21: Chapter 21 Lin Fan Defeats Zhou Hao
"Bang!" Zhou Hao's Violent Wind Fist slammed heavily into Zhao Feng's Earth Guardian. The earthy yellow light barrier trembled violently but did not shatter.
Zhao Feng remained motionless, looking at Zhou Hao, who was within arm's reach, with an expressionless face.
"Is that it?"
Zhou Hao's expression darkened. He gathered Qi in his fist once more, this time even more intensely!
"Violent Wind Fist—Two-fold Strength!"
He threw a punch, the wind from his fist even more violent than before! The Two-fold Strength of this Profound Rank Low Grade Martial Skill was Zhou Hao's trump card; it could layer two forces together, increasing its power by fifty percent!
"Boom!" Earth Guardian finally developed cracks, but that was all.
A sharp glint flashed in Zhao Feng's eyes, and he suddenly threw out his right fist! "Earth Shattering Fist!"
The punch landed squarely on Zhou Hao's chest. Zhou Hao's expression changed drastically as he flew backward, barely steadying himself at the edge of the arena, almost falling off.
"Zhou Hao, you lost," Zhao Feng said indifferently.
Zhou Hao clutched his chest, his face turning alternating shades of blue and white. He wanted to retort, but the severe pain in his chest left him unable to speak.
"Zhao Feng wins!" the referee announced the result.
Zhou Hao walked off the arena with a livid face and sat down in the rest area, his fists clenched tight, making a cracking sound.
Losing to Lin Fan was one thing, but he couldn't even beat Zhao Feng? His title as the number one of Third Martial Arts High School was completely gone today.
"Third match, Han Ming versus Liu Yun!"
Liu Yun stood on the stage, wearing a ponytail with a focused expression. Her Wood Element Talent had been fully displayed in previous matches; she had extremely strong recovery and excellent entanglement capabilities.
"Han Ming, although you are very strong, the difference in our Qi and blood values is too great. You are not my opponent; just concede!" Liu Yun looked at Han Ming and said seriously.
To be honest, she had watched Han Ming's battles. He was indeed very strong, which surprised her, but he had only just broken through to a 3-star Martial Apprentice.
"We'll have to try to find out," Han Ming smiled nonchalantly.
Although he liked to keep a low profile, that didn't mean he didn't strive for victory.
"Begin!" As soon as the referee's voice fell, Liu Yun waved her hands, and over a dozen emerald green vines instantly shot out from the arena, coiling toward Han Ming like spirit snakes!
This was the core ability of her Wood Element Talent: accelerating plant growth to bind opponents!
Han Ming tapped his feet lightly, unleashing Wind Shadow Step. His figure became elusive as he moved freely between the vines.
Liu Yun was not surprised; she had seen Han Ming's movement technique before. She waved her hands repeatedly, continuously accelerating the growth of new vines, attempting to block Han Ming's movement path.
In just a few breaths, the arena was covered in vines, with almost nowhere left to step.
"Han Ming, your movement technique is indeed impressive," Liu Yun said while controlling the vines. "But my vines will only increase in number, and you will be trapped sooner or later."
Han Ming dodged and weaved between the vines, smiling when he heard this: "Is that so?"
He flashed, suddenly accelerating, and broke straight through the vine blockade, heading straight for Liu Yun!
Liu Yun's expression changed, and she slammed her hands together! "Thorn Wall!"
Dozens of vines instantly wove together into a thick wall, blocking her front. Dense, sharp thorns grew on the vines, shimmering with an eerie green luster.
Han Ming rushed to the wall and struck out with Mountain Crushing Palm! "Bang!"
The palm strike hit the Thorn Wall, and the vines trembled violently but did not shatter. Instead, those sharp thorns were shaken off and flew out, shooting toward Han Ming!
Han Ming tapped his feet rapidly, pushing Wind Shadow Step to its limit. His figure flickered like a ghost, barely dodging all the thorns.
"That was close," Han Ming thought to himself. This Liu Yun really had some skills; she was worthy of being the ace of Class 4.
Liu Yun took the opportunity to retreat, creating distance, while simultaneously continuing to accelerate the growth of the vines. There were more and more vines on the arena, occupying almost two-thirds of the area.
"Han Ming, no matter how fast your movement technique is, it cannot outpace the growth speed of my vines," Liu Yun said confidently. "Concede; the gap in Qi and blood cannot be made up for by Martial Skills."
Below the stage, the watching students were discussing it heatedly.
"Han Ming is going to lose. Liu Yun's vines are increasing, and he's almost out of places to step."
"There's no helping it; the gap in Qi and blood is too big. Han Ming is only at 308, while Liu Yun is at 387, a difference of nearly 80 points."
"Being able to fight to this level is already very impressive, after all, Han Ming used to be a piece of trash."
Wang Chong was stomping his feet in anxiety below the stage: "Young Master Han, come on!"
Lin Fan stood behind the crowd, watching the situation on the arena with calm eyes.
Han Ming would lose? He didn't think so.
He knew best what Martial Skill Han Ming was cultivating; to beat Liu Yun was just a matter of whether he wanted to or not.
On the arena, Han Ming looked at the increasingly dense vines and calculated in his mind.
Liu Yun was right; if this continued, he would be trapped sooner or later. Although Wind Shadow Step was fast, the growth speed of the vines was faster.
Since he couldn't dodge them, he wouldn't dodge anymore. Han Ming stopped his footsteps and stood in place.
Liu Yun was stunned: "Are you going to concede?"
Han Ming shook his head, a smile curling at the corners of his mouth: "No, I just think the warm-up should end."
Liu Yun frowned. Before she could understand the meaning of that sentence, she saw Han Ming's figure suddenly disappear! No, not disappear—it was just too fast!
Liu Yun's pupils constricted, and she instinctively urged all the vines to block in front of her! "Thorn Wall!"
A Thorn Wall instantly took shape, wrapping around her layer by layer. "Boom!"
But before she could breathe a sigh of relief, a loud noise erupted, and the Thorn Wall she had cast instantly shattered, vines flying everywhere. Mountain Crushing Palm, fifty percent power!
Han Ming shattered that Thorn Wall with one palm, and the remaining force of the palm strike did not diminish, heading straight for Liu Yun's chest!
Liu Yun's face turned pale; there was simply no time to dodge. The palm wind stopped in front of her chest. The gust of wind hit her face, blowing her ponytail.
Han Ming retracted his palm, stepped back, and said indifferently: "You lost."
The entire arena was deathly silent. The Liu Yun they favored had actually lost? Was this still that piece of trash Han Ming?
"Holy crap!" "Han Ming won? He beat Liu Yun?" "This is impossible! How could 308 Qi and blood unleash this kind of power?"
Exclamations exploded instantly, almost blowing the roof off the playground.
Liu Yun stood frozen in place, looking at Han Ming's back, her beautiful eyes filled with disbelief.
Her proud Thorn Wall, with three-fold layering, would have taken even Zhou Hao some effort to break. Han Ming broke it with one palm? Could his Martial Skill have reached Major Achievement?
Liu Yun bit her lip, her eyes full of unwillingness, but she could only accept the reality.
"Han Ming wins!" The referee announced the result, and his gaze toward Han Ming changed. Since when had this playboy become so strong?
Below the stage, Su Wanning watched Han Ming's back, her beautiful eyes shining with wonder. Defeating Liu Yun with one palm... just how many more secrets did this man have?
Zhou Hao, Zhao Feng, and others also had very solemn expressions; they had to start taking Han Ming's strength seriously.
The winner's bracket ranking match continued. "Fourth match, Lin Fan versus Zhou Hao!" This match was even more of the center of attention.
Zhou Hao stood up, exercised his chest which was still aching faintly, and stared at Lin Fan with sinister eyes. He had already lost to Zhao Feng today; if he lost to Lin Fan again, he would be completely finished.
"Lin Fan, I won't lose to you!" Zhou Hao gritted his teeth. Lin Fan glanced at him and said indifferently: "Let's begin."
The referee waved his hand: "Begin!" Zhou Hao let out a violent shout, stomped heavily on the arena, and pounced toward Lin Fan like a cheetah!
"Violent Wind Fist—Three-fold Strength!" He used his strongest finishing Move right from the start!
Three-fold Strength was a Move he had only barely mastered recently; three forces layered together, doubling the power! This was his trump card, which he originally didn't want to expose. But now he couldn't care about that much.
The fist wind whistled, carrying a piercing sound of breaking air, and the air was torn into visible ripples! The people below the stage changed expressions drastically.
"Three-fold Strength? Zhou Hao actually mastered Three-fold Strength?" "This punch has at least 5,000 catties of force!" "Lin Fan is finished!"
Lin Fan watched the fist whistling toward him, his eyes calm as water. He didn't dodge. Instead, he raised his right hand and threw out a punch as well!
There was nothing flashy about it; it was just an ordinary punch. But this punch was faster and fiercer than any previous one!
"Bang!" The two fists collided, emitting a dull explosion! Airwaves blasted out from the point where their fists met, kicking up a wild wind that made the clothes of the audience below flap loudly!
The ferocity on Zhou Hao's face instantly froze. He felt an overwhelming, mountain-toppling force surge from Lin Fan's fist, crushing his Three-fold Strength like dry weeds and rotten wood, spreading through his arm and into his whole body!
"Crack!" A crisp sound of breaking bones. Zhou Hao's entire right arm hung limply, and he flew backward like a cannonball, crashing heavily outside the arena, spewing blood from his mouth!
The entire arena was deathly silent!