Chapter 26 Melee_1

"You!!"

Li Libo's eyes were bloodshot as he unconsciously stepped forward with his right foot.

Chen Jiechang quickly grabbed his fellow townsman, "Hold back! Senior Brother Xiang and the others aren't here."

Li Libo suddenly remembered that Xiang Changsong had also left at noon, and at this moment, there was not a single direct disciple of Teacher Yang in the entire Martial Arts School!

"Senior Brother Xiang? Your reliance is on Senior Brother Xiang, isn't it? Do you really think Senior Brother Xiang will help you?"

Lu Tingcai's heart skipped a beat, fearing that the two men in front of him would go and complain, which would mean trouble, but this wasn't the first time he had done this and he had a routine for handling such situations, so he bluffed.

"Just because Senior Brother Xiang speaks kindly to you, do you think you're someone important? Will he punish the four of us for three country bumpkins?"

"Unless he's willing to kick all of us out just for the three of you..."

A sinking feeling hit Li Libo and Chen Jiechang as they suddenly remembered their identity.

Fishermen.

Would Senior Brother Xiang really help a few fishermen?

Even if he helped, he couldn't possibly kick out Lu Tingcai directly.

If he didn't kick him out...

The two had just paid the autumn tax and were accustomed to the ways of the influential, and half-believed what they were now being told, their expressions turning ugly.

Seeing their reactions, Lu Tingcai relaxed and decided to strike while the iron was hot, "You two reek of fish, making it impossible for everyone to concentrate on their martial arts. Isn't it right for you to pay some money so that everyone can have a drink of whey to get rid of the smell?"

"Right, there are three of you, aren't there? Where's the other one? Knew he couldn't handle it and went home early? Sorry, but you'll have to cover his share too!"

Feeling shaky inside, but still angry, Chen Jiechang retorted, "We always keep at least ten steps away from you. Even if we smelled of fish, there's no way you could smell it!"

"Sorry, didn't you know that martial arts training can enhance the five senses? Our sense of smell is so sharp that we can smell it. What are you going to do about it?"

"What if we don't pay?"

"Don't pay?"

Lu Tingcai arched an eyebrow, slouched his body around, and asked with folded hands, "Master Lu, may I have the honor of exchanging a few moves with the two junior brothers?"

Li Libo and Chen Jiechang were greatly frightened.

Lu Tingcai was close to breaking through Skin Pass, an elder with breath control as fine as a little finger, how could he possibly deal fairly?

And Lu Shaohui, who already disliked the two, wouldn't this be just what he wanted?

Not to mention that sparring in the Martial Arts School and getting minor injuries was a common occurrence.

To everyone's surprise, Lu Shaohui frowned when he heard this.

He didn't like the three fishermen from Yixing City, nor did he like their smell, but he hadn't planned to do anything about it.

A martial artist who had broken through two passes bothering with three fishermen?

He didn't care about these three at all; to him, their significance was less than that of air.

Lu Tingcai had picked the wrong person to be his stooge.

Lu Shaohui dropped his stone locks and left the Martial Arts Performance Ground as if he had heard nothing.

The scene became very awkward for a moment.

Watching Lu Shaohui's departing figure, Lu Tingcai's mouth twitched, but since he was naturally thick-skinned, he didn't mind. Everything was under control, and it was actually better that Lu Shaohui stayed out of it. So, Lu Tingcai turned around, rolling up his sleeves, preparing to "spar" with the two men.

"If the two junior brothers won't listen, then I suppose I must take the place of the masters..."

Chen Jiechang was as if facing a fearsome enemy, but out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly caught sight of Li Libo darting out, picking something up from the flowerbed and smashing it viciously against the back of Lu Tingcai's head.

Thump!

The dull sound echoed across the entire Martial Arts Performance Ground.

Everyone was stunned.

Lu Tingcai felt dizzy, his vision gradually blurring.

He staggered around, looked down to see the stone in Li Libo's hand, then reached to touch the back of his own head. Bringing his hand in front of his eyes, it was covered in fresh red. He wanted to curse, but his brain couldn't make the connection, and with faltering steps, he leaned askew against the wall.

Xue Dingyi and the others were dumbfounded, taking a good while to realize what happened and then started yelling, "Get him!"

Don't!!!

In the corner, Lu Tingcai was even more puzzled. One-on-one could be considered sparring, but a full-on brawl would change the nature of things!

I just wanted to swindle some silver, not to be driven out of the Martial Arts School!

He opened his mouth, wanting to stop Xue Dingyi, but a throbbing pain pulsed through his brain, stopping any words from coming out.

He hadn't expected Li Libo to be so fierce as to crack his skull open with an initial move.

The scene instantly descended into chaos.

"Be careful!"

Chen Jiechang suddenly pulled Li Libo to safety.

Just then, someone drew a wooden stick from the weapon rack and swung it down towards where Li Libo had been standing.

...

Underwater.

Liang Qu took a deep breath from the air-filled pig's bladder and tied it around his waist.

The "rock" remained motionless, but as his perspective shifted, he gained a deeper understanding of the creature, especially when he noticed two protruding tentacles on top of the "rock," which were obviously its eyestalks.

A clear weakness, Liang Qu thought.

He moved his feet slowly, using the rocks as cover, steadily approaching; just as he was ready to move closer, the crustacean that had been lying on the sea bed suddenly stirred.

Liang Qu immediately froze in place, minimizing his presence.

He couldn't move.

Most crustaceans have a keen sense of touch and can use their pincers to sense vibrations in the ground to detect the presence of other living beings around them.

Moving now would only expose him.

What had seemed to be one solid "rock" suddenly split into two smaller pieces, the tops of which opened into two pairs of pincers. The pincers supported the entire structure, slowly lifting the larger rock—a part of which had been buried in the silt.

When the rock finally stood up, it formed a structure slightly larger on the top and smaller at the bottom, roughly a meter and seventy centimeters tall.

Liang Qu, observing in the shadows, felt a sense of familiarity.

Why did it resemble an invincible war chariot?

The sprite monster in front of him looked as if a crab's waist had been suddenly elongated; with a torso that was an inverted triangle, bearing two large claws, and a lower half that had crab-like legs akin to those of the invincible war chariot Eregot, even encircled by a fringe of crab hair, resembling a waistband.

He hadn't expected a Crab Monster to take on such a bizarre shape, and its size was larger than he had imagined—it was nearly as tall as he was, whereas he had thought it to be only about a meter tall.

Besides, it was more than a meter wide, making it look very bulky.

After the Crab Monster got up, it stood still in its place, while Liang Qu also remained silent and motionless tens of meters away.

The two beasts were likewise pressed flat against the ground, buried in the silt, merging perfectly with the environment—a flawless camouflage.

For a time, the situation underwater changed, yet stayed the same.

Both stood still as boulders, only the seaweed drifted gently with the current.

Liang Qu kept a firm gaze on the Crab Monster, but suddenly, his field of vision cleared, and he could see through the water unobstructedly, peering into the dark depths.

!!!

"Run!"

Liang Qu screamed in his mind, quickly backpedaling and retreating. The Zhupo Dragon and the Fat Catfish tumbled away hastily. The next instant, the presence of a massive creature appeared above his head, plummeting down at great speed.

The heavy crab legs plunged into the silt, and the swift current it created was like a whirlwind suddenly arising underwater; the dust rose up to Liang Qu's waist.

The enormous pincers tore through the water, making a sound like ripping fabric, while the shattered white foam wrapped around the giant ao, smashing down towards Liang Qu's head.

The terrifying sound of the beast cutting through the fluid sent shivers down one's spine.

Liang Qu dodged to the side, fear-stricken yet controlling the water flow like two pushing hands, one pushing away the giant ao, the other propelling himself, passing by each other.

The giant ao struck the rocks, knocking down boulders half the height of a man. Under the force of gravity, it split the water and crashed down with a thunderous bang.

The gale seemed to intensify suddenly, and the dust swirled up to the height of a person.

Such a ferociously powerful strike!

Liang Qu's pupils dilated sharply; almost in the same moment he dodged, the giant ao came sweeping through the brown mud mist, surging towards him.

The water snake-like currents erupted swiftly, stirring the entire water body. Liang Qu blocked with a side pole, using the water flow behind him for support, and his body swept away, landing softly.

The Crab Monster's limbs pulled free from the mud, its lower half curling like a shrimp's, then suddenly exploding forth, catapulting out of the muddy haze.

The Zhupo Dragon and the Fat Catfish tried to intercept, but it was too late.

The Crab Monster's numerous joints, filled with mud, scattered and stretched quickly under the wash of the current, resembling countless fine grey hands trying to grasp it, to hinder it, but to no avail.

The next second, these scattered hands were gathered by an invisible force, spreading towards the Crab Monster's eyes, enveloping and obstructing them.