Shocking! Fang Pingsheng and Wang Tianlong's Shock!

Five breaths, and six men had been crushed!

What kind of concept was that!?

Even if he were beating a few pigs, it wouldn't have been this fast, would it?

"Run! Run! Run!"

Witnessing this nightmare-like scene, the last three had utterly lost their courage. They no longer dared face Huo Yuanhong and turned to flee, hoping at least one of them could escape!

They no longer dared dream of ganging up on the heavily injured Huo Yuanhong. All they wanted was to jump off the arena first.

Originally, they could have simply shouted their surrender. But for this match, in order to cripple the Divine Spear Martial Hall's genius and let everyone witness the miserable state of that genius, they had urged the renowned masters on their side to alter the rules:

To promote the indomitable spirit of martial artists, surrender was not permitted lightly! One had to either be beaten unconscious or forced out of the arena for the match to be considered over!

Now they had truly lifted a rock only to smash their own feet! They had trapped themselves!

Fortunately, there were three of them. Surely one or two would have a chance to jump down.

However...

Huo Yuanhong moved his feet and raised an arm, crashing forward like a mountain. Violent Internal Force sent one of them flying with a bang, smashing him into the backs of the two men ahead.

Bang! Bang!

They all fell together. Looking at the arena edge, only three steps away, they sank into utter despair.

There was no time!

The time it would take to get up, rush a few steps, and leap down was already enough for Huo Yuanhong to knock them over!

Even if they did not get up and simply rolled down, it would still be too late!

That was right!

There were three of them against Huo Yuanhong alone, yet they did not even have the confidence to last long enough to jump off the arena!

And the truth was indeed exactly so!

Bang!

Huo Yuanhong drove a Peak Elbow Strike downward, domineering Internal Force surging forth. It shattered one man's desperately raised arms like dry wood and rotten weeds, then struck the face of the man who had just pushed himself up!

Broken teeth flew with blood. Ripples burst across the man's face, twisting his features, and he rolled over once before passing out on the spot!

Immediately afterward, Huo Yuanhong spun, then turned with a Rub Kick, precisely striking the chest of the man trying to roll away. It was as if he had been stabbed by a great spear; he spat blood and slid sideways, unable to rise.

And as he slid away, he happened to block the last man's path, causing him to stumble.

"No!!!"

Despair filled the last man's eyes as he watched the path to survival, about to open before him, close up once more. Like a madman, he steadied himself and lunged for the arena's edge, only one final step away!

But...

Huo Yuanhong had arrived!

Smack!

A direct King of Hell's Hand Flick, force like a snapping bow, movement like bursting thunder! With one smack, he struck the man senseless, sending him stiffly crashing to the ground!

He had been only a tiny bit away from jumping off the arena, but he would never get another chance!

One breath. Finished!

At this moment, aside from Huo Yuanhong, no one on the arena remained standing.

The entire venue fell deathly silent. Countless stunned gazes watched Huo Yuanhong raise his head beneath the fierce, brilliant noon sun, narrow his eyes slightly, and walk down from the arena.

Leaving Sword Inquiry Martial Hall's group of contestants lying quietly upon the stage.

"Good night."

"Where did Huo Yuanhong go? Don't tell me he wants to dodge the match because he doesn't dare take the field?"

"It'd be better if he doesn't show up. If we send someone else up, our martial hall might even gain another ranking advantage!"

"That's right. If Junior Brother Qin took the field instead, perhaps we could even take tenth place!"

Standing where they were, everyone was puzzled and confused by Huo Yuanhong's sudden departure. Yet after only briefly discussing it, they turned the topic back to who should serve as the inferior horse against Yue Xiuwen!

No one was willing to waste any more time on Huo Yuanhong. If not for the fact that he occupied one of the slots, they would not even have remembered a person like him.

Now that this universally acknowledged inferior horse would not be facing Yue Xiuwen, they naturally had to discuss the matter anew and maneuver someone else into replacing Huo Yuanhong as a sacrificial trade.

Thus, these elite disciples of the strongest martial halls—glamorous and respected in the eyes of outsiders—began fiercely shirking and wrangling, trying to use their backgrounds and wealth to force others into facing Yue Xiuwen.

They had no idea that this match against the other martial halls had already ended.

Absurd. Ridiculous.

In the end, after a round of maneuvering, they put forward someone whose strength, family background, and wealth were all in the middle-to-lower tier to serve as a sacrificial trade against Yue Xiuwen.

"Mr. Fang, everything has been arranged."

Wang Tianlong walked into a corner and spoke to the middle-aged man from the Fang Family sitting there with his eyes closed, resting his mind.

"Understood."

Fang Pingsheng did not even lift his eyelids, unwilling to spare Wang Tianlong so much as a glance.

If not for the enormous Fang Family interests tied up in the tournament, someone of his status would never have resorted to something as petty as drawing lots.

It was far too beneath him.

This important Fang Family figure who held the authority over resource allocation wore a cold expression. He was deeply disappointed in Wang Tianlong, who had suffered a crushing defeat at Yue Xiuwen's hands. Gone was the appreciation he had shown for an outstanding junior in the dining hall earlier.

If Wang Tianlong had not still counted as Divine Spear Martial Hall's most outstanding Manifest Strength prodigy after having his arm reattached, Fang Pingsheng would not even have come to see him.

"Mr. Fang, then I'll be taking my leave first."

Seeing Fang Pingsheng's frosty reaction, Wang Tianlong felt somewhat dissatisfied as well.

With someone like Yue Xiuwen—a Manifest Strength fighter so absurdly beyond the limits—appearing, losing first place was perfectly normal. Could that really be blamed on his lack of strength?

Of all the Manifest Strength prodigies invested in by the Fang Family, and all the Manifest Strength experts painstakingly nurtured by Divine Spear Martial Hall and the other major martial halls, aside from that monster Yue Xiuwen, who could compare to Wang Tianlong?

In any case, the Fang Family could only invest in him. There was no one more outstanding to choose from, so Wang Tianlong was perfectly confident.

He knew that after this, Fang Pingsheng would not only refrain from cutting off his resources, but would instead increase the investment again in order to ensure their side had someone capable of standing against Yue Xiuwen. He would provide even more and better resources, allowing him to catch up as quickly as possible!

"Eh, Huo Yuanhong is back!"

Just then, a sharp-eyed disciple cried out. Fang Yu, Wang Tianlong, and the others all turned to look, only to see Huo Yuanhong walking in. Not far behind him, Old Xu followed soundlessly.

He had returned so quickly. No one knew what he had gone off to do, and the crowd grew even more puzzled.

Yet Huo Yuanhong ignored the disciples around him. Amid everyone's baffled and astonished gazes, he walked straight onto the arena and took down the bottle of Crimson Refining Paste displayed at the highest point.

Then he stepped directly off the arena and headed outside.

"Stop!"

Someone tried to stop him, but Old Xu gave them a faint glance. They instinctively backed away, and in the end could only watch helplessly as Huo Yuanhong left with the top-grade medicinal paste.

"Elder Xu, this Crimson Refining Paste is the prize for first place. Isn't this favoritism of yours a little too much...?"

"Could this be Hall Master Li's intention?"

Fang Pingsheng frowned and stepped forward as he spoke.

Wang Tianlong, the other disciples nearby, the plump steward, and the rest were also somewhat displeased, though none dared show it openly.

Even if Li Shuxing was the Hall Master of this martial hall, favoring a disciple this openly—without even holding the competition and simply deciding that the Crimson Refining Paste belonged to Huo Yuanhong—was simply too overbearing!

That was right...

Overbearing!

In nearly everyone's eyes, the purpose of this old steward from the Hall Master's side accompanying Huo Yuanhong was to suppress them, so that Huo Yuanhong could take the Crimson Refining Paste!

Old Xu did not answer. He merely swept his gaze slowly around the room and said calmly, "Disperse. There's no one left to compete against, so what are you still competing for? Other than Huo Yuanhong in first place, everyone else gets zero points."

"What do you mean by that, Elder Xu?"

Fang Pingsheng's expression darkened slightly.

Wang Tianlong narrowed his eyes as well, feeling that Old Xu was taking a jab at his earlier defeat by Yue Xiuwen.

The others around them also broke into a stir.

"Why? Even Senior Brother Wang isn't qualified to take first place, so what makes Huo Yuanhong qualified to take it..."

Someone, though no one knew who, muttered from within the crowd.

They were all dissatisfied with Li Shuxing's favoritism, with first place being decided in advance like this. They felt it was unfair and unjust to Wang Tianlong.

It was only that no one dared say it aloud in front of Old Xu.

"Why?"

Facing the looks in everyone's eyes, their emotions on the verge of bursting free, Old Xu remained expressionless. He could not even be bothered to look at them again, simply walking out on his own.

He left behind only one calm sentence, yet it struck their ears like thunder.

"Because Huo Yuanhong... defeated Yue Xiuwen by himself, and defeated every elite of Sword Inquiry Martial Hall!"