Chapter 112 – Mutated Crow, Force King!

“Chen Yang’s mother used to be here… right there. Now it’s occupied by someone selling vegetables. After her son went missing, she came here less often, spending each day searching for him.”

“After Chen Yang was gone, I heard that his master gave her a large sum of money. She took the money and went back to her hometown, giving up the rented house…”

Hearing this, Lu Yuan paused in the middle of packing oranges and asked, “Chen Yang’s master? He had a master?”

“Yes, the master who taught him martial arts and fighting. It was also his master who helped him find those fighting jobs. He used to drive Chen Yang home frequently…”

“His master was really good to him. After Chen Yang’s incident, he kept helping to look for him. Knowing that Chen Yang’s mother would have a hard time alone after Chen Yang was gone, he even proactively gave her money…”

As Lu Yuan listened to the old lady selling oranges ramble on, his eyes flickered with light.

Seeing that the bag was almost full of oranges, he stood up with the bag in hand.

“I’ll scan the payment over to you.”

He took out his mobile phone, scanned the payment code placed at the side of the stall, and transferred two hundred.

Then, amidst the old lady’s gaze, which seemed to say “finally, this young man is leaving,” he walked away leisurely.

“Boss, how much is this fish per pound?”

“Please weigh some peppers for me… and give me two scallions as well, boss.”

Lu Yuan strolled through the bustling crowd with his bag of oranges, his ears filled with various hawking voices and haggling sounds.

People moved back and forth on either side of him, and occasionally an electric scooter would pass by, calling out “make way, make way” as it slowly drove past.

The smell of fish, blood, dirt, grass, and the sweat and odor from people…

All these scents swirled around Lu Yuan’s nose, converging into the word “market” in his mind.

This was the market in a city village in the Development Zone of the west district of Jiaoyan City.

Before Lu Yuan, Lin Zhiqin’s former student, who fought for him at Mosa, lived nearby.

The one who went missing for two months and was eventually found by Lu Yuan on the third floor of a Crow Deity sect hideout, with his limbs broken and his facial features mutilated… Chen Yang.

Not long ago, the police in Jiaoyan City released a list of those confirmed dead in the missing persons cases, and Chen Yang’s name was among them.

Lu Yuan had asked Ge Wenjun for Chen Yang’s address, planning to visit and ask the woman who had cried while clinging to Lin Zhiqin, hoping to learn more about what Chen Yang did for Lin Zhiqin besides competing at Mosa.

Unfortunately, he came up empty-handed. The grieving mother had returned to her hometown alone.

So, with nothing better to do, he chatted a bit with some of the old ladies nearby who knew about Chen Yang’s family situation.

Although he didn’t get much useful information, one point did surprise Lu Yuan.

“After Chen Yang’s death was confirmed, Lin Zhiqin actually gave his mother some money?”

“Didn’t Chen Yang die at the hands of the Crow Deity sect? Why would Lin Zhiqin voluntarily give money? He himself is quite short on money. What could be his motivation, or rather…”

“Personality.”

Lu Yuan’s eyes flickered, and he fell into deep thought.

He suddenly realized that he had misunderstood Lin Zhiqin from the start.

Perhaps it was because of Lin Zhiqin’s indifferent attitude during classes, his smoking, and his unkempt appearance.

Plus, when Lu Yuan applied for the official disciple assessment, Lin Zhiqin had subtly made things difficult for him, whether intentionally or not.

This led Lu Yuan to always maintain a strong sense of vigilance in his interactions with Lin Zhiqin.

He even subconsciously performed for Lin Zhiqin now.

But upon closer reflection…

From the beginning until now, Lin Zhiqin had never done anything to harm him.

He had diligently taught Lu Yuan practical combat skills, guided him in martial arts, and imparted the Crane Style techniques.

All the therapy, massage, secret ointments, and other resources consumed during this period were paid for out of Lin Zhiqin’s own pocket.

Even if Lin Zhiqin was a core member of the Crane Style, these resources shouldn’t be completely free.

He had never embezzled any of the prize money Lu Yuan won from his fights.

From start to finish, it seemed Lin Zhiqin had always been providing for him, just so…

He could continue fighting at Mosa?!

“Once I complete the assessment to become a direct disciple disciple, whether I pass or not, I’ll officially be a disciple of the Crane Style. According to the rules, I won’t be able to continue competing. By then, how will Lin Zhiqin manage to keep his daughter alive?”

With a blank expression, Lu Yuan gradually exited the noisy market and started walking along a weathered dirt road.

He walked until he reached the intersection with the paved road, where he stopped under a utility pole.

Before coming here, Lu Yuan had also inquired about Yang Jiandong’s recent situation.

He was living well, and it was said that he was already preparing for his wedding with his girlfriend.

Lu Yuan stood at the intersection waiting for the bus, feeling full from the oranges he had eaten while chatting with the Old Lady in the market.

Now, every burp tasted like oranges.

Suddenly, he felt the urge to pee. Looking around, he saw a public restroom about a hundred meters away.

He decided to walk over there.

He had only walked halfway when suddenly…

Lu Yuan saw several dark shadows flying from behind the restroom.

He was particularly sensitive to black birds now. Taking a closer look, he realized they were indeed crows.

But these were much larger and stronger than his usual crow assistants.

Crow Deity sect!

The words flashed in Lu Yuan’s mind.

Without hesitation, he immediately activated his [Crow Language] skill.

His mental power spread out in the form of plucked strings, sending out invisible waves.

With the lv2 [Crow Language] skill, the crows obediently flew over and landed in front of Lu Yuan.

He initially wanted to reach out and grab them, but then he remembered they might have eaten human flesh, so he pulled his hand back.

He ordered the crows to open their mouths.

Sure enough, he saw a ring of fine, sharp teeth in their mouths.

“These are indeed mutated crows raised by the Crow Deity sect.”

Lu Yuan’s eyes narrowed as he continued to exchange information with the crows.

After a while, the mutated crows flapped their wings, ready to fly away, but Lu Yuan stomped on each one, killing them instantly.

“Who would have thought that in the west district, after already dismantling a hideout led by a Powerful Divine Servant of the Crow Deity sect, there would be another one hidden here!”

Lu Yuan stomped on the last crow’s head, wiping his shoe vigorously on a nearby dirt mound with a look of disgust, his brow furrowed.

He pondered how to handle the situation.

A moment later, he made a decision—”I’ll tip off Ge Wenjun and let Yellow Bear’s people handle it.”

…

Knock, knock, knock—

The lounge door was gently opened, and a staff member wearing a uniform with the Mosa Combat Sports Club logo poked his head in.

Seeing the strong man sitting quietly under the white light, wearing a three-eyed goat head mask, he cautiously spoke, “Feast Eater, sir, your match is about to start.”

“Hmm.”

A slightly deep voice came from under the mask.

The man in the three-eyed goat head mask slowly rose from his chair.

His tall and sturdy figure blocked half of the incandescent light as he walked step by step toward the door.

To the staff member, it seemed like a shadow was quickly spreading out from the small lounge.

Gulp—

Swallowing hard, the staff member quickly opened the lounge door as wide as possible, stepping back a few steps, respectfully allowing the man to pass by.

Only after the man walked away did he breathe a sigh of relief.

Wiping the fine beads of sweat from his forehead, he muttered with a complicated expression, “There are more and more experts in the arena these days. I miss the days when any hooligan could get a paycheck… sigh…”

…

Lu Yuan walked into the competition venue at a steady pace.

This was his first time coming to Mosa alone to participate in a match without Lin Zhiqin.

It was mainly to test the results of his recent body training—experimenting at home with sticks and knives was far less effective than a real fight with fists and flesh in the ring.

Stepping into the arena, Lu Yuan was slightly surprised.

He noticed that today’s audience was quite large.

About two-thirds of the seats were filled.

Most of them were contestants wearing masks.

“This match is getting more and more lively…”

Lu Yuan didn’t feel bad about it; instead, he felt more at ease.

The more people there were, the more legitimate the Mosa-organized match seemed, making it less likely for any dangerous incidents to occur.

“The Feast Eater is here!”

From the door to the battle arena, Lu Yuan heard whispers from the audience.

“I didn’t expect Force King’s first opponent to be the Feast Eater. This match might actually be interesting.”

“What’s interesting about it? To Force King, he’s just another small fry.”

“Yeah, Force King made it into the top hundred in the last Hundred Cities Martial Arts Tournament in the South. He was defeated by a genius from the Iron Fist Sect and disappeared for over a year. It’s surprising to see him reappear here!”

“He’s probably mostly recovered and is looking for smaller matches to regain his form. The prize money for this tournament isn’t bad either.”

“Yeah…”

So, they weren’t here for me…

Under the three-eyed goat mask, Lu Yuan’s mouth twitched slightly.

He felt a bit self-important for a moment.

He had thought that his growing reputation from the boiling night had attracted many opponents to watch him.

It turned out they were here to watch his opponent’s performance instead.

“Force King.”

Lu Yuan silently repeated the name he had just heard, feeling a mix of eagerness and curiosity.

From the audience’s discussions, this Force King seemed to be quite powerful, an already famous martial arts expert.

“Good, I’ll use this opportunity to find out where I stand in the martial arts world. Facing similar experts in the future, I’ll be more confident.”

With this thought, Lu Yuan slowly climbed the steps to the elevated battle arena.

He hadn’t yet seen his opponent in person, but he saw on the large screens hanging around the arena a figure wearing a Lion Fangs mask.

As he fully stepped onto the arena, his opponent’s appearance came into full view.

A tremendously strong man stood before him.

His chest muscles bulged high, almost tearing through his sleeveless elastic vest.

Each of his arms was as thick as an adult’s thigh.

His solid waist and abdomen, along with his exaggerated thigh muscles, showcased his astonishing leg power.

Lu Yuan considered himself quite strong.

But compared to this man…

He felt like he was malnourished…

The man wearing the Lion Fangs mask stood there with his arms crossed.

The gaze from under the mask was cold and indifferent; it swept over Lu Yuan casually and then quickly returned to the referee.

With a tone full of impatience, he urged, “Since he’s here, just announce the start of the match already.”

“Alright, alright.”

The referee, somewhat flustered, wiped the sweat from his forehead and loudly announced the start of the match.

Then, without looking back, he quickly ran to a safe distance.