77: Chapter 77 Fist to Flesh, Two Consecutive Defeats

The afterheat of the duel between Ji Changkong and Zhao Ya had not yet dissipated, and new challenge information lit up on the Spirit Gathering Crystal—Wu Xuan from the sixth arena had actually challenged Qin Huang from the fourth arena.

A gasp of surprise immediately rose from the audience below.

"Wu Xuan? He actually dares to challenge Qin Huang?"

"Qin Huang's Thousand Jin Stalwart Body is famous for its defense and strength. Although Wu Xuan's Profound Iron Bones are hard, his talent Rank is a notch lower..."

Amidst the discussions, Wu Xuan had already stepped onto the arena.

He was stocky, wearing heavy Profound Iron bracers, standing there like an inconspicuous stubborn stone.

"Qin Huang," his voice was low, carrying a sense of resilience, "I know you are very strong, but I want to try."

Qin Huang leapt onto the arena in big strides, the platform trembling slightly when he landed.

His muscles were knotted all over his body, veins faintly visible on his bare arms, and the Forming Realm spiritual power fluctuation was as heavy as a mountain.

"As fellow New Students, having courage is a good thing," he grinned, revealing a hint of ferocity, "but don't expect me to show mercy."

"No need."

Wu Xuan clenched his fists, activating his Profound Iron Bones talent, and a faint gray light spread around his body, as if a layer of fine iron scales had covered his skin.

"Then come!"

Qin Huang let out a low shout, advancing instead of retreating, his sandbag-sized fist aiming straight for Wu Xuan's face with the sound of breaking wind.

He didn't use any tricks; it was pure collision of strength. Under the activation of the Thousand Jin Stalwart Body, even an earthy yellow halo appeared on his fist.

Wu Xuan's eyes narrowed as he crossed his arms in front of his chest to protect himself.

"Clang!" The fist smashed into the bracers, producing a crisp sound similar to metal clashing.

Wu Xuan was shaken back three steps, his arms numb, but the bracers remained intact. The defensive power of the Profound Iron Bones was indeed astonishing.

"A bit interesting."

Qin Huang raised an eyebrow, his offensive becoming even fiercer.

He threw out his fists like a storm, each punch carrying the force to crumble mountains and split rocks, forcing Wu Xuan to retreat repeatedly and rely on his arms to block.

The "clang clang" sounds of collision continued to ring out on the arena, sparks flying everywhere, making the crowd below hold their breath in concentration.

Although Wu Xuan was at a disadvantage, he gritted his teeth and held on.

Although his Profound Iron Bones were not as overbearing as the Thousand Jin Stalwart Body, they excelled in recovery. Even if his arms were shaken until they were bloody and mangled, he could use his spiritual power to scab over quickly.

While blocking, he searched for an opportunity to counterattack, his eyes fixed tightly on the gaps in Qin Huang's punches.

"Right now!"

In the instant when Qin Huang's old strength was exhausted and new strength had not yet been born, Wu Xuan suddenly lowered his body. While dodging the fist, his right fist, carrying rotational force, slammed towards Qin Huang's lower abdomen.

This was his trump card Move, combining the hardness of the Profound Iron Bones with the strength of his waist and abdomen, concentrating it into a single point of explosion.

Qin Huang's pupils shrank slightly, and he instinctively retracted his abdomen.

"Boom!" The fist landed solidly on his lower abdomen, the earthy yellow halo fluctuated violently, and Qin Huang groaned, stepping back half a step.

"He could actually make Qin Huang retreat?" The crowd below was in an uproar.

Wu Xuan succeeded in one strike and was about to press his advantage, but Qin Huang had already steadied his figure, a flash of ferocity in his eyes: "A good punch, but not enough!"

He suddenly stepped forward, his spiritual power surging violently, his fists clasped together, smashing down from above towards the top of Wu Xuan's head.

This strike gathered eighty percent of his spiritual power. Before the fist arrived, the wind pressure already made Wu Xuan's scalp tingle.

Wu Xuan knew he couldn't dodge, so he could only grit his teeth, pushing his Profound Iron Bones to the limit, crossing his arms to protect his head.

"Boom!"

Amidst the loud noise, Wu Xuan was like being hit by a heavy hammer, the whole person was smashed down to one knee, a crack appeared on the Profound Iron bracers, and blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

But he still held on tightly, not falling down.

Qin Huang looked at Wu Xuan, who was kneeling on the ground but still keeping his spine straight, and slowly withdrew his fist: "You have already proven your resilience; there is no need to fight anymore."

Wu Xuan breathed heavily, looking up at Qin Huang, a bitter smile on his face, but with an unyielding stubbornness: "I... can still fight."

"But you can't win."

Qin Huang's voice was direct, but without any contempt, "As fellow New Students, I admire your backbone."

Wu Xuan was silent for a moment, eventually standing up by supporting his knees, and shook his head: "I lost."

Qin Huang grinned and patted his shoulder: "Next time we fight, I'll wait for you to become stronger."

Warm applause rang out from below.

Although this duel had no flashy Moves, it won everyone's respect with its hard-hitting bravery—especially Wu Xuan, who used his A-Rank talent to shake the S-Rank Qin Huang, a glorious defeat.

On the Spirit Gathering Crystal, the name for the fourth arena was still Qin Huang.

As this duel concluded, the atmosphere in the Martial Arts Field became increasingly heavy; everyone knew that the most anticipated duel was imminent.

The duel between Wu Xuan and Qin Huang had just rested, and two names flashed on the Spirit Gathering Crystal—Solitary Blade from the eighth arena challenged Li Menger from the seventh arena.

When Solitary Blade leapt onto the arena, his rusty blade dragged across the ground, making a harsh sound.

Blood energy surged around his body, his eyes fixed on Li Menger: "No matter how strange your Soul power is, can it block my blade?"

Li Menger was still in that calm manner, her Soul Dream Whisper talent quietly operating, and her Soul power diffused like thin gauze.

But Solitary Blade did not give her any chance to strike in concealment. The rusty blade slashed out violently, taking aim at her face with devouring blood energy, the blade wind fierce, actually causing the air to hum.

Li Menger tried to interfere with her Soul power, but found that the opponent's blood energy was as hot as fire, capable of burning her Soul fluctuations.

After only two Moves, she was forced to retreat repeatedly by the blade wind, ultimately a beat too slow, and was swept in the shoulder by the back of the blade, staggering off the arena.

"The seventh arena is mine."

Solitary Blade carried the rusty blade, his voice hoarse.

Although the crowd below was shocked, they had to admit that this kind of overbearing blood energy happened to counter Li Menger's hidden methods.

Immediately following this, the names on the Spirit Gathering Crystal made the whole audience silent—Ding Siyi from the ninth arena had actually challenged Feng Yingcai, who had just been defeated by Zhang Wen.

"Is Ding Siyi crazy? No matter how miserable Feng Yingcai is, he is still in the Forming Realm!"

"Although her Crimson Pearl Immortal Fire is strong, Feng Yingcai's wind-type skills counter long-range..."

Amidst the discussions, Ding Siyi slowly stepped onto the arena, pink-purple flames flowing in her palms.

Feng Yingcai's face was livid; the previous crushing defeat made him burn with anger. Seeing that the challenger was the lower-ranked Ding Siyi, his eyes blazed with fire: "A little girl dares to come and provoke me? Today I will let you know the power of the Forming Realm!"

"Wind Sweeps Away Clouds!" He roared as he attacked, countless Wind Blades covering the sky and earth towards Ding Siyi, obviously wanting to end the battle quickly and save face.

But Ding Siyi did not take it head-on. The pink-purple flames turned into petals of fire filling the sky, avoiding the Wind Blades like butterflies weaving through flowers, while quietly drifting towards Feng Yingcai's body.

Feng Yingcai was about to change his Move when he suddenly noticed something wrong—those fire petals ignored the wind force and stuck to his clothes, carrying a strange burning sensation, even making his spiritual power feel sluggish.

What shocked him even more was that the spiritual power fluctuations dissipated when the opponent controlled the flames actually faintly surpassed his own!

"This spiritual power intensity... impossible!" Feng Yingcai's pupils shrank suddenly. He clearly perceived that although Ding Siyi's spiritual power flow was soft, it carried the unique heaviness of the Shaping Realm Mid-stage, a whole small level higher than his own Early Stage Realm!

"What kind of flame is this?" He was shocked and furious, hurriedly activating Wind Blades to slash at the fire petals, but saw that the petals did not extinguish when they met the wind; instead, they burned even more vigorously, following the wind force to wrap around his wrists.

The gap in Realm was revealed at this moment—his wind force, in front of the opponent's more condensed spiritual power, actually became firewood that fueled the flames.

"Jiangzhu Spirit Lock." Ding Siyi said softly, the flames in her palms suddenly closing.

"Puff!" The fire petals stuck to Feng Yingcai exploded simultaneously, and the pink-purple flames instantly enveloped him.