"Rumor has it that Garfield took a break from the limelight to cultivate himself. Now that he finished his closed door cultivation, he might have already reached the sixth grade of Skin Refinement!"
"Yes, I heard. And now, the first thing he does after the practice is to find Ricky and take revenge for Hurley. I'm afraid, Ricky might at least lose an arm today."
*
Just then, Garfield walked up to Ricky, cast him a scornful glance and said with disdain, "You're such a loser. In order to beat Hurley, you threatened him with a woman. While at it, you flouted the rules of our sect and broke his arm. If you hadn't been so devious, Hurley wouldn't have lost to you! "
"What? What is Garfield talking about? I was there watching their fight. I didn't see Ricky threaten Hurley with any woman. It seems that Garfield is distorting the truth." So went the conversation in hushed voices among some of the new disciples in the crowd.
"Be careful what you say, newbies. If you still want to stay here, you'd better agree to what Hurley and his friends say now and in the future. Everyone here knows this is one of the unwritten rules," One of the senior disciples warned.
The new disciples nodded their heads without saying a word. Since they were new here, they were glad that someone warned them.
"Hey! Look! I find another lapdog here. If you want to get back at me, go ahead. I don't have time to waste. But I do want to warn you. You might end up losing your legs, or even worse," Ricky sneered. The impertinent manner of Garfield was not something that Ricky would take lying down.
But obstinate as ever, Garfield's face darkened when he heard the word "lapdog."
To the disciples, who were standing behind him, things seemed to get more and more interesting. They knew that Garfield was already fuming with rage.
"Huh? What's wrong? You seem to be very mad. Don't you like being called a 'lapdog'? Sorry, I can't think of other words to describe you now. I think that is the right one." Seeing the furious look on Garfield's face, Ricky was thrilled.
"Ha ha!" Some of the disciples in the crowd couldn't help but laugh at Ricky's response. But they covered their mouths immediately, for fear of getting on Garfield's wrong side.
"Oh boy, you're really mean. I don't think you know who I am. You've picked the wrong guy to tease," warned Garfield in a calm voice. Apparently, he was pretending that what Ricky had said didn't affect him at all. He put on the calmer face than his usual self.
"As your senior, I think I'm obliged to teach you how to behave yourself properly here," Garfield continued.
Even though his face was still expressionless now, everyone could feel the hostility hidden in his eyes.
The next moment, Garfield was readying up for a fight. Before anyone noticed, he threw a punch at Ricky, intending to hit him smack in the face.
Even though Garfield wanted to take Ricky by surprise, Ricky had already seen through him. Compared to the speed of the beasts at the sixth grade of Skin Refinement in the woods, Garfield's was way below par.
Raising his left hand gently, he blocked Garfield's fist quite easily. Returning his own, he caught Garfield straight in the face.
Wincing in pain, Garfield spat out blood. But it was not just blood. To that one blow, he had lost two teeth.
"I never thought that a lapdog would dare pick up a fight without his owner. What makes you think that you can beat me?" Ricky sneered. As soon as he lowered his arms, he once more charged at Garfield, who had stepped back several steps.
Just as he was about to strike again with Whiz Fist, Ricky suddenly sensed someone was shooting him a fierce stare.
"Hey, you loser! Stop!" Someone shouted sharply.
Before Ricky could reach Garfield, his whiz fist was blocked, but not by Garfield. The unexpected third man in white clothes had appeared suddenly, out of nowhere.
The blow was so strong that Ricky still felt pain, even though he had skillfully blocked. Ricky had thought that moving back a few steps to minimize the impact would do just fine. A wrong calculation, as the intervening man walloped him so hard, a sharp pain shot through his arm, all the way to the chest. He feared he too might spit blood, like Garfield.
"Oh! It's Wade!" shouted someone in the crowd. The onlookers were surprised to see him here.
"Hey, hey... Another lapdog? Are you going to pick up a fight with me on behalf of the small lapdog? You can't wait to have a battle of life with me, can you?" Ricky sneered, balancing himself on the ground.
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