Ma Tengfei's face turned green with rage as he glared at Liu Tiezhu, looking like a rabid dog ready to bite at any moment.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk..."
Liu Tiezhu showed no fear, curling his fingers as if calling a dog.
"Hahaha..."
Guo Qixing beside him laughed so hard his stomach hurt.
"Kid, you just wait."
Ma Tengfei's face darkened as he spat out a vicious threat before storming off.
Once Ma Tengfei was gone, Guo Qixing's expression turned serious.
"Brother Tiezhu, that bastard knows hard qigong."
"Are you sure you can handle him?"
Liu Tiezhu replied, "Don't worry, no matter how tough his shell is, there's always a weakness."
"Besides, we still have the powder you gave me."
"If I can't break through his shell, I'll make him taste that powder."
At this point, he couldn't afford to care about underhanded tactics.
Surviving and taking down the enemy was what mattered.
And Ma Tengfei was out for his life.
Being merciful to someone like that would make him a fool.
Hearing this, Guo Qixing knew Liu Tiezhu had a way to deal with Ma Tengfei.
They chatted a bit more before turning their attention back to the arena.
The arena matches were nearing their end.
The first ten newcomers were no match for Ming Tianfeng's men.
These veterans were battle-hardened and ruthless in their attacks.
In just a few minutes, the newcomers were either spitting blood or had broken limbs.
Even those who tried to surrender or beg for mercy were shown no mercy, crippled completely.
Guo Qixing said, "Looks like Ming Tianfeng doesn't want to leave a single man for Ming Zhenglong."
"With this kind of competition, I doubt even ten of us will make it through."
Liu Tiezhu stayed silent, also seeing Ming Tianfeng's intent.
The other examinees, witnessing the bloody scene, were already having second thoughts.
This wasn't a competition; it was slaughter.
After more than ten minutes, the first round ended.
Nine of the ten newcomers were crippled, leaving only one from Ma Qifeng's group who barely passed.
That guy had been hiding his strength, letting Ming Tianfeng's men dominate him at first, pretending to be weak.
When his opponent thought victory was certain, he suddenly launched a fierce attack, landing dozens of punches to knock him off the arena.
"Never thought there'd be such a fierce newcomer."
"Looks like Ma Qifeng is no simple character either," Guo Qixing remarked.
Among the newcomers, he had favored Liu Tiezhu the most, followed by Lin Shun and a guy named Li Zheming.
As for Ma Qifeng, he hadn't paid much attention because Ma Qifeng was the last to pass the second round.
His victory now was truly surprising.
Liu Tiezhu warned, "Never underestimate anyone."
"The fist technique Ma Qifeng just used, if I'm not mistaken, is Bajiquan's Beng Quan."
"Mastered to its peak, one punch can easily shatter rock."
"So I think this guy has been hiding his strength all along."
When Ma Qifeng unleashed that technique, it even startled Liu Tiezhu.
He never thought he'd see such a lost, domineering fist technique again.
Liu Tiezhu wasn't the only one shocked; even Jiang He and the others looked incredulous.
"Beng Quan, this kid's been hiding deep."
Jiang He grinned, looking like he'd discovered a new world.
He had to recruit talent like this.
"Brother Jiang, should we bring him in?" Zhang Zhiliang asked.
Jiang He nodded. "His strength might be on par with Liu Tiezhu's."
"If Liu Tiezhu can't pass, we'll focus on training Ma Qifeng."
Liu Zhigao added, "Now it's up to Liu Tiezhu to see if he can get past Ma Tengfei's test."
The second round officially began.
Everyone's eyes were on Ma Tengfei's arena.
On the surface, this test was to prevent cheating.
But in reality, Ming Tianfeng was using it to suppress Ming Zhenglong—an open secret among the Ming family's higher-ups.
They all knew but kept quiet.
Still, Ming Tianfeng sending a Blood Battle vice-captain to face a newcomer caught the attention of many Ming family elders.
"What's Ming Tianfeng thinking, sending a Blood Battle vice-captain against a newcomer? Even if he wins, it's dishonorable," Ming Tianhai said.
As the head of the family's finance faction, he didn't know the internal personnel well.
He only came to watch because he heard a Blood Battle vice-captain was fighting a newcomer.
Beside him, Ming Shanhai explained, "Brother Tianhai, you might not know this newcomer's background."
"During the first round, he crippled two guards and killed a vice-captain."
"Plus, Jiang Tianliang, the first-round examiner, suffered a big loss at his hands."
"But that's minor."
"What really made him famous was nearly killing a Blood Battle member."
After hearing this, Ming Tianhai's jaw dropped.
In his memory, no newcomer in the Ming family's tests had ever been this fierce.
In that moment, Liu Tiezhu piqued his interest.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the viewing platform, Ming Zhenglong and Ming Tianfeng sat side by side.
"Third brother, sorry, but it looks like your men are going to take heavy losses this time."
Ming Tianfeng held his tea, a smug smile of success plastered on his face.
"No problem. Next month, when it's your turn for the test, Second Brother, I'll send someone to supervise and prevent cheating too."
Ming Zhenglong replied with an indifferent expression.
A bunch of newcomers—no matter how strong, could they match his secretly trained death warriors?
Still, Ming Tianfeng's tactics disgusted him.
He wouldn't let this slide.
"You're welcome to supervise anytime, Third Brother."
Ming Tianfeng said, deliberately pointing at Ma Tengfei's arena.
"I heard Examiner Jiang thinks highly of a kid named Liu Tiezhu and plans to recommend him to you."
"Coincidentally, I think highly of him too, so I specially arranged for Ma Tengfei to spar with him."
"Hope the kid can last three minutes."
Ming Tianfeng said this just to spite Ming Zhenglong.
"Second Brother, you've put so much thought into this."
"After the third round, I'll have to throw a few banquets to thank you properly."
Ming Zhenglong smiled, his tone dripping with sarcasm, acting as if he couldn't care less about Liu Tiezhu's fate.
Jiang He had mentioned Liu Tiezhu to him.
But in his eyes, no matter how strong Liu Tiezhu was, he was just a newcomer.
If he couldn't prove his worth, dying wouldn't affect him at all.
Besides, he needed truly powerful talents. If Liu Tiezhu couldn't get past Ma Tengfei, he wasn't worth investing in.
As they chatted, Liu Tiezhu stepped onto the arena.
"Kid, want me to let you have three moves first?"
Ma Tengfei clasped his hands behind his back, exuding an air of a master as he looked at Liu Tiezhu, perfectly pulling off his act.