Chapter 694: One Finger

"According to normal requirements, ten matches are fought, and the one who wins six is the leader..." Master Hong said. "Han Ling is competing in the tenth match on stage..."

"Being able to reach the tenth match means each side has wins and losses..." Hearing it was the tenth match, Zhang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.

If the opponent had kept winning, it would have ended in six matches. Now that it had come to the final match, it showed they were evenly matched.

"Wins and losses... No!"

Master Hong's face reddened with embarrassment: "We fought ten matches, but we kept losing, and... all to the same person!"

"Lost to the same person? You mean... that guy on stage fought ten matches in a row and didn't lose once?"

Zhang Xuan's eyes went wide.

"Yes..."

Master Hong covered his forehead, and the others were too ashamed to lift their heads.

Ten people challenged him in a row, and he knocked them all off the stage in a round-robin. Worst of all... the one on stage clearly wasn't even their strongest. It was indeed a bit embarrassing.

Bang!

Speechless, Zhang Xuan was about to speak when he heard a muffled groan from the stage. Han Ling, without even reacting, flew backward and landed in the courtyard.

"Lost all ten matches... How can we salvage this?"

Looking at the guy lying on the ground in pain, Zhang Xuan's eyelids twitched.

He had thought there might be a way to salvage it, but now that all ten matches were lost to the same person, how could they recover?

Even if he wanted to find an excuse, he couldn't!

"Alright, ten matches are over. You haven't won a single one. Do you have anything to say?"

Having knocked Han Ling away, the young man on stage smiled and looked around.

"We..."

Master Hong and the others flushed bright red.

If they had won two or three out of ten, they could have said their strongest hadn't come. But now that they had all lost to the same person, how could they speak?

Moreover, if Master Zhang wasn't a match either, wouldn't that be an even greater loss of face? An even more complete defeat?

Although Master Zhang had exceptional talent and was top-notch among master teachers in many abilities, he was only at the peak of the Turbid Clarity realm. It would be extremely difficult for him to defeat this guy who had taken on ten without even breathing hard, especially since this guy wasn't even the strongest.

(Zhang Xuan's breakthrough to the Spirit Union realm happened after he became a 'corpse,' and the others didn't know about it.)

"If you have nothing to say, then follow the agreement and obey Senior Brother Feng's arrangements!" The young man smiled lightly, turned, and cupped his fists: "Senior Brother Feng!"

As his words ended, a young man strode up.

This person's aura was heavier, his strength greater, already at the half-step Bridge Heaven realm, on the verge of breaking through.

The young man who had just won ten consecutive matches was already very strong in Ruohuan Gongzi's eyes, but compared to this one, he was still far behind.

No wonder the many geniuses of the Huan Yu Empire couldn't compete. If this person really acted, not only would a ten-man round-robin fail to defeat him, but even if they attacked together, they would likely be easily crushed and unable to resist.

"Since we're forming an alliance, let's first clarify the rules!"

Standing on the stage, Senior Brother Feng looked around, his voice clashing like steel: "In three days, the hunt begins. Everyone must follow my unified arrangements. When we hunt prey, our Jin Hai Empire chooses first! Rest assured, as long as we work together, passing won't be a problem!"

"They choose first?"

"If the number of hunts isn't enough, won't we all be eliminated?"

...

Although they understood that the alliance's leader enjoyed privileges, the fact that the other side stated it outright still made everyone clench their fists.

The advantage of an alliance was that they could deal with powerful spirit beasts and avoid danger. But the disadvantage was that the distribution of prey wasn't up to them. If the day's hunt wasn't enough, their Huan Yu Empire might all be eliminated.

"What, still unwilling? With Senior Brother Feng's strength, being willing to ally with you is your fortune. Don't be ungrateful!" Seeing the crowd below looking dejected, the young man from earlier sneered.

Given their strength, they didn't really need to ally with these people from Huan Yu Empire, but having more allies also brought great benefits.

In this assessment, many academy teachers were watching. If they performed outstandingly, they could easily gain favor, be looked upon with new eyes, and rise quickly.

"You..."

Hearing his words, everyone's faces flushed red. They wanted to retort but couldn't.

After all, they were outmatched.

"I am a bit unwilling..."

Just as the crowd was feeling awkward, Zhang Xuan's calm voice rang out.

"Oh? What do you mean? The esteemed master teacher of Huan Yu Empire has decided on an alliance and now wants to back out?" Seeing someone interrupt, the young man raised his eyebrows.

They were all master teachers, people of standing. Since they had agreed to an alliance and held the competition, could they now renege because they lost?

If so, they would become a laughingstock before even entering the assessment.

"Backing out is not the case... but I have an idea..." Zhang Xuan said.

"An idea?"

Zhang Xuan said: "Indeed, I am also a master teacher from Huan Yu Empire this time. I wasn't aware of your competition earlier. But since it's already been held, I have nothing to say. I just want fairness—when we hunt spirit beasts, we split them equally!"

"Split equally? Since we're allying, there must be a leader and followers. With a leader, fairness is impossible!" The young man sneered.

"I know. Since we lost the competition and determined the leader, fairness is hard to come by. How about this?"

Zhang Xuan smiled, hands behind his back: "Let your Senior Brother Feng make a move. If he can last three moves against me... I won't bring up fairness anymore. You can distribute however you want! Even the spirit beasts we hunt—we can take none!"

"What did you say?"

The young man's eyes narrowed.

This guy actually wanted Senior Brother Feng to make a move and could last three moves against him?

He had seen arrogant people, but never this arrogant!

Did you know what strength Senior Brother Feng had, to speak so boldly?

Three moves? Given your appearance, whether you can withstand one move from Senior Brother Feng is still unknown!

"What? No confidence? How about this: one move. As long as your Senior Brother Feng can last one move against me, the spirit beasts we hunt—our Huan Yu Empire won't take a single one!"

Seeing the other hesitate, Zhang Xuan thought he had set the condition too high and couldn't help but change his terms.

"Damn!"

Seeing his serious expression, the young man nearly exploded on the spot!

Senior Brother Feng also saw stars and nearly fainted.

His strength was at the half-step Bridge Heaven realm, not far behind even some second-year seniors. And these guys who popped out of Huan Yu Empire wanted to defeat him in one move?

What kind of joke was that?

The two were about to faint from anger, while Ruohuan Gongzi and Luo Xuan nearly spat blood.

They had guessed that Master Zhang would cause trouble when he arrived, but they never dreamed he would say something like this!

They couldn't even defeat the young man from earlier, and this Senior Brother Feng was naturally even stronger. For him to defeat him in one move... how was that possible?

If they really lost, would they really have to help for nothing and not take a single prey?

If that happened, everyone would be eliminated...

"What, one move is still too much? How about this: I'll use one finger... That should be acceptable, right? If you still don't dare, I can't help it..."

If one move was too much, he couldn't exactly defeat him without using any moves, could he?

Although he could do that too, it would definitely expose his soul and other methods. Well, better to keep a low profile.

Having just arrived at Hong Yuan Empire, it was best not to reveal too much.

Zhang Xuan looked troubled.

"Pfft!"

The young man and Senior Brother Feng nearly spat blood.

Too much your sister!

And what's with that troubled expression?

Did he think they were so pathetic that it worried him?

"Fine, I want to see exactly how you defeat me with one finger..."

Unable to bear it any longer, Senior Brother Feng let out a long roar.

"Senior Brother... let me teach this arrogant fool a lesson..." Seeing his brother enraged, the young man stepped forward.

"No need. I want to see for myself what methods this braggart has!" Senior Brother Feng's eyes flashed like lightning as he looked coldly at Zhang Xuan.

This guy was so arrogant; he must have some backing. He wanted to see if he was just spouting nonsense or truly had strength.

"Friend, come up. If you truly defeat me, the alliance matter is dropped. If you lose, remember your words: you won't take a single spirit beast from the hunt!"

Eyes narrowed, Senior Brother Feng flicked his sleeves.

"Good!"

Hearing the agreement, Zhang Xuan walked onto the stage.

"This..."

"Can Master Zhang win?"

"I don't know..."

Seeing Master Zhang make such a bet with the other side, everyone exchanged glances.

Defeat Senior Brother Feng with one finger?

Master Zhang, are you serious?

Although they knew they had lost and he was anxious, this bet... was too big!

"Senior Brother Feng, let me teach this guy a lesson..."

Seeing Senior Brother Feng so angry, the young man couldn't hold back and stepped forward again: "If I lose, you can still go up."

This guy spoke so arrogantly; he might actually have some strength. Better to test him first. If he was weak, he'd beat him up for venting; if strong, Senior Brother would at least be prepared.

"This..." Senior Brother Feng hesitated. Just as he was about to speak, he heard the young man opposite's slightly impatient voice: "If you're scared, both of you can come at once. I'll use... two fingers!"

Hearing this, Senior Brother Feng and the young man both saw stars.

"No need. Let me see exactly what strength you have!"

With a cold snort, Senior Brother Feng suddenly charged forward.

This guy's words were too infuriating; he was afraid that if he kept talking, he'd die of anger.

Stamping his foot on the ground, he charged like a wild beast, giving off a dragon-tiger momentum before even reaching him.

His half-step Bridge Heaven strength was fully unleashed, the wind howling, giving a sense of overwhelming pressure that was hard to resist.

"So strong!"

Master Hong and the others couldn't help but twitch their eyebrows.

With this strength, even they, at the early Bridge Heaven realm, would find it hard to contend and could only avoid the锋芒.

They quickly turned to look at the young man nearby, wanting to see how he would respond, only to see him shake his head, extend a finger, and wobblingly poke it forward.