018, You really are Master Roshi!!

Mary Sue once again adopted a defensive stance, seemingly determined to focus solely on guarding rather than attacking.

"Still sticking to the turtle shell strategy?" Zhang Wutian scoffed.

"As long as it's effective, I don't care if it's a dung beetle strategy," Mary Sue retorted without yielding.

In truth, Zhang Wutian had a very simple way to break Mary Sue's defensive strategy: firing energy blasts from a distance. If he utilized long-range attacks, any counter-technique would be a joke.

It just feels like admitting defeat if I do that. But Zhang Wutian refused to do so; he was determined to break his opponent's defense head-on.

If this were a real battle, this would indeed be as foolish as slamming into a mountain, but since it was merely a tournament, Zhang Wutian was enjoying himself.

Wiping the blood from his face, Zhang Wutian clenched his fists at his sides, tensed every muscle in his body, and let out a loud roar.

"Aaaaaaahhh!!!"

An astonishing amount of energy erupted, blowing away debris like rubble and gravel from the shattered arena.

"He can strengthen himself even further? You've got to be kidding me. Did Master Korin raise a monster?"

Seeming to hear Mary Sue's whisper, the surging Zhang Wutian spoke: "A monster? That's only because you have no idea what that cat is truly capable of. As I am now, I'm merely on par with him."

"He's only barely caught up to me in terms of energy; he's still far behind in everything else, meow!" Far away at Korin Tower, Master Korin muttered to himself while watching TV and munching on dried fish, looking perfectly at ease.

Did that stinking cat hold something back from me? Mary Sue gritted her teeth, then looked at Zhang Wutian and said, "That is indeed powerful energy, but this level is still not enough to break through my Heaven-Earth Reversal Style."

"Is that so?" Zhang Wutian didn't argue; he decided to let the facts speak for themselves.

The next moment, using the recoil from stomping the ground, Zhang Wutian lunged forward, pouncing on the poised Mary Sue with ferocious intensity.

Extending his fist to its limit, Zhang Wutian unleashed a heavy forward punch aimed at Mary Sue.

Mary Sue's hands once again met Zhang Wutian's fist, their bodies making contact once more.

The next instant, a cracking sound erupted from the point of impact.

The sleeves on Mary Sue's arms instantly turned to dust, and countless tiny blood droplets burst from her bulging, muscular arms. Even so, she held firm against Zhang Wutian's fist, then pulled and retracted.

What followed was a fluid reversal, yet within that split second—less than a tenth of a second—Zhang Wutian struck first.

Energy exploded violently outward from Zhang Wutian's fist.

"Get out of my way!!"

"How insolent!!" Mary Sue was desperate now. Facing Zhang Wutian's explosive attack, she struggled to keep her hands locked, refusing to let Zhang Wutian break free from her restraint.

Pushing her energy to the limit, a vast and profound power surged from within Mary Sue. The energy on Zhang Wutian's fist was finally suppressed. Once the momentum was lost, the Heaven-Earth Reversal Style activated again. Zhang Wutian's body was flipped once more, and with that power of heaven and earth turning upside down, his body spun, losing its balance.

Just as he was about to land face-first, Zhang Wutian watched helplessly as a shoe grew larger and larger in his vision.

THUD!! With a loud sound like a drum, Mary Sue kicked Zhang Wutian's head like a ball, sending him and his body flying backward.

Flying through the air again, Zhang Wutian half-opened his eyes and saw Mary Sue launching a follow-up attack, one that would likely leave him unable to stand if it connected.

Mary Sue leaped into the air, attempting to drive her knee into Zhang Wutian and slam him into the ground. If this strike landed, his internal organs would likely be pulverized.

Zhang Wutian instantly extended his hands to defend, barely blocking Mary Sue's knee strike, but even so, the force of the blow drove him into the ground.

The Martial Arts Tournament arena suffered heavy damage once again, becoming even more fragmented.

Although he blocked Mary Sue's attack head-on, Zhang Wutian's back took a heavy hit upon hitting the ground. Combined with the trauma to his head and waves of dizziness, "battered and bruised" was the only way to describe his current state.

Yet, Zhang Wutian's fighting spirit did not wane; instead, he felt incredibly excited as the battle reached its climax.

But at that moment, a small interlude interrupted the rhythm of the fight.

"What is going on? Competitor Mary Sue's appearance has undergone an astonishing change! Who is this young, beautiful girl on the stage? Did Competitor Mary Sue secretly swap places with someone while we weren't looking?" The host's high-pitched voice echoed throughout the venue.

Sporting a youthful, beautiful face of someone around 20 years old, Mary Sue—who seemed to have transformed from a middle-aged aunt into a young woman—frowned as she looked at Zhang Wutian, who had narrowly escaped disaster.

"How tenacious. If this keeps up, it will never end."

"No, what's more important is the change in you. Rejuvenation? Is this the result of pushing your energy to the absolute limit?"

"Because I used an excessive amount of energy, I temporarily activated my body's cells, creating a false youth. Are you infatuated with me now?"

Mary Sue had reason to be confident; after becoming young, she could at least be considered an imposing female martial artist. But Zhang Wutian was not moved in the slightest, and the reason was simple.

You really are Master Roshi in disguise, aren't you? The difference is too huge!! Are you all this good at female cross-dressing? Is this some kind of innate talent you have?!

Since she could use energy to turn from a 40-year-old aunt into a 20-year-old girl, it shouldn't be difficult to turn from a 400-year-old hag into a 40-year-old aunt.

That wrinkled old grandmother's face was enough to dispel any romantic notions.

"I'm not going to get excited over a 400-year-old granny."

"Oh my, did you see through me? You must keep this a secret from my students, okay?" Mary Sue... Master Roshi made a cute gesture toward Zhang Wutian. Such an incongruous action, paired with Master Roshi's background, instantly created a deeply unsettling scene.

"That's not important," Zhang Wutian said. "You're at your peak state right now, aren't you?"

"That's right," Mary Sue replied readily.

"I'm going to defeat you here, while you're still maintaining your peak state."

"It's good for young people to have spirit, but you shouldn't push yourself too hard."

"Challenging the limits is the prerogative of the young. Why shouldn't I?"

Zhang Wutian pulled his right fist back to his waist.

He opened his left hand, covering his right fist with his palm, while a massive amount of ki surged into Zhang Wutian's right fist.

Mary Sue watched Zhang Wutian's movements with a solemn expression, silently assuming her stance.

The ki condensed and expanded on Zhang Wutian's hand, forming a luminous phenomenon visible to the naked eye.

"That's enough! If you keep going, you won't be able to control that power!" Master Korin said in front of the television, but his voice clearly could not reach the Martial Arts Tournament arena, and Zhang Wutian continued to gather his strength.

"I can't let him keep charging his ki." Realizing this, Mary Sue took the initiative and launched a surprise attack on Zhang Wutian.

With a crescent-shaped axe kick, Mary Sue's strike hit Zhang Wutian's body first.

No, she hadn't hit him; her attack passed right through Zhang Wutian, striking only empty air.

"An afterimage?!" Since she also knew a technique called the Afterimage Strike, Mary Sue instantly realized her opponent's strategy, yet there was inevitably a split-second delay between realization, reaction, and movement.

Zhang Wutian's speed was already extremely fast, and this moment provided him with the opportunity to counterattack.

"Now you have no way to parry my attack, do you? That counter-technique you're so proud of can't be used now!"

"Take this!!"

The glowing fist grew larger and larger before Mary Sue's eyes...

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