The next day, Liu Tiezhu was still asleep when Jiang He sent someone to summon him.
Ming Tianfeng's arrangement also made Jiang He very worried. Liu Tiezhu was the promising candidate he had his eye on, and he couldn't afford to lose him like this.
The atmosphere in the tent was somewhat heavy. Jiang He, Zhang Zhiliang, and Liu Zhigao all had furrowed brows. Ming Tianfeng's move had truly hit them where it hurt.
Seeing Liu Tiezhu arrive, Jiang He gestured for him to sit down first, then explained how Ming Tianfeng had butted in.
Liu Tiezhu had already known about this news last night, so when he heard Jiang He's words, his face showed no surprise.
Seeing this, Zhang Zhiliang chimed in, "Ming Tianfeng has sent members of the Blood Combat Team this time."
"According to reliable intel, the one going after you is a deputy captain of the Blood Combat Team."
"His name is Ma Tengfei. He spent a long time at Shaolin Temple before and trained in the Iron Shirt."
Hearing this, Liu Tiezhu was somewhat surprised. He had no grudge against Ming Tianfeng, so there was no reason for him to be targeted.
Now sending such a formidable opponent after him—anyone could tell Jiang Tianliang was behind it.
"That bastard's been transferred away and still won't let me have peace," Liu Tiezhu cursed inwardly, his face betraying nothing as he asked, "Can Ma Tengfei's Iron Shirt block bullets?"
Bullets? What was he planning?
Jiang He and the others were all stunned by this question.
"Brother Tiezhu, firearms are banned in the third round of combat," Zhang Zhiliang reminded him.
Liu Tiezhu said, "Inspector Zhang, I'm not planning to use a gun."
"I just want to know how strong Ma Tengfei's defense is."
Jiang He said, "No matter how strong the Iron Shirt is, it can't stop bullets. You can rest assured on that."
"But Ma Tengfei's hard qigong is real. I've seen with my own eyes that a knife couldn't cut into his flesh."
"Are you confident against someone like him?"
"Fifty-fifty," Liu Tiezhu said.
He didn't care about hard qigong at all. The places he attacked were the body's most vulnerable acupoints and meridians; no hard qigong could protect all of them. Unless Ma Tengfei's entire body defense could block bullets, he would still find an opening to strike.
Fifty-fifty?
Hearing this, Jiang He paused and looked Liu Tiezhu over again. Ma Tengfei's strength ranked among the Ming family's best; even he had to be cautious against him. For Liu Tiezhu to claim fifty-fifty meant he had been hiding some of his abilities.
After sizing up Liu Tiezhu for a while, Jiang He finally spoke, "Brother Tiezhu, if you take down Ma Tengfei this time, I'll personally take you to see Third Master."
"On top of that, I'll reward you with five thousand yuan."
Liu Tiezhu nodded, "Brother Jiang, I'll do my best to take him down."
"Good, go back and prepare."
Jiang He waved his hand, dismissing Liu Tiezhu.
Watching Liu Tiezhu's retreating figure, Zhang Zhiliang asked incredulously, "Brother Jiang, can this kid really go fifty-fifty with Ma Tengfei?"
He had been in the same cohort as Ma Tengfei. Back then, his combat opponent was also Ma Tengfei. During the assessment, they had exchanged over seventy moves before he narrowly won. Now, two years had passed, and Ma Tengfei's skills had certainly improved. For Liu Tiezhu, a newcomer, to claim fifty-fifty seemed arrogant to him.
"Have you forgotten how this kid handled Zhang Guofeng and the others?" Jiang He countered.
Liu Zhigao reminded him, "Those were small fry who couldn't even make the cut. They can't compare to Ma Tengfei."
Jiang He said confidently, "Don't worry. Since that kid asked if Ma Tengfei's Iron Shirt could block bullets, he must have thought of a way to deal with it."
"Let's just wait and watch the show."
Zhang Zhiliang thought for a moment and asked, "What if the kid can't handle Ma Tengfei?"
"Should we intervene at a critical moment?"
Jiang He said, "If he can't handle Ma Tengfei, we'll have to give up on him."
"Risking Ming Tianfeng's ire for a pawn isn't worth it."
Liu Zhigao added, "Brother Jiang is right."
"This kid is indeed versatile, but his loyalty is still unknown."
"If he can't deal with Ma Tengfei, it's just bad luck for him."
In the end, Liu Tiezhu was still just a pawn in their eyes. Worth cultivating, but with limited value. Until he showed his true worth, they wouldn't easily pay a price for him.
Back at the barracks, Liu Tiezhu ran into Guo Qixing.
"Brother Tiezhu, won't you reconsider these powders?"
Liu Tiezhu thought it over and finally nodded. He had changed his mind now. Since Ming Tianfeng was targeting him with such a strong opponent, he needed some trump cards as a backup.
Guo Qixing looked around, and when he saw no one was watching, he took out a small packet of powder and a black pill from his pocket.
"Brother Tiezhu, take this black pill when you eat later."
"As for the powder, you can put it anywhere on your body."
"Whenever you want to use it, just secretly rub some on your hand."
"Does this stuff have any side effects?" Liu Tiezhu asked half-jokingly.
Guo Qixing said, "Brother Tiezhu, if it had side effects, I wouldn't dare use it myself."
"Besides, we're brothers. Would I harm you?"
"Just kidding, Brother Qixing, don't mind me."
The two chatted for a while before being called by Jiang He's men to eat and prepare for the third round of assessment.
After breakfast, Liu Tiezhu hesitated for a moment before taking the pill Guo Qixing had given him. He had no idea how strong Ma Tengfei really was. Having an extra precaution was an extra layer of security.
After resting for half an hour, everyone was taken to the third-round assessment venue.
Before them were ten arenas.
According to the Ming family's usual rules, those who passed the assessment would draw numbers on the stage. Those with the same number would form a group and fight on the arena.
The rule was simple: when one side fell, the other was the victor.
The loser would have a second chance to fight until eliminated.
But this year, the rules had changed.
Under the orders of Second Master Ming, personnel were sent to fight these new candidates. As long as they knocked down Ming Tianfeng's men, the candidates passed. If they were knocked down by Ming Tianfeng's men, they were directly eliminated.
Ten big men were already standing on the arenas.
The candidates were numbered from 1 to 10 according to the list and stepped into the arenas to fight.
Liu Tiezhu and Guo Qixing were numbered 13 and 15.
According to the rules, they would have to wait until the second round.
Guo Qixing looked at his number and lowered his voice, "My opponent is Wang Yanshi. That bastard is also a veteran."
"Looks like I'll have to play dirty."
Liu Tiezhu was about to warn Guo Qixing to be careful, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he felt a sharp, knife-like gaze fixed on his face.
The one staring at him was Ma Tengfei.
He walked up to Liu Tiezhu without any hesitation, looked him up and down, and said disdainfully, "I don't see what you've got. Jiang Tianliang was willing to spend fifty thousand to have me kill you."
Liu Tiezhu shot Ma Tengfei a contemptuous look.
"Many have wanted to kill me, but they all ended up dead by my hand."
"Hope you won't be the next one."
Guo Qixing immediately clapped, "Good, that's my brother Tiezhu!"
"Some idiots think having a turtle shell makes them invincible. Let's see my brother Tiezhu crack that shell!"
Ma Tengfei's eyes turned cold, staring straight at Guo Qixing.
"Kid, you've got a foul mouth. I love dealing with foul-mouthed little bastards."
As he spoke, Ma Tengfei's gaze returned to Liu Tiezhu.
"I was going to give you a quick death, but now I've changed my mind."
"In the fight to come, I'll break your bones one by one and let you taste what it's like to have your bones pulled out and tendons ripped."
Liu Tiezhu laughed out loud at this, glancing at Ma Tengfei as if he were looking at a complete fool.
"Done blowing your hot air?"
"If you're done, you can piss off."
"Good!" Guo Qixing clapped again.