Chapter 55: Crimson Rain Workshop

Not long after the two left, Ye Zhuying led Xie Peiling to a relatively spacious area.

"Red Rain Workshop"

Before entering, the guarding middle-aged man cast a surprised glance at Xie Peiling.

Xie Peiling asked, "Do I know you?"

He shook his head and said, "You don't know me, but I know you. I saw you back at Mr. Bai's auction."

Xie Peiling had no impression of this person whatsoever and merely exchanged a few polite pleasantries.

The middle-aged man informed him that a reckless martial artist inside was currently dueling with the "Grandmaster An."

Grandmaster An, whose given name was Quan, enjoyed a formidable reputation throughout the entire Huming Prefecture. Even though Xie Peiling had only arrived in the city of Yu'an a few days prior, he had already heard from the surrounding townspeople about this towering top-tier martial artist. In terms of sheer strength, Grandmaster An more than sufficed to kill him with a single punch.

Yet the person seeking to challenge him was nothing more than a most ordinary martial artist—a textbook example of a towering tree catching the wind.

This ordinary martial artist harbored deep calculations. He was very young and had no grievances with An Quan. However, he knew precisely what kind of moral character An Quan possessed when walking the pugilistic world, and he had deduced that the grandmaster would not take a life. Win or lose, the endeavor would effectively and gratuitously elevate his own renown in the martial world.

In Huming Prefecture, let alone ordinary martial artists, even most cultivators held Grandmaster An in deep reverence. This martial artist figured that even if he lost, he would only need to recuperate for a period of time, after which aristocratic families would naturally seek him out to provide him with avenues of future cultivation resources. To dare throw a punch at a martial artist vastly superior to himself—

While it appeared to be a senior-junior sparring session to ask for pointers, one could clearly discern the true nature of it after laying eyes on the man.

However, as a grandmaster of martial arts in the prefecture, how could An Quan possibly be so shameless as to throw punches at an unknown novice generations his junior, even if he knew the score?

Instead, he had one of his very young disciples step up to throw the punches.

That disciple understood the hint instantly and showed the martial artist a great deal of deference on the stage. Even though they were in the same realm, their vital energy and blood differed vastly; it was plainly obvious that the challenger had relied entirely on self-exploration along his path.

The viewing area was packed shoulder to shoulder with a surging crowd. Had Xie Peiling not possessed sharp eyesight, he probably would have seen nothing but a sea of bobbing heads.

Ye Zhuying, however, wore a distressed expression. Choosing not to invoke his status as the young master of the Ye family, he merely stood on tiptoes beside Xie Peiling, utterly unable to make out anything from his vantage point. Every few moments, he would ask Xie Peiling how the battle was progressing and who held the upper hand, projecting the image of someone deeply invested in the match.

Both Xie Peiling and Ye Zhuying knew that this battle held no suspense; the outcome had long since been predestined.

The interior was vast and contained a world of its own. Upon walking in, one found all manner of goods displayed. However, in terms of quality, the items fell far short of the place Xu Yuanming had taken him to. While there were some items related to cultivators here, they were exceedingly rare; the moment one appeared, disciples of aristocratic families would immediately spend a fortune to buy it up.

Not all direct descendants of aristocratic families were capable of cultivation. Take Ye Zhuying, for instance—he possessed no talent whatsoever, yet he carried numerous items concerning cultivators wherever he traveled, entirely for the purpose of preserving his life. Thus, such rare treasures meant everything to people like them, and they wished they could kill anyone daring to compete with them for these items.

Ye Zhuying smiled and said, "Forget it, I can't see a thing. Anyway, anyone can tell who's going to win or lose this fight; watching this is worse than not watching at all."

He spoke quite openly. Hearing this, people nearby who also couldn't see a thing let out sneers, wanting to see who dared to be so presumptuous. The moment they recognized the young master of the Ye family, however, they hastily apologized.

"Make way... make way, the young master of the Ye family is here, clear a path! Hey you... yes, you, you're blocking the way..."

Thus, Xie Peiling and Ye Zhuying arrived right at the front of the viewing platform. Xie Peiling was momentarily speechless; watching the utterly composed Ye Zhuying beside him, the corners of his mouth twitched.

"It seems you're a habitual offender."

Ye Zhuying smiled and said, "Brother Xie, what do you mean by that? Didn't they suddenly find their conscience from the depths of their hearts and willingly make space for us? What's wrong?"

Xie Peiling dryly chuckled twice.

Watching from here was indeed vastly different from watching on the fringes, and the battle had already reached a white-hot, critical juncture.

The challenging martial artist did not throw punches matching his bold aura; instead, he acted timidly, relying entirely on capitalizing with a free hit after dodging. Though it inflicted minimal damage, every time he landed one, someone on the stage would loudly shout out:

"Fine punch!"

Once that person cried out, the surrounding crowd joined in, gradually roaring "Fine punch!" at every exchange.

As for a failure, the designated word was simply "Pity."

As for the latter's punches, they were completely uninhibited and sweeping, carrying a sense of following one's whims. Taking even one blow, uninjured or not, was far from comfortable.

In any case, neither of these two men was easy to deal with. The further the fight progressed, the more high-spirited the challenging martial artist became, and his overall strength gradually manifested.

It possessed a strong theatrical quality. Had Grandmaster An not been a person of stellar virtue and high standing, observers would likely have assumed this was nothing more than a routine martial artist performance.

It was simply too dramatic. Clearly, Grandmaster An's disciple had held the absolute upper hand, yet now the challenger had somehow seized the dominant position.

However, Grandmaster An's disciple refused to yield any further and unleashed his full strength. The two traded blows evenly, and at this juncture, technique became paramount. It was blatantly obvious that the challenger had never undergone rigorous training, becoming increasingly chaotic the longer the fight dragged on.

This inevitably laid bare the outcome of the battle. Although Grandmaster An's disciple began throwing far more ferocious punches the moment he saw through his opponent's tricks, he still afforded the other side ample face when it mattered most.

Every iron fist that struck the opponent landed precisely where intended, failing to injure the other's foundational roots or leave behind chronic ailments. The challenger would merely need to recuperate at home for a short spell to be full of vigor once more.

Once Grandmaster An's disciple had gathered his momentum, his figure cut through the air like a rainbow, and he fiercely delivered that final punch. Before the challenging martial artist could fully steady himself from his staggered retreat, another punch landed squarely in the center of his chest.

This punch was seamless and natural, standing as the absolute strongest blow from Grandmaster An's disciple.

Knocking the challenging youth off the ring, the two exchanged bows once the youth climbed back up, bringing the bout to a complete close.

With the fight concluded, the gathered onlookers gradually dispersed.

Xie Peiling also wished to turn and leave after watching the spectacle, but Ye Zhuying held him back.

"Let's go pay our respects to this martial arts grandmaster in a moment," Ye Zhuying said with a smile, pointing toward the youth in the distance who wore a look of gratification.