Kevin's stomach sank. He was fucked. Why the hell was his luck always shitty?
Wei Shen charged again.
Kevin moved to the side instinctively to avoid Wei Shen's fist, but Wei Shen was too fast. The fist grazed Kevin's shoulder and sent him stumbling. Before Kevin could recover his footing, Wei Shen was already there. His second punch crashed into Kevin's ribs with a sickening crack, and pain exploded through Kevin's side.
Shit!
Kevin tried to counter with a wild punch, but Wei Shen shifted his weight and blocked it easily with his forearm. The impact sent shockwaves through Kevin's arm, making his bones ache. Wei Shen's knee drove into Kevin's stomach before he could react, and the air rushed out of Kevin's lungs.
Kevin doubled over and gasped for air while stars danced in his vision.
But as he fought and took hit after hit while barely managing to block or dodge, Kevin realized something. He could actually stand toe to toe with Wei Shen in terms of raw physical strength but as for skill—Wei Shen was clearly more experienced and had better technique. His movements were fluid, his strikes precise and his defense solid.
Kevin wasn't being completely overwhelmed.
The problem was his bones. Every time he blocked one of Wei Shen's strikes, shockwaves vibrated through his skeleton and made his arms and legs ache. His flesh was refined, his muscles strong, but his bones felt weak. They couldn't handle the repeated impacts from Wei Shen.
Wei Shen didn't give him time to think. He pressed forward relentlessly, landing a solid punch to Kevin's face that sent blood spraying from his nose.
Kevin stumbled backward and crashed to the ground hard while the taste of copper filled his mouth.
"He was too reckless."
"Challenging Wei Shen... what did he expect?"
"A pity. He had some courage."
The words cut deeper than Wei Shen's fists, and Kevin cursed inwardly with each blow he took.
Not like this. Not again.
He thought of his old life, of dying on that subway floor while strangers stepped around his blood. He thought of Xiao Feng's memories, of years spent being beaten and humiliated while everyone watched and did nothing. He'd been given a second chance, a fucking inheritance from an Immortal expert, and he was going to lose? Going to end up right back where he started—trash that everyone could spit on?
No. No. No, he refused.
Fear churned in his gut. What if the inheritance wasn't enough? What if he'd wasted his one chance by picking a fight he couldn't win? The crowd was already writing him off, already going back to calling him stupid, reckless and doomed. He'd be trash Feng again, the cripple who got lucky once and then died for his arrogance.
Kevin's hands shook as he blocked another punch, not from pain but from the terror of going back to being nothing.
At that moment he noticed something else.
With each blow he endured, Kevin felt something strange happening inside him. The spiritual energy in his body would surge in response to the damage, rushing through his meridians—but then it would get sucked into that void on the left side of his chest where the burning sensation had been.
A moment later, that purple spiritual energy would spew out from the void and flood through his body, and wherever it touched, his injuries began to heal. Broken bones mended. Torn muscles knitted back together. But it didn't just repair—it strengthened whatever it touched. The bones became denser and the muscles grew tougher.
Kevin remembered those cultivation novels he'd read when he was younger. This was how it always went. The protagonists got stronger through suffering, through being beaten within an inch of their lives all the while refusing to give up even when they should have died.
He'd thought it was just fiction. Dramatic bullshit to make the stories exciting.
Turned out it was real.
Kevin pushed himself to his feet, blood dripping from his mouth and nose. His body screamed at him to stay down, but he refused. He would not go back to being trash. He would not lose here. Not to some pussy ass bitch who had no real strength.
"Is that all you have?" Kevin's voice came out hoarse but defiant. "I thought Manager Feng Hu's nephew would be stronger than this!"
Wei Shen's expression twisted with rage. "You dare—"
Kevin didn't wait. He threw himself forward.
His fist crashed toward Wei Shen's face. Wei Shen blocked it easily, countering with a punch that slammed into Kevin's chest.
Bang!
Kevin staggered but didn't fall. He threw another wild punch. Wei Shen dodged and struck Kevin's ribs.
Bang!
The pain was excruciating, but Kevin felt his body absorbing the hit. He immediately switched to all out attack without any regard for defense.
Wei Shen's eyes widened slightly. This trash wasn't fighting like a normal person would. He was fighting like a cornered beast.
Kevin's fist connected with Wei Shen's shoulder. Wei Shen barely felt it, but he saw the madness in Kevin's eyes and something cold settled in his stomach.
This cripple should be down, begging for mercy. But why was he still standing?
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The exchange continued. Wei Shen landed three strikes for every one of Kevin's. Blood poured from Kevin's wounds. His bones cracked under the assault. But he kept coming forward, kept throwing punches and refusing to fall.
Wei Shen felt his confidence waver.
Each time he struck Kevin down, the trash stood back up. Each time he broke Kevin's defense, Kevin attacked anyway. There was no technique here, no strategy—just pure, stubborn refusal to lose.
Wei Shen's hands started to tremble.
This wasn't normal. Cultivators at the first stage of the mortal realm didn't endure like this. They couldn't. Their bodies weren't strong enough. But this trash kept standing, kept bleeding and he kept fighting like a mad beast.
Kevin saw the fear creeping into Wei Shen's eyes and he smiled through broken teeth. The spiritual energy in his body was surging now, circulating faster with each breath. His bones ached but they were getting stronger. His flesh burned but it was being tempered. Every blow Wei Shen landed was making Kevin harder to kill.
Wei Shen threw a desperate punch at Kevin's head.
Kevin didn't dodge. He took the hit full in the face, let his head snap to the side, and in the same motion drove his fist into Wei Shen's gut.
Bang!
Wei Shen's eyes went wide. That punch—it was stronger than before. Much stronger.
The crowd's jeers had gone silent. They watched in disbelief as the beaten, bloody cripple began to push Wei Shen backward.
Wei Shen stumbled backward, and for the first time since the fight began, genuine fear flashed across his face.
Kevin didn't give him time to recover. He charged forward like a mad beast, throwing punch after punch with complete disregard for form or technique. His fists hammered into Wei Shen's defense.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Wei Shen's blocks grew desperate.
How? How was this trash still standing? How was he getting—
Wei Shen's face turned ugly as realization hit.
This trash was getting stronger. With each blow Wei Shen landed the cripple was using it as a whetstone to sharpen himself. Using Wei Shen as a stepping stone!
Rage exploded in Wei Shen's chest, hot and violent. He was being used. Him! Being used by trash to increase his strength!
"You dare!" Wei Shen roared and threw everything he had into a vicious punch aimed at Kevin's head.
Kevin's fist broke through Wei Shen's guard and smashed into his ribs. Wei Shen gasped, the air rushing from his lungs. Another punch caught his shoulder and sent him spinning. Kevin's foot swept Wei Shen's legs out from under him.
Wei Shen crashed to the ground.
The crowd were all shocked.
Kevin stood over him, breathing hard, his body covered in blood and bruises. But he was standing. And Wei Shen was down.
Wei Shen looked up at Kevin and saw something that terrified him—not anger or hatred, but cold determination. The eyes of someone who would die before admitting defeat.
Wei Shen's nerve broke completely.
"Stop!" His voice cracked with desperation. "I yield! I was wrong!"
But Kevin knew something about this world now. Words meant nothing. Wei Shen would come back with back up so why not enjoy this and worry about them later?
Kevin's fist crashed down.
Bang!
Wei Shen tried to crawl away, but Kevin grabbed him by the collar and yanked him back. His fists rained down without mercy.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Mercy!" Wei Shen's voice rose to a scream. "I was blind! I won't dare offend you again!"
Kevin kept hitting him. Each punch carried all the rage Xiao Feng had never been able to express. All the humiliation. All the years of being called trash.
Finally, when Wei Shen was nothing but a whimpering, bloody mess on the ground, Kevin stopped.
He stood over Wei Shen's broken form, chest heaving, fists still clenched. Blood dripped from his knuckles—some his, some Wei Shen's. To the labor disciples watching, Kevin looked like a demon crawled from hell itself.
The courtyard was dead silent.
Wei Shen lay curled on the ground, sobbing and broken. But even as he wept, his eyes flickered with cold hatred. His face was pressed against the dirt, but his mind was already racing.
Uncle Feng Hu would hear about this before nightfall. And when he came for Xiao Feng, there would be nowhere for him to hide. Wei Shen would make sure the trash paid for every punch, every insult, every moment of this humiliation. He would beg for death before Wei Shen was done with him.
Just wait, Wei Shen thought while he kept his head bowed. Enjoy this moment while you can, trash. It will be your last.
Kevin now back down from the all high knew he was in trouble now. Wei Shen's backing was real—his uncle managed the entire Labor Division, and his cousin was an outer court disciple. They would come for him which meant Kevin needed to be stronger. After all, strength ruled supreme here.
He had to leave the Outer Grounds and find somewhere to train properly. The Snow Valley. That's where he needed to go.
He had to leave now and lay low for a while.
Word traveled fast through the Outer Grounds.
Within an hour, every labor disciple in the area knew what had happened. They gathered in small groups and spoke in hushed, excited voices.
"Xiao Feng actually defeated Wei Shen!"
"Impossible! His dantian was a defect. How could he possibly cultivate?"
"Who knows? But he did it. Wei Shen was kneeling and begging for mercy at the end."
"Begging? Wei Shen? The one who always acts so arrogant because of his uncle?"
"The same. But when Manager Feng Hu hears of this, Xiao Feng is finished."
"A pity. Xiao Feng has courage, at least. More than the rest of us."
"Courage or stupidity? Challenging someone with Wei Shen's backing is asking for death."
"Perhaps both. But it was satisfying to watch Wei Shen get what he deserved, even if only for a moment."
"Satisfying, yes. But now we'll all suffer when Wei Shen's rage falls on the entire Outer Grounds."
The conversations continued late into the night, and by morning, the entire Labor Division would know the name Xiao Feng.
Meanwhile, Kevin was arriving at the Snow Valley.