Fists Like Branding Irons

"Now it's my turn~"

Ji Boxiao was determined to make Su Wuming pay for his arrogance today, even if the victory was somewhat dishonorable.

As his words fell, the two training dummies in the Martial Arena rose straight from the ground and smashed toward Su Wuming.

This was Ji Boxiao's ability: he could control all metal. It was similar to telekinesis, but limited to metal.

As the dummies neared Su Wuming, a phantom layer of golden armor appeared over their surfaces, identical to the golden armor that had covered Ji Boxiao's body when he defended against Su Wuming earlier.

Knowing how sturdy that golden armor was, Su Wuming did not choose to take the attack head-on. He pushed off with his feet and easily dodged aside.

After making a rough estimate, he found that the dummies' flight speed was completely easy to evade.

"Dragging around two dummies that big and you're not tired? At this speed, I can keep this up with you all day."

Su Wuming did not forget to throw out a taunt. Ji Boxiao clearly lacked combat experience; what a waste of such a good talent ability.

If it were Su Wuming, he would have simply made two swords. That would increase both speed and power, and it would look cool too.

"Is that so? Then I'd like to see how you plan to keep this up with me for a whole day."

Ji Boxiao paid no attention to the taunt. Li Yanan, who stood in the front row of Class Three, also let out a light laugh and murmured, "How ignorant. How could the ability of an A-grade talent be limited to just this much~"

The students immediately turned puzzled looks toward her. Li Yanan pointed at the arena and softly said, "Watch. Ji Boxiao is about to go all out."

As her words fell, huge cracks suddenly appeared across the surfaces of the two dummies chasing Su Wuming.

The next moment, they shattered with a crack, exploding into a small cloud of metal dust that drifted through the air.

Then Ji Boxiao clenched his right hand, and the scattered metal dust instantly gathered together, forming two short swords. A layer of golden armor covered their surfaces, making them appear incomparably sharp.

Su Wuming immediately realized that he had spoken too soon. That slap in the face had come fast.

Ji Boxiao then controlled the two short swords and sent them stabbing toward Su Wuming. This time, their speed suddenly increased by a huge margin.

Two streaks of golden light flashed by in an instant, and in the next moment, they appeared directly before Su Wuming's chest.

Good grief, he was going for the kill!!!

"Ha! Iron Block!"

Su Wuming casually made up a line. Armament Haki instantly covered his chest, hardening his skin as he took one sword head-on. He narrowly twisted his head aside to evade the other.

The short sword that struck his chest scraped out a shower of sparks before flying off to one side.

The sight made everyone's hearts tighten. In that brief instant, they had truly thought Su Wuming was done for, so much so that they assumed he had shouted "Iron Block" in nonsense just to bolster his courage.

At the same time, they wondered why Mo Lan, the referee, had not intervened.

Only after seeing that Su Wuming was unharmed did they finally let out the breaths they had been holding.

Lin Pangpang especially had already thought of the dishes for Su Wuming's funeral banquet in that instant.

Now, it seemed the fight on the arena could only be described as a head-on clash between two stubborn blockheads.

Most of the spectators felt that neither side could do anything to the other.

A small number of people understood that if this continued, Su Wuming's defeat was only a matter of time.

Su Wuming himself understood this clearly as well. His opponent was Bronze; his total spiritual power was not something his meager Armament Haki could compare with.

Sooner or later, he would be the one to exhaust his Haki first. When that happened, he would not be able to defend against those flying swords.

After several more exchanges, Su Wuming grasped the flight paths of the short swords. He wrapped both hands in Armament Haki and violently knocked the swords away.

The instant his fists scraped against the short swords, a large shower of sparks burst out. His knuckles faintly began to redden.

An idea immediately flashed through Su Wuming's mind. While his opponent could not control the short swords for the moment, he crossed his arms in front of himself, and Armament Haki surged toward his head.

"Open!"

That was right. He directly opened the Opening Gate.

During this time, Su Wuming stood motionless. As the gate opened, the restrictions on his brain were lifted once more. An aura burst from his body, sending the snowflakes around him into a chaotic dance.

Mo Lan, who had been watching the two of them closely, had a sharp gleam flash through her eyes, and joy immediately rose in her heart.

Good kid, he was hiding another trump card. So this was the state he used to kill those Nunu Beasts last night.

As a Mind Master, she had perceived Su Wuming's every movement with great clarity.

Just as most of the spectators were wondering why Su Wuming had stood still instead of taking the chance to attack Ji Boxiao—

The short swords he had sent flying returned to Ji Boxiao's control and stabbed directly toward Su Wuming's vital points.

It's over!

He's going to lose!

Those were the thoughts that sprang into most people's minds.

However, in the next moment, another twist occurred. Su Wuming's figure suddenly vanished from where he stood, and the two incoming short swords crashed directly into each other.

As everyone stared in confusion, Su Wuming's voice came from midair.

"Too slow!"

In an instant, the crowd erupted. Even the principal, the instructors, and the homeroom teachers were startled by his sudden explosive increase in speed.

This was no longer speed that someone at the Black Iron rank could possess. Even lightning- and wind-element spiritual warriors of the same rank would find it difficult to achieve.

Zhao Qiansun, a wind-element assassin, suddenly felt strangely discouraged. With an incredulous expression, he asked Qin Ming beside him:

"Boss, how did he do that?"

"That was way too fast! Could he be hiding his strength too?" Li Wencai added.

"Impossible. He's an orphan. He doesn't have a major clan like the Ji Clan backing him." Qin Ming said with certainty.

Before the three could continue, the offense and defense on the arena instantly reversed.

Su Wuming went from dodging to taking the offensive.

With the speed and strength brought by the Opening Gate, as well as the gaps between the continuous flickers of his figure, he launched attack after attack at Ji Boxiao.

Punch after punch flew out. Ji Boxiao had no choice but to abandon his pursuit with the short swords and focus entirely on defense.

Su Wuming's fists swept past Ji Boxiao's sides each time, scraping out showers of sparks. Empowered by the Opening Gate, Ji Boxiao was knocked unsteady several times.

As Su Wuming's punches grew faster and faster, his black fists turned an intense red, resembling two glowing branding irons.

This was the inspiration Su Wuming had gotten when his fists had struck the short swords earlier.

He used friction to generate heat and warm his fists. Even so, they still could not meet the standard of [Fire Fist Pistol].

But it was more than enough to deal with Ji Boxiao's defense.

Even Instructor Mo Lan could not help but praise him. "Smart."

Making reasonable use of every available element and turning it into a means of attack—this was the essence of martial arts.

"They say true gold fears no fire. Let me see whether your gold is real or fake." Seeing that the time was right, Su Wuming prepared to strike him with everything he had.

Su Wuming's arms rapidly stretched backward, then twisted together like rope.

[Rubber Spiral Bullet]!!!