Apex War God

Cellblock 68 was the lowest-leveled area in the Smoke Signal Mountain Prison and home to thousands of inmates. Most were ordinary people, and though many were Foot Soldiers, most of those inmates had only reached the Inferior Grade. Medial Grade Foot Soldiers were strong enough to rule as gang bosses in the area.

How else could Wang Yan and Centipede have acquired so much power, representing two of the prison’s big shots?

The other cellblocks contained stronger prisoners with hasher offenses. Block 68’s inmates were nothing in comparison.

Meanwhile, Yang Wu and Skinny Monkey led ten-odd prisoners in search of Bei Zi.

It did not take long to find the man. A plain-looking man in his thirties, Bei Zi lounged lazily on a rock, a stalk of hay hanging from his lips. Clearly, this man did not fear the guards.

When he saw the approaching crowd, including Yang Wu and Skinny Monkey, he raised his eyes and continued chewing the straw. He did not seem to pay them any mind.

“Bei Zi, block 68 belongs to the Wuhou Gang from now on. You will kneel and pay your respects,” Skinny Monkey shouted, pointing at the man with his crowbar.

Skinny Monkey had wanted to name the gang Wu Monkey. He wanted the gang’s name associated with Yang Wu, which was why he used “Wu.” Since he was the boss, at least on the surface, he had wanted to use “Monkey” from his nickname, as well. However, when he told Yang Wu, the latter replaced “Monkey” with “hou.”

The word for monkey and hou sounded the same, but Wuhou and Wu Monkey had two completely different meanings. Yang Wu wanted to be conferred a marquis (hou), so he changed it to this character.

[TL Note: The Wu is Yang Wu means martial. The hou in Wuhou means marquis. So the literal translation of Wuhou would be martial marquis or Marquis Wu. If you used the character for monkey, it would be martial monkey or fighting monkey.]

“What is the Wuhou Gang?” Bei Zi asked disdainfully, cleaning an ear with a finger.

“It looks like the soft approach won’t work with you. Guess we’ll have to use force. I’ll take you down!” Skinny Monkey yelled, running toward Bei Zi with his crowbar in hand.

To prisoners, the end justified the means. Thus, Skinny Monkey did not wait for Bei Zi to defend himself. Jumping one’s enemy here was fair play, and Skinny Monkey had to prove himself in battle. He could not always rely on Yang Wu.

The young cultivator struck without mercy, sending the strength of five stones hurling toward Bei Zi.

But the man did not seem to care about the incoming attack; his guard had already been up for a while. He easily leaped out of the way, and snatching up his crowbar, Bei Zi swung at his opponent. “Who do you think you are, trying to conquer block 68?”

Far stronger than Skinny Monkey, Bei Zi commanded eight stones of strength, fighting like the Medial Grade Foot Soldier he was. With one swing, he almost knocked Skinny Monkey’s weapon out of the younger man’s hands.

Fortunately, Skinny Monkey’s willpower was incredible, and he could take a beating. With gritted teeth, he continued to parry the attacks. He would not admit defeat!

Clang, clang!

The crowbars crossed, scattering sparks.

Skinny Monkey was at a disadvantage, and Bei Zi landed several glancing blows, leaving vicious scratches. It was apparent that Skinny Monkey would soon lose this fight.

“Young master, Skinny Monkey! He’s in trouble!” Xiaoman cried, tugging at Yang Wu’s sleeve.

“It’s alright,” he assured her. “If he can’t get through this, he will have a hard time keeping control of this area,” Yang Wu said softly.

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Indeed, the dozen inmates who had come with them did not respect Skinny Monkey. Rather, they expressed their faint awe for Yang Wu, fully aware that he was the Wuhou Gang’s true leader.

Many prisoners, all of whom followed Bei Zi, had arrived on the scene by now and surrounded the fight to watch. As the man stood on the brink of victory, they all cheered.

“You trash! How dare you bring your insolence before me? I don’t know how you managed to defeat Wang Yan and Centipede!” Bei Zi caught an opening in Skinny Monkey’s defense and kicked him hard in the stomach, sending him sliding back.

The older man did not hesitate, darting toward his opponent for a finishing blow.

But Skinny Monkey rolled to his feet, ignoring his injuries. He seemed to calm down a little as he recalled his training over the past two days. Yang Wu’s attacks were far more difficult to parry than Bei Zi’s, yet he could barely cope with one or two hits. How was this man beating him so quickly? He refused to accept such an outcome!

“I can’t dishonor my big brother. I won’t lose!” Skinny Monkey’s eyes burned with an almost demonic passion, practically glowing and striking fear in the audience. The look even shocked Bei Zi, who was about to pounce, though it did not stop his advance. He wanted nothing more than his opponent’s death.

Suddenly, Skinny Monkey could calculate Bei Zi’s attack trajectory. He kicked off the ground, throwing himself backward like a nimble monkey while waving his crowbar, which cast a shadowy light over the older man.

Dark Clouds Covering the Sky…!

Skinny Monkey had practiced this move hundreds of times over the past few days, reaching the Established stage. Although he was not yet Proficient, he displayed an inexplicable understanding of the technique.

This was a substantially powerful Superior Grade Warrior Class combat technique, and it caught Bei Zi by surprise. The man had not expected Skinny Monkey to know any techniques, and he certainly had not thought the younger fighter would notice the openings in his defense. Thus, he had no time to protect himself, and he cried out as Skinny Monkey landed a merciless blow.

“Ahhh!”

Bei Zi was significantly stronger than Skinny Monkey, but the youth’s full-powered strike was nothing to sneeze at. Blood flew from his shoulder as the flesh ripped, exposing bone, and he screamed in pain like a dying pig.

His eyes still glowing, Skinny Monkey did not slow his assault. He refused to give Bei Zi any chance to turn the fight back around.

The inmates watching the fight began to shout, “Let’s jump them together! We can’t let Boss Bei get in trouble!”

The prisoners began to rush toward the fight, but one man was faster than the rest even as he carried with him a heavy chain. He headed straight for Skinny Monkey, but the movement warned the young man of his approach.

Yang Wu’s training over the past few days had significantly improved Skinny Monkey’s reaction time. Backing off from Bei Zi, Skinny Monkey raised his crowbar to meet his new enemy.

Clang!

The crowbar flew from Skinny Monkey’s hands as blood burst from his mouth. He stumbled back a few steps before collapsing to the ground.

The man who had struck Skinny Monkey did not pursue the young man, but stopped and laughed. “Haha! You are so weak, not even worth a second strike! If Wang Yan and Centipede hadn’t had such powerful backers, I would’ve replaced them long ago!”

The rest of the prisoners backed away, respectfully referring to the new fighter as “Boss Fei.”

Fei Leng was a one-armed Superior Grade Foot Soldier and resident of the prison for the past three months. Normally, someone of his caliber would have been sent to an area with more serious offenders, but he had been placed in block 68 due to his disability.

Fei Leng’s support was precisely the reason Bei Zi had become a small-time gang leader.

Fei Leng was not too prominent a figure in block 68. Due to his missing arm and knowing his limits, he had no desire to fight for the right to rule over the area. Moreover, of the prison’s seven big shots, the weakest had reached the Warrior Realm. He, on the other hand, was just a wounded man who did not want to cause trouble.

At least, that had been the case until Skinny Monkey had defeated Centipede and Wang Yan, trying to unite the cellblock under one power. Since both Bei Zi and Fei Leng refused, this had happened.

Now that Fei Leng had shown up and defeated Skinny Monkey with a single blow, the prisoners that followed him cried out.

“Boss Fei is so powerful! He knocked that guy out with one hit!”

“Kill him, Boss Fei! You are block 68’s true boss!”

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Fei Leng glanced at the young man on the ground, then at Yang Wu and the others. Smiling, he asked, “Did you hear that? From now on, I, Fei Leng, rule this cellblock. Bring me all of the Scarlet Steel Rock you’ve collected, or you’ll share his fate.”

Without warning, the man darted toward his fallen opponent, intending to make an example of Skinny Monkey.

But Skinny Monkey was stubborn. Fearlessly, he got to his feet and prepared to face the attack head-on. However, someone slid between him and Fei Leng, addressing the one-armed man, “Disabled one, I urge you to stand by my brother’s side.”

Hearing the words “disabled one,” Fei Leng glared at the man before him. He snarled, “Do you have any idea what I do to people who call me that, you little bastard? I kill them! Kneel, obey, and beg forgiveness for your mistake! I might be willing to give you a painless death. Refuse, and I’ll tear you limb from limb!”

[TL Note: The Chinese believe that one requires their corpse to be intact and together for their souls to reincarnate. Otherwise, they would be doomed to wander the world as ghosts.]

“Threatening a viscount is a capital crime!” Yang Wu snarled condescendingly.

“Viscount? If you’re a viscount, then I’m an count!” Fei Leng spat. He paused before adding, “I’ll give you three breaths to kneel before me.”

“I say the same. Kneel, surrender, and I’ll spare you some of the suffering for your offense,” Yang Wu insisted.

“Then you shall die!” Fei Leng did not waste his breath arguing as he aimed his crowbar for Yang Wu’s skull.

Fei Leng already put twelve stones of strength behind his swing, though he commanded fourteen at full power.

The other inmates were well aware of how powerful the man was, and they sneered as they waited for the blow to crack open Yang Wu’s skull.

However, what happened next shocked them all.

Before the crowbar connected, Yang Wu’s weapon sliced through the air, reaching its target first. The flash of movement radiated a black glow as the crowbar smashed into the older man’s head.

“Ahh!”

Fei Leng screamed, blood flowing down his face. The man would have died if Yang Wu had put more force behind the attack.

“On your knees!” Yang Wu’s feet moved like the wind, kicking Fei Leng’s feet out from under him and dropping him to his knees with a thud.

Meanwhile, Xiaoman’s eyes sparkled as she watched Yang Wu. She could only think, My young master is so cool!

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