Seeking good fortune and avoiding misfortune: Starting with death row inmates

On the arena.

Shen Chen and Hei San stood facing each other.

The crowd below the stage was in an uproar; everyone knew about the grudges surrounding this competition.

"Shen Chen, are you going to stand up for Chen Tie?" Hei San cracked his knuckles.

Shen Chen didn't reply, but simply got into a fighting stance.

"I've seen your Thousand Cloud Hands; it's nothing special," Hei San said. "Today, I'll show you what true grappling techniques are."

As soon as he finished speaking, Hei San suddenly rushed towards Shen Chen, his right hand transforming into an iron fist, aiming straight for his face.

Shen Chen dodged to the side, and Hei San's fist grazed his cheek, creating a gust of wind.

So fast!

Shen Chen's heart tightened; Hei San's speed was more than twice as fast as when he dealt with Chen Tie yesterday.

When Hei San missed his first attack, he immediately changed his move, turning his left hand into a claw and grabbing at Shen Chen's shoulder.

Faced with Black Three's attack, what is your choice?

[Good fortune: Take three steps back to avoid this grab; auspicious.]

[Bad Luck: If you use the Thousand Cloud Hand to block, you will be locked in Black Three's grappling technique. Ominous]

Shen Chen slipped and took three steps back.

Black Three's claws missed their mark, and he sneered, "You dodged quickly."

He lunged forward again, unleashing a flurry of attacks with both hands, each palm strike accompanied by a whistling sound as it cut through the air.

Shen Chen unleashed the Thousand Cloud Hand technique, layer upon layer of palm shadows, colliding with Hei San's attack.

boom! boom! boom!

After several exchanges, Shen Chen was forced to retreat repeatedly.

Black Three's strength was immense; each palm strike was as heavy as an iron hammer.

"That's it?" Black Three sneered. "I thought you were something special."

The crowd below the stage was buzzing with discussion.

"Shen Chen doesn't seem to be a match for him."

"Hei San's Xuan Tie Shou is too strong. The second leader once said that among the leaders of the stronghold, his grappling skills are the best."

"What a pity, I was hoping to see Hei San get his comeuppance."

On the stage, Hei San became more and more excited as he fought, his attacks were like a storm, overwhelming Shen Chen and making it hard for him to breathe.

Shen Chen could only barely hold on by relying on the clues from the fortune telling, but he was still completely outmatched.

Faced with Black Three's relentless attacks, what is your choice?

[Good fortune: A counterattack will occur on the fifteenth move; Black Three will reveal a weakness. Auspicious.]

[Unfavorable result: Continue to defend; you may be caught in a grappling move by the black three, which could lock your joints. This is unfavorable.]

Shen Chen gritted his teeth and persevered, silently counting the number of black three's palm strikes.

Ten palm strikes, eleven palm strikes, twelve palm strikes...

The fifteenth strike!

Hei San slapped Shen Chen's chest with his palm, but Shen Chen suddenly exerted his strength, turning his Thousand Cloud Hand into a fist and striking Hei San's abdomen.

Hei San's expression changed, and he hastily withdrew his palm to block.

boom!

Both of them took a few steps back at the same time.

Shen Chen was panting heavily, his arm feeling slightly numb.

Hei San steadied himself and patted his clothes: "That's interesting, but it ends here."

He took a deep breath, and his inner energy circulated wildly within his body.

A surge of black true energy rose from his body and gradually condensed into a form.

The sky seemed to darken a bit.

"Mysterious Iron Hand - Dark Clouds Obscuring the Sun!"

Hei San waved his hands, and the black aura transformed into a dark cloud that enveloped the arena.

Within the dark clouds, countless shadows flickered, each shadow representing a palm print.

Martial arts imagery!

On the arena, the dark cloud began to press down, and countless black shadows flew out from it, attacking Shen Chen like a torrential rain.

Each dark shadow was a palm print of Hei San, moving at an astonishing speed.

Shen Chen unleashed the Thousand Cloud Hand technique, his palms flashing repeatedly as he attempted to deflect the dark figures.

But there were too many shadowy figures; it was impossible to block them all.

Snapped!

A dark shadow struck Shen Chen's shoulder, causing him to groan and stagger.

Immediately afterwards, the second and third shadowy figures struck in succession.

Shen Chen was forced to retreat repeatedly, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

"Hahaha!" the burly man laughed. "Shen Chen, weren't you going to stand up for Chen Tie? Is this all you've got?"

He increased his output of true energy, and the shadows in the dark clouds became even denser.

Below the stage, Qin Pi's brows furrowed into a knot.

Not right.

Black Three's strength is much greater than yesterday's, which is abnormal.

On the arena, Black Three felt the surging true energy within his body, a sinister smile on his face.

He's definitely strong!

A force far exceeding his own limits surged through his limbs and bones, a feeling so pleasurable that he almost groaned out loud.

Last night, in the room of the head of the household, Mo Yuancai.

"Boss, is it really necessary to go to such lengths for a mere newbie?" Hei San asked, somewhat puzzled.

Mo Yuancai had his back to him, his voice revealing neither joy nor anger: "I want more than just you to win, I want you to crush him, to let everyone see what happens when you embarrass me."

As soon as he finished speaking, Mo Yuancai pointed a finger at his back.

A surge of extremely pure true energy instantly poured into his meridians. That true energy was so domineering that it almost burst his body.

That was a boundless power that was infinitely close to the Meridian Opening Realm!

For this battle, Mo Yuancai did not hesitate to expend his own cultivation to forcibly transfer a strand of true energy to him.

The price is that this true energy will dissipate after twelve hours and will cause some damage to his meridians.

But so what?

As long as I can trample this arrogant Shen Chen under my feet in front of everyone, this price is worth it!

This is not only to thoroughly humiliate Qin Pi, but also to establish the leader's authority and to give Hei San a golden opportunity to make a name for himself in front of all the leaders!

Kill a chicken with a knife?

No, this is a dragon-slaying sword used to kill chickens!

"Hahaha!"

Thinking of this, Hei San's laughter became even more arrogant. He looked at Shen Chen, who was in a sorry state amidst the dark clouds of palm shadows, as if he were looking at a lamb to the slaughter.

"Shen Chen, you're doomed!"

He increased his output of true energy, and the dark cloud covering the arena became even darker. The palm shadows falling from it even had a faint metallic sheen.

A gasp of surprise came from the audience.

"Shen Chen is going to lose!"

"Hei San's martial arts imagery is too powerful!"

Hei San on the stage laughed wildly and increased his output of true energy, making the palm shadows in the dark clouds more and more dense.

"Shen Chen, didn't you want to stand up for Chen Tie? Kneel down and beg for mercy, and I might spare your life!"

Shen Chen raised his head and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

His eyes were calm.

"Black Three".

"Um?"

"Your martial arts concept is nothing special."

Hei San was slightly taken aback, then flew into a rage: "You're asking for death!"

He pressed down with both hands, the dark clouds suddenly sank, and countless palm shadows poured down like a torrential rain.

Just then, Shen Chen moved.

He slowly raised his hands, palms facing upwards, and his inner energy gathered between them.

A pure white aura rose from his body.

"Thousand Cloud Hands—Parting the Clouds to Reveal the Sun!"

Shen Chen pushed upwards with both palms.

boom!

A white beam of light shot into the sky and crashed directly into the dark cloud.

The dark clouds churned violently, and the black palm shadow began to dissipate.

"What?!" Hei San's expression changed drastically.

The white beam of light grew brighter and brighter, like a blazing sun illuminating the entire dark cloud.

Click!

The dark clouds shattered, turning into countless black fragments that dissipated in the air.

Hei San grunted, took several steps back, and his face turned pale.

His martial arts conception was shattered, and his true energy suffered a backlash.

The audience was silent.

Everyone's eyes widened.

"It's...broken?"

"This is the second martial arts concept of the Thousand Cloud Hands!"

In the crowd, Fang Xue covered her mouth, her eyes instantly welling up with tears.

Thousand Cloud Hands, the Fang family's ultimate technique.

Now, Shen Chen has not only mastered the art of manipulating clouds, but has also mastered the art of parting the clouds to reveal the sun.

The Fang family's unique skills were brought to new heights and greatness in his hands.

On the stage, Hei San steadied himself and stared intently at Shen Chen.

"Good, very good!"

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth: "I didn't expect you to have this trick up your sleeve."

"But do you think you've won just like that?"

Hei San drew a curved knife from his waist.

The blade was jet black, gleaming with a cold light.

"Come on, let's have a swordsmanship contest!"

Shen Chen didn't speak, but drew a long sword from his back.

This sword is straight and sharp; it was given to him by Huang Sancai.

"With a sword?" Black Three scoffed. "Do you even know how to use a sword?"

"Why don't you try and see?"

The two moved at the same time.

Hei San swung his sword down, the force of the blade fierce, accompanied by the sound of it cutting through the air.

Shen Chen dodged to the side and thrust out his longsword.

Ding!

Swords clashed, sparks flew.

Black Three's strength was immense, causing Shen Chen's arm to go numb.

"Haha, Shen Chen, your strength is no match for mine!"

Hei San laughed triumphantly. He possessed the true energy that Mo Yuancai had channeled into his body, making him far more powerful than ordinary true energy martial artists.

He swung his knife repeatedly, each strike powerful and heavy.

Shen Chen could only retreat.

The audience below saw it clearly and began to discuss it animatedly.

"Shen Chen's strength is not as great as Hei San's."

"Black Three is in such good form today, his strength is more than twice as strong as usual."

On the ring, Hei San became more and more excited as the fight progressed.

"Shen Chen, you're no good!"

He swung his sword down, and Shen Chen raised his sword to block.

boom!

An immense force pressed down, and Shen Chen knelt on one knee.

"Kneeled down?" Black Three grinned maliciously. "Then don't get up!"

He raised his knife, ready to deliver a fatal blow to Shen Chen.

Just then, Shen Chen looked up.

His eyes were cold.

"Black Three".

"Um?"

"Your knife is too weak."

As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Chen exerted his strength, and with a tremor of his longsword, he knocked Hei San's knife away.

Immediately afterwards, he moved like lightning, his sword tip piercing straight into Hei San's chest.

fast!

too fast!

Black Three had no time to react.

puff!

The longsword pierced his shoulder, pinning him to the arena.

"Ah!" Black Three screamed in agony.

Shen Chen loosened the hilt of his sword and stood up.

He stretched his wrists and walked up to Hei San.

He swung his arm high and punched Hei San in the face.

boom!

Black Three's head was knocked to one side, and blood gushed from his nose.

"you……"

Shen Chen didn't give him a chance to speak and punched him again.

boom!

Several of Hei San's teeth were knocked out.

The crowd below was stunned. The bandit in charge of the referee was about to step forward to stop him and declare Shen Chen the winner, but the murderous aura emanating from Shen Chen made it difficult for him to move. His throat felt like it was filled with a sponge, and he didn't even have the courage to speak.

On the adjacent arena, Huang Sancai, who had already won, looked at Shen Chen with great interest: "Qin Pi's killing intent?"

Shen Chen's fists pounded on Hei San's body one after another.

Face, chest, abdomen.

Every punch landed squarely.

Hei San tried to resist, but his shoulder was pinned down by the sword, and he couldn't move at all.

He could only endure Shen Chen's punches. The beating lasted for nearly a hundred breaths before Hei San finally broke down: "Stop! I was wrong! I was wrong!"

Shen Chen stopped punching.

"Wrong?"

"Yes, I was wrong! I shouldn't have hit Chen Tie so hard!" Hei San's face was covered in blood and tears, and even his nose was broken, sticking to his face like a plaster.

Shen Chen nodded.

"It's good that you know you were wrong."

He grabbed Black Three's right arm.

Click!

The sound of bones breaking rang out.

"Ah!" Black Three screamed in agony.

Shen Chen grabbed his left arm again.

Click!

"This is the second one."

Shen Chen's voice was very calm, as if he were talking about a trivial matter.

He then grabbed Hei San's right leg.

"No! No!" Black Three struggled desperately.

Click!

"The third one."

Finally, the left leg.

Click!

"The fourth one."

Shen Chen stood up and clapped his hands.

Black Three lay on the ring, his limbs broken, only able to twitch helplessly.

The audience was silent.

Everyone was stunned by what they saw.

Shen Chen turned around and looked at Mo Yuancai below the stage.

Mo Yuancai sat in the head of the household, his face terribly gloomy.

The two looked at each other.

Shen Chen slowly spoke: "Master Mo, your methods are a bit too dirty."