Immortals and Demons Forever

Chapter 14: Who’s the Good-for-Nothing?

It was nearly dark when Su Mu finally returned to his lodgings. As soon as he entered the room, he found it in complete disarray, as if it had been ransacked. “Mu Ge, you’re back! That bastard Zhong Qiang sent someone over earlier to tell you to report to the disciplinary platform tomorrow. Don’t forget the ten-day deadline. When they saw you weren’t there, they deliberately made a mess of the place—it’s not like this is the first or second time.” “They didn’t lay a finger on you, did they?” Su Mu suppressed the rage boiling inside him. Tomorrow would be here before he knew it, and he’d settle the score properly then. “No, they just spoke rudely. I’m still recovering, so they wouldn’t dare go too far.” “That’s good. I’m going to tidy up the room a bit. I’m a little tired today—let’s both get some early sleep.” Qian Dafu let out an “Oh” and couldn’t help but ask, “Mu Ge, do you think you’ll win tomorrow?” “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely win!” The next day. The Sun was high in the sky, and quite a crowd had already gathered around the briefing platform. Zhong Qiang had been shouting his head off—he was somewhat well-known even among the outer disciples. Many people had come here just to see Su Mu make a fool of himself. Although Su Mu wasn’t particularly skilled, he was still a household name in the Outer Sect. Of course, his reputation was entirely negative—having once been an Inner Sect disciple and a senior disciple of an Elder, these facts alone were enough to make him a laughingstock. On top of that, just a few days ago, the sect had already declared him dead, only for him to suddenly and mysteriously return—making him the talk of the town. Zhong Qiang stood on the high platform and smiled at the crowd below. “Tell me, everyone—how far do you want this to go before we call it quits? Do you want him to throw up everything he ate yesterday, or do you want him to crawl on the ground and bark like a dog?” “Both sound good! Brother Qiang, you’ve got to hold back a little—don’t knock him out right away. Otherwise, we won’t have any fun to watch.” “Yeah, yeah, Su Mu’s pretty stubborn—he’d probably rather die than bark like a dog. Since he’s just a pretty-boy hiding behind a woman, why not strip him naked? Now that would be a real humiliation!” “That’s a great idea. Not only is his face pale, but I bet his whole body is pale too. Let’s all take a good look at him, ha ha!” “The Sun’s about to beat down on our butts—why isn’t he here yet? He isn’t backing out at the last minute, is he?” “You pack of barking dogs—who’s too scared to show up?!” A thunderous shout rang out from nearby, followed immediately by a figure charging through the crowd and leaping onto the stage. It was Su Mu. “Who called who a dog? Beat him up!” “That little brat has a really filthy mouth. He’s about to get his face beaten to a pulp—what’s he so cocky about?!” “For a guy like this, start with twenty slaps across the face. Qiangzi, if you can’t even manage that, I’m going to boo you as loud as I can.” A chorus of insults immediately erupted from the audience. Su Mu stared coldly at the crowd and shouted, “Don’t get ahead of yourselves. If anyone’s got a problem with that, come up here and fight me later—don’t just sit there and spout nonsense!” Zhong Qiang burst out laughing. “How arrogant! I don’t see a single decent thing about you right now—all you’ve got left is your big mouth. If you dare come up here, at least you’d be acting like a man. You narrowly escaped death a few days ago—Heaven really has no sense of justice. Why should someone like you, who wastes cultivation resources, even remain in the sect? I hear your home is far away overseas—go back to wherever you came from!” “You’ll have to beat me first before you’re qualified to even say the word ‘get lost.’ ” “Fine, I’ll show you right now, you good-for-nothing!” Zhong Qiang lunged forward, his fist erupting with a loud “pop.” “It’s the Rhino Cannon Fist!” “Oh my, why go all out right from the start? If that punch lands, the fight’s over.” “You’re so impulsive. What happened to the part about ripping off my clothes?” Su Mu swung his fist to meet the attack, venting all the pent-up rage in his heart. Bam! “Aaaaaah!!” An unbelievable scene unfolded. Zhong Qiang was sent flying backward, crashing onto the stone platform with a thud. He clutched his arm and let out a scream like a pig being slaughtered. Those standing at the edge of the platform clearly heard a sharp, crisp crack—the sound of a bone snapping. Zhong Qiang’s forearm went completely limp, and blood gushed from his hand, streaming down in a steady stream. One punch—instant knockout! “Is that all you’ve got? I only used fifty percent of my strength—how did you go down so easily?” Su Mu strode forward. Those were the very words Zhong Qiang had once used to humiliate him. “It hurts like hell! My arm’s broken! Someone, please help me get medical attention!” Zhong Qiang screamed at the top of his lungs. “It’s not over yet. I didn’t say you could leave.” Su Mu kicked Zhong Qiang in the face. “I think you’re the real wimp here—screaming like that over such a minor injury? Act like a man. I held back—your right arm isn’t even broken yet.” The crowd below stood there with their mouths agape. How had Zhong Qiang ended up lying on the ground like a dead dog in the blink of an eye? When had Su Mu become this strong? “Which one of us is the real loser? Yesterday you sent people to my place and turned it into a mess—that was quite the show of power!” As Su Mu spoke, he delivered a vicious kick to his opponent’s injured forearm. With a crack, Zhong Qiang let out a piercing scream of pain. “Now it’s really broken. Just bear with it—we’ll settle our scores slowly.” “Murder! Help! Someone, help me!” Zhong Qiang was completely terrified; he’d never seen that look in Su Mu’s eyes before. The crowd below immediately erupted into a frenzy. “Su Mu, what are you doing? What punishment do you deserve for attempting to murder a fellow disciple?” “Let him go right now! Otherwise, I won’t hold back.” Su Mu threw back his head and roared with laughter. “Murdering a fellow disciple? That’s quite the accusation—just a mad dog barking! If you want to be ‘uncompromising’ with me, come at me yourself—don’t just talk big! You’re a coward! Today, I, Su Mu, am going to settle the score once and for all with everyone who has ever bullied or humiliated me! No matter how many there are, I’ll take them all on!” No sooner had he finished speaking than three men from the crowd immediately surged forward and, without a word, lunged at Su Mu. “Fine, at least you’ve got some guts!” Su Mu sent a lanky, tall man flying with a single punch. He sidestepped another man’s punch, grabbed him by the collar, and without a second thought, slammed his head into the man’s face. He’d only just begun to master the “Iron Head Hammer” technique and wasn’t very skilled yet, but right now, he just wanted to let loose. Thud! The opponent was knocked so hard he nearly fell over. Su Mu landed his second blow, and instantly, blood spurted from the opponent’s forehead; his vision went black, and he could barely stay on his feet. As soon as he let go of the collar, the teenager collapsed to the ground like a pile of mud. Another, a crafty one, circled around to his back to launch a sneak attack. Unfortunately, Su Mu’s senses had already detected him—as if he had eyes in the back of his head—and he easily dodged it, launching a flying kick straight into the attacker’s face. The kick was so powerful that several of the boy’s teeth were knocked out; the attacker let out a agonized scream as he tumbled off the stone platform.