Jiang Lan returned to his seat, and the remaining matches of the second round gradually wrapped up.
"Next, we'll take a half-hour break. The semifinals will begin in thirty minutes."
Beside Jiang Lan, Chu Yun leaned over and handed him a bottle of water.
"Thanks for all your hard work, godfather. Have some water."
Jiang Lan said, "...Thanks."
He chatted with his classmates for a bit, and the half hour soon passed.
The referee stepped back into the ring, swept his gaze around, and announced loudly:
"Meridian Opening Group, semifinals, begin!"
"Jiang Lan of the Ultimate Dao Martial Academy versus Li Chuang of the Blazing Fire Academy!"
At the announcement, Jiang Lan walked toward the ring.
Opposite him stood a young man in a red school uniform.
"Li Chuang, Blazing Fire Academy. I look forward to learning from you."
The young man cupped his fist in salute as he spoke to Jiang Lan.
Jiang Lan raised an eyebrow slightly and returned the salute.
"Likewise."
"Begin!"
The instant the referee's voice fell, Li Chuang sprang forward.
Clearly, he had watched both of Jiang Lan's earlier fights.
Naturally, he also knew that dragging things out against Jiang Lan would be pointless.
If he was going to fight, he had to unleash his strongest strike right at the start.
That way, win or lose, he would have no regrets.
"Hah!"
The young man roared, driving both fists toward Jiang Lan with gusts of force.
Jiang Lan merely raised a hand.
Despite moving later, his hand reached its mark first. Before almost anyone present could see what had happened, he had already stopped Li Chuang's attack.
Thud!
Their fists and palm collided with a dull impact.
Li Chuang felt as though his fists had been caught in an iron clamp. He could not move them at all.
Jiang Lan seized the opening, raised his other hand, and struck Li Chuang's shoulder with his palm.
Thud!
With a dull impact, Li Chuang flew backward like a rag doll and landed outside the ring.
An uproar swept through the crowd.
The referee gave Jiang Lan a long, searching look.
This young man...
He slowly drew a breath before announcing:
"Winner of the Meridian Opening Group semifinal: Jiang Lan of the Ultimate Dao Martial Academy!"
Jiang Lan loosened up a little, then jumped down from the ring.
An opponent at this level really posed no challenge to him.
Never mind his full strength-he had not even used half of it just now.
As before, there was another half-hour break.
Half an hour later, the referee made another announcement.
"Meridian Opening Group, finals."
"Jiang Lan of the Ultimate Dao Martial Academy versus Qin Yue of the Heavenly Martial Academy!"
The instant the referee finished speaking, the entire crowd fell silent.
But the silence lasted only a moment before discussion erupted.
"Qin Yue! That Jiang Lan definitely can't win this time."
"Yeah. Qin Yue would never have competed in the Meridian Opening Group if there'd been anyone else in the Astral Condensation Realm. Astral Condensation against Meridian Opening? That's just a complete mismatch!"
In the stands, Chu Yun sucked air through his teeth.
"It's all on you now, godfather."
Jiang Lan's expression barely changed.
It's only Astral Condensation.
In terms of strength, his average level had long since surpassed Astral Condensation.
As for his defense, it was even more absurdly high.
He simply had not taken an official test yet.
Naturally, facing Qin Yue put no pressure on Jiang Lan.
On the Heavenly Martial Academy's side, Qin Yue slowly walked up into the ring.
Jiang Lan rose and followed him.
Qin Yue looked at Jiang Lan and unleashed his aura in full.
The oppressive force of the Astral Condensation Realm seemed almost tangible as it enveloped the ring.
Jiang Lan raised an eyebrow slightly.
Pressure at this level might have been uncomfortable for others, but to him, it was a breeze.
"You're strong." Qin Yue stared at Jiang Lan. "So I won't hold back."
Jiang Lan smiled. "Since you've put it that way, bring it on."
The referee took a deep breath, raised a hand, and announced in a grave voice:
"Both fighters, ready."
"Begin!"
The instant his voice fell, Qin Yue moved.
Those in the stands could barely make out an afterimage, let alone track his movements.
Fast.
An afterimage flashed past, and Qin Yue was already in front of Jiang Lan, throwing a punch.
Rumble!
The wind from his fist carried surging energy, compressing the air until it roared.
If an ordinary Meridian Opening martial artist took that punch, they would be gravely injured, if not killed outright.
The others could not react in time, but Jiang Lan could.
He raised his hand, meeting the incoming fist directly with his palm.
Thud!
The instant fist met palm, the ground beneath Jiang Lan's feet shuddered violently.
A nearly tangible shock wave spread outward in every direction.
Yet Jiang Lan looked as though nothing had happened.
Qin Yue's pupils contracted.
He had held absolutely nothing back in that punch.
An all-out strike from an Astral Condensation martial artist, caught that easily?
But Qin Yue's reactions were quick as well.
After only an instant of shock, he withdrew his fist and changed his attack, circling to Jiang Lan's side and driving an elbow toward his temple.
Fast, precise, vicious.
Jiang Lan tilted his head, letting the elbow pass.
In truth, he could already have sent Qin Yue out of the ring a moment ago.
But that would have been far too shocking.
There was nothing wrong with showing off, but there had to be a limit.
Let's fight a little first.
Qin Yue kept up his assault, unleashing punches, elbows, and knees in succession, every blow carrying tremendous force.
The wind from his punches howled through the ring.
Quite a few spectators had already risen to their feet.
"Qin Yue, you're so handsome!"
"But what's going on with Jiang Lan? He's actually blocking every one of Qin Yue's attacks?"
In the ring, the two continued trading blows.
After a dozen or so exchanges, Qin Yue abruptly retreated two steps, his chest heaving.
Jiang Lan remained where he stood, his breathing steady.
A subtle change came over Qin Yue's expression.
"You're strong."
Jiang Lan rolled his neck and replied:
"You're not bad yourself."
That was not mere politeness.
This Qin Yue really was no weakling.
Without his cheat, never mind fighting him in the ring-someone like Qin Yue would probably have remained beyond his reach for his entire life.
But there were no what-ifs.
Qin Yue said nothing more. He pushed off hard and shot toward Jiang Lan once again.
He gathered every ounce of his strength into his right fist and drove it viciously toward Jiang Lan's chest.
Watching Qin Yue charge toward him, Jiang Lan's gaze hardened slightly.
That's enough.
He raised his own right fist and stepped forward.
Boom!!
Their fists collided head-on.
A deafening crash rang out, a wave of air burst forth, and the entire ring trembled slightly.
The next second, Qin Yue's body lifted off the ground.
He flew backward and slammed into the ground outside the ring, leaving a shallow crater.
In an instant, a deathly silence fell over the crowd.
Qin Yue braced himself against the ground, his chest heaving violently for a long while before he slowly raised his head, his face filled with disbelief and bewilderment.
A tangle of emotions flooded his mind.
I lost?
An Astral Condensation martial artist like me actually lost?
How could I possibly lose??