In the stands, silence reigned.
Many people had just glanced at their phones when they suddenly heard a "snap," and watched as the muscle-bound behemoth Ricken was sent flying backward in pain, admitting defeat.
What was going on? Wasn’t it said that Ricken was the strongest? How had he been defeated in just five seconds? Lu Chenzhou was also tall and robust, but compared to Ricken, he still appeared delicate. Normally, shouldn’t it have been Lu Chenzhou being sent flying instead?
After the silence, cheers erupted.
"Brother Lu is awesome!"
"Flying Swallow Martial Arts Hall! Flying Swallow Martial Arts Hall!"
Someone shouted, "Flying Swallow Sea Flying, Unrestrained," and then the crowd began to chant this slogan, which Ji Feiyan had modeled after Li Longwang’s, in waves.
"Flying Swallow Sea Flying, Unrestrained!"
Li Xianghua opened her eyes only when she heard the cheering.
"Is Chenzhou alright?"
Lu Guoping stood up happily and clapped his hands.
"What could go wrong? Chenzhou floored that guy in just a couple of moves."
"Really? That foreigner is a 200-pound strongman."
"What strongman or not? Martial arts is about technique and Qi-Blood, not just muscle mass and brute strength. Concentration is the essence, and not to mention Chenzhou has mastered the legendary Dark Force technique and can burst forth instantly."
"My son made a hundred thousand today all by himself, that’s half a year’s worth for me, no lie."
The old couple was overjoyed, unable to contain their excitement.
Shi Ruyu came down to the stage.
"Junior brother, that was well fought. You truly had the air of a Tiger Form."
"Thank you for your guidance, senior sister."
Lu Chenzhou thought that indeed, Fourth Rank crushed Third Rank, especially with Dark Force techniques. He had even held back, otherwise that one punch would have crippled Ricken’s arm.
"That punch was so cool, daring to face Ricken directly in a punch. Among the competitors here, aside from you, probably no one would dare do that. You’re set for first place now."
Being a fellow competitor from Flying Swallow Martial Arts Hall, he felt honored as well.
"Keep it up, let’s all aim for the top three."
Lu Chenzhou encouraged.
At the judges’ panel, emotions varied among the heads of the four major academies.
Ji Xuantong kept a composed exterior but was inwardly extremely thrilled.
"It’s damn exhilarating to have knocked Ricken out with a direct hit!"
You excel in head-on confrontations, I’ll boldly knock you out head-on!
Rickett looked displeased but said nothing.
Defeat was defeat. There had been no foul play. This was a competition categorized by age, but who could have predicted that Lu Chenzhou would break through to Fourth Rank in just two months?
Medics quickly checked Ricken and found no major issues, proving that Lu Chenzhou had shown restraint. Otherwise, a full-powered burst of Dark Force could have shattered bones!
Injuring muscles and bones means a hundred days of recovery, the bane of any martial artist.
Though embarrassed, as a judge, Rickett couldn’t leave his seat. He silently watched the subsequent matches, while Ricken, having lost all heart, went home.
This kid needed much more training both mentally and physically.
What could Jiang Jiao and the others even say now?
Lu Chenzhou was solidly Fourth Rank by now, leaving no suspense in the match.
They looked towards Ji Xuantong. Old Ji truly had stumbled upon a treasure.
The competition moved forward.
Wang Chong and Liu Qingyuan also each defeated their opponents, advancing to the top twelve. They looked towards Lu Chenzhou, who now sat alone with his eyes closed in meditation, praying that they wouldn’t have to face him in the quarterfinals.
Events had truly taken an unexpected turn.
This man had outright knocked the Giant’s son into the air.
That was a 2 Qi-Blood level, nearly Fourth Rank muscle monster.
What’s there to even compete for? This man is absolutely Fourth Rank, first place is undoubtedly his.
Such individuals with Low-Class root bones, stepping into Fourth Rank before 18, were exceedingly rare, even rarer than Intermediate root bones.
After a brief rest, the second round of matchups began.
Everyone was now only curious about who would come in second and third.
They also silently mourned for any competitor who would face Lu Chenzhou. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs noᴠelfire.net
Everyone assumed Lu Chenzhou was the unlucky one, not realizing that the real unfortunate one was Ricken, who, despite having the second strongest capabilities, was eliminated in the first round.
[Third Group: Du (Flying Swallow) vs Lin Guan (Youlong)]
[Group Six: Chenzhou (Flying Swallow) vs Wang Chong (Golden Lion)]
Someone from the Golden Lion Martial Arts Hall’s stand couldn’t help but curse.
"It’s over, Brother Wang Chong was stably top three."
"Yeah, it’s really frustrating."
Dancing Lion was also feeling bitter inside.
"Chong had a small breakthrough recently, under normal circumstances, he had a chance for second place... Now it’s hopeless, let’s aim for second place next year."
As for first place, forget it.
Before Chenzhou was promoted to the youth category, no one could compete with him.
This kid must have had an epiphany.
Seeing the matched opponent, Chenzhou breathed a sigh of relief. That Chen Guan was one of the few Second Rank contestants with good luck to make it to the second round, Chenzhou was lucky.
He easily won the fight and advanced to the top six.
Ji Xuantong was hopeful in his heart.
"Lucky fellow, Chenzhou kicked the two toughest guys out, this kid really has a chance for top three."
All I can say, Chenzhou’s matchup was extraordinary.
When it was Chenzhou’s turn on stage, he bowed and introduced himself.
Wang Chong also smiled superficially:
"Wang Chong, Golden Lion Martial Arts Hall, skilled at ’Lion Fist’."
He couldn’t really smile inside.
A stable top three, gone.
Luckily with Ricken as the first unfortunate one, he already knew Chenzhou’s strength, so he calmed his mind, just aiming to last more than ten seconds.
Chenzhou let Wang Chong attack first.
Wang Chong, like a lion dancer, lightly touched the ground and floated towards Chenzhou, then threw a palm strike, which Chenzhou easily deflected without moving.
Wang Chong jumped three feet high, exploding with a right spinning kick!
Chenzhou dodged easily with a move "Black Tiger Leaps the Gorge," then smashed a punch towards Wang Chong’s flying right leg, causing Wang Chong to instantly lose stability, breaking his momentum!
His stepwork also began showing signs of disorder, a grave taboo in a martial contest.
What followed was a one-sided onslaught from Chenzhou. His fierce punches stormed like a tempest, and Wang Chong could only rely on the "Dancing Lion Step" to keep dodging.
He knew Chenzhou was letting him off easy, otherwise with dark force used in that earlier strike, he would have been blown away, for which he was also grateful. Finally, after holding on for thirty seconds, Wang Chong was slammed to the ground by Chenzhou, raising both hands.
"You fought pretty well."
Chenzhou said, smiling as he pulled him up.
"I did poorly, embarrassed myself."
Wang Chong, blushing, vanished from the stage in a flash.
Dancing Lion below looked towards Ji Xuantong, thinking internally:
Liu Qingyuan, Chenzhou, and Du along with three others advanced into the top six, one of them being Ricken’s disciple, the equally robust Third Rank contestant Gao Fei.
He was the last hope for Giant Elephant Fighting Hall.
In the match for the top three, Chenzhou faced a Third Rank contestant from Youlong Martial Arts Hall and defeated him in just over twenty seconds without suspense.
Du fought a tough battle with Gao Fei, enduring a fierce fight for over ten minutes, barely winning using the nimble Flying Swallow Sea Flying technique to enter the top three. Finally, it was the championship contest between Chenzhou, Liu Qingyuan, and Du.
He faced Chenzhou right away.
He took a deep breath and said:
"Let’s go, we haven’t sparred in a long time."
He also recalled the days sparring with Du, then seriously fought him using the Flying Swallow Sea Flying technique, and in one minute, Du was sent flying out of the ring with a move "Flying Swallow Pecks Water."
Du was very happy to be in the top three.
Losing to Chenzhou was not disgraceful.
After a final showdown, Chenzhou defeated Liu Qingyuan, who then defeated Du. The final rankings were set, with him rightfully being the champion! Chenzhou stood in the champion’s spot, holding a sign for 100,000 yuan and a trophy.
Today was destined to be a day of great significance.
And his path to being a champion had just begun!