A Kick That Froze The Air

Taihe Peak arrived first, waiting at the martial arts arena for over an hour before Sect Master Qi Xiaotian finally arrived late with the experts from Tongtian Main Peak.

All the leaders on the spectator stands rose simultaneously. Including the disciples from various peaks watching the battle, over three thousand people bowed in unison.

"Greetings, Sect Master!"

Qi Xiaotian said with a smile, "It's time for the Thirty-Three Peaks Martial Arts Tournament again. I hope the major main peaks can achieve satisfactory rankings..."

While Qi Xiaotian was giving his opening speech, Han Fei noticed several young people standing beside him.

"It's her..."

Han Fei's eyes immediately fell on Qi Xuanxuan, who was standing next to Qi Xiaotian.

"Is that the Saintess Qi Xuanxuan? She's truly beautiful."

"Don't even think about it. She's the Sect Master's daughter, how could someone like us possibly get close to her?"

Various discussions could be heard from the surroundings.

Qi Mengyu also sighed, "The Saintess is too beautiful. It makes even me, a woman, feel intensely envious."

Wei Ying added, "Yes, she's really beautiful and has a powerful background. Perhaps this is what they call perfection."

Han Fei sighed, "You only see her glamorous exterior. How could you understand how lonely she is? No friends, no fellow disciples. Her prominent family background also doesn't allow her to be weaker than others."

"So in her world, she can only focus on cultivation. This kind of life isn't necessarily suitable for everyone, at least I couldn't accept it."

Han Fei didn't know why he said such things, but it was likely out of concern. He had talked with Qi Xuanxuan all night and understood her experiences quite well. Subconsciously, he had already considered Qi Xuanxuan his friend.

Third Senior Brother Heran said with some surprise, "Junior Brother, you seem to understand the Saintess very well. Could it be that you often fantasize about her?"

The others also chuckled.

Du Kun added, "Although your talent isn't low, Junior Brother, and you have a Supreme Spiritual Root, you've wasted too much time. It seems a bit late to try and catch up now. Look at Fu Jiahao back then; he's well-dressed now, and his status is far beyond what you or I can compare to."

Han Fei couldn't be bothered to reply to them. Frankly, they were just feeling a bit jealous.

Suddenly, Han Fei felt an unfriendly gaze. It was Fu Jiahao, standing on the other side of Qi Xiaotian.

Fu Jiahao, dressed in a white robe, stood with his hands behind his back, a slight smile on his face as he looked in Han Fei's direction.

They had grown up together and entered the Tianyuan Divine Sect together, but their relationship wasn't good now. Han Fei didn't know why, but ever since Fu Jiahao became successful, he had treated Han Fei like an enemy. As far as he could recall, he hadn't done anything to wrong him.

Fu Jiahao muttered in a low voice, "We both have Supreme Spiritual Roots, yet our achievements today are worlds apart. Aren't you upset? Don't worry, I won't make things easy for you. Since childhood, I've always looked up to you. From now on, I'll make you constantly look up to me, even beg me."

After Qi Xiaotian's opening speech, the rules for this year's Thirty-Three Peaks Martial Arts Tournament were announced.

"Except for Tongtian Peak, which has ten spots, all other main peaks have five. A total of one hundred and seventy people."

"One hundred and seventy people will engage in one-on-one duels, with eighty-five advancing to the second stage. Then Fu Jiahao will join, making a total of eighty-six people to determine forty-three for the third stage. After that, Qi Xuanxuan will join, determining twenty-two for the fourth stage."

"It gets interesting in the fourth stage. After determining eleven people, it will be an arena battle. You'll fight continuously against others, and finally, rankings will be based on the number of wins. There are generous rewards for first to tenth place. Of course, the higher the rank, the more tempting the rewards."

After the rules were explained, Han Fei was surprised to find that he was the first one to compete.

Seeing Han Fei's surprised expression, Daoist Sanyuan explained, "All participant rankings are from bottom to top. This also avoids excessively large disparities in strength."

Han Fei let out a sigh of relief, "Understood, I'll go down then."

With that, Han Fei channeled his spiritual energy and leaped directly from the stone pillar.

His opponent was the seventh-ranked disciple of Giant God Peak, named Lin Shu.

Lin Shu was already standing in the arena. Nearly a hundred disciples from Giant God Peak were watching and cheering him on with deafening shouts.

Disciples from neighboring main peaks were discussing the difference in strength between the two.

"I've heard of Lin Shu. He suddenly rose to prominence three years ago. His Mid-grade Spiritual Root inexplicably became a High-grade Spiritual Root, and his cultivation began to advance by leaps and bounds. In just three years, he reached the seventh level of the Innate Realm. He has considerable prestige on Giant God Peak."

"Have you heard of this Han Fei?"

Several companions nearby shook their heads.

"He's probably an unknown nobody. Looking at his cultivation, he's only at the sixth level of the Innate Realm, a whole minor realm below Lin Shu."

"Alas, it seems Taihe Peak is still the same this year, with no truly capable talents."

On the spectator stands of Tongtian Peak, Qi Xuanxuan was stunned when she saw Han Fei go down first. Then, a faint smile appeared on her face, "It's you first, surprisingly. Good luck!"

In the arena, Lin Shu looked at Han Fei with disdain, "The talents of your Taihe Peak are becoming increasingly scarce. I was actually hoping to fight an opponent of the same level, or even a higher level, from your Taihe Peak, but now it seems..."

He sighed slightly and continued, "You should just concede. I can't be bothered to fight you."

Han Fei shook his head helplessly, "Are you going to fight or not? Why so much nonsense? Aren't we both the bottom feeders? Is that why we're fighting first? Where do you get this sense of superiority?"

Lin Shu's face turned red from Han Fei's retort, and the surrounding disciples burst into laughter, deepening Lin Shu's hatred.

"Kid, you're f*cking asking for death."

He had already decided to make Han Fei pay a heavy price.

Filled with rage, Lin Shu charged directly at Han Fei.

At this moment, Lin Shu had just raised his right arm, not even drawing his weapon. In his mind, using a weapon against Han Fei would be an insult to himself.

Just then, Han Fei's figure began to blur. At this instant, Lin Shu was the first to notice.

"Afterimage?"

Bang, before Lin Shu could react, Han Fei's right leg had already swept across his face.

A burst of energy exploded, and Lin Shu was sent flying backward, finally crashing heavily onto the ground.

Only then did Han Fei's afterimage completely disappear.

Han Fei walked towards the Taihe Peak spectator stands with a look of disdain, muttering, "So much nonsense, what a waste of time."

The entire venue, with over three thousand people, was eerily silent. Everyone was unusually quiet, their eyes wide open, watching the unbelievable scene that had just unfolded.

The first to snap out of it was Qi Xuanxuan, who let out a chuckle.

"He really had something to rely on. No wonder he had that confident expression that day."

In stark contrast to her was Fu Jiahao beside her.

Fu Jiahao narrowed his eyes. He was the last person who wanted to see Han Fei rise. He didn't want to be suppressed by Han Fei anymore, nor did he want to bow and scrape to him. At this moment, a murderous intent arose within him; he wanted Han Fei dead.

After a good ten seconds, the entire crowd erupted with a "whoosh," and discussions rose like waves.

Even Sect Master Qi Xiaotian was somewhat surprised. He quickly asked the elder beside him about Han Fei's identity and origin.

Meanwhile, Lin Shu, who had been lying on the ground for ten seconds, stirred and slowly tried to get up. However, the bent state of his legs made one doubt if he could stand at all.

By this time, Han Fei was nearing the edge of the plaza when the referee elder called out to him.

"Han Fei, Lin Shu hasn't lost his fighting ability yet. The match isn't over."

Han Fei paused, turning his head slightly with a confident expression. "Can he even stand up? I have no grudge against him and don't intend to kill him. Just declare the match over."

As soon as Han Fei finished speaking, Lin Shu completely collapsed, simultaneously declaring Han Fei the victor.

In the Taihe Peak section, nearly a hundred disciples of Taihe Peak erupted in excited cheers. On the spectator stands, Daoist Sanyuan cast a triumphant glance at Daoist Yiyuan. This match was incredibly satisfying for Daoist Sanyuan.

Qi Mengyu and the others also clenched their fists, looking delighted. No matter how much they disliked Han Fei, they were now united on the same front, facing external opposition together.

"My heavens, what's this kid's background? He took down an opponent a level higher in one move. That's terrifying."

"Did the sect make a mistake? This kid must be from Tongtian Peak, right? Did Tongtian Peak secretly lend their genius to Taihe Peak?"

Such words spread rapidly through the crowd, quickly making Han Fei's name known.

After all, winning a match in the Thirty-Three Peaks Martial Arts Tournament meant being at least in the top hundred among the tens of thousands of disciples in the sect. This level of strength was worth getting to know.

Moreover, Han Fei had defeated his opponent with a single kick. Compared to ordinary matches, this kind of victory was far more spectacular.