Chapter 118: A Martial Arts Tournament for a Suitor

"We have already paid our protection money. We will not pay any more, and we have no money left to give."

Xueyuan, supporting her mother, gritted her teeth. Su Yang approached the alley from a distance, his eyes flashing with cold intent.

"Damn it! Your protection money is paid to the Plum Blossom Sect, not to us, the Fish-Dragon Gang! Beat them!"

As the ringleader finished speaking, the Fish-Dragon Gang members under his command truly began to strike Xueyuan with wooden clubs. They showed no mercy to the fair maiden. A weak woman like Xueyuan could hardly withstand such an assault; she was immediately beaten to the ground, yet she still used her body to shield her mother.

"Stop!"

Su Yang shouted. He had never imagined the members of the Fish-Dragon Gang would be so violent, resorting to clubs at the slightest provocation. Xueyuan was only a woman—how could they bring themselves to do this?

"You brat, who the hell do you think you are, daring to meddle in the affairs of our Fish-Dragon Gang?"

The leader of the Fish-Dragon Gang, his face twisted with malice, lunged toward Su Yang. Seeing the murderous look in Su Yang's eyes, he threw a vicious punch.

*Thud!*

In the next second, a tremendous force struck. Like a dry twig snapping, the Fish-Dragon Gang's leader felt his vision go black, and he lost consciousness forever. A single punch had shattered his heart and internal organs.

The remaining thugs, who had been beating Xueyuan, turned pale with shock. One quick-witted member tried to grab a long blade to hold at Su Yang's throat and take him hostage, but a throwing knife whistled through the air, piercing his chest and killing him instantly.

"Old Wei, how is business at home lately?"

Just then, a neighbor hiding behind a door heard a loud crash as his front gate was kicked open. Terrified, he trembled all over. Zhao Jia, cradling the soft-bodied Xueyuan, said, "You two, I need a favor. You will be well compensated, but if you dare to refuse... hmph!"

Zhao Jia turned his gaze toward the Fish-Dragon Gang members, his entire body radiating a terrifying, malevolent aura of *yang*.

The leader of the Fish-Dragon Gang let out a sharp cry, so frightened that the husband and wife hurriedly revealed everything—including which manor Su Yang belonged to and the fact that he had given them eight taels of silver. They dared not hide a thing.

One of the Fish-Dragon Gang leaders, his eyes scanning the couple with hostility, asked a question.

"Old Master, the protection money is all here. It's all here!"

Zhao Jia ignored the onlookers and walked slowly toward the raised platform. Two servants tried to block him, but Zhao Jia easily slipped past them and said, "Old Master Xue, why haven't you prepared a seat for me? Am I not worthy?"

The Xue family patriarch was a seventh-rank martial artist, and his family was a prominent force in the city, second only to a few top-tier clans. He was a scholar who had reached the seventh rank in his seventies, with a limitless future ahead of him. He was not someone to be trifled with.

"Zhao Wanyuan, aren't you going too far?" Old Master Xue looked at Zhao Jia with an unkind expression. "Do not think that just because you are newcomers, you can bully others."

"It's business—fair competition!"

Zhao Jia picked up a teacup from the table and hurled it violently at the cat demon in Zhao Hongyan's arms.

*Bang!*

The teacup shattered in the air with a sonic boom. Zhao Hongyan frowned, flicked her sleeve, and unleashed a burst of *qi* and blood, shattering the cup entirely.

"Old Master, your martial arts competition for a son-in-law—I wonder, is it fair?" Zhao Jia asked again.

The muscular giant, Jin Shou, cupped his hands at the crowd, his eyes filled with boundless fighting spirit as he looked toward the martial artists preparing to challenge him.

*Clang!*

A gong sounded, silencing the clamor of the crowd, and a martial artist slowly stepped onto the stage.

"Fair, it is fair competition."

Zhao Jia, disregarding the expectations of the crowd, walked slowly toward the high platform. He sat down in a chair, a lazy expression on his face, holding a cat with blue pupils in his arms. Using his "Spirit-Viewing Technique," he could see that this was a wild eighth-rank cat demon.

"You, get me a chair."

"Yes, of course, anything for you!" Old Master Xue hurriedly ordered his servants to bring a chair. Zhao Jia pointed to the side of the clan head and said, "Put it next to Old Wei. You and I shall sit together."

Clan Head Wei smiled faintly, rose, and bowed to Zhao Jia. "Greetings, Brother Zhao."

"Brother Wei, you are too kind."

Zhao Jia sat down, looked at the Xue family patriarch, and said, "Recently, our Yanggu County has seen the arrival of a 'Brother Zhao' and a Lin Xuanshan competing for business with us. They are quite arrogant!"

Clan Head Wei smiled thinly. "The tiger father has a dog for a son. What is the strength of his son? I wonder if he will enter the stage himself?"

"We shall see," Zhao Jia replied.

The competition for the hand of the Xue family's daughter, Zhao Hongyan, was underway. Below, the commoners cheered, surprised to see such a muscular giant; his strength was clearly formidable.

"Old Master, does your daughter have a high level of strength?" Zhao Jia asked again.

As he felt the strange phenomena within Xueyuan's body, Zhao Jia frowned, a flash of confusion crossing his eyes.

Su Yang's meridians seemed to be undergoing a transformation. The previously clogged meridians were suddenly clearing, and his roots, once only of the lowest grade, were now showing signs of rising to the third grade. Furthermore, a hint of coldness, like snow falling in winter, was seeping from his bones.

*How could a martial artist's roots be cold? If so, they would surely be dead.*

Zhao Jia took a deep breath, looking at Zhao Hongyan with a mix of disdain and deep meaning.

"If your son enters the ring, let's see if he can even beat the cat demon in your son's arms. If he can't, then that settles it."

Zhao Hongyan, seeing Zhao Jia leave, felt her anger slowly dissipate. After a moment of careful thought, a faint smile curled at the corners of her mouth.

The Xue family patriarch was a seventh-rank martial artist, and he assumed the man's roots would also be quite good. However, based on the daily reports he received, the more powerful the parents' roots, the stronger the offspring. If the roots were too poor, it would be difficult to conceive, and the resulting child's roots would be mediocre at best.

"The auspicious time has arrived. The competition for the hand of the Xue family's daughter, Zhao Hongyan, is now concluded!"

The crowd cheered, and the atmosphere was vibrant.

"Speak!" Zhao Jia said to the couple.

"You... you saw who killed your Fish-Dragon Gang members, didn't you?"

"Yes, yes, we saw... we saw!" The couple, seeing their neighbors bruised and beaten, with two of them lying dead in pools of blood, dared not hide anything.

"If the cat demon your son holds is male... hehe, heh heh..."

The cat demon hissed at Zhao Jia, its voice filled with killing intent. Zhao Hongyan's brows knit together in displeasure.

Zhao Jia picked up another teacup and threw it at Zhao Hongyan. "Stop acting like a beast!"

"Hmph!"

The cat demon leaped up, shattered the teacup with one swipe, and lunged fiercely at Zhao Jia.

"Hmph!"

Zhao Jia's figure flickered, and he was suddenly behind the cat demon. With a swift movement, he suppressed it.

"Call me 'Grandpa'."

The cat demon shrieked, its fur bristling, before landing on the ground and scurrying back into Zhao Hongyan's arms.

"So, it turns out to be Zhao Wanyuan. You were quick!"

"Well, I just can't stand beasts trampling on women!"

The Fish-Dragon Gang leaders looked at each other, grabbed their silver, and left. The bodies of their fallen comrades were also taken away.

"Your son is about to enter the stage. If he can't even defeat the cat demon in his own arms, then that is that."

"Haha, well said!"

The commoners who had been shouting earlier immediately shut their mouths and retreated into the crowd, not daring to speak recklessly again.

Time flew by.

Finally, at the end of the month—since this month only has 28 days—if you have any spare monthly tickets, throw them all to the author. Thank you all, thank you all!

"The auspicious time has arrived, the competition is over!"

The Xue family patriarch was slightly stunned. He had never expected Zhao Jia to be so blunt. Beside him, the other family heads showed expressions of joy.

"You had better not stand in the way of Old Master Xue."

"Old Master, don't worry. Your word is law."

"Indeed, fair competition."

...

As for the Fish-Dragon Gang, they would be dealt with once Su Yang woke up.