"Ning Chuan, let go of me!"
Ma Hai roared and suddenly strained, trying to pull his leg back with a flourish.
But the five fingers gripping his ankle were like sturdy iron hooks. He couldn't budge them at all.
Let alone pull his leg back, Ma Hai strained so hard that he staggered, hopping wildly on his one remaining foot as he struggled to keep his balance.
Now that Ning Chuan knew his own physical capabilities, he couldn't be bothered wasting any more time on Ma Hai. He casually swung his right hand, unleashing a powerful force that sent Ma Hai, who weighed over a hundred jin, flying.
Bang!
Ma Hai crashed to the ground below the arena, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"The winner is Ning Chuan!"
The referee repeated the announcement once again.
An uproar broke out all around the arena. Many people exchanged shocked glances.
He had defeated a peak Awakening Stage Six opponent in two moves.
And with such ease.
Could Ning Chuan be a match for someone at Awakening Eighth Stage?
"The best part of that fight was Ning Chuan's grab.
"He judged exactly where the descending leg would land.
"I don't know if you all saw it clearly, but the moment Ma Hai raised his leg and brought it down, Ning Chuan's right hand had already moved.
"That level of combat skill is simply astonishing!
"It's hard to imagine it belongs to a high school senior who isn't even an adult!"
An elderly man spoke up in amazement.
He was a martial artist who had served in the military when he was young and earned first-class merit three times. He was held in high regard.
Hearing this, the people around him all turned to look at Ning Chuan.
"What was that Wei Financial Group manager who spoke under his real name playing at? Ning Chuan is nothing like the disgrace he made him out to be!"
Someone complained indignantly, feeling deceived.
"Beating an Awakening Stage Six opponent in two moves might just have been good luck. Who can say for sure when he hasn't faced anyone at Awakening Eighth Stage?"
A plant hidden in the crowd retorted.
Ning Chuan walked down from the arena and heard the argument nearby. The corners of his mouth curved upward.
He didn't need to say much.
The mockery and doubts about him would be utterly shattered with each victory he won!
"My next opponents should be at the high Awakening stages.
"But before I face Wei Bohu, I need to hide some of my strength so I don't frighten him off."
Ning Chuan murmured to himself.
The surging chill in his heart soon subsided.
More than ten minutes later.
The seventh match.
Ning Chuan looked at the opponent who leaped onto the arena, surprise in his eyes.
What a coincidence.
Another familiar face from his class.
Ning Chuan pondered briefly, then his face turned cold. "Zhang Wensi, how dare you tell outsiders about those three doses of Hundred Beasts Nutrient Solution!"
At those words, Zhang Wensi flew into a rage. "How dare you blame me! The job you instruc... the job you told me about had already ended before then!"
With so many people watching, Zhang Wensi didn't dare admit that he had tripped Lu Mengyue up.
"Tch, so you found out!"
Ning Chuan curled his lip.
He had originally wanted to seize this chance to make trouble and squeeze another payout from Zhang Wensi.
Seeing Ning Chuan's attitude, Zhang Wensi's eyes blazed.
Five hundred thousand was no small sum to him either.
What was more, before he found out, he had eagerly gone to the elders of his branch of the family to claim credit.
The result was obvious.
He had lost a great deal of face!
"Don't think that just because you've made a connection with Lu Zhan... Uncle, I can't do anything to you. In today's arena match, I'll show you the price of deceiving me!" Zhang Wensi said through gritted teeth.
Ning Chuan smiled casually. "Can you beat me?"
"Ridiculous! You only had the advantage of a weapon that day. Do you really think you're a match for me?"
Zhang Wensi snorted coldly.
As he spoke, he drew a sharp cyan sword from his waist and swung it with a sweep of his arm.
Whoosh!
The air let out a piercing howl!
Judging by its power, he had clearly reached Awakening Eighth Stage!
A burst of heated discussion immediately erupted below the arena.
"Awakening Eighth Stage! Barring any surprises, that's enough to rank him in the top thirty of the grade!"
"So Zhang Wensi really did want to be a dark horse too!"
"I know him. He's Lu Wan's son, one of the better members of the Lu Family's younger generation!"
"This student will definitely expose Ning Chuan for what he really is!"
Hearing the voices around him, Zhang Wensi looked smug. He turned to Ning Chuan and taunted, "If you bow and apologize to me now, I might take pity on you in the coming fight and spare you such an embarrassing defeat!"
"Your family really is willing to spend money on you!"
Ning Chuan thought for a moment, then spoke in surprise.
During the selection matches, Zhang Wensi hadn't even reached peak Awakening Stage Seven.
Only a week had passed, yet he had broken through to Awakening Eighth Stage.
Zhang Wensi wasn't Ning Chuan; he couldn't possibly cultivate that fast.
The only explanation was that he had taken some rare supplement, such as the Ten Thousand Beasts Nutrient Solution. Such things were priced in the millions, frighteningly expensive!
Zhang Wensi's expression changed slightly, but then he sneered. "You're just jealous. Martial cultivation has always been about results, not the process!"
Ning Chuan shrugged and stopped arguing.
Awakening Stage Seven or Awakening Eighth Stage, it made no difference to him.
"The match begins!"
At the referee's command, Zhang Wensi moved first.
He stomped down hard and leaped more than ten meters in an instant, arriving before Ning Chuan. He swept his sword horizontally in a swift, fierce slash, its cyan blade flashing with dazzling light.
Swish!
As the sharp sword came at him, Ning Chuan used Gale Step to dodge.
His Vajra Body had already reached the fourth level, making his body tough, but it could only withstand punches and kicks from someone at Awakening Eighth Stage.
If his opponent used a sharp weapon, he couldn't withstand it without Golden Body Transformation.
Whoosh!
Circling around to Zhang Wensi's side, Ning Chuan clenched his five fingers into a fist and struck fiercely. The blow was exceptionally powerful, and the wind compressed by his fist was so violent it seemed almost solid.
The third move of the Thousand Bones Slaughter Art!
White Bone Killing Fist!
"You're pretty quick on your feet!"
Catching sight of Ning Chuan out of the corner of his eye, Zhang Wensi snorted. His wrist flicked, and the sword immediately changed course from a horizontal slash to a vertical chop, slicing swiftly through the air toward the incoming fist.
Ning Chuan's gaze remained calm as he continued his punch.
Just as it was about to strike the sharp blade, a dazzling burst of golden light erupted.
Through the light, his fist could be seen, as though cast from some divine metal, radiating an impression of solidity.
Clang!
Fist and sword clashed with a tremendous metallic ring.
A few sparks lit up the air.
Zhang Wensi's body jolted, and the impact knocked his sword high into the air.
Ning Chuan, meanwhile, took several steps back before dissipating the force.
He wasn't too surprised.
The Thousand Bones Slaughter Art was currently only at the Proficiency Realm.
That wasn't very high.
His physical condition was also inferior to Zhang Wensi's.
It was normal for him to be at a disadvantage in a head-on clash.
"His swordsmanship is good. You couldn't reach that level without years of hard work!"
A martial artist spoke in praise.
"Isn't Ning Chuan even more impressive? How did he withstand that sword strike? He wasn't even wearing a glove!"
"That golden light looked a little like the Vajra Body's Golden Body Transformation, but that's unlikely!"
A burly man in the crowd looked deeply uncertain.
"Why?"
"The Vajra Body could be called the hardest B-grade martial art to cultivate!
"To use Golden Body Transformation, you need to reach at least the third level.
"And to cover an area the size of a fist, you need to reach the fourth level.
"Without twenty years or so, it's almost impossible.
"Body-tempering martial arts don't care how talented you are!"
While the crowd puzzled over it, the battle continued in the arena.
Zhang Wensi swung his sword in fierce, howling slashes, streaks of cyan light flashing across the arena one after another.
Ning Chuan didn't draw his saber. He still used only his fists and feet, countering with the Thousand Bones Slaughter Art.
For one thing, he wanted to hide his strength.
For another, he was taking the opportunity to master the Thousand Bones Slaughter Art.
Martial arts could cultivate automatically, so he didn't have to worry about that. But he still had to rely on himself to learn how to apply them in actual combat and bring out their full power.