Chapter 84: The Dirtier, the Better

After hearing this, Long Teng said, “Brother Yang, why do you need to divide the schools so meticulously? Once I master them, can I go fight in MMA? Why don’t you teach me? Honestly, I’ve already prepared the formal gift for becoming your disciple.”

Yang Meng blinked. “You really want to learn from me?”

Long Teng nodded vigorously, “I do!”

Yang Meng grinned. “Alright, first go to the bank and withdraw a million.”

“What? I can just transfer it to you!” Long Teng secretly rejoiced; this fee for becoming a disciple was rather cheap.

But Yang Meng shook his head. “Only cash!”

Long Teng had no idea why Yang Meng wanted the money, but he still had someone fetch the cash. Showing off his wealth, he placed two million on the table. “Brother Yang, is this enough?”

Staring at the two million, Yang Meng looked at Long Teng with a complicated expression. “I said one million is enough.”

Long Teng puffed out his chest. “Brother Yang—no, I should call you Master now—this is nothing. The fee for apprenticing must be more generous.”

“Apprenticeship fee?” Yang Meng was taken aback, then shook his head vigorously. “No, you’ve misunderstood! Come, get up on the ring.”

Long Teng, confused, climbed onto the ring. “Master? We’re holding the ceremony here? Isn’t this a bit too simple?”

“Don’t call me Master just yet. Let me see what your level really is. Bai Ze, right? You were bold enough to stand up to me earlier, so you wouldn’t be scared of Long Teng now, would you? Get on the ring and spar with him. No need to care about rules—just knock the other down. Don’t drag it out either; I’ll give you three minutes. Don’t bother saving your energy. If you want to be a fighter, you must be prepared to risk your life.”

Hearing his name, Bai Ze immediately jumped onto the stage. He removed his gloves and flexed his neck and limbs. “Young Master Long, I suddenly think Chief Instructor Yang has a point. I really want to have a good match with you—no rules.”

Yang Meng rolled his eyes at Bai Ze’s words. “Come on, enough with the chatter. Do you announce your intentions before a real fight? Haven’t you watched TV? Don’t you know villains always talk too much before dying? This isn’t a spar; this is a brawl! You know the saying: ‘Strike first to gain the upper hand, strike later and suffer the consequences.’ I shouldn’t have to explain this to you.”

Long Teng reacted quickly, throwing a punch straight at Bai Ze.

“Damn!” Bai Ze was quick too, dodged the punch, and the two of them tangled together.

The onlookers around the ring were all stunned. Both of these men were champions in their respective fields, but the way they fought was utterly underwhelming: Long Teng lowered his head and charged, grabbing Bai Ze’s legs and slamming him to the ground, while Bai Ze immediately wrapped his arms around Long Teng’s neck in a guillotine choke, trying to make him pass out. Yet Long Teng was experienced too; he wedged an arm between Bai Ze’s arm and his own neck to prevent being choked, and with his free hand, he pounded Bai Ze’s ribs, hoping to make him let go. Bai Ze wasn’t idle either—while choking Long Teng, he hammered Long Teng’s back with his other fist.

Were these two really fighting champions? It looked more like a street brawl between thugs.

Clang.

The timekeeper struck the bell beside the ring, signaling that time was up. But Long Teng and Bai Ze acted as if they hadn’t heard, still trading blows. It took a group of people to finally pry them apart.

Clearly, the fight had ignited their tempers! Even after being separated, the two continued to glare at each other.

Yang Meng slowly began to clap, and only then did the two look at him.

“Do you think I’m going to praise you?” Yang Meng stopped clapping. “You’re both useless.”

Long Teng and Bai Ze looked at Yang Meng in disbelief. They had fought as if it were a real match—how did they end up with this evaluation?

Yang Meng sneered, “Unconvinced? Alright, let’s review. Bai Ze, what did you do when Long Teng tackled you and tried to slam you down?”

Bai Ze widened his eyes. “I immediately wrapped his neck for a guillotine, but Long Teng reacted fast and slipped his arm in, breaking my choke. But I couldn’t switch moves at that point—though he broke the choke, I was still in an offensive position.”

Yang Meng waved him off. “Come on, try that on me, just like Long Teng did.”

Bai Ze didn’t hesitate. He rushed Yang Meng, imitating Long Teng’s earlier move to grab Yang Meng’s legs and throw him. But before he could even grab Yang Meng’s legs, the latter struck him on the back of the neck with a knife-hand and knocked him to the ground.

“When Long Teng charged you, his entire back was wide open. There were countless ways you could have ended him then. Fine, maybe not everyone has my reflexes, but let me ask: when you had his neck, why didn’t you attack his chin or the back of his head, but instead struck his back? Do I need to tell you which spots are more vulnerable? And you claim you’re not just for show?” Yang Meng said to Bai Ze.

Long Teng, seeing Bai Ze getting scolded so harshly, couldn’t help but snicker. Yang Meng tilted his head at Long Teng. “You think I’ll praise you? You’re even dumber than him!”

Long Teng looked at Yang Meng, utterly confused. He thought he’d handled things pretty well—why such a verdict?

“Brother Yang, what would you have done?” Long Teng asked, puzzled.

Yang Meng grinned mischievously. “Come, let me show you!”

The two reenacted the previous position, with Long Teng locking Yang Meng in a guillotine choke. “Brother Yang, from this position, it’s hard to generate power. Even if I hit his ribs, the damage isn’t great, and Bai Ze can twist his body to avoid my punches. I think I did the best I could under the circumstances.”

Yang Meng gave a cold smile. He circled his thumb and middle finger and flicked Long Teng lightly, right in the groin. With a miserable cry, Long Teng released his hold and rolled on the ground, clutching himself in pain.

“Are you going to tell me I shouldn’t hit there? That it’s against the rules? But what if you hit the inside of the thigh, the big femoral nerve? Would you have been in such a sorry state? If you want to win, you must be ruthless—only the victor has the right to speak of strength. Every one of you here, without exception, is a weakling! You learn a few techniques and think you’re invincible? You’re far from it. All those so-called ‘moves’ and ‘routines’ have made you rigid. When someone charges you, your first thought is ‘guillotine choke’; when your neck is caught, you instinctively go for the ribs… These pointless techniques limit your imagination. ‘No move is better than a move’—do you really think that’s just a slogan?”

His martial arts inheritance came from Huang Feihu, learned through bloody battlefields. On the battlefield, survival means abandoning all scruples—there are no techniques, only the will to survive at any cost. Only those who survive by any means are strong.

“Well? Do you still want to learn from me?” Yang Meng lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. Damn, no wonder so many people like to show off—this feeling is exhilarating!

Showing off once is exhilarating; keep doing it, and it never gets old! Yang Meng’s face remained expressionless, but inside, he sincerely hoped Long Teng and the others would choose to learn from him. Honestly, even if they didn’t pay, it didn’t matter. Being able to scold people like this every day would be incredibly satisfying!

Long Teng finally stopped wailing, stood up clutching himself. “Brother Yang, I really want to become stronger! I was uncertain before, but now, I’m definitely taking you as my master!”

Bai Ze glanced at Long Teng, his gaze firm. “Me too!”

Yang Meng laughed. “You want to be my disciples? Think carefully—if you train with me, you might never win another championship again. In fact, you might become known as the kings of breaking the rules.”

Long Teng replied, “I just want to be stronger.”

Bai Ze added, “I’ve already won all the titles I wanted. Now it’s time to challenge myself.”

Yang Meng didn’t stand on ceremony. “If that’s the case, alright. Let’s start with an entry test.”

Long Teng and Bai Ze looked at Yang Meng. He pointed at the two million in cash on the table. “Long Teng, you take this ring. Bai Ze, you take that one. Each of you will fight twenty bouts, three minutes each, with a three-minute rest in between. If you fail to KO your opponent in three minutes, you lose, and the challenger gets ten thousand per win. Since being among the first to challenge is a disadvantage, we’ll draw lots for the order. It doesn’t matter if you’re a sparring partner or a security guard—as long as you believe you can last three minutes, you can sign up. Bai Ze, today you’ll use Long Teng’s money. Don’t forget to pay him back later!” Yang Meng said to them.

Long Teng and Bai Ze were both dumbfounded. Wasn’t this just throwing money away for fun? Everyone here was skilled—KO’ing one in three minutes would take luck, let alone twenty? Even their stamina wouldn’t hold up!

Bai Ze asked, “Master, what if they just dodge for three minutes?”

Yang Meng spread his hands. “Don’t call me master yet—wait until you pass this trial. If you can’t pin your opponent in such a small ring for three minutes, that’s your own stupidity. How about this: if you ever manage to beat twenty opponents, I’ll really teach you! Actually, let’s tweak the rules: all challengers, don’t just focus on dodging—if you can KO Long Teng or Bai Ze in three minutes, the reward doubles!”

With such rich rewards, there would surely be no shortage of contenders. Hearing Yang Meng’s words, not only the fighters and sparring partners, but even the security guards were eager to try. Ten thousand for three minutes, maybe even twenty thousand with luck—money came fast!

Yang Meng didn’t care anyway—it wasn’t his money.

“Alright, all challengers draw lots to determine the order. Long Teng, Bai Ze, good luck staying alive!”