Lu Chen's victory was like a boulder thrown into a lake, sending ripples across the entire Training Ground.
Only now did the nickname "Lu Iron Skin" truly live up to its name.
One force could overpower a hundred techniques.
In the most savage and shocking way, he showed everyone what absolute defense and strength looked like.
In the matches that followed, the advancing fighters looked at Lu Chen differently, their eyes filled with wariness.
No one wanted to face that unmovable monster in the next round.
Soon, all the matches to determine the top five from twenty were over.
Veteran powerhouses like Zhang Meng and Li Kui advanced without suspense.
And Lu Chen, the biggest dark horse of all, secured one of the top five spots.
After a brief rest, the draw for the top five to top three round was announced at once.
Lu Chen's opponent was Wang Chong, a veteran ranked among the top five in the War Hall, nicknamed "Iron Arm."
Wang Chong was around thirty, sturdy and broad, with thick arms and pronounced temples. At a glance, he was a seasoned fighter whose external martial arts had reached a high level.
Unlike Mad Dog Zhang San, Wang Chong was evenly matched in strength and technique. His Tong Bei Quan was polished and proficient, and he commanded considerable respect in the War Hall.
"Looks like this dark horse has run out of luck."
"Exactly. Wang Chong isn't some lunatic like Zhang San. His boxing is steady, and he's got years of experience. Lu Iron Skin's strategy of just tanking hits won't do him any good."
The crowd below voiced their doubts about Lu Chen.
In their eyes, Lu Chen had beaten Zhang San because his abnormal defense countered Zhang San's style.
But against a well-rounded opponent like Wang Chong, pure defense and strength would finally hit a wall.
"Brother Lu, please."
Wang Chong stepped onto the stage and cupped his fists toward Lu Chen, his expression grave and entirely free of contempt.
He had witnessed Lu Chen's fight with Zhang San firsthand and knew just how frightening the young man before him was.
"Brother Wang, please."
Lu Chen returned the salute.
At the steward's signal, the fight began.
Wang Chong didn't rush to attack like Zhang San. He planted his feet in a steady stance, shook out his arms, and assumed the opening posture of Tong Bei Quan. His entire bearing was calm and grounded.
Lu Chen's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
He could feel that Wang Chong put far more pressure on him than Zhang San had.
He stuck with his previous strategy, pressing forward to try to break through his opponent's defense with his overwhelming strength.
Their first clash was fist against fist.
Lu Chen drove a straight punch toward Wang Chong's face.
Wang Chong neither dodged nor retreated, meeting it with a punch of his own.
Their fists collided midair with a dull boom.
A powerful wave of air burst outward from the two men.
Lu Chen felt a spiraling force surge from Wang Chong's fist, dissipating most of his power and leaving his arm numb and sore.
He staggered back half a step.
Wang Chong, too, stumbled back three steps before regaining his footing, a flash of shock crossing his face.
What domineering strength.
That single probing punch made his knuckles feel as if they'd been struck with a hammer, burning with pain.
Though Tong Bei Quan's force-dissipating technique had deflected part of the impact, the rest still left his blood and qi churning.
The spectators below cried out in surprise.
In a contest of raw strength, Wang Chong, famed for his power, had actually come off worse.
"Again!"
Wang Chong barked, abandoning any thought of meeting Lu Chen head-on. He swayed forward and closed the distance.
Tong Bei Quan unfurled, his arms lashing like long whips, now fierce, now soft, striking at Lu Chen's joints, ribs, and other weak points in his defense from every tricky angle.
For the first time, Lu Chen's strength-based fighting style ran into trouble.
His strength was immense, but Wang Chong was slippery as an eel and refused to match him head-on.
His defense was formidable, but heavy blows to his joints and other vulnerable areas still brought sharp pain and slowed him down.
For a while, the two figures tangled relentlessly across the stage.
Wang Chong's punches came in an unbroken stream.
Lu Chen was like a trapped tiger, possessing brute strength in abundance but constrained at every turn. He fought with mounting frustration.
He could only rely on his Bronze Skin defense and his vastly superior strength to barely hold his ground.
"Looks like Lu Iron Skin's going to lose."
"Yeah, the gap in technique's just too big. Wang Chong's got him completely under control."
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that if things continued like this, Lu Chen's defeat was only a matter of time.
He was burning through his stamina far faster than the seasoned Wang Chong.
On the raised platform, Zhao Tieshan's brows furrowed slightly as well.
Lu Chen's performance had disappointed him.
Talent alone was useless if he didn't know how to apply it. In the end, he would never amount to much.
Onstage, Lu Chen's breathing grew heavy, and his movements gradually slowed, as though he'd reached his limit.
Several times, he was too slow to dodge and took Wang Chong's punches squarely, each landing with a dull thud.
Wang Chong saw this and rejoiced inwardly.
He knew his opponent was running out of stamina, and the balance of victory was tipping in his favor.
His attacks grew fiercer. His fists whistled through the air, each move faster and more relentless than the last, giving Lu Chen no chance to catch his breath.
They fought on for another dozen or so exchanges.
After blocking one of Wang Chong's attacks, Lu Chen exposed a huge opening.
He seemed exhausted. His foot stumbled, leaving his center wide open and his entire chest within Wang Chong's range.
A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Wang Chong's eyes flashed. Without hesitation, he seized it.
"It's over!"
With a roar, Wang Chong focused every ounce of his energy, essence, and spirit into his right fist.
The muscles in his entire arm bulged, veins standing out, as he unleashed his most powerful strike, Tong Bei Chong Xin Chui. It tore through the air with a shrill whistle and slammed toward Lu Chen's chest.
He was confident that this punch could kill a charging wild bull on the spot.
Even if Lu Chen's defense was as monstrous as they said, taking this punch head-on would leave him gravely injured and unable to fight.
Everyone below held their breath.
Yet in the face of this deadly attack, Lu Chen showed no panic. Instead, an almost imperceptible curve flickered across his face.
This was the moment he'd been waiting for.
He neither dodged nor retreated, raising his right hand as well.
The hand that had always been wrapped in cloth strips met Wang Chong's iron fist with an apparently weightless slap.
Palm met fist beneath the gaze of the crowd.
In the instant before contact, Lu Chen's palm suddenly shuddered.
An invisible ripple, imperceptible to the naked eye, spread from the center of his palm.
Stone Crushing Palm, Third Realm, Vibrating Force.
Fist met palm.
There was no earth-shattering crash.
Only a dull, muffled sound, like a hide drum struck with a stick.
Then—
"Ah—!!!"
A scream so agonized it barely sounded human burst from Wang Chong's mouth.
His whole body trembled violently as if electrocuted.
The iron arm he'd always been so proud of went limp and dropped at an unnatural angle.
His face twisted with unbearable pain and incomprehensible terror.
He could clearly feel that the instant fist met palm, an intangible yet domineering force had pierced through his fist, ignored his protective energy, and surged straight into the meridians of his arm.
The force was like countless steel needles, churning and vibrating wildly through his bones, muscles, and meridians.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
A string of bone-splitting sounds came from inside his arm.
The bones in the entire limb had actually been shattered from within, inch by inch, by that invisible force.
"W-what happened?"
The spectators below were completely dumbfounded.
They had no idea what had just happened.
Wang Chong had clearly held the advantage and delivered a killing blow.
How had he ended up screaming on the ground in the blink of an eye?
Onstage, Lu Chen also seemed to have suffered a powerful rebound. He staggered back seven or eight steps, then dropped to one knee, bracing himself against the ground with his saber to keep from falling.
His face was pale, a trace of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and he gasped for breath as if that one palm strike had drained every last bit of his strength.
A "hard-fought victory."
That was exactly the effect he'd wanted.
"L-Lu Chen wins!"
The steward stood there stunned for a long moment before finally announcing the result with a stammer.
The entire arena fell silent at first, then erupted into a wave of discussion and astonished cries.
He had astonished everyone.
No one understood the mystery behind that palm strike, but they'd all seen the result.
This newcomer, whom everyone had dismissed as a brute who knew only how to defend, had unleashed a never-before-seen move at the most critical moment, deciding the outcome with one palm and crippling the renowned Iron Arm Wang Chong.
From being written off to turning the tables.
In that moment, Lu Chen's figure was branded deeply into everyone's mind.
On the raised platform, Zhao Tieshan sprang to his feet, staring fixedly at Lu Chen's still-bandaged hand, his eyes filled with shock.
"Force Penetrates Body... Strike Through Mountain!"
"H-he's trained an inferior martial art to the realm of 'mastery through complete understanding'!"
"Monster! What a monster!"
Zhao Tieshan muttered to himself. All doubt had vanished from his gaze as he looked at Lu Chen, replaced by boundless admiration.
At the same time, from the VIP seats at the highest point of the Training Ground, a stern gaze passed over the crowd and settled on the boy kneeling on one knee.
"An interesting newcomer. Find out who he is."
The Black Water Gang's leader had taken an interest in this newcomer who had appeared out of nowhere.
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