I Can See Your Combat Power

Bao Zuo, wielding a blunt sword, stepped onto the stage, facing Teng Liyan, whose condition was almost completely intact. Nevertheless, he brimmed with confidence.

“You have a great advantage,” Tang Luo told him before he stepped on the stage.

As Bao Zuo looked confused, Tang Luo patted his shoulder with a sense of finality.

“Just aim for his legs. His mere flesh and blood are no match for iron.”

“Besides, your Abyssal Flame Blade is incredibly powerful. Just aim for his legs, push him to the edge of the ring and then use the Mysterious Moon Slash to knock him off the stage.”

Seeing Bao Zuo’s incredulous face, Tang Luo continued to encourage him.

Don t be afraid, just hit his thighs. Don’t bother defending yourself. If he attacks you with his arms, just fight back and hit his thighs.”

“Haven’t you realized yet? This Teng Liyan hasn’t trained in any hand-to-hand combat at all. His arms are as useless as if they are disabled.”

The memory of the delighted fiddle of Tang Luo was still imprinted in Bao Zuo’s mind. Even though he didn’t know how he had an advantage, he was certain that Instructor Tang wouldn’t deceive him.

“The second round, Bao Zuo versus Teng Liyan, begins.” Tang Bin raised his right hand and announced the start of the second round of the martial arts competition.

Bao Zuo covered his Abyssal Flame Blade with spiritual power; the blade burned with a majestic flame.

Teng Liyan didn’t care who his opponent was and charged into the attack. Taking a high leap, a whip kick was aimed directly at Bao Zuo’s head, accompanied by the sound of whistling wind and pure white spiritual power, making Teng Liyan seem like an immortal who had descended onto earth.

Even he was in awe of his own graceful kick, until he saw the blue fire blade slashing toward the base of his thigh.

Teng Liyan, who was still in mid-air, awkwardly flipped over to dodge the slash.

No sooner had he landed than the blue blade was already swinging at him again.

Is there no end to this!? Teng Liyan was infuriated. He wanted to kick back, but when he saw the long sword enveloped in blue flames, he dismissed the thought.

Bao Zuo saw that, just as Tang Luo had mentioned, Teng Liyan did not dare to confront him directly. Therefore, with both hands gripping the sword, he swung it wildly towards Teng Liyan’s lower body. The long sword covered in Abyssal Flame swung like a nimble whip, relentlessly aiming for Teng Liyan’s lower body.

Never before had Teng Liyan regretted not knowing any blade-handling techniques. With Bao Zuo’s back hunched over and his hands full with his sword, he was seemingly leaving himself wide open. A quick diversion would allow him to land a flurry of kicks on Bao Zuo and disfigure his face.

However, regardless of his regret, Teng Liyan, whose only strength lay in his legs, was constantly pushed back to the edge of the stage.

If he couldn’t think of a solution soon, he would lose. The prospect of losing to such an unworthy opponent was something Teng Liyan, with his brows tightly furrowed, found hard to believe.

He had to take a risk. Teng Liyan channeled his energy into his left knee, planning to deal a deadly blow when his opponent was least expecting it.

The arena was spacious, but there was no room for constant retreat. Teng Liyan knew he would be forced off the stage after ten more steps.

His face was full of panic, but his steps were methodical.

Eight steps, five steps, three steps, now.

Teng Liyan deployed his concentrated spiritual power to perform the Rhino Horn Burst aiming at Bao Zuo’s face. However, Bao Zuo, who had been using the Abyssal Flame Blade, suddenly pulled back and hopped, holding the blade m his right hand in a reverse grip when he landed again.

Damn it.

Unexpected changes occurred, sending alarm bells ringing in Teng Liyan’s mind, but the already deployed Rhino Horn Burst could not be withdrawn. He could only watch as Bao Zuo slashed horizontally and vertically, emitting a dark red cross-shaped blade of light that collided with his Rhino Horn Burst.

The powerful force was easily divided by the sword light, continuing its trajectory towards him.

He lost. Teng Liyan closed his eyes, accepting his defeat.

Thump.

Tang Bin swiftly moved next to Teng Liyan and waved his hand at the blade-light. Pure white energy, appearing like a shield, manifested along the arc of his swing. The blade-light disappeared upon contact with the shield, just like milk droplets vanishing in a basin of water.

“Bao Zuo, wins!”

Teng Liyan felt his opponent was utterly disgraceful, without even giving a fair warning before leaving the ring.

He inwardly vowed that if he ever ran into this bastard again, he would beat him so badly that his own mother wouldn’t recognize him.

Yet, how could the grumbles of a loser affect the victor’s good mood? Bao Zuo laughed joyously, eagerly awaiting his next opponent.

Fang Xinghan confidently strutted onto the stage, carrying a wooden stick, and with a scoff, declared, “I told you, that idiot who only trains his legs is bound to suffer a loss sooner or later.”

With that, he slammed his stick into the ground.

With a thud, the stick embedded itself into the stone platform, striking a nerve in Bao Zuo’s heart.

“The third match, Bao Zuo versus Fang Xinghan, begin!” Tang Bin raised his hand again, announcing the start of the match.

Just as Bao Zuo was about to summon the Abyssal Flame Blade, Fang Xinghan’s stick was already sweeping towards him. The wind howled as the seemingly non-powered long stick shadowed down, bringing with it overwhelming might.

Bao Zuo hastily positioned his long blade to block its path.

Even if his blade wasn’t sharpened, surely it had to be stronger than a wooden stick, Bao Zuo thought.

The long stick, carrying majestic power, crashed into the sword’s blade. The once formidable wooden stick was split apart in the process without any power applied to it?

Before Bao Zuo could even rejoice, he realized that Fang Xinghan was holding the broken stick with a smug smile, in the same stance as one would hold a blade.

The “sudden thrust” performed by Fang Xinghan was so quick that it almost seemed like teleportation, only leaving behind an afterimage of the halved stick.

The broken stick turned into a short spear, its sharp point resting against his throat.

“Gulp.” Bao Zuo swallowed hard. He was still holding the sword’s stance, because the stick against his throat deterred him from making any unnecessary movements. Looking down, he could see the sharp edge of the broken stick very clearly.

Fang Xinghan, wins.” The match had barely started and it was already over.

If they were not in the ring, that bestowal by Fang Xinghan could have claimed Bao Zuo’s life.

Just moments ago he was chasing after the peak of the Mortal Realm and now he was getting crushed in an instant. Bao Zuo found the verve of life both exhilarating and stressful.

He stumbled off the stage and took a seat next to Tang Luo, seemingly having countless questions.

“Don’t be intimidated. He just took advantage.”

Just like in the last match. If you had armor, you wouldn’t have pushed back Teng Liyan with your blade technique. Similarly, if you had armor, this stick wouldn’t have hurt you.”

“It seems students from the number two training field have a good relationship. They counter the defeat of the last match with the victory of the next – quite interesting,” Tang Luo said comforting him.

One could see that Fang Xinghan clearly did not specialize in stick-based martial arts. Bringing the wooden stick onto the stage was a deliberate move to pay back Bao Zuo in his own coin.

This act of seeking revenge for a classmate demonstrated friendship beyond doubt.

However, showing off too much will inevitably lead to a downfall, young man.

“Just fight as you normally would. He’s no match for you,” Tang Luo shouted to Pang Yan.

From that sudden thrust, it’s clear that Fang Xinghan is a sword technique expert. However, to avenge Teng Liyan, he’d deliberately brought a wooden stick onto the stage to humiliate Bao Zuo.

Perhaps he also practiced some boxing techniques as a side skill, but there’s no way they’d compare to Pang Yan’s expert “Heavenly Determination Fist”.

A participant is only allowed to bring one weapon onto the stage for the ring fight. With his wooden stick broken and his sword skills useless, Fang Xinghan’s defeat was almost certain..