Ha Ken picked up the limp He Xianru moving towards the rooms for rest. He casted a glance towards his master's room above.

Her condition was bad. She had fainted and blood leaked out of her mouth from the internal injuries she had suffered from the blow.

He could see that her lower ribs had been completely crushed by the shockwave. The other wounds she had suffered from bouncing and dragging on the platform could be called minor compared to the site where the punch had hit her.

'Why didn't she move? Even though that bastard was very fast, she had the time to minimise the impact. If she had done that, she wouldn't be in this condition.'

From one look at her. Ha Ken knew that she wouldn't be competing any further..

Looking at the limp He Xianru lying in front of him with blood coming out of her mouth and a depression right below her chest, Ha Ken felt hot anger rise up within him.

'There was no need to go this far. That bastard must've played a pig to eat the tiger. The force from that blow was impossible to generate for someone in that cultivation level. He must be hiding his cultivation somehow.'

Suddenly, He Weiyuan appeared in the room. On his face was endless worry. This was the first time he had seen He Xianru in such a state.

As he checked her condition. The city lord took something out of his space pouch. It was a round golden pill, the size of a grape.

He put the pill into the mouth of He Xianru and had her swallow it using his Qi. As he did this, he used his gold core level cultivation to assist He Xianru in assimilating the pill.

He concentrated with his eyes closed, his Qi wrapping around the dissolving pellet refining the medicinal power and clearing the pill poison that he could.

Almost every drug in the world has parts poisonous for cultivators. Whether they be spirit pills for cultivation or pills to heal injuries, they would all contain pill poison.

The lower the quality of the refined pill, the higher amount of pill poison they contained. This was the major reason why cultivators had to watch their pill intake. Because of this, healing techniques which had no side effects like the pill poison were important.

The consequences of pill poison accumulating inside the body could range from as far as turbid Qi and difficulty in using techniques to even damage to the foundation and power.

If the city lord had not aided He Xianru in clearing the pill poison and assimilating the efficacy of the pill, it would've done her more harm then good. The pill poisons would've been enough to severely harm her if she could even survive the amount of power which the pill contained.

"Master, will she be alright?"

"Although she will have some weakness for the day, this pill will allow her to continue in the competition."

As he heard this, Ha Ken had relief visible on his face. He knew how discouraged He Xianru would be if she woke up and realised that she was out of the competition.

As the city lord finished assimilating the pill inside He Xianru, she opened her eyes. She looked very confused, as if she couldn't remember what had happened.

She looked at Ha Ken and her father in a daze. However, it didn't take long for her to catch her bearings and remember what had happened.

Along with the memories came tears, starting with a few drops, it didn't take long before He Xianru was reduced to a crying and sniveling mess.

Just who was heartless enough to not feel pity at such a sight? Ha Ken's heart melted as he saw her break down. He moved instantly to calm and coax her.

"Xianru, don't cry..."

However, he just couldn't find the right words he to console her. She had lost against someone with a lower cultivation. That too after making grand claims.

"Ha Ken, don't console her. She deserves this loss."

The cold voice of the city lord cut through the room. Both He Xianru and Ha Ken looked towards He Weiyuan.

His face was serious, with none of the care and concern that was visible when he entered. He looked down towards He Xianru with his piercing gaze and continued in a cold tone.

"How many times have we already told her to be serious in a battle and not to underestimate her opponents?

Just when will she grow up? I can't take care of her for her whole life!

There have been so many people who have lost already. Have they cried about it?

Ha Ken, you are more powerful than her. However, have you boasted as much?

That kid did right in showing her her place! Before you start making excuses like him hiding his cultivation to console her, I will make it clear for you.

He is only in the 4th stage of Qi Condensation and has hid nothing. His age is 16 and has been verified when he registered.

Do you know of his background? He has nothing. He didn't even use any exceptional techniques in his fight against her. She stood right in front of him and took the brunt of his attack!"

Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

He Xianru was shocked. She had never imagined that her father, who had doted on her right from her birth and had forgiven her for anything and everything would lash out at her like this.

He Weiyuan turned towards the shocked He Xianru and continued.

"You have been privileged right from your birth. I have provided you everything I could. You had unlimited resources and exceptional guidance. Yet you still lost to someone with a lower cultivation than you in a single move!

How do you think that reflects on me? What would my subordinates and the people of the city think?

Today, you have dragged my name through the dirt in front of the whole city!"

As she heard the harsh words of someone who had only spoken sweetly till now, Xianru could not hold it in. It was like a dam had been broken, tears flowed from her eyes uncontrollably.

She tried to speak up but nothing came out of her mouth. She was in such shock that all her words were converted into shallow gasps and cries.

Ha Ken was also in shock. He had never imagined that he would see this. Looking at the mess He Xianru was in, he tried to say something but he was once again stopped by his master.

"Leave her alone. You have the first fight in the next round."

As he took Ha Ken out of the room, He Weiyuan looked towards his daughter one last time and spoke.

"And you, Stay here and reflect upon your behaviour! If you don't want to embarass me further, then prepare yourself for the rest of your matches."

Ha Ken could only look worriedly towards the door of the room. He Xianru's soft sobs sounding out behind them.

He glanced at his master questioning this change in treatment but before he could ask, his master already answered.

He Weiyuan had a bitter and worried look on his face as he said,

"She needs this. All her life, I've been coddling her. It's also my fault that she grew up to be so spoiled. If she is not able to realise her mistakes while I can still protect her, she will have a hard time when I can't.

Always remember, we as cultivators don't only cultivate Qi or our bodies. We also cultivate our hearts. And if your heart is weak, you will face endless tribulations in your journey."

Ha Ken didn't say anything. He could understand his master's sentiment. He knew just how bad his master must have felt when he had to say such harsh words to someone he treasured the most in this world.

Yun Fei watched the battles underway as he moved his Qi to assist the healing of his soles. With the increase in his control, he had suffered relatively lesser damage than when he had just started with this method.

Although the arena had descended into silence at his win and only Devanshu supported him. Yun Fei was happy to hear a child who was impressed with his performance.

Children always speak without filters, right after Yun Fei had descended the platform, a little kid had blurted out.

"Big Sister, that big brother is so cool! He beat up his opponent in one punch, even miss Xianru lost!

She flew so far!"

Yun Fei appreciated any kind of compliment he got.

Even he himself didn't think that his punch would be so lethal. It was the first time he had made a serious effort after breaking through.

With the improvement he made. He felt like if he went all out with his move like he went against the guy who had attacked him in the forest, his hand would have pierced straight through He Xianru.

But that would also lead to serious injuries and was completely unnecessary to use in such a competition where his life wasn't on the line. He already thought he had gone a bit too far this time.

'Well it's okay, people get hurt in fights.'

In the 4th Round, He Xianru drew a bye, the city lord's soft touch was apparent to none. Yun Fei's name was added among the list of people against whom the others withdrew without a fight.

The sobs that echoed in the quiet hallway gradually faded away. Xianru wiped her tears with her sleeves and stood up.

After she had been left alone. She did what her father had told her to. She reflected on her actions in the last fight.

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't figure out why she was not able to move at the most crucial moment.

She still remembered the piercing gaze. She could not look away from the purple pupils no matter how much she tried and after that, the immense pain below her chest.

She had never felt such pain before.

And she did not want to feel it again. It felt like death. Feeling her own ribs crushing and her organs being ruptured under the punch she could not dodge against was a very harrowing experience.

'He has never been that angry before, It's all my fault. I don't want to disappoint him anymore.'

She would normally be looking for consolations from her father. But his change in attitude had shocked and frightened her.

She loved her father and didn't want to see him disappointed in her. Because of this, He Xianru changed her clothes and took wobbly steps back towards the platforms.

...

The sun had started to set in Sungon city. The battles for the first day of the competition had been finished except one.

Yun Fei walked down the platform with another victory. After the rather short fight, his opponent had to be carried off the stage.

This time, he received a few cheers. He deserved them, he was one of the four people with spotless records on the first day.

One was Ha Ken, who nobody even dared to fight against. He had only fought once against Gong Sunling, the rest of his fights had been withdrawals from his opponents.

Other was Su Libai. His condition was a complete contrast to Ha Ken's. He had to fight in most of his matches. It seemed like everybody wanted to try out his illusions.

This had led to his illusions growing sloppy towards the latter part of the day. The other contestants might not be able to tell the difference, but it was clear to Yun Fei.

The last one was Xuan Wu. However, that was still a point for confirmation since the last remaining fight of the day was Xuan Wu's. Yun Fei believed that he had the higher chance of winning. Nevertheless, nobody could accurately predict the results of a battle.

What had surprised Yun Fei was He Xianru. She had turned completely from before. She didn't make any arrogant remarks or provide any unsolicited advice. Her fighting style had also become more cautious.

'So all it took was a punch to knock out the bitch in her?'

Even with this change, she still had to face a lot of hardships till her last fight of the day. Her strength and speed had reduced after her fight with Yun Fei. This led to a lot of her fights being struggles for her. The last one was very close, she had almost lost.

Yun Fei was surprised that she was able to recover to this degree. Afterall, he was at the center of the incident. He knew exactly what his fist had crushed.

If Yun Fei received the same injury, he was sure that his fighting power would fall by half or even more for the rest of the day. Even with his insane regeneration, he wouldn't be able to pull off a performance close to He Xianru.

Comparing her situation to Lin Dong who had to retire from the competition after a similar injury. Yun Fei could only sigh as he thought,

'The benefits of having a solid background are indeed plenty. While the ordinary people spend months of their time on recovery, people like her can use expensive pills and recover in a day.'

Taking his mind off of He Xianru, he looked towards the center platform. This was going to be an interesting match, Gong Sunling vs Xuan Wu.

The audience looked forward to Gong Sunling's matches because he used a lot of tricks. His gimmicks were interesting and an eye opening experience for most of these people.

As soon as both the participants took their spots, loud cheers erupted from all around them.