What are you looking at?

Lu Jue felt a bit frustrated.

The opponent's strength was only comparable to Li Zhanting in his Crimson Blood Pill state.

But compared to the frenzied, only-attacking Li Zhanting, this person was clear-headed, and his footwork was elusive and unpredictable.

Every full-powered burst was neutralized by the opponent's exquisite footwork. This feeling of having nowhere to exert his strength made his whole body itch.

But it didn't matter.

He was no longer the same person he used to be.

The toughness boost from the Hundred Tough Fat Armor, combined with the tempered bronze sinews and iron bones from the Iron Bone Stance cultivation technique, formed a double defensive barrier.

After the initial probing, he realized that with the opponent's current strength, unless they could land several consecutive punches on the same spot in a very short time, it would be impossible to shake his defenses!

In comparison, the opponent's footwork was indeed exquisite, and his attacks were always aimed at vital points. But in the face of absolute defense, these flashy techniques were merely a struggle to delay defeat.

This prolonged fight was a good opportunity to train his own weakness: lack of speed.

On the other side, Yan Hao, completely unaware that he had become a whetstone, was having an incredibly difficult time.

Although he wanted to end the fight quickly, Lu Jue's fist arts were incredibly refined, leaving no openings near his head, making it impossible to land a blow there.

The gray arena floor was covered in countless deep footprints from his steps. He appeared to be handling it with ease, but in reality, his stamina was rapidly draining.

Maintaining his footwork placed a huge burden on his body, and every shift of his weight pulled at his sore muscles.

More importantly, he had to constantly guard against Lu Jue's "mutual destruction" counterattacks. The mental strain was far greater than the physical one.

If this continued, he would surely lose!

Yan Hao's eyes sharpened. He knew he had to take a risky gamble.

He only had a few wisps of internal force cultivated in his dantian, which he couldn't use recklessly.

According to the strict rules of the Quota Competition, internal force was absolutely forbidden from being used on an opponent's head, heart, or other vital areas.

However, within their circles, they had privately discussed a method that skirted the edge of the rules—since direct attacks on vital areas were prohibited, what about the limbs blocking those vital areas?

In this world, only those who could effectively resist the invasion of internal force were either those who defended with their own internal force or those who had cultivated advanced Hardening Techniques.

Normally, advanced cultivation techniques were incredibly precious to commoners. Most people would prioritize swordsmanship and fist arts that offered a qualitative change.

He bet that Lu Jue's hardening technique was definitely not an advanced one!

And now, he needed to hold on until the perfect moment!

Yan Hao's breathing became a taut, burning string in the air. His strategy became pure and extreme.

He abandoned all ineffective movements, all evasions, all feints, and all his strength, channeling it all into an attack aimed at the opponent's head.

He feinted with his left hand to draw attention, and his right finger shot out like lightning, aiming straight for Lu Jue's right eye!

Lu Jue violently turned his head, simultaneously raising his left arm to block firmly.

Then, in the instant Yan Hao's old strength faded and new strength had yet to arise, Lu Jue's long-suppressed heavy punch finally found an opening, like a cannonball fired from its chamber, and slammed towards Yan Hao's chest and abdomen!

BOOM!

Yan Hao's pupils contracted. He activated his footwork to its limit, his body flying backward like a willow catkin.

SWISH!

Although he dodged the fist itself, the sharp, unparalleled fist wind, like a tangible blade, fiercely grazed his left rib cage.

The fabric of his clothes instantly tore, and a searing pain erupted on his skin, as if he had been branded by a red-hot iron bar. His ribs ached, making it difficult to breathe.

But Yan Hao endured the pain, using the momentum to spin, and with a chop, he again struck cunningly towards Lu Jue's throat, forcing Lu Jue to lean back and block.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The sounds of impact were dense like rain.

Yan Hao's jabs aimed for the temples, his hooks swept past his ears, and his finger thrusts threatened his eyes. He seemed tireless, performing a high-speed dance of death around Lu Jue's head.

Lu Jue's arms moved like an impenetrable wall, blocking most of the attacks. Each block was accompanied by a fierce counterattack, using his elbows and knees as weapons, forcing Yan Hao to constantly evade and preventing him from launching continuous assaults.

But Yan Hao noticed that when facing consecutive attacks aimed at his temples from both sides, Lu Jue's evasions began to show subtle patterns.

An opportunity was born from inertia!

A sharp glint flashed in Yan Hao's eyes.

During a seemingly ordinary shift in position, his body suddenly stopped, transitioning from extreme motion to absolute stillness. Then, with a speed three points faster than before, he suddenly lunged forward!

Abandoning all feints, his right fist, like a dormant viper, tore through the air. His target was not Lu Jue's head, but his left elbow, which Lu Jue had instinctively raised to protect his head, positioning it horizontally in front of his forehead!

This punch, seemingly no different from before, carried all the precious internal force from Yan Hao's dantian, surging unreservedly through his arm meridians and concentrating at the tip of his fist!

He intended to break through the defense with a single point, using this indestructible internal force to forcibly shatter the defense of Lu Jue's arm and shock his vulnerable "Vital Point" behind it!

At this moment, Yan Hao could already see Lu Jue's arm bones shattering, his entire body being sent reeling and stumbling to the ground by the residual force!

He could already see that the moment Lu Jue fell defeated, on the spectator stands, Zhao He, who had always been indifferent to him, would suddenly stand up from his seat, his usual composure replaced by shock, his eyes blazing with an unprecedented fervor.

That door leading to the inner circle of true power, resources, and status was about to be blasted open for Yan Hao alone!

"Your physique is strong, but in the face of raw force—"

A long-suppressed growl erupted from his throat, his fist carrying an unshakeable belief in victory, and he slammed it forward with fierce intent!

"Break for me!"

"THUMP—!!!"

Fist met elbow in a violent collision!

A dull, heart-stopping roar exploded, like a heavy hammer striking a solid steel ingot!

However, the expected scene of Lu Jue being sent flying did not materialize.

Yan Hao felt as if his fist, along with his entire right arm, had slammed into an indestructible wall of steel!

At the moment of impact, a savage and overbearing counter-shock surged up his arm bones. His finger bones, wrist bones, elbow joint, and even his shoulder blade felt as if they were simultaneously pierced by countless red-hot steel needles, or repeatedly hammered by a heavy iron mallet.

Lu Jue's body, meanwhile, had merely retreated half a step, and the gray rock floor of the stage beneath his feet made a faint, almost negligible scraping sound.

That was all.

"This—how is this possible!?"

Yan Hao's entire right arm was numb and throbbing with pain, almost losing all sensation. The resolute expression on his face, anticipating victory, instantly froze, replaced by an expression of disbelief and horror.

What chilled him to the bone even more was that through the gap between their crossed arms, he saw a pair of eyes.

In those eyes, there was none of the pain or panic he had expected. There was only a calm that seemed to have seen through everything long ago, even carrying a hint of boredom.

Just then, those eyes slightly lifted, their icy gaze piercing through Yan Hao's shock. A plain, yet thunderous voice clearly entered his ears:

"What are you looking at?"