Chapter 929: Deathmatch! Zhang Ye makes his appearance!
Translator: Legge Editor: Legge
The atmosphere was highly imposing!
Almost everyone was standing against Rao Aimin!
The Huashan Sect's Fan Wen stepped forward and said, "We of the Huashan Sect hereby proclaim our support for Grandmaster Zhou to seek an answer for the injustice he has suffered!" Although Sect Leader Chen Xi did not say anything, his words earlier had clearly expressed his attitude. Including the two versus one match between the grandmasters those years ago, it was quite evident whose side Grandmaster Chen Xi and the entire Huashan Sect were on. Moreover, Chen Xi and Zhou Tianpeng were friends of many years.
The Kunlun Sect leader stepped up and said, "The Kunlun Sect also expresses our support for Grandmaster Zhou!"
The Iron Palm's Master Sun came forward as well. "I also express, on behalf of our sect, that all the Iron Palm's disciples present today will give our support to Grandmaster Zhou! Any who dare to break the rules are antagonizing our sect!"
The Kongtong Sect deputy leader also came forward. "The Kongtong Sect will also be supporting Grandmaster Zhou!"
"And us, the Maoshan Sect!" an old Taoist with a white beard shouted as he walked forward slowly.
"And us, South Wudang!"
"Us too, the Xingyi Fist!"
"There's also us from the Splitting Mountain Sect!"
"And us, the Zhao Family Style!"
"Count the Qingcheng Sect in as well!"
"Don't forget about us from the Shaolin Monastery!"
Even the eminent monks of the Shaolin Monastery were taking sides in this feud!
Zhang Ye looked at those people and observed them one by one. His eyes got narrower and narrower as he took in all their faces. Those who understood Zhang Ye would know that he was angry now!
Up to now, all of the large sects had shown their support for the Zhou Family and some of the martial sects even warned that if anyone dared to prevent this denouncement of Rao Aimin, it would mean that they would become their sworn enemies! Some of the small sects like the Splitting Mountain Sect also joined their side and stood together with the camp led by Zhou Tianpeng! A lot of the other small sects and basically all of the non-affiliates did not express their opinions and just stood on the sideline. They stayed neutral as they felt they couldn't afford to offend either party. The martial sects or training halls they represented were also wholly unqualified to take part in the affairs of this incident to begin with. On the other hand, there was no one who expressed any support for Rao Aimin, not a single person. There were only a solitary dozen or so disciples of the Eight Trigrams School standing there with her!
Several hundred against a dozen or so?
It was an overwhelming numerical advantage!
Liu Yiquan sighed and said, "Grandmaster Rao is in trouble this time."
"This was indeed a Hongmen Banquet!" Yan Hui remarked.
Li Quanneng said, "She has made an enemy out of the entire martial arts community!"
He Badao said, "Looks like Senior Rao will find it hard to get away today!"
In the ring, Zhou Tianpeng gave a fist and palm salute to his supporters. "I, Zhou Tianpeng, give thanks to every one of you!"
"Grandmaster Zhou, you're being too polite!"
"It's only right!"
"Denouncing that Treacherous Rao is everyone's responsibility!"
"That Rao Aimin intends to exterminate your entire Zhou Family this time. Who knows if she might do that next to our Iron Palm Sect!"
"Right, this is a matter that concerns all of the martial arts community, so you don't have to thank us for anything!"
The Eight Trigrams School's disciples were furious!
Lu Yuhu said angrily, "If you want a fight, just fight! What's with all that pompous reasoning!"
Song Jiao rebuked, "All you sanctimonious people! Do you people really think you're from some righteous sects? Ptui! You're all just shit!"
Zhao Yunlong let out a furious laugh. "What has the loss of the Taiji Fist's legacy for the past over a hundred years got anything to do with your Zhou Family? You're even comparing yourselves to the Taiji Fist? Do you people think you're qualified to be held in such regard?"
Suddenly, Rao Aimin opened her eyes.
"Senior Sis!"
"Eldest Senior Sis!"
"They're really pushing it too far!"
"Those hypocritical villains!"
Rao Aimin motioned with her hands for them to be quiet. She then looked up at Zhou Tianpeng. "Are you finished with your nonsensical talk?" Then she turned to Chen Xi. "Are you also finished with your nonsensical talk? Are we fighting?"
Chen Xi's expression sank a little!
Zhou Tianpeng looked at her. "Of course we'll be fighting today!"
Rao Aimin said impatiently, "Then quit your bullshitting."
Probably only a person like Rao Aimin, who was feared by everyone in the Chinese martial arts world, dared to speak in this manner to the two grandmasters, Zhou Tianpeng and Chen Xi!
Zhou Tianpeng looked at her indifferently and said, "You were the one who issued the challenge, so the rules of the duel will naturally be decided by me. That fine?"
Rao Aimin asked, "What do you propose?"
Zhou Tianpeng's next words astonished everyone. He said, "I propose a deathmatch!"
Everyone at the venue jumped in fright!
"What?"
"A deathmatch?"
"Ah?"
"This…this…"
"A deathmatch between the grandmasters?"
The deathmatch was a practice that had been passed down over many hundreds of years. Even after society had entered an age governed by law, the Chinese martial arts world still engaged in this tradition. But unless it was some great enmity, almost no one would choose to settle things in such a manner, especially when it concerned a feud between two grandmasters. This was a huge event that had never happened before!
Everyone was so shocked their eyeballs nearly popped out!
However, Rao Aimin's response to this astonished them even more!
Rao Aimin did not even hesitate and just said, "Sure!"
Instantly, Zhou Tianpeng was putting forward the rules of the match. "There are a lot of you from the Eight Trigrams School today, so don't say that we're bullying you with our numbers. For this deathmatch, let's send out three people from each side. We shall duel together in the same ring!"
Everyone was stunned!
Zhang Ye's expression changed!
Three people representing each side? A duel involving six people?
What kind of rule was this? Wasn't it supposed to be a one-on-one match? Wasn't this battle supposed to be between the Zhou Family Style's leader and Rao Aimin? Three people? Which three people?
At the next moment, the faces of all those Eight Trigrams Palm people wholly changed!
Because Chen Xi had taken a step forward and stood quietly next to Zhou Tianpeng!
Chen Xi was going to take part in the battle?
Fuck your grandpa!
"Despicable!"
"Bastard!"
"Aren't you people playing dirty this way?"
"Two grandmasters against our Senior Sis by herself?"
"Shameless!"
"Fuck!"
The Eight Trigrams School's disciples were raging!
The non-affiliates outside the ring were also stunned. H-How could they do this? The Eight Trigrams School was right! This really was somewhat of a shameless proposition!
Seeing quite a few of the conference participants stirring, Chen Xi could not help but explain, "Today is a one-off situation. Everyone here should know about Rao Aimin's martial arts. If Old Zhou or I were to take her on alone, we certainly aren't going to a match for her. Yet, we cannot just watch helplessly as she continues rampaging and bullying others. Her actions are threatening to end the legacy of the Zhou Family Style, so we have to go to such lengths today. This is very unbefitting of the title of grandmaster, but there are some things that must be done. After much hesitation, we decided that this would be for the greater good. After today, I will voluntarily resign as the vice president of the National Martial Arts Association!"
Zhou Tianpeng frowned. "Bro Chen, you're doing this because of our Zhou Family Style's problems. If anyone resigns, it should be me!"
Chen Xi gave a wave of his hand. "Don't say anymore, Old Zhou. I've already decided!" Then he turned to the Eight Trigrams School and said, "We won't be filling all three places for the duel. It'll be just me and Old Zhou representing our side!"
Below, some of the large sects were shouting.
"Grandmaster Chen, you don't have to do what you said!"
"Right, why do you have to resign?"
"You're suffering this humiliation on behalf of our martial arts world!"
"That's right! Treacherous Rao's kung fu is more advanced! It's not embarrassing even if it takes two grandmasters to take her on! You're dishing out justice on behalf of the heavens, so of course you have to ensure that it gets served! It was Rao Aimin who issued the challenge first, and our martial arts world has its rules as well. The rules of the duel have always been set by those who get challenged, so there's nothing wrong with that at all! Besides, only the two of you are participating. That's already considered as giving them some leeway!"
"Yeah, Grandmaster Chen, Grandmaster Zhou, the two of you are the real heroes here!"
"You'd rather bear the infamy of teaming up than letting that treacherous bitch get away! That's something that requires a lot of courage and strength to do! You're both truly worthy of being the grandmasters of our time!"
Many from the large sects were cheering them on for their actions!
Some of the Zhou Family Style's disciples were even holding back their tears as though they were suffering great heartache for the tremendous stress their sect leader was going through!
Liu Yiquan: "…"
Liu Yizhang gave a look to his brother. "Uh…"
Zhang Ye was exasperated!
He was truly exasperated!
Rao Aimin was showing the exact same expression as Zhang Ye. "Looks like I did not guess wrong. You've been holed up outside for the past half a year and not daring to go anywhere, and when you finally accepted my challenge all of a sudden, you clearly did not dare to take me on by yourself."
Chen Xi sighed. "Just choose your representatives!"
Lu Yuhu roared with rage, "Choose? Choose, my ass!"
Xu Fan exploded in anger, "How are we going to fight this way?"
Song Jiao said anxiously, "Eldest Senior Sis, let's leave!"
When she said that, a number of the Huashan Sect and Zhou Family Style's disciples reacted the quickest. They blocked off the only pathway to get down the hill and said, "If you're not fighting, don't even think of leaving this place today!"
"Right!"
"Denounce Treacherous Rao!"
"Otherwise, we won't let this rest!"
"The challenge was proposed by your side! But you people are thinking of running away now?"
The path was blocked off!
The Eight Trigrams School was now a target for everyone!
But Rao Aimin did not seem to mind. She narrowed her eyes as she looked at Chen Xi and Zhou Tianpeng, then with a tap of her toe, she also jumped up into the ring. "Alright, let me take on the two of you and practice some today!"
"Auntie!" Chenchen, in the crowd, rushed to her.
Zhang Ye pulled her back right away!
Chenchen cried, "My aunt won't be able to win if the two of them team up!"
Zhang Ye muttered in a low and serious voice, "I know that."
Not only did he know this, the Eight Trigrams School's disciples knew it as well, as did everyone from the Chinese martial arts world who were present at the conference. No matter how skilled Rao Aimin was, she would still find it difficult to take on two people at once. It would be exactly like the time she took on Chen Xi and Zhou Tianpeng several years ago. She would at most be able to injure one of her opponents, but at high risk of getting injured herself. There was no chance she would emerge as the winner. Further, Zhou Tianpeng's skills had improved again and Chen Xi was also not at the same level as he was before. No one knew about Rao Aimin's kung fu, but even if she had improved as well, the circumstances were still the same. She couldn't possibly beat two grandmasters. This was a feat that was impossible!
Nominate three people for the battle?
Lu Yuhu rolled up his sleeves in anger. "I will go and hold one of them off!"
"Get back here!" Song Jiao stopped him. "Your kung fu is the weakest of everyone here! Like you would be able to hold them off! If we must go, it will be me and Sixth Junior Bro!"
Xu Fan immediately stood up. "I'm ready!"
"Don't be rash!" An older disciple of the Eight Trigrams Palm said, "The opponents are both grandmasters! What can you two do even if you take them on? Hold them off? How many attacks can you hold them off for? A single blow? Or two? Perhaps three? Among us, our Fifth Senior Sis and Sixth Senior Bro have the best skills and even they can't even hold them past three attacks! It'll only drag down Eldest Senior Sis if you guys fight! She'll get distracted by wanting to protect you guys! Don't forget, this is a deathmatch we're talking about!"
Lu Yuhu cursed in frustration, "Dammit!"
Zhao Yunlong said anxiously, "Then what should we do? What should we do?"
Xu Fan clenched his fist in indignation and said, "If Eldest and Second Senior Bro were here, that would've been great! With the two of them taking on a grandmaster, they could at least hold them off for more than ten attacks!"
"What's the point of delaying them for ten attacks!"
"Eldest Senior Sis is more skilled Old Crook Zhou, but only by a little. They certainly couldn't settle their differences within ten attacks. At the very least, Chen Xi has to be held off for 30 attacks! Even with Eldest and Second Senior Bro, we wouldn't be able to do that! This, this is a doomed match! It was totally targeted at Eldest Senior Sis! They want to make sure that Eldest Senior Sis will lose this match! There was no intention of letting her leave this place at all!"
"Bastard!"
"Let's take them on!"
"Take them on with what? They have several hundred people on their side!"
"Then what can we do?"
"Senior Sis! You should leave!"
"Right, with your skills, no one can stop you! Don't bother with us!"
However, Rao Aimin stayed motionless and just stared straight at Zhou Tianpeng!
The Eight Trigrams School's disciples were getting worried and really had no way to deal with this. The entire Chinese martial arts world was now standing against them. No one was willing to support them!
Zhou Tianpeng looked in the direction of the Eight Trigrams School and said, "Nominate your people!"
Nominate what people?
How could they possibly nominate anyone!
It was useless whoever they nominated!
To everyone at the venue, it was clear that this was a deathmatch of two grandmasters against one grandmaster. No one else would be allowed to interfere because no one could! Even all the martial arts experts in attendance, like the Iron Palm's Master Sun or the Kunlun Sect's Taoist Han, none of them could possibly hold off a grandmaster for more than ten attacks, let alone this new generation of Eight Trigrams Palm disciples! It wasn't like there were no skilled experts who could take on a grandmaster. For instance, that eminent monk of the Shaolin Monastery who had long since gone into seclusion, and that highly elusive non-affiliate Taoist. There were still quite a few of these hermits of the Chinese martial arts world who could probably fight a grandmaster and hold them off for many attacks. Unquestionably, none of those who could do it were in attendance of the conference today. But even if they were, they would not likely stand with Rao Aimin!
Therefore, the outcome of the match was already decided!
To say that they wanted to kill Rao Aimin today was probably a little over the top, but her keeping her skills was definitely something they wouldn't allow. No one could or would help her!
However, there was someone who refused to let this to happen!
While the Eight Trigrams School's disciples were anxiously circling around, a voice suddenly boomed, "Is this how the righteous martial sects and schools behave? Ha, today is such an eye-opener for me. Zhou Tianpeng bullied others and caused the loss of two lives, then explained that it was just a normal duel and how everyone was responsible for their own fates. But when someone else came to challenge your Zhou Family Style without even taking any human lives, and just injured a few disciples, it became a matter of treason and heresy? An outrage? The National Martial Arts Association has to step in to denounce people? And it's even two versus one? You want to take her life too? Strip her of her martial arts? Fuck you people! What bullshit is this?!"
He Badao said in shock, "Bro Chen!"
Liu Yiquan was also stunned. "Bro Chen Zhen!"
None of them expected "Chen Zhen" to actually say something at this point in time!
"Bro Chen, you…" Yan Hui was also dumbfounded. At this moment, the entire Chinese martial arts world is denouncing Rao Aimin, so what are you trying to do here?
"Bro Yan." Zhang Ye pulled Chenchen over and handed her to him. In the group, Zhang Ye trusted Yan Hui the most. Although Yan Hui did not recognize him, Zhang Ye definitely had not forgotten him. On the airplane, they had gone through life and death together, so he knew what Yan Hui's character was like. "Help me take care of the kid."
Yan Hui was taken aback. "What do you intend to do?"
A number of non-affiliates around them were also dumbfounded!
"Bro Chen Zhen!"
"Bro Chen, you..."
Everyone was looking at him!
Amid everyone's dumbfounded gazes, Zhang Ye strode out from the crowd and unfastened the buttons of his down jacket. With a cold expression, he tore it away and flung it behind him!
With those words, he had shocked the whole venue!
Zhang Ye called out, "Nominate three people? There's no need for that! Just the two of us will be enough!"
With a lift of his leg, Zhang Ye went up into the ring!