Chapter 176: Dragon Lord Fist
For a brief moment, the entire Battle God Arena seemed to forget how to breathe.
Thousands of spectators stared toward the battlefield. Hundreds of participants stood frozen in place. Even the ongoing battles beneath the Red and White Flags gradually slowed as people instinctively turned toward the disturbance occurring beneath the Golden Flag.
The hidden genius named Parker felt cold sweat forming across his back.
Not because Tony’s cultivation frightened him.
Not because Tony’s reputation frightened him.
It was the fist.
The strange dragon-shaped energy coiling around Tony’s arm radiated a pressure that made absolutely no sense.
Parker had faced powerful opponents before.
He had fought geniuses.
He had challenged older experts.
Yet this feeling was completely different.
It felt ancient.
As though some sleeping beast had suddenly opened one eye.
"What kind of technique is that?" Parker demanded.
Tony smiled.
Unfortunately, that smile contained no warmth.
"No idea. Let’s find out together."
The next second, Tony moved.
The spectators expected speed.
They expected power.
What they didn’t expect was violence.
Pure violence.
The stone beneath Tony’s feet exploded.
Not cracked.
Exploded.
His body transformed into a golden blur that crossed the battlefield instantly.
Parker’s instincts screamed danger.
The spear in his hands erupted forward with full power.
Layers of spear shadows appeared.
Dozens.
Hundreds.
The same technique that defeated Leo Clark returned once more.
The spectators recognized it immediately.
Many believed Tony would be forced to dodge.
Instead, he did something completely unreasonable.
He punched directly through it.
BOOOOOOM!
The dragon-shaped energy exploded forward.
The spear shadows shattered like glass.
The spectators stood up simultaneously.
The hidden genius’s eyes widened.
Impossible.
His strongest technique had been destroyed through brute force.
Before he could react, Tony’s fist arrived.
Parker desperately raised his spear horizontally to block.
The result shocked everyone.
CRACK!
The spear snapped in half.
The sound echoed clearly throughout the arena.
Then the fist continued forward.
Straight into Parker’s chest.
The impact wasn’t loud.
It didn’t need to be.
The moment the punch landed, the young genius’s entire body bent backward unnaturally.
His feet left the ground.
His eyes rolled upward.
Then he flew.
The spectators followed his body instinctively.
Parker crossed one hundred meters.
Then two hundred.
Then three hundred.
The poor man finally crashed through three protective barriers before disappearing into a distant wall.
The explosion shook the entire arena.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody moved.
The commentators stared at the projection screens with open mouths.
Several academy elders looked as though they had forgotten how to blink.
Even Mark Smith’s expression became serious.
Because everyone understood something.
Tony hadn’t won through technique.
He hadn’t won through strategy.
He had simply overwhelmed the opponent completely.
The difference wasn’t small.
It was terrifying.
Meanwhile, Tony slowly lowered his fist.
The golden dragon-shaped energy gradually disappeared.
The battlefield remained silent.
Then...
"Hahahaha!"
A loud laugh suddenly echoed from the spectator stands.
Ancestor Long.
The founder of the Octopus Organization was laughing openly.
"I like this brat more and more."
The words instantly broke the silence.
Discussions erupted everywhere.
"What was that technique?"
"Did anyone recognize it?"
"Was that a Heaven Rank Martial Art?"
"No."
"Then what was it?"
The questions spread rapidly.
Nobody possessed an answer.
Not even Da Vinci.
The Academy Master’s eyes remained fixed upon Tony.
For the first time since the tournament began, genuine curiosity appeared on his face.
That fist...
It wasn’t part of the information he possessed.
Tony had hidden another card.
A very powerful card.
Meanwhile, beneath the battlefield, Leo Clark finally recovered enough to stand properly.
He looked toward the distant wall where Parker had disappeared.
Then toward Tony.
A strange expression appeared on his face.
"You didn’t have to do that."
Tony turned around.
The coldness in his eyes immediately vanished.
"What nonsense. Somebody kicked my brother."
Leo laughed helplessly.
"It wasn’t that serious."
Tony snorted.
"That’s because I handled it."
The simple answer left Leo speechless.
For a moment, neither brother spoke.
Then Tony placed one hand on Leo’s shoulder.
"If you lose, lose. That’s normal. Even old monsters lose. But if somebody humiliates a Clark after winning fairly, then the problem stops being yours and becomes mine."
Leo stared at him.
Then laughed.
Not because the situation was funny.
Because it felt good.
Very good.
Far above the battlefield, Patriarch Rion Clark silently sat back down.
The anger on his face gradually disappeared.
Nearby elders exchanged strange looks.
The Clark Family often argued internally.
They competed.
They mocked one another.
They fought constantly.
Yet moments like this reminded everyone why the family remained united.
Meanwhile, Emma Rock continued staring at Tony.
Her expression had become unusually serious.
Earlier she believed Tony was troublesome.
Now she wasn’t so sure.
The power displayed by that punch wasn’t normal.
Mark Smith clearly reached the same conclusion.
The Imperial Family genius slowly walked forward until he stood several meters away.
The crowd instantly became excited again.
Two monsters.
Face to face.
Mark’s gaze remained fixed upon Tony.
"Interesting."
Tony looked at him.
"What is?"
"You."
Tony immediately looked disappointed.
"I was hoping for something more original."
Mark ignored the joke.
"What you used wasn’t ordinary martial arts."
Tony smiled.
"What makes you think I would tell you?"
The two stared at each other.
An invisible pressure gradually formed between them.
Many spectators subconsciously held their breath.
The clash hadn’t happened yet.
Yet everyone could already feel it approaching.
Soon.
Very soon.
These two would collide.
The thought alone excited the martial world.
Then Da Vinci suddenly raised his hand.
The atmosphere immediately shifted.
His voice echoed throughout the arena.
"The first elimination phase is complete."
The participants gradually turned their attention back toward him.
Da Vinci continued calmly.
"Those who won remain. Those who lost will enter the secondary qualification pool."
The projection screens changed instantly.
New names appeared.
New brackets formed.
The next phase was beginning.
However...
The moment the names appeared, the expressions of many participants changed.
Particularly those beneath the Golden Flag.
Because several winners would now be forced to fight one another.
Monsters against monsters.
Geniuses against geniuses.
And for the first time since arriving at the tournament...
Tony saw a familiar name appearing opposite his own. The smile slowly disappeared from his face.
