Chapter 111 - 110: The Grand Competition
Chapter 111: Chapter 110: The Grand Competition
The gong sounded.
Li Dingzhu moved in an instant.
His figure was like a bolt of lightning as the gleam of his sword flashed.
His Swordsmanship was incredibly swift. Streaks of sharp, cunning sword shadows stabbed toward Chen Shouheng’s vital points, instantly enveloping him in a cold gleam.
The Swordsmanship was both fast and ruthless!
Chen Shouheng neither dodged nor evaded, unleashing his Tiger Subduing Fist in an instant.
His fists moved, stirring up a tiger-like roar of wind. The shadows of his fists were like mountains—steady and heavy—forming an impenetrable defense around him.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Fist and sword clashed, emitting dull thuds.
Chen Shouheng’s fists actually met the sword’s edge head-on, completely unscathed.
Li Dingzhu’s Sword Momentum grew increasingly frantic, and in one of his moves, a slight Empty Gate appeared before his chest.
A sharp glint flashed in Chen Shouheng’s eyes.
His body shot forward, evading the sword’s edge. He unleashed a simple and direct Tiger Subduing Heart Piercing, his fierce fist striking straight for the center.
Li Dingzhu’s face fell in horror; it was too late to bring his sword back.
BANG!
A muffled thud rang out.
The force of the punch penetrated his body. Li Dingzhu felt a vast, immense power surge through him. A sharp pain bloomed in his chest, his blood roiled, and he was thrown uncontrollably backward, landing heavily below the stage.
The crowd below the stage fell silent for a moment, then erupted into thunderous cheers.
Chen Shouheng withdrew his fist and stood tall, his breathing steady. He gave a slight fist-and-palm salute to Li Dingzhu, who was struggling to his feet below, and then walked off the stage.
The first round of matches gradually came to an end.
Soon, the draw for the second round began.
Chen Shouheng took the stage once more.
His opponent this round was a stout, long-armed man who called himself "Mountain-Opener Hand" Zhao Zhongyong. He also had a Qi Realm Perfection Cultivation and was known for his ferociously powerful Fist Technique. It was said he had already developed Fist Intent.
Zhao Zhongyong stepped onto the stage, his burning gaze fixed on Chen Shouheng. He cupped his fist and said, "Zhao Zhongyong. I look forward to experiencing your high-level moves!"
His voice was resonant and full of confidence.
"Chen Shouheng. Please!"
The gong sounded again.
Zhao Zhongyong let out a furious roar and attacked first.
He thrust both fists forward. The wind from his punches was incomparably fierce, carrying a conceptual weight as heavy as a mountain, as if it could truly shatter mountains and crack stone. He aimed straight for Chen Shouheng’s face.
Fist Intent!
A mountainous conceptual aura.
Chen Shouheng neither dodged nor evaded, erupting with his Tiger Subduing Fist Intent as well.
The wind from his fists howled, carrying the faint sound of a roaring tiger. Wild and untamed, he met the attack head-on.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The two of them exchanged blows, fist against flesh, in a direct, head-on clash.
A series of dull impacts, like the beating of war drums, echoed across the stage.
Zhao Zhongyong’s Fist Technique was as steady and heavy as a mountain, powerful and immense.
Chen Shouheng’s Fist Technique, in contrast, was as wild and violent as a ferocious tiger, fierce and sharp.
The two fought intensely for dozens of exchanges, seeming to be evenly matched, drawing continuous cheers from the audience below.
However, while Zhao Zhongyong’s Fist Intent was fierce, it also consumed a great deal of energy.
After dozens of moves, his breathing began to grow slightly labored. During a transition between fist stances, an extremely subtle stutter appeared in his momentum.
In that instant, Chen Shouheng pushed his Tiger Subduing Fist Intent to its peak. He suddenly blasted out a "Tiger Subduing Heart Piercing," striking directly at the opening on Zhao Zhongyong’s chest and abdomen, which had been left slightly exposed as he exerted his strength.
Zhao Zhongyong’s pupils shrank. It was too late to defend.
The force of the punch landed squarely on his abdomen.
Zhao Zhongyong let out a muffled grunt. His face turned deathly pale in an instant, and his stout body, as if struck by a giant log, staggered back seven or eight steps before he fell on his rear at the edge of the stage, unable to get up for some time.
"You let me win."
Chen Shouheng withdrew his fist. His breathing was slightly ragged, but it quickly returned to normal.
The crowd below once again erupted in earth-shattering cheers!
"Fist Intent! Amazing!"
"This Chen Shouheng’s Fist Technique is truly incredible!"
...
Chen Shouheng walked off the stage, his gaze sweeping over the other arenas.
Liu Ruoyi was facing a tall Swordsman.
The Swordsman’s Saber Technique was ferocious, his strikes powerful and heavy.
Everyone had assumed that the seemingly fragile Liu Ruoyi would be caught in a difficult fight.
However, once the fight began, Liu Ruoyi displayed a style completely different from the one she had shown in the Martial Array the day before.
Her Body Technique was as light as a swallow’s. She twisted and turned with exceptional agility, always managing to evade her opponent’s ferocious saber strikes by a hair’s breadth.
Her attacks weren’t head-on clashes. Instead, she used continuous jabs with her fingertips, identifying and striking Acupoints with exquisite and swift technique.
After several exchanges, she seized an opening. With a twist of her slender waist, she flashed behind the Swordsman like a phantom. Condensing Inner Qi at her fingertips, she struck out like lightning, hitting an Acupoint on his back.
The Swordsman’s body stiffened abruptly, as if he had been hit by an Immobilization Technique. He was completely unable to move, his face a mask of utter shock.
Liu Ruoyi floated back lightly and gave a slight curtsy to the referee.
A wave of surprised gasps and praise immediately rose from the crowd.
No one had expected this seemingly pitiful and lovely girl to possess such a refined Lightweight Skill and acupoint stimulation technique. Her strength was far greater than it appeared on the surface.
...
On the stage.
After two intense rounds of competition, only six people remained on the stage.
In the stands, everyone’s gaze was focused here. They held their breath, waiting for the results of the next draw.
Chen Shouheng stood quietly to one side, slowly regulating his breathing.
His calm gaze swept over the other five contestants.
There was the burly Yue Zifeng, the agile Liu Ruoyi, and three other Qi Realm Perfection masters who could not be underestimated.
The draw began.
"Contestant A, Chen Shouheng."
"Contestant B, Xu Yongping."
Chen Shouheng raised his gaze slightly to look at his opponent.
He was a lean, grim-faced Swordsman dressed all in black. His eyes were like a falcon’s, and at his waist hung a long, narrow, curved saber. The scabbard was plain, but it faintly emanated an air of bloodlust.
The man’s name was Xu Yongping.
In the previous two rounds, he had used his unpredictable Saber Technique and elusive Body Technique to defeat his opponents with ease, without even drawing blood, leaving a deep impression on everyone.
The two leaped onto the stage.
Xu Yongping’s voice was hoarse. "Xu Yongping."
"Chen Shouheng," Chen Shouheng returned the courtesy.
The gong rang out sharply.
Xu Yongping’s figure moved in an instant.
He didn’t bother with any probing attacks, going all out from the very start.
His figure was as elusive as a phantom’s. His footwork was intricate, leaving behind a series of afterimages that dazzled the eye.
At the same time, the curved saber at his waist was suddenly unsheathed, tracing a desolate, cold arc of light as it aimed straight for Chen Shouheng’s throat.
The saber’s flash was fast, ruthless, and cunning. It came from an exceptionally strange angle, aimed exclusively at vital points.
Chen Shouheng’s heart tightened. He instantly pushed his Tiger Subduing Fist Intent to its absolute limit, blocking with both fists as he rapidly retreated.
SHHNK!
The saber’s edge practically grazed past the collar of his robe, the chill it gave off making his skin crawl.
His first strike having missed, Xu Yongping did not retract his saber. With a flick of his wrist, the blade’s light came at Chen Shouheng again, relentless and unending, like a gangrenous sore clinging to the bone.
Chopping, slicing, flicking, and sweeping—each slash was sinister and vicious. Combined with his smoke-like Body Technique, he actually produced several blurry afterimages on the stage, attacking Chen Shouheng from all directions at once.
This battle was far more difficult than any of the previous ones.
Xu Yongping was incredibly experienced. He completely avoided clashing head-on with Chen Shouheng, instead relying on his bizarre Body Technique and cunning Saber Technique to weave and harry him. He was like a cold, venomous snake, constantly searching for a single, fatal opening.
For a time, Chen Shouheng was completely suppressed. He could only push the defensive aspect of his Tiger Subduing Fist to its limit, the wind from his punches howling as he protected his vital points.
From the looks of it, he was in constant peril. Several times, he barely managed to evade the saber’s edge, drawing continuous gasps of alarm from the crowd.
"It’s going to be bad if this keeps up!"
"This Swordsman is too tricky!"
"Shouheng is being countered! His Fist Technique is powerful, but it’s useless if he can’t land a hit!"
Down below, Qian Laibao and Shi Zhongjian watched with sweaty palms, their nerves stretched taut.
Zhou Zhen also had his brows tightly knitted, his expression grave.