After the Immortal Disappeared

Chapter 297: Chapter 296: Arena Number 7

Hee Lingchuan didn’t answer, instead instructing the old woman who had just entered with hot water, "Get her a hot meal. Just say Eldest Young Master Hee ordered it." With that, he nodded to Ajin and took his leave.

After he left, the soldier on duty hurried to Hee Chunhua’s tent to report the conversation.

After listening to the report, Hee Chunhua smiled. "So the boy has stopped his foolishness?"

***

For the next three days, the rain was ceaseless.

Tossing and turning at night, unable to sleep, Hee Lingchuan got up and had his Personal Guard set up a larger, more spacious tent. It was nearly as grand as one belonging to a State Official.

He practiced with his blade inside the tent.

The Saber Qi from "Floating Life" was too fierce; Hee Lingchuan didn’t want to sleep in a tent that leaked all over. So, he carved himself a crude Wooden Blade. Every day, apart from eating, he did nothing but use it to practice Wave Slash.

Due to the limited space, he didn’t combine his Sword Technique and Body Technique, instead practicing each form repeatedly, hacking and slashing. Any soldier who happened to pass his tent would see Eldest Young Master Hee using the most basic footwork to execute the most basic blade strikes.

But to Hee Lingchuan, ever since leaping into the river to face its waves, he felt he’d had an epiphany regarding this Sword Technique. He now understood aspects that had previously eluded him and knew how to strike.

His body was beginning to commit this "feeling" to memory.

If the Hanhe River weren’t now a torrent of surging, unsurvivable waves, he would have been itching to jump back in and practice again and again.

The ceaseless sound of the rain masked the faint rumble of wind and thunder that came from the Wooden Blade.

The sound would sometimes grow loud, then vanish entirely.

As Shan Youjun passed by, he saw Hee Lingchuan make a seemingly unremarkable slash toward the ground. Only after he had already withdrawn the blade did a gash suddenly appear in the earth.

He noticed that the tip of the Wooden Blade hadn’t touched the ground. Yet the gash was perfectly neat, a full inch deep.

Several hours later, Shan Youjun returned to find the rain had subsided. Young Master Hee was standing at the entrance of his tent, yawning. Upon seeing him, he asked, "Do you know in what situation a blade can cut water?"

Shan Youjun played along perfectly. "Please enlighten me, Master."

"Right now."

Hee Lingchuan suddenly drew his blade.

Seven raindrops falling through the air—whether near the ground or just about to land on Shan Youjun’s forehead—suddenly became fourteen.

Each one had been sliced perfectly in half.

Shan Youjun felt two consecutive cold sensations right between his eyebrows.

He looked at the tip of Hee Lingchuan’s blade; it was perfectly clean and dry, not a drop of moisture on it.

He had struck them with the force of his blade.

"Master, that was very dangerous!" When Hee Lingchuan drew his blade, Shan Youjun had felt a tingling between his eyebrows as a chill shot straight to the back of his skull.

He knew perfectly well that even though the Wooden Blade hadn’t touched him, if that last strike had been meant to kill, he would already be a corpse on the ground.

"How exhilarating!" Hee Lingchuan let out a long whistle through pursed lips, his whole body feeling clear and invigorated.

The fruits of his epiphany were now consolidated. He tossed the Wooden Blade aside and rolled his neck, producing a series of loud CRACKS.

It was only then he realized he had been training relentlessly for two days and two nights without a wink of sleep. The physical and mental exhaustion came crashing down on him like a tidal wave, threatening to pull him under.

"I need to get some sleep," he told Shan Youjun. "Don’t bother me unless it’s important."

With that, he ambled over to his bed, collapsed onto it, and was instantly asleep.

...

’Why is it so noisy in my dream, too?’

Hee Lingchuan rubbed his eyes and found himself standing in what looked like a military camp again, surrounded by burly men.

There were shouts, applause, and a sea of boos.

He looked around.

’Huh? Yuewu Hall?’

’How did I end up at the edge of Panlong City’s largest tournament grounds the moment I fell asleep?’

Hee Lingchuan turned his head and found Sunx Fuling standing beside him, her gaze fixed on the tournament ring.

Before he could speak, someone clapped him on the back. Skinny’s voice was nearly drowned out by the surrounding din. "Broken Blade, you placing a bet or not?"

"On what?" Hee Lingchuan asked, turning to see, to his surprise, Hu Min standing beside Skinny. "Huh, what are you doing here?"

"Got nothing better to do, so I thought I’d try my luck. See if there are any dark horses." Hu Min pointed a thumb at Skinny. "I just placed a bet with him."

"Which ring are you betting on?"

"Which one else?" Skinny pointed to the south. "Ring Seven, Wild Boar versus Meng Shan!"

Hee Lingchuan was taken aback. He turned to look and, sure enough, saw two massive, burly men on the ring. One of them was a familiar face: Meng Shan.

The very same Meng Shan who had beaten him right out of his previous Dream Realms.

Meng Shan’s opponent this time was also a muscular brute over eight feet tall, with a brutish, fleshy face.

In terms of build and the ferocity of their appearance, the two were evenly matched.

Furthermore, Ring Seven was located at the southernmost end of Yuewu Hall, with one half of it jutting out over the middle of the street. This allowed the common folk of Panlong City to watch the fights just by standing below.

As a result, the fights on this ring were always highly entertaining and drew the largest crowds.

Right now, the street below was packed shoulder to shoulder with spectators. Men and women alike craned their necks in anticipation, and some had even dared to climb onto the iron railings at the edge of the ring for a better view.

The dull daily lives of the city’s inhabitants required a vicious brawl and the spray of blood to liven things up.

Hee Lingchuan asked Skinny, "Who has the better odds?"

"Wild Boar, of course." Skinny pointed to the brawny man on the ring, whose greasy face, large ears, and pronounced underbite certainly earned him the nickname. "Meng Shan is the Invincible General of Yuewu Hall’s South Courtyard, and he’s only lost once since transferring to the North Courtyard."

"Then what’s the point in betting?" Hee Lingchuan said with disappointment. "Everyone will just bet on Meng Shan to win."

"Not necessarily. I bet on Wild Boar," Hu Min said with a chuckle. "The guy looks like he’s got potential. Besides, if he wins, it’s a small bet for a big payout."

Sunx Fuling, standing beside him, also smiled. "I bet on Wild Boar, too."

"But you’re a respected teacher, a ’diligent gardener’ of young minds..." ’Is it really appropriate for her to be gambling so openly?’

Sunx Fuling’s fine eyebrows furrowed. "What gardener? I don’t pull weeds!"

Hee Lingchuan turned right back to Skinny. "Fine, I’ll bet on Wild Boar to win, too. Half a tael of silver."

"Tch!" Skinny scoffed at him. "So cheap."

He had a huge leather sack slung over his back, full of loose coins. Clearly, an unusual number of people were placing bets today, as even the commoners outside the grounds were getting in on the action.

Then, a rapid drumroll sounded.

This was the signal to prepare for battle.

The moment the drumming stopped, the two brawny men smashed into each other like fighting bulls.

Two commoners standing on the railing were instantly knocked off by the shockwave from the impact, and the surrounding crowd erupted in a roar of cheers.

Meng Shan’s opponents usually employed hit-and-run tactics, but Wild Boar went straight for a head-on clash, trading brutal, flesh-pounding blows.

The crowd below was absolutely engrossed, frequently breaking into thunderous applause.

Within a few exchanges, Hee Lingchuan could see that Wild Boar excelled at grappling. Twice, he managed to grab Meng Shan and slam him onto his back. Even someone as tough and thick-skinned as Meng Shan was shaken, and he had to take several deep breaths on the ground before he could get back up.

That "Wild Boar" nickname was misleading. Hee Lingchuan overheard someone nearby mutter resentfully, "Shouldn’t a boar be charging and goring people? He ought to be called Wild Bear."

That was probably someone who had bet on Meng Shan to win.

However, after taking a beating twice, Meng Shan learned his lesson. Whenever he was grabbed, he would immediately lock his opponent’s joints to keep Wild Boar from executing his signature move.

Hu Min cupped his hands around his mouth and roared, "Counter-lock, go for the counter-lock! Argh, you idiot, you’re a step too slow again!"

Amid the roar of a thousand throats, Hee Lingchuan somehow caught Sunx Fuling’s sigh. "It’s over. Wild Boar is going to lose."

Sure enough, once Meng Shan had Wild Boar locked up, he slammed a vicious headbutt into his opponent’s forehead.

The dull, heavy THUD made even Hee Lingchuan’s back teeth ache.

It seemed Meng Shan’s skull was the harder of the two. His opponent saw stars from the impact, and his grip slackened.

Meng Shan steadied himself, stomped on his opponent’s instep, and landed another precise punch right on Wild Boar’s diaphragm!

The blow knocked the wind right out of Wild Boar.

In the blink of an eye, he had taken three heavy blows.

Although he recovered and tried to fight back, the tide of the battle had already turned.

They struggled back and forth for another fifty-odd breaths before Wild Boar finally collapsed, his entire head swollen until it really did resemble his nickname.

Several Yuewu Hall guards climbed onto the ring to carry Wild Boar away for treatment. Meng Shan wiped the blood from his nose, pounded his chest, and let out a furious roar to the surrounding crowd.

"Who else?!"

The roar was heaven-shaking, overpowering even the thunderous applause.

"There goes my half a tael of silver." Hee Lingchuan was just glad he hadn’t bet more; it was just for the fun of it. He asked Sunx Fuling, "How much did you lose?"

Sunx Fuling heaved a long sigh. "Three taels."

"Whoa, you bet that much?" ’Three taels of silver was enough for him and Hu Min to drink at Frost River Tavern a dozen times over.’

"You have to take a gamble to turn linen into silk," Sunx Fuling said, her voice dejected. "I just saw the high payout. If Wild Boar had won, I wouldn’t have had to worry about meals for the next six months."

Hee Lingchuan suddenly saw her in a new light. He had always thought Sunx Fuling was pure of heart and free of worldly desires. Who knew this otherworldly neighbor of his harbored such a significant gambling streak?

In that respect, she was a bit like her older brother, Sunx Jiayuan.

She added, "Just like that, two years’ worth of money for firewood is gone." Two years of firewood and charcoal wouldn’t even cost that much.

Hu Min watched wide-eyed as others went to cash in their winnings with Skinny, stomping his foot in frustration. "A total loss! I should’ve just bet with the crowd."

Watching Meng Shan looking smug on the ring, Hee Lingchuan was puzzled. "The North Courtyard of Yuewu Hall has plenty of skilled fighters. Why doesn’t one of them go up there and take him down a peg?"

"Meng Shan only just transferred to the North Courtyard, but he’s a dominant newcomer. The average Great Wind Soldiers can’t beat him. If one of the officers went up, there’d be no glory in winning, and it would be even more humiliating to lose."

To be honest, everyone had witnessed Meng Shan’s performance in the Yanliang River Valley. That had been a full-scale battle between two armies, and many Great Wind Soldiers who had fought him knew they stood no chance against that human-shaped rhinoceros.

What’s more, the rules of Yuewu Hall generally favored strength-based fighters like him.

Hu Min smiled. "As for Commander Xiao and the other high-ranking officers, they aren’t allowed to fight soldiers on Ring Seven."

"Why not?"

"It wouldn’t be fair. Setting aside the fact that the officers’ Combat Skills are far more refined, there’s immense pressure on a soldier to fight his direct superior in public." Hu Min shrugged. "Even I’d be a little scared if you told me to fight Mr. Xiao on Ring Seven."

Soldiers were accustomed to taking orders from their commanders; the officers’ authority was deeply ingrained. On a public stage, that psychological pressure became an advantage for the officer and would inevitably affect the soldier’s performance.

Still, someone couldn’t resist the taunt and leaped onto the ring to challenge Meng Shan.

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