The atmosphere in the Grand Plaza was electric. Fifty thousand disciples watched with bated breath as the first match was about to begin.
On the massive stone stage, Iron Mountain stood tall. He was seven feet of pure muscle, his skin shimmering with a metallic grey hue. He was the pride of the Outer Sect, a man who had cultivated the Iron Skin Scripture to perfection. He reportedly bathed in molten lead to temper his body.
Opposite him stood Ye Kai.
Ye Kai looked... confusing. He was wearing loose hemp pants and a straw hat. He was shirtless, revealing a physique that was impressive, but compared to Iron Mountain, he looked like a farm boy standing next to a siege tower.
"Begin!" Elder Wei shouted from the platform, his voice dripping with anticipation. He couldn't wait to see Jiang Chen's disciple turned into a meat paste.
Match 1: The Unstoppable Force vs. The Confused Object
Iron Mountain roared, slamming his fists together. CLANG. It sounded like two anvils colliding.
"Kid!" Iron Mountain bellowed. "I will give you a chance to surrender! My Iron Skin is impenetrable! My fists can shatter boulders! If I hit you, you will die!"
Ye Kai blinked. He looked up at the platform where Jiang Chen was sipping tea.
"Master," Ye Kai shouted. "He says he is made of iron. Can I sell him? We need money."
The crowd went silent. Did this farm boy just ask if he could sell his opponent?
Jiang Chen sighed, putting down his tea cup. "No, Ye Kai. Scrap metal prices are low right now. Just remove him from the stage. Remember your training."
"Understood!" Ye Kai nodded seriously. "Training mode engaged."
Iron Mountain turned red with rage. "You dare insult me?! Die!"
BOOM.
Iron Mountain charged. The ground cracked under his feet. He moved like a runaway train, his fist glowing with grey light. This was his signature move: The Mountain Crushing Fist.
The crowd gasped. "He's dead!" "Look away!"
Ye Kai didn't dodge. He didn't block.
He dropped into a squat.
"ONE!" Ye Kai counted loudly.
WHAM.
Iron Mountain's fist connected squarely with Ye Kai's face.
A shockwave ripple out, kicking up a cloud of dust. The sound was deafening.
Elder Wei grinned. "It's over. His head is gone."
But as the dust settled, the crowd's eyes bulged.
Ye Kai was still squatting. He hadn't moved an inch. There wasn't even a scratch on his face.
Iron Mountain's fist was still pressed against Ye Kai's cheek, but the metal skin on Iron Mountain's knuckles had cracked.
"Two!" Ye Kai stood up, then squatted again. "THREE!"
Iron Mountain stared at his hand. "What... what are you?"
"Master said I must do 100 squats," Ye Kai explained politely. "You are in my way. Please move."
"I am Iron Mountain!" the giant screamed, unleashing a flurry of punches. Bam! Bam! Bam! He punched Ye Kai in the chest, the stomach, the throat.
Ye Kai ignored him.
"Four! Five! Six!"
To Ye Kai (who possessed the Ancient God Body), these punches felt like a gentle breeze. Actually, they were annoying because they were messing up his counting.
"Thirty-two!" Ye Kai grunted, finally getting annoyed. He stood up mid-squat and lazily swatted a fly that was buzzing near his ear.
Unfortunately, Iron Mountain's face was in the trajectory of the swat.
SLAP.
It wasn't a punch. It was a backhand flick.
But it carried the weight of the Ancient God.
CRACK.
Iron Mountain's defensive Qi shattered instantly. His "Impenetrable Iron Skin" crumpled like wet paper.
The seven-foot giant was launched off the stage like a skipping stone. He flew over the crowd, over the plaza gate, and crashed into a ornamental pond three hundred meters away.
SPLASH.
Silence.
Absolute, terrified silence.
Ye Kai looked at his hand. "Oh. Oops. I lost count."
He looked up at Jiang Chen with puppy eyes. "Master, do I have to start over from zero?"
On the VIP Platform, the Elders were frozen.
Fang Lie (Sword Elder) dropped the cloth he was using to polish his sword.
Mei Hua (Pill Elder) choked on a walnut.
Wei Hong (Elder Wei) stood with his mouth open, looking like a fish on dry land.
"One slap?" Fang Lie whispered. "He broke the Iron Skin Defense with a casual slap? That boy... his body is a treasure."
Jiang Chen calmly fanned himself. "One down. Next."
Match 2: Paranoia vs. Stealth
Wei Hong's face was purple. He had lost face. His grandfather, Grand Elder Feng, was frowning from his cloud throne.
"Luck!" Wei Hong shouted. "That was just brute strength! But strength is useless against speed!"
He pointed at Su Ling.
"You're next! Your opponent is Shadow Viper!"
Su Ling walked onto the stage. She looked like she was about to vomit. She was trembling, clutching her bag of talismans, her eyes darting around the empty stage.
"Begin!"
Immediately, Shadow Viper vanished.
He used the Ghost Step Technique, blending perfectly into the shadows. He was invisible to the naked eye.
The crowd watched in suspense. Shadow Viper was famous for ending fights in seconds. He would appear behind the victim and place a dagger at their throat.
Su Ling stood in the center of the stage, hyperventilating.
"I can't see him," she whispered. "That means he is everywhere. That means the air is him. I must destroy the air."
"What is she doing?" Elder Pill asked, leaning forward.
Su Ling reached into her bag. She didn't pull out a weapon. She pulled out a handful of marbles.
But these weren't normal marbles. Jiang Chen had inscribed them with "Slippery Runes" he scammed from a street vendor.
"Defensive Measure Alpha!" Su Ling shrieked, throwing the marbles into the air.
Clatter. Clatter.
Hundreds of marbles bounced around the stage.
Then, she pulled out a bottle of oil.
"Defensive Measure Beta!"
She smashed the bottle. Oil slicked the floor.
Then, she pulled out a bag of flour.
"Defensive Measure Charlie!"
POOF.
A cloud of white flour exploded, covering the entire stage in a thick fog.
The crowd couldn't see anything. Just a white cloud.
Suddenly, a voice cried out from the fog.
"What the hell is this?! I can't see!" (Shadow Viper's voice).
"Stay back!" Su Ling screamed. "I have a sharp stick and I'm afraid to use it!"
Slip.
"Whoa!"
Thud.
Shadow Viper had stepped on a marble. He slipped on the oil. He flailed his arms, trying to regain balance, but the flour blinded him.
He fell face-first.
But he didn't just fall.
Because Su Ling had "analyzed the feng shui," he fell at the exact angle required to bounce his head off the stone floor... directly into the path of his own falling dagger.
Thwack.
"My leg!" Shadow Viper screamed as his own poisoned dagger stabbed him in the thigh.
"He's attacking!" Su Ling panicked. She blindly threw a brick she had been hiding in her sleeve.
BONK.
The brick flew through the fog and hit Shadow Viper squarely on the back of the head.
The assassin collapsed, foaming at the mouth from the poison and the concussion.
The flour settled.
Su Ling was curled up in a ball, covering her head.
Shadow Viper was unconscious, tied up in his own cloak, stabbed by his own dagger, and covered in flour.
"Did I die?" Su Ling peeked out from her hands.
The referee (a stunned Deacon) walked over and poked Shadow Viper.
"Shadow Viper is... incapacitated. Winner: Su Ling."
On the VIP Platform, Grand Elder Feng's eye twitched.
"What kind of martial art is that?" he rumbled dangerously.
Jiang Chen sipped his tea. "That," he lied effortlessly, "is the Dao of Chaotic Karma. It is a lost art. Very dangerous. Don't try it at home."
Wei Hong looked like he was about to have a stroke. Two losses. Two humiliating losses.
His plan to crush Jiang Chen was falling apart.
But he still had the trump card.
The third match.
The impossible match.
Wei Hong stood up, his eyes bloodshot.
"Fine! You have some tricks! But tricks won't save you now!"
He pointed a trembling finger at the cage.
"Match Three! The Blind Demon vs. Gu Jian!"
Wei Hong grinned, a twisted, desperate expression.
"Gu Jian is a Core Disciple! He is a Golden Core genius! And your fighter... is a blind, starved cripple chained to a rock!"
The crowd murmured. This was true.
Ye Kai and Su Ling were weird, but they were healthy.
Wei Wu was half-dead. He hadn't moved or spoken since he was dragged out.
Gu Jian walked onto the stage. He drew his sword—a shimmering blue blade named Cloud Cutter.
He looked up at the VIP platform, locking eyes with Jiang Chen.
"I will not be humiliated again," Gu Jian vowed. "I will cut this boy into pieces to wash away my shame."
Jiang Chen stood up.
He didn't look at Gu Jian. He looked at the cage.
"Ye Kai," Jiang Chen ordered. "Go down there and break the chains."
"Yes, Master!"
Ye Kai jumped off the platform (creating a crater) and walked to the cage. He ripped the iron bars apart like they were made of candy. He smashed the chains holding Wei Wu.
The blind boy fell forward, but Ye Kai caught him.
"Junior Brother," Ye Kai whispered. "Master says it's time to wake up."
Wei Wu stood up shakily. His rags fluttered in the wind. The bloody bandages around his eyes were stark against his pale skin.
He had no Qi. He looked like a stiff breeze would kill him.
"He doesn't even have a weapon!" someone in the crowd shouted.
Jiang Chen looked around. He saw a dead branch lying near the edge of the stage (probably blown there by the wind).
"Su Ling," Jiang Chen pointed. "Give him that stick."
Su Ling kicked the branch toward Wei Wu.
Wei Wu bent down and picked up the crooked, dry stick.
"A stick?" Wei Hong laughed hysterically. "He's going to fight a Golden Core Sword Genius with a twig?"
Jiang Chen sat back down. He looked at Grand Elder Feng, then at the terrified Wei Hong.
"A stick is enough," Jiang Chen said coldly. "For a dog, you use a stick."
"KILL HIM!" Wei Hong screamed.
Gu Jian exploded with power. Golden Core energy surged, creating a storm of sword Qi.
"Die!"
Gu Jian lunged, his sword aiming straight for Wei Wu's heart.
Wei Wu stood still.
The wind blew his hair.
In the darkness of his blindness, he didn't see the sword.
He saw... lines.
Black lines. White lines. The lines of death. The lines of life.
Ding!
[System Alert]
[Third Disciple Awakening...]
[Talent: The Void Eyes.]
[Ability: He cannot see the world, but he can see the Flaws.]
Wei Wu lifted the stick.