22: Chapter 22 Battle with Sun Hao

Lin Tian pushed open the courtyard door and took a deep breath of the morning air.

Outside the door, Liu Yunfeng had been waiting for a long time. He paced back and forth, his face filled with unconcealable anxiety. Hearing the door open, he turned abruptly and hurried over in a few steps:

"Junior Brother Lin Tian, how is it? Are you confident?"

Lin Tian looked at him and smiled slightly:

"Sixty or seventy percent."

Liu Yunfeng was stunned.

Sixty or seventy percent?

What kind of joke is that? Half a month ago, the chance of winning was less than thirty percent. After practicing for half a month, it's now sixty or seventy percent?

"You... what ultimate move have you practiced?" Liu Yunfeng asked, his face full of disbelief.

Lin Tian did not answer, just smiled mysteriously and walked with large strides toward the Training Ground.

Liu Yunfeng stood stunned for two breaths, then hurriedly followed.

No matter what, he had to see for himself today whether this Lingzhi was worth it.

The Training Ground was packed with people.

The area around the sparring ring was crowded with Disciples, at least seventy or eighty of them, and more people were arriving upon hearing the news. Several Elders sat on high chairs to one side of the ring, with Huang Yuanshan and Elder Sun among them.

"Lin Tian is here!"

Someone shouted, and the crowd automatically parted to create a path.

Lin Tian walked along the path toward the ring. The gazes from both sides were like needles and thorns—some curious, some contemptuous, some gloating, and a few filled with anticipation.

"That's him? So young?"

"I heard he's only been at the martial arts hall for a few months."

"Daring to challenge Sun Hao after only a few months, he doesn't know life from death."

"Just wait and see, Sun Hao said he would finish him in three moves."

Lin Tian ignored them and stepped onto the ring.

Opposite him, Sun Hao was already standing with his hands behind his back. Seeing him come up, a cold sneer curled at the corner of his mouth:

"Junior Brother Lin, I thought you wouldn't dare to come."

Lin Tian gave him a faint glance and said nothing.

At this moment, Huang Yuanshan stood up, walked to the center of the ring, and said in a deep voice:

"Today's challenge is to compete for the errand at Sifang Pavilion. Do both parties agree?"

"I agree." Sun Hao cupped his fists.

"I agree." Lin Tian also cupped his fists.

Huang Yuanshan nodded and continued:

"The rules of the match: stop at a touch, no lethal attacks. Falling down, falling off the ring, or admitting defeat all count as a loss. The winner gets the errand at Sifang Pavilion, and the loser may not raise any further objections."

"Understood."

"Understood."

"Good." Huang Yuanshan retreated to the edge of the ring. "Begin."

"Junior Brother Lin, fists and feet have no eyes, you must be careful."

Before Sun Hao had finished speaking, his figure had already moved.

He took a step forward, and the blue bricks of the ring cracked with a "crack" sound, forming several fine lines.

His right fist thrust out from his waist. At the tip of his fist, a pale golden Aura of blood and Qi condensed into a line, tearing through the air and emitting a sharp whistling sound.

Metal Element Fist, Golden Spears and Iron Horses!

This punch was rigid, fierce, and sharp, like a long spear thrusting forward, unstoppable.

The crowd below exclaimed:

"So strong!"

"This punch must have thirteen hundred catties of force!"

"Lin Tian is going to be in trouble!"

Lin Tian's pupils constricted slightly.

So fast! So fierce!

But he did not retreat.

The blood and Qi within his body surged, likewise gathering into his right fist.

A pale golden light shone, and he met it head-on with the same Golden Spears and Iron Horses!

"Clang!"

The two fists collided, actually producing the sound of metal clashing. A wave of air exploded, and the dust on the ring was swept away.

Lin Tian retreated three steps, each step leaving deep footprints on the blue bricks.

His right arm went numb, his blood and Qi churned, and he tasted sweetness in his throat.

Such strong power.

He steadied his figure and looked at Sun Hao.

Sun Hao stood in place, not retreating a single step, but a flash of surprise crossed his eyes.

He looked at his own fist, then looked at Lin Tian, his brows furrowed slightly:

"Metal Element Fist at Minor Achievement? Interesting."

Below the ring, there was an uproar.

"What? Minor Achievement?"

"That's impossible, right? He's only been here a few months?"

"He blocked it! He actually blocked a punch from Sun Hao!"

"Didn't he say he would finish him in three moves? Was the first move blocked?"

Sun Hao's face darkened slightly.

He put away his contempt, saying coldly:

"To be able to take one punch from me, you indeed have some ability. But let's see how you take this next one."

He moved again, his right fist raised high above his head, like a giant axe chopping down!

Metal Element Fist, Metal and Stone Shall Open!

This punch was even fiercer than the previous one; before the fist arrived, the wind from the punch had already pressed against Lin Tian, making his clothes flutter loudly.

Lin Tian dared not take it head-on; he swayed, dodging to the side.

The fist grazed his ear and smashed into the ring with a "boom." The blue bricks shattered, leaving a deep fist print.

Lin Tian seized the opportunity to counterattack, punching toward Sun Hao's ribs.

Sun Hao reacted extremely quickly, lowering his left arm to block the punch. But Lin Tian's second punch had already arrived, aiming straight for his lower abdomen.

Sun Hao snorted coldly, both fists coming out together to clash head-on with Lin Tian.

"Bang!"

Lin Tian was shaken back again, but this time he only retreated two steps.

Sun Hao's brows furrowed even tighter.

This kid... his power is inferior to mine, but his fist technique is pure, and his variations are extremely fast; he doesn't seem like a newcomer at all.

He stopped talking nonsense, unleashed the Metal Element Fist, and attacked like a violent storm.

Fist shadows multiplied, and golden light flashed.

Lin Tian responded with all his might; although suppressed, he defended airtight, and for a moment, there was no sign of defeat.

Below the ring, everyone was dumbfounded.

"Ten moves already!"

"Twenty moves! And he still hasn't lost!"

"Did this kid really just break through to the First Grade?"

"His Metal Element Fist... is indeed at Minor Achievement! Otherwise, he couldn't have held on until now!"

"But he's only been here a few months! How could he reach Minor Achievement?"

Several Elders also looked at each other.

Elder Sun's face was gloomy, staring at Lin Tian on the ring, his eyes flickering.

Huang Yuanshan had a look of surprise and joy, the corners of his mouth unable to stop curling upward.

Good kid, he actually managed to master it!

On the ring, Sun Hao became more alarmed the more he fought.

He had already thrown over thirty moves but still couldn't take down this newcomer. Although the opponent was suppressed, he defended extremely steadily and could occasionally counter with one or two punches.

How is this possible?

In the moment of his Divided Soul, Lin Tian's eyes brightened.

Opportunity!

Metal Element Fist, Golden Jade Fills the Hall!

Both fists came out, aiming straight for Sun Hao's left shoulder!

Sun Hao suddenly regained his focus and hurriedly dodged, but he was a fraction of a second too slow.

"Bang!"

The punch landed solidly on his left shoulder. Sun Hao grunted, retreated three steps, and his left arm went numb and sore.

He looked down and saw his clothes on his left shoulder were torn, and a bruised, purple fist mark was imprinted on his skin.

Below the ring, exclamations erupted.

"Sun Hao is injured!"

"He was hit by Lin Tian!"

"How is it possible!"

Sun Hao's face turned livid.

He raised his head, staring at Lin Tian, killing intent flickering in his eyes:

"Good, very good. It was I who underestimated you."

He took a deep breath; although his left arm was painful, he could still move it. It was just that his power had sharply decreased, leaving only seventy percent.

"But do you think this means you've won?"

He charged again; this time, he only used his right fist.

Although the power of the Metal Element Fist was reduced, it was still fierce. Lin Tian was suppressed again, but this time, he did not passively defend.

The Metal Element Fist suddenly changed.

The fist momentum turned from rigid and fierce to soft, like vines entwining, like flowing water gurgling.

Wood Element Fist!

"Wood Element Fist?"

"He also knows Wood Element Fist?"

"What kind of style is this?"

Below the ring, there was another wave of exclamations.

Sun Hao was also stunned.

Wood Element Fist? Didn't this kid only practice the Metal Element Fist?

In the time of that daze, Lin Tian's Wood Element Fist had already entwined around him. The fist momentum was soft yet containing hardness, continuous and endless, tightly entangling Sun Hao's Metal Element Fist.

The Metal Element Fist was rigid and fierce but consumed a lot of energy. The Wood Element Fist was soft and consumed little. Being entangled like this, Sun Hao felt his power being consumed even faster.

"Damn it!"

He roared, erupting with all his strength, trying to break free from the entanglement.

But Lin Tian's Wood Element Fist was like a maggot on the bone; no matter how he tried to shake it off, he couldn't.

Fifty moves, eighty moves, one hundred moves...

The two fought faster and faster, fist shadows flying, dazzling the onlookers.

The crowd below was already dumbfounded.

"One hundred moves!"

"Sun Hao actually can't take down a new First Grade Disciple?!"

"No, look, Sun Hao's speed has slowed down!"

It had indeed slowed down.

After all, Sun Hao had an injury on his left shoulder and had been outputting at full strength for over a hundred moves; his consumption of blood and Qi was huge. His fist speed had obviously decreased, and his power was not as great as before.

Although Lin Tian was also tired, the Wood Element Fist inherently had a restorative effect, so his state was actually better than Sun Hao's.

Sun Hao also sensed that things were not looking good.

If this continued, he would be exhausted to death.

He had to go all-in!

He took a deep breath, his blood and Qi circulated frantically within his body, all gathering into his right fist. At the tip of his fist, the golden light shone blindingly.

Metal Element Fist, Golden Dragon Impact!

This was the strongest move in the Metal Element Fist, charging forward, with advance but no retreat!

The punch struck like a dragon, tearing through the air, bombing toward Lin Tian with the momentum to destroy the heavens and earth!

Lin Tian's Wood Element Fist was instantly shattered, and he was shaken back five steps.

But after steadying his figure, he did not retreat but advanced instead.

The same punch, Golden Dragon Impact!

Fist against fist!

A flash of panic crossed Sun Hao's eyes.

His left shoulder was injured, and his power was no longer at its Peak.

Although this punch was fierce, it only had eighty percent of his Peak strength. And Lin Tian's punch was one that had been building up for a long time, a full-force strike!

In the moment the two fists were about to collide, Sun Hao flinched.

He flashed his figure, wanting to dodge this punch and then find an opportunity to counterattack.

But he forgot that he had already retreated to the edge of the ring.

With this dodge, his foot stepped into empty air.

Lin Tian's fist wind grazed past his cheek; although it didn't hit, that peerless Aura caused Sun Hao to completely lose his balance.

He stumbled backward, stepped into empty air, and fell off the ring.

"Bang!"

Sun Hao fell heavily to the ground, dust flying.

The whole place was deathly silent.

After a long while, Huang Yuanshan finally came back to his senses and announced loudly:

"Lin Tian, wins!"

Whoosh—

Below the ring, it instantly exploded into a clamor.

"He won? Lin Tian won?"

"Sun Hao was knocked off the ring!"

"How is it possible!"

"He really won!"

Liu Yunfeng stood in the crowd, mouth wide open, eyes almost popping out. After a long while, he reacted, his face flushed with excitement:

"He won! Lin Tian won! Hahahaha!"

Those few people who had previously mocked Lin Tian were now ashen-faced, wishing they could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

Elder Sun's face was livid; he stood up abruptly, staring fixedly at Lin Tian on the ring, not saying a word.

Huang Yuanshan walked onto the ring with a smile and patted Lin Tian on the shoulder:

"Good kid, you really did it!"

Lin Tian nodded and looked below the ring.

Sun Hao had already climbed up from the ground, covered in dirt, his face deathly pale. He looked up at Lin Tian on the ring, his lips trembling, but he couldn't say a word.

Lin Tian did not mock him, nor was he smug; he just looked at him calmly:

"I accept your courtesy."