Chapter 21: The Triumph of Martial Arts!

"Wrong, bro, I was wrong, please, stop..."

"Bang!"

"Wait, we are from the Razor Gang, you..."

"Bang!"

"Hey, can we make peace?"

"Bang!"

On the street, the scattered members of the Razor Gang lay defeated where they fell, like golf balls neatly placed. Xue Jing, holding a metal baseball bat, approached each one and, no matter what they said, their heads exploded with each swing.

Before long, only one crew-cut youth remained standing on the scene.

Xue Jing slowly walked up to the crew-cut youth, the metal baseball bat in his hand dented in several places and covered in blood due to the excessive force and numerous hits.

"I'm very curious,"

he began.

"As an utterly harmless student, it's normal for me to visit a classmate's house, isn't it? Nothing odd about that at all."

"I never cause trouble on any ordinary day, I wouldn't drive onto a spacious sidewalk when traffic jams occur, and when the taste of food in restaurants doesn't match the price, I just pinch my nose and pay. Encountering thugs like you scares me to death, and I always take detours to avoid you."

"Not to mention, I've never even been to South City before, so there's no way I could have inadvertently provoked you."

"So what exactly did you plan to do by suddenly rushing out at me?"

The tone of Xue Jing's speech was not harsh, as if he was casually chatting with a friend.

But the fear on the crew-cut youth's face deepened with each word Xue Jing spoke, until by the last word, his legs gave out, and he fell to the ground, frantically waving his hands:

"No way, not at all, bro, we were just passing by... Ah!!"

Before he could finish speaking, Xue Jing swung his bat, smashing it against the youth's ankle.

The sound of bone cracking erupted, and the crew-cut youth's ankle twisted into a grotesque angle.

"Answer the questions honestly when asked, and don't make unnecessary excuses. Didn't your teacher teach you that?"

"Yes... yes."

The crew-cut youth, his face pale with pain, hastily said:

"We are under Duan Kaiping from the Razor Gang. Brother Duan saw you walking alone on the street in your Affiliated Middle School uniform and thought about kidnapping you to extort your family..."

Xue Jing shook the baseball bat in his hand and asked, "Where is this Brother Duan now?"

"Brother Duan felt that, as a student, there was no need for him to act; he let us handle it while he waited in a warehouse on the next street!"

The crew-cut youth spoke very fast, afraid that anything might dissatisfy Xue Jing and result in another hit.

"Is this Brother Duan very formidable?" Xue Jing asked.

"Brother Duan is a core member of the Razor Gang, authorized to have 'Razor' tattooed over his chest... He, with the Gang Leader's connections, trained in martial arts at the Golden Wind Dojo. I've only seen him in action once; he split a coke can in half barehanded as if he was wielding a razor!"

Xue Jing narrowed his eyes.

Golden Wind Dojo... He had just heard about it from Pei Youguang, who had trained there to learn "Power."

That a dojo would let these gang members who casually engage in kidnapping and extortion train there proved it wasn't a good place, hence its location in South City.

'To split a coke can in half means slicing a throat would be even easier... His combat power isn't low.'

Xue Jing pondered.

After this, he had squarely confronted the Razor Gang, injuring many of their members. Although it was entirely their fault, he did not believe the gang members would be reasonable with him.

First, Xue Jing considered the possibility of silencing them, but he soon realized it was impractical.

Not to mention whether he could bring himself to do it, the commotion they caused was too loud, probably witnessed by many. Asking a few bystanders would lead straight to him.

So, there was no way out.

Xue Jing thought for a moment and then asked, "Tell me more about your Razor Gang."

He paused, "How big is your influence, how formidable are you exactly, and how many key members like 'Brother Duan' do you have?"

The crew-cut youth hesitated, then replied, "Our Razor Gang is one of the seven peripheral gangs in the South City area; we control a few streets around here... There are several dozen core members like Brother Duan."

Xue Jing squinted, "What's your gang leader's relationship with the Golden Wind Dojo?"

"The gang leader is a direct disciple of the Arena Master of the Golden Wind Dojo..."

Hearing this, Xue Jing felt a headache coming on.

Just as he thought, pulling out one root revealed a clump of dirt. These entrenched gang forces were entangled in various relationships; provoking one would unravel many.

Was he to deal with the Razor Gang and then the Golden Wind Dojo? And after that, what else might emerge?

Wouldn't this be endless?

Hey, can we make peace?

"But... there's not no way to break the situation."

Xue Jing felt he could use the situation to his advantage.

The Razor Gang was backed by Golden Wind Dojo, but in Qingcheng, they weren't the only dojo around.

Dojos needed to conduct business, take your money, and let you become a disciple for martial arts practice.

Xue Jing didn't believe that with his unmatched talent and astonishing wisdom, he wouldn't be treated with utmost respect in any dojo he joined.

You Razor Gang have someone powerful backing you, right? I'll soon be just as powerful!

Even, he thought of a cunning plan.

He'd take the initiative and pay to join Golden Wind Dojo first!

By the time the Razor Gang came looking for trouble...

I acknowledge your power, but if I choose to join directly, how will you deal with that?

However, he currently had a very bad impression of both Golden Wind Dojo and the Razor Gang, and unless he had no choice, he didn't want to do this.

Xue Jing felt a sense of urgency.

Previously he hadn't felt much pressure. Although he wanted to practice martial arts, he wasn't in a hurry, but now he needed to figure out how to gather money to join a dojo as soon as possible.

"Thank you for the information."

Xue Jing said to the crew-cut youth.

The latter quickly smiled obsequiously, "It's no trouble, bro, it's all in a day's work... Look, can you let me off the hook for this?"

Xue Jing nodded.

"Alright, I'll give you a chance."

Having said this, he looked around and picked up a few handy stones from the ground not far away.

Seeing this, the crew-cut youth was traumatized, a bad premonition arising in his mind.

"Run, I'll only count to ten."

Xue Jing tossed the stones in his hand.

"One."

"Hey? Bro, look at my foot..."

The crew-cut youth grimaced, pointing to his foot which had been broken by Xue Jing's stick.

"Two."

"Wait a second, wait a second, can we start counting again?"

"Three."

The crew-cut youth grit his teeth, endured the intense pain in his ankle, pushed himself off the wall, and hobblingly made his way towards the other side of the street.

"Four."

But since he could only move one foot, he really couldn't walk fast.

"Five."

The counting voice, like a death knell, slowly came from behind him; he scrambled to speed up, only to trip and fall.

"Six."

He struggled to get up, but in his haste, he touched his injured ankle and fell over again from the pain.

"Seven."

He moved forward in a mix of rolling and crawling.

"Eight."

"Ahhhhhh!"

He cried out in fear.

"Nine."

"Ten."

Xue Jing watched the crew-cut youth who hadn't made it twenty meters away and threw a stone at him.

"Bang!"

The final headshot noise echoed through the night.

Xue Jing looked around at the bodies strewn about, looked at the stone in his palm, squeezed it tightly, and confidently declared:

"It's the victory of martial arts!"

...