Champion! An Impatient Director Qian

A breeze swept across the square.

The venue, filled with thousands of people, fell utterly silent.

Li Hao stood on the left side of the arena.

He took off his jacket and casually tossed it to a follower below the platform.

He wore a tight-fitting training outfit that showed the definition of his muscles.

Chen Fan stood on the right. He wore East Sea Martial Arts Elementary School's loose uniform, his arms hanging naturally at his sides.

The difference in their physiques was enormous.

Li Hao stared into Chen Fan's eyes. He tried to find a trace of nervousness or apprehension in them.

He failed. Those eyes held nothing but calm.

"I admit you're a monster," Li Hao said, his voice carrying across the venue. "But I have to defend Experimental Primary School's honor."

Chen Fan did not respond. He did not even change his stance.

The referee walked to the center of the arena.

He raised his right hand, then swung it down sharply.

"Final match, begin!"

Li Hao bent his legs, then abruptly straightened them.

Boom!

The polymer material on the arena floor exploded in an instant.

Fragments flew in every direction.

A violent surge of Qi and Blood erupted from his body.

23 calories!

The air warped.

A pale red aura enveloped his entire body. The surrounding temperature rose sharply.

In the stands, Experimental Primary School's principal slapped his thigh hard.

"Good! 23 calories of Qi and Blood! Li Hao has made another breakthrough in the past two weeks!" His face flushed with excitement, he turned to Director Qian beside him. "Director Qian, what do you think of this boy?"

Director Qian leaned forward, his gaze fixed on the arena, and said nothing.

In East Sea Martial Arts Elementary School's rest area, Liu Haifeng shattered the plastic chair beside him with a slap.

"23 calories... This is trouble."

Wang Zhen gritted his teeth, sweat beading on his forehead.

Wei Zhe and the other students held their breath, staring intently at the arena.

Li Hao gave Chen Fan no time to react.

He pushed off, leaving an afterimage as he charged straight at Chen Fan.

When he was still five meters away from Chen Fan, Li Hao crossed his arms before his chest, then thrust them forward.

Whoosh!

The sound of surging water rang out of nowhere.

Li Hao swung his arms at incredible speed, leaving layers of afterimages. His punching force built up wave after wave, converging in front of him.

Golden Qi and Blood burst from his body, transforming into a dense net of fists that blotted out the sky as it bore down on Chen Fan.

"That's... a perfected basic fist technique, the Wave-Stacking Fist!"

In the VIP seats, a Martial Dao Association official shot to his feet and cried out.

"An elementary school student actually mastered a fist technique to perfection? Can his meridians withstand it?"

"The Li Family has deep reserves. They must have used special medicinal baths to lay his foundation. That Chen Fan is finished now. A basic fist technique at the greater mastery stage could never withstand an eruption at the perfection stage!"

Discussion broke out all around.

Li Hao's lips curled into a crazed smile.

This was his greatest trump card.

To master this move, he had broken three ribs in his family's gravity chamber.

"Fall!"

Li Hao roared.

The wind from his fists rushed at Chen Fan's face.

The loose strands of hair on Chen Fan's forehead blew backward.

He watched the red net of fists.

Chen Fan drew his right foot back half a step, his sole plowing a shallow white mark into the arena.

He drove power from his waist.

A series of explosive cracks rang out from his spine.

He raised his right hand and curled his five fingers into a fist.

His 24.6 calories of Qi and Blood roared into motion inside him, following a particular route through his meridians and surging into his right arm in an instant.

He compressed his greater mastery stage Five Elements Fist intent to its limit.

No Qi and Blood leaked from the surface of his right fist. It did not even have the slightest sheen.

Every bit of his power was contained within.

Facing the fist shadows filling the sky, Chen Fan threw a punch.

The most basic straight punch.

His fist smashed into the red net of fists.

Time slowed.

The first wave of Li Hao's punching force met Chen Fan's fist, and its red Qi and Blood dispersed instantly.

The second wave collapsed.

The third shattered.

Chen Fan's fist did not pause in the slightest. Like a force crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood, he punched through every defense created by the Wave-Stacking Fist.

A spiraling hidden force traveled along Chen Fan's fist and slammed straight into Li Hao's crossed arms.

Crack!

The sound of bones breaking rang out clearly.

Li Hao's arms broke and crashed heavily into his own chest.

An immense force poured forth.

Li Hao's body was instantly lifted off the ground. He spewed a mouthful of blood in midair, flying backward uncontrollably.

He flew out of the arena and across the ten-meter buffer zone.

Bang!

Li Hao crashed into Experimental Primary School's rest area, smashing three tables and overturning seven or eight chairs.

He lay in the wreckage with his eyes tightly shut, completely unconscious.

The square fell utterly silent.

The wind swept past the flags, making them snap and flutter.

The flush rapidly drained from Experimental Primary School's principal's face, leaving him deathly pale. He stretched out a hand and pointed at Li Hao in the wreckage, unable to utter a word for a long time.

The medical team came to its senses and rushed toward Li Hao with a stretcher.

Three seconds later.

"We won!"

Wei Zhe let out a roar that tore at his throat.

East Sea Martial Arts Elementary School's rest area erupted. Students tossed their uniforms into the air, while Liu Haifeng and Wang Zhen held each other tightly, the two middle-aged men's eyes rimmed red.

"Champions! We're the champions!"

The entire square erupted in a frenzy of noise.

"One punch! Another single punch!"

"Even a perfection-stage basic fist technique was blown apart with one punch! What kind of monster is he?!"

In the arena, Chen Fan withdrew his right hand, smoothed the wrinkles from his sleeve, and turned toward the steps.

"Wait!"

A thunderous shout came from the raised platform.

Director Qian shot to his feet and kicked the chair in front of him aside.

He did not take the stairs. He stepped over the platform railing and leaped down from a height of five meters.

His Qi and Blood erupted, and he stepped on the air twice in succession while airborne.

Bang!

Director Qian landed at the edge of the arena, stamping two deep pits into the alloy floor.

He strode toward Chen Fan, his usual composure and dignity nowhere to be found. He breathed rapidly, his eyes red and full of fervor.

The referee stepped forward. "Director Qian, the match just ended, you—"

"Out of my way!"

Director Qian bellowed.

A powerful ripple of Qi and Blood pushed the referee several meters away.

Director Qian rushed up to Chen Fan and reached out with both hands, gripping his shoulders tightly.

Chen Fan frowned slightly but did not pull free.

Director Qian stared into Chen Fan's eyes. His voice carried across the entire square through the miniature microphone on his chest.

"Would you be willing to join us at East Sea First High School?"

"I can give you the best student benefits!"

Director Qian's voice, carried through the miniature microphone, exploded like a thunderclap above the seething square.

The best student benefits!

Those words instantly drowned out all the noise and discussion.

At that moment, the way the thousands of teachers and students present looked at Chen Fan changed completely, regardless of their school or status.

Countless gazes, filled with envy, jealousy, fervor, and even greed, fixed themselves on the small, slender figure.

On the raised platform, Director Qian's hands remained clamped tightly on Chen Fan's shoulders, as though he were holding a peerless treasure.

His face was flushed with excitement, his eyes were red, and his breathing was rapid.

The roar in his heart was louder than any sound in the square.

A monstrous talent!

A monstrous talent like this only appears once in a century!

Once word gets out of East Sea City, those monstrous high schools in neighboring Jianghai City and even across the province will definitely swarm over like sharks that have smelled blood!

No!

I have to secure him now, immediately, this instant!

At that thought, Director Qian did not even wait for Chen Fan to respond. He raised his offer again before the entire crowd, his voice hoarse but incomparably clear.

"As long as you nod, I'll report it immediately and apply for an S-Rank Genius Special Recruitment Contract for you!"

"The principal of East Sea First High School will personally take you as his disciple and personally guide you!"

"All the cultivation resource repositories at the school, including those rated A-rank and above, will be open to you without restriction!"

Boom!

If the earlier promise had been a bomb, these words were a nuclear bomb detonating in everyone's minds!

"Open without restriction!"

Those words plunged the entire venue into three long seconds of suffocating, absolute silence.

Then an uproar more frenzied than any before erupted!

"He's gone mad! Director Qian has gone mad!"

"Unrestricted access to the A-rank resource repository? A single vial of the most ordinary potion in there is enough to cover an ordinary student's quota for a year!"

In East Sea Martial Arts Elementary School's rest area, Wei Zhe's eyes turned bloodshot as he listened.

They had never even heard of such treatment, much less dared to dream of anything so outrageous!

Director Qian stared intently at Chen Fan. He believed that no one could refuse terms capable of changing the fate of any child from a humble family.

He was even ready to open his Personal Computer the instant Chen Fan nodded and sign an electronic agreement on the spot, making everything an ironclad fact!

Yet just as he thought victory was in his grasp, it happened.

A gentle chuckle, carrying an unquestionable note, drifted over from the side.

"Heh heh, Director Qian, you're being... far too impatient."

The voice was not loud, but it was like a basin of cold water, instantly dousing the flames of fervor around Director Qian.

At some point, Principal Li Guangming had walked onto the arena.

With a warm smile on his face and his hands behind his back, he walked at a leisurely pace, like a kindly old neighbor out for an after-dinner stroll.

But the route he took was exceedingly artful. He walked straight between Director Qian and Chen Fan, using his slightly hunched body to unobtrusively separate the hands holding them together.

Director Qian's brow immediately furrowed.

"Thank you, Director Qian, for your high regard for our student."

Li Guangming first cupped his hands toward Director Qian and offered a polite word, adopting a very humble posture.

But the next second, he abruptly changed tack and turned to Chen Fan. His old, chrysanthemum-like face filled with distress and concern as he let out a long sigh.

"However, Director Qian, you see, Chen Fan is only an eight-year-old child."

"An S-rank contract, personal instruction from the principal... These honors are far too distant and far too heavy for him."

"What we educators fear most is pulling up the seedlings to help them grow and ruining a child's foundation!"

His words sounded high-minded and left not a drop of water through.

In just a few sentences, he had casually redefined Director Qian's recruitment, born of a thirst for talent, as pressure that disregarded a child's physical and mental well-being.

And he himself stood firmly on the moral high ground of protecting students and following the principles of education.

"You!"

Director Qian's expression changed, and he was just about to speak up in rebuttal.

But Li Guangming gave him no chance whatsoever.

He lovingly took Chen Fan's small hand and turned to face the crowd, his voice rising sharply as he announced in a ringing voice:

"The match is over, and I declare this exchange tournament a resounding success! Next comes the exciting award ceremony!"

"As for Chen Fan's future, our school will discuss it carefully and thoroughly with his family, and we will absolutely respect the child's own wishes!"

"Now, let's give our little champion a good rest first!"

With that, Li Guangming did not spare Director Qian another glance. Holding Chen Fan's hand, he walked straight down from the arena, with Liu Haifeng and Wang Zhen guarding them like a pair of door gods, one on each side, amid a sea of complicated gazes mixed with awe, envy, and shock.

The whole sequence flowed like clouds and running water, too fast for anyone to react.

Director Qian's outstretched hand froze in midair.

The expression on his face changed before everyone's eyes: his feverish flush gave way to a stunned, livid pallor, then turned purple with fury at having been made a fool of, before finally settling into a dark scowl.

He stared fixedly at Li Guangming's retreating back, slightly hunched yet walking as steadily as Mount Tai. At last, his teeth ground together as he squeezed out three words through them, one at a time.

"Old... fox... you!"