Unexpected Outcome

Feng Yuancheng was in his fourth year after joining the academy, and his White Cloud Pine-Crane Palm was already on the verge of mastery. If Chen Fan watched him fight and saw him use a few more moves of the White Cloud Pine-Crane Palm, Chen Fan might gain some insight as well!

On the arena.

Borrowing the momentum of his charge, Yan Lincu arrived in an instant and threw a punch at Feng Yuancheng.

Fist met palm.

A crisp smack rang out.

To the astonishment of countless spectators below, both men staggered backward from the recoil. Feng Yuancheng even took several more steps back.

Feng Yuancheng, who had just defeated a second-level martial artist, had actually fallen behind in a contest of strength.

"How is that possible?!"

Feng Yuancheng wore a look of utter disbelief. He had possessed an unusual physique since childhood, and now he had nearly mastered two of Flying Spirit County's strongest strength-training manuals. His body was exceptionally powerful!

Even the guards in his household who were at the second or third martial level and had begun tempering their muscles and internal organs could not compare with him in strength!

Although the youth's punch carried tremendous force, it was not some remarkable strength-training technique.

Yet in a single exchange, Feng Yuancheng had been pushed back.

Feng Yuancheng's lips twitched, and his eyes turned grave.

Yan Lincu shook his hand, rolled his neck, narrowed his eyes, and sneered at Feng Yuancheng, whose expression had slightly changed. "Didn't you say I was born with divine strength? Your guess was right. I was indeed born with divine strength, except..."

Yan Lincu stepped forward again, unleashing a fierce punch!

His blood and qi surged!

"My natural strength is far greater than you imagined!"

Feeling the enormous pressure coming from before him, Feng Yuancheng's expression shifted slightly. He no longer dared underestimate the youth. The energy within his body circulated, and he struck out with the same palm technique, yet it now carried an entirely different aura!

It was still the White Cloud Pine-Crane Palm, but he was clearly using his full strength now!

Yan Lincu grinned. After retreating, he barely paused before pouncing forward again, smashing out another fierce punch!

Feng Yuancheng's expression grew increasingly grave as both his palms danced through the air.

The two clashed once more!

Their exchange was exceptionally intense, their fists and palms moving at astonishing speed.

In the blink of an eye, they had already exchanged over thirty moves!

Smack!

The two crossed paths again.

A cold, manic glint flashed through Yan Lincu's eyes. "Trash! Didn't you say you'd finish me in thirty moves?!"

Feng Yuancheng's lips twitched. Never before had anyone called him that, yet he could not utter a single word.

His cheeks burned as he gritted his teeth and charged forward again!

This time, however, his palm technique suddenly changed. He no longer used the White Cloud Pine-Crane Palm, instead employing the Feng family's Crimson Chain Palm, a secret technique he was more proficient in and had already cultivated internal breath through!

The fact that he had used the Crimson Chain Palm showed that the not-yet-mastered White Cloud Pine-Crane Palm alone was no longer enough to defeat his opponent!

Yan Lincu sneered and refused to be outdone. His fists flew like the wind, smashing down with tyrannical force!

His momentum had not weakened in the slightest!

As the two fought, Chen Fan's gaze grew ever more solemn and sharp.

At the same time, more and more people gathered around the arena.

Many students from other arenas came over as well, staring at the two onstage in astonishment!

No one had expected the renowned Feng Yuancheng to fight an unknown youth to such a standstill!

Before long, several martial academy instructors were drawn over as well.

At that moment.

No one noticed the flash of delight that suddenly appeared in Chen Fan's solemn eyes beneath the arena.

"I understand now..."

Under Yan Lincu's pressure, Feng Yuancheng had revealed all his strength and had long since used every move of the White Cloud Pine-Crane Palm more than once!

This happened to let Chen Fan meet the conditions for triggering an improvement, giving him another chance to gain insight and advance.

[You observed higher-level White Cloud Pine-Crane Palm techniques and gained insight. Progress increased; cultivation efficiency increased.]

The final four forms of Chen Fan's White Cloud Pine-Crane Palm had each gained 10% progress, and his passive cultivation efficiency had risen by a little over ten percent!

Although it was far inferior to the improvement Chen Fan had gained from watching Meng Qi's Wind-Thunder Palm, the two techniques differed in quality to begin with. In terms of time saved alone, this gain was greater!

At the same time, the blood and qi within his body flowed silently like a murmuring stream, faster than before.

For some time to come, his physique would improve more quickly as well!

Yet as he watched the two evenly matched fighters clash tit for tat, Chen Fan felt even more emotion—and some regret.

Judging from the strength the two had displayed so far...

His chances of defeating them were not high.

"If I had time to build up my strength and let my blood and qi complete their growth, I might not be unable to defeat these two. Unfortunately, the remaining tournament will end in less than a week. My blood and qi won't have time to accumulate fully, so I can't be their match for now..."

Although Chen Fan had cultivated many strength-training manuals, most were of average quality, no higher than third-rate. Even counting the three techniques he was currently cultivating passively, his foundation was only barely comparable to Feng Yuancheng's two first-rate manuals, perhaps even slightly inferior.

Not to mention the difference in martial understanding and combat experience!

Of course, Feng Yuancheng was already seventeen. With his talent and family background, it was understandable that he possessed such strength.

But Yan Lincu looked only fourteen or fifteen, barely older than Chen Fan.

And with a boxing technique far inferior to Feng Yuancheng's two manuals, he could still stand toe-to-toe with him...

That was the true monster!

A freak!

Chen Fan watched in amazement. Even he was utterly incomparable to Yan Lincu in terms of physique, and his resolve grew firmer:

"Geniuses are too terrifying. Ordinary people like me can only rely on cheats!"

Beside Chen Fan, Meng Qi was equally dumbfounded.

"These two are way too terrifying. If I faced either one of them, I wouldn't last three moves!"

On the other side, the instructors were also discussing the fight.

An instructor from the Flying Tiger Sect looked astonished.

"Yan Lincu has only been in the sect for two years. He had never practiced any martial arts before that, and he is the sect master's personal disciple. He has only trained one set of Flying Tiger Fist... If I hadn't seen this today, I wouldn't have known he was this formidable."

Flying Tiger Fist was the Flying Tiger Sect's prized strength-training art, and it was also first-rate.

Instructor Zhu of the White Cloud Martial Academy grew increasingly grave. "I don't know if you've noticed, but from the moment we arrived until now, Yan Lincu has been attacking relentlessly. Yet he hasn't shown the slightest weakness. After fighting for so long, his blood and qi do not seem to have diminished at all!"

People with powerful blood and qi were rare, but they could still be found. Chen Fan, for example, was believed to have been born with powerful blood and qi.

But blood and qi that did not diminish was terrifying.

The Flying Tiger Sect instructor froze before adding, "Yan Lincu had an unusual physique and powerful blood and qi from the moment he joined the martial academy!"

Instructor Zhu's eyes flickered.

"This has gone beyond merely being powerful... Interesting. Yan Lincu's blood and qi are excessively abundant, and his foundation is incomparably solid. His innate advantages are enormous. A body like this is practically more effective than cultivating any strength-training manual. Did his bloodline revert to an ancestor's, does he possess a special physique, or did he accidentally consume some heavenly treasure in childhood?"

The instructors had all long cultivated true techniques and possessed strength above the fourth martial level. At the very least, they had mastered second-rate manuals, making them exceptionally powerful!

Their insight was also greater.

But there were many possibilities, and they could not be certain.

On the arena.

Yan Lincu's eyes blazed as he hurled punch after punch at Feng Yuancheng. His momentum was savage, and his movements showed no sign of slowing!

Feng Yuancheng had the advantage in age and martial arts, and at first they had been evenly matched. But as the fight continued, he found himself increasingly unable to keep up!

He was already considered innately strong, and he had begun martial training before the age of ten. Yet compared to Yan Lincu, he was nothing more than a minor sorcerer before a great one!

In terms of techniques and experience alone, Feng Yuancheng was clearly superior. Unfortunately, his opponent's strength and blood and qi were simply too terrifying!

From the beginning until now, Yan Lincu had attacked almost without pause, yet showed no sign of weakening. Feng Yuancheng had held some advantage early on but failed to secure victory. As the exchanges piled up, he gradually found himself unable to endure!

This was something Feng Yuancheng found extremely difficult to accept.

His physique was far stronger than an ordinary person's, enough to easily defeat second-level martial artists. Yet now, facing Yan Lincu, who had likewise not cultivated any true technique, he was actually inferior in endurance. It shattered everyone's expectations.

Below the arena, the White Cloud Martial Academy disciples looked worriedly at Feng Yuancheng, who was gradually falling into a disadvantage, and anxiously held their breath for him!

Seeing Yan Lincu's terrifying momentum, Su Qingyang's heart trembled. Then his face filled with bitterness and speechlessness.

No wonder he had lost so quickly back then...

On the arena.

Seemingly sensing Feng Yuancheng's weakening strength, Yan Lincu laughed loudly. The more he fought, the braver he became, his fists still crashing toward Feng Yuancheng in rolling waves!

"Haha, Feng Yuancheng, didn't you say you'd defeat me in thirty moves? There have to be three hundred moves by now, right?"

Yan Lincu's eyes were filled with sharp mockery as his fist tore through the air!

Smack!

Feng Yuancheng's expression was ugly, but he remained silent, struggling to hold on.

Yan Lincu sneered, punching again and again.

"Aren't you so impressive? Aren't you arrogant? Weren't you acting all tough?!"

Smacks rang out without pause!

At last, a violently savage fist slammed into Feng Yuancheng's chest!

Pfft!

Feng Yuancheng spat out a mouthful of blood and toppled backward. He could no longer hold on, and before the eyes of hundreds of spectators, he fell from the arena!

Feng Yuancheng had actually lost!