Champion-Li Yao!

At that thought, Li Yao steeled himself and shot forward like a cannonball!

Ye Xiao stared at him in disbelief.

Was this guy really that bold?

He knew he couldn't win, yet he charged anyway?

But Ye Xiao had no time to dwell on it. Li Yao was already upon him.

"Heaven-Breaking Fist!"

Li Yao roared and launched into the stance of the Heaven-Breaking Fist.

His fist drove straight toward Ye Xiao's face, trailing a fierce gust of wind.

Ye Xiao hurriedly raised his arms to block.

He knew how powerful Li Yao's Heaven-Breaking Fist was.

The last punch had drawn blood from him.

He didn't dare let his guard down.

But just as he braced his arms, Li Yao abruptly changed his move!

Li Yao opened his fist and struck the middle joint of Ye Xiao's left index finger with lightning speed!

Oh no!

Ye Xiao was horrified. How did he know the weak point of Myriad Forms Return to Origin?

Ye Xiao tried to pull back, but Li Yao had changed moves too quickly. He couldn't react in time.

Smack!

A sharp crack rang out.

Then, as if some switch inside Ye Xiao had been flipped, wisps of Spiritual Qi began leaking from his body.

Ye Xiao seized the chance to turn defense into offense, driving a heavy punch into Li Yao's chest.

Bang!

Li Yao flew several meters backward.

He slammed hard into the Arena floor.

Once they were apart, Ye Xiao hurriedly examined himself.

It's over. Myriad Forms Return to Origin has been broken!

Despair began to creep into his heart.

He had never imagined that Li Yao would spot the weak point of his technique at a glance when no one else ever had.

How the hell was that possible?

"System, you're incredible!"

Li Yao got to his feet and rubbed his chest.

"How did you know that guy's weak point was there?"

"Ding. This system knows everything."

The system's reply sounded smug.

Li Yao looked at Ye Xiao's deathly pale face and felt a rush of satisfaction.

That's what you get for showing off a Heaven-Rank Cultivation Technique in public. Not feeling so clever now, are you?

Ye Xiao stood rooted to the spot, feeling utterly miserable.

He could feel the Spiritual Power inside him pouring out.

The heart of Myriad Forms Return to Origin lay in "returning to origin."

It kept Spiritual Power circulating endlessly within the body.

But now that its weak point had been struck, his Spiritual Power leaked like air from a punctured balloon. He couldn't hold on to it.

"You..." Ye Xiao looked up at Li Yao, disbelief filling his eyes. "How did you know my weak point?"

Li Yao shrugged and grinned. "Would you believe me if I said I guessed?"

Why did this idiot just tell everyone about his weak point again?

Ye Xiao: "..."

Guessed, my ass!

How could anyone guess that?

"Who exactly are you?" Ye Xiao asked through gritted teeth.

"Li Yao. Who else?" Li Yao brushed the dust off himself. "What, did I knock you senseless?"

Ye Xiao took a deep breath and forced down his shock.

He knew this wasn't the time to pursue that question.

What mattered now was finding a way to stabilize his Spiritual Power.

But with Myriad Forms Return to Origin broken, he couldn't stabilize it.

He needed to regulate his breathing. If he waited any longer, things would only get worse.

He glanced at Li Yao, who was clutching his chest, then gritted his teeth.

The words came out full of resentment.

"I concede."

The entire crowd erupted in uproar.

"What the hell? Ye Xiao conceded?"

"No way. Weren't they evenly matched a moment ago?"

"What did Li Yao do?"

"I didn't even see it. He tapped Ye Xiao once, and Ye Xiao conceded?"

"That's ridiculous!"

On the raised platform, Shi Jian was stunned too.

He narrowed his eyes at the grinning Li Yao in the Arena, astonishment filling his heart.

How did that kid do it?

Others might have missed it, but an expert of his caliber had seen it clearly.

Li Yao's palm strike had landed precisely on a weak point in the circulation of Ye Xiao's technique.

Luck couldn't explain that.

It took a profound understanding of the technique to do such a thing.

But Li Yao was only twenty-two!

How could he possess such insight?

The more Shi Jian thought about it, the more something felt off.

That kid has been hiding quite a lot.

In the Arena, Ye Xiao had already turned to leave.

"Wait."

Li Yao called out to him.

Ye Xiao looked back at him coldly. "What else?"

"Well..." Li Yao scratched his head. "Do you want me to help repair your technique?"

Ye Xiao froze.

"You?"

"Yeah, me." Li Yao smiled. "If I can break your technique, I can repair it too. What do you say? Want to try?"

Ye Xiao fell silent.

He knew Li Yao was telling the truth.

Someone who could break a technique could naturally repair it.

But he and Li Yao barely knew each other. Why would Li Yao help him?

"Why?"

Ye Xiao asked.

"Because..." Li Yao thought for a moment. "I think you're a decent guy. You show off a bit, but you're not bad. And you didn't try to kill me just now, right?"

Ye Xiao was taken aback.

He hadn't expected Li Yao to say that.

"All right."

Ye Xiao nodded. "Sorry for the trouble."

Li Yao walked over with a smile, rested a hand on Ye Xiao's shoulder, and said quietly, "Don't move. I'll help stabilize your Spiritual Power."

As he spoke, he activated the Nine-Turn Profound Art and channeled a stream of pure Spiritual Power into Ye Xiao's body.

Ye Xiao felt a warm current flow into his body. The Spiritual Power that had been pouring out wildly began to slowly stabilize.

He was secretly astonished.

They're both Heaven-Rank Cultivation Techniques, so why does Li Yao's seem even stronger than Myriad Forms Return to Origin?

"There."

Li Yao withdrew his hand and patted Ye Xiao's shoulder. "It's stable for now. The rest is up to you."

Ye Xiao nodded and gave Li Yao a long look.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it." Li Yao waved a hand. "We're friends now. If you ever need help, just ask."

Ye Xiao's mouth twitched.

We were fighting tooth and nail a moment ago, and now we're friends?

That was quick.

Below the arena, everyone stared in bewilderment.

"Seriously? He just patted Ye Xiao, and then Ye Xiao conceded?"

"This is getting ridiculous."

"I think I'm dreaming."

Liu Ming shouted wildly from below the arena, "Senior Li Yao, you're incredible! Senior Li Yao is the best!"

Li Yao stood in the Arena, listening to the cheers from below, thrilled beyond words.

"Ding. Congratulations, host, on defeating Ye Xiao and winning the Superpower Competition!"

"Background Value +10,000."

"Side quest: Enter the Superpower Competition and win the championship. Complete!"

"Quest reward: 50,000 Background Value."

Li Yao listened to the system announcement and grinned so widely he couldn't close his mouth.

I'm rich! I'm rich!

He had another 60,000 Background Value now.

Once the competition ends, I'll trade some of it with the system for something good.

Li Yao happily made his plans.

At that moment, Shi Jian stood, cleared his throat, and announced, "The champion of this year's Superpower Competition is—Li Yao!"

The crowd burst into deafening cheers.

Li Yao stood in the Arena, basking in everyone's attention.

At that moment, he knew he had finally shaken off his reputation as a hopeless simp! At least one piece of the mess his former self had left behind was finally settled.