Divine Emperor of Heavenly Destiny

At the sight of Lu Chao, Zheng Zhuhe’s threats came to an abrupt halt.

The hall fell silent. Everyone watched as Lu Chao, with a flick of his wrist, drew the *First Three Hundred Marvels Punches* manual—which Zheng Zhuhe had thrown on the floor—into his hand. He then began to read it with intense concentration...

Zheng Zhuhe sneered at the sight. ”Pointless.”

He then resumed threatening Witch Ying. After spewing a torrent of vitriol, he declared, ”Just you wait! The Saint Bone Zheng Family will be taking action soon. We’re... leaving!”

Having said his piece, Zheng Zhuhe strode toward the exit of the Dragon Flame Branch, ignoring Lu Chao completely.

His retinue of underlings spat their own threats as they followed him out.

Witch Ying’s mouth twitched. Seeing Lu Chao still hadn’t made a move, he shot a hurried glance at Sun Shijin. ”They’re about to walk out! Tell Fake Lu Chao to do something, quick!”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Sun Shijin suddenly produced a freshly written contract and placed it before Witch Ying.

It stipulated that if Lu Chao resolved the trouble, an Innate Student would be provided free of charge.

To put it bluntly, they didn’t trust Witch Ying’s word.

Witch Ying was so furious he felt his chest might explode. But seeing Zheng Zhuhe about to step through the main doors, he could only grit his teeth and sign his name.

The very instant he signed, Lu Chao suddenly spoke. ”I... have learned it.”

At these words, Zheng Zhuhe froze in his tracks and whipped his head around.

The guests, who thought the show was over, all looked up, staring at Lu Chao in disbelief.

The next moment, Lu Chao flashed toward Zheng Zhuhe. ”Take this! My three Hundred Marvels Punches!”

Instantly, several of the Zheng Family’s Innate Masters cried out, ”Protect the Young Master!”

They flashed in front of Zheng Zhuhe to block the attack, but Lu Chao was already upon them. He swiftly executed the First Three Hundred Marvels Punches. Moving like a phantom cat, he landed all three blows squarely on the Zheng Family’s Innate Masters.

The men were sent staggering back from the force of the blows...

But Lu Chao didn’t press his advantage, instead leaping back gracefully.

He landed before Sun Shijin and Witch Ying, then looked at Zheng Zhuhe and said, ”The First Three Hundred Marvels Punches... they are truly marvelous.”

Zheng Zhuhe’s eyes widened in disbelief. He had just read the manual for the first three punches himself. And though he couldn’t learn them, he could certainly tell that what Lu Chao had just performed was the genuine technique.

He couldn’t help but shake his head frantically. ”Impossible! Absolutely impossible!”

Just then, Witch Ying shot toward Zheng Zhuhe...

He bellowed, ”Young Master Zheng, it has now been proven that our Dragon Flame Branch looks down on no one! You were simply too useless to learn it yourself! Apologize. Now!”

As he spoke, an oppressive wave of Witch Ying’s True Qi washed over Zheng Zhuhe and his men.

One must not forget, Witch Ying was a man powerful enough to have fought his way into the Saint Bone Zheng Family’s home alongside Yin Ye. His cultivation was terrifyingly high, and now that he held the moral high ground, he could use the principles of the Martial Dao to openly suppress them.

Zheng Zhuhe’s face fell. He retorted, ”I don’t believe it! You must have planned this together beforehand—”

Before he could finish, Witch Ying cut him off imperiously.

”You’re trash. Why can’t you just admit it?”

”And another thing, Young Master Zheng. The Shadow Form Hundred Marvels Fist is not for sale today. The official event and sale of the first three punches begin tomorrow. So how exactly was my daughter or the Attendant ’looking down on you’ by not producing the Hundred Marvels Fist manual on the spot?”

”You insisted on throwing your weight around, so I gave you a chance to back it up. Turns out, you’re just not good enough.”

”Now, get out.”

With that, Witch Ying unleashed a pulse of True Qi, shoving Zheng Zhuhe right out the door.

Zheng Zhuhe and his men stumbled back outside, but Witch Ying wasn’t finished with them. He suddenly shot out after them. ”Since you won’t apologize, you’re going to pay for that slap you gave my daughter!”

Before the words were even out of his mouth... SLAP!

Witch Ying’s palm cracked across Zheng Zhuhe’s face. The blow wasn’t heavy, but the sound was loud and clear.

Next, Witch Ying glanced at the Attendant who had been kicked to the ground, then slowly turned his gaze back to Zheng Zhuhe. ”You struck my Attendant, but Young Master Lu beat up your lackeys, so we’ll call that even... Now scram!”

With a final, thunderous command, Witch Ying flashed back inside, landing beside his daughter, Wu Fenyu.

He had been suppressing his rage ever since his daughter was slapped without reason, and now he had delivered his payback, crisp and clean.

Zheng Zhuhe stood outside, a pathetic figure seething with uncontrollable rage.

He threatened viciously, ”Witch Ying, I won’t let you get away with this! And you, Fake Lu Chao... you’re a dead man!”

He hadn’t brought many masters with him this time, as he hadn’t thought it would be necessary.

After all, he was a local power with a ready-made pretext, and he’d believed Witch Ying would never dare to lay a hand on him. But in the end, his inability to learn the Hundred Marvels Fist in the time it takes an incense stick to burn, combined with Fake Lu Chao’s swift success, had completely backfired on him.

Now, with nothing left to do but spout empty threats, he could only slink away in humiliation.

Inside the hall, Witch Ying watched Zheng Zhuhe leave, then immediately addressed the crowd. ”Esteemed guests, the event for the First Three Hundred Marvels Punches will now begin ahead of schedule! Anyone is welcome to try, but from this point on, I will be collecting a small fee...”

He announced the price and tasked Wu Fenyu with managing the event.

Finally, he turned back to Lu Chao. ”Young Master Lu, since you’ve learned the First Three Hundred Marvels Punches, please come inside with me so we can complete our transaction.”

”Congratulations. You may now purchase the complete Shadow Form Hundred Marvels Fist...”

Though he said the words, they were practically ground out from between his teeth.

Of course, the real reason was that he now had to provide Sun Shijin with an Innate Student, free of charge. He wasn’t inviting Lu Chao into the back room to sell him the complete Shadow Form Hundred Marvels Fist, but to fulfill the contract he had just signed.

Lu Chao smiled and nodded. ”Elder Wu, please lead the way.”

And just like that, Lu Chao and Sun Shijin followed Witch Ying into a private room within the establishment.

Watching her father and Lu Chao disappear, Wu Fenyu couldn’t help but laugh to herself.

’I can’t believe someone actually got the better of Dad in a business deal,’ she thought. ’This Fake Lu Chao is pretty interesting.’

’Oh, that’s right. He seems to know Wu Caicai from First Uncle’s side of the family.’

’Last time, at the family banquet, Wu Caicai mentioned him and a descendant of the Azure Flame Sect, but First Uncle shut her down. At the next banquet, I’ll have to find my dear cousin Caicai and ask her for the details on this Fake Lu Chao.’

With that thought, Wu Fenyu put the matter aside and focused on managing the Hundred Marvels Fist event.

’I can’t believe things turned out this way,’ she mused. ’We’re actually running the event for real now.’

’If even Zheng Zhuhe couldn’t learn it in the time it takes an incense stick to burn, probably no one else can either. We’re going to make a killing off this.’

’Dad really is something else. He never passes up a chance to make money.’

As Witch Ying had just announced, anyone who wanted to try would have to pay a fee.

Although the fee wasn’t high, after the spectacle involving Zheng Zhuhe and Fake Lu Chao, there was bound to be a long line of people eager to try their luck.

Sure enough, the hall immediately erupted into a hub of activity as applicants swarmed to register.

...

Inside a private room in the establishment, Witch Ying and Lu Chao sat facing each other. The former’s expression was grim.

He huffed, ”Fake Lu Chao, this whole mess with Zheng Zhuhe was your problem to solve, yet you forced my hand and made me sign that contract! Making me provide an Innate Student for free... You people are truly unscrupulous.”