Descendants of the False Gods

Chapter 025: Life in the Imperial Capital (Part 3)

This time, the short man braced his arms, took two steps back, and seriously assumed a fighting stance.

Although Lan had unintentionally struck the short man, he had already figured out that the short man wasn’t stronger than him, and might even be weaker. Therefore, Lan wasn’t intimidated. He stepped forward, standing two meters directly in front of the short man, with his feet spread in a front-back stance. He slowly lowered himself into a half-bow, half-horse posture.

The short man was now serious. In order to save face, he decided to give his all and aimed to knock down this new student with a single strike. Seeing that Lan had already taken his stance, the short man immediately launched an attack.

He took a step forward with his right foot and threw a left punch straight for Lan’s left chest. It was a feint. The short man was slightly taller than Lan and hoped that Lan would still raise his left arm to block the punch, allowing him to change the punch into an open palm and push away Lan’s left arm. He would then seize the opportunity to land a right elbow strike to Lan. He had even thought of a backup plan: if the elbow strike was dodged, he would step forward with his left foot and use his left shoulder and left hip to thrust into Lan and knock him out. This series of moves would likely knock Lan down and restore his dignity.

Lan did indeed block the short man’s left punch with his own left arm, but at the same time, his right fist hit the exposed left side of the short man’s abdomen. The distance was short, and the punch was fast and forceful.

“Ouch!” The short man crouched down on the ground. The first blow had hit his stomach, and now the second one struck his intestines. He winced in pain and was knocked down once again.

The short man hadn’t expected this new student to strike so fiercely and so quickly. He couldn’t react in time.

What the short man didn’t know was that the two small kids in front of him hadn’t studied a full set of martial arts techniques like him. Instead, they had been practicing the basics for five years. Their strength had already reached the level of an adult, and their speed and accuracy were at the level of a warrior, making them nearly unbeatable in the academy. Their only drawback was a limited range of moves.

The surrounding onlookers were once again stunned. The “leader” of the “five-man group” could no longer watch and stepped forward. He was tall and strong. He walked up to the short man, grabbed him, and pulled him to the side. Then, he walked up to Lan: “Let me give you a go!” Many of the students present recognized him. His name was Tong Meng, and his father was a general in the northern garrison. His family was considered a middle-class noble family.

Tong Meng was naturally strong and had always learned aggressive martial arts. His strikes were heavy, and he had seriously injured opponents in the past. Because of this, few were willing to spar with him, leaving him with little to do in martial arts practice, often bringing a few “followers” to cause trouble.

Now that one of his “little brothers” had embarrassed him so much, how could he not be anxious? After speaking, he saw that Lan didn’t respond, so he didn’t wait for an answer. Instead, he immediately launched a punch toward Lan with his right fist.

Lan saw that another opponent had appeared, and this one was even larger, nearly as tall as a giant. He felt a wave of unease in his heart. Before he could decide whether to accept the challenge, the punch had already swept toward him.

Lan’s physique was much smaller than Tong Meng’s. His height and arm length were far inferior, and facing such a powerful opponent, Lan could only crouch and dodge. He avoided the horizontal right punch, but the left punch followed quickly. This time, the punch was even lower, and Lan might not be able to dodge it by simply lowering his body. So, he quickly retreated, using his feet to slide backward.

Tong Meng kept throwing punches. Due to his height advantage, he believed the sweeping punches were the most effective attack. He didn’t believe that Lan could keep dodging them indefinitely. As long as he landed one hit, even if Lan blocked it, he would still unbalance him, giving him the chance to follow up with more strikes until Lan was knocked down.

The surrounding students were now worried about the new student on the field. There were gasps and exclamations, but so far, it was all just tense excitement. No one knew how long Lan could hold out.

Lan knew that relying only on defense would eventually leave him open. The training ground was big, but there was a limit to how far he could retreat. If he couldn’t dodge anymore, he would lose. He didn’t want to lose. A punch from such a big opponent would definitely hurt, and he might not even recover by the afternoon’s exam.

He didn’t want to lose. His advantage over the giant was speed and accuracy.

Given the strength of his opponent, he knew he couldn’t win in a single blow. So, he decided to dodge while looking for the giant’s weak spots.

The head and neck were obvious weak points, but with such a large opponent, Lan couldn’t reach them.

The torso was also protected by strong muscles, but the waist might still be vulnerable. The attack range of his opponent blocked Lan’s ability to retaliate. A trade of injuries would likely knock the giant down in one hit.

The lower body was the last area. The giant’s leg muscles were also very strong. From his toes to his knees, everything was tough, and Lan knew he wouldn’t be able to shake them. The giant’s thick thighs looked rock-solid, and Lan’s strength couldn’t move them.

That left only the groin and the inner thigh. In the empire’s martial arts competitions, attacks to the groin were strictly forbidden except in life-or-death duels. But the inner thigh was still an option, even though it was still within the opponent’s attack range. It was lower than the waist and closer to Lan’s own strikes. He decided to take the risk and try to strike the giant’s inner thigh.

With his plan in mind, Lan no longer hesitated. As he continued to dodge, he noticed that the giant’s left punch was slightly higher than the right. He decided to look for an opening and strike.

Lan adjusted his breathing, making himself calmer. After dodging the giant’s right hook, he didn’t retreat but advanced. When the giant threw another left punch, Lan suddenly crouched and used his right fist to strike the inner side of the giant’s right leg, which had moved forward with the left punch.

This punch made Tong Meng stagger. Since they were so close, the giant’s attacks could reach Lan easily. So, after landing the hit, Lan quickly crouched and leapt backward.

Tong Meng stopped and rubbed the spot where he was hit. He glanced at Lan. The hit wasn’t particularly painful, just a bit sore and tingling. He didn’t know if Lan had intended to strike there, but Tong Meng lowered his arm and prepared to continue.

Tong Meng’s arm started to return to its original height after he had swung for a while, instinctively making the sweeping punch more effective.

At that moment, Lan found another opportunity. As Tong Meng’s right punch passed by his face, Lan crouched and closed in again.

Tong Meng realized that Lan had gotten too close again and became careless. He had thrown his punch too forcefully and was now unable to hold his ground. His right leg had already stepped forward and couldn’t retract. As he tried to adjust the height of his left punch to exchange injury for injury, a sharp pain shot through his right leg. His balance faltered, and his left punch missed.

Tong Meng quickly tried to stabilize his posture, but as soon as he planted his right foot, another wave of pain struck his inner thigh. We return to Lan’s second strike: after closing in on Tong Meng, Lan used his knuckles to hit the inner thigh once more.

This time, Lan applied more force, and his movements were faster. After hitting Tong Meng, he quickly ducked and retreated to avoid the incoming left punch.

However, as Lan moved out of the range of Tong Meng’s strike, he realized that the effect of his second hit was even better than the first, causing Tong Meng’s left punch to miss.

Lan seized the moment and quickly kicked the wounded spot on Tong Meng’s right leg. This time, Tong Meng’s right leg finally gave way, and his entire body collapsed to the right.

Lan quickly capitalized on the opportunity. With his right foot planted, he used his left foot to hook behind Tong Meng’s left heel, tripping him. Tong Meng’s body lost all support and fell backwards, landing flat on his back, legs in the air. When he tried to push himself up, Lan’s small fist flew quickly from the shadows.

“You lost!” Lan said, standing over him.

Tong Meng felt humiliated. His noble pride couldn’t accept the defeat. He closed his eyes to ignore the mocking laughter from the crowd.

But in truth, no one was mocking him. The onlookers were just astonished by how easily the small new student had won. He hadn’t used any fancy moves; he simply knocked down a senior with a solid foundation of basic footwork, punches, and kicks.

The class bell rang, signaling the start of lunch. Luo came up to Lan. “Brother, let’s go.”

“Okay, let’s go eat,” Lan replied.

The two small kids walked off the training ground under the gaze of dozens of students.

The crowd began to disperse, discussing the duel they had just witnessed.

When most of the students had left, Tong Meng’s followers approached to check on his injuries. But in reality, Tong Meng wasn’t badly hurt. He had simply been tripped. The inner thigh was sore, but there were no serious injuries. The fall was routine for anyone practicing martial arts. Tong Meng only felt extremely embarrassed.

He wasn’t sure how people would perceive him now.

Once the crowd had cleared, Tong Meng opened his eyes and, after being comforted by his followers, slowly regained his composure.

His father had once told him, “Victory and defeat are common in battle. If you lose, go back and practice. A man with guts learns from failure and regains his dignity through victory!”

Now, Tong Meng realized he had been too arrogant before. From now on, he would work hard again, until he became a “victor.”

However, there was no way he was going to eat lunch in the cafeteria today. No matter how others saw the match, he couldn’t go there and embarrass himself.

Lan and Luo arrived at the cafeteria to find a long line of students already waiting. They obediently took their place at the end of the line, chatting as they waited.

Behind them, several students kept casting strange looks their way, and some whispered. When Lan and Luo noticed the attention, they turned around to see the source. They realized the looks were not hostile; in fact, many students even smiled at them. They returned the smiles with nods.

Their afternoon assessments went smoothly. For two students who had been practicing for five years, the basic skill tests were no challenge.

After the assessments, they didn’t focus much on the results. Instead, they kept thinking about the match earlier. It was the first time they had encountered such a one-sided defeat. They weren’t satisfied with their performance and decided to ask for real solutions at home.

After receiving permission from the teacher, they quickly grabbed their bags and left the academy.

With Yantie’s absence, they decided to ask their second father, Yan Bo, for advice.

The shop had only recently opened, and business was still slow. Yan Bo was taking a walk in the small yard, doing some rehabilitation exercises for his legs during his free time.

When the two children approached with their concerns, Yan Bo had them bring over chairs. He stood still, thinking for a long time but couldn’t find an answer.

In his career, he had his own methods for dealing with opponents. Some skills weren’t suitable for everyone, and he had never fought someone who was so much stronger in both strength and techniques.