Martial Arts Worlds

"See you back in school!"

"Training continues tomorrow!"

After leaving Infinite Dojo behind, Coach Jin and the rest shouted their goodbyes. Kiernan and Julian waved their goodbyes and left through the front door.

They didn't go back with Coach Jin and his van. They decided to walk home instead. They preferred to put their bodies through physical training.

They weren't sure what to think about this kind of training.

While it was pretty cool, they still preferred to do training where their bodies would ache and sweat profusely.

"What did you think about it?"

Julian asked about the Infinite Dojo experience while embracing the passing cold winds of the former winter. It was spring, but still cold.

However, he was slowly getting used to the cold weather, and he quite enjoyed it because it made him feel alive and invigorated.

"I think it was cool. I want to try it more, for sure. I might do solo Punch Ball, increase my ranking, and go against stronger opponents. Maybe that will show the true worth of that training."

Kiernan said, wanting to give it another try at a later date.

While the two walked through the gray streets of Irio, they noticed something happening in the distance, in the square of the bustling marketplace.

The city people were gathered around something. They couldn't see it because their bodies were blocking the sight.

However, every now and then, pissed-looking people walked away, looking grumpy, and stomping away like children throwing a tantrum.

"What's happening there?"

Julian curiously went to check it and managed to tower over the smaller-headed crowd to get a better view.

It was quite an interesting sight.

A serious-looking man was sitting cross-legged on the cold ground. His back was leaning against a chained pillar. The man was built like a shit brickhouse, as if he could punch a hole in a mountain.

The crowd was angrily shouting at him.

"This is a scam, isn't it? A rich reward, my ass. You look like a homeless guy who crawled out of a dumpster!"

"Where is that reward, huh? Why don't you show it? Why are you keeping it a secret?!"

Angered by the lack of response from the man, a brown-haired person walked from the crowd, rolling his sleeves, revealing the bulging veins of his muscles.

"Fine! I'll lift this shitty pillar of yours, and if you don't have my reward ready, I'll swear that I'll punch a hole in you!"

"Haha."

The serious-looking man laughed and looked at the man with a sharp gaze.

"Are you a special one then, I wonder?"

"Of course, I am!"

The brown-haired person arrogantly declared. He then walked to the pillar while the serious-looking man stood up and stepped aside.

The pillar looked heavy. The chains wrapped around it tightly. However, those chains nicely created some holds, which people could use to lift up the pillar.

Without those chains, the people would have to wrap their arms around the pillar, which wasn't possible, of course. It was too wide and probably needed four people at least to wrap their arms around.

"Haaaah!"

The brown-haired person grabbed the chains, one on the left side and one on the right side. That gave him great leverage.

"Haaaaah!"

With his cry of strength, the people on the other side of the street even turned around to look over.

The brown-haired person started trying to lift up the pillar. It didn't budge. It felt like it was rooted into the ground as solidly as a tree.

'W-what? I can't even make it twitch? This is bullshit!'

The brown-haired person's face turned red. He heard some muffled laughter coming from behind him. It angered him.

He stopped trying to lift up the pillar and pointed his finger at the serious-looking man.

"This is a scam! No one could possibly lift this shit! Y-you must've used a forklift or something to bring this over here!"

"Nah. You are simply not special!"

The serious-looking man said with a laugh.

"Shut up!"

The brown-haired threw a fist at the man's face. It missed like a misfired arrow shot from a broken bow. The man dodged effortlessly, his laughter only intensifying.

"Haha, it is not that serious. Does anyone else want to give it a shot?!"

The crowd scoffed. No one seemed to want to give it a try. It was clearly some kind of scam, but it was strange since the man wasn't asking for any money to have a turn.

It didn't seem like he was gaining anything from doing this.

"I want to give it a try!"

An arm was raised behind the crowd. It was a young man, still in his school uniform.

"Alright, come ahead, young one!"

The serious-looking man crossed his arms with a smile. He wasn't going to stop the young man, as he knew that this test wasn't one about strength.

While the young man walked through the crowd, the people around him kept shaking their heads and tried to make him turn around.

Men with full muscles failed to lift up the pillar. A young man, who was still in school, wouldn't stand a chance!

Julian looked at the pillar. He was the one wanting to give it a try. He took a deep breath, grabbed the pillar from its chains, and attempted to lift it with all his might.

The hidden muscles protruded from below his flesh, stretching against the fabric of his uniform. His face turned red with exertion as he strained against the weight.

The pillar… didn't budge.

"Sigh… As expected."

The crowd sighed and shook their heads.

"Oh…"

Disappointed, the serious-looking man shook his head.

"Shit…" Read chapters at My Virtual Library Empire

Julian stopped trying to lift up the pillar and turned around on his heels to walk back to Kiernan, but then noticed that his friend was walking over to him.

"Yo, Kiernan, you want to give it a try?"

Kiernan nodded to Julian's question. He didn't mind giving it a try since it seemed like an interesting challenge.

"Wait, isn't that…?"

"I've seen his face somewhere… Right, that's Kiernan Hunter!"

"Whoah, it is really him!"

After recognizing the young man, the crowd turned wild with excitement. The entire square buzzed with chatter and whispers as everyone tried to get a closer look.

"Ah?"

The serious-looking man rubbed his chiseled jawline. It looked like an interesting young man just came to check out this challenge.

Kiernan faced the chained pillar, rubbed his hands together, and then slowly reached out towards the pillar.