Chapter 14 - 13: Punishment, You Too Deserve It

Chapter 14: Chapter 13: Punishment, You Too Deserve ItWearing an extremely ordinary pair of canvas shoes. Jiang Shu, dressed in a shirt, stepped in from the outside. At one meter seventy-eight, he towered before the coach in white training gear. Looking down with an indifferent gaze, he asked, "Was it you who wouldn’t let my sister leave?" "Looking down on Taekwondo means you must apologize!" "Taekwondo from our Korea is the true Martial Art! The standing exercises of Xia Country are still in their infancy! Our training class is using the rich experience of Taekwondo to guide your Xia Country’s crude standing exercises!" "Your sister is blind!" The coach in the white training gear snorted disdainfully. He had been studying Taekwondo for ten years with utmost devotion, believing it to be the best Martial Art in the entire world! This youth standing before me is a bit taller, he thought, but his muscles are nowhere near as developed as mine. His somewhat handsome face still has a touch of youthful tenderness; he’s clearly still a student. Just like those pretty boys from Korea, completely lacking a real man’s aura! So what if he’s taller? I could knock him down with one hand! "Whoa, has this guy always been this gutsy? How dare he act so tough in front of Coach Park?" "No idea. Sounds like he’s that girl’s older brother. He’s probably a high schooler like us, a college student at most." "Tsk, tsk, tsk, so grown up yet so clueless. Once Coach Park gets serious, he’ll understand the gravity of the situation." "PFFT! Coach Park doesn’t even need to lift a finger. I feel like I could take him. He looks about my height, but hey, I’m in the advanced class; I’ve learned quite a few moves. Last time in class, I broke several wooden boards with a chop. All my classmates were stunned. They said no one could withstand my palm strike. But I know my strength isn’t even one-tenth of Coach Park’s. If Coach Park were to strike, that young man..." On the training ground, the students all stayed within the white lines, craning their necks to watch the unfolding drama. They had been training in this class for several months at least. More than once, they had witnessed Coach Park’s Martial Arts prowess. He could chop wooden boards with his hand, step off the arms of several apprentices to launch himself into the air, and kick a wooden board several meters high until it snapped! Such strength, such jumping power! Who could compare? Hearing the students’ voices behind him, Coach Park grew even more complacent, puffing out his chest as if he loomed larger than Jiang Shu. "Knowing Coach Park, he’s about to make his move! Anyone want to guess if Coach Park will knock this kid senseless?" "I’d give it 30-70. Three palms from Coach Park, and it’s the kid’s funeral rites." "You sure know how to call a 30-70 split." "I’m not bragging, but if Coach Park’s palm struck me, within five seconds, *he’d* be the one kneeling on the ground, frantically pressing my philtrum, begging *me* not to die." The students’ voices, completely undisguised, drifted over, one comment after another. "It seems to me the blind one is you," Jiang Yanyue retorted. "Here in Xia Country, not only do you engage in blatant false advertising, but now you’re trying to strong-arm people. Do you really think this is Korea?" "You steal everything, day in and day out—our festivals, our Martial Arts. Today you dare to open a Martial Arts training class in Xia Country; tomorrow you’ll probably claim Xia Country’s Martial Arts originated from you! Those who know see you for the thieves you are. Those who don’t might even think you’re undergoing spontaneous cultural assimilation!" "As for the students you teach, truly, every pot finds its lid, and every pig roots for its own kind of cabbage. I see they’re not here to train in Martial Arts; they’re all here to practice running their mouths. They won’t watch a single Horse Stance video, yet they don’t miss a single outdated meme online. So subservient to muscle-bound men, but when it comes to two girls, they attack with full force." "You’re all tarred with the same brush! Apologies, you’re from Korea; perhaps the idiom ’tarred with the same brush’ is a blind spot in your knowledge. No matter, go look it up when you get back. You can continue to steal it and claim it as your own then." Jiang Yanyue didn’t indulge them one bit. Seeing Jiang Shu had arrived, she immediately launched her tirade. Although she still had no idea of Jiang Shu’s true strength, she believed she knew her brother very well. Ever since she started Martial Arts, all her attempts to probe his abilities had been met with secrecy. For him to speak so arrogantly this time, he must be extremely confident! Besides, even if Jiang Shu’s abilities were lacking, given his daily food intake, as long as a little of it went to his strength, he wouldn’t come off worse for wear, would he? Taekwondo... isn’t it all just flashy, without substance? How capable could this coach really be? If worst came to worst... Jiang Yanyue clenched her phone, ensuring the three emergency numbers were ready to dial at a moment’s notice. Her heart settled considerably. In Xia Country, could they really let someone from Korea bully them? "Audacious!" "You will receive the punishment of our great Korea’s Taekwondo!" Trembling with rage from Jiang Yanyue’s verbal assault, Coach Park could no longer restrain himself. He lunged for Jiang Yanyue, his hand shooting out like an eagle’s talon snatching a chick. He struck in anger, incredibly fast. He was naturally aware of the turmoil attacking a minor girl would cause. But he was Korean. If he couldn’t make it in Xia Country, he could go back to Korea and live comfortably! Coach Park spun, his white training uniform rustling, his palm striking so fast it left afterimages in the air. His speed was fast, but Jiang Shu’s was even faster! Punishment? Jiang Shu scoffed internally. A lofty Martial Arts instructor with unsteady footing. He looked somewhat muscular, but the Qi and Blood in his body was even weaker than mine when I first sensed my own Qi and Blood. The speed at which he now struck was slow, incredibly slow! And yet he thought he could make a move against my sister in front of me? CRACK! Tiger Form - Third Style! Shear! Jiang Shu kicked out, the wind whistling sharply. Having reached Qi Blood Transport, his Qi and Blood surged powerfully; any casual strike delivered his body’s maximum force. The sound of his leg cutting through the air, friction against his pants, was sharp as his toes connected first with his opponent’s lower abdomen. WHUMP! It was just one kick, but instantly, Coach Park’s entire body bent violently, like a cooked shrimp. He stumbled back a few steps, then, as if all support had vanished, he collapsed onto the ground with a thud. Jiang Shu, however, took two strides forward. His gaze was icy as he leaned down slightly, his hand lashing out like a claw. He seized Coach Park by the neck and lifted him bodily off the ground! His feet dangled twenty centimeters in the air! Coach Park’s eyes bulged. He desperately clawed at his own neck, trying to pry away the hand clamped around his throat. But that hand was like a custom-made steel vise, iron-firm and unyielding. One second. Two seconds. Ten seconds. The agonizing pain from the kick to his abdomen, the suffocating lack of oxygen, and the chilling gaze of Jiang Shu—eyes that had witnessed death—made Coach Park feel as if he were about to meet his maker. "Save..." he managed to choke out a single word. But all he received in return was an even more intense suffocation. THUD. After a full half-minute, Jiang Shu abruptly released his grip. Coach Park, who had once been so imposing in the Martial Arts training class, capable of shattering several wooden boards with a single palm strike, crumpled to the ground. He gasped for air, his face flushing from pale to red. His entire body went limp, his eyes wide with the raw terror of someone who had narrowly escaped death. The entire Martial Arts training class fell silent. Even the students’ breathing was clearly audible. The Martial Arts instructor they had considered so powerful had, in just a few short seconds, proven as fragile as a paper lantern, punctured with a single poke. Jiang Shu swept his gaze across the room. Eyes darted away! Heads bowed! No one dared to meet his gaze! All mockery died in that instant. Only Jiang Shu’s voice resonated softly, "You’re all frogs in a well, your vision obscured by a single leaf." "Punishment? Are you even qualified?"