chapter 11 humiliate oneself

"First Stage Martial Technique, Hundred Arms Fist, had already been practiced to such an impressive extent!" Exclamations resounded throughout the hallways. Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that Israel was performing a First Stage Martial Technique. Although Hundred Arms Fist was only a First Stage Martial Technique, when practiced and perfected to a higher level, it would be an extremely powerful technique. When at the same level of cultivation, if a cultivator does not have a corresponding great Martial Technique to combat the Hundred Arms Fist, that cultivator is bound to be defeated. Therefore, everyone was confident that Archie was bound to lose. Zariah tightened her brows and stealthily took two steps forward in an effort to prevent Israel from dealing a life-threatening blow to Archie. "Zariah, spectators are not allowed to render any aid when watching a battle. You are aware of this rule, right?" At this moment, a voice rang out by Zariah's ears. Turning around abruptly in shock, Zariah found Warren staring at her, breaking into a sly smile. Zariah screamed internally in distress. She was not expecting Warren to be this despicable and be keeping tabs on her every move in secret, rendering her incapable of interfering with the battle. Warren's constant attention on her also confirmed her worst fear: both Israel and Warren would definitely not let Archie off the hook that easily. This made Zariah even more worried about Archie's safety. "Swish, swish, swish" The barrage of fists formed a mirage that almost completely blocked Archie's sight. The attack was like a bullet whizzing through the wind, aimed straight at Archie. Archie was aware that Israel packed a punch. Israel's attack had devastating destruction abilities and it was evident that he was not holding back at all, revealing his murderous intentions. Despite this, Archie was not afraid at all. He stood his ground on the spot in resolute, awaiting the impending attack without any intention of dodging. "Is Archie stupid? Why is he not dodging the attack," one of the spectators commented. "I bet he wants to dodge it, but can he? Given his lowly abilities, he probably has not even reacted to whatever is unfolding in front of him," someone else chimed in. "That is true, he is a worthless piece of trash who has been stuck at the Outer Sect for five years," came the reply. Seeing Archie face the imminent danger head-on, many thought that Archie's lack of reaction was due to being scared to death by Israel's sheer power. They all broke out in cocky smirks at the thought of Archie's impending failure. "Swish!" Just as Israel was about to lend a blow on Archie, Archie abruptly spread his arms in an outward stretch, the long sleeves of his robe swinging outwards as a powerful aura burst out from his body. As the powerful aura started expanding to the rest of the fight area, Israel became stunned momentarily. Beneath the aura, he had felt a significant murderous intent. "Swash!" In the short duration that Israel was stunned, Archie had already retaliated with his palm. The speed of his palm was so fast that before anyone could react, Archie's fist had already landed on Israel's chest. After receiving the sudden strike from Archie, Israel suddenly felt the rapid dispersing of energy from his body, and a sharp pain started developing at his chest area. "Swash, swash, swash." Before Israel could react, Archie had already started channeling his energy to his palms, ready for his subsequent attack. "Whoa," Israel yelled, his legs jellying and he fell directly to his knees in front of Archie, lying weakly on the ground unable to stand. "You..." The people watching the scene unfold in front of them were stunned because they never could have imagined that Archie would ever have such explosive power. What they were also unaware of was that such explosive power was the result of Archie holding back his abilities. Had he gone full out, Archie could have beaten Israel to death with just a single strike! "You are at Spiritual Martial Fourth Level," Gregory exclaimed, his eyes that were deadlocked on Archie widening in astonishment. "What? Spiritual Martial Fourth Level," whispers broke out amongst the crowd. As soon as Gregory said these words, the onlookers finally realized that it was actually possible to defeat a cultivator of Spiritual Martial Third Level without Martial Techniques: purely through the strength of a cultivator of Spiritual Martial Fourth Level. However, what was unbelievable to people amongst the crowd was the association of "Spiritual Martial Fourth Level" with Archie. It was difficult for them to accept the fact that the "trash" had such power. Not to mention the onlookers, Zariah herself was shocked beyond words. Her eyes widened in astonishment as her jaw dropped straight down to the ground. Ignoring the wave of flabbergasted expressions and jaw-dropping astonishment, Archie walked straight to the table to collect his three Immortal Spirit Grass prize before heading straight for the door, unfazed. "Stop right there! This was supposed to be a friendly match. How could you be so cruel with your every move out to kill? What is your intention?" At this moment, a sharp shriek resounded within the halls. Archie casually glanced towards the direction of the sound in contempt. The one who spoke was Warren, who had lifted Israel up from the ground and was supporting Israel by his shoulders. Warren's face was ridden with fury. He could not bear for his brother to be trashed so badly to such a dire state. "What? So suddenly I am regarded as a member of the Christopher family now? Surely that was not what you mentioned previously before," Archie smiled sarcastically before continuing, "Besides, it is as you said: the attacks are merciless and anyone can get hurt in the process. If anyone gets injured, they should not complain. So what is all the fuss about now? You cannot afford to lose?" "Bullshit! What do you mean I cannot afford to lose? It was obvious that you were intentionally being unnecessarily cruel," Israel bellowed while gritting his teeth in an attempt to endure the pain. As the individual involved, he was well aware that Archie could have easily defeated him with a single strike, but Archie hit him several consecutive times instead. It was evident that Archie had wanted to embarrass him intentionally. Hearing Israel's reply, Archie smiled again, proclaiming, "Well I am sorry. I have just entered Spiritual Martial Fourth Level myself, and may not know the true extent of my own strength." "And since your Martial Technique displayed was so powerful, I naturally did not dare to underestimate your abilities, hence I had to react to your attack with all my strength," Archie continued. "Who would have thought that you were actually just a paper tiger, a weak poser so weak and so vulnerable that you can be defeated in just a single blow? Such a shame, and to think that I thought so highly of you," Archie said. "You..." After hearing Archie's comments about himself, Israel's face turned pale, his blood boiling in extreme rage. He wished he could find a spot to hide from all the embarrassment. Not only was he defeated by the publicly declared loser, but he was also humiliated in public out in the open. The ignominy of being defeated in front of so many pairs of eyes was unbearable. However, no matter how unwilling, he had nothing to say and no reason to refute as the rules were indeed established by both his two brothers just now. "Archie, do not be too arrogant. If you have the guts, fight me!" At this moment, another Christopher family member stood up. "Oh? You also would like to compete with me? Sure thing! Similarly, we will use your Immortal Spirit Grass as a bet. Do you dare to take the gamble," Archie shot back, stretching his hand out towards the man. "You..." Like Israel, this man had joined the Green Dragon Sect at around the same time as Archie, but his strength was not even close to that of Israel's. This man would have gladly taken Archie on if he was asked to, but having to make a bet with his own Immortal Spirit Grass, he definitely did not have the guts to. "So? If anyone else wants to come forward to challenge me, please do! As long as you are willing to bet on your Immortal Spirit Grass." Archie took a look around the halls at everyone, but no one dared to look at him in the eye. They were not afraid of Archie, however, none could afford the risk and bet on their own Immortal Spirit Grass, which was their lifeblood. "Archie, you better not go too far," Gregory finally spoke. "Oh? So Elder Brother Gregory would also want to compete with me? If my memory serves me right, you should be five years older than me," Archie said. "If you do not mind being gossiped about picking on and bullying the younger ones of the family, I would not mind going ahead and taking on the gamble with you. Anyway, I would not be ashamed if I lost. If I win, I will make a lot of money, right," Archie continued. After hearing what Archie Chu said, Gregory clenched his fists in anger but said no more. This was because what Archie said was right. After all, his identity within the family was neither that of Warren nor Israel, who were almost the same age as Archie. He was different. He was no longer a young man. Given his age, even if he were to defeat Archie, he would still be gossiped about. Hence, Gregory's hands were tied and he could not take any action at all. Seeing that most of the people in the hall had lowered their heads, Archie suddenly smiled. He beamed happily, but just before leaving, he proclaimed, "Before I leave, let me gift to you two life lessons. First, self-righteousness, and second, self-humiliation. Regarding the meaning of these lessons, I am sure you will be able to work out the intricate, profound meaning of these lessons on your own." After finishing his statement, Archie laughed and walked right out through the doors of the mansion. The atmosphere in the mansion became extremely awkward. The aim was initially meant to embarrass Archie, however, instead of doing so, they were insulted instead, in front of several outsiders no less. This made members of the Christopher Family feel as though they had no dignity left. The most unacceptable fact throughout this whole fiasco was Archie's strength. The Christopher Family had originally thought that Archie was the most useless person in the family, but now, he had actually broken into Spiritual Martial Fourth Level. This meant that Archie's cultivation level had surpassed many of the people in the family, making these people extremely ashamed. As Archie walked merrily out of the mansion, he was feeling extremely exuberant. He had been constantly bullied by these people since childhood times. Today, he finally got back at them all in a single shot and took his vengeance! Furthermore, his method of revenge was so mild that it should not even be counted as bullying. Archie simply forced their hand, but regardless, Archie was still extremely happy and satisfied with the outcome. "Brother Archie!" Before Archie had gone far from the mansion, a sweet, pleasant-sounding voice rang out from behind. The person who called out to Archie was Zariah.