Chapter 34: Chapter 34: The Fist Demonstrates Power
At the Golden Phoenix Tower, Shi Xiaole may not have been as renowned as the three prodigies, but as Su Yanru’s nephew, he still garnered significant attention.
Hearing that he was about to enter the arena, many different gazes turned to him.
Su Yanru felt inexplicably worried.
Whenever Shi Xiaole faced this kind of situation in the past, he would become flustered. If that were to happen again, Su Yanru would be less concerned about her own reputation and more about the blow that it might deal to Shi Xiaole.
However, as it turned out, Su Yanru’s concerns were entirely unnecessary.
Under the crowd’s gaze, Shi Xiaole calmly and steadily ascended the stage step by step.
Clad in a green robe with a knife and a sword hanging from his waist, his demeanor was enough to catch anyone’s eye, regardless of his actual skills.
"Indeed, he is the Tower Master’s nephew. He truly has an extraordinary presence."
The Second Tower Master couldn’t keep back a smile, making an intentional comment.
"If Xiaole’s actual skills were even a tenth as good as his exterior, the Tower Master wouldn’t need to worry about him anymore."
The Third Tower Master was even more sarcastic, implying that Shi Xiaole was all style and no substance.
Su Yanru was furious, but her face showed no hint of her emotions. All she hoped for at this point was that Shi Xiaole wouldn’t try to show off.
"Junior Brother Shi, please make the first move."
On the stage, Song Xian stood relaxed, his arms hanging by his side.
He was a sixth level Hidden Qi practitioner, while Shi Xiaole was only at the second level a year ago. There was no way Shi Xiaole could possibly stand a chance.
Especially since Song Xian was a disciple of the Third Tower Master, the thought of crushing Shi Xiaole filled him with impatience.
"Senior Brother Song, please."
Shi Xiaole responded, motionless.
Song Xian grew stern, annoyed at Shi Xiaole’s audacity. He sneered, "Since you insist, don’t blame me for not being polite."
Swift as the wind, Song Xian charged forward in anger, launching a Hundred Spirit Palm strike at Shi Xiaole.
The Hundred Spirit Palm was a mid-tier martial art known within the Golden Phoenix Tower, and Song Xian had mastered it months ago. It was more than enough to handle Shi Xiaole.
"Senior Brother Song isn’t showing any mercy, attacking with the Hundred Spirit Palm first. How is Junior Brother Shi supposed to block that?"
"You can’t say that, Senior Brother Song has given him a chance, but Junior Brother Shi just didn’t seize it."
As the young people of the Golden Phoenix Tower were buzzed with discussions, Song Xian’s fist was already nearing Shi Xiaole’s face.
At that very moment, Shi Xiaole moved. He used neither the knife nor the sword, but his fist.
Compared to Song Xian’s swift Hundred Spirit Palm strike, Shi Xiaole’s fist was filled with a strange, indescribable flavor.
It was as if you thought he would hit the left side, but he landed the blow on the right instead.
This unpredictable and unexpected fist technique was known as the "Bountiful Flower Mistake Punch."
Boom.
Their strikes collided, sending Song Xian three steps backwards while Shi Xiaole remained as still as ever.
"What?!"
Song Xian’s face twisted in shock. Upon the initial clash, he realized that Shi Xiaole’s internal power was no weaker than his own; Shi Xiaole was also at the sixth level of Hidden Qi?!
The spectators below the stage buzzed with astonishment.
Shi Xiaole ignored their reactions, and without any pause, he threw a second punch.
In recent days, although Shi Xiaole had been focusing on the Fuyang Qi Skill, he did not neglect his other martial arts.
Especially after mastering several types of martial arts to the Transformation Phase, his experience had greatly increased. In a mere few days, he had achieved full mastery in the Bountiful Flower Mistake Punch.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
With one punch after another, Shi Xiaole had Song Xian looking pitiful, totally unable to fight back.
A crushing victory, just as everyone had expected, was unfolding. But the roles had been completely reversed.
Who could have predicted Shi Xiaole’s quiet ascent to the sixth level of Hidden Qi and his mastery of a mid-tier martial art to perfection?
"Shi Xiaole, you sure know how to keep a low profile. Unfortunately, you revealed your hand too late."
Below the stage, Jin Wuwei quickly hid his astonishment.
Breaking through from the second level to the sixth level of Hidden Qi in a year, how was that possible? According to Jin Wuwei’s thinking, Shi Xiaole must have been concealing his strength all this while, just to put on a dazzling display at the tournament.
Unfortunately, this mentality of showing weakness to the enemy itself demonstrated a lack of self-confidence in Shi Xiaole.
So apart from initial surprise, Jin Wuwei quickly recovered his composure.
"Sixth level of Hidden Qi at fifteen?"
Sha Zongheng, twirling his fan, had an indecipherable look in his eyes.
Among the three prodigies of Golden Phoenix Tower, all were seventeen years old this year. When they were fifteen, they were only slightly stronger than Shi Xiaole is now.
Unconsciously, Sha Zongheng had recognized Shi Xiaole as a competitor to be taken seriously.
"No wonder you rushed back. Unfortunately, my only rivals are Jin Wuwei and Sha Zongheng, you’re still not qualified."
Clutching her sword, Lan Ning was expressionless.
Shi Xiaole’s sudden breakout was undoubtedly a major surprise of the day, almost turning everything upside down.
And among everyone, the most excited was Su Yanru, the Tower Master of Golden Phoenix.
"Lele..."
Su Yanru’s hand, white and smooth as jade, tightened into a fist and then relaxed, repeating this motion several times before she completely calmed down.
As she watched Shi Xiaole displaying his prowess on the stage, she couldn’t help but fall into a momentary daze, a moment of joy, her whole body covered in goosebumps.
Perhaps only Shi Xiaole could make this lady, who remained unflustered even at the brink of disaster, lose composure.
"Stop your harassment, be defeated by me!"
After being at a disadvantage for a while, Song Xian felt ashamed and became furious, forcibly gathering all his Qi, he boldly executed the strongest technique in the Hundred Spirit Palm series—the Unrepentant Spirit.
Amid the oncoming torrential stream of Palm Qi, Shi Xiaole didn’t blink, took a step forward, and likewise initiated the ultimate aggressive move of his Brilliant Blossom Fist.
Bang!
His fist, akin to a hammer, unstoppably pierced through the Palm Qi, stopping merely three inches from Song Xian’s forehead, causing his black hair to move chaotically in the wind.
"Senior Brother Song, thank you for going easy."
Shi Xiaole casually spoke as he retracted his fist and stepped back.
With his current ability, the previous fight was almost like a warm-up. Mainly, Shi Xiaole wanted to familiarize himself more with the techniques of the Brilliant Blossom Fist.
After all, there are always times in the martial world when one doesn’t have weapons at hand. Therefore, to some extent, one’s unarmed combat skills must be solid, otherwise, opponents could easily exploit one’s flaws.
"You, you..."
Even at this moment, Song Xian still felt a sense of disbelief, taking a long time to recover.
"Shi Xiaole wins."
Only after casting a glance at Shi Xiaole did the referee loudly declare the outcome.
"Shi Xiaole is quite ruthless. He’s so young and yet so patient."
"Indeed, I can’t believe he caught up within a year. Otherwise, his talent would be too terrifying. It doesn’t make sense that such an ordinary person would suddenly transform completely."
Given the power Shi Xiaole had displayed, everyone had different opinions. The mainstream opinion was that he had been playing the part of a dark horse.
"Tower Master, you really are impressive."
The second tower master glanced at Su Yanru coldly
Obviously, in his heart, Shi Xiaole could not be that cunning, someone must have been instigating him. As for the identity of that person, it was self-evident.
The third and fourth tower masters, as well as several other elders, couldn’t help but look at Su Yanru.
They knew the depths of this woman’s cleverness. It was very likely she would do something like this.
Su Yanru neither admitted nor denied anything, she only smiled: "What is the second tower master worried about? Lele’s strength can’t catch up with the three young prodigies."
The second tower master only snorted in satisfaction.
Su Yanru ignored the others and just cast a glance at Meng Qi behind her. It was this smiling glance that made Meng Qi’s scalp tingle, silently cursing that it was a bad sign.
As time went on, the first round came to an end.
Given that the first two rounds used an elimination format, the number of competitors dropped from forty-six to twenty-three in the second round.
After a brief rest, the second round began.
This round was obviously more exciting than the previous one. After all, those who could make it through had some skills, and only a few purely relied on luck.
Jin Wuwei, Lan Ning, and Sha Zongheng remained undefeated with no one capable of forcing them to use their second move even after two consecutive rounds.
This terrifying strength increased the popularity of these three prodigies. Almost everyone was sure that the final winner would be selected from these three.
And that person will become the future lord of the Golden Phoenix Tower!
Apart from these three prodigies, another boy stood out. His name was Ye Kang, from the same line as Su Yanru, and in the second round, he defeated a young expert who was reputed to be able to rival Leng Feng.
By this point, the three deputy tower masters finally understood- Leng Feng was merely a decoy put up by Su Yanru to distract attention.
The real trump card was this initially unnoticed young boy.
"Hmph, a bunch of complacent guys. Do you really think the tower master has made no preparations?"
Meng Qi, standing at the back, showed a smug smile on his face.
"The seventh match, number eighteen Shi Xiaole vs number twenty-one Lan Yu."
When the fight reached the seventh round and they heard the names of their opponents, both Shi Xiaole and Lan Yu were stunned.
The difference was, Shi Xiaole’s demeanor was casual while Lan Yu was visibly excited.
Being Lan Ning’s twin brother, while Lan Yu’s talent didn’t match the three prodigies, it was still one of the best within Golden Phoenix Tower, generally acknowledged as even slightly stronger than Leng Feng.
At seventeen years old, he had already reached the eighth level of the Hidden Qi phase. What’s even more astonishing is that he had trained an intermediate third-tier martial art to the minor transformation phase.
If the three prodigies were not participating, Lan Yu would be almost unmatched among his peers in Golden Phoenix Tower. But of course, that doesn’t include the suddenly rising Ye Kang.
"Shi Xiaole, you might as well admit defeat now. It’ll save me some effort," Lan Yu said, a teasing smile on his face as they stood across from each other in the ring, three yards apart.
With the advantage of being two levels higher, plus the superiority in technique stage, Lan Yu couldn’t conceive of a reason why he would lose. As for Song Xian, who was defeated by Shi Xiaole, Lan Yu could defeat him in one move.
"Without trying, who can tell the outcome?"
Shi Xiaole raised an eyebrow.
Lan Yu squinted his eyes. This Shi Xiaole got carried away after winning a round, it seemed.
"If you’re asking for a beating, I’ll grant your wish."
Before his words fell, Lan Yu drew his sword and thrust it towards Shi Xiaole.
