Who Can Stop Me?

"Know-It-All, how long do you think this man can last against Wang Tianba?"

Below the arena, a group of people turned their eyes toward a man in white standing in the middle.

The man had a well-fed look about him and held a folding fan in his hand. In the martial world, he was known as Know-It-All.

Having spent years roaming Guangning Prefecture, his strength might have been ordinary, but he knew quite a bit about martial artists.

"He should be able to take down this wildland martial artist within a hundred moves."

"Though Wang Tianba isn't among the very best at the peak of the Qi-Nurturing Realm, he's still only a step below that small handful."

Know-It-All Shen Weihong smiled as he gently shook his folding fan.

He had not the slightest bit of information on this wildland martial artist, so his strength was surely nothing special.

He had likely pulled this stunt merely to make a name for himself.

Shen Weihong had seen far too many people like that. Nothing about it surprised him anymore.

"Exactly. He's only doing this to draw attention."

As the crowd discussed among themselves, not a single person in the arena favored Lu Yun.

"Wang Tianba, peak Qi-Nurturing Realm. Please enlighten me."

Wang Tianba cupped his hands, his expression proud.

Only in his twenties, he had already gained some renown, so naturally, he carried himself with arrogance.

With his strength, he held a certain standing among all Qi-Nurturing martial artists in Clear Distance City.

In his eyes, this utterly unremarkable martial artist before him could not possibly be his match.

Meanwhile, Ye Quan below the stage watched Wang Tianba with a strange expression.

Inwardly, he began observing a moment of silence for the man.

He had personally seen Lu Yun fight. Even a mid-stage Inner Strength martial artist had been no match for him.

Wouldn't dealing with a mere Qi-Nurturing martial artist be as easy as taking something from his hand?

"Chen Family Fort, Lu Yun. Please enlighten me."

Lu Yun smiled faintly, gave his long spear a flick, and held it horizontally before his chest.

"Fight."

Wang Tianba struck first. Raising the steel saber in his hand, he slashed forward with all his might.

Whoosh...

A fierce blade gleam tore through the air, followed by a piercing sonic boom.

This slash was already his full-force attack. Its terrifying thousand-pound force was enough to split apart a boulder.

He could practically see his opponent coughing blood and staggering back.

Lu Yun circulated his blood and qi, forced a few beads of sweat onto his face, and did his utmost to put on the appearance of going all out.

Then he thrust his spear forward.

A cold gleam flashed through the air.

For this move, he used only around a thousand pounds of force, just enough to match his opponent.

Bang...

Saber and spear collided, sparks scattering through the air as a deafening crash rang across the entire arena.

A tremendous force surged from the tip of the saber. Wang Tianba was driven several meters backward, his expression tightening.

"Such tremendous strength... peak Qi-Nurturing Realm?"

He put away his disdain, and his gaze grew much more solemn.

Experts saw the subtleties. In that brief exchange just now, he had failed to gain even the slightest advantage.

His opponent was undoubtedly no weakling.

From here on, he would have to meet him with every ounce of focus he had.

As for Lu Yun, he likewise pretended to retreat several meters, making it seem as though the two had fought to a draw.

"Interesting. This man is quite strong—not some useless fool. I take back what I said."

Know-It-All froze, somewhat surprised.

He had not expected a wildland martial artist to possess peak Qi-Nurturing Realm strength at the age of twenty-one. That already qualified him as a minor genius.

After all, the overwhelming majority of martial artists were only at the Qi-Nurturing Realm.

The watching martial artists also put away their contempt and began watching in earnest.

Only Ye Quan at the side did not know whether to laugh or cry.

He vaguely guessed what sly scheme Lu Yun was up to.

Of course, it had little to do with him. It was merely the other martial artists who were about to be put in their place.

"Kill."

Wang Tianba charged forward again, saber in hand.

Lu Yun was equally unwilling to show weakness, his face brimming with fighting spirit as he met him head-on.

Bang bang bang...

The two exchanged blows in a fierce clash atop the arena, their spinning, darting figures flashing all across the stage.

Several hundred moves later.

"Splendid, splendid! I, Wang Tianba, acknowledge you. With this kind of strength, you're no nobody in Clear Distance City either..."

Wang Tianba threw back his head and laughed heartily.

As they fought, he had increasingly felt his own improvement. He was only a thread away from breaking through to Internal Strengthening.

His opponent's attacks seemed to strike straight at the heart of the matter, exposing his weaknesses every single time.

"Bang..."

After another two exchanges.

Lu Yun knocked Wang Tianba's long saber aside and pressed the tip of his spear against the other man's throat.

"You let me win."

He smiled faintly, revealing a row of pearly white teeth.

"I lost, and I'm fully convinced by my defeat. But next time, I'll definitely win it back."

Wang Tianba's expression was solemn.

In his eyes, he had only lost by a single move. The gap between them was not that great.

Once he returned and fully digested this battle, his strength would surely rise by leaps and bounds. The future was bright.

"I'll be waiting for you to challenge me again."

Lu Yun gave a laugh, gathered up the Origin Stones from the ground, and felt thoroughly satisfied.

All that effort he had put into acting out this little show hadn't been for nothing.

Wasn't it all to get himself a batch of Origin Stones?

If he went too hard and scared everyone off, who would dare step onto the arena?

Maintaining his current level of strength was just right—not too strong, not too weak.

Now it depended on how many martial artists he could fool into coming up to challenge him.

In his eyes, the densely packed heads below were all chunks of Origin Stones. The more who came up, the better.

Best of all, he could rack up a thousand consecutive victories.

"I didn't expect Wang Tianba to lose by one move. Looks like this Lu Yun's upper limit is probably right about here."

"My strength is a bit greater than Wang Tianba's, and Lu Yun has been fighting for so long that his qi and blood must be depleted. Could I really have a chance?"

"No, going up now still isn't safe enough. I'll wait for a few more people to wear him down first, then I'll swoop in and pick up the bargain. Heh heh heh..."

Quite a few martial artists began muttering to themselves, each secretly working out their own little schemes.

To ordinary martial artists like them, ten Origin Stones were no small expense.

Some people had to save for more than half a year just to scrape together ten Origin Stones.

Though Lu Yun's "narrow victory" over Wang Tianba had greatly surprised everyone, there were still those who refused to accept it.

Many people began itching to give it a try.

"I'll go first."

At that moment, a burly man in black shot onto the arena with a whoosh.

The burly man tossed ten Origin Stones onto the ground, then solemnly clasped his fists. "I am Wang Dashan. Please instruct me."

"You've expended quite a bit of qi and blood. If you think it's unfair, we can fight tomorrow instead."

He believed his own strength to be somewhat greater than Wang Tianba's.

Winning this battle was a foregone conclusion.

To prevent the other party from claiming that any victory of his was undeserved, he spoke up like this, cutting off that excuse in advance.

"No need. A normal match will do. Please instruct me."

Lu Yun smiled faintly.

He couldn't let Origin Stones delivered right to his doorstep get away.

"Fight!"

After roaring in unison, the two charged toward each other.

A new round of battle began once more.

"Bang bang bang..."

The two sides traded blows, and the battle was far fiercer than the previous one. Dust and smoke billowed across the arena, the commotion anything but small.

Watching the battle unfold, the crowd below wore uncertain, startled expressions.

"Could Lu Yun win another round? This guy has some real skill."

"We misjudged him, we misjudged him... He's probably one of the very best martial artists at the Qi Nurturing Realm's peak."

"Even after fighting a match already, he can still suppress Wang Dashan."

A flicker of surprise appeared in Baishitong's eyes.

Ye Quan, meanwhile, looked at the martial artists around him as though they were idiots.

At the same time, he deeply admired Lu Yun's acting skills.

He had gotten twenty origin stones so easily. There would probably be even more fat sheep coming up to challenge him afterward.

After several hundred more exchanges on the arena—

Bang...

With a thunderous crash, Wang Dashan staggered back several steps in succession and fell straight off the arena.

"I lost."

Wang Dashan looked somewhat dejected.

He had held every advantage, yet still lost by a single move in the end. It seemed he still needed to train more.

"You let me win."

Lu Yun bent at the waist and smiled faintly. As he gathered up the origin stones from the ground, he panted heavily. This performance was enough to make the gods bow their heads.

"I didn't expect Lu Yun to win by a move after all."

"I bet he used some secret technique to forcibly stimulate his blood and vitality..."

"Right, that guess makes perfect sense. His blood and vitality are severely depleted now—even his breathing is unsteady..."

"I can still fight. I welcome all heroes and worthy men to come up and challenge me."

Lu Yun forced himself upright, his expression brimming with tragic grandeur.

He looked as though he was prepared to burn everything he had for the Martial Dao.

"I'll do it."

"Let me."

"Get the fuck out of the way, it's my turn."

The crowd below the stage went wild.

Eager to make a name for themselves by stepping on Lu Yun, and tempted by the ten origin stones, everyone was fired up.

"One at a time. Don't rush..."

The smile on Lu Yun's face grew ever more kindly.