Chapter 71: Xu Fengbin and Qi

Master Chen had dug a hole, waiting for Lin Jian to jump in. He didn’t actually want to harm the young man today; instead, he wanted to recruit him.

However, he didn’t know that Lin Jian had already realized the man in the long gown was a master among masters. Though he wasn’t sure exactly how skilled the man was, he truly wanted to exchange a few moves with him. That was why he had pushed Master Chen to spell out his terms completely rather than leaving things half-said.

Hearing Lin Jian’s response, Master Chen burst into laughter. Not only could this greenhorn fight, but his mind also worked fast. He was a good seedling, exactly the type he was looking for.

He nodded. "If you beat the men I brought, not only will the one million be yours, but all grievances between us will be wiped clean. I absolutely won’t cause you any more trouble. We could even become friends.

"But," he said, suddenly pivoting, "if you lose, we’ll have to negotiate based on your defeat."

"Be more specific, Boss Chen," Lin Jian said with a nod.

Master Chen thought for a moment. "If you lose, I won’t take a leg or any of your parts. But you must become my bodyguard. I’ll pay you a premium salary every month, and you’ll be responsible for being my personal bodyguard. How about that?"

"Oh?" Lin Jian raised an eyebrow. "That doesn’t sound like a punishment, Boss Chen. Why does it sound more like a reward to me?"

"Indeed." Master Chen nodded. "My subordinates say you can fight well and you’re very young, so I’ve taken a liking to your talent. But you wouldn’t be too scared to fight my men, would you?" He finally resorted to goading him.

Lin Jian scratched his chin. "So, whether I win or lose, I’m taking a huge advantage today?"

Master Chen smiled faintly. "You can think of it that way if you want."

Lin Jian nodded and looked at Xu Fengbin and Qi, who were sitting at the Eight Immortals table. He pointed at Qi. "There’s no need to spar with this one. I can take him down in three moves."

PFFT!

Qi had been sipping his tea with great interest, but upon hearing Lin Jian’s words, he couldn’t help but spit out a mouthful of water!

Xu Fengbin was also left dumbfounded. They had seen arrogant young men before, but never one this arrogant. Did this kid really think he was some expert of the Martial World?

BANG!

Qi slammed his teacup onto the table and abruptly stood up. "I’ll take you down in three moves!"

He was a figure who had practiced External Boxing to the absolute limit. As Xu Fengbin’s personal disciple, his Hard Skills allowed him to throw his weight around anywhere in Jiangnan. But now, the punk in front of him was spouting arrogant nonsense, so he had to teach the kid a lesson today. Furthermore, since this kid would likely become Master San’s bodyguard in the future, he needed to learn some humility. Otherwise, being too arrogant would cause problems down the line.

"Ahem, what if you can’t take me down in three moves?" Lin Jian had already been scheming against this group. The backer of this debt collection company drove a Maybach and threw around a million in cash casually. With such a great opportunity, he had to make this big boss bleed a little.

"What if I can’t take you down?" Qi clearly had a hot temper. The veins on his forehead bulged. "Whatever you say goes!"

"How about we make a wager, then?" Lin Jian gave a wicked smile. "If you win, I’ll give you the car parked out back. How about that?"

Standing nearby and watching the spectacle, Jiang Xue opened her mouth in shock. This rascal Lin Jian really had some nerve, actually betting her car! But since she and Lin Jian were on the same side, she stayed quiet.

Master Chen and Xu Fengbin exchanged a glance. This kid was quite greedy, and he dared to play for such high stakes?

"Fine! If Qi loses, you can take your pick of our two cars and drive it away!" Xu Fengbin made the decision on behalf of Master Chen and Qi.

Master Chen chuckled. "Interesting, interesting. It’s been years since I’ve played like this. How about it, kid? No problems with this wager, right?" He clearly didn’t care about a single car; instead, he felt this made the game much more entertaining.

"If you lose, I don’t want a car." Lin Jian scratched his head. "Our Xue’s car is worth three million, so you can just convert it and give me three million in cash. How does that sound?"

"Sure, we’ll play however you want." Master Chen laughed. "I’m getting a little impatient. Start already. Remember, it’s three moves. After three moves, all bets are off."

"Alright, three moves!" Lin Jian nodded, then retreated a few steps.

Qi was radiating murderous intent. He was truly enraged. From childhood to adulthood, there were very few people who could take him down in three moves. Even his master, Xu Fengbin, wouldn’t dare claim to be able to defeat him in three. Therefore, Qi felt the teenager in front of him had severely overplayed his hand, and he absolutely had to teach him a lesson today.

"Come on, Lin Jian! Don’t be afraid to lose, your Xue can afford it!" Like Master Chen, Jiang Xue didn’t care about her car in the slightest. She was far more interested in seeing how Lin Jian could possibly take the man down in three moves.

However, the opponent clearly looked like an expert. He was covered in bulging muscles, with defined muscle striations even on his calves. At a glance, he was a pure, tough-bodied brute. Could Lin Jian really handle this?

Meanwhile, Lin Jian stretched his limbs and neck, took two deep breaths, and finally cupped his hands in a traditional martial arts salute.

Seeing him offer the salute, Xu Fengbin nodded. This was more like it. It seemed the kid at least understood the rules.

Qi returned the salute. The instant he straightened up, he charged toward Lin Jian!

As a master of hard-style martial arts, he possessed unyielding toughness and incredibly rich combat experience. A flying dash, a leap, and a flying knee strike—all executed in one fluid motion!

His entire body was airborne. Even if Lin Jian could dodge this strike, it would require a desperate, clumsy evasion. But since they had agreed on three moves, dodging would count as one! Therefore, he had to meet the attack head-on.

Watching the airborne knee hurtling toward him, Lin Jian didn’t retreat. Instead, he stepped forward, leaned his body in, and held his arms out horizontally.

BAM!

His opponent’s knee crashed heavily into his forearms! But this was only the first move. Qi apparently didn’t think this single strike would knock Lin Jian over, so he had already prepared his second move: a right elbow strike to the head.

However, Lin Jian had already begun to counterattack. Since there were only three moves, after blocking the knee strike with his arms, he didn’t wait for the elbow strike to land. He swiftly extended his arms to lock around Qi’s waist and rapidly twisted his body.

THUD!

Qi hadn’t expected Lin Jian to use such a wrestling-style takedown, and caught off guard, he was slammed to the ground! Yet, before he could even react, his right arm was seized by Lin Jian’s hands. Immediately after, Lin Jian rapidly wrapped his legs around Qi’s neck in a chokehold!

In an instant, his right arm was pulled entirely straight!

In MMA, there is a move called a triangle choke. It involves clamping down on the enemy’s shoulder and neck with the legs, rendering the opponent completely unable to counterattack! Such a submission hold could easily snap the opponent’s entire arm or even their cervical vertebrae. Naturally, in traditional martial arts, this move was known as an ’entangling armbar lock,’ but the principle, the technique, and the lethality were exactly the same!

Qi stopped moving. Or rather, he didn’t dare to move and couldn’t move. If he struggled any further, his entire arm would be dislocated, and his neck might even be snapped!

Three moves. Lin Jian had said three moves, and three moves it was. He had taken Qi down in three moves!

"Yeah!" Jiang Xue jumped up in excitement.

"That’s enough, let him go!" Xu Fengbin sighed softly. He hadn’t expected the opponent to win the round in such a manner! Furthermore, he had intended to closely observe this arrogant young man’s martial arts style, but now he hadn’t gleaned anything at all.

Was the young man in front of him hiding his true depths?