However, the matches that followed did not go the way Huo Gang and the other Core Students had expected.
After defeating Ge Da, Xia Ping had advanced to the top thirty-two. In this match, he faced Fu Yidao, a master of hidden weapons.
Fu Yidao truly deserved his place among the top thirty-two. His skill with hidden weapons was unmatched, his attacks unpredictable and extremely powerful. Every weapon he threw carried the threat of death.
Ordinary ninth-level Martial Masters often had no idea when Fu Yidao's deadly weapons had struck them. They were eliminated in an instant, so the Core Students all hoped Fu Yidao would crush Xia Ping.
But Xia Ping used the Kunpeng Step, his movements exquisite. He repeatedly found himself in peril, yet managed to dodge Fu Yidao's lethal attacks time and again. The two fought for three hundred exchanges.
Taking advantage of a moment when Fu Yidao let his guard down, Xia Ping closed in and threw a punch. Fu Yidao immediately lost his breath, collapsed, and fell unconscious.
Xia Ping, meanwhile, was covered in blood and looked as if he had suffered unimaginable injuries. He seemed on the verge of death.
The next match was the top sixteen, and his opponent was a master of palm techniques known as Chen Kun, the Heaven-Turning Hand. He had mastered the King-grade, superior-tier martial art Heaven-Turning Hand, and his strength was astonishing.
With a single palm strike, he could shatter a small mountain and reduce it to flat ground.
Many Core Students believed that, given Xia Ping's injuries, there was no way he could defeat Chen Kun. They figured he would be finished right at the start, killed with a single palm strike.
The problem was, this guy was like a cockroach that just wouldn't die. Chen Kun's