The Fraudulent Master

Yang Honghui, the branch director of Jiangcheng City's Martial Arts Association, looked at the vice director with visible anxiety and asked:

"It's about to start—why hasn't he arrived yet?"

The vice director hurriedly picked up the phone, dialed Chen Feng's number, and put it on speaker.

"Mr. Chen, where are you now?"

"I’m already at the square. I’ll be right there."

"Hurry up, everyone else is here. We’re just waiting for you."

"Alright, alright, I’m coming."

The call ended.

Yang Honghui had already made a pledge to the headquarters—the live broadcast was scheduled for 9:00 sharp.

Now that the time had come, he couldn’t delay any longer.

He immediately instructed those around him:

"Let’s begin without him!"

After hanging up, Chen Feng couldn’t shake off a strange feeling.

"Wasn’t this just supposed to be a qualification check for opening a martial arts school?"

"Why does it feel like such a rush?"

But the next moment, he ran into trouble.

The entire plaza outside the Martial Arts Association was packed to the brim.

A massive crowd surrounded the stage in front of the building, watching as several figures gradually walked out.

First was Branch Director Yang Honghui.

Then came Xiao Ruohan, her parents, and a student from the War God Martial Arts School.

Following them were several notaries, seated at the side of the stage.

Chen Feng frowned in confusion.

"Why is Xiao Ruohan here too?"

Still, he didn’t dwell on it. He tapped the shoulder of the person in front of him and said:

"Hey, mind letting me through? I need to get in."

The man glanced back at him, scowled, and snapped:

"Seriously? I wanna get in too—who’s gonna let me through?!"

Chen Feng cursed under his breath.

He tried another spot.

"Hey, could you let me pass? I’ve got urgent business inside."

The man turned around with a mocking grin.

"Pfft—we all have urgent business in there. Just wait your turn like everyone else!"

His friends nearby burst into laughter.

Chen Feng sighed.

This time, he approached a young woman.

"Excuse me, miss—could you let me through? It’s important."

The seemingly sweet-looking girl turned, gave his cheap clothes a disdainful once-over, and sneered:

"I have a boyfriend. Don’t bother me."

Chen Feng: "That’s not what I meant—"

"My boyfriend drives a Speed Seven. Got one of those?"

Chen Feng: "Huh?"

……

Meanwhile, in the Martial Arts Association’s official livestream—

The moment it went live, the viewer count skyrocketed.

Yang Honghui stepped forward and addressed both the live audience and the cameras with a speech about the "Zero Qi-Blood Martial Arts School Scandal."

"Ladies and gentlemen, I know everyone is deeply concerned about this matter."

"Many have begun questioning the credibility of our Martial Arts Association."

"But rest assured—we will deal with this egregious incident severely and without leniency."

"Today, we will handle this matter publicly, in front of all of you."

"We will deliver a satisfactory resolution."

Originally, Yang Honghui had planned to start with Chen Feng—

First, test his qi-blood levels, then have Xiao Ruohan present her accusations, and finally announce the punishment on the spot.

Afterward, he’d issue a public apology to quell the online outrage.

But since Chen Feng hadn’t arrived yet, he had no choice but to let Xiao Ruohan take the stage first.

Xiao Ruohan took the microphone.

Facing the cameras, she began reciting her pre-written script.

"Hello everyone, I’m Xiao Ruohan—this year’s Martial Apprentice Division Champion of the Jiangcheng Martial Arts Tournament."

"Today, I’m here to expose my former mentor, Chen Feng of the Chosen Martial Arts School."

"Two and a half years ago, when I first met him, I didn’t realize he was just an ordinary person with zero qi-blood."

"He deceived me into joining his school, wasting over two years of my life."

"Fortunately, I already knew a martial arts technique and practiced it diligently day and night—otherwise, my skills would’ve stagnated."

"But this fraud of a mentor… even stole my technique and learned it for himself."

……

As soon as Xiao Ruohan finished, the crowd erupted in fury.

The live chat flooded with curses directed at Chen Feng.

Meanwhile, outside the crowd, Chen Feng’s expression darkened.

Two and a half years.

Even if his initial intention in taking her as a disciple was to absorb her qi-blood cultivation…

He had still poured his heart into training Xiao Ruohan during that time.

To accelerate her progress, Chen Feng sparred with her daily.

Using his mastery of the "Unity of Heaven and Man" state, he tirelessly guided her, correcting every flaw.

Now, even if their master-disciple bond was broken—

Was it really necessary to slander him like this?

To even accuse him of stealing her technique?

Ridiculous.

Chen Feng couldn’t understand why Xiao Ruohan would go so far, why she’d make things so ugly.

What he didn’t know was that Xiao Ruohan was trapped by her mother’s lies.

She never expected her mother’s careless remarks would blow up into such a massive scandal online.

Now, to protect her image, she had no choice but to keep lying.

After all, she knew Chen Feng’s qi-blood was zero—he couldn’t possibly refute her claims.

Without qi-blood, he couldn’t demonstrate the power of martial techniques.

Meaning he couldn’t prove who the technique truly belonged to.

Even if Chen Feng produced a martial arts manual, she could just claim he stole it from her.

The most important thing was to ensure no one found out her skills came from Chen Feng.

Otherwise, no matter what she said, she’d be guilty of betraying her master.

……

In the orthopedic ward of Jiangcheng Martial Arts Hospital—

Jin Youxi sat by the bed, idly scrolling through her phone.

Liu Weiwei lay on the bed, watching TV.

An awkward silence hung between them.

Since it was a shared ward, other patients and their families were also present, all watching the wall-mounted TV to pass the time.

The broadcast showed the ongoing live coverage of the Martial Arts Association’s public hearing.

The moment the news segment began, Liu Weiwei frowned.

Hearing the broadcast, Jin Youxi closed her phone and looked up.

When Xiao Ruohan’s accusations played through the TV, Jin Youxi couldn’t hold back:

"That’s a lie!"

"Senior Sister is going too far—how could she frame Master like that?!"

Only then did Liu Weiwei realize something was off about this master-disciple pair staying by her bedside.

Xiao Ruohan had clearly cut ties with her master… and the fallout was severe.

From the sound of it, Xiao Ruohan’s words were practically sending her former mentor to prison.

She turned to Jin Youxi and couldn’t help but ask:

"If you’ve already broken ties with Xiao Ruohan… why are you still here with me?"

Jin Youxi blinked, confused.

"What do you mean ‘why’?"

Liu Weiwei pressed further.

"Your master paid for my medical bills and even had you look after me—wasn’t it just to get me to forgive Xiao Ruohan? So she wouldn’t lose her tournament eligibility?"

"Not at all!" Jin Youxi immediately retorted.

"After that match, Senior Sister betrayed our school and joined the War God Martial Arts School!"

"And she didn’t lose her eligibility—the judges ruled your injury as an accidental combat mishap."

Liu Weiwei was stunned.

She hadn’t expected Xiao Ruohan to switch schools.

"Then… if you’ve already severed ties with her, why did you save me?"

Jin Youxi lifted her chin proudly and declared:

"Because my master is a kind, upright, and honorable man!"