C8 The Founder of the Sect Xuan Tianshang

After getting used to passing through the light curtain into an endless expanse of blue and yellow wilderness, Woo Zhengyang felt a bit out of place when he suddenly found himself in a world with more colors.

He was in a cave, or more precisely, a stone chamber, complete with a stone table, chairs, and bed—far superior to the cave he was used to. On the stone table, there were no clothes, just an ancient book with a blue cover and black lettering, and a pitch-black plaque. The color alone indicated that this plaque was different from the ones he had seen beyond the light curtain.

"Why aren't there any puppets in this level? Can I just claim the reward directly? This reward seems a bit different, though."

"Finally, someone has arrived!" a gruff voice called out from behind, startling Woo Zhengyang. He quickly took a couple of steps forward and turned around to see who it was.

Where the light curtain should have been, there now stood a stocky, middle-aged man with a thick beard and hair. He was shirtless, stroking his unruly beard like a wise sage, scrutinizing Woo Zhengyang with a comically mismatched expression and demeanor.

"Who are you?" Woo Zhengyang asked.

"I am Xuan Tianshang!" the man replied with a smug look, his eyes gleaming with amusement as he watched Woo Zhengyang.

"Xuan Tianshang?" Woo Zhengyang repeated, puzzled, feeling like he had heard the name somewhere before.

Woo Zhengyang's attitude made it impossible for Xuan Tianshang to keep his composure. He jumped up, pointing at Woo Zhengyang's nose, and shouted, "You little punk! You joined our Profound Heaven Sect and don't even know the name of the Sect Master?"

"Sect Master? Are you the founding ancestor?" Woo Zhengyang finally remembered where he'd heard that name. On his first day in the Profound Heaven Sect, he had paid his respects at the statue of the founding ancestor. Xuan Tianshang was indeed the name of the founder.

However, the figure in the statue was depicted as a wise and dignified sage, with flowing robes and an air of grace, nothing like the stout man standing before him now.

Despite his doubts, Woo Zhengyang knew that anyone who could appear here must be significant. He wasn't foolish enough to argue directly, so he respectfully bowed and said, "Please, sir, don't tease me. When I joined, I saw the statue of the founding ancestor, and this is the Profound Heaven Sect, not the Profound Heaven Clan."

"Profound Heaven Sect? Who had the time to change the name? As for that statue... I personally requested it to be made that way. It adds a bit of authority, don't you think?" the man claiming to be Xuan Tianshang chuckled.

Even though it sounded plausible, Woo Zhengyang couldn't connect this man with the revered founding ancestor.

"No time for idle talk, let's settle this with a fight!" the stout man bellowed, throwing a straight punch toward Woo Zhengyang's chest.

Woo Zhengyang was on high alert, but he couldn't withstand the brute's relentless attacks. The man's punches were so fast that Woo Zhengyang couldn't react in time and was sent flying.

"Thud..."

His body slammed into the mountainside. With the force of the brute's punch and Woo Zhengyang's own momentum, the impact should have left a sizable dent or at least cracked the rock. Yet, the mountainside remained unscathed, even rebounding Woo Zhengyang back to the brute.

"So slow? But you sure can take a hit," the brute mocked, landing another punch that sent Woo Zhengyang flying again.

Hearing the taunt, Woo Zhengyang felt like spitting blood. How could someone be so shameless? Attacking out of nowhere and then calling him slow...

Despite his anger, Woo Zhengyang had to admit the brute's punches were incredibly powerful. Even with his own resilience, the second hit left his blood boiling. A bit more force, and he might actually cough up blood.

After being knocked away twice, Woo Zhengyang was feeling utterly frustrated. The brute's punches were getting stronger each time. Although that strange sensation lingered, Woo Zhengyang couldn't be sure how many more punches he could endure. If each punch was stronger than the last, just taking hits wasn't a sustainable strategy. He needed to find a way to counter this.

Woo Zhengyang found himself airborne, hurtling toward the rock wall once again. With a loud shout, he summoned all his inner energy, focusing it into his legs, and managed to barely touch the ground with his toes.

However, the brute's punch was too powerful. Despite dragging his toes along the ground, Woo Zhengyang was still propelled backward until he slammed into the rock wall, finally landing on his feet without bouncing back.

"Ouch... You managed to stop, but if the old master were after you, it would be much worse!" the brute taunted, taking a few steps forward to throw another punch.

Knowing this guy wouldn't let up, Woo Zhengyang quickly gathered the remaining energy in his legs and dashed forward to dodge the incoming blow as the brute closed in.

Yet, as if anticipating Woo Zhengyang's move, the brute halted his punch mid-air, then smoothly swung around and slapped Woo Zhengyang on the back.

Woo Zhengyang's feet, which had just found the ground, were lifted off again as he was sent flying across to the opposite wall. If not for his quick reflexes to brace himself with his hands, he would have had an unpleasant full-body encounter with the rock face.

"You're pushing it too far!"

Feeling cornered and frustrated, Woo Zhengyang's anger flared. Since his body was tough enough, he decided to keep going, even if it meant mutual destruction.

With this in mind, Woo Zhengyang pushed off the wall with all his might. The rebound, combined with his own strength, sent him flying back again. In mid-air, he adjusted his body slightly, almost parallel, and aimed a kick straight at the big guy's face.

"A gap is a gap, kid. Stop resisting. Let me beat you up, and I'll let you go," the big guy said, swinging his fist slowly but precisely to meet Woo Zhengyang's feet.

Without any suspense, Woo Zhengyang was sent flying back again, nearly crashing headfirst into the stone wall. However, this time, he noticed something: the big guy's punches consistently held the same power as his second punch, neither increasing nor decreasing. This meant he had no intention of killing Woo Zhengyang; he just wanted to rough him up a bit.

For an average person, getting beaten up would be pretty miserable. But for Woo Zhengyang, getting roughed up only made his body stronger. Since the big guy didn't plan to kill him, Woo Zhengyang decided to use this to his advantage. If his body could get stronger, maybe he could turn the tables completely.

Even while thinking this way, Woo Zhengyang didn't just stand there and take the hits. Instead, he launched attack after attack, trying to counter the big guy's punches. Beyond just physical strength, this was also a way to hone his combat skills.

"Thud... Thud... Thud..."

Woo Zhengyang lost count of how many times he attacked or got knocked back. His outer clothes were completely shredded, leaving only his undershirt intact, which the big guy had deliberately avoided tearing.

From initially being unable to dodge at all, to now being able to evade one punch out of seven or eight, Woo Zhengyang's fighting skills had undoubtedly improved significantly.

As a wave of heat surged through his body, Woo Zhengyang felt his strength increase once more!

"After all this time getting beaten, it's your turn to feel my fists!"

Thinking this, Woo Zhengyang kept his cool and charged at the big guy with the same speed as before.