Five Strongest (3)

Third match.

Li Changfeng of Arhat Hall's Tenth Branch.

Versus

Zhou Deze, chief disciple of Prajna Hall's Fifth Branch.

Li Changfeng was the first to step onto the martial arena and said with a light smile, "Brother Zhou! I didn't expect our duel to come so soon. Please!"

Zhou Deze's expression turned ugly at his words. He slowly stepped onto the arena. "Li Changfeng! Don't get cocky. It's still uncertain who will win and who will lose!"

"Hehe! Then let's wait and see! Don't say I'm bullying you. I'll stand right here and give you three moves!"

"Do you mean that?"

"A promise once made cannot be taken back!"

"Good! Then take this move!"

With that, Zhou Deze immediately launched a sneak attack. True qi surged throughout his body as the aura of a second-rate expert slowly spread from him. He unleashed the first form of Shaolin Cotton Palm, "Unbroken Flow." Streams of unceasing true qi gradually gathered in his palms before he suddenly struck out with a sheet of palm shadows.

With twenty-six years of Inner Force, he unleashed two thousand pounds of force toward Li Changfeng's chest.

Li Changfeng sneered at the sight. True qi erupted from his entire body as he used thirty years of Inner Force to activate the Shaolin Bronze Body Skill. A gleaming Vajra Arhat Phantom slowly emerged, and Vajra Power blessed his body as he took the incoming palm shadows head-on.

Clang! Clang! Clang!...

A series of dull metallic collisions rang out. The fierce palm shadows struck Li Changfeng's body and dissipated completely like mud oxen sinking into the sea. Li Changfeng remained rooted in place, standing on the arena like a great mountain, his expression calm.

Zhou Deze, meanwhile, was shaken by the recoil until his palms went numb. His face flushed red, but he suppressed it with Inner Force. He had already suffered a minor internal injury!

"First move!"

Zhou Deze's expression was terrible. His previous strike had merely been a probe, meant to test just how powerful Li Changfeng's Shaolin Bronze Body Skill was and where its limit lay. He had tested it, but the powerful recoil had injured him slightly. Its might was terrifying.

Zhou Deze thought, No choice! The arrow is on the string; I have no choice but to fire it! A Toughness Cultivation Method like this must have a weakness. I can only keep attacking and probe out his weak point!

Zhou Deze's face twisted viciously as true qi exploded from his body. He used the second form of Shaolin Shadowless Kick, "Following Form." Streams of true qi gradually gathered in his legs. He suddenly leaped into the air, and with a whistle of wind, his leg shadow had already reached Li Changfeng's lower body.

With twenty-six years of Inner Force, he unleashed two thousand three hundred pounds of force, kicking toward Li Changfeng's groin. The tactic was utterly despicable.

Li Changfeng's face immediately darkened. He directly assumed the Hong Fist horse stance, the Two-Character Clamping Sheep Horse. With thirty years of Inner Force combined with his own seven hundred and fifty pounds of strength, he fiercely clamped his knees together, trapping that despicable kick.

Crack!

A bone-cracking sound rang out. Zhou Deze's foot, aimed at Li Changfeng's groin, was caught in Li Changfeng's Two-Character Clamping Sheep Horse and crushed until the bone fractured. Zhou Deze cried out in agony, then desperately pulled free his injured leg and staggered back seven or eight steps before shouting:

"Didn't you say you'd give me three moves?! Why did you go back on your word and lure me into attacking so you could crush my foot? Li Changfeng! You're shameless!"

"Hehe! Who exactly is shameless? A dignified Shaolin disciple actually used such vile tactics. When you go outside, don't tell anyone you're a fellow Shaolin disciple. I'd be ashamed to be associated with you!"

"Li Changfeng! You... bastard! The rules never said we couldn't kick the groin. I was merely making use of everything available to find any weakness that could break a Toughness Cultivation Method like yours. It's no big deal!"

The Martial Arts Elder frowned at this. "Zhou Deze! You've gone too far! Though the rules do not explicitly forbid kicking the groin, a dignified Shaolin disciple should stand tall between heaven and earth. Doing something so disgraceful tarnishes Shaolin's prestige! Let this be the last time!"

Zhou Deze replied with an ugly expression, "Yes! This disciple will never do such a thing again!"

Zhou Deze thought disdainfully, Hmph! What's wrong with kicking the groin? In conflicts in the martial world, it's either you die or I die. What does a little tactic like this amount to? What a joke! But I've also tested the weakness of the Shaolin Bronze Body Skill. Once we're outside, I'll have plenty of ways to kill you in the shadows, Li Changfeng!

Seeing that Zhou Deze still was not attacking, Li Changfeng said impatiently, "What are you standing around for? You've got one last move. Finish it so we can continue the matches!"

Zhou Deze was instantly enraged. He poured out all his true qi and forcibly used the third form of Shaolin Cotton Palm, "Fierce and Unceasing." Dense, fierce true qi gradually gathered in his palms, which instantly burst forth with waves of imposing might.

With twenty-six years of Inner Force, he actually unleashed two thousand seven hundred pounds of force toward Li Changfeng's chest.

Li Changfeng remained unmoved. True qi erupted from his body as he used thirty years of Inner Force to activate the Shaolin Bronze Body Skill. A gleaming Vajra Arhat Phantom slowly appeared, and Vajra Power blessed his body as he took this fierce and unceasing palm strike head-on.

Clang!

A loud metallic collision resounded. Li Changfeng was struck directly in the chest by that fierce and unceasing palm. Zhou Deze's face twisted savagely as his palms frantically transmitted wave after wave of fierce, unending palm force into Li Changfeng's body.

Li Changfeng stood motionless like Mount Tai and smiled faintly. "The force is decent! Just a little more and it'd be perfect for a massage. Didn't you eat? Put more strength into it!"

Zhou Deze's face turned purple-red with fury. "Li Changfeng! You deserve to die!"

He then overexerted himself, sending even greater force into Li Changfeng's body. Li Changfeng immediately felt a stronger force shaking his body. The faint waves of numbness felt like a young, strong lady giving him a vigorous massage—quite comfortable!

A quarter of an hour later.

Li Changfeng sensed that Zhou Deze's palm force had weakened considerably, and his face was as pale as paper. He teased, "I'm done playing with you. You don't have any strength left!"

He then circulated thirty years of Inner Force through the Shaolin Bronze Body Skill and gave a fierce shake. Vajra Power directly blasted Zhou Deze away. Zhou Deze spat out a mouthful of blood in midair and was defeated!

The Martial Arts Elder slowly stepped forward and said calmly, "Li Changfeng wins this match!

The several top-ten contestants below the stage wore ugly expressions when they saw Li Changfeng defeat Zhou Deze so effortlessly. They now regarded Li Changfeng as someone on the same level as Golden Arhat and Dong Tianbao, while also feeling fortunate that they had not met them in the first round.

Chen Feng sighed helplessly. "This brat! He was clearly this strong, yet when he fought me, he pretended to be weak and played the underdog. Isn't that fucking bullying? Thank goodness I didn't meet him in the first round. What a relief!"

Yuan Mingzhi gave a bitter smile. "So I've always been a frog at the bottom of a well. And I was even so arrogant back then—what a laughingstock!"