Chapter 589: Used Too Much Force Again

“Oh no, how did Master Zhang agree to a boxing match?”

Seeing clearly the situation on the stage, Hall Master Kang was filled with anxiety.

The main reason he hadn't thought Master Zhang could win the championship was fear of this exact situation.

With cultivation too weak, in a real fight the opponent would have an opening to exploit.

Martial competition relies on strength, on cultivation; no matter how extraordinary one's previous performance or how high one's mental calibration, it's useless!

“Yes, it was a bit rash…”

Master Su and Master Ling also had grim, unpleasant expressions.

Although the Ten Thousand Nations Alliance, based on previous results, couldn't decide what to compete in, they still had one chance to refuse. If the opponent challenged you to a fight, why didn't you refuse?

“Actually… refusing wouldn't have helped either!” Zhao Feiwu, standing to the side, saw the thoughts of the famous teachers and spoke with a bitter smile.

“Hmm?” The others frowned and looked over.

As long as it wasn't a martial competition, Master Zhang's attainments in other areas were surely no less than anyone else's; the opponent would almost certainly lose!

Why say refusing is useless?

“The opponent knows that Master Zhang's only weak point is his cultivation. How could they give up the chance? If Master Zhang didn't agree to a boxing match, they'd surely propose a sword match, or a saber match… or even a contest of true qi density. He could refuse one, but definitely not the second!” Zhao Feiwu said.

Although she had never actually seen the famous teachers' grand competition, she had read many books and knew the rules quite well.

“This…”

Master Su, Hall Master Kang, and the others stiffened.

It wasn't that they were stupid and hadn't thought of this, but… concern clouded their judgment, and they hadn't reacted in time.

Moreover, as famous teachers, the competition was fair and just; who would think of such a trick?

Now, hearing the girl say this, they were all so angry their beards bristled, filled with fury.

“Despicable!”

Master Ling shouted, “This is utterly despicable!”

“Actually, it's not really despicable. Since it's a competition, of course you have to use your best moves.” Hall Master Kang shook his head. “Now we'll see if another miracle can happen…”

“A miracle? Very difficult. Master Zhang has just broken through. Not to mention whether his cultivation is stable, the opponent is at the mid stage of Turbid Clarity. The two are separated by two minor levels; it's very hard to win…” Master Su shook his head.

When one reaches Mortal Transcendence, each level is like a chasm. Not to mention other things, just in terms of strength: the peak of Yin-Yang is 800,000 tons, while the mid stage of Turbid Clarity is 1,200,000 tons—a difference of a full 400,000 tons. It's not something that can be offset by mere luck.

“Yes, the gap is too great. I don't have high hopes for Master Zhang either… Ah?”

Nodding, Hall Master Kang was also filled with gloom. Just as he thought Master Zhang might lose, he suddenly froze, his eyes wide as if petrified.

“What's wrong…”

Master Su couldn't help but look over.

“Look at the stage…”

Hall Master Kang hurriedly said.

“The stage?” Master Su quickly looked up and saw that on Platform D, only Zhang Xuan stood alone, while his opponent Wu Tianhao had vanished.

“Where's the guy who was boxing with him?”

Master Su asked urgently.

How could he have disappeared in just the blink of an eye?

Once a match starts, leaving the platform results in an immediate loss!

“He… he…”

Hall Master Kang's lips trembled as he pointed into the air: “He's flying…”

“Flying?”

Clatter!

Master Su and the others nearly fell over.

Flying? Was that guy a sage?

They all followed his finger and looked, and immediately their faces filled with bewilderment.

There in the sky was indeed a black figure soaring freely, already more than a hundred meters away and still climbing.

If it were an attack, he should be flying closer, but this guy, with a panicked expression, was screaming like he'd seen a ghost, flying backward at great speed, like a kicked soccer ball.

“What's going on?” Master Su couldn't help asking.

“Master Zhang… gently brushed him, and… he flew!” Hall Master Kang's mouth twitched.

Even though he had witnessed the scene, he still found it unbelievable.

That strong cultivator from the sect, at the mid stage of Turbid Clarity, relying on his cultivation, had thrown a punch at Master Zhang.

Judging by the power of that move, even he would have had to avoid its edge. But… Master Zhang didn't even move; he just raised his hand, gently brushed it, and then… there was no then…

That guy had already flown away…

“Gently brushed?”

Master Su, Master Ling, Jin Conghai, and the others exchanged glances, feeling as if they were listening to a story, completely dumbfounded.

A mid-stage Mortal Transcendence Fourth Layer cultivator, with strength and insight comparable to theirs, and a famous teacher rank no less—brushed away by Master Zhang's hand? How could that sound like anything but a fairy tale, so hard to believe?

…

They weren't the only ones dumbfounded; the entire square was dead silent.

Originally, everyone felt indignant when Wu Tianhao directly challenged a boxing match, but seeing this scene, they all stared wide-eyed, their eyeballs nearly popping out.

What just happened?

They had thought Master Zhang might win, but only after several moves and with great difficulty. Yet a single brush sent him flying like a thrown stone—was that real?

Since when were mid-stage Turbid Clarity cultivators so easy to defeat?

“It's Master Zhang's incredible eyesight!”

“He didn't use his own strength to send Wu flying; he used the opponent's force against him!”

“Yes, in an instant he saw the trajectory of the opponent's power and used a technique to suppress it, borrowing the momentum to send him flying… This move is a textbook example of defeating a stronger foe!”

“With such a fast exchange, how did he see it?”

Soon, many people realized what had happened, their faces full of shock.

Although the exchange was quick, many four-star famous teachers were present, and with their keen eyesight, they could still discern some details.

Wu Tianhao threw a punch with all his strength, but… what is rigid cannot last, what is soft cannot hold; excessive rigidity leads to breakage. The opponent instantly spotted the flaw in the move, used his hand to redirect it, and before the move even ended, he was thrown flying.

Thus… the scene of the flying man appeared.

Wu Tianhao's companions, seeing this, rolled their eyes and nearly spat blood.

If they had known this guy was so powerful, why would they have come up with such a bad idea? Now, even if Wu Tianhao wasn't seriously injured, this flight… even if he didn't die, he'd be crippled!

Could it be… they were the legendary “bad teammates”?

Just as they were blaming themselves, they saw Wu Tianhao, who had flown who knows how far, lose his momentum and plummet straight down from the sky, headfirst into the tall building of the Alliance Leader's mansion. A cloud of dust rose along with a pig-like scream… and then he disappeared from sight.

“Junior Brother Tianhao…”

They jumped as if electrocuted and rushed toward where he had fallen. But before they had gone far, they heard the young man on Platform D speak with an innocent voice: “Uh, sorry… I used too much force again…”

Pfft!

Used too much force?

They staggered, nearly falling over.

You're the one with weak strength and low cultivation, and you sent a higher-level cultivator flying, and you say you used too much force…

The more they thought about it, the more frustrated they became, almost going crazy. In the selection rounds, he wrecked every checkpoint; in the first match of the tournament, he sent a cultivator two minor levels above him flying into the sky…

What kind of freak was this guy?

Was there no justice?

While he was going crazy with frustration, to be honest, Zhang Xuan was even more frustrated.

This guy had come charging in with full force, using his strongest move from the start. For anyone else, it would have been overwhelming, but for him, it was nothing.

His true qi strength was 1,000,000 tons, and his soul power was 1,600,000 tons. As long as his soul didn't leave his body, no one could tell. With a total of 2,600,000 tons of force, even stronger than a mid-stage Soul Harmony cultivator, it would be strange if this guy could withstand it.

However, he knew that sending him flying with a direct punch would be too shocking, so he deliberately used his Insightful Eye to find a flaw and tried to throw him off the platform…

But who knew, this guy used too much force, and after his promotion, Zhang Xuan couldn't accurately gauge the strength of Mortal Transcendence Fourth Layer cultivators, so he added a bit more strength…

Falling from such a height, even a mid-stage Turbid Clarity cultivator would probably be battered and bruised; even if he didn't die, it would be hard for him to get up in a month or two.

To be honest, he really didn't mean to.

He had only fought against his clone before, and at that time he was beaten like a dog. He thought all Mortal Transcendence Fourth Layer cultivators were extremely powerful; who knew that a single throw would send him flying so far…

“Anyway, Master Hong, does this count as a win?”

Knowing that the man had flown away and worrying more was useless, Zhang Xuan had no choice but to look helplessly at Master Hong.

“Win, win!”

Master Hong's mouth twitched.

It seemed this guy could wreck not only artifacts but also people…

He wasn't the only one with this thought; many famous teachers on the stage were twitching their eyebrows.

“Never compete in martial arts with this guy!”

“Yes, but… if not martial arts, what?”

“I don't know either, but just don't fight him, or you'll die without knowing how…”

…

They had thought that since this guy was only at the peak of Yin-Yang, they could easily beat him by using their true strength. They never dreamed it wasn't like that at all.

Wu Tianhao was a painful example.

Even those who hadn't experienced it felt pain just thinking about it, let alone the one involved.

Zhang Xuan quickly won his match, and the other three venues also had results after some time.

In this round, only he had a martial competition; the other three venues all resolved their matches using famous teacher methods.

One even used “verbal combat.”

A famous teacher not only has deep understanding of techniques but also broad knowledge.

Verbal combat is somewhat similar to debate on alchemy: using words to attack the opponent, posing questions they cannot answer. Whoever fails to answer first loses.

For fairness, such matches are usually best of three.

In the verbal combat, after three rounds, another famous teacher from the same sect as Luo Xuan won.

After watching a bit more and finding the matches mostly similar, Zhang Xuan lost interest. After an unknown time, Master Hong's voice rang out again.

“Alright, the top sixteen have now emerged. Everyone rest for half an hour, then we'll compete for the top eight!”

“The top sixteen are out?”

He looked up to see who had made it into the top sixteen, and saw Ruohuan approaching with a worried expression.