The Legend of the Condor Heroes: From Being Expelled from Peach Blossom Island

Chapter 393 Iron-Armed Maitreya
After transmigrating, Wu Chengyu only participated in two arenas, both of which were related to power struggles with the upper echelons, and he was somewhat concerned with decorum and rules.

Today, this arena is just like a stage for actors. The fighters are waiting to be sold, and a bunch of roughnecks are fighting to the death on the stage, hoping to be noticed by some noble family and become their bodyguards. This is the common way out for martial arts practitioners.

For martial arts practitioners in the Jianghu, there are only a few paths to take: either join a sect or a gang. Those at the bottom of the martial arts world, or those skilled individuals who run their own gangs without much influence, have to rely on princes and nobles. At the very least, they can get a full meal from some local gentry.

They do not engage in production, but wander the world. When they enter a tavern, they order two catties of beef and ten catties of wine. But that's all fake. Not to mention whether they even have beef, where do they get the money?

Wu Chengyu, this street hustler, never acted coy when he was broke. He would just find some rich and unscrupulous gentry and merchants to rob the rich and give to the poor. If he encountered someone who had blood debts owed to the common people, he would simply send them to their death. The money he took was no longer robbing the rich and giving to the poor, but was called funeral expenses.

Today he's playing a role again, this time as an unknown nobody who has no food and wants to seek refuge with the Jin dynasty nobles.

When the waiter heard Wu Chengyu's words, his eyes lit up. He looked him up and down again. He had a middle-aged face that looked somewhat humiliated and dejected. He was not short, but he did not show any signs of being a master. His travel-worn appearance clearly indicated that he was an outsider who had just arrived in Daxing City.

Countless people like this die on the ring every day. The Juxian Guild Hall has always welcomed all comers, treating it as a way to entertain the dignitaries here. As for whether they will find gold in the dung, that can only be discussed after the fight is over and the person is still alive.

"You're really lucky, sir. The last arena match has just ended, and the person who will fight in the next arena hasn't been decided yet. If you're in a hurry, I'll register you right now. Then we'll see you dominate the arena and make a bright future."

Wu Chengyu remained noncommittal and followed the waiter to a corner to sit down. The waiter brought him some tea and snacks, which were free as long as he was willing to fight.

After a moment, the waiter came over with a big smile: "I've made an exception for you, sir. You're the one for the next round."

Wu Chengyu looked up and suddenly laughed, "The gang has found someone willing to go on stage to fight, so you'll definitely benefit from it too."

"Thanks to you, sir, as long as I can introduce a master to the stage, I will receive one tael of silver regardless of victory or defeat. If you win, I will receive five taels."

Wu Chengyu nodded. This was no different from the taxi drivers who solicited customers to certain places in his previous life. No wonder the waiter didn't fawn over him when he saw that he was dressed plainly. In their eyes, the people who came here were either big spenders or commodities, and all of them deserved to be treated seriously.

It's just that medical technology isn't advanced enough now; otherwise, the corpses of those people who were beaten to death would probably be very valuable goods.

"May I ask your name, sir? Do you have any impressive title? You won't be lacking in presence when you go on stage later."

"My name is Tian Boguang, and I am known in the martial arts world as the Lone Wanderer."

Before long, the arena match was about to begin. A group of gamblers gathered around the arena, and a group of richly dressed young men appeared upstairs, each with a girl in his arms, their faces excited, ready to watch a good show.

The waiter, having received a kickback from Wu Chengyu, approached him and offered a brief suggestion.

"Sir, today's champion is quite remarkable. Known as Iron-Armed Maitreya, he has already won two consecutive matches in our guild and has gained the favor of Prince Zhao's mansion. According to the rules of the guild, after winning three consecutive matches, he will become a guard under Prince Zhao's mansion, with a promising future."

This man is highly skilled in martial arts and ruthless. He killed his two previous opponents on the spot, a truly gruesome sight. Sir, you must be careful.

His odds are currently 1 to 1, while yours are only 1 to 30. Nobody's optimistic about you right now.

Wu Chengyu nodded: "Don't we need to sign a waiver of liability before going on stage? What will happen if we kill someone?"

"Sir, you flatter us. This is the Gathering of Heroes Hall. As long as you are willing to step into the ring, you will fight to the death without complaint. Our hall can afford to take the loss of a few lives."

"Here's a suggestion: use the one or two taels of silver you just got to bet on me to win. Consider it a stroke of good fortune on my part."

Soon, gongs were struck on the first floor of the hall, just like the underground boxing matches in later movies and TV dramas. Someone went on stage to introduce the two fighters, and when they mentioned the Iron-Armed Maitreya, everyone cheered.

Soon, the champion, Iron-Armed Maitreya, stepped onto the stage. He was shirtless, bald, and wearing a headband. Most importantly, he was covered in fat, with his arms as thick as a normal person's thighs. His belly was ridiculously large, with a waist circumference of at least six feet. Wu Chengyu had never seen such a large beer belly in his previous life.

Judging by its size alone, this guy must weigh at least 300 pounds. Wu Chengyu has never fought such a fat guy in all these years.

When Wu Chengyu took the stage, he was met with boos from the crowd. But when they saw his appearance, everyone burst into laughter. No one thought he was a master; Lei Datou's appearance was simply not that of a master.

The people around were shouting, hoping that the next second they would see Wu Chengyu beaten to a pulp on the stage, blood splattered everywhere, screaming and wailing, and finally dying miserably on the stage. Only then could these people get the greatest sensory satisfaction.

A place where brothels, gambling dens, and underground boxing matches converge will always reveal the greatest evils of human nature.

Wu Chengyu ignored the boos from those around him, only thinking to himself that if a young girl in a bikini with bunny ears were walking around holding a sign, that would be just right. The ancients were never as good at having fun as modern people.

With the sound of the gong, the arena match finally began. The Iron-Armed Maitreya on the opposite side grinned, his ugly face filled with ferocity.

"I didn't expect to be up in the third round with such a little thing as you. It's a bit of a disappointment. I don't know how many of you I killed when I was wandering the martial world. I really have no interest in you."

"But don't worry, I won't kill you quickly. These nobles paid to watch the fight; if you die too soon, it would spoil their enjoyment. Kid, I'll let you have a go; this is your last chance."

Wu Chengyu was too lazy to speak. The guy opposite him also didn't interest him. He was just thinking about what kind of martial arts style to use this time. He knew too many and had too many choices, which was a bit of a headache.

He had already used the Gale Leg Technique in Western Xia, and the Raging Tide Palm Technique had never been his favorite. He had not yet formally practiced the martial arts of the Free and Unfettered Sect. The Great Subduing Demon Fist and the Canhe Finger were really using a sledgehammer to crack a nut when dealing with the fat man in front of him.

As for the Bone-Dissolving Grappling Technique, this technique has long been on the Jin Kingdom's blacklist. Most importantly, it's really difficult to use the Bone-Dissolving Grappling Technique on this fat guy in front of us. He's all flesh and can't touch the bone at all.

However, he quickly laughed at himself. He didn't really need any special moves against this kind of opponent. With his current martial arts skills, any move he made would be incredibly powerful.

When Wu Chengyu heard that Iron-Armed Maitreya wanted to give him a chance, he didn't hold back. He immediately launched himself forward, leaning back with his waist like a bow, and bent his right knee to strike straight at the attacker.

Iron-Armed Maitreya actually grinned maliciously, neither dodging nor avoiding, and even puffed out his belly, taking Wu Chengyu's knee strike head-on.

Wu Chengyu did not use his internal energy this time, and even only used 40% of his physical strength. This knee strike had a force of about 400 to 500 jin. If an ordinary martial artist took this knee strike head-on, he would probably vomit blood on the spot.

This time, however, Wu Chengyu's eyes showed a hint of surprise. His knees pressed against the belly of the Iron-Armed Maitreya, and at first, they felt weak and unable to exert any force. Then, he felt the big belly generate a suction force that pulled away his strength and even firmly sucked his legs to his body, making it impossible for him to break free.

Maitreya Belly? Wu Chengyu immediately understood. This was a technique inherited from Buddhism, and it was also a defensive technique. Unlike the Golden Bell Cover, it followed the principle of using softness to overcome hardness.

Among the martial arts manuals that Wu Chengyu obtained from the Murong family was this one, but he never thought of practicing it. This kind of technique makes you fatter the more you practice it, and the bigger your belly, the stronger it becomes. Practicing this martial art would definitely ruin your image, so how could you attract the favor of female knights in the martial arts world?

He never expected to run into someone like that today, someone he had previously underestimated.

Originally, I thought that the Iron-Armed Maitreya practiced external martial arts, but little did I know that Maitreya's Belly was a genuine Buddhist internal martial arts technique. The fact that this fat man could block 40% of my physical strength showed that his internal strength foundation was extraordinary, which was enough to put him in the category of a second-rate master.

Even top-tier experts can be caught off guard if they make a rash move without knowing the other party's background and are sucked in by the other party's large belly.

So this guy's so-called letting Wu Chengyu have one move was actually a trap. He must have used this trick to fool many people before.

After using his belly to suck Wu Chengyu in, the Iron-Armed Maitreya revealed a fierce glint in his eyes and a ferocious expression. He stretched out his arms to grab Wu Chengyu's shoulders.

But the next second, Iron-Armed Maitreya was stunned. He was confident that his upper arm had several hundred pounds of strength and that he had practiced Iron Arm Kung Fu. Ordinary swords and knives could hardly hurt him. In the past, if he caught an opponent, he would immediately render the opponent unable to move and let him slaughter them obediently.

Unexpectedly, Wu Chengyu's right leg was still stuck in his stomach, yet he casually reached out and grabbed his arms. The strength he used to be so proud of was now useless, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't move an inch.

Now Iron-Armed Maitreya finally realized he had met his match. Who would have thought that this skinny, seemingly lowly guy was actually much stronger than him? Even his iron arm couldn't withstand the other's hands and was about to be crushed on the spot.

He was extremely experienced in martial arts and wanted to break free from Wu Chengyu's control immediately. So he used another move of Maitreya's Belly. Since he could hold his opponent in place, he could also bounce him away. Moreover, this bounce carried his internal energy that he had cultivated for many years, which was definitely not to be underestimated.

Those who were repelled by him would become weak and powerless to fight under the influence of this internal force.

But who knew that just as he was about to use his internal energy to push Wu Chengyu's leg away, Wu Chengyu preemptively pulled his knee back. The previous suction force seemed to have completely disappeared at this moment, as if his belly was just useless fat.

Wu Chengyu used the Eel Technique, and the invisible force field on his body surface was like a lubricant, automatically canceling out the suction force on his stomach.

The current situation is that Iron-Armed Maitreya is standing face to face with Wu Chengyu, his face filled with panic, and he is helpless as Wu Chengyu holds his arms in his hands.

The two were very different in stature. Wu Chengyu was like standing in front of a wall of flesh, and his figure could not be seen at all from behind the Iron-Armed Maitreya.

Iron-Armed Maitreya soon let out a shrill scream, and the audience outside the arena was stunned. They only saw that his arms were forcibly pulled off by Wu Chengyu, and blood spurted out on the scene.

With his iron arm gone, the Iron-Armed Maitreya was in so much pain that he even forgot to run away.

Wu Chengyu then tested how much force his Maitreya belly could withstand with a simple straight punch, using all the strength of his more than 1,000 jin of body weight, and concentrating that strength into a single point, striking the iron-armed Maitreya's belly once more.

This time, his stomach could no longer bear it, and Wu Chengyu's arm pierced directly into his abdominal cavity, shattering his internal organs.

As the Iron-Armed Maitreya's over 300-pound body slammed heavily onto the arena, the surrounding crowd fell silent, except for Wu Chengyu who quietly uttered a single sentence.

"next."

　Line maintenance or power outage? It's getting late writing this; this is only the first chapter. I'll hurry and finish the next one.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)