Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 630 - 629: Easy Suppression

Tian Peng observed Deputy General Chen’s expression impassively. Although Chen’s boasting annoyed him somewhat, Chen had been extremely composed since entering the field, and his gaze carried seriousness, as if the man across him wasn’t the newly appointed General who Guards the Northwest, but an enemy of the Great Tang.

The two circled each other for two rounds in the arena before Deputy General Chen took the initiative to attack. He charged at Tian Peng with a fist clenched in one hand. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

This first strike wasn’t aimed at the face, which showed that although he might look down on Tian Peng a bit, he still remembered his rank.

If he had aimed for the face and missed, it wouldn’t have mattered much, but had he hit his mark and Tian Peng were a petty man, Chen couldn’t be sure that there wouldn’t be retaliation in the future.

Deputy General Chen’s blow aimed at Tian Peng’s left side below the waist, a tricky spot to reach, especially since he chose the moment when they were closest to each other.

Normally, one would guard their face first, paying less attention to other directions. Moreover, when at such close quarters on the left side below the waist, even attempting to block with your hand would be difficult.

If it had been an ordinary person, they might have truly been hit by this punch.

Alas, Tian Peng was no ordinary person, and he managed this punch without any trouble.

As Tian Peng dodged Deputy General Chen’s strike with a sidestep, he seized the moment to grab Chen’s punching hand and trap it under his armpit. With a strong pull, Chen was about to be thrown to the ground.

In the moment Chen was pulled down, he immediately changed his tactics, stretching out with a Sweeping Leg, determined to bring Tian Peng down with him.

But Tian Peng was no easy target. With every attack from Chen, Tian Peng had already thought of several responses to counter the next move.

As Deputy General Chen’s Sweeping Leg shot out, Tian Peng stepped on his ankle.

Ankles, unlike thighs, have almost no flesh on them; they are joint areas with prominent bones.

Tian Peng judged the weight of his foot carefully, making sure it was not so light that Chen had room to maneuver, nor so heavy that he might injure Chen’s ankle.

Tian Peng remembered that they were only sparring; regardless of any personal grudges, they were on the same side, their conflicts minor in the grander scheme of things. They shared a common enemy in the Turkic tribes, so there was no need to dwell on such small matters.

Once the fight was over, it would be over. Tian Peng just needed his own prestige to show the others that he was not just for show, there was no need to hold a grudge against them.

When Deputy General Chen’s first strike was dodged by Tian Peng, he was quite surprised. He hadn’t expected Zhu Ganglie to have some skill, to actually dodge his blow,

Considering that his own strike was the quintessential surprise attack, so effective that sometimes even the Flag Escort General couldn’t dodge it, yet this young General managed to sidestep it.

But no matter, it was just one blow, and perhaps it was just a fluke.

After all, the young man’s faster reflexes weren’t all that astonishing; Chen still had another move up his sleeve.

Deputy General Chen had practiced this Sweeping Leg, which could be considered his killing move.

Because of its low stance and quick execution, no one standing could dodge his Sweeping Leg, not even after one attempt; they certainly couldn’t evade the second or third. His signature technique was the Chain Sweeping Leg, prevailing with its speed, precision, ferocity, and repetition.

He had just unleashed the first move of his Sweeping Leg when suddenly he heard the soldiers outside the arena all inhale sharply.

Deputy General Chen smiled. Just as he had expected, this young general might have dodged one strike, but he definitely wouldn’t be able to avoid his Sweeping Leg technique.

There was a reason why he had risen from a common foot soldier to his current position as Deputy General, starting from nothing but a civilian background.

He was a straightforward man, not one for honeyed words. If it wasn’t for his superior martial skills, he might just still be at the lower ranks.

It was precisely because of his own efforts that he looked down even more on Zhu Ganglie.

Even though they both started as commoners, how did Zhu receive such luck to participate in a martial exam with little substantive value and even secure the position of martial arts champion? That was the kind of dumb luck one could only dream of, the kind one couldn’t stumble into even if they ate dog poop.

But presumably those above him knew well about the lack of merit behind his title of martial arts champion. So what if he was the martial arts champion? He hadn’t even warmed up to his title before they sent him off to the Northwest.

Therefore, what isn’t truly yours can’t stick to you. Even if good fortune landed him this position, he wouldn’t be able to hold onto it for long.

Deputy General Chen had originally looked down on putting together a welcoming banquet. Or rather, such merry events were usually held in the barracks after the person’s arrival to get to know each other over a meal; that was considered a proper welcome.

However, when he heard that the new General who Guards the Northwest was a youth who hadn’t even come of age, and that his honor was gained through an insubstantial martial exam, Deputy General Chen couldn’t help but feel contempt for this general.

Everyone clawed their way up step by step. You neither have a powerful father nor impressive skills. Why should you get such a good position first just because you’re lucky?

So when Governor Chen mentioned the welcoming banquet, Deputy General Chen was the first to jump out. He also strongly agreed with Governor Chen’s suggestion, and together with Deputy Commandant Zhang and Tribune Zhao, they decided to go welcome the young general.

The intent was to show him where he stood, but it turned out that the young general had an unexpectedly formidable presence.

Everyone was momentarily stunned, and it wasn’t until they arrived at the barracks that they realized the original purpose of the banquet was to put the young general in his place.

Deputy General Chen snapped back to reality at the instant everyone gasped. Regaining his senses, he didn’t see the young general knocked down by his attack. Instead, he found that his own foot was stuck.

"What’s going on, what did I just see? He actually caught Deputy General Chen’s Sweeping Leg!" a soldier exclaimed quietly from below.

The soldier’s voice had only come out as a reflexive whisper, but the arena was so quiet that even though he whispered, more than half of the people heard it.

"I really didn’t expect it. I thought our General Zhu would be defeated by Deputy General Chen, but he managed to restrain Deputy General Chen in just two moves," said another soldier.

At the start of the contest, half of them were there to see this young general’s capabilities, and the other half were there for the excitement of watching Deputy General Chen defeat the young general.

After all, they had all witnessed Deputy General Chen’s prowess, who sometimes even outperformed the Great General. They naturally did not think this youth, who had not yet come of age, would win.

"You actually caught my kick?" Deputy General Chen was also very surprised. It seemed that Zhu Ganglie was not as weak as he had imagined, and indeed possessed some level of skill.