Chapter 7: Sticks Can't Harm Me Anymore

"Shut up little man! Let's Fight!"

When Tai Tu finished speaking, Ling Zhou was already jumping to get him. The disciple in charge of the platform saw that and decided to start the fight before they hit each other; he was too lazy to stop them and start from the beginning.

"Start!"

Ling Zhou's punch was already centimeters from Tai Tu's face. Now that the fight had officially begun, he wouldn't face any consequences for sneak attacking.

"You!"

The little man could only say that before he had to move his head exaggeratedly backwards, trying to evade the punch that was coming for him with all his effort. He was a cultivator on the 7th stage of the First Realm, while Ling Zhou had advanced to the 6th stage last night.

Although Tai Tu did his best to evade, the punch still hit him, throwing his face some inches to the side. He quickly distanced himself from Ling Zhou and recovered his breath.

"Shameless boy, take this!"

He had already recuperated, although he still bled. He launched his own attack on Ling Zhou, who was looking for something in his pocket.

Tai Tu got close rapidly, aiming a punch to Ling Zhou's liver. The latter surprisingly didn't evade, tilting only his body to receive the punch with his ribs and threw a punch of his own; not aiming to the face or the body, but to the neck.

It was too late when Tai Tu realized this and got hit, stepping back and coughing madly. Ling Zhou, who was also hit but endured the pain, took the thing he had prepared in his pocket, aiming for Tai Tu's mouth.

A small translucent sphere was sent flying, arriving at the little man's throat and passing to his stomach. He was coughing, but still swallowed it. After that, he coughed more intensely. His face and the whites of his eyes were red. The veins of his neck could be seen, and his fat hands were grasping his neck, as if he was choking himself.

'Good, I have a new volunteer for my pills. Hehehehe.'

Ling Zhou laughed internally, as he reached where Tai Tu was and sent him flying with a kick to the stomach.

"Winner… Ling Zhou." The Inner Disciple said, half shouting. He thought that the kid was a bit crazy, so he quickly made him leave.

"That's it Brother Ling!"

"What a clean victory Brother Ling!"

"I saw that you threw something at the end, what was it?"

Ling Zhou jumped down and walked a few steps to reincorporate to the group, before staying silent.

"Look at that, is he back to normal?"

"Maybe he needed to let out a little bit of energy."

"That's possible, Brother Wang, maybe the effect was tempora-"

Yi Ren was about to finish speaking when his piece of metal began to emit light, it had the number '32' in it.

"Oh it seems to be your turn Brother Yi!"

"Go quickly, platform 32 is at the edge, we're in the middle!"

"Ahhh! I'll be back soon!" Yi Ren said before sprinting towards a certain direction.

A few seconds after that, the group heard a girl's voice, calling them.

"There you are. I haven't seen you in a couple days. Is everything alright?"

Wang Fan, Plummy Fang and Ling Zhou turned around to see the speaker. They were startled for a moment, before someone answered quickly.

"We're alright Senior Sister Ming. It's just that we're going to be leaving in two days."

Plummy Fang said as he bowed slightly, cupping his fists and showing the courtesy of a gentleman. Wang Fan, however, stayed back in silence.

"Oh, is that so? Can I ask what kind of mission it is? It seems sudden…"

"Senior Sister, we'd love to tell you but our friend, Brother Yi, is about to fight, we are still far away from there." Ling Zhou spoke like he wasn't himself, calmly and coldly, indicating with his hand the direction where Yi Ren was supposed to have his match.

"Oh, I'm sorry for the interruption. I'm also interested in Junior Brother's match, can I go with you?"

Plummy Fang smiled and was about to answer, but, suddenly, his piece of metal revealed a number, it was the number 4.

"Ah gee golly! It is far away from Brother Yi's fight. I will have to ask later for the result…"

"Huh? Plummy Fang, what number is that? Is it the 4 as well?"

Wang Fan, whose metal square also revealed a number, asked.

"So it is our fight, Brother Wang… I didn't expect to encounter you so early, but it seems to be fate!"

"It's a pity for you, Plummy Fang, to be eliminated in the first match… tsk tsk stk"

"Let's go"

Wang Fan and Plummy Fang sped towards the north, leaving Ming Daiyu and Ling Zhou behind.

"…"

"…"

They remained awkwardly silent for a couple of seconds, before Ling Zhou followed after the ones who had just left.

'Sigh, I wanted to see how the Pickle Lord fought, but if no one goes to see Yi Ren, I will feel bad for him. Whatever, let's see Junior Brother Yi's fighting style.' Ming Daiyu thought before leaving in the opposite direction.

…

Yi Ren was standing opposite a 15-year-old boy. The boy was picking his nose, 5 or 6 meters away from Yi Ren.

"I'm Mei Zheng, but they call me Stick-boy." The boy spoke, taking his finger out of his nose, blowing softly at it.

"I'm Yi Ren. They call me Yi Ren or Brother Yi. Why do they call you Stick-boy?"

"Because I fight using a stick." The boy said, finally taking a look at Yi Ren, before looking at his finger again.

"Are you related to Stick-old-man?" Yi Ren asked, placing his eye protectors on his face.

"No, but he's my role model. I want my stick to cause fear too."

"Start!" The referee interrupted their conversation.

Suddenly, a brown, long and conical stick appeared in one of Mei Zheng's hands. It went from thick to thin, ending in a sharp spike.

He swung it horizontally before taking a stance, signaling Yi Ren to step forward.

Yi Ren, who remained standing without making any move, spoke.

"Um... I don't have a weapon."

Mei Zheng, who kept his guard, snorted.

"Hmph! So what? I'm on the 4th stage of First Realm. I'm the one who's at a disadvantage here."

He sped towards Yi Ren, approaching with all his strength, before swinging the conical stick.

Swush

The speed of the stick was outstanding. Yi Ren was about to be slashed with the pointy end of the stick, but, instead of retreating, he took a step forward.

Bam!

The side of the stick hit Yi Ren on his shoulder, making a loud sound. The only sharp part of the stick was the end, so Yi Ren wasn't cut, but the impact had some strength. He, however, acted as if nothing happened and grabbed the stick with both hands, pulling forcefully.

Mei Zheng didn't react in time, getting pulled along and flying out in the air.

Bang!

He fell heavily on another platform where a match was in progress, arriving with a loud sound. He was very unlucky; just as he landed, he received a barrage of attacks from the ones fighting, letting out incomplete screams as a cloud of dust rose, covering him and preventing anyone from seeing his current condition.

"Sticks can't harm me anymore." Yi Ren whispered. He was still rooted on his spot, but his dark glasses were not on his face anymore. He suspiciously looked around before jumping down off the platform, leaving hastily.

The referee wrote the result in his notes and silently called for the next participants.

'If it's not on my platform it's not my problem.' His lack of action was justified in his head.

Yi Ren was already 2 or 3 platforms away when a figure suddenly jumped in front of him, blocking his way.

"If you gravely injure someone, you have to make sure they are okay!"

It was Ming Daiyu. Her eyebrows were furrowed and her gaze was dark. She spoke angrily, scolding Yi Ren.

"What do you mean Senior Sister Ming? I wasn't the one who injured Brother Mei…"

"Even if it was an accident, you were the one fighting against him! Why did you run off without caring about your fellow disciple's current state?"

"I'm sorry, Sister Ming, I panicked."

Yi Ren's words didn't appear honest. He spoke in a monotonous tone, almost as if he was bored.

"Sigh… You bunch… sigh! Your friends were matched together. They're probably fighting right now, if not, their match has already ended. Go. They are on platform 4…"

Before she finished speaking, Yi Ren was already speeding on his way towards his friends' fight.

'Maybe Sister Feng was right. I should probably ignore these people.' Ming Daiyu thought as she went back to check Mei Zheng's condition, looking disappointed. She considered herself a good person, and she seemed to abhor those who were indifferent towards people's well-being.

'But wasn't he hit on the shoulder? He doesn't look like he's in pain... Maybe the stick wasn't that hard.'

…

"It seems that the gods don't want you to even win the first match, Plummy Fang…"