"That was a good battle." Bao Zhang patted Lei Feng on the shoulder.
The young man was discouraged, he was sure he would be able to rise as an inner disciple.
Sadly, fate had been cruel in pitting him against Qingyi.
"Easy for you to say, youâre on the opposite side to that monster! By the time you meet him, youâll already be in the finals." Lei Feng grunted, and Qingyi couldnât help laughing.
It really was a good battle. If he hadnât had the lightning steps, Lei Feng would certainly have won.
Qingyi was simply the worst opponent he could face.
"Look on the bright side, at least weâll be able to become inner disciples together in the next selection!" Jun Hao joined in the conversation, but only managed to draw another despondent sigh from Lei Feng.
They didnât even know when the next selection of inner disciples would be. It could be next year, or just in ten years.
"Yu Hanzi and Bao Zhang! One step ahead!" Elder Tianâs voice caught the attention of everyone there.
Bao Zhang jumped towards the arena, his eyes focusing on the figure in front of him.
Yu Hanzi was a tall, handsome man. Despite being a commoner, he still carried all the arrogance of a nobleman.
Like Bao Zhang, he was also a palm cultivator with an eighth-level spiritual root, and one Zhang knew well.
They had already had a few disputes over cultivate resources, and many duels to try to prove themselves the most powerful palm cultivator among the outer disciples.
One of these disputes even nearly ended in a battle to the death. Something horrible would have happened if it hadnât been for an elder intervening.
"Donât expect any elders to save your life this time, Bao Zhang!" Yu Hanzi growled, his fists glowing.
"Just donât cry like a little girl when I screw up your face. I can see that your nose hasnât fully recovered yet." Bao Zhang smiled provocatively.
"Donât you dare!" Yu Hanziâs face fell apart, his arrogant look turning to pure anger.
This was the greatest shame of his life.
Who did Bao Zhang think he was to talk about this publicly?
"Begin!" Elder Tianâs voice echoed through the arena and they both stepped forward.
Their hands met with powerful thuds. The marble floor cracked beneath their feet, their foundation realm cultivations exploding into golden auras.
They stood in a stalemate for a long moment before stepping back, staring at each other.
"Youâre weaker than before... have you been running away from training to hook up with prostitutes again?" Bao Zhang teased, but he couldnât help feeling his hands shaking.
Yu Hanzi had also advanced to the second stage of the foundation, and his base was no weaker than Bao Zhangâs.
This fight would be much more difficult than he had expected. Luckily, he also knew how to deal with men like Yu Hanzi.
He just needed to aim for the face.
With a confident smile, he advanced again. His fists shone as if they were covered in a veil of gold, launched straight at Yu Hanziâs handsome face.
"No!" Yu Hanzi sensed the danger immediately and turned his body. Bao Zhangâs right palm passed inches from his face, but his left had another target.
"Argh!" A grunt of pain echoed, followed by a thud as Bao Zhangâs fist met Yu Hanziâs chest.
The handsome young man retreated desperately, coughing up a large gulp of blood and barely able to breathe. But he didnât surrender.
"Letâs end this!" Bao Zhang roared, appearing over Yu Hanzi and letting his fist fall on him.
"That wonât work twice!" Yu Hanzi revealed a bloody smile as he parried Bao Zhangâs fists, but regretted it the next moment.
Bao Zhang wasnât trying to punch him.
Bao Zhang was trying to grab him!
Without even giving the handsome young man time to react, Bao Zhang grabbed his fists firmly before launching a kick towards his knees.
Yu Hanziâs legs buckled, and he fell onto the ground.
He barely had time to cast a pleading glance towards the elders before Bao Zhangâs boots collided with his face.
With the first blow, his nose broke, his head hitting the concrete with a thud.
In the second, he lost his front teeth.
In the third, his jaw broke.
It was only on the fourth blow that one of the elders next to Elder Tian acted, his Iron Body Realm cultivation falling on Bao Zhang.
"Enough!" He landed beside him, looking at Yu Hanziâs disfigured face, sunk in a pool of blood.
It would be difficult for him to heal from that, even with the best healing pills in the sect.
"I didnât expect you to be so cruel," Qingyi commented as Bao Zhang returned to the stands.
"I wouldnât be that cruel, he was begging for it," Bao Zhang laughed, drawing a surprised look from Qingyi.
It was one of the first times he had seen that man break his seriousness.
Unfortunately, his moment of relaxation didnât last long and soon Qingyiâs face turned serious.
It was Tianmingâs turn for battle.
He was on the same side as Bao Zhang and, if they both didnât lose any battles, they would face each other in the semi-finals.
"Anyone you know?" Bao Zhang asked.
"Just an annoying fly," Qingyi replied, his eyes sweeping over Feiyan.
The bronzed beauty was calm in his arms, barely sparing a second glance as Xu Tianming descended into the arena.
Tianming was dressed differently from what he normally wore.
His robes bearing the Xu family symbol were nowhere to be seen, replaced by plain black clothes.
His cold gaze swept over everyone there, landing on Qingyi and Feiyan for a brief moment before looking forward again.
She looked much more beautiful than before, But he didnât let himself get carried away.
He sighed heavily and drew his sword, the silver sword Qi taking on a sickly green color as it spread across the blade.
The moment Elder Tianâs voice rang out, announcing the start of the match, he threw himself forward.
His sword clashed only once with his opponentâs before he retreated.
He didnât need more than that.
To the surprise of everyone there, the young man who had fought Tianming barely managed to take two steps forward.
There were no visible injuries, but his face took on a purple hue and he fell to his knees, unable to breathe.