fired up, they say whatever comes to mind—and if they say it enough times, they start to believe it themselves.

While Nie Quan was arguing in his comment section, a few viewers challenged him: "If you're so tough, go fight Temple Master Ning in person. We bet you wouldn't dare."

In a moment of hot-headed arrogance, Nie Quan replied, "I'll fight him right now! My only worry is that I'll beat him until he cries."

"I'll go up that crappy mountain tomorrow and find him."

The more Nie Quan talked, the more worked up he got, his temper flaring higher by the second.

Truth be told, an angry adrenaline rush was a genuine buff for a freestyle kickboxer in the ring. Riding that wave of hot-headed fury, he immediately booked a flight to Qincheng and declared, "I'm going to show you all exactly how I dismantle this 'master' you worship so much."

He posted this as a standalone Weibo update, turned off the comments, and dragged along a friend who worked as a cameraman to head over to the mountain.

What Nie Quan didn't expect was that the stunt actually worked.

Ning Fei's name carried a lot of weight right now. People were thoroughly amazed by the various video clips of him, and his internet presence was massive.

Nie Quan himself had a decent reputation in the freestyle kickboxing world, backed up by genuine physical skills.

As a result, the perfect internet spectacle was born.

"Renowned Freestyle Kickboxer Challenges Qingfeng Temple Master Ning Fei."

The headline was absolute clickbait. Hordes of curious viewers clicked in to get the details, immediately sparking heated debates across the forums.

Early the next morning, Ning Fei noticed his viewers buzzing about the challenge in his live stream chat.

He simply muttered an impassive "Boring" and paid it no further mind.

"Brother Quan, if you win this, you're going to be a superstar. You're taking up half the top spots on the Weibo trending list right now," his friend Zhang Si flattered from the passenger seat.

Nie Quan knew the entire internet was watching him, and the thrill was intoxicating.

If he capitalized on this properly, his career would completely take off.

Why hadn't he ever thought of challenging a major streamer to gain clout before?

"That Qingfeng Temple Master... he's got to be a fake, right?" Nie Quan asked, a tiny sliver of doubt lingering in the back of his mind.

"Don't even sweat it, Brother Quan. He's definitely just like Ma Baoguo—a fraud fishing for fame. There's no way he actually knows real kung fu," Zhang Si reassured him.

"What kind of kung fu could a guy in his early twenties possibly know anyway? Besides, freestyle kickboxing is the only real practical martial art."

Hearing Zhang Si put it like that made Nie Quan swell with even more pride.

Nie Quan thought he had stumbled onto a golden loophole, a perfect chance to piggyback on Ning Fei's fame and ride it all the way to the peak of his life.

It never once crossed his mind to wonder why the genuinely smart or powerful figures on the internet never dared to provoke Ning Fei in the first place.

Around noon, just as Ning Fei was chopping vegetables for lunch, Nie Quan pounded on his front door.

Because there were so many fans lingering around the village, even the Mushroom House cast had heard about the impending drama.

That morning, Huang Sanshi, He Rihuo, Peng Xiaochang, and Zhang Xiaofeng had all trooped up the mountain to witness the spectacle firsthand.

The surrounding crowd whipped out their phones, some starting up live streams while others recorded the scene.

Nie Quan had never commanded so much attention in his life. He subconsciously puffed out his chest.

He banged on the heavy doors of Qingfeng Temple.

Ning Fei pulled the doors open, a hint of astonishment flashing across his face. The entrance was packed with people. The entire Yearning 6 production crew had shown up, and everyone was pointing their phones at him. One of the crew members even had a massive, professional broadcasting camera aimed squarely at the courtyard.

The viewers in Ning Fei's own stream were thoroughly entertained by the chaotic scene.

"Is that the challenger?"

"Yeah, he's a total moron. I spent half of yesterday flaming him on Weibo."

"I can't believe he actually showed up."

"Now this is getting good. An actual dojo challenge!"

"Let's see how Temple Master Ning handles this."

Standing in the open doorway, Ning Fei eyed Nie Quan with a cold, clear expression. "What do you want?"

Nie Quan actually put on a surprisingly polite front when he saw the Daoist. He offered a cupped-fist salute and said, "My name is Nie Quan. I'm a freestyle kickboxing enthusiast. I heard Temple Master Ning's kung fu is incredible, so I've come to ask for some guidance."

"Sure."

Ning Fei replied without a second of hesitation.

Nie Quan froze.

He'd fully expected the Daoist to make excuses or at least offer some polite refusal. He hadn't expected him to agree immediately.

Deep down, Nie Quan had been hoping Ning Fei would back down. That would let him farm the fame without even having to throw a punch.

Ning Fei's reasoning was much simpler. If he refused this challenger today, another one would show up tomorrow, and another the day after that. The endless harassment would annoy him to death.

It was better to nip this trend in the bud and save himself the future headaches.

Flustered by Ning Fei's blunt acceptance, Nie Quan stood there, completely out of words.

"I'm in the middle of cooking and I'm pressed for time," Ning Fei added coolly. "How's your current condition? If you're ready to fight, let's just do it now."

Seeing the total lack of concern on Ning Fei's face, Nie Quan's confidence began to waver. But one glance at the expectant crowd surrounding them forced him to push his chest out.

"I'm perfectly fine."

Ning Fei's expression didn't change as he stepped out of the temple and made his way to the flat open clearing by the entrance.

Nie Quan peeled off his shirt, strapped on a pair of kickboxing gloves, and rolled his shoulders to loosen up.

Every eye in the crowd was glued to the two men.

On one side stood Ning Fei, looking completely relaxed. On the other stood Nie Quan, flexing his heavily muscled torso.

This fight was destined to be a brilliant spectacle.

"I'm suddenly so nervous."

One viewer typed in the chat.

"Go, Temple Master Ning!"

"That guy is a competitive freestyle kickboxer! He fights in actual tournaments. Temple Master Ning doesn't have any ring experience, does he?"

"There's a massive gap between amateurs and professionals in a real fight."

"Temple Master Ning really might lose this."

The live crowd was practically trembling with excitement.

To witness a real, live dojo challenge happening right in front of their eyes was an incredible thrill.

The Mushroom House cast stared without blinking. The show's director was even more opportunistic, immediately pivoting the day's Yearning 6 broadcast to perfectly capture the showdown.

"Are you ready, Temple Master Ning?" Nie Quan asked, his confidence returning after a few quick warm-up drills.

"Just start already," Ning Fei said, a hint of impatience creeping into his voice.

Nie Quan's friend Zhang Si stepped between them. He struck a small gong and shouted, "Begin!"

Millions of eyes locked onto the screen.

The battle between modern freestyle kickboxing and ancient martial arts had officially begun.

True to his training, Nie Quan raised his guard and began circling Ning Fei, slowly closing the distance between them.

That was the essence of freestyle kickboxing: close the gap, and see who could strike faster and defend more precisely.

Nie Quan noticed that as he closed in, Ning Fei didn't so much as twitch. He just stood there, watching him with absolute apathy.

'He really is just like Master Ma,' Nie Quan thought. 'All talk and no action.'

If that was true, he had just struck gold.

Despite his thoughts, his hands didn't hesitate.

Sensing he was in range, Nie Quan saw that the Daoist still hadn't raised his guard. Without a second thought, he launched a vicious, pinpoint right hook aimed squarely at Ning Fei's jaw.

The punch was terrifyingly powerful, packing enough force to actually whistle through the air.

Then, Nie Quan finally saw him move.

Ning Fei didn't block. He didn't dodge.

Instead, Ning Fei simply raised his right hand in the shape of a knifehand and chopped cleanly against the side of Nie Quan's neck.

The world instantly went black, and Nie Quan knew nothing more.

Smack!

One second, Nie Quan was unleashing a devastating punch. The next, taking Ning Fei's single knifehand strike, all the strength vanished from his limbs. He crumpled forward like a broken doll, slamming onto the dirt and lying completely motionless.

In that instant, the bustling, noisy courtyard outside Qingfeng Temple fell dead silent.