Chapter 97: Physical Strength Shows Its Power

Some disciples wanted to intervene, but seeing that the Senior Disciple Brother had no intention of stopping the commotion, they wisely sat back down on their benches.

Tao Zhengjun’s mountain-like physique caused the ground to tremble slightly with each step. Though seemingly clumsy, his steps were surprisingly swift. In a few strides, he was behind Jiang Fan, his massive frame casting a heavy shadow that enveloped him.

"Still eating?" Tao Zhengjun watched Jiang Fan continue to eat, seemingly oblivious to his presence, and couldn't help but let out an exasperated laugh. "Do you really think you can act lawlessly just because Senior Sister Liu protects you?" He grabbed Jiang Fan's shoulder and sneered, "Let me tell you, among newcomers, who's boss depends on skill, not on women, understand?"

Jiang Fan put down his chopsticks. His brow slowly furrowed as he calmly said, "Take your hand off!"

Tao Zhengjun was amused. Not only did he not remove his hand, he slowly applied more pressure. As someone who cultivated both martial arts and spiritual techniques, the strength in his hand could easily crush a stone. Anyone whose shoulder he gripped wouldn't be able to remove his hand unless their bones came apart.

"What, you're not convinced? Then let me see what you can do!" He was ready for Jiang Fan to use spiritual energy; he even anticipated what moves Jiang Fan would make. However, Jiang Fan made a move that neither he nor any of the disciples present had expected.

He simply extended his hand and gripped Tao Zhengjun's palm. Due to their difference in size, Jiang Fan's palm looked like a baby's hand grasping an adult's.

Tao Zhengjun couldn't help but laugh. "What, you want to test arm strength with me? So scrawny, how much strength could you possibly have?"

Observing from a distance, the Senior Disciple Brother also showed a hint of disdain. When engaging in combat, one should avoid an opponent's strengths and exploit their weaknesses. Yet Jiang Fan, on the contrary, directly confronted Tao Zhengjun in his strongest area. "Does such a mind deserve to be a disciple of the Sect Leader's Peak?" he thought.

However, the next moment, a pained cry suddenly echoed through the dining hall—it was Tao Zhengjun's! The Senior Disciple Brother turned his head in surprise, his pupils instantly constricting. He saw Jiang Fan's seemingly small hand effortlessly grip Tao Zhengjun's wrist and slowly remove it from his shoulder. Jiang Fan didn't seem to exert much force, yet Tao Zhengjun, a body cultivator, was writhing in pain, struggling to pull his hand back. It was held as if by an iron vice, impossible to free. This sight left all the disciples present wide-eyed in astonishment.

Then, with a flick of his wrist, Jiang Fan sent the iron tower-like Tao Zhengjun stumbling backward from a massive force. He crashed into a supporting pillar, shaking the entire roof.

Tao Zhengjun looked around, seeing the shocked stares, and felt deeply humiliated. "Let's go again!" he roared and charged forward, his fists slamming fiercely towards Jiang Fan's back.

Jiang Fan, exasperated, suddenly stood up and said, "Unless I knock you down, I won't be able to eat in peace." Against the incoming fists, he met them with a straightforward, unrefined punch.

Smack—it was a dull, explosive thud, like a whip striking the ground. Tao Zhengjun's bulky body, which had been charging forward, seemed to hit an invisible wall and was suddenly bounced back, overturning several tables before he landed on the ground, groaning in agony. Both his arms were in excruciating pain, as if his bones were shattered, unable even to bend.

In contrast, Jiang Fan, expressionless, walked up to him with his hands clasped behind his back. He placed a foot on Tao Zhengjun's chest, and with just a slight pressure, Tao Zhengjun let out a pig-like shriek of pain. "Want to compare again?" Jiang Fan asked indifferently.

How could Tao Zhengjun not understand that he had encountered a formidable opponent whose body cultivation far surpassed his own? He immediately shook his head, admitting defeat, "No more, no more, I surrender, I surrender."

Only then did Jiang Fan remove his foot, allowing Tao Zhengjun to finally breathe. Recalling the recent scene, Tao Zhengjun was utterly terrified of Jiang Fan. He hunched his shoulders, kept his distance, and dared not provoke him again.

The disciples watched, dumbfounded. "Well, well, Junior Disciple Brother Jiang is quite formidable!" one exclaimed. "He's actually a master of physical combat!" Another added, "No wonder Senior Sister Liu favors him so much." A third chimed in, "A true talent, he definitely is. Our Qingyun Sect barely has any body cultivators, and now our Sect Leader's Peak has produced such a promising one!"

Clack—a crisp sound came as the Senior Disciple Brother put down his chopsticks and walked up to Jiang Fan, his hands behind his back, his face stern and authoritative. "Disturbing the dining hall, do you know your mistake?" he asked.

Jiang Fan, who was about to go back to eating, frowned. "Another one?" he thought.

"State your name first, then speak!" a female disciple beside him sharply rebuked. "How dare you! This is our Sect Leader's Peak's Senior Disciple Brother, Wang Chengjian, Senior Brother Wang!"

So this was the Senior Disciple Brother. Jiang Fan, neither humble nor arrogant, said, "Senior Disciple Brother asks a good question. When the trouble started, you didn't stop it. Do you know your mistake?"

This counter-question made many disciples gasp. "As expected of someone protected by Senior Sister Liu," they thought. "To dare speak to the Senior Disciple Brother like that!" To some extent, the Senior Disciple Brother acted on behalf of the Master in supervising the junior disciples and wielded great authority. If it had been any other disciple, they would have been taught a lesson on the spot. But with Jiang Fan, Wang Chengjian was wary of his connection to Liu Qingxian. Moreover, he himself was suspected of having tacitly allowed the dispute today, and if the matter escalated, he wouldn't escape punishment either.

Wang Chengjian's gaze deepened slightly, and he slowly uttered four words: "Commendable courage."

Jiang Fan cupped his hands, saying nonchalantly, "Thank you for the compliment, Senior Disciple Brother!"

Wang Chengjian said coldly, "You're welcome. I hope you handle the task a few days from now as beautifully as you did just now. Otherwise, I wouldn't mind having you clean the latrines." Having said that, he turned and left with his hands behind his back.

Jiang Fan shrugged indifferently and continued eating. Under the stunned gaze of the disciples, he ate five large bowls of rice before finally feeling full.

Back in his cave dwelling, Jiang Fan didn't idle. He took out several common spices, ground them one by one into powder, and then sieved out the coarse particles. Finally, he combined the spices and slowly roasted them over a low flame. After a night, he held a jade bottle containing half a bottle of transparent liquid.

"Time to test it." Jiang Fan arrived at the cliff edge on the east side of the Sect Leader's Peak. The wolf-headed bee nest was located halfway down the cliff face, and not to mention how fierce the wolf-headed bees were, just climbing down was extremely dangerous.

When he arrived, three other disciples who had also been assigned the task of collecting honey were already there, using a rope to extract it below. After a long while, they finally clambered up, looking rather disheveled. Two of them were alright, completely wrapped up like two large bears, as the wolf-headed bees' venomous stingers couldn't penetrate their thick clothes. The other chubby disciple was the one who had called Jiang Fan for food earlier, and he, however, was out of luck. Because his belly was too big, it had stretched his pants open, exposing his stomach. The wolf-headed bees had unceremoniously stung him forty-nine times there, raising a dense cluster of red, swollen blisters. The pain made him roll on the ground.

"Ah! Quick, give me a pain-relief pill!" he cried out, clutching his head, in so much pain he questioned his life. The other two disciples looked troubled. "We gave you the last of our pain-relief pills last time," they explained. Hearing this, the chubby disciple let out wails of despair, almost deafening Jiang Fan. He acted decisively, punching him in the back of the head. The chubby disciple's eyes rolled back, and he promptly fainted.

"Pain-relief pills don't work as well as this," Jiang Fan muttered with a slight smirk. The two disciples looked bewildered, but upon closer thought, it was true: it was simple, crude, and saved them money on elixirs.

Seeing Jiang Fan arrive, the two disciples couldn't help but be surprised. "Is Junior Disciple Brother also assigned to collect wolf-headed bee honey?" they asked.

Jiang Fan nodded, pulling up a rope. "May I borrow your rope?"

"Wait, Junior Disciple Brother!" the two disciples called out simultaneously. "You can't go! Something has changed in the beehive! It's dangerous for anyone to go now!"