"Thank you for waiting, everyone! The quarterfinals of the World Martial Arts Tournament are about to begin!"
The announcer's voice boomed through the loudspeakers, filling the entire arena and drawing a wave of enthusiastic cheers.
"First match: contestant number 98, Lin Fan, versus contestant number 157, Giran! Will both contestants please enter the ring!"
Lin Fan walked onto the ring at an unhurried pace, greeted by a smattering of lukewarm applause.
He was still wearing the same gray cloth clothes, and looked particularly inconspicuous among the contestants with bulging muscles or outlandish outfits.
Across from him, Giran grinned broadly, showing off his exaggerated muscles and mohawk. He kept blowing kisses to the stands, prompting shrill cheers from his lackeys.
"Hey, kid!"
Giran rolled his neck, making it crack, and glared down at Lin Fan. "It's not too late to get on your knees and beg for mercy! Otherwise, when I get started, I won't go easy on you!"
Lin Fan simply watched him calmly, not even bothering to assume a fighting stance.
The referee went over the rules as a matter of routine. "No attacks to vital areas, and no weapons. You lose if you fall out of the ring or remain down for ten seconds. Understood?"
"Just hurry up and start, Ref!"
Giran barked impatiently. He couldn't wait to teach the scrawny-looking kid a lesson.
Lin Fan gave a slight nod.
"All right! The match—begins!"
The referee waved his hand and quickly backed away.
"Take this!"
Giran roared, but instead of charging right in, he suddenly began waving his hands strangely in front of his face. His eyes fixed on Lin Fan, and his voice turned low and hypnotic. "Look into my eyes... Watch my movements... Don't you feel dizzy... sleepy... like you want to fall asleep...?"
A murmur spread through the stands.
"It's Giran's hypnotism!"
"That's so underhanded!"
Bulma was hopping anxiously in the stands. "That's so unfair! How can he use a trick like that?"
Son Goku and Krillin gripped the railing nervously.
But Lin Fan's gaze remained clear on the ring. If anything, he looked... bored.
The Great Dao Source Scripture stirred faintly within him, and the Mind-Calming Mantra flowed naturally, leaving his spiritual platform clear and serene.
Compared to the myriad illusions of a heart-demon tribulation, hypnotic suggestions of this level were child's play.
Giran kept waving his hands, but when Lin Fan showed no reaction and instead looked at him like he was an idiot, Giran flew into a rage. "How is this possible?! Why aren't you falling asleep?!"
"Your dancing,"
Lin Fan finally said, his tone flat, "lacks rhythm."
"Bastard!"
Giran was thoroughly enraged. His hypnosis had failed, so he decided to crush his opponent with sheer strength!
"Then you can taste my real power!"
He roared as his muscles swelled. With a forceful step, he swung his huge fist at Lin Fan's face, the blow cutting through the air!
The punch carried immense force, and looked powerful enough to shatter stone!
Someone in the stands even let out a startled cry.
But Lin Fan merely took a small step to the left. His movement looked slow, yet was perfectly timed, allowing the ferocious fist to skim past the tip of his nose.
The force of the blow lifted a few strands of hair from his forehead.
Giran froze, surprised that his opponent had dodged. He immediately swung a powerful side kick toward Lin Fan's waist.
Lin Fan turned slightly and easily dodged again by the narrowest of margins. Giran didn't even touch the hem of his clothes.
"Damn it! What's the point of all that dodging?!"
Giran flew into a rage and unleashed a flurry of punches, cursing nonstop. "Stand still! Take me on head-on! Coward!"
A comical scene unfolded in the ring: the towering Giran attacked wildly, his fists and feet whooshing through the air, yet he couldn't even graze Lin Fan's clothes.
Lin Fan moved through the flurry of attacks like a ghost, easily dodging each one with the smallest movements.
His steps looked simple, yet followed some mysterious rhythm, as if he could predict every one of Giran's moves.
"What's going on? He can't hit him at all?"
"That Lin Fan's movements are so strange. He doesn't look fast, but Giran just can't land a hit!"
"Giran looks like a big idiot punching at the air..."
The spectators' amusement turned to surprise.
In the VIP seats, Tien Shinhan's brow furrowed tighter and tighter. "It's not speed... It's prediction and footwork... incredibly precise..."
Chiaotzu said softly, "It's like he knows where Giran is going to strike."
Master Shen looked displeased and snorted. "Cheap tricks!"
Giran was already panting on the ring, sweat beading on his forehead.
His repeated attacks had all missed, draining his stamina. The frustration was making him feel ready to explode.
"Bastard! Are you going to fight or not?!"
He stopped attacking and shouted, bracing his hands on his knees.
At last, Lin Fan stopped moving. Standing a short distance in front of him, he nodded. "All right."
Giran froze. Before he could react, Lin Fan suddenly moved!
This time, he didn't dodge. He attacked!
Lin Fan's figure blurred for an instant. With what seemed like a single step, he crossed the several meters between them and appeared right in front of Giran!
He seemed to lightly press his right palm against Giran's muscular chest.
Giran didn't even have time to defend himself. He only felt a strange, concentrated force pass through his body!
It wasn't brute strength, but something more like a precise "push" and "vibration"!
"Ugh!"
Giran grunted. His feet left the ground, entirely beyond his control, and he flew backward like a sandbag hurled from a catapult!
He traced an awkward arc through the air, flailing and screaming. With a heavy thud, he crashed onto the ground outside the ring, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The entire arena fell silent.
The referee's mouth hung open. He stood stunned for several seconds before finally snapping out of it. He ran over to check on the dazed Giran, then raised his hand and announced loudly, "G-Giran has fallen out of the ring! The winner is... contestant number 98, Lin Fan!"
Silence.
After a brief pause, confused and astonished chatter erupted from the stands.
"W-what just happened?"
"He just gave him a little push..."
"How did Giran fly so far?"
"That's it? He won?"
Bulma jumped up and down excitedly in the stands. "He won! Did you see that? Easy!"
Son Goku blinked, looking baffled. "That's weird... I didn't sense much strong ki... How did one push send him flying so far?"
Krillin was just as confused. "Yeah... It didn't even look like he was using more strength than me..."
In the VIP seats, Tien Shinhan's third eye snapped open a sliver, a flash of light passing through it. "It wasn't strength... It was technique... He transferred the force completely at the moment of contact... and used Giran's forward momentum..."
Master Shen's expression darkened, and his cane creaked in his tightening grip. "I knew something was strange about him!"
In the ring, Lin Fan lowered his hand, and the faintly roiling True Qi within him quickly settled.
He didn't even look at the dazed Giran below. After giving the referee a slight nod, he turned and walked calmly off the ring.
The spectators' gazes followed him, full of confusion and curiosity.
The victory had come too quickly, and was far too... inexplicable.
This contestant named Lin Fan seemed much stranger than they had imagined.
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