"You!!"
Li Libo's eyes turned crimson, his right foot unconsciously stepping forward.
Chen Jiechang quickly grabbed his fellow townsman.
"Hold it in! Senior Brother Xiang and the others aren’t here."
Li Libo suddenly remembered that Xiang Changsong had also left at noon.
At this moment, there wasn't a single direct disciple of Master Yang in the entire Martial Hall!
"Senior Brother Xiang? Your reliance is solely on Senior Brother Xiang, is it? Do you really think Senior Brother Xiang will help you?" Lu Tingcai's heart skipped a beat as he spoke to trick them, fearing that these two might go and complain.
However, this wasn’t his first time doing such things; he was well-prepared with a routine.
"Just because Senior Brother Xiang says a few nice words to you, you think you're something? Do you think he would punish us four for the sake of three mud-legged peasants?"
"Unless he's willing to kick all of us out for your sake."
Li Libo and Chen Jiechang's hearts sank as they suddenly recalled their identities.
Fishermen.
Would Senior Brother Xiang really help a few fishermen?
Even if he did, it wouldn’t mean kicking out Lu Tingcai directly.
If he didn’t kick him out...
Having just paid the Autumn Tax, the two were well-acquainted with the ways of influential people, so they believed most of what was said, showing a difficult expression.
Seeing their reactions, Lu Tingcai relaxed and pressed his advantage.
"Your whole body reeks of fish, making it so everyone can't focus on practicing martial arts. Shouldn't you at least chip in a bit of money for some drinks to refresh everyone?"
"Oh, right, there are three of you, right? Where's the other one? Left early knowing they're no match? Sorry, you'll have to cover for him as well!"
Chen Jiechang felt uneasy but still angrily stated, "Every time, we maintain a distance of at least ten steps from you. Even if there's a fishy smell, you'd never smell it!"
"Sorry, you didn't know practicing martial arts enhances the senses? We're just more sensitive to smells; we can detect it, so what now?"
"What if we refuse to pay?"
"Refuse?"
Lu Tingcai raised an eyebrow, turned with a lazy demeanor, and cupped his hands, saying, "Martial Master Lu, may I spar with these two junior brothers?"
Li Libo and Chen Jiechang were shocked.
Lu Tingcai was already near breaking the skin barrier, on the verge of surpassing the first martial stage.
How could he stoop so low?
And then there was Lu Shaohui, who had already disliked the two of them and surely would take advantage of the situation.
Not to mention, sparring wasn’t forbidden in the Martial Hall, and minor injuries were common occurrences.
Unexpectedly, Lu Shaohui frowned upon hearing this.
He didn't like the three fishermen from Righteous Prosperity City, nor the smell coming from them, but he hadn’t planned on doing anything.
A Martial Artist who had broken through two barriers going out of his way to trouble three fishermen?
He didn’t care about these three at all; they held less weight in his mind than air.
Lu Tingcai had chosen the wrong person to act as an enforcer.
Lu Shaohui threw down the stone lock and left the Martial Training Grounds without saying a word.
The scene became quite awkward.
Lu Tingcai watched Lu Shaohui's departing figure, a twitch forming at the corner of his mouth.
Fortunately, his natural thick skin remained unaffected.
Everything was still under control, and with Lu Shaohui not interfering, it actually worked in his favor.
So, he turned to roll up his sleeves, ready to "spar" with the two.
"Since you two junior brothers won't listen, I'll just have to teach you on behalf of our seniors…"
Just as Chen Jiechang was bracing himself for a fight, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that Li Libo had dashed out, picked up something from the flower bed, and smashed it down towards the back of Lu Tingcai's head.
Bang!
A dull thud echoed throughout the Martial Training Grounds.
Everyone froze.
Lu Tingcai felt his head spin, his vision blurring.
He swayed as he turned, looking down at the stone in Li Libo's hand.
He touched the back of his head and then looked at his fingers, seeing them smeared in red.
He wanted to curse but the thoughts wouldn't form in his muddled mind, leaving him stumbling until he leaned against a wall.
Xue Dingyi and others were dumbfounded, only reacting after a long moment with shouts of "Get him!"
No!!
Lu Tingcai was utterly panicked.
One-on-one was sparring, but a brawl would change everything!
He only wanted to earn some silver, not get kicked out of the Martial Hall!
He tried to open his mouth to stop Xue Dingyi, but his mind throbbed painfully, rendering him speechless.
He never expected Li Libo to be so audacious as to strike him like this.
The scene quickly descended into chaos.
“Watch out!”
Chen Jiechang abruptly pulled Li Libo aside.
Just then, someone had grabbed a wooden stick from the weapons rack and swung it down towards where Li Libo had been standing.
Underwater.
Liang Qu took a deep breath from the pig bladder float tied to his waist after tying it securely.
The "stone" remained motionless, but as perspectives shifted, he understood the creature better, especially when he saw the two protruding stalks atop the "stone," evidently its eye stalks.
An obvious weakness, Liang Qu mused.
He cautiously yet steadily moved closer using the cover of rocks.
Just as he prepared to make another move, the crustacean creature, which had been lying still on the ground, suddenly stirred.
Liang Qu immediately halted, diminishing his presence.
He couldn’t move.
Most crustacean-type creatures possessed heightened touch, capable of sensing ground vibrations through their legs to determine if creatures were nearby.
Moving now would only expose him.
The singular "rock" abruptly divided into two smaller rocks, with the tops separating into two pairs of pincers.
The pincers supported themselves on the ground and gradually lifted the larger rock.
Only then did Liang Qu realize that a portion of it had been buried in the muddy sediment below!
Once it fully stood up, the structure resembled an inverted figure-eight, larger at the top than the bottom, reaching close to 1.7 meters in height.
The observing Liang Qu couldn’t shake the familiarity of the sight.
Why did it look so much like a fearless war chariot?
The spirit beast before him appeared as if the crab's midsection had been stretched, its top half forming an inverted triangle torso with two giant pincers, its lower half resembling the crab-legged structure of a formidable war chariot, even sporting a circle of crab hair like a makeshift belt.
He hadn’t anticipated this crab monster could resemble such a bizarre amalgamation, even larger than expected, nearly matching his height.
Combined with a meter-wide frame, it projected an imposing presence.
After rising, the crab monster stood still in place.
Ten meters away in a corner, Liang Qu also remained immobile.
The two beasts were pressed flat against the ground, buried in the silt, blending perfectly with their surroundings, achieving virtually flawless camouflage.
For a moment, the underwater atmosphere altered yet remained unchanged.
Both parties stood as motionless as stones, only the water plants drifted gently with the current.
Liang Qu carefully tracked the crab monster, but suddenly his vision cleared, his gaze effortlessly penetrating the aquatic surroundings into the deep, dark channel.
!!!
"Run!"
Liang Qu mentally shouted, swiftly retreating, as the Pig Dragon and Fat Catfish tumbled and fled.
In the very next moment, a gigantic shadow showed up within the range of his awareness, dropping quickly.
Heavy crab legs impaled the silt, stirring a sudden underwater gust that churned dust up to Liang Qu's waist.
Massive pincers split the water with a sound like tearing fabric; shattered white bubbles, like wispy strands, clustered the giant claw as it smashed down towards Liang Qu.
The spirit beast's slash through the water churned a chilling wail of fear.
Liang Qu dodged sideways, frightened yet controlling the flow of water, as if using two pushing arms: one to deflect the crab claw and the other to propel himself, allowing them to pass by each other.
The crab claw struck lopsided rocks, flattening a half-height boulder, and under its weight, driven by gravity, it displaced the water with a dull crash to the ground.
The wind seemed to suddenly intensify, sweeping dust up more than a man's height.
What a fierce blow!
Liang Qu's pupils shrank sharply, almost simultaneously as he dodged, the giant claw pierced the brown cloudy mist, swinging across.
Water surged like a serpent, rapidly stirring the whole aquatic landscape.
Liang Qu braced himself, controlling the water behind to support him as his body was swept away, slowly descending.
The crab monster's joints withdrew from the silt, its lower half curling like a shrimp, then sprang forward like a launch, dashed out of the muddy mist.
The Pig Dragon and Fat Catfish attempted to intercept, but it was far too late.
Yet, in the next second, these swarming appendages were redirected by an unseen force, congregating near the crab monster’s eyes, obscuring its vision.
(End of Chapter)