Wei Wuji

After the first fierce round of matches, forty-seven people were brutally eliminated. Yang Wei, who was usually lax in his training, naturally lost in the very first round.

"Brother Qi'an! You're way too fierce... You sent him flying with a single punch!"

Yang Wei did not need to participate in the remaining matches, so he watched the other bouts together with Xia Qi'an.

"It was only luck! If we had been allowed to use our vital energy, the outcome would have been hard to say!" Xia Qi'an said modestly.

"Brother Xia, you're too modest. Once we're in the Wei Dao Si, I'll have to rely on you to look after me!"

"Haha... Definitely, definitely!"

Xia Qi'an answered with a laugh.

After spending this period of time together, the three of them had grown increasingly familiar with one another.

Wang Xie, meanwhile, crushed his opponents one after another, advancing triumphantly into the next round.

Xia Qi'an's opponent in the second round was a frail woman named Zhou Xiaofan, whose mastery of concealed weapons had reached perfection.

Zhou Xiaofan was light as a swallow, and her concealed-weapon techniques flowed as smoothly as drifting clouds and running water. She was an exceptionally difficult opponent.

However, after more than a dozen fierce exchanges, Zhou Xiaofan found that Xia Qi'an's fierce offense and rock-solid defense left him without so much as a scratch, so long as he did not use his vital energy. She therefore made a prompt decision and admitted defeat!

In the third round, Xia Qi'an unexpectedly found himself facing Wang Xie.

Xia Qi'an gave a dry laugh. "Old Wang! We've been sharing a room for so long, but it seems we've never had a proper spar?"

Wang Xie smiled as well. "I've been thinking the same thing for a while!"

As soon as he finished speaking, both men's expressions turned solemn, and they instantly became locked in combat.

Wang Xie usually appeared lazy, but in truth, his martial cultivation was profound.

He was also skilled in saber techniques. His weapon was a willow-leaf saber as thin as a cicada's wing. Once wielded, it was as fast as lightning, its moves treacherous and uncanny, always targeting an opponent's vital points.

Xia Qi'an was no weaker. His fists shot out like wind, fierce and unmatched.

Every punch was like Mount Tai crashing down from above, carrying a majestic, overwhelming force.

"Clang!" "Clang!" "Clang!"...

In the blink of an eye, the two had exchanged several dozen blows.

Xia Qi'an's fists were like metal, meeting Wang Xie's saber edge barehanded.

The willow-leaf saber was undeniably sharp, but when it struck Xia Qi'an's fists, it could only leave behind a faint white mark.

Although Xia Qi'an still felt the pain, he had already grown accustomed to such injuries after the special training under Instructor Jiang Feng.

At last, he seized an opening and struck Wang Xie squarely in the right shoulder.

Wang Xie was overcome by pain. As though struck by lightning, he staggered back dozens of steps.

That punch had dislocated his right shoulder blade, leaving his right arm as limp and powerless as willow catkins in the wind.

Wang Xie clenched his teeth and endured the agony in his shoulder before admitting defeat. "What Iron Body technique! What fist technique! Brother Qi'an, you win!"

"Brother Wang! Thank you for letting me win!"

Their match had already drawn the attention of countless spectators.

Clearly, Xia Qi'an's domineering performance over several rounds had caught the notice of the others.

In the blink of an eye, the three-day tournament was nearing its end.

Xia Qi'an had hacked his way through every obstacle and finally reached the final battle.

His last opponent was a youth named Wei Wuji. He was tall and imposing, with a cold expression, and was only one year older than Xia Qi'an.

Like Xia Qi'an, Wei Wuji practiced martial arts that tempered the body through the Iron Body technique, and he was likewise skilled in fist techniques.

"Your Golden Body Technique is well practiced! Your Great Strength Vajra Fist has also reached a decent level. Unfortunately, you've run into me. You'll have to settle for second place!"

On the arena, Wei Wuji stood like an immovable mountain, evaluating Xia Qi'an without the slightest mercy.

"It's a little early to say that. You'll have to beat me first to know!"

After a few polite exchanges, Xia Qi'an and Wei Wuji attacked at the same time.

Without consulting each other, they chose to exchange punches head-on, driving their fists straight toward each other.

After all, they were both martial artists who cultivated their physical bodies, and neither was willing to show weakness before the other.

Boom!

Their fists collided squarely like falling meteors. It was as though a peal of thunder had exploded across the arena, the dull impact ringing deafeningly in everyone's ears.

In that head-on clash, the two were evenly matched. Neither gained the slightest advantage.

Yet neither was willing to retreat even half a step. Like two ferocious tigers, they faced each other in a deathly standoff.

Then, at the same time, they threw another punch, and both struck the other's face like a sudden storm.

Xia Qi'an and Wei Wuji were sent flying backward together, crashing heavily to the ground.

After taking that solid punch, Xia Qi'an's fury was ignited, and the ferocity buried in his bones was thoroughly awakened.

With a kip-up, he sprang from the ground like a hunting leopard, spat out a mouthful of filthy blood, and seemed determined to vent every ounce of his rage.

Then he let out a roar. His legs launched like springs, propelling his entire body off the ground like a cannonball as he charged at Wei Wuji once more, pouncing like a starving wolf upon its prey.

Seeing Xia Qi'an's ferocious advance, Wei Wuji shouted, "Good! Come on!"

This time, Xia Qi'an held nothing back and cast defense aside. His fists rained down like a violent storm, carrying the force of landslides and overturning seas.

Wei Wuji was unwilling to show weakness either. His fists moved like wind, answering with a stance as solid as rock, every punch like Mount Tai crushing an egg.

The two clashed fiercely once more, abandoning defense completely and allowing the other's fists to hammer into their bodies.

Neither was willing to yield an inch.

Even as their vital energy churned and their five viscera throbbed with agony, they merely clenched their teeth and forcibly swallowed the blood back down.

In the savage exchange of flesh-on-flesh blows, Xia Qi'an gritted his teeth, his face twisting into a horrifying snarl as blood seeped continuously from between them.

"Wei Wuji... I X your XX... go to hell!"

Xia Qi'an had worked himself into a fury.

Wei Wuji's eyes were likewise split wide with rage, his face contorted as he cursed through clenched teeth. "Country bumpkin... lowborn commoner, vulgar brute!"

Such a fierce battle continued without pause for more than half an hour.

Everyone watching was stirred to boiling blood.

At that moment, only one thought remained in Xia Qi'an's mind: beat Wei Wuji until he could no longer rise, until he was utterly prostrate beneath his feet.

In the end, the two of them exhausted the last shred of their strength at the same time.

They collapsed together.

A few breaths later, however, only Xia Qi'an managed to stagger to his feet.

"Wei Wuji... I won this match!"

Xia Qi'an roared at Wei Wuji, who lay sprawled at his feet, proclaiming his victory.

"Good!"

"That is the spirit a martial artist should have!"

"I declare the final victor of this tournament to be Xia Qi'an!"

The speaker was Chief Instructor Lin Beihai.

With Lin Beihai's announcement that the tournament had ended, Xia Qi'an's journey through the training camp came to a perfect close.

This also meant that he had officially become a member of the Wei Dao Si.

Over the following days, Xia Qi'an did not immediately return to Jinling to take up his post. Instead, he remained at the training camp, receiving recuperation and treatment from the Wei Dao Si physicians.

During this period, Xia Qi'an received the rewards from the tournament.

In total, she obtained three martial arts techniques.

The tournament champion's reward was the internal martial arts manual Extreme Wind Thunder Force.

This internal cultivation method required one to draw upon the power of wind and thunder through one's own vital energy to temper the body.

It nurtured the two natural forces of wind and thunder within the body.

This technique combined thunder's destructive power with the agility of wind.

It could be said to suit Xia Qi'an's qualities perfectly, while also making up for the shortcomings in her movement skills.

After careful consideration, Xia Qi'an realized that Lin Beihai had likely selected this technique especially for her.

Otherwise, it would have been far too great a coincidence.

Sure enough, after a cursory look, she found that the manual only contained the first three layers. The later portions would probably have to be exchanged for merit points.

The other two techniques were Wood Burning Saber Technique and Light Body Technique.

These two techniques were basic skills that every member who joined the Wei Dao Si had to practice.

When Wood Burning Saber Technique was used, scorching flames coiled around the blade, making it exceptionally effective against demons and strange entities.

As for Light Body Technique, it was utterly ordinary.

If she had had a better choice, Xia Qi'an would not have chosen this movement technique.

In addition, the tournament also rewarded her with one Vital Energy Pill.

This pill had been specially refined to increase a martial artist's vital energy, and it was enough to let Xia Qi'an undergo one more blood exchange.

By comparison, the two hundred taels of silver awarded alongside the other prizes seemed hardly worth mentioning.