Chapter 247: Chapter 236: First Show of Prowess (Part 2)
On the hundred-foot-long, sixty-foot-wide arena platform, Zhao Lin and Yi Rihao stood facing each other.
They were strangers with no goodwill between them, so there was nothing to say. They didn’t even bother with the formality of introducing themselves.
Zhao Lin offered a casual cupped-fist salute, then raised a fist, signaling to the refereeing elder.
To avoid wasting time, the match could begin as soon as one fighter on the platform raised their fist.
The refereeing elder immediately shouted, "One, two... THREE!"
Zhao Lin stomped on the platform and shot forward like an arrow from a bow. He rapidly closed the distance, unleashing an "Advancing Rush Hammer" punch from his waist, aimed at Yi Rihao’s chest.
The energy behind the punch was almost tangible, its momentum like rolling thunder.
Yi Rihao had already calculated his response. ’Zhao Lin’s strength is far greater than mine; a head-on attack would be foolish.’ He deftly sidestepped, moving out of the direct line of attack, and raised an arm to block the punch.
’Such incredible strength!’
Yi Rihao felt an immense force slam into his arm, sending a sharp pain through it. He retreated several consecutive steps to dissipate the impact.
Zhao Lin pressed his advantage, shifting his weight to his right foot. He feinted with his left fist as his right shot out from under his arm—a "Swallow Scooping Water"—aiming for Yi Rihao’s head and chest.
Yi Rihao didn’t dare to meet the blow head-on and leaped away.
Zhao Lin’s feet never stopped moving. He pursued, throwing a flurry of punches. On the ninth exchange, he used Advancing Rush Hammer again, followed by Swallow Scooping Water, repeating the same sequence of moves from before.
Hmm?
Yi Rihao was momentarily stunned, then felt a surge of secret delight.
’So that’s all he’s got! Just a few simple moves!’
’It seems Elder Gu was right. This guy only cultivated his punching power. His other Cultivation Techniques are mediocre. His fists are powerful, sure, but his attacks are direct and lack variation. He doesn’t supplement them with any palm or leg techniques.’
Many in the stands thought the same. For Zhao Lin to have reached the Blood Realm at twenty and possess a punching power of over five hundred, he was already a genius among geniuses.
If he were also proficient in multiple Cultivation Techniques with refined moves, would anyone else even stand a chance?
What they didn’t realize, however, was that Zhao Lin was doing this intentionally. If he had attacked with his full strength from the beginning and overwhelmed Yi Rihao in a few moves, what would he do if his opponent simply raised a hand and surrendered?
He was planning to land a devastating blow, so he needed his opponent to believe he only knew a few crude moves.
Yi Rihao was quite cautious and didn’t rush to attack. Only after seeing Zhao Lin repeat the same few moves over and over did he begin to form a plan.
When Zhao Lin used Swallow Scooping Water again, Yi Rihao’s brow twitched. He suddenly switched from defense to offense. Forming his hand into a blade, he swung his palm and slashed out an arc of flame, aiming straight for Zhao Lin’s left ribs.
’Finally, he took the bait!’
The Fiery Flame Saber was the same Cultivation Technique Tuzha and his four companions had used. Zhao Lin was intimately familiar with it. In a flash, he spun his body and met the Fiery Flame Saber head-on with a Celestial Frost Fist.
Frost and wind emanated from the fist, instantly forming a white mist in the air.
’What is this fist technique?!’
Yi Rihao’s face fell in horror. He felt as if he’d been targeted by a ferocious beast. But it was too late to retract his move; he could only clash with it head-on.
The moment the fist and palm made contact, the Fiery Flame Saber was suppressed, its fire extinguished and its smoke scattered. Yi Rihao felt a bone-chilling cold that made it difficult to breathe, and he leaped back in terror.
Zhao Lin pounced like a tiger, spreading his five fingers. He switched from a fist to a claw, bringing down a Three Yin Claw from above, giving his opponent no chance to breathe.
Yi Rihao was scared out of his wits. He knew that if this claw landed, he would be disemboweled. Bracing himself, he crossed his arms and raised his fists to block.
With a dull THUD, Yi Rihao was knocked to his knees.
Zhao Lin leaned in, dropped his shoulder, and unleashed an uppercut.
In the blink of an eye, a three-stage attack, one linked to the next: Lion’s Head Shake, Tiger’s Pounce, Leopard’s Tail Whip!
A wave of despair washed over Yi Rihao. He knew Zhao Lin must have a follow-up move, and blocking again would surely mean death. Steeling himself, he protected his chest with his left fist and desperately raised his right hand...
’Better to take the punch and surrender to save my life.’
BANG! Zhao Lin’s fist smashed into Yi Rihao’s chest.
Blood gushed from Yi Rihao’s mouth as his body was sent flying into the air.
"Stop!"
By the time the refereeing elder shouted for them to stop, Zhao Lin had already arrived at Yi Rihao’s side. Hearing the command, he immediately halted and slowly withdrew his fist.
’You’re lucky to be alive!’
Just before losing consciousness, Yi Rihao finally managed to raise his hand.
A disciple from Weizi’s viewing area reacted quickly, catching Yi Rihao. To his surprise, Yi Rihao’s entire body was ice-cold, completely devoid of warmth.
"Are you all right?"
Yi Rihao’s teeth were chattering, and he couldn’t get a single word out.
Elder Gu walked over with a dark expression. He took out a medicinal pill and fed it to Yi Rihao, then placed a hand on his chest, channeling Primordial Qi into him to heal his injuries.
After a long moment, Yi Rihao struggled to open his eyes.
Elder Gu breathed a sigh of relief. His disciple’s life was saved, but his ribs were all broken and his meridians were severely damaged. It would take at least several months for him to recover.
"How devious!"
Elder Gu looked toward the arena platform, grinding his teeth.
Zhao Lin glanced at him, unconcerned. ’I was just giving him a taste of his own medicine,’ he thought.
The people in the stands were stunned by Zhao Lin’s actions, not expecting him to be so vicious.
"He went in there intending to kill him!" said Elder Gao Yun of Wuzhu, sucking in a cold breath.
"I know we’re all fighting for our own sects in this tournament, but that was just too vicious," said a long-bearded elder beside him.
"In any case, Yi Rihao is severely injured. He’ll advance to the next round, but it’s clear he can’t fight again. Whoever gets grouped with him will get a huge freebie..."
Silence fell over Weizi’s viewing stand. The Sect Leader and elders there naturally knew why Zhao Lin had been so ruthless. He was holding a grudge.
The Sect Leader of the Flame Sect said in a low voice, "Send someone to inform all our disciples who are competing: be extremely careful if you encounter Basang or Zhao Lin."
He hesitated for a moment, then added, "If you’re not confident... just surrender!"
Hearing this, Elder Mai said, unwilling to accept it, "Are we just going to swallow this insult? Since he dared to injure our disciple, we should retaliate!"
"Even if we can’t deal with him, aren’t there others? The disciples from Great Yue can’t all be this powerful, can they?"
The Flame Sect Leader shook his head. "Inadvisable. The matter with Huo Shan has already caused public outrage. The tide is not in our favor. For now, we must be patient."
"Besides, Wuche still has Basang..."
Hearing this, Elder Mai’s mouth moved, but he said no more.
Before long, the matches on all nine arena platforms had concluded, and the remaining groups took their turns.
Perhaps intimidated by Zhao Lin’s display, the second-place fighters in both Basang’s and Bolta’s groups forfeited their challenges. The two of them advanced to the second round without even stepping onto the platform.
Zhao Lin had wanted to observe the skills of these two formidable rivals, but seeing this, he could only give up on the idea.
Around noon, the first round of group matches ended. Unsurprisingly, all of the top sixteen disciples ranked by punching power passed.
Great Yue performed exceptionally well in this round, particularly the Xingyun Sect. Thanks to Yang Lin’s seven-breath combat training, not one of their disciples showed stage fright; they were all decisive and fought with great vigor.
Seven disciples from the Xingyun Sect advanced to the second round. Even those who didn’t advance managed to win one or two matches within their groups, adding to Great Yue’s overall tally.
After a short break, the second round of battles began.
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