Advancement

"No.

Didn't I say that the top three are basically reserved territory for the martial arts schools?"

After answering Li Yun's question, the thin man with the sharp features walked away.

He headed toward another participant, seemingly continuing his business of peddling information.

Li Yun also resumed wandering between the various rings, searching for opponents he could easily defeat.

The martial artists who came to participate in the competition were not weak.

It took Li Yun the better part of the day to find three opponents he could take down easily.

He now had four tokens on him; one more win and he would advance.

At this moment, Li Yun walked to a ring in the corner.

On the stage, a young woman was trading blows with a burly man.

The woman moved with agility, her punches and kicks carrying the wind as she exchanged blows with the rugged man opposite her.

The man's face was covered in thick flesh, his fists the size of sand pots, each punch whistling through the air as he aimed specifically for vital areas.

"Heh, little girl, why are you dodging?"

The man laughed lewdly, spittle flying as he spoke:

"In a ring fight, if you've got the guts, don't dodge—take a punch from me!"

Before the words had even left his mouth, he threw another punch, aiming straight for the woman's chest.

The woman's cheeks flushed red with anger, her willow-leaf eyebrows arched, and fury ignited in her eyes.

No longer dodging, she stepped forward with her right foot and pivoted, pulling her left foot back half a step, grinding her sole into the ground to carve out an arc.

Her waist twisted sharply, her long hair whipping around with the momentum to stir up a gust of wind, and her right leg swept out like a steel whip.

Lifting her knee, rotating her hip, and extending her leg—the three movements were executed in one fluid motion.

Bang!

The whip kick slammed solidly into the man's side, the force so great that it sent his two-hundred-pound frame flying off the ground.

The man's eyes widened, his face twisted in agony, and he tumbled off the stage like a kite with a broken string.

"Wah!"

The man spat out a mouthful of blood, struggling to crawl up, but his limbs were as limp as noodles; his vision went black, his body slumped, and he passed out completely.

The referee immediately announced the woman's victory:

"A62 wins."

The woman showed no intention of leaving the stage, signaling the referee to continue.

The referee nodded and addressed the crowd below:

"Is there anyone willing to step up?"

The referee's words caused the surrounding crowd to fall silent for a moment.

The dull thud of that whip kick still echoed in their ears.

The sight of the man being kicked off the stage, vomiting blood and fainting, was still fresh in their minds; many subconsciously shrank their necks, shaking their heads and retreating.

Whispers rose one after another:

"That leg technique is too vicious. A two-hundred-pound man sent flying just like that—who would dare go up?"

"Exactly. It looks painful just watching; no need to go up and get beaten."

Some even took two steps back, fearing they might be misunderstood as wanting to enter the ring.

However, it wasn't long before someone stepped onto the stage.

It was Li Yun.

A low murmur immediately broke out below:

"How does he dare to go up?"

"Is he not afraid of that girl's leg technique?"

Although the leg technique just now was decent, it was somewhat floaty and stiff, and this woman's blood energy was not particularly thick.

One should always pick the softest persimmon to squeeze.

Li Yun naturally intended to collect this wooden token.

After the referee received Li Yun's wooden token, he announced the start.

As soon as the words fell, the woman codenamed A62 attacked impatiently.

Closing in on Li Yun, she launched a low kick directly at him.

Li Yun stepped back, widening the distance of her attack.

The woman twisted her waist and turned, continuing her assault, her left leg following through with an upward strike, seamlessly transitioning into a high roundhouse kick.

Li Yun lowered his stance by half a foot, dodging the sweeping right leg while stepping forward to close the distance.

He threw a right punch, aiming straight for the woman's abdomen.

A62 reacted reasonably well, hastily retracting her move and crossing her arms downward to forcefully block the strike.

Thud.

Fist and elbows collided.

The woman felt an incomparably fierce force explode along her arms, numbing them with the shock.

She couldn't help but retreat repeatedly.

It took five consecutive steps back before she could barely steady herself.

Seeing A62 knocked back by a single punch from Li Yun, the crowd below no longer harbored their previous doubts.

Li Yun truly had the qualifications to be on the stage.

"So strong."

A62 immediately gathered her focus, not daring to be careless.

From a single exchange, she knew her opponent was stronger than her.

She stomped her feet and closed in once more.

Clearly eager to recover from her disadvantage, her leg techniques became increasingly fierce.

Her left leg pushed off the ground to spring her up, her right leg thrusting toward Li Yun's knee like a viper flicking its tongue, followed by a twist of her waist as her left leg swept horizontally.

Li Yun tapped his toes on the ground, his figure drifting sideways to evade the chain of kicks.

Seeing this, the woman twisted her body the moment her right leg touched the ground, kicking her heel backward directly toward Li Yun's lower abdomen.

Li Yun lowered his left arm, palm pressing against her heel, and used the momentum to slide back half a step while feinting with his right fist, forcing the woman to retract her attack.

The two tangled for several moves, leg winds and fist shadows intertwining.

The woman's leg techniques were as dense as raindrops, while Li Yun mainly dodged and maneuvered.

It wasn't that this woman was particularly formidable.

It was just that this woman had athlete's foot.

During the exchange, an indescribable, pungent odor drilled into his nostrils, rushing straight to his brain.

Li Yun frowned; the foul stench in his nose made his stomach churn.

"End this quickly."

He had originally intended to use this to polish his practical combat skills.

Seeing that the woman's leg techniques, while rigid, were quite tricky, he had deliberately suppressed his blood energy.

Now, he had no mood left for that.

He immediately switched from defense to offense, unleashing the Crouching Tiger Mountain Climbing Step, his figure pouncing toward A62 like an arrow released from a bow.

With a "Fierce Tiger Probes with Claws," he struck straight for her face.

The woman's pupils constricted, and just as she was about to raise her arms to block, Li Yun's fist was already before her, the knuckles pointing directly at her chest.

This punch was fast and fierce, its force as heavy as a mountain, carrying an overwhelming momentum that left her with nowhere to hide.

The woman hurriedly crossed her arms to protect her chest.

Thud.

A muffled sound rang out.

The force of the collision between fist and palms caused her arms to ache intensely, and the sheer power sent her stumbling backward.

Li Yun did not let up, his footsteps never faltering as he gave chase.

He swung his fist again, though he pulled back some of his strength just before it hit her.

Bang.

A62 was knocked straight off the ring.

The woman had solid basic training; she twisted her waist and turned, landing steadily on the ground.

The referee snapped to, announcing loudly:

"Ding 66 wins!"

The crowd at the edge of the stage erupted into discussion:

"That fist technique is so fierce. It looks like the Tiger Subduing Fist style. It seems the Subduing Tiger Martial Hall will secure another good ranking this time."

"Right, now that I think about it, it seems like he was being suppressed earlier on purpose."

"..."

Li Yun ignored them, took the black wooden plaque from the referee, and turned to leave.

It was truly, overwhelmingly pungent.

When she first stepped onto the stage, it hadn't been there.

Perhaps it was because fighting against herself created a greater sense of pressure.

Then, as she began to sweat, her shoes could no longer contain the odor, and it leaked out.

Seeing Li Yun flee as if escaping, A62 was momentarily stunned.

However, when she bent down to pick up the small item she had dropped, her nose twitched.

BOOM!

It was as if she had been struck by a bolt of lightning.

A wave of shame surged into her heart, and her face turned crimson in an instant.

The other party must have smelled the odor, which was why he had fled.

A62 immediately covered her face and ran away.

She suffered from slightly sweaty feet, which usually wasn't much of a problem.

But, once she started sweating, that smell...

Even she couldn't stand it herself.