The Martial Arts Championship was imminent. Most of the youths in Taiyuan Valley formed cliques, and Jiang Yisheng was in the same clique as the little monster while the defeated youth was in Jiang Yanyun’s clique.
Their abilities were the most outstanding in Taiyuan Valley, and their followers were naturally equally ready to spar.
A month ago, the small monster had left with an elder on a mission and was not in the valley for a while. During that time, Jiang Yisheng’s abilities had grown quickly. He wanted to break Jiang Yanyun’s momentum before the Martial Arts Championship began.
The moment Jiang Yisheng issued his challenge, a burly youth emerged from the crowd. He had an arrogant air, and his lips were twisted in a disdainful sneer. He cocked his head on one side and looked at Jiang Yisheng, who was filled with self-confidence.
“Jiang Yisheng, you want to fight Elder Brother Yun? You’ll have to beat me first. Elder Brother Yun doesn’t have time to play with you.”
Jiang Yisheng looked at the newcomer. “Jiang Yiran.”
Jiang Yiran was in the top ranks of Taiyuan Valley. He was a highly talented youth, and among Jiang Yanyun’s followers, his abilities were second only to Jiang Yanyun.
The youth whom Jiang Yisheng had defeated clambered to his feet, still clutching his head. He stood guiltily in front of Jiang Yiran.
“Elder Brother Yiran.”
Jiang Yiran glanced at the youth, whose head was all swollen from the beating, and grimaced disdainfully. He slapped the youth’s head and shoved him aside.
“You’re useless. The sight of you makes me sick. Get lost.”
The youth who had been shoved aside backed away, quivering. He did not dare to say a word. Everyone knew that Jiang Yiran had a hot temper, and if he answered back, he would just get another thrashing.
Jiang Yiran then looked at Jiang Yisheng, and his lips curved in a raffish smile.
“How about that? After you’ve beaten me, you can talk about fighting Elder Brother Yun. If you can’t even beat me, there’s no point embarrassing yourself by fighting Elder Brother Yun.”
When the youths with Jiang Yisheng saw Jiang Yiran’s arrogant attitude, they cheered Jiang Yisheng on to try to deflate his opponent.
“No problem,” said Jiang Yisheng. “I can always look for Jiang Yanyun after I’ve beaten you.”
“Ah, I like people like you who present themselves for a thrashing.” Jiang Yiran casually cracked his knuckles with a clear popping noise.
The two youths faced each other.
Ye Qingtang was standing on the sidelines, observing the situation. She had just arrived in Taiyuan Valley and was unsure about the state of affairs on both sides.
“Jiang Yisheng, let’s not bother with all that posturing. If we spoil anything here, the Elders will nag at us. I heard your palm technique is pretty good, so why don’t we play at that?” Jiang Yiran said with a smile.
The moment Jiang Yiran said that, the youths around Jiang Yisheng cheered again.
“Jiang Yisheng’s palm technique has already broken through to the second heaven. Is this Jiang Yiran stupid? He actually wants to compare palm techniques with Jiang Yisheng?”
“Jiang Yiran has always been arrogant and full of himself. He despises everyone except for Jiang Yanyun. Now, he’s about to be humiliated.”
Jiang Yisheng naturally did not object. His goal was Jiang Yanyun. To him, Jiang Yiran was no more than an appetizer.
“Sure.”
Jiang Yiran smiled.
“Since I chose the technique, you can set the rules.”
Jiang Yisheng said, “We’ll each deal one blow. Whoever can absorb the blow without moving will win.”
“No problem.” Jiang Yiran spread his hands and graciously agreed.
With that, the atmosphere of a fight grew, and everyone fixed their eyes on the two, quietly waiting for an exciting match.