Brilliance Lotus Academy, Tournament ground

Two students were facing each other on a raised platform.

The crowd was spectating from all around it. The atmosphere was tense, the contestants were about to make their first move.

The two youths on stage were Jin Ju and his opponent Su Kang.

"In a direct confrontation, I clearly have a disadvantage. What do I do?" - Jin Ju panicked inside. He tried to calm down, but couldn't steady his mind.

Looking at the hulking Su Kang the crowd was also of the same mind. They saw little chance for Jin Ju. Some were feeling sympathy for Jin Ju, some were just disappointed with the matchup.

"Seems like this match will be a bust. Too one-sided..."

"Haha! Get ready, you might be up next in just a moment!"

At the next moment!

Su Kang attacked!

He struck out in a wide arc with his right fist.

Jin Ju barely avoided the blow, but was still hit by a strong shockwave!

"This... This is too much!" - Jin Ju thought in panic. He was sure that he was going to die.

But Jin Ju was not the only one who was surprised.

The crowd was also in an uproar.

"What?! What kind of power is that?!"

"Impossible! How can he be so strong?!"

"He is just a student of the academy! There is no way he can be that strong!"

...

Everyone was shocked. No one had expected Su Kang to be this strong.

"What gu did he use?"

"His fist clearly missed, yet the small guy was almost blown away!"

Bao Zhi sat calmly as he took in the events.

"This is good. A good lesson for you." - Bao Zhi thought.

Su Kang was using an uncommon gu worm, rank one Wind Strike Gu!

This gu could let the user create small but strong gales in the wake of punches and kicks. This strength of the wind was still dependent on the user's physique, it was suitable for Su Kang.

Back on the stage, Jin Ju was running around like a headless chicken. He kept dodging, ducking, and doing anything he could to avoid Su Kang's relentless attacks.

It was a sorry sight. Even when Jin Ju got away, he was still hit by the small shockwaves and tumbled around.

Jin Ju's body was already covered in bruises, yet they haven't made contact.

"This can't go on. I can't do anything to him."

He was already contemplating giving up!

On the other hand, Su Kang's initial confidence was already gone, now replaced by frustration. He held the upper hand since the match began. But he could not land a decisive hit.

"Just one. Give me one good hit and it's all over."

Su Kang had an idea. He stopped his attacks and raised both his hands and activated his Wind Strike gu worm.

Su Kang's body started to glow with a faint light. His muscles started to bulge.

"Was he showing off his muscles?" - The crowd didn't understand what they were seeing.

"What is he doing?" - Jin Ju was confused.

"Hahaha! Now you will see my true power!" - Su Kang laughed maniacally.

He started sprinting at the perimeter of the stage. There was a faintly visible veil of air around his body. The more he ran the bigger and more visible the aura became.

Jin Ju was looking on nervously. He managed to catch his breath finally.

"I don't know what he's trying to do, but this might be my only chance to use my technique."

With this, he stood still and focused on Carve Wood gu in his aperture.

A grayish glow appeared around his palm. They were like pointy spikes at the end of his fingers. He was pouring more and more of his primeval essence into Carve Wood Gu.

He kept an eye on Su Kang, not sure when he would attack again.

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Su Kang was running like a mad man. He was already running his second lap. His speed and wind veil was increasing.

"I wasted so much essence already, I can only run one more lap and I'm out."

On his third lap, Su Kang dashed towards Jin Ju with an explosive speed.

Jin Ju's eyes widened in horror. He tried to dodge, but it was too late.

Su Kang's right fist still connected with Jin Ju's shoulder.

Jin Ju only managed to clumsily strike at Su Kang's abdomen, but he could not avoid the incoming hit.

"Guaaah!" - Jin Ju screamed in pain as he was sent flying.

He flew out of the stage and crashed into the barrier around the platform and collapsed to the ground.

"Haha! I did it!" - Su Kang was overjoyed. He finally landed a hit.

But a moment later the coughed up blood and fell to his knees.

The crowd was in an uproar. No one could believe what they had just seen.

"What a strength!"

"He was sent flying! Did you see that?"

"Look, he punched that guy so hard he injured himself in the end."

Jin Ju's attack wasn't flashy and overbearing like the mad charge that Su Kang just pulled off. Many did not notice that Jin Ju landed a hit on him.

Bao Zhi was not surprised. He knew that Su Kang had been hiding his true strength. Jin Ju's performance was also not bad, he felt.

The match ended with Jin Ju getting eliminated from the tournament. Su Kang progressed to the second round.

Gu masters were tending to their injuries behind the scenes.

Jin Ju had his shoulder dislocated and also broke his arm when he landed. He was lying on his bed. Most of his injuries were healed by the medical team, now he needed to rest.

From the room next to him Jin Ju could hear Su Kang screaming in pain. He did know what his condition was.

A gu master was standing beside Su Kang's bed and manipulating her gu worms.

"Stay put already, if you keep moving it's only going to take longer."

It was already troublesome to heal this injury.

"How did you injure your aperture?" - She frowned.

Su Kang could not reply, he was gritting his teeth and letting out painful grunts occasionally.

Su Kang didn't know, he was also lucky, if he weren't at the initial stage already, his aperture could have dropped a rank from an injury like this!

"Such a vicious technique... What are the students cultivating nowadays?" - The healing gu master lamented.

Su Kang felt that Jin Ju should have given up the moment the match began. Yet, in a last-ditch effort, that brat still struck him with an underhanded move!

Now he hated Jin Ju to the core!

* * * * *

Bao Zhi was silently spectating the matches. He gained a better understanding of the students' temperament and gu worms.

It was already two hours since the tournament started when Bao Zhi was called onto the stage finally.

He walked up the stage. The students cast weird gazes because of his looks.

His eyes were bloodshot and in dark circles.

"What a weird fellow."

"I've heard of him, he's the worst A grade talent in the academy."

"An A grade is still an A grade."

"No, you don't get it. He still couldn't refine his vital gu."

"He's pathetic."

Bao Zhi let these remarks go. Wasn't this the image he created?

He did not recognize his opponent, who stood opposite him.

Bao Zhi placed most of his focus on his aperture.

He was still refining the Primeval Elder Gu with his full effort!

Teacher Tao glanced at Bao Zhi's condition, but in the end, he didn't care what this good-for-nothing disciple was up to so he kept his thoughts to himself.

Teacher Tao: "You may begin."

Just as teacher Tao uttered the last syllable, Bao Zhi's figure shot out like a bullet!

"Uuugh!" - His opponent grunted and fell to the ground like a bag of grain. Knocked unconscious before he even hit the ground.

His opponent couldn't react at all.

"What gu is he using?"

"He is just too fast."

"What happened!?"

Teacher Tao was not the only one who was baffled.

The crowd was also murmuring to themselves.

"Is he using some sort of movement gu?"

"He must have had his gu worm ready before the fight already!"

"I heard that he had no gu worms. Now I feel that might not be true."

"This must be a fluke. His opponent was just a paper tiger!"

The match ended in a breath of time. This was the quickest match so far. The audience was shocked but also dissatisfied.

They wanted a good battle, not a one-shot knockout.

Bao Zhi paid his respects and left the stage as if nothing happened.

"I'm very close to refining the Primeval Elder Gu!" - He evaluated his progress as he sat back down.

The students around Bao Zhi looked at him strangely, but their attention was soon attracted by teacher Tao's announcement of the next match.

...

A few hours passed by.

The first round has come to its end. Half of the students were out of the tournament. The ones who progressed were resting before the second round.

Everyone was discussing the results.

"I wonder who can match up to Su Kang. His match was really something."

"I doubt he could beat Zhao Min."

"That might be true, we couldn't see. Zhao Min did not show his full strength in his first match."

"Some of the matchups are really unfortunate. Like that guy, I don't remember his name, who straight up fainted at the first hit."

"The second round will be definitely more interesting to watch!"

"I'm already out, but I will stay till the finals!"

Those students with injuries were cared for in this brief resting period. The rest of them only had to replenish their essence before being ready to continue.

Some had given up as their condition needed more time to recover or felt like winning the first round was enough for them.

Yu Lingxin was in the latter group. She was clear about her own abilities and didn't feel like relying on a lucky matchup again.

She went to find Jin Ju and discovered he was bedridden.

Jin Ju was silent for a while before he spoke.

"Aren't I pathetic?" - He shook his head, not meeting Yu Lingxin's gaze.

Yu Lingxin wanted to comfort him but did not know what to say.

The silence was only broken by Su Kang's screaming next door.

"At least you didn't end up like the other guy." - She consoled Jin Ju.

Jin Ju let out a dry laugh.

"When I came by, I heard the healing gu master tell him, that he has to be careful not to overexert his aperture in the future."

It was true.

Who was the one who ended up worse?

It was Su Kang.

"What did you do to him?" - She couldn't help but be curious.

Jin Ju smiled helplessly. He couldn't spill his technique just casually.

"I learned it from an inheritance. But look at me, I still lost."

"I cultivated diligently! Not skipping a single day! Yet..." - His eyes became watery as he spilled his heart to Yu Lingxin.

Yu Lingxin was touched by Jin Ju's emotional state.

"You are too hard on yourself. I think you already did better than most. I couldn't win against you." - She encouraged him.

Jin Ju was silent.

"You should focus on your recovery. If you're still sick, I will come to visit you tomorrow." - She said jokingly and bid him farewell.

Jin Ju waved her goodbye.

...

Teacher Tao: "Get ready! The second round is beginning now."

The matches continued in full force one after another.

The upcoming match was a highly anticipated match.

Zhao Min was taking the stage now!

As he arrived on the stage, he had a confused expression. Where was his opponent?

Just as teacher Tao was about to call again, the person in question finally showed himself.

"Su Kang, I was afraid you wouldn't show up." - Zhao Min was reassured when he saw his opponent enter the stage.

* * * * *