A fierce, overwhelming force swept through the room, pressing down on everyone present.
Liu Dakui was sent flying and crashed to the floor, pale and coughing up blood. He stared at Xiao Chen's back in disbelief — could this young man really be a martial arts master?
In the secular world people roughly rank fighters by power: low, third-rate, second-rate, first-rate, and martial arts masters — the latter being near-legendary, able to found a sect and take disciples. The lines are blurry, but Xiao Chen's terrifying aura and murderous presence made people's hearts jitter.
Ren Kun, who didn't recognize what he was up against, shouted excitedly when Xiao Chen moved. "Brother Jun, Brother Leopard — hurry, break him! Make him kneel!" But before he finished, Brother Leopard was flipped and slammed into a nearby table, coughing up blood.
Tong Yan shrieked — he hadn't meant to kill, had he?
Ren Kun's roar cut off as the impossible happened: Brother Leopard, a first-rate fighter, lay incapacitated. Xiao Chen then approached another middle-aged man and struck him; the man staggered and called out, "I surrender..."
He knew he didn't stand a chance — the gulf in power was obvious.
"Admit defeat? You think this is a game?" Xiao Chen sneered and pressed the attack. Brother Jun was stronger than Brother Bao, but even he couldn't stand. The man coughed blood after successive blows; a final punch to the stomach sent him crashing into the gym equipment, spitting more blood.
Silence fell. The three attackers were beaten and bleeding — neither Brother Bao nor Brother Jun could continue. The fight was over in under three minutes, but Xiao Chen's strength left everyone stunned — Li Hanhou included. His eyes brightened: Brother Chen was far stronger than he'd thought, and now someone worthy would fight alongside him.
Suddenly Li Hanhou roared and charged for the door like a wild bear, kicking Ren Kun and Liu Dakui aside. Ren Kun screamed, rolling across the floor; Liu Dakui struggled to his feet, teeth gritted against the pain. He realized revenge wasn't going to happen today, and escape would be difficult.
"Brother Chen, what should we do with these two?" Li Hanhou asked, blocking the doorway.
Xiao Chen scanned the room; the applicants stared at him in horror. If he wanted to hire people, everyone would fall in line now. He stepped over to Ren Kun to handle the troublemakers.
Ren Kun stammered, trying to bluff: "I didn't say anything... Xiao Chen, don't touch me or I won't let you go—" but a sudden, stinging slap to the back of his head nearly knocked him over; he felt dazed, possibly concussed.
"If you threaten Brother Chen, I'll beat you," Li Hanhou growled from behind; he'd come up and slapped Ren Kun hard enough to send him turning, two teeth gone.
Ren Kun's bravado evaporated. Xiao Chen watched, thinking the previous slaps he'd given were mild in comparison to this bear-like force.
Originally Xiao Chen had considered crippling Ren Kun's leg, but the sight of him in such a pitiful state made Xiao Chen relent. Still, when Ren Kun tried to resume his arrogance, Xiao Chen's voice chilled. "Do you want to try breaking my leg and making me kneel?"
Terrified, Ren Kun pleaded no, but Xiao Chen kicked him in the stomach anyway, dropping him to the floor. "Remember this. Try it again and I'll bed you for life," Xiao Chen warned, pressing a foot to his chest with a cold, murderous tone.
Ren Kun scrambled up and fled, no longer swaggering.
Xiao Chen dismissed Brother Jun and Brother Bao without further fuss — they had paid for their attack already. They supported each other and left in silence. Liu Dakui, however, remained; his body trembled as Xiao Chen fixed him with a stare.
"Repeat what you said earlier," Xiao Chen demanded.
Liu Dakui stammered, insisting he'd said nothing and that he'd merely come back to see if he could help the company as a former member. Xiao Chen feigned amusement and then offered him a choice: one — have Li Hanhou break one of his legs; two — be kicked out of the company and leave immediately.
Horrified, Liu Dakui chose the latter. Xiao Chen then instructed Li Hanhou to watch and to kick him if he didn't roll at least a meter. Li Hanhou grinned at the prospect. When Liu Dakui begged for mercy and asked Xiao Chen to spare his dignity, Xiao Chen's smile vanished; he slapped the man, sending him sprawling.
"Save face? Why should you?" Xiao Chen snapped. Li Hanhou finished the humiliation with a kick that forced Liu Dakui to crawl away. When Liu Dakui disappeared through the door, Xiao Chen turned to the others — Qiu Dasi and the rest — and asked if they'd meant to frame him earlier.
They all denied it in unison, shaken. After witnessing Ren Kun lose teeth and the pair of masters beaten, they were no fools; provoking Xiao Chen would be courting death.
"Then why are you still here? Get out," Xiao Chen ordered coldly. One hotheaded young man started to argue but was dragged away by his friends. The remaining candidates quivered: this future boss was not to be trifled with.
Some, however, were excited — a powerful boss like this could be a formidable protector. After Li Hanhou returned, Xiao Chen announced, "Li Hanhou is hired." The other applicants stared at the bear-like man in awe.
Over an hour of interviews later, 22 people remained. A few candidates caught Xiao Chen's eye — veterans and ex-foreign soldiers with strengths around third-rate, and two even approaching second-rate.
"Congratulations — you've become members of Qingcheng Company," Xiao Chen told them, smiling. Some of these recruits he planned to sharpen into weapons that could protect Su Qing and make her invincible in Long Hai.