Chapter 251 - 240: The Top 16 Seats
Chapter 251: Chapter 240: The Top 16 Seats
Jiang Pu threw six consecutive punches, the force of each blow building to a crescendo.
He saw Helian’s Inner Strength armor shaking violently, seemingly at its limit, yet it refused to break. He sighed inwardly. ’If only I had specialized in this technique and my cultivation was a level deeper, I could have thrown a seventh punch.’
His Fist Skill was called the Nine-Step Mountain Crossing Fist. With each punch thrown, he would gather power for the next, increasing its force. By the ninth step, the power of his fist would nearly double.
Jiang Pu had spread his training too thin across various disciplines and had only mastered it to the sixth level, hence his lament.
’A three-layered turtle shell... that thing is really tough!’
Zhao Lin watched and shook his head. He figured the two wouldn’t be able to determine a winner anytime soon, so he turned his attention to the other fighting ring.
The final match of the round: Liu Feiyang versus Bu Kan.
As Liu Feiyang leaped onto the ring, he glanced at Zhao Lin from a distance and gave a slight nod. His expression seemed to say, ’I’ve done as you said.’
Bu Kan, meanwhile, walked up the stairs to the ring by himself, silently counting his steps. ’Thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two... exactly thirty-six!’
Due to the constant matches held in the ring over the years, there was a shallow depression where the fighters usually stood.
Bu Kan walked to the depression and smiled with satisfaction. But when his gaze fell on Liu Feiyang, he froze, and the corner of his mouth began to twitch.
Liu Feiyang stood there, his entire appearance bizarre and uncoordinated.
He was wearing two left shoes. One of his pant legs was longer than the other. Half of his martial arts tunic was tucked into his belt, while the other half hung out.
One sleeve was rolled up, the other was down.
The buttons on his chest were completely misaligned. The first button was in the second buttonhole, the second button in the third, and the third... in the fifth.
Bu Kan felt an overwhelming urge to rush over and fix Liu Feiyang’s clothes for him.
He suppressed his discomfort and looked at Liu Feiyang’s face.
Liu Feiyang was smiling, and stuck to the left corner of his mouth was a... grain of rice.
’How can this person be so detestable!’
Bu Kan’s blood boiled, and sweat immediately beaded on his forehead.
Liu Feiyang was secretly delighted. He’d had his doubts when Zhao Lin first suggested it, but now it seemed his bizarre attire was indeed affecting his opponent.
The spectators from Great Yue were also puzzled. Liu Feiyang always paid great attention to his appearance, so why was he so disheveled, even slovenly, today?
Liu Feiyang took a few steps back and forth on the stage, deliberately walking with the arm and leg on the same side moving in unison.
Bu Kan trembled with rage, his jaw clenched. He couldn’t stop himself from reaching into his robes for a handkerchief.
Just then, Liu Feiyang raised his fist, signaling to begin.
The arbitrating elder shouted, "On your marks! One, two... three!"
Liu Feiyang instantly dodged forward, lunging at Bu Kan.
With one hand clutching his handkerchief, Bu Kan swung his other palm in a vicious chop, the edge of his hand cutting a flaming arc through the air.
He had unleashed his signature skill right from the start—the Fiery Flame Saber.
Liu Feiyang executed his Phantom Step Body Technique, creating several afterimages.
Bu Kan was in a frenzy. He attacked recklessly, each palm strike faster and stronger than the last.
For a moment, flames danced and saber-like chops flew everywhere.
Liu Feiyang’s greatest strengths were his Body Technique and legwork. He zipped around Bu Kan like a butterfly flitting through flowers.
In truth, if Bu Kan were to calm down, focus on cutting off angles, and methodically force Liu Feiyang into a corner of the ring, victory wouldn’t be difficult.
But at this moment, his mind was clouded with rage. All he wanted was to crush Liu Feiyang under his heel.
Elder Gu watched with an anxious expression. The Fiery Flame Saber was powerful, but it consumed a massive amount of Inner Strength. If Bu Kan kept fighting like this, he would soon be exhausted.
’What’s with this kid? Did everything I told him before the match go in one ear and out the other?’
He wanted to send a mental transmission to remind him, but seeing the arbitrating elder standing right by the ring, he could only shake his head, sigh, and give up the idea.
After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, on the other ring, Jiang Pu was finally about to break through Helian’s "turtle shell."
Their match had devolved into a pure contest of Inner Strength, with no martial techniques to speak of.
Helian’s three-layered armor was wavering, on the verge of collapse.
Overjoyed at the sight, Jiang Pu raised his hands high above his head, interlaced his fingers, and brought them down like a blacksmith’s sledgehammer.
A cold glint flashed in Helian’s eyes. He suddenly dropped his armor and shot forward, thrusting out his long arm like an iron spear.
After taking a beating the entire time, he finally showed his fangs at the last moment.
’Not good!’
Jiang Pu’s heart pounded. He kicked off the ground, launching himself into the air. His body twisted and spun like a corkscrew, narrowly avoiding Helian’s piercing palm.
At the same time, he shot out a kick that landed squarely on Helian’s waist.
Helian staggered and stumbled to the side.
The moment Jiang Pu’s feet touched the ground, he pressed forward, unleashing a three-move Wind-Chasing Fist Skill.
Helian could no longer hold on. After taking two punches, he could only raise his palm.
"I surrender!"
Helian said, a hint of reluctance in his voice. His surprise attack had almost succeeded, but he had still been outmaneuvered by a single step in the end.
"You let me win."
Jiang Pu wiped the sweat from his forehead and thought, ’That was close.’
Zhao Lin cheered silently. He had expected Helian to have a counter-ambush up his sleeve, but he never thought Jiang Pu would actually manage to dodge it. His reaction time was nothing short of brilliant.
’This guy is no simpleton. I’ll have to be extremely careful in the next round.’
Meanwhile, the last match was still ongoing. After a flurry of wild attacks, Bu Kan began to feel his strength failing. He circulated his energy to check his internal state, only to find that his Inner Strength was completely depleted. He was running on fumes.
’Damn it, what’s happening to me?!’
Liu Feiyang noticed that the Inner Strength fueling his opponent’s Fiery Flame Saber was growing weaker. Realizing his chance had come, he stopped circling and closed in for a fierce assault.
Bu Kan blocked a few moves, but it was becoming more and more difficult. Finally, Liu Feiyang landed a palm on his chest, shattering his protective Inner Strength. A second palm strike sent him flying, and he crashed heavily onto the ring floor.
"Liu Feiyang is the victor!"
The arbitrating elder announced directly.
A wave of cheers erupted from the Great Yue stands. The elders of the Southern Suppression Sect, in particular, were beaming with joy.
Liu Feiyang pulling off an upset to enter the top thirty-two had already been a pleasant surprise. His victory now, advancing him into the top sixteen, was even more so.
Although he would face Basang, who was ranked first in fist power, in the next round and had almost no chance of winning, he had already performed a great service.
With this, Great Yue had secured five of the top sixteen spots: Zhao Lin, He Liancheng, Xiao Jin, Huang Guanglie, and Liu Feiyang.
The Sect Leaders and elders were all smiles. It was, without a doubt, their best performance in recent decades, if not longer.
Liu Feiyang clenched his fist and pumped it fiercely. Thinking about how he had been wasting his talent just six months ago, he was overcome with emotion and wept with joy.
Bu Kan pushed himself up, coughed twice, and said in a pleading tone, "Can you please straighten out your clothes? Otherwise... I’m afraid I won’t be able to sleep tonight."
Liu Feiyang looked at him, felt a pang of pity, and readily nodded. "Alright."
With that, he wiped the grain of rice from his mouth, straightened his tunic and pants, sniffled, and asked, "How’s this?"
"Thank you!"
Bu Kan closed his eyes peacefully...
But a moment later, his eyes snapped open again. He pointed at Liu Feiyang’s feet. "Your... shoes."
Liu Feiyang looked down, quickly took off the two left shoes, and said apologetically, "My bad."
"It’s fine. Now, I feel at ease."
Bu Kan wore a look of relief.