After a moment of shock, Li Heping came to his senses.
The Jinling Zhao Family's decision seemed unbelievable at first, but upon reflection, it made perfect sense.
They were getting absolutely thrashed by Zhao Yuan. Why shouldn't they surrender? It's not like they were masochists looking for more of a beating.
Still, Li Heping confirmed, "Little Brother Zhao, are you sure you want to surrender?"
"I'm sure." Zhao Dezhu nodded.
He had originally thought that saying the word "surrender" would be excruciatingly painful. Unexpectedly, he felt no pain at all, only relief.
Li Heping nodded and turned to Zhao Yuan. "The Jinling Zhao Family wants to surrender. Do you accept?"
Zhao Yuan didn't answer immediately. His gaze slowly swept over the Jinling Zhao Clan Members.
Everyone his eyes fell upon felt a sliver of fear rise from the bottom of their hearts. They couldn't help but lower their heads, not daring to meet his gaze.
After a cold snort, Zhao Yuan said, "The Jinling Zhao Family? Nothing but a bunch of cowards!"
His voice wasn't loud, but everyone on the training ground heard him with perfect clarity.
The expressions of the Jinling Zhao Clan Members changed in an instant. It was clear they were all furious, yet not a single one dared to make a sound, let alone step forward.
Zhao Yuan withdrew his gaze and stopped sizing them up. He turned around and spoke to Li Heping's group and the media reporters outside the training ground. "Now, do you still think I would use the Jinling Zhao Family's name to run a scam?"
Everyone shook their heads.
'Are you kidding me? The power Zhao Yuan displayed today was Demon Level! The Jinling Zhao Family, with its centuries of history, was completely defenseless against him! Would such a powerful figure need to impersonate someone else? Would he need to run a scam? Don't be fucking ridiculous!'
The faces of the Jinling Zhao Clan Members, however, grew even uglier.
To make matters worse, Li Heping and the others chose this moment to say, "Zhao, we've all seen your strength clearly. It's impossible that you were impersonating anyone. On the contrary, it's more likely that some petty individuals might use your name to swindle others."
Zhao Dezhu was on the verge of cursing out loud.
'How could he not know that he was the "petty individual" Li Heping and the others were talking about? I'm sure many people now believe that the Jinling Zhao Family maliciously hyped this whole affair, trying to ride on Zhao Yuan's coattails for fame, only to have it blow up in their faces.'
Zhao Yuan nodded.
Clearing his name was his goal in challenging the Jinling Zhao Family, but it wasn't his only one.
Then, he turned to Zhao Dezhu and said, "Mr. Zhao, I wonder if you're still willing to honor the wager we made before the medical competition?"
Zhao Dezhu grit his teeth in hatred.
'Zhao Yuan is asking me this in front of so many famous medical experts and reporters. Even if I wanted to refuse, I wouldn't dare!'
Taking a deep breath, Zhao Dezhu replied, "Rest assured, I am a man of my word. Go on, tell me how you wish to deal with the Jinling Zhao Family. Kill us or cut us to pieces, we'll accept our fate!"
'Kill you or cut you to pieces?'
Zhao Yuan couldn't help but sneer.
'With so many reporters here today, and some people even live-streaming, if I really killed you or cut you up, wouldn't I immediately become a wanted criminal? Do you really think I'm that stupid?'
"I am a law-abiding citizen. I wouldn't do something like that. I only want you all to kneel and apologize!"
Zhao Yuan's words were like a stone tossed into a calm lake, creating a thousand ripples. The Jinling Zhao Clan Members, who had been burying their heads in the sand like ostriches, all jumped up and began to clamor.
"What did you say? You want us to kneel to you?"
"You have some nerve! Aren't you afraid of having your life shortened for such arrogance?"
"Kneel and apologize? Never!"
Even Li Heping felt that Zhao Yuan's demand was a bit excessive. He couldn't help but try to persuade him, "Zhao, be merciful where you can. There's no need to take things to such an extreme..."
Zhao Yuan raised a hand, cutting him off. In a cold voice, he said, "Elder Li, have you ever considered this? If a group of righteous people hadn't stood up to defend me, if I hadn't beaten them in the competition, I would probably be utterly discredited and despised by the world by now! You didn't find the vicious schemes the Jinling Zhao Family used against me excessive, but now that I'm just asking them to kneel and apologize, you're jumping out and calling it excessive. Is such a double standard really appropriate?"
Li Heping was stunned for a moment. Then, upon careful thought, he realized Zhao Yuan was right. The series of tactics the Jinling Zhao Family had used against him were truly malicious and cruel! In comparison, Zhao Yuan's punishment—merely asking them to kneel and apologize—was already quite merciful.
He nodded and said, "You have a point. I was wrong!"
The hot-tempered Qiao Zhixue now stood firmly on Zhao Yuan's side. He helped urge them on, "Little Brother Dezhu, hurry up and kneel and apologize. In front of everyone, are you really thinking of backing out of your promise?"
Rage boiled in Zhao Dezhu's heart.
Just as he was hesitating, unsure whether to kneel or not, Zhao Jingrou at his side could no longer control her fury. She roared and charged at Zhao Yuan. "Kneel? I'll beat you until *you* kneel to us!"
Blinded by her anger, she had apparently forgotten that she had already been defeated by Zhao Yuan once before.
In the blink of an eye, Zhao Jingrou was in front of Zhao Yuan. But before she could even make a move, Zhao Yuan suddenly sidestepped and unleashed an incredibly elegant series of kicks. BAM! BAM! BAM! He struck her head, chest, and abdomen in quick succession. She was sent flying backward, crushing a chair as she landed.
"Nannan, are you alright?" Overcome with concern, Zhao Dezhu rushed forward and helped Zhao Jingrou up.
Zhao Jingrou's once-pretty face, after taking a kick from Zhao Yuan, was now as swollen as a pig's head. The searing pain constantly grated on her nerves, fueling her rage. She shrieked, "Go! All of you, go! Beat him to death for me! He's already humiliating us at our own doorstep, are you all just going to cower like turtles in a shell?"
Martial Artists were naturally hot-blooded. Spurred on by Zhao Jingrou's words, their pent-up fury finally erupted. A dozen or so Martial Artists from the Jinling Zhao Family immediately stepped forward and shouted, "Don't be so arrogant, kid! Do you really think the Jinling Zhao Family has no one left? We'll see just how strong you are!"
These guys didn't care about the rules of dueling. They swarmed him all at once, their only goal being to take Zhao Yuan down.
Li Heping and the others panicked. A medical competition had unexpectedly devolved into a brawl. This was clearly not what they had anticipated.
The reporters were thrilled. A martial arts battle on top of the medical competition? Today's assignment was worth its weight in gold!
Liu Zhu, Wang Rongfeng, and Wu Yan, however, were furious. "Son of a bitch, you dare attack our brother? We'll take you all on!" they roared, unhesitatingly jumping into the fray.
Zhao Yuan, however, was perfectly calm.
Before the group of Martial Artists could make their moves, he first shoved the stunned Li Heping out of the battle circle with a palm. Then, with a flicker of his body, he executed the Jade Ring Step combined with the Cyan Dragon Form, charging toward the Martial Artists with the speed of a thunderclap.
"So you want a fight? I'll oblige!"
A resonant cry escaped Zhao Yuan's lips, like the roar of a dragon or the song of a phoenix, so powerful it made everyone's head spin.