Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 582 - 581: Continued Victories, The Final Battle Begins
"Who said I wanted money?" Tian Peng laughed, "I care not for silver taels or official positions."
"Then what do you want?" The young master was nearly crying, "Can’t you just let me off the hook?"
"Why should I?" Tian Peng countered, "Did any of you consider if I would be at ease when you drugged me?"
The young master was taken aback, not expecting him to know about it. He was about to admit it, but then he thought, what if it was a bluff?
"What, what are you talking about?"
"What? Don’t you know what you’ve done yourself?" Tian Peng retorted.
His voice was only audible to the two of them, but the young master still looked around guiltily. The expressions of those around them were ones of amusement, nothing more.
"You—there is no evidence for this claim, don’t falsely accuse me!" the young master said.
"Sure, I am without evidence, but don’t feel guilty," Tian Peng had gone back and forth with the young master for over ten rounds and was getting tired. He didn’t plan to drag this out any longer.
"Guilty? Not me!" Although the young master’s argument was weak, his tone was fiercely defiant as he shouted louder.
"Really?" Tian Peng asked.
"Yes!"
"Fine," Tian Peng released his grip, "It’s your choice to either drag this out or surrender. If you truly did nothing, I will stick with you to the end. If you did do something, go admit your surrender to the examiner yourself."
This option was hardly a choice at all; either way was not a good outcome.
The young master exclaimed angrily, "You’re doing this on purpose! How is this a choice?"
"How is it not a choice?" Tian Peng said with nonchalance, "You have two options, isn’t that a choice?"
"You!" The young master was infuriated but helpless.
"Alright, take your time to decide. I’ll give you time," Tian Peng took two steps back.
The young master looked at his friends outside the ring. He really was unlucky— it was a collective idea, yet somehow he was the one who had to bear the brunt of it.
After a standoff, the young master dropped his head in defeat, "I surrender."
"Don’t tell me, tell the presiding officer," Tian Peng said.
"I surrender!" the young master declared.
Tian Peng turned and walked away from the arena, and behind him, the announcement followed, "Zhu Ganglie wins!"
Although it had taken an hour, it was not time wasted.
After all, Tian Peng had left the impression that he was not to be trifed with. At least they no longer dared to look down on him so readily.
After this match, those who were eliminated left to prepare for tomorrow’s examination; the rest advanced to the next round.
After a few people left, there was a notable decrease in the crowd. Tian Peng found a spot to sit down, just within close proximity to the young master.
The young master glanced at Tian Peng and said, "I underestimated you."
Tian Peng looked around and realized there was no one else nearby. He pointed to himself and asked, "Are you talking to me?"
"Yes, you," the young master replied.
"I haven’t hidden anything," Tian Peng responded, "It’s you all who underestimated me, not I who concealed anything."
The young master raised his eyebrows, "Why would a commoner like you participate in the martial examination? If you enlisted directly, maybe you wouldn’t face such disdain."
"If civilians are allowed to sign up for the martial arts exam, it means I can participate. If civilians weren’t supposed to participate, why would there be a signup location?" Tian Peng countered.
"So you came here on purpose?" the young master asked.
"Yes," Tian Peng answered calmly, "Actually, I didn’t really want to come, but one after another, they all urged me to participate in the martial arts exam. Perhaps it was inconvenient to directly offer me a military officer position." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞
Upon hearing this, the young master couldn’t help but turn his head to look at him, not expecting him to be so bold as to utter such an arrogant statement.
Tian Peng just shrugged his shoulders, seemingly oblivious to his gaze.
The servant leaned over to the young master’s ear and whispered quietly, "Young master, this civilian is so conceited, to say such things, it truly is unbearable to witness."
The young master didn’t respond; this man’s strength was not to be underestimated. Although his words were somewhat unpleasant to hear, they matched his capabilities.
Moreover, in the many years of the martial arts exam, not a single civilian had participated. Now that a civilian with considerable strength had suddenly appeared, the young master began to seriously consider the truthfulness of his words.
Tian Peng was actually somewhat surprised by the young master’s attitude. Usually, if he said these things, there would definitely be someone objecting, followed by a severe tongue-lashing.
But this mortal had not only refrained from objecting, but he had also begun to seriously ponder it.
Indeed, among mortals, there were various ranks and classes. Since this mortal had reached this point, certainly, the education he received couldn’t compare to that of the ordinary folk.
When he had made his move earlier, Tian Peng had also observed him; he had solid martial skills indeed.
His physique appeared to be more robust than that of the average scholar, after all, he was born into a family of military officers; it’s just that he was still young and not yet imposingly burly.
Unlike the young master, when dealing with mortals, Tian Peng didn’t rely on skill but on brute force.
It wasn’t he looked down on mortals, but rather that there was simply no need for skill; purely relying on brute force, there had yet to appear someone who could exchange more than two moves with him.
After the few eliminated contestants finished leaving, the official struck the gong, "The second round of combat now begins!"
About a dozen people participated in this competition, but only six could emerge victorious in the end.
Tian Peng wasted a lot of time in his previous match, resulting in few people willing to compete with him. However, given that the matches were assigned, when the assignment came, no matter how reluctant, they still had to compete alongside him.
This time, Tian Peng didn’t waste much time.
Each contestant wore three talismans, and if all three were touched, it counted as a loss.
Tian Peng fought quickly and decisively, eliminating his opponent as soon as he entered the arena. The person on the other side hadn’t even realized what had happened before he had been eliminated.
Even the official was stunned for a moment before realizing the match had ended.
"Tian Peng wins!"
As the matches proceeded in an orderly fashion, only Tian Peng and the young master remained.
Tian Peng wasn’t surprised; after all, he had already heard from the others that this young master was the pre-determined martial arts champion.
The young master, watching from the sidelines, also witnessed Tian Peng’s prowess and hadn’t expected that in just the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, he could defeat the opponent—something even he couldn’t possibly achieve.
The young master’s interest in Tian Peng had been significantly piqued; he knew he would definitely lose in a match against Tian Peng, but he still wanted to experience firsthand just how formidable Tian Peng was, uncertain of how many moves he would last against him.
"Although you are the guaranteed champion, I don’t think I will let you have it," Tian Peng said with a smile to the young master, "I hope you won’t shed tears when you lose."
"Come at me with all your might," the young master said, "I will definitely put up a good fight."
If he used all his strength, Tian Peng feared he might kill the young master with a single strike.
However, Tian Peng did not deride the young master for his overconfidence; instead, he shed his nonchalant demeanor, his face becoming serious.
As the gongs sounded, the young master threw his fist and charged at Tian Peng.
