Chapter 6: Beat You Until You Surrender

  Li Zhen followed Huang Shi Hai, and as they walked deeper into the camp, the sounds of chaos grew louder.

  After a while, he came to a boxing ring.

  On the stage stood two robust men with bare arms, one of whom was bald, his shiny head gleaming with oil, his eyes fierce and his face ferocious. The other man had a long braid wrapped around his head, staring at the bald man, letting out a low growl, waving his fists and charging at him. The two men wrestled, fighting with great enthusiasm.

  "Li San, beat that bald guy to death, use all your strength and don't show any mercy."

  "Damn it, you're fighting like a couple of women, no strength at all. If I were to go up there, two punches would knock you both down and you wouldn't even be able to crawl back up. Useless, the two of you are useless."

  "Baldy, hit harder! Hit harder!"

  ……

  The stage was surrounded by a dense crowd of soldiers.

  These soldiers were all bare-armed, waving their arms and shouting loudly. The two men on the stage were fighting fiercely, and the soldiers below were also shouting loudly. These soldiers had a strong bandit-like air about them, not like soldiers trained in the army. Li Zhen watched these soldiers' performance and understood why the generals in the army couldn't suppress this group of people.

  Without three parts of a tiger's courage, you will definitely be tormented to death by this group of people.

  "Shut up!"

  Huang Shi Hai stood outside the crowd with Li Zhen, suddenly raised his voice and let out a loud roar. This loud roar was like a fierce tiger roaring in the mountains, immediately stunning the entire scene. All the soldiers obediently closed their mouths, their eyes fixed on Huang Shi Hai, while staring at Li Zhen. Even though Li Zhen's expression remained calm, he could feel the malicious intent behind the gaze of the soldiers, and even detected a hint of provocation.

  Li Zhen's eyes narrowed, and he understood that Huang Shi Hai's final test was here.

  Huang Shi Hai concentrated his mind and remained silent, the soldiers standing around him also closed their mouths and didn't speak, only faint breathing sounds could be heard. The scene was so quiet that even a steel needle falling to the ground could be heard.

  The moment before, it was as noisy as a marketplace.

  At this moment, it is quiet and still, utterly different.

  From this, Li Zhen was able to gauge the prestige of Huang Shi-hai among his soldiers. If Qi Shan wanted to take down Huang Shi-hai, these soldiers would definitely mutiny; they only recognized Huang Shi-hai and not Qi Shan. Li Zhen also understood Wu Qi-gong's words - the soldiers under Huang Shi-hai were indeed the most vicious and evil ones in the army.

  It's getting interesting!

  Li Zhen's heart rose with a thousand heroic spirits, and he looked forward to it even more.

  Huang Shi Hai remained silent for a long time, then suddenly shouted: "All of you listen up and be clear. The person next to me is General Li Zhen, appointed by Qi Shan. If you have anything to say, say it to General Li's face; if you have any questions, ask General Li directly. Don't hold back. If someone tries to make a move behind the scenes, don't blame me for turning against them."

  Li Zhen smiled and stared at Huang Shi Hai, secretly thinking that this guy was cunning.

  This remark is obviously inciting soldiers to provoke.

  As soon as Huang Shi Hai's words fell, the bald man standing on the stage shouted impatiently: "Li San, you little rascal get down, don't interfere with Laozi challenging Lord Li."

  Li San quickly got off the stage in cooperation.

  The bald man stared at Li Zhen, his eyes gleaming with ferocity, like a wild leopard staring at its prey.

  He pointed at Li Zhen with his right hand and loudly shouted: "Li, you want to be our leader? I have no opinion on that. As long as you can defeat me in the arena, I'll acknowledge you. If you have the guts, come up and accept the challenge. If you don't dare, then get out of here, I won't bother with you."

  Huang Shi Hai listened to the bald man's words, a hint of smile flashed in his eyes, but he sternly shouted: "Huang Hu, standing beside me is the newly arrived Li Daren. You dare challenge Li Daren, are you itching for a fight?"

  Bald head named Huang Hu, and Huang Shi Hai share the same surname.

  Li Zhen listened to Huang Shi Hai's words and sneered in his heart. This Huang Hu must have been arranged by Huang Shi Hai.

  Huang Hu did not back down, putting on a tough and unreasonable attitude, loudly saying: "Don't stop me, if Lord Li doesn't agree to my request, I won't obey. You can deal with it however you want."

  Huang Shi Hai let out a sigh and looked embarrassed.

  "Huang Shi Hai said helplessly: 'General Li, it's not a big deal to teach him a lesson, but General Li will be laughed at. Huang Hu is the most powerful in the camp, and he is also the bravest general in the camp, good at killing enemies, and it's not easy to deal with him. Sir, Huang Hu has incredible strength, if you fight back, I'm afraid you'll be beaten to death, so it's better not to go up.'"

  Li Zhen knew this was Huang Shi Hai's bluff and intimidation, and didn't care at all.

  The person he possessed was also named Li Zhen, this life was an orphan, with no relatives or friends. Although his status was humble, he had a strong and agile body. Huang Hu was the son of a martial artist, rough and powerful, but not agile enough. Li Zhen brushed off his clothes and said disdainfully: "Huang Qianzong, although Huang Hu is brave and fierce, in my eyes, his martial arts are mediocre and nothing special."

  Huang Shi Hai's face sank, and he frowned, saying: "Lord Li, I'll remind you once again, on the arena there is no father-son relationship, life and death are unpredictable. If you go up, it will truly be a matter of life and death."

  "Oh, did someone die upstairs?" Li Zhen asked back.

  Huang Shi Hai's mouth twitched slightly, and he was momentarily speechless.

  He set up the arena for his soldiers to compete with each other and hone their martial skills. Even if some soldiers were beaten until they had a swollen face, no one ever died. In the past, generals who wanted to subdue Huang Shi Hai would be intimidated by the sight of Huang Hu and the array of soldiers in the army, and would retreat without saying a word, never having encountered someone like Li Zhen.

  At this time, Huang Hu's roar came again: "Mr. Li, dare you come?"

  The soldiers around the arena heard it and immediately booed.

  In an instant, heads crowded and shouts rose. The sound of mocking and shouting came out, some soldiers mocked Li Zhen for not daring to fight, while others urged Li Zhen to a duel.

  The same point is that they are all ill-intentioned.

  Li Zhen slowly took off his overcoat and said, "Huang Qianzong, take a closer look."

  Having said that, Li Zhen threw his clothes to Huang Shi Hai and walked towards the stage.

  Huang Shi Hai nodded slightly, a hint of appreciation flashing in his eyes. Among the countless generals at Jiangbei Dazhen, most were officials who didn't take action and had small courage. Li Zhen was able to fight openly, which made him a real man. However, Huang Shi Hai wouldn't surrender to Li Zhen because of this matter, as it involved the lives of 1,200 brothers, he couldn't easily hand over military power.

  Huang Hu twisted his head and was very excited.

  Li Zhen walked up onto the stage and stood still, then beckoned to Huang Hu with a hook of his hand, saying provocatively: "Come on!"

  Huang Hu opened his mouth and smiled, saying: "Lord Li, don't worry, for the sake of my family's future, I won't beat you to death. However, I'll give you a lesson, let you rest in bed for ten days or half a month."

  "Hey!!"

  Huang Hu let out a low growl, his hands clenched into fists as he pounced forward.

  Fists flew out, accompanied by a strong gust of wind, shocking the audience. Huang Tui was tall and sturdy, with a tiger-like head and brain, full of brute force, his double fists carrying a force of at least one or two hundred kilograms. If he hit Li Zhen's body, it would definitely injure his tendons and bones, and even if Li Zhen lay in bed for ten days or half a month, it would be considered a light punishment.

  Li Zhen's body was robust, but extremely agile.

  He took a step forward, suddenly pounced forward, and easily dodged Huang Hu's fist. When Huang Hu's move was old and his strength was exhausted, Li Zhen's left hand rested on Huang Hu's left arm. In an instant, his palm turned into a claw, tightly grasping Huang Hu's arm, and pulled it outward with force. Huang Hu lost his balance, and Li Zhen immediately stretched out his right foot, blocking Huang Hu's legs in front of him.

  "Bang!"

  Huang Hu's foot was caught and he lost his balance, stumbling and falling to the ground.

  Huang Shi Hai's eyes sparkled with insight, unexpectedly Li Zhen had been hiding in plain sight.

  Li Zhen defeated Huang Hu and asked with a smile: "Huang Hu, are you willing to concede?"

  "I refuse to accept!"

  Huang Hu's thick skin was unharmed, and being knocked to the ground was like being bitten by an ant - it didn't hurt or itch. Huang Hu sprang up quickly, rubbed his shiny head with his hand, and said in a loud voice: "You were lucky earlier, if you have the skills, let's have a real showdown and see who's more powerful!"

  Li Zhen immediately wanted to refute after hearing it.

  But thinking of Huang Hu's stubbornness, he said: "Alright, I'll just beat you until you surrender."

  "Look out!"

  Li Zhen's right hand formed a fist and swiftly charged out.

  Huang Hu's eyes sparkled with excitement as he raised his fist in defense.

  Fists collided, emitting a dull thud. Li Zhen still had a follow-up move, taking advantage of Huang Hu's slow reaction, his left hand hooked into an uppercut, the fist rising high to heavily strike the armpit of Huang Hu's right arm. With one punch, Huang Hu's body leaned back, crashing to the ground with a loud thud, and his right arm was powerless, unable to muster any strength.

  In fact, this is still Li Zhen's trump card.

  If Li Zhenfa was ruthless, his left hook would hit Huang Hu's chin, and one punch would be enough to knock Huang Hu's chin off. Li Zhen looked at the fallen Huang Hu and said, "Huang Hu, you've been defeated by another move, do you admit defeat?"

  After two rounds, Huang Hu knew he was no match.

  He struggled to get up and said with a fist: "Lord Li's martial arts are powerful, Huang Hu is convinced!"

  Li Zhen nodded, his eyes turned to Huang Shi Hai, with a hint of smile in his eyes.

  Huang Shi Hai took a deep breath, ready to take on Li Zhen. He stepped forward, taking a step ahead, and suddenly let out a loud roar: "Huang Hu may have given up, but I, Huang Shi Hai, will not!"

  Li Zhen's mood sank, knowing that the climax was coming.

  PS: The second update of ten, begging everyone for support with fresh flowers.