I Can Merge Techniques-Chapter 40 - 39: Beat Him to Death, or the Hatred in My Heart Will Never Be Quelled

Chapter 40: Chapter 39: Beat Him to Death, or the Hatred in My Heart Will Never Be Quelled

Li Qingxue approached with elegant steps.

The surrounding crowd instantly scattered, clearing a large area.

Li Qingxue’s gaze fell on Zhao Tianxing. In a clear voice, she said, "You, go draw a two-zhang square."

"Alright!" Zhao Tianxing grinned, picked up a dry twig, and drew a two-zhang square on the spot.

Everyone except the short young man and Chu Fan stepped outside the square.

Her robes fluttering, Li Qingxue stood at the edge of the square and said, "The winner is the one who knocks their opponent to the ground so they can’t get up, or forces them out of this square."

Her words were simple and to the point, yet carried an air of authority.

She was also curious. Chu Fan had only been training with her second uncle for twenty days, while Jiang Yuanfan had been practicing his fist techniques for over three months. She wondered just how many moves Chu Fan could withstand.

The eyes of the group that had surrounded Chu Fan earlier lit up with excitement.

The girl who had started the trouble, in particular, had a vicious glint in her eyes, as if she wanted to eat Chu Fan alive.

The two faced each other in the center of the square.

Jiang Yuanfan’s expression was grim as he slowly advanced.

He was only fifteen and already short for his age. Standing before the nearly eighteen-year-old Chu Fan, he had to crane his neck to look up at him.

Chu Fan looked down at the boyish face, his own expression blank.

Then, they each took two steps back and assumed their stances.

Suddenly—

Chu Fan looked past Jiang Yuanfan and called out, "Huh? What’s that?"

Jiang Yuanfan instinctively turned his head.

And in that instant!

Chu Fan’s left fist shot out like a tiger uncaged, aimed straight for the liver.

His right foot swept out like a dragon’s tail, targeting his opponent’s lower body!

BAM!

Before Jiang Yuanfan could even realize what was happening, he was struck by a fist and a kick and fell heavily to the ground!

"Argh!"

He cried out in pain, clutching his liver with both hands. His body, curled up like a shrimp, twitched uncontrollably on the ground.

The surrounding crowd was utterly dumbfounded!

How could this person be so shameless?

To use a dirty trick right in front of Instructor Cao and Senior Sister Qingxue?!

"Fight’s over. Clocking out."

Chu Fan clapped the dust from his hands and turned to leave.

He had held back his strength just now.

He could now condense two wisps of Qi Blood Power. If he had truly let loose, he probably would have shattered the boy’s skull with a single punch.

’Why would I need a punch and a kick for someone like this? I was afraid even a single slap might have crippled him.’

A flash of astonishment crossed Li Qingxue’s beautiful eyes.

Although Chu Fan had used a trick, the speed and precision of his punch and kick were not something a normal person could achieve in just twenty days!

She turned to look at Cao Feng and saw him smiling faintly, giving a slight nod.

"Stop!"

Jiang Yuanfan scrambled to his feet, furious and flustered, and roared, "I haven’t surrendered yet—"

Chu Fan, who had only taken two steps, spun around and landed a shuffle side kick right in Jiang Yuanfan’s stomach!

With a pained cry, the boy flew like a kite with a snapped string, soaring seven or eight meters before landing outside the square.

The few people who had come with Jiang Yuanfan panicked and rushed over, clumsily helping him up.

’This kid really is something else.’

Watching Chu Fan’s kick, Li Qingxue’s expression shifted slightly.

None of Chu Fan’s previous moves were from the Twelve Forms Fist.

But to a master like Li Qingxue, that punch, that kick, every single movement revealed some of his true foundation.

"Shameless bastard!"

Having recovered a bit, Jiang Yuanfan stomped his feet in fury. "You’re so shameless! All you know are dirty tricks!"

Chu Fan ignored him, simply turning to look at Li Qingxue.

Li Qingxue’s face was grim. "Jiang Yuanfan is defeated. Chu Fan is the winner!"

"I don’t accept it!" Jiang Yuanfan walked back, grinding his teeth. "He won with a trick! It doesn’t count!"

Chu Fan said calmly, "All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near. Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him. If he is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, avoid him... Do you understand?"

"...Yes."

"Then explain it."

"..." Jiang Yuanfan was speechless, unable to say a word.

Chu Fan continued, "To know what you know and to know what you do not know, that is true knowledge... If you don’t understand, you don’t understand. Why pretend that you do?"

Jiang Yuanfan was furious. "...So what if I don’t understand?"

Chu Fan nodded. "You don’t understand? Good. That’s for the best, because I don’t understand it either."

Jiang Yuanfan nearly coughed up blood. "You don’t even understand it yourself, and you have the nerve to lecture me?"

Chu Fan scoffed. "Obviously! If I understood it, why would I ask you?"

"..." Jiang Yuanfan’s head was spinning, leaving him speechless.

Someone in the crowd couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

Others were pondering Chu Fan’s words, "All warfare is based on deception."

Still others were thoughtfully recalling Chu Fan’s moves from a moment ago.

Cao Feng hadn’t said a word from beginning to end, merely watching from the sidelines.

At this moment, Li Qingxue began to explain. "All warfare is based on deception... This means that the art of war is inherently the art of deceit. It emphasizes winning through wits, not just brute force. The key is to create illusions to confuse the enemy, to pretend to be weak when you are strong, so your opponent lets down their guard..."

This only made Jiang Yuanfan angrier. "Forget all that! I was just careless! That round doesn’t count! Let’s fight again!"

"Still want to fight? Fine. Give me five maces of silver, and I’ll humor you." Chu Fan grinned and held out his hand again.

Jiang Yuanfan was taken aback. "Didn’t I already give you three maces of silver?"

"That was for then. That fight is over," Chu Fan said. "If you want a second round, you’ll have to pay another five maces of silver."

The whole crowd erupted.

Jiang Yuanfan’s vision went black, and he nearly collapsed!

Shameless!

Utterly shameless!

Winning with a dirty trick was one thing, but after already being given three maces of silver, he now had the audacity to demand five more!

They had never seen such a brazen, shameless person!

Jiang Yuanfan roared, "Have you no shame?!"

"What’s shame?" Chu Fan asked with an innocent look. "If you want another round, the price goes up!"

Jiang Yuanfan was speechless.

Chu Fan said impatiently, "Are we fighting or not? If you want to fight, give me another five maces of silver."

"Why don’t you all put your heads together? Surely with so many of you, you can scrape together five maces of silver?"

"All you want is to beat me up, right?"

"I’m giving you the chance, but you’re proving to be useless!"

The girl who Zhao Tianxing had berated earlier stepped forward. "Five maces of silver? I’ll pay!"

With that, she tossed five maces of broken silver to Chu Fan.

Chu Fan caught it and smiled at the girl. "Thank you, miss. Might I ask for your name?"

"Oh, don’t misunderstand. Since you’re my God of Wealth, I should naturally remember my God of Wealth’s name."

The corner of the girl’s mouth twitched, and her vision darkened for a moment. She then sneered, "I’ll tell you when you’re lying on the ground!"

Those five maces of silver were her entire savings.

She had given up all her money, only to be mocked by him!

She could only hope that Jiang Yuanfan would have some backbone and beat this kid half to death for her!

Otherwise, this seething hatred in her heart would never be appeased!

Jiang Yuanfan exchanged a look with the girl and nodded slightly. He thought to himself, ’The more smug he is taking that silver, the harder I’ll hit him!’

’Consider these five maces of silver his medical fees!’

The surrounding crowd was stunned.

’Making money can be this easy?’

Under everyone’s gaze, Chu Fan and Jiang Yuanfan once again stood in the center of the "ring."

A corner of Jiang Yuanfan’s mouth curled up. "I’ve already fallen for your trick once. There’s no way you can deceive me again."

"Prepare to face my wrath!"

At the edge of the ring, Li Qingxue’s gaze fell on the tip of Chu Fan’s right foot. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

She noticed that at some point, the toe of Chu Fan’s shoe had dug slightly into the dirt.

The very instant Jiang Yuanfan finished speaking—

Chu Fan’s right foot suddenly pushed off, kicking forward in a flash!

WHOOSH!

A spray of dirt shot straight into Jiang Yuanfan’s face!