A Fierce Clash!

"Oh? What are we betting?"

Wang Lei was clearly interested.

"I bet I can beat you with my next move."

Li Yao raised a finger and waved it.

Wang Lei was speechless. Steady by nature, he did not even laugh at the claim.

He merely shook his head.

"Want to put something on it?"

Li Yao nodded slightly.

"It wouldn't be a bet without stakes."

"How about this? If you can't withstand my next move, I won't ask for anything else. From then on, you'll be my underling."

"And if I do withstand it?"

"Simple. I'll give you ten thousand Spirit Stones."

Wang Lei's eyes lit up.

Ten thousand Spirit Stones.

That would cover his family's expenses for years.

But he knew Li Yao would not offer those terms unless he was confident he could win!

Yet Wang Lei was a genius too! He had confidence of his own!

"Fine, Li Yao. I know you haven't shown everything you've got, but my Heaven-Shattering Stone Fist earned its name. If you can beat me in one move, I'll even become your servant!"

With that, he began gathering power for the Heaven-Shattering Stone Fist again.

Li Yao drew a deep breath and drove the Nine-Turn Profound Art with all his might. Spiritual Power erupted within him as he launched one of its combat techniques, a heavy punch aimed straight at Wang Lei.

"Nine-Turn Profound Art—Heaven-Breaking Fist!"

As a Heaven-Rank Cultivation Technique, the Nine-Turn Profound Art came with three combat techniques.

Li Yao had learned the complete art and committed all three techniques to memory.

But at his current level, he could only execute the first: Heaven-Breaking Fist.

Even draining every last drop of his Spiritual Power would not let him unleash the other two.

Yet that single punch consumed more than half the Spiritual Power in his body.

Weakness hit him instantly, as though he had spent an entire night going nine rounds without stopping.

Across from him, Wang Lei had finished gathering power too.

He unleashed his Heaven-Shattering Stone Fist with equally overwhelming force.

"Li Yao! It's not too late to surrender! This punch could kill you!"

"Quit yapping! My fist's almost in your face! Make your move!"

"Fine!"

"Li Yao, you're going to lose! Don't forget, I have more than a Spiritual Root. I have a Superpower too!"

Boom!

The two surges of Spiritual Power collided with a thunderous roar.

The platform shook violently under their clash.

The tremors even spread through the entire Martial Arts Arena!

"Holy shit! Are those two really only Eighth Rank Martial Masters?"

"Even Ye Xiao and Yu Xuerou might struggle to produce Spiritual Power fluctuations like that!"

"Honestly, I'll never look down on Li Yao again."

"That guy's the real deal!"

"He has strength and connections. If he hadn't lost his mind chasing after someone, we might never have gotten to see what he could do."

"True. Aside from that obsession, he's not a bad guy. He's usually pretty helpful at school, and he doesn't look down on us like some rich kids do."

"Yeah, exactly..."

In the stands, Shi Jian narrowed his eyes slightly.

He looked first at Li Yao, then at Wang Lei.

"Wang Lei is impressive. Reminds me of myself back then."

As a Martial Sovereign, Shi Jian had a keen eye.

At a glance, he saw that Wang Lei only appeared to have poured all his Spiritual Power into that punch.

In truth, Wang Lei's Stone Superpower was continuously drawing Spiritual Power from the platform and feeding it back to him.

In other words, Wang Lei could keep going indefinitely.

And he could keep increasing the power of his Heaven-Shattering Stone Fist.

Given enough time to gather power, he could defeat even Yu Xuerou or Ye Xiao!

Several officials in the stands nodded repeatedly.

"Who would've thought this year's Martial Arts Tournament would have two Eighth Rank Martial Masters as its dark horses?"

"In previous years, strength like this would've been enough to win the whole thing."

"Exactly. These two are far beyond ordinary Eighth Rank Martial Masters. They're true geniuses!"

"If I remember right, Li Yao is the only son of Li Zhiyun, the Head of the Li Family."

"Li Zhiyun? The Martial Emperor who killed a Demon Emperor of the Demon Race?"

"That's him."

"So his father's a Martial Emperor, and his grandfather's a Martial Saint?"

"Yeah..."

"...Damn. Being born into the right family really is an art."

They all talked over one another.

Beside them, Shi Jian paid their chatter no mind.

He was still watching the fight.

"Li Yao is going to lose."

The words had barely left his mouth when Liu Zhengguo chimed in. "I've never liked that little bastard. He's definitely going to lose."

"If you say so, Principal, then he's as good as beaten!"

The officials who had been talking quickly agreed.

Bang!

The force of the colliding Spiritual Power kept mounting. Small whirlwinds formed around them, kicking up dust until no one could see what was happening inside.

"They're too strong!"

"Are they even human?"

"Come on, man. We've all awakened Spiritual Roots and can practice martial arts. What's so strange about it?"

"Don't you know that, with enough strength, you can move mountains and fill seas?"

"Forget all that. Do you think you'll ever get that strong?"

"Quiet."

"What's happening?"

"Who won?"

"Li Yao or Wang Lei?"

As the dust cleared, what everyone saw left them stunned...