Early the next morning, everyone headed to the competition venue after breakfast. Quite a crowd had already gathered, and with Jiang Weiwei's treatment, Wang Meng and the others had mostly recovered. Jiang Weiwei had wanted them to rest another day, but they insisted on coming to watch the matches, so she let them have their way.
Once everyone was seated, Lin Hao suddenly felt an intensely fervent gaze fixed on him. Following it, he spotted a member of Longcheng Martial University's team in their waiting area. A chill ran down Lin Hao's back. Seriously, man, what's with that look?
The referee had already stepped onto the competition stage. The damage from yesterday's matches had been completely repaired.
"The first semifinal: Longcheng Martial University versus Shancheng Martial University. I invite the competitors from both sides to take the stage." As the referee announced the start of the match, the crowd's excitement reached its peak. "Lin Hao! Lin Hao! Lin Hao!" The spectators roared his name. Yesterday's scene of Lin Hao taking on four opponents alone had left a deep impression on them.
Lin Yueyue and the others, seated in the VIP section, looked surprised. "That brat Lin Hao—he's only been famous for a day, and he already has so many fans."
Fang Yao smiled behind her hand. "Looks like that idiot really did shock the audience yesterday."
Hearing the crowd roar his name like a crashing tide, Lin Hao was a little dazed. Damn, I guess I really am a celebrity now.
"As expected of my Great God Lin. Look at how fired up the audience is! This is the first time it's happened since the tournament began."
"Of course. Looks like the audience has the same good taste we do."
With everyone eagerly awaiting him, Lin Hao slowly stepped onto the stage. The man standing across from him was the very Longcheng Martial University team member with whom he'd just exchanged a look. The man clasped his hands in greeting. "Brother Lin, I'm Duan Yue, captain of Longcheng Martial University."
Lin Hao was somewhat surprised, then returned the salute. "Lin Hao, captain of Shancheng Martial University."
"Brother Lin, I have a suggestion. How about we decide the match in a single bout? My team members are all Silver Grade martial artists, so they're no match for you. I imagine the same goes for your side."
Lin Hao fell silent for a moment and glanced back at Jiang Weiwei and his teammates below the stage. When Jiang Weiwei nodded to him, Lin Hao stopped hesitating. "All right, Brother Duan. We'll settle it in one bout."
The spectators below had heard their conversation and immediately erupted into cheers, one wave rolling over another.
At the judges' table, Jiang Tianhai stroked his chin. "Old Fang, how much of his strength do you think Lin Hao will have to use against Duan Yue?"
Fang Wei shot Jiang Tianhai an exasperated look. "Old Jiang, I'm telling you, Duan Yue is a famous genius at Longcheng Martial University, known for defeating stronger opponents despite being weaker himself. And he's already at Gold High Grade. He's nothing like that Mo Yu from Modu Martial University."
Jiang Tianhai was a little surprised to hear that Duan Yue had reached Gold High Grade. He wanted to see how Lin Hao would deal with him.
Up on the stage, the referee announced, "The first match of the semifinal between Longcheng Martial University and Shancheng Martial University begins!" As soon as the referee declared the match underway, Duan Yue raised one hand, and a long, gleaming silver spear appeared in it. Lin Hao stared for a moment, then remembered: according to the information he'd seen on Longcheng Martial University, Duan Yue's weapon was a spear.
"Brother Lin, the spear in my hand is called Po Jun. Be careful." As soon as he finished speaking, Duan Yue's aura erupted, revealing his Gold High Grade strength without restraint.
Lin Hao's gaze sharpened, and black lightning instantly curled around him.
Seeing the black lightning swirling around Lin Hao, Duan Yue didn't dare let his guard down. He'd witnessed the terrifying power of Lin Hao's black lightning yesterday. With that in mind, Duan Yue lightly stamped one foot, then shot toward Lin Hao like a cannonball. In the blink of an eye, he was right in front of him.
"So fast!" Lin Hao's gaze sharpened. As expected, Gold High Grade strength was not to be underestimated. Lin Hao angled his body to dodge the thrusting spear. Duan Yue didn't panic; he checked the shaft slightly, turning his thrust into a sweeping strike, and swung it hard at Lin Hao. Lin Hao raised his arms and crossed them to block. The instant the spear struck his arms, a tremendous force slammed into him. Lin Hao's eyes narrowed. This guy's strong. The spear swept him to one side, and Lin Hao retreated with the blow to bleed off its force. Even so, its sheer power left his arms tingling.
From their first exchange, Lin Hao could tell that Duan Yue was nothing like Mo Yu, that useless hack. His strength was the hard-earned result of day after day of grueling cultivation. When Lin Hao retreated, Duan Yue didn't press the advantage. He only smiled at him. "Brother Lin, you're pretty strong too. When I land that strike on an ordinary Silver Grade martial artist, they usually go flying at least ten meters."
Lin Hao smiled. "Brother Duan, you're certainly strong. Now it's my turn to attack." The moment he finished speaking, Lin Hao vanished from where he stood. Battle Skill: Thunder Prison Instant Space Flash! He moved even faster than Duan Yue had. Duan Yue gripped his spear tightly in his right hand and closed his eyes. The seconds ticked by as everyone watched the stage with wide eyes. Yesterday, Lin Hao had used his incredible speed to catch Modu Martial University completely off guard. Would the same move work against Duan Yue today?
Just then, Duan Yue suddenly opened his eyes. He leveled Po Jun, and Lin Hao's fist, wrapped in black lightning, came hurtling toward him.
With a sharp clang, Lin Hao's fist slammed into the shaft of Po Jun.
Lin Hao was startled. It was the first time his attack had been blocked after he used Thunder Prison Instant Space Flash. In an instant, alarm bells rang in his mind. This is bad! He immediately tried to retreat beyond his opponent's reach. But it was too late. The moment fist and spear clashed, Duan Yue's right leg was already rising, sweeping into Lin Hao's side. Lin Hao crashed into the ground like a cannonball, and dust instantly billowed across the entire stage.
The spectators below and the teachers and students from the various martial universities stared in shock. Duan Yue had actually broken through Lin Hao's attack just like that.
"Just what kind of freak is Duan Yue from Longcheng Martial University?"
"How did he find Lin Hao?"
"Exactly! I can't even see Lin Hao's shadow."
The crowd buzzed below as dust billowed across the stage.
When the dust cleared, everyone looked toward the stage together. There was a crater five meters in diameter in the middle of it. But Lin Hao—where was Lin Hao? Everyone was baffled; he was nowhere to be seen in the crater. Duan Yue sensed that something was wrong, and at that very instant, Lin Hao suddenly appeared behind him. Once again, a fist wrapped in black lightning slammed toward Duan Yue.
Although Duan Yue didn't have time to turn around, his reflexes were lightning-fast. He swiftly swung Po Jun behind his back and blocked Lin Hao's attack. But he'd had no time to build up strength, and his back was turned to Lin Hao. Though Lin Hao's fist struck Po Jun again, the force behind it still traveled into Duan Yue's body. Duan Yue was sent flying more than ten meters forward.
The instant he was about to hit the ground, Duan Yue planted one hand on the stage, flipped over, and landed back on his feet.
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