Thunder Sound in a Square Inch

"唐启正!你好大的胆子!竟敢在众目睽睽之下,让门下在生死台上服用禁药!"

Beneath the arena, Zhou Jingfeng could no longer hold back. He stepped forward fiercely, his beard bristling, and shouted at the Sea Shark Gang seats, his voice like a peal of thunder.

As a Bone Forging Realm martial artist, he could tell at a glance that something was wrong with Xiong Wu. This was no ordinary secret art for unlocking one's potential. It looked more like some kind of brutally potent drug that drained the very source of one's life!

"Zhou Jingfeng, don't you dare slander me!" Tang Qizheng shot to his feet, meeting Zhou Jingfeng's gaze without yielding.

"On the arena, everyone fights by their own means! What Xiong Wu is using is the Sea Shark Gang's secret Blood-Burning Combat Art. It stimulates the body's blood and energy for a short time, and all it requires afterward is a few months of rest! How can you call it a banned drug? If you're ignorant, don't go making baseless accusations and smearing an innocent man!"

Beneath the arena, hundreds of gazes shifted between Xiong Wu, who looked like a madman; Tang Qizheng, whose face was impassive as water; and Zhou Jingfeng, who was demanding answers in a harsh voice. In the end, most of them settled on Gu Huaizhang, the referee.

Gu Huaizhang's brows were knitted tightly. His fingers, which were stroking his beard, unconsciously tightened.

How could he fail to see that something about Xiong Wu's condition was strange?

But as Tang Qizheng had said, without proof, how could they determine it was a banned drug based on appearances alone?

Besides, though Chen Yue was keeping his distance on the arena, he showed no sign of losing. If they stopped the fight rashly on suspicion alone, that would be unfair to Chen Yue, who had just gained the upper hand.

His hesitation lasted only an instant. Gu Huaizhang took a deep breath and called out, "Continue the match!"

At the Iron Mountain Hall's seats, Zhou Jingfeng heard Gu Huaizhang's decision and glanced at the situation on the arena, but said nothing more. He knew there was no point arguing now.

Yet Zhou Jingfeng's muscles were already taut, his aura held in check like a bow drawn to its limit. His eyes were fixed on the arena.

If Chen Yue faced any truly mortal danger, Zhou Jingfeng would intervene without hesitation, even if it meant bearing the blame. He would never let his disciple die here.

On the arena, Chen Yue was as clear-minded as a mirror.

Against Xiong Wu, whose strength had surged and who seemed to feel far less pain, charging head-on would be foolish.

That suddenly swelling strength had to run out eventually. Chen Yue needed to avoid its edge, wear down Xiong Wu's ferocity, and find an opening.

With a thought, Chen Yue unleashed Treading Mountains and Rivers to its fullest. His figure moved like wind and lightning, darting left and right across the arena, leaving behind a series of dazzling afterimages.

His steps were light and nimble, his turns effortless. Time and again, he dodged Xiong Wu's fierce but clumsy lunges by the narrowest margin.

By contrast, Xiong Wu's eyes were bloodshot, and he was like a raging giant bear. He swung his unharmed left arm and the right, mangled arm—which he still used as a weapon—wildly, relentlessly chasing after Chen Yue.

Every step he took landed with a heavy thud, making the arena boards groan. His strength was truly terrifying, and the wind howled around his fists and legs.

However, Xiong Wu's reflexes, coordination, and agility had all been severely impaired. His attacks were fierce, but stiff. No matter how he roared and lunged, he was always half a beat too slow. He couldn't even touch the hem of Chen Yue's robe.

All that brute strength, and nowhere to put it. Xiong Wu roared again and again in frustration.

"Little bastard! If you've got the guts, stop running! Face me head-on! What are you dodging for? What are you dodging for?" Xiong Wu had been attacking for a long time without success. The rage in his heart and the scorching restlessness brought on by the drug grew ever more intense, and he bellowed furiously, spittle flying.

His attacks grew increasingly frantic and disorganized, and more and more openings began to appear.

Many of the spectators beneath the arena wore solemn, incredulous expressions.

If Chen Yue's exquisite boxing had already left them amazed when he quickly crippled Xiong Wu earlier, then the incredibly nimble footwork he was showing now shook them to the core.

"That footwork... it's incredible! He's like a ghost!"

"Incredible? It's more than that! Look at how smoothly he shifts his steps, and how perfectly he judges distance and timing! You can't achieve that through hard training alone. It takes extraordinary insight!"

"His boxing is as fierce as can be, and his footwork is as nimble as the wind... Just how old is Chen Yue? How long has he been training? And he's already mastered two martial arts to this degree?"

"No wonder Zhou Jingfeng values him so highly! If this young man can grow into his potential, his future achievements will be boundless!"

Many who had originally come only to laugh at a Pearl Diver had now changed their minds.

They looked at the drifting figure on the arena with admiration.

With talent of this caliber, he was already a genius.

After sparring with Xiong Wu for a while, Chen Yue had a clear understanding of his condition, his limits of speed, and his attack patterns. He watched for the moment when Xiong Wu missed a lunge and, having put too much force into it, pitched slightly forward, leaving his back wide open. Chen Yue's eyes flashed.

The figure that had been drifting and dodging abruptly shifted from motion to absolute stillness. It paused for no more than an instant. Then the arena boards beneath Chen Yue's feet boomed, and he shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow.

He left a straight afterimage behind as he crossed the two zhang between them in an instant, lunging straight for Xiong Wu's unguarded back! His right fist clenched, his inner breath surged, and he aimed directly for Xiong Wu's spine.

The sudden shift from evasion to attack was as fast as lightning and utterly ruthless!

Just as Chen Yue's fist came within three feet of him, Xiong Wu's seemingly clumsy, staggering form abruptly halted its forward momentum. His massive body spun halfway around at a speed that was astonishingly quick.

His face, twisted into a savage mask by the drug and his fury, appeared before Chen Yue with a cruel, triumphant grin.

His unharmed left arm and his right arm, with broken bones jutting out, were like two heavy battle-axes. One swept high, the other low, and both came slashing down toward Chen Yue's head and chest with a howling gust that threatened to tear the ears.

They were far too close. Chen Yue's punch had already committed, and judging by the speed of his footwork so far, it seemed he couldn't possibly dodge the deadly counterattack Xiong Wu had planned all along.

Gasps rang out from beneath the arena!

Zhou Jingfeng's pupils contracted, and his foot shifted! Everyone thought Chen Yue had fallen for the trap, ensnared in the deadly snare Xiong Wu had laid by using his own body as bait!

Yet just as Xiong Wu's arms were about to close around Chen Yue and crush him, Chen Yue's right foot struck the ground mid-lunge. With unbelievable flexibility and explosive force, he twisted his ankle sharply, and his waist spun with it.

The most exquisite transformation of Treading Mountains and Rivers—Borrowing Force from the Void, Thunder Sound in a Square Inch!

"Whoosh!"

Chen Yue seemed to defy inertia itself, accelerating and changing direction once more in the midst of the impossible!

By a hair's breadth, he slipped through the deadly gap between Xiong Wu's crossed arms, escaping by the narrowest margin. Like a ghost, he appeared at Xiong Wu's left side!

The savage grin on Xiong Wu's face froze, replaced by boundless shock and bewilderment. His sure-kill attack had missed?

Before he could finish the thought, Chen Yue's long-gathered right fist struck like a cannonball, crashing squarely into Xiong Wu's exposed left shoulder joint as he swung with all his might.

"Crack!!!"

A bone-splitting report rang out, making everyone's scalp tingle. Under the terrifying force of Chen Yue's full-powered Mountain-Crushing Art, Xiong Wu's thick left shoulder blade and collarbone shattered and collapsed like porcelain struck by a sledgehammer!

Countless bone shards pierced his flesh, and Xiong Wu's left arm went completely limp.