The implication was clear, they had already pegged Lu Zheng and Lin Wan as frauds.
Tian Liyuan, five years younger than Li Changyang, had already fought in the Kunlun Fight qualifiers and was set to compete alongside Li Changyang this year.
Last year, Li Changyang defended his Kunlun Fight title. Had he won again this year, securing three consecutive championships, Tian Liyuan wouldn’t have dared to challenge him.
But…
Li Changyang lost, didn’t he?
And during internal club sparring, Li Changyang no longer showed a crushing advantage.
So, despite being in a heavier weight class and still calling Li Changyang “Brother Yang,” Tian Liyuan was starting to look down on him inwardly.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Li Changyang glared at Tian Liyuan.
“Don’t get mad, Brother Yang. Liyuan didn’t mean anything by it. We’re all friends here, no need to use the same excuses we give outsiders,” another man named Li Fang quickly interjected.
But…
His words, too, implied that Lu Zheng and Lin Wan were faking it.
The youngest, Liu Jingbo, glanced around nervously, unsure why the mood was suddenly turning sour.
“I!”
“Enough, Changyang,” Lu Zheng cut Li Changyang off. “It’s fine.”
Tian Liyuan smacked his lips, flashing a knowing smile. “See? We’re all friends. We won’t expose you, so no need for Brother Yang to vouch for you.”
He then turned and asked, “How’d you pull it off? Fooling so many people there?”
Li Changyang’s eyes narrowed.
Though the video of Lu Zheng taking down a large boar with one hit shocked him, he knew Lu Zheng had real skills, so he never doubted the video’s authenticity, making him even more amazed by Lu Zheng’s strength.
That’s why he was even more respectful than when they met in Hai City.
But he hadn’t expected Tian Liyuan to stir trouble so soon.
Lin Wan, expressionless, shot Li Changyang a displeased glance, already regretting agreeing to share a table.
Lu Zheng, unfazed, looked at Tian Liyuan with interest. “What do you think?”
“You drugged the boars beforehand?” Tian Liyuan asked.
“They were wild boars. So we caught them in the mountains, drugged them, and let them loose in the city?” Lu Zheng pressed. “Isn’t that illegal?”
“Then you brought a tranquiliser gun?”
Lu Zheng laughed. “So we could predict exactly when those boars would charge into the city and get spooked?”
Tian Liyuan frowned. “You tracked the boars?”
Lu Zheng looked at him like he was an idiot. “We went into the mountains, found a herd of boars, and followed them all the way into the city?”
Liu Jingbo let out a snicker but quickly stifled it when he saw Tian Liyuan’s dark expression.
Li Changyang wasn’t having it, sneering, “Stop watching those brainless short videos and believing their stupid comments. Think for yourself, or you’ll get dumber, and that won’t help your fighting.”
Tian Liyuan’s face soured. Stung by Li Changyang’s mockery, he snapped, “You guys definitely faked it!”
His voice was loud, drawing looks from nearby tables.
“Chill, chill!” Lu Zheng laughed, gesturing for him to calm down. “Just chatting, no need to get worked up.”
Li Fang pulled Tian Liyuan back, urging him not to make a scene, as it wouldn’t look good.
Tian Liyuan shook off Li Fang’s hand. Though he didn’t keep shouting, he said with conviction, “You wouldn’t dare make a big deal out of this, would you?”
He took Lu Zheng’s calming gesture as a sign of weakness, assuming Lu Zheng was afraid of being exposed on the spot.
Lin Wan suddenly spoke up coldly, “No evidence, and you just spout nonsense?”
Tian Liyuan glanced at her and scoffed. “With those skinny arms and legs, I could take on five of you. Knocking out a big boar in one hit? You think I’m stupid?”
Lu Zheng chuckled, tilting his head toward Lin Wan. “Then how do you explain her taking down four smaller boars?”
“Those little boars were only twenty or thirty pounds. Any normal person could lift them,” Tian Liyuan sneered. “Drugged, you could handle them however you wanted, right?”
Lin Wan flexed her fingers. If not for her job, she’d have loved to give him a knock on the head.
“So you’re certain we’re faking it?” Lu Zheng asked.
“What else?” Tian Liyuan shrugged, adopting a worldly tone. “Why bother with this? You’re copying Old Ma and Old Yan.
It worked before, but people are wiser now, harder to fool.
I know your game. First, you create some mystery, make a few convincing videos, then you show your faces, keep faking it, and hire actors for the performance.
But you’re faking martial arts. Once a few real fighters challenge you, you’ll be exposed in no time.”
Lu Zheng grinned. “So you’re looking out for us?”
Tian Liyuan glanced at Li Changyang and said coolly, “I just don’t want our club to be laughed at in the fighting world.”
Meaning, if Lu Zheng used Li Changyang’s name as backing and messed up, the whole club, including them, would lose face.
“You little!”
“Stop, stop, stop!” Lu Zheng grabbed Li Changyang’s wrist.
Li Changyang felt like his wrist was caught in an iron vice, completely immobile.
“God Lu!”
“Enough with the ‘God Lu,’ sounds so childish,” Lu Zheng waved it off, then looked at Tian Liyuan. “You don’t think I look like a fighter?”
Tian Liyuan eyed Lu Zheng’s fair, smooth hands and snorted. “Nope.”
Lu Zheng tapped the table in front of them, producing a few soft *thuds*. “Think this table’s sturdy?”
It was a standard dining table, metal frame with a less-than-two-centimetre-thick wooden top.
Tian Liyuan scoffed. “What? You gonna kick it apart?”
No wonder he laughed. Breaking wooden boards was a staple in martial arts performances.
To him, even if Lu Zheng could break the table with a kick, it would only prove he’d trained in taekwondo for a few days.
“No, no, no,” Lu Zheng shook his head. “Too much noise.”
“Hm?”
Lu Zheng extended his right hand, palm up, fingers curled like claws, and asked Tian Liyuan, “What’s this?”
Tian Liyuan frowned. “Your hand?”
Lin Wan rolled her eyes, exasperated by his intelligence, and chimed in, “It’s called a tiger claw!”
Tian Liyuan frowned again. “Fancy nonsense. What’s it good for?”
Lu Zheng didn’t answer. He flipped his hand and drove it into the tabletop.
*Crack!* Like piercing soft earth.
He lifted his hand, revealing five irregular holes through the table, perfectly matching his five fingers.
Lu Zheng brushed off the wood dust and smiled. “Well?”
