Chapter 114: A-Class Wanted Criminal—Wu Jian
"Pfft!"
Bang's gaze sharpened. He almost wanted to spit blood—King had guessed right.
*Whoosh!*
However, there was no time for him to think, because King's hand had already grabbed the small toy hammer and was swinging it at his head.
This kid has absolutely none of the fine virtue of respecting the old and cherishing the young.
After grumbling internally, Bang's palm shot out, instantly grabbing the safety helmet and putting it on. Memories flooded his mind, as if he had returned to the days of playing games with his disciples. Back then, the dojo was truly filled with the vitality of young people, brimming with passion.
"I hope that within my lifetime, I can bring the dojo back to that era full of vitality."
He smiled faintly when suddenly, a small toy hammer magnified in his vision.
*Hey, wait a minute, King, you're hitting the wrong spot with that little hammer!*
*Bang!*
King's toy hammer landed squarely on Bang's face. In an instant, a round mark appeared on Bang's old, resolute face.
"King, can you explain why you hit my face?"
"The face is part of the head, isn't it? We only agreed that the winner could hit the loser on the head, but we never specified it had to be the top of the head, did we?"
"..."
*What the hell!*
Bang looked at King expressionlessly. *Hasn't anyone ever taught you to respect your elders?*
Charanko stared, utterly flabbergasted, at the mark on his master's face. Rock-paper-scissors... you can play it like this?
"Alright, that one was my bad." Seeing the bright red mark on the face of a grandmaster of martial arts, King felt a little embarrassed. He said, "I'll throw rock next round."
*I'm telling you straight up what I'm going to throw next. That's fair enough, right?*
*Rock?*
Bang's eyes narrowed slightly. *King, oh King, are you trying to use my own psychological tactics against me? You say you'll throw rock, so you'll throw rock? I bet you won't.*
The two tensed up again, ready to go. After a few seconds, both of their hands shot down once more.
"You hit, I hit, hammer and nail!"
"I choose rock!"
King kept his promise and threw rock.
"I choose scissors!"
Bang unexpectedly threw scissors. When he saw King's rock, he was instantly dumbfounded. His scissors looked like a victor's 'V' sign, but in reality, he had lost!
*King, is there really a need to mock an old man like me?*
*Bang!*
The toy hammer struck the safety helmet squarely.
*This old man's hand speed is too fast!*
King sighed faintly. With speed like that, it was impossible to actually hit Bang's head even if he won.
"You hit, I hit, hammer and nail!"
*Bang!*
"You hit, I hit, hammer and nail!"
*Bang!*
...
"You hit, I hit, hammer and nail!"
*Bang!*
After more than twenty rounds, King was on an absolute killing spree, not losing a single round. He'd beaten Bang into a daze. Charanko, acting as the referee on the side, was even more dumbfounded, staring slack-jawed as King repeatedly struck the safety helmet on Bang's head with the toy hammer, producing a series of crisp *thwacking* sounds.
*Sigh, my head is a little dizzy.*
Bang watched himself lose again, his head feeling a bit muddled. Although King hadn't actually managed to hit his head, the constant impact sounds echoed in his eardrums. After playing for so long, he was starting to find it unbearable.
*Swoosh!*
King didn't have as many complicated thoughts as Bang. Following the rules, he swiftly grabbed the toy hammer and swung at Bang again. Bang, who was in a daze, noticed the incoming hammer too late to grab his helmet. With a flash of movement, he instantly withdrew from his spot, causing King's hammer to hit empty air.
"Hey, Silverfang, are you cheating?"
King looked unhappily at Bang, who was now standing to the side with his hands behind his back. *Is this old geezer a sore loser?*
"Heh, I admit defeat." Bang squinted at King. "King, are you able to capture my trajectory of movement and analyze what hand sign I'm going to make?"
Actually, in the world of martial arts, predicting the enemy's move and preemptively judging their next attack based on their posture is quite common. However, only experienced and knowledgeable martial artists could roughly predict an opponent's next move. For someone like King to so quickly and minutely determine whether he would throw rock, paper, or scissors at the last moment and react accordingly—that was simply impossible.
The timeframe was simply too short. Before you could even begin to analyze your opponent's posture in your mind, they would have already made their move.
Unless one could focus with complete concentration, using superhuman observational skills to constantly monitor the opponent's muscle changes, while their mind could deduce at the speed of a computer to make a swift judgment, and then couple that with a formidable physique to react in time upon receiving the mental command.
However, a person who could achieve such a feat... could probably no longer be called human, right?
Bang marveled internally. King's strength was truly terrifying.
*Ring, ring, ring!*
The specially installed telephone in the dojo rang.
Charanko glanced at the dazed Bang, sighed inwardly, and quietly walked over to answer the phone.
"Hello, this is the Flowing Water Rock Smashing Fist Dojo."
"What? The A-Class wanted criminal—Wu Jian—has recently entered Z City, and his target might be Master? Mmm... Mmm, I understand. Don't worry, I will relay your message to Master. Bye-bye."
Charanko hung up the phone and returned. After a moment's hesitation, he said to Bang, "Master, the director from the Martial Arts Association just called to say that the A-Class wanted criminal—Wu Jian—has entered Z City."
"Wu Jian?"
Bang snapped back from his amazement. Hearing Charanko's words, he frowned slightly.
"Who's Wu Jian? Is he famous?" King asked curiously. *An A-Class wanted criminal... their strength should be roughly equivalent to an A-Class hero. In fact, because these villains have no moral bottom line and fight with vicious cruelty, their combat power might be even stronger.*
Charanko explained: "Wu Jian is a martial artist who has been obsessed with martial arts since childhood. He has exceptional talent for it. He studied under various famous masters from a young age, and could always quickly grasp the esoteric principles of each style before graduating. He was once a rising star in the world of martial arts. All the grandmasters and elders believed he would become a great martial artist of his generation. However, over the years, in order to learn even more profound martial arts secrets, Wu Jian constantly visited famous masters. After his requests to observe the core techniques of various schools were rejected, he would directly and brutally kill them and steal their techniques. More than ten martial arts masters have died at his hands. Due to his own strength and the heinous nature of his actions, he was designated an A-Class wanted criminal."
"Uh..." King rubbed the tip of his nose. *To think such a bizarre creature like Wu Jian actually exists in this world!*
"So that means Wu Jian has come to Z City most likely because he wants to learn the Flowing Water Rock Smashing Fist from Silverfang?"
Charanko nodded. "According to Wu Jian's personality, he wouldn't run around for any other reason. So, I estimate he has come specifically for Master's Flowing Water Rock Smashing Fist."
"Hmph."
Bang let out a light snort and stood up. "Martial arts geniuses with extreme ideologies are a menace to society. Their destructive power is comparable to that of monsters." His slightly stooped body gradually straightened. "As an S-Class hero, and also one of the directors of the Martial Arts Association, I have a responsibility to eliminate these black sheep from the martial arts world."
He raised his right hand and clenched it into a tight fist. "No matter which martial arts genius it is, as long as they have walked down the wrong path, I have the duty to reclaim the killing techniques they possess."
Charanko looked at the stern Bang, his mouth slightly agape. The words he wanted to say ultimately turned into a sorrowful sigh. *Master, would you kill my senior, Garou?*
King stared blankly at Bang, the man he had almost brought to tears just moments ago. *This old man... he's pretty domineering when he gets serious!*
(end of chapter)