Chapter 194 - 130: Martial Dao Champion

"Who knows how many Postnatal Masters have died at Xiong Li’s hands."

"The Demon Sect’s Saint Heir brought Xiong Li here to fight the Buddhist Sect’s Vajras. He wasn’t supposed to get involved this early. Looks like that kid picked a fight with the wrong person!"

"Now this is going to be a good show!"

A buzz of excitement went through the other candidates.

They had thought the real spectacle wouldn’t begin until the final clash between the Buddhist and Demon Sects. Yet, the assessment had barely started, and the air was already thick with tension.

The muscular man known as Xiong Li parted the crowd and strode into the center of the training grounds. After looking Li Chang’an up and down, he sneered, "Feeling scared, kid?"

He was nearly two meters tall, with an incredibly powerful build, likely weighing over three hundred pounds.

But for such a large man, he didn’t look bloated at all.

His muscles were dense and contained, and the oppressive aura he projected was enough to make other Martial Artists give him a wide berth.

In front of him, Li Chang’an looked like a little lamb, outmatched in both presence and physique by more than just a small margin.

Yet, Li Chang’an didn’t even spare him a glance. "I’m looking for your Saint Heir," he said coolly. "But if you’re that eager to die, I can grant your wish first."

Seeing that Li Chang’an was completely unfazed by his intimidating presence, Xiong Li’s thick eyebrows twitched, and the centipede-like scar on his face seemed to squirm to life.

He sensed a hint of danger and dared not be careless any longer.

After the examiner in charge of the assessment announced the start of the fight.

Xiong Li did not act as crude and reckless as his earlier taunts suggested. On the contrary, he was cautious, his eyes locked on Li Chang’an, wary of an attack from any angle.

After all, just moments before, outside the training grounds, he had witnessed Li Chang’an’s incredible speed firsthand.

It had happened in the blink of an eye.

A Demon Sect Disciple at the Ninth-Layer of Internal Qi had been sent flying with a single kick.

Therefore, Xiong Li saw Li Chang’an as a Martial Artist with a powerful physique who was also exceptionally fast.

He wasn’t afraid of a powerful physique; since the day he was born, he had never been outmatched physically. His only concern was that Li Chang’an would use that terrifying speed to wear him down from a distance.

Xiong Li possessed monstrous strength.

But great strength often meant greater energy consumption, and he wasn’t built for drawn-out fights.

However, his concerns were destined to be for naught.

Because Li Chang’an didn’t need to use any techniques to fight him.

Li Chang’an’s feet tapped lightly. His figure was as elusive as a willow catkin drifting in the wind, yet his speed was anything but slow.

In less than a breath, Li Chang’an appeared before Xiong Li, his slender fist rocketing straight toward the bigger man’s face.

Xiong Li never expected Li Chang’an to dare engage him in close combat, much less with such a direct, head-on tactic.

Shocked, Xiong Li froze for a moment. When he came to his senses, he was overjoyed.

Seeing that Li Chang’an was faster than him, he didn’t bother trying to dodge. He decided to take the punch head-on with his solid, reliable skull.

At the same time, he raised his own fist, as large as a sandbag, and sent it hurtling toward Li Chang’an’s chest.

His plan was simple.

He would trade blows with Li Chang’an, relying on his superior physique to win the exchange, and then grind his opponent down with his seemingly bottomless well of vitality.

His thinking wasn’t flawed, and he was giving Li Chang’an a great deal of respect with this approach.

But his one miscalculation was the power behind Li Chang’an’s punch—and the terrifying physical body that generated it, a force capable of destroying anything.

Li Chang’an’s body had been enhanced by multiple top-tier Cultivation Techniques, talents, and titles, including the Nine Heavens Chaos Technique, the Barbaric Martial Saint, and the Martial Arts Emperor.

How could an ordinary person possibly comprehend it?

"BAM!"

"SQUELCH..."

Two more sounds rang out in quick succession, but they were completely different from the ones heard when the previous Demon Sect Disciple was sent flying.

Although Li Chang’an had caved that disciple’s chest in with a single punch, he had only crippled the man’s Cultivation, not taken his life.

This time, however, Xiong Li had taken Li Chang’an’s fist squarely with his face.

In Xiong Li’s mind, the punch should have felt like little more than a tickle. Instead, it tore his head clean from his body.

Xiong Li’s head flew through the air, splattering brains everywhere, while his body remained behind, twitching powerlessly on the ground.

Li Chang’an retracted his fist and wiped the blood from his knuckles on Xiong Li’s clothes. "Does this count as a win?" he asked again.

The entire area, both inside and outside the training grounds, fell deathly silent.

If the uproar before had been caused by the shocking speed and power of the kick that sent the Demon Sect Disciple flying...

...then this latest punch was almost deceptively simple.

So simple, in fact, that even though the candidates had witnessed the entire exchange, they still couldn’t comprehend how Li Chang’an had managed to punch Xiong Li’s head clean off.

’Could it have been pure physical strength?’

’Impossible. Xiong Li himself was famous for his powerful physique and immense strength.’

’There’s no way a youth with such a slender frame could match Xiong Li in physical strength and power.’

’But if not physical strength, then how in the world did he do it?’

All the candidates were completely bewildered, their eyes filled with a mixture of terror and the distinct feeling of their entire worldview collapsing around them.