The fierce battle high above the arena continued.
Tien Shinhan's four arms moved like lightning, fists filling the air like a mountain as explosions of air boomed like endless thunder.
Lin Fan's figure was like a petrel caught in a raging storm. Relying on the tiny openings revealed by his Void Eye and the extreme agility of the Wind Control Art, he struggled to weave through the devastating web of attacks.
But his situation was getting worse by the second.
Sweat beaded on his forehead, and his breathing grew ragged.
The Void Eye consumed far more True Qi and mental energy than he had expected, while maintaining the Wind Control Art also required a constant flow of energy.
The True Qi within him, still only at the mid-stage of Qi Refining, was rapidly running dry.
The golden light in his eyes began to flicker, and his vision occasionally blurred for an instant.
He was half a beat too slow to dodge!
Thud!
At last, one of the Qi-conjured fists grazed his left shoulder!
Though it only clipped him, the terrifying force behind it made Lin Fan grunt. He spun through the air as if struck by a speeding truck, his left shoulder immediately overwhelmed by tearing pain and nearly going numb.
"He got him!" the spectators cried.
"It's over!"
Krillin's heart leaped into his throat.
Bulma covered her eyes, unable to watch.
A vicious glint flashed in Tien Shinhan's eyes. When your opponent was down, you finished him off! How could he let this chance slip by?
All four arms pulled back at once. He unleashed every last bit of Qi in his body, gathering it before his chest into an energy sphere larger than any he had created before!
The blinding blue light cast his face in a sinister glow!
"This move will finish you for good!"
Roaring, Tien Shinhan thrust the fearsome Tri-Beam toward Lin Fan as he tumbled through the air!
This attack had reached its peak in both speed and power, sealing off every possible escape route!
Lin Fan was still out of control, his left shoulder injured and unable to evade effectively!
The reek of death enveloped him in an instant!
In the stands, Master Roshi gripped his cane tightly.
Master Shen smiled cruelly.
Mercenary Tao watched impassively.
Son Goku struggled to get to his feet.
At this critical moment, Lin Fan's eyes sharpened as he spun through the air!
I can't dodge it! I can only take it head-on!
The True Qi in his body, already nearly depleted, was forcibly squeezed out!
He forced himself to use one of the most basic defensive techniques in the Great Dao Source Scripture—True Qi Manifestation!
This was not like the Dragon Ball World's technique of releasing Qi to form a shock wave or energy blast. Instead, he compressed the last of his highly refined True Qi into an extremely small area before him, trying to form a sturdy barrier!
There was so little True Qi that the barrier could not even fully take shape. It formed only a vague, slightly distorted shield of air in front of him, almost impossible to see unless one looked closely!
In a flash!
Tien Shinhan's furious Tri-Beam crashed into him!
BOOM—!!!
A deafening explosion swept through the entire arena!
Blinding blue light swallowed Lin Fan's figure!
The terrifying shock wave spread in every direction, making the spectators in the front rows shut their eyes as the ring shook violently!
Everyone thought Lin Fan was done for!
Yet when the blue light faded, an unbelievable sight came into view!
Lin Fan had not been blown to pieces!
He was kneeling on one knee at the edge of the ring, one hand braced against the ground as he coughed violently. A thread of blood trailed from the corner of his mouth. His face was as pale as paper, and his clothes were in tatters. He looked utterly battered.
But he had blocked it!
The moment it made contact, the vague True Qi shield had shattered completely, but it had still managed to deflect and weaken the Tri-Beam's core force. Lin Fan had then used the remaining shock wave's momentum to unload the impact and endured it through sheer will!
"He... he blocked it?!"
The announcer's voice was hoarse with disbelief.
"How is that possible?!" Master Shen shot to his feet.
Tien Shinhan's pupils contracted. For the first time, his face showed sheer shock!
His full-power Tri-Beam had been blocked?!
How could his opponent have done that with such a weak aura?!
In the instant Tien Shinhan's utter shock left his mind unguarded—
Lin Fan, still kneeling, suddenly lifted his head, a final glint of resolve flashing in his eyes!
He squeezed the last trace of True Qi from his meridians and gathered all his strength into his right fist!
That meager True Qi could not be released as a shock wave, but it gathered around his knuckles, compressed and condensed, giving off a sharp, tightly contained vibration utterly unlike a Qi blast!
"Take this!"
With the last of his strength, Lin Fan growled and punched toward Tien Shinhan, who was momentarily frozen in midair by shock!
There was no dazzling beam of light, no deafening sonic boom.
Only a vague, nearly transparent ripple shaped like a fist. It traveled less than half a meter before quickly fading, as if it had been an illusion.
Yet Tien Shinhan, whose previous strength had just run out and whose next had not yet gathered, was reeling from the shock. It felt as though an invisible sledgehammer had slammed into his chest from afar!
"Ugh!"
He grunted. All four arms vanished at once, and his body lurched. He staggered backward through the air several steps before barely regaining his balance, his face filled with surprise and confusion!
What was that?!
It wasn't a Qi blast! It had none of the impact of Qi!
It felt more like... the pure transmission of force from afar, condensed to its absolute limit?!
The blow was nowhere near strong enough to seriously injure him, but its utterly incomprehensible nature and the strange force behind it made his blood and Qi churn. His stamina, already greatly depleted by a series of battles, was stretched even thinner.
A dead silence fell over the ring and the stands.
Everyone was dumbfounded. They hadn't seen any dazzling clash of energy. They had only seen Lin Fan throw a punch from a distance, and then Tien Shinhan—who had held every advantage—stagger backward.
What kind of bizarre move was that?!
After throwing the punch, Lin Fan swayed. He could no longer hold himself up and dropped onto one knee, gasping for breath. He didn't even have the strength to lift a finger.
Not a drop of True Qi remained in his body. His spiritual sense was exhausted to the point of splitting, and pain stabbed through his left shoulder.
He raised his head and looked at Tien Shinhan, who had been knocked back but still had strength to spare. He managed a strained smile, his voice hoarse but clear:
"As expected... of Tien Shinhan..."
"I... concede."
He conceded voluntarily.
Only then did the referee recover from his shock. He hurried over, checked Lin Fan's condition, then raised his hand and announced loudly, "Lin Fan has conceded! The winner is—Tien Shinhan!"
There were no cheers or applause.
The spectators were still lost in the astonishing exchange and hadn't recovered yet.
Tien Shinhan slowly descended and landed in the ring. He watched as the medical staff helped Lin Fan to his feet. The light in his three eyes was complicated. His earlier contempt and anger were gone, replaced by deep puzzlement and scrutiny, along with a hint of something hard to describe... solemnity.
His opponent had a weak aura, yet one strange technique after another. He could fly in a bizarre way and had astonishing eyesight. That last defense and long-range strike were completely beyond understanding.
Winning had been... anything but easy. The whole thing had even felt frustrating and bewildering.
He parted his lips, as though he wanted to say something, but in the end he only watched Lin Fan being helped away and said nothing.
Lin Fan had lost, but his strange and unpredictable showing—especially his final feat of withstanding the Tri-Beam and forcing Tien Shinhan back with a long-range strike—had left an unforgettable impression on everyone.
This dark horse might not have made it all the way, but he had lost with honor.
No one dared underestimate the gray-clad youth with the weak aura anymore.
In the stands, Bulma's eyes reddened, but she clapped hard.
Krillin and Goku also shouted Lin Fan's name.
Master Roshi pushed up his sunglasses and murmured, "This is getting more and more interesting..."
In the VIP seats, Master Shen's expression was dark as thunder, while Mercenary Tao's gaze, cold as the sharpest blade, fixed on Lin Fan for the first time—and held there.
That kid definitely had a huge secret!
Before you continue