On the arena stage.
Ning Chuan's expression was calm, but a cold sneer flickered deep in his eyes.
Wei Bohu really was in a hurry to court death.
However, the many spectators present thought the exact opposite.
"That was reckless. Ning Chuan shouldn't have agreed just to save face!"
Someone sighed.
Once both sides agreed to a fifteen-minute unrestricted fight, even the government couldn't stop it.
"He'll know what regret feels like soon enough. Fifteen minutes might not seem long, but it's enough for Wei Bohu to crush him several times over!"
"Someone with an attitude like that killed a Heavenly Martial spy? You expect me to believe it wasn't luck?"
The planted supporters took the opportunity to raise a clamor.
Ning Chuan ignored them. Looking toward where Wei Qiance sat, he said indifferently, "I wonder if that Wei Financial Group executive who said I only finished off the Heavenly Martial spy is here?"
"I said it!"
A middle-aged man spoke coldly, his gaze vicious. "My name is Wei Zhu, a Third-Rank Martial Artist. Do you have a problem with that?"
Ning Chuan shook his head. "I wouldn't call it a problem. I just think you were wrong."
The middle-aged man smiled disdainfully and sneered, "You're only at the Awakening Stage. What qualifies you to question my opinion?"
"You'll find out soon enough."
Ning Chuan smiled faintly and said no more.
A few minutes later.
"Begin!"
At the referee's command, he stepped down from the arena.
A fifteen-minute unrestricted fight didn't need a referee.
A fifteen-minute countdown appeared on the large screen in the center of the training area.
Wei Bohu didn't rush to attack. As though victory were already in his grasp, he said, "I watched your fight just now. That body-tempering martial art of yours really is impressive. Even someone at the Awakening Eighth Stage couldn't break through it.
"But to me, your Vajra Body is as weak as a sheet of thin paper!"
As he spoke, Wei Bohu took two knuckle dusters out of his pocket.
They looked ordinary and had no distinguishing features, but golden Force flowed over their surfaces. They radiated such sharpness that it made people's skin sting.
"An origin-rune weapon!"
A startled cry rang out from the crowd.
This kind of weapon had an array of origin runes engraved inside it, allowing it to store Force. In the hands of someone at the Awakening Stage, that Force could be unleashed in battle, greatly increasing their strength.
"Origin-rune weapons cost seven or eight million apiece. Isn't using one in a fight too unfair?"
A teacher voiced his displeasure.
"Wealth is a form of strength too. What did you think 'unrestricted' meant in an unrestricted fight?"
"Ning Chuan's in trouble now. If Wei Bohu doesn't hold back, he'll die!"
Quite a few spectators grew solemn.
Wei Bohu put on the knuckle dusters and raised them toward Ning Chuan, sneering, "Can your Vajra Body withstand my fists?"
Ning Chuan narrowed his eyes slightly. His gaze lingered on the pair of knuckle dusters for a moment before he looked away.
His handsome face remained as calm as still water.
It wasn't that Ning Chuan thought he could defeat a full-fledged Martial Artist.
He reckoned he was still a little short of the necessary strength.
But Wei Bohu wasn't a Martial Artist either.
His strength, agility, and explosive power were all far inferior; they weren't on the same level.
As for the origin-rune weapon.
That wasn't the same thing as Force.
Its striking power might be comparable.
But the more important reason Force was so difficult to defend against was that it could appear and vanish without warning, take countless forms, and be unleashed from any part of the human body.
Just like his Golden Body Transformation.
If he could only use it on his hands, it would be worse than a sturdy pair of gauntlets. At least gauntlets had no time limit.
The strength of Golden Body Transformation lay in the fact that it could be used freely on any part of his body.
As long as an attack couldn't break through Golden Body Transformation, he had no vulnerable spots anywhere on his body.
"Putting on an act!"
Seeing no sign of panic on Ning Chuan's face, Wei Bohu snorted coldly. He strode forward, covering the distance in a few heavy steps, and charged up to him like a fierce tiger.
Whoosh!
Wei Bohu raised a knuckle duster and swung a fist at Ning Chuan.
Golden Force surged, pressing the air into a violent, howling gale. It was a fearsome sight.
"As expected of an origin-rune weapon. Not bad power!"
Ning Chuan praised it.
Then he put both hands behind his back.
The crowd erupted at once.
Facing Wei Bohu at Peak Awakening Stage Nine, Ning Chuan actually dared to be so arrogant!
"You're courting death!"
At the sight of this humiliation, Wei Bohu's eyes quickly darkened. He made the knuckle duster release even more Force.
In the blink of an eye, the knuckle duster was only three inches from Ning Chuan.
Swish!
Just then, Ning Chuan moved. He pushed off the ground and used Gale Step, leaping lightly backward like a sheet of paper carried aloft by the wind.
To the spectators, Ning Chuan looked as though he were being pushed along by the wind from Wei Bohu's punch.
The knuckle duster remained three inches away from Ning Chuan the whole time.
It couldn't advance another inch.
"Huh?!"
His punch struck empty air, and Wei Bohu frowned.
He hadn't quite understood how Ning Chuan had dodged that punch.
But Wei Bohu didn't dwell on it.
He knew Ning Chuan's Gale Step was at the Expert Realm, so it was no surprise that his movement was impressive.
"Then can you dodge this punch?"
Wei Bohu spoke coldly. Power surged through his body as he threw another punch.
Boom!
The instant he punched, a cannon-like boom erupted from within Wei Bohu's body, blasting through the air.
Flowing Fire Cannon Fist!
Wei Bohu had already cultivated this B-rank martial art to the Mastery Realm. When he punched, his fist was truly like a fired cannonball, smashing through the air with tremendous force!
"Whoosh!"
The turbulent wind from his fist was several times stronger than before.
Ning Chuan's black hair flew wildly and his clothes snapped in the wind, but his hands remained behind his back.
Following the wind from the punch, he casually stepped diagonally aside.
The movement was perfectly smooth, as though he hadn't needed to accelerate at all.
Swish!
Ning Chuan once again evaded Wei Bohu's fist.
"What's going on?!"
Looking at the fist that had missed, Wei Bohu's expression turned ugly, and disbelief flickered in his eyes.
Gale Step was only an E-rank martial art.
Even at the Expert Realm, it was only equivalent to a B-rank movement technique at the Mastery Realm.
And his Flowing Fire Cannon Fist was at the Mastery Realm.
What was more, his cultivation stage far surpassed Ning Chuan's.
By all rights, Ning Chuan couldn't possibly dodge his Flowing Fire Cannon Fist. Even if he got lucky and dodged it, he should have had to give it his all and ended up in a sorry state.
Instead, he had his hands behind his back and looked as relaxed as if he were taking a walk after dinner.
Boom, boom, boom...
Wei Bohu steeled himself and summoned his strength, throwing seven or eight Flowing Fire Cannon Fists in rapid succession. Waves of air exploded and surged in all directions.
The trees near the training ground shook, their leaves falling in a rustle.
Amid the violent waves of force from his fists, Ning Chuan stepped about casually, his expression indifferent. He was like a tiny boat on the sea: no matter how monstrous the waves, he stayed afloat and emerged unscathed.
"My heavens, that's... Gale Step at the Perfect Realm!"
A Martial Artist's voice was full of shock.
"Didn't the teachers at school say only the creator of a martial art could reach the Perfect Realm?"
A child nearby asked curiously.
"How should I put it... Some geniuses can reach the Perfect Realm if they're lucky.
"But in a sense, what your teacher said isn't wrong either.
"For many martial arts in the Federation today, only their creators are at the Perfect Realm!" someone explained.
A ripple of commotion also spread through the VIP seats in the viewing stands.
"A movement technique at the Perfect Realm. It's only E-rank, the lowest grade, but it's still not bad."
"No wonder Lu Zhan was willing to stand up for him!"
"Interesting. Mastering a martial art at the Perfect Realm at seventeen is even rarer than becoming a full-fledged Martial Artist at seventeen."
Several important figures watched the arena and chatted casually.
They didn't attach too much importance to it.
After all, it was only an E-rank martial art. Put plainly, it wasn't all that difficult to cultivate.
If the outstanding young members of their families devoted themselves to cultivating Gale Step for more than a decade, reaching the Perfect Realm would be hard to say, as that required a great deal of luck.
But they would certainly be able to reach the Expert Realm.