It was finally Yun Fei's turn to battle. He climbed the platform to a passive response from the spectators. Well, he wasn't exactly famous. So there weren't any expectations to begin with.
However, his opponent seemed to have some supporters. There were only a dozen, that was still eleven more than Yun Fei. Except these handful of truly interested people, the rest of the crowd seemed to be more intent on watching the girl next stage jump around.
Yun Fei stood facing a man holding a long spear. The spear was much longer than the man himself.
It had a golden spearhead and a red tassel. Along with the tassel, two golden balls were also hanging from the junction between the spearhead and the hardwood.
Looking at his opponent, Yun Fei couldn't help but think,
'We've got two balls bouncing around here too, a little support wouldn't hurt.'
The Referee announced the start of the match. Nobody moved. Yun Fei didn't feel like taking the initiative, And his fat opponent didn't look like a man that liked moving much.
Contrary to his thoughts that he'd have to be the first person to initiate something, the man picked up his heavy legs and walked towards Yun Fei.
If he hadn't done stretches before climbing the stage, Yun Fei would still have enough time to do them before his opponent reached him. With nothing to do, he rotated his Qi to prepare.
Who knew? Maybe this fat guy was actually the biggest schemer around and was actually very fast. Anyway, it would be too late to prepare when his plan was successful.
Just as the opponent felt fluctuations from Yun Fei's Qi, he suddenly shouted out. Curiously, he was surprised by the rallying Qi he felt.
"Ohhh!!!!! You dare to face this Long Long while still being in the 4th stage of Qi Condensation?
I'll allow you to give up. Try again next year. This year, all the people that made it up here have a cultivation of the 5th level.
Maybe get yourself looked at for being stupid too. Hmph!", He ended with a smug smile.
Long Long's plan to draw attention to their fight had been successful. The enraptured crowd could finally pull back its sight from the other balls to the golden balls on this stage.
Yun Fei could feel the pressure. 'This bastard is trying to demoralise me. I can't take this.', he thought.
He didn't attack in a rage as many would have. He retaliated, with what would be the correct response, he replied to Long Long's words with his own.
"So you're Long Long, huh? I bet the only thing that's long about you is your damn spear."
All the people whose attention was pulled by Long Long's shout suddenly started laughing.
The force and coercion of hundreds of people laughing at a person wasn't to be underestimated. Long Long could clearly feel this. The sad part was that he was still trying to understand what was funny.
Yun Fei was also pulled into a weird atmosphere from all the people laughing at his joke. He would later think that he went farther than he should have, but currently? He decided to ride the wave.
"Hmph! Trying to make me give up without a fight. You fat bastard, why don't you try looking at your own dick without using a mirror?"
Even more people heard his booming voice this time. Almost half the spectators started laughing. Momentum was truly something, Yun Fei just didn't feel like stopping, not when he could think of some more lines.
"Little Pig, which Pigpen did you escape from? The butcher was so kind that he even attached your castrated balls to your spear."
The people started laughing even harder. Some people even had tears coming out of their eyes. One of them was Long Long. However, he wasn't tearing up from laughing too hard.
Long Long could finally understand what Yun Fei meant from his words. His face was full of rage. As most of the arena was laughing at him, his eyes also moistened along with his mounting rage.
"You!!!!! I will kill you!!!!!"
Long Long picked up his Long spear and charged towards Yun Fei like a mad bull.
Although his speed wasn't too fast, even Yun Fei had to admit his skills in charging. To express his appreciation for Long Long's masterful charging skills, Yun Fei once again spoke loudly as he dodged the thrusting spear.
"Little Pig, is your mother a sow and your father a bull? Your charge isn't any worse."
Yun Fei's words, along with the thunderous laughs and whistles from the spectators sapped Long Long's sanity.
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He could only see red. Like a true bull's progeny, he wildly charged with his spear. He thrusted and slashed with all his power. Each of his moves were filled to the brim with Qi.
Long Long really wasn't weak. Along with their ample strength, his moves also displayed his familiarity with the spear. However, there was no way he was going to hit someone with Yun Fei's insane perception with his telegraphed attacks.
This battle made Yun Fei realise the benefits of facing someone who was not in the right state of mind. He also learned a valuable lesson. That was, to never let himself be affected by the opponents words.
He didn't want to end up like Long Long and his telegraphed moves. If Long Long had performed to the cusp of his complete abilities, Yun Fei would have to take some time to defeat him.
But now? He could've finished this farce of a battle ten moves ago. However, There were no extra points awarded for finishing early.
Nobody had an idea about Yun Fei's true capabilities in Sungon city. He felt like it was better if it remained like that for some time. For this, he was going to tussle with Long Long for a long amount of time and then barely defeat him.
He could get some experience with other people's techniques and even got to keep his abilities secret. This was truly a good deal.
...
The conclusion of the fight was approaching when most of the people had lost interest in it. Afterall, although the jokes were funny, the fight itself was little more than clumsy mud wrestling.
Yun Fei kept dodging and executing minor attacks. He was grazed sometimes but it was never serious. Long Long was finally tired. His wide and excessive movements brought forth by his anger were finally showing their effects.
The true damage he had taken was very close to Yun Fei. As Yun Fei had never put in a serious effort to harm him. To the public's eyes however, it seemed like Yun Fei was like a slimy snake. Dodging the blows by a hair's breadth, never being able to execute a proper move.
Long Long's fat rose and fell as he gasped and heaved. Exhaustion was bringing clarity back to his enraged mind.
Yun Fei noticed this, so he threw in another jab.
"Don't you think your whole life has been a waste? For all your hard work, you can't even defeat someone with a lower cultivation.
Maybe you should stop cultivating and start working on a farm instead? I know some farmers who could use a pig like you."
Hearing this, Long Long's face just scrunched up in an unpleasant expression. The effect was clearly worse than before.
'This pig has finally sobered up. I will have to pay some more attention.' Thought, Yun Fei
Long Long knew that he had messed up. He had wasted the majority of his Qi in his spurt of anger. Stamina had never been his forte. All he had left was only enough for one more proper move. He decided to use the one he was best at.
Long Long bent his knees. He held the spear at his waist, parallel to the ground. With a deep breath, he thrust the spear forwards while stepping towards Yun Fei.
Instead of filling up with more thrusts, he started using his grip like a lever. The edge of the spearpoint traced the symbol of infinity.
Quick weaving slashes chased Yun Fei as Long Long varied the depth; swapping grips, guiding the edge in different planes. All while maintaining the furious stop and go momentum of the spearhead
Its speed, power and technique were impressive to say the least. Yun Fei acknowledged it. This was a move that he had to be serious to dodge.
Qi bursting into his calves and soles. Yun Fei used the technique that he had discovered himself. But this was almost completely unrecognisable from his previous attempts.
The subtle expulsion of Qi was almost artful. He had gotten better at control. He could now reduce the damage he took as well as modulate the speed he gained.
He stepped to the side, ducking under the arching shaft with the perfect speed. The spear could barely graze the side of his clothes.
'This has gone on for too long. Now's the time to end it.'
Stepping into Long Long's opening, Yun Fei raised his right foot and extended it forwards. He knew, with the size of Long Long's body, there was no way he would miss.
Long Long could see everything but he couldn't do anything about it. He was too tired to bring his spear to the side. So spent that he couldn't even brace his body for the hit.
Just like that, Long Long rolled off the platform. He was never able to perform his best, being played by Yun Fei from the start to the end.
There had just been a huge upset in the tournament where someone with a lower cultivation had emerged victorious. However, hardly anyone cared about it. To them, the fight was like a joke.
It had truly taken too much time. By the time Yun Fei got off the stage, there was only one fight remaining in the first round.
The obelisk displayed, "Xuan Wu vs Lin Dong."
"Isn't Xuan Wu one of the guys who had a high potential of reaching the top five?" Yun Fei asked Devanshu.
"Yeah, His physical abilities should be the best here. He also has the technique from the inheritance he stumbled upon. He is definitely someone worth keeping an eye on."
Just as they were talking, a tall and sturdy man climbed onto the platform.
He wore huge gauntlets on his hands. Wrapped in white cloth. Some parts of the gauntlets which weren't concealed looked rusty and dilapidated.
With his sturdy body and giant gauntlets, Xuan Wu looked intimidating. The scowl on his face wasn't helping. It seemed that for whatever reason, he was pissed off.
Yun Fei took some seconds to associate this man with another person he had met before.
Surprisingly, it was the guy who was pissing when Yun Fei had found him. He was even shouting about having a head on battle and such.
Lin Dong also climbed up the stage. His fighting spirit was clearly not as great as Xuan Wu. Their actions made it seem like they knew each other from before.
The start of the match came off with a roar from Xuan Wu. In his characteristically loud voice, the roar blared out like a horn. Lin Dong already looked a little spooked.
His little body had curled up even more from the rageful pressure emanated by the giant in front of him. He gulped nervously as cold sweat beaded his forehead.
Xuan Wu dashed forwards, his balled fists held tight by his sides. In response, Lin Dong drew out a dagger with expert movement. Even with a weapon in his hands, he didn't look any less nervous.
A punch came like a train. Lin Dong felt like if he got hit by this, he would fly into the sky. In response, he ducked down completely and rolled to the side.
Xuan Wu was already used to his movements. Stepping to the side, he kicked at the still balled up body of Lin Dong. It only grazed him as he leaped to the side in a position similar to a frog.
First blood had been drawn. Surprisingly, it was by Lin Dong. The leg Xuan Wu kicked with, now had a very thin cut that leaked blood.
The crowd went wild. This was a great start to an exciting match. Unlike Yun Fei, these guys had real supporters. Even with all the cheers supporting him, Lin Dong's face looked even more nervous.
Xuan Wu didn't seem to mind the cut. He knew it would happen when he had seen the name of the opponent. He just had to do what he had done in all their previous fights, attack.