Chapter 18: The Tier 4 Fire Slave Chief

In the park square, a group of elderly men and women continued their daily tai chi practice with Master Ma. While demonstrating tai chi, Master Ma frequently glanced toward the park entrance.

Truthfully, he hadn't wanted to come to the park today, fearing another encounter with the young man who had challenged him yesterday. However, the adoration and support from his loyal elderly fans were too enticing to resist, and so he had come.

Fortunately, the young man hadn't shown up today, much to Master Ma's relief.

The thought of yesterday's encounter and the young man's astonishing speed still unnerved him. It was an inhuman speed. The elderly around him might have thought they were seeing things, but he knew better. If not for Little Li cushioning his fall, he might have ended up in the martial arts clinic himself.

"Thank goodness that young man isn't here today," Master Ma thought with relief, striking a White Crane Spreads Its Wings pose. His relief was short-lived, however, as he spotted the young man walking toward him from the park gate.

Instantly, Master Ma halted his movements and quickly addressed his followers, "That's all for today; I have some matters to attend to at the dojo. Let's call it a day."

He then hurried toward the park's back exit.

A concerned elderly woman called out, "Master Ma, you're going the wrong way! The main gate is over there!"

Ignoring her, Master Ma increased his pace, practically sprinting toward the rear exit.

Zeng Shen, seeing Master Ma's retreat, was puzzled but approached the disbanding group.

An elderly woman recognized him and said, "Oh, you're the young man who wanted to spar with Master Ma yesterday!"

"Yes, I was just passing by and thought I'd ask Master Ma for some pointers," Zeng Shen replied.

"Master Ma returned to the dojo. If you want to find him, it's down the Red Rice Road, about three hundred meters, then a left turn. There's a motorcycle shop nearby," the woman helpfully added.

"Thank you, ma'am," Zeng Shen said, grateful for the directions.

"You're welcome. Master Ma's business is our business."

With that, Zeng Shen headed toward the dojo, eager to test a theory.

Yesterday's encounter with Master Ma had netted him 2000 survival points, far more than usual. He wondered if it was due to the combination of "suppress" and "repel" actions, possibly resulting from their altercation.

He intended to spar with Master Ma again to see if he could replicate the survival points gain and explore if different actions could yield multiple effects.

Red Rice Road was bustling, yet offered no system warnings.

"Perhaps this road won't exist in three years, or the people here won't survive or become deities," Zeng Shen speculated. He followed the elderly woman's directions to the dojo.

Turning left at the road's end, an urgent warning sounded in his ears.

[Warning, warning, you are entering the domain of a Tier 3 Fire Deity and its followers. If discovered, your divine energy will be stripped, leaving you enslaved or incinerated.]

A red-purple warning panel flashed before his eyes.

Ignoring the system's warning, Zeng Shen examined the dojo beside the motorcycle shop.

He had expected a small dojo led by a lone Master Ma, but the building's size surprised him.

The dojo was large, with a traditional design, spanning three floors.

Entering through the open gate, Zeng Shen found a 100-square-meter courtyard with numerous sandbags. About seven or eight middle school-aged children were punching the bags, shouting "Ah! Ha!" as they practiced.

One child, slightly older than the rest, noticed Zeng Shen and asked, "Who are you here for?"

[Warning! You have been detected by a Tier 1 Fire Slave, a follower of the Tier 3 Fire Deity. You cannot defeat them; flee quickly.]

"I'm here for Master Ma."

Zeng Shen resisted rolling his eyes at the system's warning—how could he lose to a group of kids?

"Master Ma isn't back yet. You can wait in the hall and ask Uncle Li when he'll return," the child suggested.

"Okay, thanks," Zeng Shen replied, heading toward the dojo hall.

The hall was spacious, walls adorned with old-style weapons and numerous certificates.

To the left, a group of young men in white martial arts uniforms sparred under the watchful eye of a middle-aged man.

These young men were well-trained, their movements powerful and precise, impressing Zeng Shen with Master Ma's apparent skill.

"Maybe he isn't just a con artist," Zeng Shen thought. "Without cheating yesterday, I might have been in trouble."

As he pondered this, the middle-aged man approached.

[Danger! You have been noticed by the Tier 4 Fire Slave Chief, a follower of the Tier 3 Fire Deity. You cannot defeat them; flee quickly.]

"Who are you here for?" the man's gruff voice asked.

"I'm looking for Master Ma," Zeng Shen replied honestly.

"Oh, what for?"

"Master Ma wanted to spar yesterday, but he left for the dojo today, so I followed," Zeng Shen explained.

The man's brow furrowed, his tone turning unfriendly. "Master Ma isn't here. Want to spar with my students instead?"

Zeng Shen sensed the shift in tone but was intrigued by the offer. If sparring could yield survival points, why not?

"Sure, I'd love to," Zeng Shen agreed eagerly.

The man's surprise was evident, and he asked, "Master Ma is our dojo's treasure. Have you trained before?"

"Not really, but I'm faster than most," Zeng Shen admitted.

The man's face remained unreadable.