Chapter 5

As Yang Junshan's words fell, not only did Zhang Huzi and his gang freeze in surprise, but even the people behind Yang Junshan, including Yang Junping, looked at him in astonishment. Yang Junping whispered, "Brother, we only have thirty stone coins in total!"

Yang Junshan turned his head and glared at him. At this moment, a person from behind Zhang Huzi jumped out and shouted, "Yang Junshan, don't boast so much. It was agreed to be thirty stone coins, and thirty for each person. Can you four come up with one hundred and twenty stone coins?"

"Exactly, exactly!"

Zhang Huzi's companions clamored, and even the seven or eight half-grown children from Tuqiu Village who had come to watch the fight didn't believe that Yang Junshan could come up with one hundred and twenty stone coins. This amount of money was a huge sum for these half-grown children. Even if they had it, they wouldn't dare to take it out, for fear of being beaten by their parents.

Unexpectedly, Lu Ping took out a money bag from his chest, similar to Zhang Huzi's black bag, but much fuller. He shook it, and the sound of coins clinking inside was crisp. When he opened it, it was full of stone coins, no less than a hundred!

Everyone stared at the black money bag in Yang Junshan's hand, drawing a sharp breath. They didn't expect Yang Junshan to dare to bet so many stone coins. Wasn't he afraid of being beaten by the village head if he found out?

Yang Junshan looked at Zhang Huzi, who was still stunned, and sneered, "Zhang Huzi, do you dare to bet? If you don't, just admit defeat!"

Zhang Huzi's black face turned red with anger. Another companion behind him jumped out and said, "Huzi, we don't have that much money. Let's not compete. Over a hundred stone coins, are you kidding? Uncle Tie won't be happy if he finds out!"

Yang Junshan laughed, "Not competing? Fine, as long as you, Zhang Huzi, admit defeat and show some respect!"

Yang Qianhai, catching Yang Junshan's eye, immediately called out, "Exactly, exactly! As long as you admit defeat, in the future, when you see us in Tuqiu Village, just walk around us!"

Yang Junshan looked at Zhang Huzi with amusement. This kid was indeed susceptible to provocation. He roared, "I'll bet! Yang Junshan, don't get too cocky. If you lose, the one hundred and twenty stone coins will be mine!"

Yang Junshan calmly replied, "Alright, as long as you can beat me. But tell me, do you have enough stone coins? We don't accept credit!"

Zhang Huzi's expression showed hesitation again. Lu Ping's heart stirred, thinking that indeed, Zhang Huzi, being from a wealthy family, must have some means.

Sure enough, Zhang Huzi's eyelids twitched, as if he had made a decision. He turned to his companion holding his coat and shouted, took the coat, and fumbled in the pocket. Then, to Yang Junshan's surprise, he pulled out two yellow-orange, egg-sized fruits.

"Ah, those are the Zhang family's Yellow Jade Fruits!"

"I heard that the Yellow Jade Tree in the Zhang family is a mid-grade spirit tree, producing dozens of Yellow Jade Fruits every year. One Yellow Jade Fruit can sell for fifty stone coins, so these two are worth one hundred stone coins!"

Yang Junshan's eyebrows raised. Although he had guessed that Zhang Huzi's family was not much worse off than his own, he hadn't expected him to take out two Yellow Jade Fruits.

The Yellow Jade Fruit was a treasure of the Zhang family. Although Zhang Tie made a living by forging, his family was well-off, and the mid-grade spirit Yellow Jade Tree in his yard was unique to Tuqiu Village.

Under Zhang Tie's careful care, the Yellow Jade Tree produced thirty to forty fruits every year. After setting aside some for other uses, the remaining Yellow Jade Fruits could be exchanged for over a dozen jade coins in town, which was a significant income for the villagers of Tuqiu Village.

Zhang Tie valued the Yellow Jade Tree no less than Yang Tiangang valued the spirit well in his backyard. The two Yellow Jade Fruits in Zhang Huzi's hand were clearly left by Zhang Tie to assist his son's cultivation. Thinking of this, Yang Junshan felt a surge of excitement. These two Yellow Jade Fruits would greatly benefit his cultivation, making them more practical than jade coins.

With the two Yellow Jade Fruits in hand, Zhang Huzi became more confident and called out, "These two fruits are worth one hundred stone coins, plus the fifty stone coins here, making a total of one hundred and fifty stone coins. I'll bet, but you also need to put up one hundred and fifty stone coins!"

Yang Junping immediately objected, "You have five people, and we have four. Why should we also put up one hundred and fifty stone coins?"

Yang Junshan raised his hand and said, "Alright, one hundred and fifty stone coins, let's bet!"

Seeing Zhang Huzi put up one hundred and fifty stone coins, Yang Junshan also counted out one hundred and fifty stone coins from his money bag and said to Zhang Huzi, "We'll give the stone coins to an unrelated person to keep. The winner takes all."

Zhang Huzi hesitated for a moment, but when he saw Yang Junshan throw the money bag to one of the seven or eight young spectators, he said, "Xu Lei, will you be our mediator? The winner will take the stone coins from you?"

Xu Lei and Yang Junshan were both twelve years old. In Tuqiu Village, three out of ten people were surnamed Xu, making the Xu family the largest clan. The current head of the Xu family was Xu Lei's mother, Xu San娘.

Although the Xu family had many members, they lacked a powerful expert to maintain their status as the leading family in Tuqiu Village. The only martial artist in the family was a woman, Xu San娘. To maintain the Xu family's status, she became the clan leader at the request of the Xu clan members and married a man, giving birth to a daughter and a son, the younger of whom was Xu Lei.

Seeing that Yang Junshan had chosen him as the mediator, Xu Lei was first surprised and then secretly delighted. Among so many people, Yang Junshan had chosen him, which greatly satisfied his vanity and strengthened his position among the young generation in Tuqiu Village.

At this moment, Xu Lei saw that Zhang Huzi was still hesitating. Was he doubting that Xu Lei would embezzle the stone coins, or did he look down on him?

Xu Lei felt a bit unhappy. Although Zhang Huzi eventually handed over the money bag to Xu Lei, the dissatisfaction remained in his heart.

Zhang Huzi's decision to increase the stakes was mainly due to his confidence in his own strength. Although he was now cultivating his second spirit acupoint, what others didn't know was that Zhang Tie had used the jade coins he had saved over the years and many connections to obtain another mid-grade spirit acupoint for Zhang Huzi. Although it was of lower quality among mid-grade spirit acupoints and not entirely suitable for Zhang Huzi's cultivation method, it was still enviable compared to most people who could only use one spirit acupoint to assist in their cultivation.

Thinking of this, Zhang Huzi's confidence soared. He clenched his fists and brought them together in front of his chest. Although the skin on his left hand, which was just beginning to refine the second spirit acupoint, was not as black as his right hand, the sound of metal clashing was still faintly heard when the two fists collided.

"Yang Junshan, you're dead this time!"

The four companions behind Zhang Huzi showed excitement and cheered, while Yang Junping and the others showed a hint of worry. Only Yang Junshan was not intimidated by Zhang Huzi's threat and instead smiled and beckoned to him.

Yang Junshan's contempt instantly enraged Zhang Huzi. He extended his left hand to grab, and his right fist was half-raised, ready to strike at Yang Junshan.

This was a blacksmith's posture. The left hand was to hold the object, and the right fist was ready to strike, treating Yang Junshan like a piece of iron.

Yang Junshan recognized this as the Zhang family's inherited "Explosive Hammer Fist," a low-grade body-strengthening martial art. While it was not as comprehensive in body training as the "Mighty Ox Fist," the "Explosive Hammer Fist" focused most of its effects on the two fists. In terms of fist strength, it was on par with mid-grade body-strengthening techniques. With Zhang Huzi's second spirit acupoint almost fully awakened, Zhang Tie was confident that one punch would ensure Yang Junshan's defeat.

However, in reality, his guess might be correct, but it would only be true if he could actually hit Yang Junshan. Before Zhang Huzi's punch landed, Yang Junshan suddenly moved to the left.

Zhang Huzi sneered inwardly, thinking that Yang Junshan could dodge like that. His left hand suddenly turned with his body and grabbed at Yang Junshan's shadow.

But this left-hand grab was suddenly blocked by Yang Junshan's arm.

Zhang Huzi was surprised by the strength of this guy. As he blocked his wrist, Yang Junshan's other hand grabbed his left wrist and, using the force of Zhang Huzi's turn, twisted it sharply behind his back!

Want to wrestle?

Zhang Huzi clenched his left hand into a fist and tried to break free, using the earth qi he had accumulated over the past year to awaken his spirit acupoint. Yang Junshan immediately felt a powerful force in his left arm, which began to resist and almost broke free from his grip.

At this moment, Yang Junshan suddenly channeled all the refined qi he had accumulated in his spirit acupoint over the past year. Although the amount was small, it was far less than the qi Zhang Huzi had condensed using his spirit acupoint, the purity of Yang Junshan's qi, refined and purified by the "Earth Treasure Technique," was several times greater than Zhang Huzi's.

The qi flowed to his hands, and Yang Junshan, following his past memory, pinched several key meridians on Zhang Huzi's arm. Zhang Huzi immediately felt his internal qi flow stagnate, his arm go limp, and even his entire left side become numb.

Following this, Zhang Huzi's body was suddenly pushed from behind by Yang Junshan, and he was kicked hard on the buttocks. He lost control of his body and fell forward, face-first into the mud.