Ji Feiyan was open and straightforward, speaking her mind about everything.
Initially, she had indeed underestimated Lu Chenzhou, which was a fact.
Lu Chenzhou also liked his senior sister’s bold and straightforward character.
"Senior sister flatters me, I will work hard."
After chatting with his senior sister, Lu Chenzhou closed his eyes to meditate and restore his energy.
Ji Xuantong, just like a parent at a parent-teacher meeting, walked around the rest areas of the other Martial Arts Halls with his hands behind his back, gathering the latest intelligence for Lu Chenzhou and the others.
"Brother Lu, long time no see."
Wang Chong from the Golden Lion Martial Arts Hall came over to greet him warmly.
"Brother Wang, it looks like you’ve made a breakthrough to Fourth Rank, congratulations!"
Lu Chenzhou said with a smile.
Wang Chong quietly asked,
"Brother Lu must be at Fifth Rank now, right?"
After the exchange competition, he knew that Lu Chenzhou was from the Dragon City Martial Arts School and had achieved Acquired Enlightenment. With half a year gone by, his cultivation progress must have been faster than his own.
Lu Chenzhou smiled slightly, which was taken as an affirmation.
Wang Chong felt a massive shock inside, "As expected, I knew he had reached Fifth Rank, truly unbelievable! Is this the world of Martial Arts School geniuses?!"
At nine o’clock, as the sponsor, the person in charge of the Su City branch of Diaoist Science and Technology took the stage, spoke for a few minutes, and then announced the official start of the competition, not wasting many words.
The style of the Martial Arts competition was just that efficient.
The time of those who train in martial arts is incredibly precious.
The format of the competition was still based on drawing lots to match opponents.
The first round was from 256 to 128, progressively selecting the ultimate champion. The morning was for elimination matches, the afternoon for the losers’ revival matches, and tomorrow for the finals.
On the huge screen, the computer randomized the opponents. Lu Chenzhou’s opponent was from the Tomorrow Martial Arts Hall, and according to Old Ji’s information, this person was supposed to be at Third Rank.
The arena had four platforms for simultaneous combat, and all matches were projected onto the three-dimensional surround screens so that the audience could choose which ones they were interested in.
Before long, it was Lu Chenzhou’s turn to go on stage, tens of thousands of gazes focused on him; after briefly looking around, he directed his gaze at his opponent and bowed with his fists,
"Flying Swallow Martial Arts Hall, Lu Chenzhou, from the Elephant Form lineage."
His opponent was a petite female warrior.
"Tomorrow Martial Arts Hall, Ling Xiang, Eight Trigrams Palm."
Eight Trigrams was also a standalone system of Inner Boxing, but in today’s age, it was not as widespread as Elephant Form Fist. Elephant Form had evolved over time from the original eight forms and twelve forms to now over a hundred forms, and it still had not reached its limit of potential.
Of course, lineages like Eight Trigrams and Tai Chi were still very strong, and perhaps a revolution in martial arts theory could catapult them ahead of Elephant Form; a rivalry between many schools was indeed best.
"Please begin, madam. You first!"
Lu Chenzhou smiled slightly, confidently at ease.
Ling Xiang moved in the Eight Trigrams Step, her body like a swimming dragon, her hands following her agile movement technique; with a yell, her presence was indeed fierce—showing that women were not inferior to men.
Lu Chenzhou easily dodged the attack and then with a shake of his arm and body, Ling Xiang flew back like a kite with a broken string. After flipping a few times in the air, she landed and said with a trembling voice,
Lu Chenzhou unenthused about defeating a Third Rank as a Sixth Rank; it gave him no sense of achievement.
"Let’s congratulate Lu Chenzhou for entering into the top 128 with an overwhelming victory!"
The commentator shouted excitedly.
The audience also cheered, creating wave after wave of noise.
"He’s very strong, definitely a high-level Fourth Rank!"
"A Fourth Rank could not achieve such ease; he must be a Fifth Rank."
"Sss, that certainly makes him a top contender for the championship."
Lu Chenzhou returned to the resting area.
"You didn’t even need to warm up, did you?"
Shi Ruyu and the students of the Flying Swallow Martial Arts Hall waved their flags and shouted:
"Flying Swallow Sea Flying, Unrestrained!"
"Flying Swallow is number one!"
"Brother Lu, invincible!"
The selection of the top 64 competition.
Lu Chenzhou’s opponent was a Fourth Rank player.
His recent performance had already made an impression on the audience.
The ordinary people in the spectator seats were discussing energetically:
"This guy probably can’t win instantly this time, right? I heard the commentator say his opponent seems to have mastered the Dark Force, capable of shattering bluestone slabs with one palm!"
"Amazing, it looks like a battle between dragons and tigers."
On the stage, Lu Chenzhou introduced himself as usual.
He invited his opponent to make the first move.
That person, however, insisted Lu Chenzhou go first.
"Then I’ll respectfully follow the offer!"
Lu Chenzhou crossed the stage like black lightning; he unleashed a punch with only seventy percent of his power, while his opponent tried to counter with stillness, attempting to grapple with Lu Chenzhou. Before even touching him, he felt a heavy punch to his chest, lifting him off the ground.
With a swoosh, the Fourth Rank expert also flew out of the stage.
"Oh my God, another one-hit knockout! Lu Chenzhou is simply a superman with his punches. No one has been able to withstand even one of his moves; he’s too strong!"
The commentator shouted excitedly.
The audience was equally thrilled, now utterly curious when Lu Chenzhou would use his second move... What level of cultivation does this young man have?!
Selecting the top 32 competition.
Lu Chenzhou was matched against another Dark Force opponent, and his reputation had begun to spread slightly in the arena, making him the top choice for the ’Demon King’ amongst the other competitors.
No one could gauge the depth of his strength.
This time, his opponent was 15 years old and said nervously:
"Iron Sword Martial Arts Hall, Zhang Lun, please instruct me."
Lu Chenzhou bowed in a fist salute in return.
Then he transformed into a Black Tiger, bursting forth with might. He leaped a dozen feet, and before Zhang Lun could even throw a punch, he felt the oppressive Tiger Evil Qi as though it sought to devour him.
Without a second thought, he shouted:
He simply couldn’t withstand the pressure from Lu Chenzhou. Feeling that facing him in combat could only result in death or injury, his timid and cowardice personality made him yield without fighting.
Lu Chenzhou’s fist was only a foot away from Zhang Lun at the time.
He pulled back as he wished, stopping inches as intended.
Lu Chenzhou politely smiled with a fist salute:
"Then I thank you for yielding."
Backstage in the resting area.
The Iron Sword Hall Master looked at Ji Xuantong, who was smugly pleased next to him, his face ashen. He had thought this Fourth Rank seedling would at least make it into the top 32, but luck had it that his student encountered Lu Chenzhou, the dark horse ’Demon King’, who was also Ji Xuantong’s disciple.
In earlier years, the two had some minor disagreements.
"Old pal, think about it this way, at least your disciple wasn’t injured, which is also a good thing," Ji Xuantong said, arms crossed, arrogant like a seagull above the ocean.
The Iron Sword Hall Master didn’t stay to watch the matches any longer and hurried away.
Surrendering without a fight was indeed somewhat disgraceful.
This was the first occurrence of such a scenario in the tournament.
The commentator’s voice spread throughout the venue:
"Lu Chenzhou has once again won in an instant, making him one of the hot favorites for this competition... Is there anyone who can make him strike a second punch?"
Over three matches, Lu Chenzhou dominated the field.
After the top 32 ended, he glanced over the list.
Wang Chong, Liu Qingyuan, Du, and Liu Quanhai were all eliminated. Some were just advanced to Fourth Rank, while others were still at the peak of Third Rank. Among the familiar faces, Ricken, Zhang Shushun, and the like had smoothly advanced, and he also noticed a special competitor:
This person was the son of Wang Jian, the master of Xihe Martial Arts Hall, a year older than himself, from a high school class in Magic City, with a cultivation level above Fifth Rank, having won the previous three matches with ease. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs NoveI-Fire.ɴet