Martial Sage from the Vajra Skill

Chapter 315: Chapter 178: Clown 2

"Qiao Yong is defeated!"

"One move! He couldn’t even take a single move from Xu Yang!"

"His Great Success Phantom Star Gang Fist was broken by Xu Yang in one move. He even knocked him off the stage. What a complete and utter loss."

"Thinking he could challenge the authority of the previous Ten Heroes just because he’s first among the new ones. His arrogance is laughable."

"Xu Yang didn’t even use his Gang Qi. He suppressed him with just his physical body."

"He should be glad this is a tournament stage. Otherwise, Xu Yang could have killed him with a single punch. It’s hilarious that he still thought Xu Yang was underestimating him. The fact that Xu Yang didn’t just kill you shows his good temper."

...

Qiao Yong stood below the stage in a daze, not yet recovered from his defeat. ’Why was my Great Success Phantom Star Gang Fist so easily broken by Xu Yang?’

’Why was he so fierce with me, when he fought for so long against Yang Fu before?’

’I couldn’t even take a single move from him?’

The sounds of ridicule from all around washed over him like a tide. His face was ashen, and he trembled all over, wishing the ground would swallow him whole.

The more arrogant his words had been before, the more his face burned with shame now.

A single move. And he had been crushed and knocked off the stage without Xu Yang even using his Gang Qi.

If this had been a battle to the death, he would already be dead.

"Qiao Yong is defeated, Xu Yang is the victor!" the Steward announced.

Xu Yang smiled and cupped his fists toward the Steward, then turned and leaped off the stage.

"This boy’s combat awareness is impressive. To think he could see the flaw in the Great Success Phantom Star Gang Fist at a single glance." Du Qingpu was very satisfied with Xu Yang’s performance.

Even he was surprised that Xu Yang could defeat Qiao Yong in one move.

After all, Qiao Yong had defeated a disciple at Gang Qi Great Success in the previous round. Although that person had only just broken through, it was still a genuine Great Achievement in Gang Qi Cultivation.

"I think it’s more that he has a deep understanding of the Phantom Star Gang Fist," Ding Yuan said.

"Elder Ding is right. The Fist Technique Xu Yang cultivates is also the Phantom Star Gang Fist."

Liu Jinghe spoke up from the side, "His Phantom Star Gang Fist has likely also reached Great Success. For Qiao Yong to use the Phantom Star Gang Fist against him was practically telling Xu Yang his own weakness."

He had recommended the Fist Technique to both of them. He never expected them to face each other on the tournament stage. It would have been a miracle if Qiao Yong hadn’t lost.

Li Songhe shot Liu Jinghe a faint glance but said nothing. He knew that even if Xu Yang hadn’t cultivated the Phantom Star Gang Fist, defeating Qiao Yong would have still only taken a single move.

...

As Xu Yang walked toward the area where the tournament disciples gathered, everyone’s gazes toward him had changed.

To defeat Qiao Yong in a single move meant that he could probably defeat an ordinary Gang Qi Great Success Martial Artist in just a few moves as well.

"Congratulations!" Zhang Yong said with a smile, cupping his fists.

"Brother Xu’s strength is truly astonishing," Zhou Zhichao added, clasping his fist.

"He’s only at Gang Qi Minor Achievement. If I couldn’t even beat him, I’d be pretty useless," Xu Yang said with a laugh.

With that, he went to stand beside Sun Tao.

"Qiao Yong’s Martial Dao heart is probably about to collapse," Sun Tao chuckled.

Not far away, Qiao Yong’s face was ashen. He kept his head bowed, not daring to look at anyone.

Defeated by Xu Yang in a single move, all his pride had been shattered. If he hadn’t said those things before the fight, there would have been no shame in losing to Xu Yang, one of the previous Ten Heroes. No one would have mocked him; after all, he had two fewer years of cultivation.

But the crucial point was that he had spouted a mountain of arrogant words, boasting that he would make Xu Yang regret it and see the gap between them. Instead, he was the one knocked off the stage in a single move, losing all face completely.

On top of that, he had earned the reputation of being an ungrateful wretch, making him feel like a complete buffoon.

’I’ll find a chance and kill him!’

Xu Yang’s gaze swept over, killing intent surging within him.

Whether Qiao Yong would be crushed by this defeat or not, he would certainly resent Xu Yang. Although Xu Yang wasn’t afraid, leaving him alive was a lingering threat. Besides, he had Xu Qing to think about.

Just because Qiao Yong couldn’t do anything to him didn’t mean he couldn’t do anything to Xu Qing. A person like that was capable of any dirty trick.

The tournament continued, and both Zhang Yong and Sun Tao successfully advanced to the next round.

Zhang Yong’s match was quite easy, but Sun Tao had a tougher fight, only managing to defeat his opponent after a grueling battle of over a hundred moves.

Soon, it was time for the repechage rounds. Qiao Yong went on stage again, but whether it was because he was still reeling from Xu Yang’s blow, he failed to advance and was completely eliminated.

In fact, it wasn’t just him; all the other participants at Gang Qi Minor Achievement were eliminated as well. Everyone left was at the Great Achievement in Gang Qi Cultivation.

"Today’s matches are over. We will continue tomorrow."

The Steward announced from the stage, and the crowd of disciples dispersed.

Today, only the top fifty were decided. Tomorrow, the top twenty would be determined.

The actual fighting didn’t take much time; the schedule was mainly designed to give participants time to recover their stamina.

「The next day」

The tournament continued. The top thirty were determined in the morning, and the top twenty in the afternoon.

In both of his matches, after about ten or twenty moves, his opponents saw that he wasn’t even using his Gang Qi and proactively conceded defeat.

Sun Tao only made it to the top thirty and failed to break into the top twenty. Zhang Yong, at Gang Qi Perfection, smoothly entered the top twenty.

However, Xu Yang could see he was already struggling and probably wouldn’t make it into the top ten.

Liu Qian also stopped at the top thirty. Qin Ze, like Zhang Yong, barely managed to scrape into the top twenty.

The following day, the time finally came to decide the top ten, top five, and top three.

Early in the morning, the group arrived at the Martial Arts Arena and saw that there were many more people on the high platform. Even Li Songhe, who had the highest status, was now joined by several others who were his equals.

Aside from recognizing Elder Huoyun, Xu Yang didn’t know any of the others. He could only tell that some of them must hold an even higher status than the Outer Elder Li Songhe.

"We should be able to face each other today. I will defeat you within ten moves."

Su Zhe stood not far away, his burning gaze fixed on Xu Yang.

With the top ten, five, and three being decided today, he and Xu Yang were bound to face each other.

The geniuses on the Ten Heroes List would also mostly be clashing. Today was the most intense day of the tournament.

Soon, the drawing of lots began.

Xu Yang went on stage and drew "Jia-Five."

"What number did you get?" Zhang Yong sidled up to him.

"Jia-Five!" Xu Yang didn’t hide it.

Zhang Yong’s expression darkened. "Looks like we won’t have a chance to fight. I’m Jia-Two."

Even knowing he would surely lose, he had wanted to fight Xu Yang to see just how big the gap between them was. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t get the chance. He would likely be stopped in this next match.

Zhang Yong was the first to go on stage. His opponent was Han Feng, fourth on the Ten Heroes list. It was a disastrous start. After only two moves, he was knocked off the stage by Han Feng’s punch.

"Jia-Five and Yi-Five, to the stage."

Just as Zhang Yong was knocked off the stage, the Steward officiating the tournament began to call Xu Yang’s number.

Xu Yang stood and walked toward the stage, only to see Su Zhe also walking toward it from not far away. In an instant, both of them knew who their opponent was.

"The ninth and tenth of the Ten Heroes are facing off!"

Everyone realized that Xu Yang and Su Zhe were matched up, and an uproar instantly swept through the crowd.

Outsiders might not know why, but the disciples of the Purple Sun Sect all knew that the talk about a duel between Xu Yang and Su Zhe had been going on since last year.

Because Xu Yang hadn’t participated in last year’s tournament, he had been mocked by Su Zhe.

Before registration for this year’s tournament even began, Su Zhe had already issued a long-distance challenge to Xu Yang. It was safe to say their anticipation for the Xu Yang versus Su Zhe duel surpassed even that of a match between Xiong Kun and Han Feng.

"The ninth versus the tenth... this won’t be an easy fight for Xu Yang!" Zhang Yong revealed a hint of worry.

It was too early for Xu Yang to face Su Zhe.

Regardless of the outcome, the fight would be a grueling battle of at least several hundred moves. Although the tournament had designated rest periods, they weren’t long enough to wait for someone to recover to their peak condition before fighting again.

If the energy consumption was too great, one or two hours wouldn’t be enough to recover.

"If you can’t even beat trash like that, you won’t be qualified to stand before me," Lu Ren said, his gaze fixed on the stage.

The opponents Xu Yang had faced before weren’t very strong, and he hadn’t even needed to use his Gang Qi. It was impossible to gauge his true depth.

"Chen Lang, watch closely. Ah Zhe will help you vent your anger first. Later, I’ll send him to meet you." Su Man’s face was filled with killing intent.

Unfortunately, in the Purple Sun Sect’s tournament, not only was killing forbidden, but even causing serious injury was not allowed.

If someone intentionally injured another, the light punishment was expulsion from the Sect, while the severe punishment was immediate execution. For now, they couldn’t kill Xu Yang.

"You finally have the guts to get on stage this year. Not bad!"

Su Zhe strode forward and handed his lot number to the Steward for verification. Before the fight had even begun, the air between the two was thick with gunpowder.

"You buffoon. Wasn’t your loss last year miserable enough?"

Xu Yang retorted sharply, also handing his lot number to the Steward before stepping aside.