Li Yao Intent on Courted Death

After hearing that, Li Yao felt immensely pleased inside, yet his face wore an expression of deep dissatisfaction.

He stood on the Seventh Arena and looked at the people below, who all kept their heads down, none daring to meet his gaze.

"No way, is that really all of them?"

Li Yao put his hands on his hips and shouted downward, "Hey you lot, can't you show a bit of spine? I've only fought one match, and you're already cowering?"

Still, no one in the crowd spoke up. After all, Li Yao had just defeated an Eighth Rank Martial Master.

Li Yao grew anxious. If no one challenged him, how was he supposed to farm Background Value?

He thought for a moment and shouted again, "I'm begging you, won't someone just beat the crap out of me? My skin's itching for a thrashing."

No one down below made a move.

Utterly exasperated, Li Yao raised a hand directly and yelled at the referee instructor, "Instructor, I request to forgo resting and recovering! I'll stand right here; whoever wants to challenge me can come up at any time!"

"I'm begging you, please beat me to death!"

As soon as those words left his mouth, the crowd below instantly exploded.

"Holy shit, this guy is way too arrogant!"

"This is sheer, unadulterated provocation!"

"Does he think he's invincible?"

"I can't take this anymore, I'm going to beat him to death!"

A solidly built male student squeezed his way out from the crowd and vaulted straight onto the Arena.

"Li Yao! I, Gong Zhan, have come to fight you!"

Li Yao glanced at him. The fellow was wearing a black training uniform, veins bulging on his arms, and clearly looked like someone who had trained hard.

"Seventh Rank Martial Master?" Li Yao raised an eyebrow. "A mere Seventh Rank, coming up here to throw your life away?"

"Throw my life away?" Gong Zhan sneered. "Who's throwing their life away isn't decided yet!"

Li Yao smiled. "Fine, then come on. I'll give you three moves."

"No need!"

With that, Gong Zhan directly threw a punch.

Li Yao originally intended to dodge, but the punch came too fast, forcing him to raise his arms to block.

Bang!

The fists collided. Li Yao retreated two steps, and Gong Zhan retreated one.

"Oh?" Li Yao paused. "You've got some substance to you."

Gong Zhan didn't speak and threw another punch.

This time Li Yao didn't let down his guard and met him head-on.

The two began exchanging blows on the Arena.

Fist met flesh with a flurry of loud bangs.

The spectators in the stands were dumbfounded.

"Holy shit, is Gong Zhan really this fierce?"

"How is a Seventh Rank Martial Master not losing the upper hand when fighting an Eighth Rank one?"

"Did you forget? Gong Zhan practices his family's proprietary Berserk Fist, a fist technique rumored to allow fighting opponents of higher ranks!"

"No wonder he dared to go up there; he actually had a trump card!"

Li Yao could feel it too; this Gong Zhan genuinely had some tricks up his sleeve.

His fist technique was ferocious, every punch carrying an overbearing momentum, and his Spiritual Power was exceptionally dense, no less than that of those Eighth Rank Martial Masters.

"Interesting." Li Yao grinned. "I've finally run into someone who can actually fight."

He took a deep breath, circulating the Nine-Turn Profound Art, and the Spiritual Power within his body instantly surged.

"Come on, let's fight again!"

Li Yao took the initiative, throwing a punch straight at Gong Zhan's face.

Gong Zhan sidestepped and countered with an uppercut.

Li Yao ducked to avoid it, immediately following up with a kick to Gong Zhan's shin.

The two traded blows back and forth, locked in an intense battle.

The audience below watched with boiling blood.

"Gong Zhan! You can do it!"

"Gong Zhan! Take him down!"

"Hit him, hit him! Wipe that arrogance off his face!"

"Show him there's always someone better!"

Hearing these shouts, Li Yao wasn't angry at all; instead, he laughed.

"Oh? So many people cheering for you?"

"So what?" Gong Zhan gritted his teeth. "Today, I'll teach you that arrogance comes at a price!"

With that, he suddenly let out a roar, and the Spiritual Power around his body flared drastically.

"Berserk Fist! Third Form!"

He threw a punch accompanied by a whistling gale.

Li Yao's pupils constricted; the power of this strike was already approaching that of a Ninth Rank Martial Master!

Daring not to be careless, he met it with a full-power punch of his own.

Boom!

The fists collided, producing a muffled sound.

Li Yao retreated three steps, while Gong Zhan retreated two.

"Not bad," Li Yao flicked his wrist. "It's truly rare for a Seventh Rank Martial Master to have this kind of strength."

"You're not bad yourself," Gong Zhan panted. "You're the very first Sixth Rank Martial Master to take that punch from me."

"Shall we continue, then?" Li Yao asked.

"Continue!"

The two clashed once more.

The spectators below grew more and more excited as they watched.

"Holy shit, Gong Zhan is seriously fierce!"

"Li Yao isn't slouching either. For a Sixth Rank Martial Master to fight Gong Zhan like this is truly badass!"

"Still, I hope Gong Zhan wins. Li Yao is way too arrogant!"

"Right! Gong Zhan! Beat the crap out of him!"

On the Arena, the two had already exchanged over a dozen moves and were both breathing heavily.

Inwardly, Li Yao was secretly surprised; this Gong Zhan was genuinely a tough nut to crack.

He had originally thought a Seventh Rank Martial Master wouldn't be all that strong, but he hadn't expected this guy to be even fiercer than Wang Meng, the Eighth Rank fellow from earlier.

"System, what's this guy's background?" Li Yao asked in his mind.

Ding! System scanning... Gong Zhan, Seventh Rank Martial Master, practitioner of Berserk Fist. Strength far exceeds his current rank, capable of challenging Eighth and even Ninth Rank Martial Masters.

"No wonder," Li Yao muttered. "Looks like I need to get serious."

He took a deep breath, and the Spiritual Power within him circulated once more.

"Gong Zhan, you're quite good. However, it's time to end this."

Gong Zhan sneered. "Want to end it? It won't be that easy!"

He charged forward once again, slamming a punch toward Li Yao's chest.

This time Li Yao didn't dodge, meeting him head-on as their fists collided.

Bang!

Gong Zhan's expression shifted; he felt that the force behind Li Yao's punch was significantly greater than before!

"You..."

"What?" Li Yao smiled. "Did you think that was the extent of my strength?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he threw another punch.

Gong Zhan gritted his teeth and took the blow directly.

Bang!

This time he staggered back several steps, nearly falling over.

"Impossible!" Gong Zhan widened his eyes. "You're clearly just a Sixth Rank Martial Master..."

"So what if I'm a Sixth Rank Martial Master?" Li Yao chuckled. "Can't a Sixth Rank Martial Master beat you?"

With that, he lunged forward with another burst of speed, slamming his fist straight into Gong Zhan's stomach.

Pfft!

Gong Zhan spat out a mouthful of blood, flying backward through the air before crashing down below the Arena.

The stands fell into a dead silence.

"Holy shit! Li Yao won again?"

"He... Is he really just a Sixth Rank Martial Master?"

"Did I see that wrong? The power of that punch just now was at least that of a Ninth Rank Martial Master, right?"

"Damn it, this guy must be faking it!"

Standing on the Arena, Li Yao dusted off his hands, looked at Gong Zhan below, and smiled. "Brother, your strength is decent, you just had bad luck."

Gong Zhan climbed to his feet, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, stared at Li Yao for a long moment, and then said, "You're strong. I concede."

With that, he turned around and left.

Li Yao looked out at the crowd below and asked again, "Who's next?"

The people below looked at each other, yet still no one made a move.

Li Yao sighed, and just as he was about to speak again, the system's voice suddenly rang in his mind.

Ding! Congratulations to the host for defeating Gong Zhan. Background Value +1000. Current Background Value: 19,000.

He looked down at the audience and grinned.

"Everyone, if you don't come up soon, I'm going to turn into a statue waiting for her husband up here."

"I'm begging you all, do me a favor and come up to hit me, alright?"

The people below were so furious their teeth itched, but simply no one dared to step up.