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Metropolitan System - Chapter 7

Published at 7th of November 2019 08:20:30 PM


Chapter 7

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Chapter 7: I'll be your man if you win

 

"What if I reject both options?" Jiang Bai placed the glass of liquor down, the smile vanishing from his face. Just like that, he sat there silently as he met Xu Jie's gaze with no intention of backing off.

"Heh, if that's the case, the solution is simple. I have 23 brothers here. So long as you can knock down all of them alone today, everything will end here. Of course, if you do decide to fight, I can't guarantee that my brothers will be able to hold their hands back. If you got unlucky, you might lose more than a hand. Think over it carefully." The smile vanished from Xu Jie's face as well as he spoke sternly. It also became increasingly obvious that he was threatening Jiang Bai.

"Big Brother Jie, this is Boss Ma's place. You should at least consider that, right? I..." When Li Qiang saw how things were developing, his face fell as he quickly spoke, even bringing his boss out.

"Boss Ma? Hehe, others might be scared of him, but not me. Besides, Old Ma is stupid enough to provoke the river crossing dragon from the old marquis of the northeast. He is too busy fending for himself right now. Even if you ask for his help, he won't be able to help. Old Li, heed my advice. Stand aside and stay out of this." [1]

Xu Jie spoke very calmly, completely unlike Liu Bin who had a habit of making a scene out of everything. At the same time, he was also speaking in an extremely firm tone. He did not need to repeat himself as Li Qiang no longer dared to say anything after the first time. He merely threw Jiang Bai a look of sympathy before standing to the side, staying out of this.

"What if I managed to beat everyone, including you?" Jiang Bai scanned the room, did some calculation in his mind before looking at Xu Jie and asked. After the system's transformation, Jiang Bai was now a proper Eight Extremes Fist Grandmaster. Apart from his skills, speed, and strength, he also had the experience of a Grandmaster. Thus, he now had an accurate sense of judgment as well.

A Grandmaster making an error of judgment was almost nonexistent. Therefore, Jiang Bai could see that all of them were regular people. Even if they had vicious personalities, their combat prowess would be limited. Xu Jie was the sole exception. Jiang Bai was able to see that Xu Jie was an expert, a true expert that had reached the Clear Force stage in his martial arts training. A person that had reached this level of martial proficiency was extremely rare.

"Me included? If you can really beat all of us, you will be my big brother in the future. From today onward, I, Xu Jie, will be following you!" Xu Jie laughed and declared, not minding Jiang Bai's words. He believed that Jiang Bai was bluffing. Before coming, he had already investigated Jiang Bai. As a low ranked security personnel, this Jiang Bai had quite a big mouth. Unfortunately, he talked big yet did not have the capability to back that up. A person like that would suffer in life. Xu Jie had seen way too many people like that.

Right after that, Xu Jie's men moved. With no hesitation, they charged forth with their weapons. One of them directly hacked at Jiang Bai's head with a knife. It was clear they were all vicious fighters.

Pa!

Jiang Bai reached out and leaped, snatching the attacker's knife. He then casually punched out, sending that person flying before shifting to a different direction. While moving, his head, shoulders, hands, back, and legs moved in perfect coordination, his movement as smooth as flowing water. In the span of about 10 breaths, the over 20 men that were still so fierce earlier were all lying on the ground, groaning miserably. Not a single one of them could stand up anymore.

Whoosh!

Xu Jie had just sat back down, lifted a glass of liquor and was prepared to watch a good show when Jiang Bai was done beating his underlings. He immediately stood up, his face filled with shock.

"Supreme Ultimate, the stabilizer of civilizations, and Eight Extremes, the force charting the world's course. So you are actually an Eight Extremes Fist expert. No wonder you have such confidence. Looks like everyone have underestimated you in the past."

Slowly, Xu Jie stepped forward and took off his shirt before tossing it to the side, revealing his substantial abdominal muscles and the tattoo all over his torso. Ignoring his brothers on the ground, he stopped when he was about five steps away from Jiang Bai and cupped his fists, "Xu Jie of Form Intention Fist. Pleased to meet you."

Then, he leaped forward before slanting his body, putting one foot forward, his left fist resting in front of him while pulling his right fist backward. The right fist shot forward toward Jiang Bai's chest. And just like that, his Half Step Crushing Fist streaked through the air toward Jiang Bai. Accompanying his punch was a hissing sound as his fist tore through the air. This was a signature of a person at the peak of the Clear Force stage.

When Jiang Bai saw that, he laughed as he stepped forward as well. With one hand, he grabbed at the incoming fist before slamming his back on Xu Jie. When Xu Jie realized what Jiang Bai was doing, his body reacted by reflex to defend himself. However, a gush of internal force rushed out of Jiang Bai's shoulder, immediately sending Xu Jie flying.

Xu Jie was sent flying by the slam. Since Jiang Bai had been holding back, the attack only caused Xu Jie to cough out some blood. Otherwise, this one attack was enough to kill Xu Jie. But Xu Jie couldn't even be bothered to wipe the blood off his lips. He stared at Jiang Bai in shock, as if he had just encountered a ghost.

"This...Hidden Force Grandmaster? Impossible! It has been many years since an Eight Extremes Fist Grandmaster last appeared! And with your age, that is impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

From the investigation he did on Jiang Bai previously, he knew that Jiang Bai was a 23 years old young man from a small town. He was only 23 years old! A 23 years old Grandmaster? That was something unheard of! How far could he go in the future? Not even Sun Lutang and Li Shuwen back then were comparable to the current Jiang Bai!

"As the saying goes, a Tai Chi practitioner needs to spend 10 years in training, while a Form Intention practitioner needs only a year to start killing. Your Form Intention Fist is no pushover. Unfortunately, you are not well-practiced enough with the Half Step Crushing Step you used earlier," said Jiang Bai with a smile. Then, he turned to leave.

"Hold on!" Right after Jiang Bai turned, Xu Jie stopped him. Helped by his underlings, he stood up with great difficulty.

"Yes?" Jiang Bai raised his brow. He was already holding back. Why was this Xu Jie refusing to back off? Was he under the impression that Jiang Bai couldn't kill him? Or perhaps he thought Jiang Bai did not dare to kill him?

"I said that I will be your man in the future if you do beat all of us. So from now onward, you are my big brother! Big brother, just give the order if you need anything done in the future! Whatever you need done, I will not hesitate! I am now your man!"

Xu Jie was very straightforward. Behaving like someone from ancient China, he cupped his fists and offered his allegiance formally. If he had taken it one step further and knelt down as well, this would be totally a scene out of an ancient Chinese bandit recruitment ceremony.

"Big brother? Please, I am not a triad member," said Jiang Bai as he rolled his eyes.

"Uhm...I'm not a triad member as well. Although I am rather well-known here, and can be considered a hoodlum, I have never gotten involved in prostitution, drug, and gambling businesses. I have never extorted and blackmailed anyone before as well. Although some of my incomes are earned illegally, they are all petty crimes. We are not even part of an organization. I merely have a group of brothers following me. In fact, I run a restaurant. I will shut it down tomorrow. In the future, I will be working for you!"

Xu Jie blushed and explained awkwardly. He had already decided to follow Jiang Bai after the fight. Firstly, he was truly convinced of Jiang Bai's strength. And more importantly, in his opinion, Jiang Bai was so young yet so strong and magnanimous. There must be some reason for him to allow others to bully him in the past despite his martial prowess.

Now that Jiang Bai was finally revealing his true strength, he would definitely soar high. Thus, there would be countless benefits following Jiang Bai. It was understandable why Xu Jie was willing to follow him.

"You know what I used to do for living. How am I supposed to pay so many of you?" Jiang Bai waved his hand awkwardly. What a joke. Yes, he might have some money now, but not enough to feed so many people. In any case, it was not like he was planning to start a gang. What's the point of accepting so many underlings? He was no idiot!

It wouldn't be cheap to feed all these people. Moreover, since he had no use of them, they would be freeloading off him. Even with the money he could earn from Zhu Xian, he wouldn't be able to last long with such expenses and it would be a matter of time before he was broke again.

"I know. But with your fighting prowess, it is easy to make money. In fact, there is a free business waiting for you to take over. So long as you are willing to make a move, the business will be yours!" Xu Jie wiped the blood off his mouth, put his cloth back on and spoke with a smile on his face.

 

TL note:

1. In the context of this book, “river crossing dragon” means an expert visiting from a different place. “Dragon” is usually used when referring to powerful individuals, and “river crossing dragon” means a dragon from opposite the river is coming to visit. Hence the term “river crossing dragon” has the meaning of a visiting expert.

2. The marquis here is not an actual marquis. It’s just a fancy title given to him out of respect.





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