With a thud, Li Junyi dropped to his knees.
Half his clothes had been shredded!
He braced the slender sword in his hand against the ground. "You... what cultivation technique is that? Why can a Martial Master like you unleash that kind of power?"
"I actually thought someone with your talent would be able to tell. But was I wrong after all?" Xu Tong asked.
Li Junyi looked up and examined him closely. Only then did he understand. "Your... your qi has already reached the level of a Force-Transforming Grandmaster?"
"So you lied about..."
"Don't spout nonsense." Xu Tong smiled. "I didn't falsify anything. I was only a Martial Master when I first registered, and the Martial Arts Tournament never said we couldn't improve our strength during the competition."
Li Junyi was stunned. "You're saying you reached the level of a Force-Transforming Grandmaster in less than half a month?"
"Are you kidding me? You jumped several levels in one go?"
"Yes," Xu Tong said. "Is there a problem with that? Just because you can't do it doesn't mean nobody else can."
Li Junyi froze for a moment, then said, "Fine, I lost. But I won't give up just like that. I lost this time, but what about next time?"
With that, he rose and walked away.
"Wait!" Xu Tong called him back. "Young man, don't get worked up. I just wanted to remind you not to push yourself too hard, especially in your current condition. The qi inside you is in turmoil. You have to divide your attention to suppress it while forcing yourself to grow stronger."
"You could end up dead without even knowing what killed you."
Li Junyi paused and looked back. "You don't need to remind me. I know what to do."
Xu Tong shrugged. "All right,