Promotion

"No.

Didn't you say the top three spots were basically reserved for the Martial Hall?"

After answering Li Yun's question, the Sharp-Mouthed Skinny Guy left.

He headed toward another competitor, apparently to continue selling information.

Li Yun resumed wandering between the arenas, looking for opponents he could beat with ease.

The martial artists who had come to compete were all fairly strong.

Li Yun spent most of the day looking around before he found three opponents he could easily defeat.

He now had four tokens in total. One more win, and he could advance.

At that moment, Li Yun walked up to an arena in the corner.

On the arena, a young woman was trading punches with a burly man.

The woman moved with nimble grace. Her fists and feet cut through the air as she went back and forth with the burly man before her.

The man's face was covered in folds of flesh, and his fists were as big as cooking pots. Every punch whistled through the air, aimed at her vital spots.

"Heh heh, little girl, what are you dodging for?"

The man leered as he spoke, spittle flying from his mouth.

"This is a fistfight on the arena! If you've got the guts, stop dodging and take one of my punches!"

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

The woman's cheeks flushed with anger, her willow brows shooting up as fury filled her eyes.

She stopped dodging. Stepping forward with her right foot, she turned, drew her left foot back half a step, and ground her sole into the ground, tracing an arc.

Her waist twisted sharply, her long hair whipping with the movement and stirring the air. Her right leg swept out like a steel whip.

She raised her knee, turned her hip, and kicked, all three motions flowing as one.

Thud—

Her whip kick slammed into the man's side with such force that his two-hundred-pound body flew off the ground.

The man's eyes bulged wide, his face twisted with pain. Like a kite with its string cut, he crashed off the arena.

"Wah—"

The man spat out a mouthful of blood and struggled to get up, but his limbs were as limp as noodles. His vision went black, his body slumped to one side, and he passed out completely.

The referee immediately declared the woman the winner.

"A62 wins."

The woman showed no sign of leaving the arena. She gestured for the referee to continue.

The referee nodded and addressed the crowd below.

"Who's willing to come up?"

His question made the crowd fall silent for a moment.

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

The man's blood-spattered, unconscious form at the foot of the arena was still fresh in their minds. Many people instinctively hunched their shoulders and shook their heads as they backed away.

Whispers rose all around them.

"That kick was vicious. She sent a two-hundred-pound man flying just like that. Who'd dare go up?"

"Exactly. It hurts just to watch. No need to go up there and get beaten."

Some people even took a couple of steps back, afraid they might be mistaken for someone who wanted to compete.

But before long, someone stepped onto the arena.

It was Li Yun.

A wave of startled murmurs rose from the crowd below.

"How does he dare go up?"

"Isn't he afraid of that girl's kicks?"

Her kicks had looked decent, but they were a little loose and stiff, and her qi and blood weren't especially strong, either.

Pick on the soft persimmon.

Naturally, Li Yun meant to claim that wooden token.

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

As soon as he did, the woman bearing the code A62 eagerly launched her attack.

Once she was close to Li Yun, she struck directly with a low kick.

Li Yun stepped back, widening the distance between them.

The woman twisted at the waist and continued her assault, lifting her left leg in an upward arc that flowed seamlessly into a high roundhouse kick.

Li Yun sank half a foot, evading her sweeping right leg, and stepped forward to close in on her.

His right fist shot out, driving straight toward the woman's abdomen.

A62 reacted fairly well. She hurriedly abandoned her attack and crossed her hands, forcing them down to block his punch.

Thud—

Fist and elbow collided.

The woman felt a fierce, overwhelming force erupt through her arms, leaving them numb and aching.

Her feet carried her backward before she could stop them.

She stumbled back five steps before managing to steady herself.

Seeing A62 driven backward by Li Yun's punch, the people below no longer had any doubts.

Li Yun clearly had the strength to step onto the arena.

"Strong."

A62 immediately focused, no longer daring to underestimate him.

She stamped forward, closing the distance again.

Clearly eager to turn the tables, she unleashed her kicks with even greater ferocity.

Her left foot pushed off the ground, and her right leg shot toward Li Yun's knee like a venomous snake striking. Then she twisted at the waist and swept her left leg across.

Li Yun pushed off with his toes and drifted diagonally aside, dodging her rapid-fire kicks.

Seeing this, the woman twisted sharply as soon as her right foot touched down, driving her heel backward toward Li Yun's abdomen.

Li Yun lowered his left arm and pressed his palm against her heel, using the momentum to slide half a step back. At the same time, he feinted with his right fist, forcing the woman to pull back her attack.

The two exchanged several moves, kicks and fists weaving together.

The woman's kicks fell like raindrops, while Li Yun ducked and weaved, focused on dodging.

It wasn't that the woman was especially skilled.

It was that this woman had athlete's foot.

As they fought, an indescribable, rank stench crept into his nostrils and shot straight to his head.

Li Yun frowned. The foul, fishy smell in his nose churned his stomach.

"Let's end this quickly."

He had planned to use the fight to hone his practical skills.

The woman's kicks were stiff, but still somewhat tricky, so he had deliberately held back his qi and blood.

Now, he was no longer in the mood.

He immediately went on the offensive, unleashing the Crouching Tiger Mountain Climbing Step as he shot toward A62 like an arrow released from its bow.

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

The woman's pupils shrank. She was just about to raise her arm to block.

Li Yun's fist was already in front of her, its knuckles aimed straight at her chest.

The punch was fast and fierce, its force heavy as a mountain. Its crushing momentum left her no room to dodge.

The woman hurriedly crossed her arms over her chest to shield herself.

Thud—

The force of the fist against her arms sent pain lancing through them, and the impact drove her back again and again.

Li Yun pressed his advantage, his feet never stopping as he pursued her without pause.

He threw another punch, but just before it hit the woman, he held back some of his strength.

Thump—

A62 was sent straight off the arena.

The woman's basic skills were fairly solid. She twisted at the waist and turned, landing steadily on the ground.

The referee came to his senses and announced loudly:

"Ding 66 wins!"

A burst of discussion erupted around the arena.

"That punching style is fierce. Looks like the Tiger Subduing Fist. The Subduing Tiger Martial Hall is going to claim another top spot this time."

"Yeah, now that I think about it, he seemed to be deliberately letting her get the upper hand earlier."

"..."

Li Yun paid no attention to them. He took the black wooden token from the referee and turned to leave.

The smell was just too strong.

It hadn't been there when he first stepped onto the arena.

Maybe fighting him had put her under more pressure.

Then she'd started sweating, and her shoes could no longer contain the smell. It had wafted out.

Watching Li Yun flee, A62 was momentarily bewildered.

But when she bent down to pick up the small item she'd dropped, the tip of her nose twitched.

Boom—

It was as if lightning had struck her.

A wave of shame surged through her, and her face instantly turned bright red.

He must have smelled it, which was why he'd run off.

A62 immediately covered her face and fled.

She did have sweaty feet, but normally it wasn't much of a problem.

But once she started sweating, that smell...

Even she couldn't stand it.