Zen dashed forward. Once he got to Chen Jian, they began another furious bout. Because of their exhaustion, their attacks were sloppy and their defenses had holes in them. They only committed ki to attacks they thought would be difficult to block. And so, each boy was able to find openings in the other, occasionally landing a few kicks and punches.

City Lord Xu leaned forward in interest. “This is about to end. It’s the last stretch of the fight.”

“Chen Jian is going to win.” Xu Hua said.

“Perhaps,” her father answered. “Seems his earlier magic is gone. Let’s see what your boy can do without that strange monstrous power he showed earlier.”

Zen was putting his all into it. His muscles burned and ached, his injuries cried for a soft bed but he continued fighting, continued throwing punches and kicks. He had made a promise to himself that he would not lose, not to Chen Jian, not now.

One of his punches landed on Chen Jian’s cheek. Jian stayed strong, straightening his hand and thrusting it towards Zen.

Zen’s eyes widened in confusion and disbelief. He had seen this kind of move before with this kind of ki, but Jian can’t know the move. He brought his forearm forward to block the palm strike.

“Pulsing Palm!” Jian shouted.

The first pulse hit but it was easy for Zen to block but he knew more would come. Zen shuffled back and crossed his arms before him to block the second pulse.

His horror was confirmed. The move was indeed Pulsing Palm, Xue Shaonu’s signature move. Upon landing, it would deliver follow up pulses after the first, each one stronger than the last. He wondered how Jian had learned it!

A third pulse hit, sending him sliding back a bit, but he kept his guard up.

Zen knew Xue Shaonu had learned to make five pulses. He heavily doubted that Chen Jian could push it to that extend, which he was thankful for, for his defence could not handle ano…

Another pulse exploded out, throwing his arms wide and breaking his guard.

Zen’s eyes widened as he could feel the pulse energy move to his chest.

The pulse exploded over his heart. It knocked the air out of his lungs and rattled his bone as he wwas swept off his feet by the hit.

Zen kept this move in mind. Seems his matches Xue Shaonu, all he had to do now was avoid getting hit by it next time. For now, he had to recover from the current hit, land safely and then he can mount a counter at…

A sixth pulse hit. This shocked Zen, as well as sending her flipping chaotically through the air.

SIX! Not only had he learned Xue Shaonu’s technique, he had surpassed her skill in using it! His hate grew as to his shock, a seventh pulse hit him again, straightening his path through the air and sending him crashing onto the tiled floor of the ring where he continued to roll.

Zen was able to exercise some control over his roll. He scraped the ground with his hands, desperately trying to stop his momentum before he slid out of the ring. His legs and most of his lower body slid over the edge before he stopped.

The main referee ran around the ring to check if any of his body parts had touched the ground.

The tip of Zen’s toes were a few millimetres from the ground.

Zen used his arms to crawl forward back onto the ring. He got to his feet, glaring at Chen Jian.

Jao Cong looked at Xue Shaonu in surprise.

She kept her head and sight straight at the ring, avoiding any eye contact.

“Th-That was your move?” Jao Cong said. “Pulsing Palm. You taught him?”

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

She stiffly nodded, as if she did not want to admit it. “I had reached a road block with Pulsing Palm. I could not get it to reach 3 pulses. Chen Jian came to me with an offer. If I could teach him Pulsing Palm, he could teach me how to extend it. I took him up on his offer and a month later, he came back and showed me how to improve it. He did in one month what I spent the better part of 2 years trying to figure out.”

Chen Jian laughed under Zen’s glare.

“Are you mad?” he said. “Is it because I know Pulsing Palm.”

“How did you figure it out.”

“Oh come now, sounds like you’re in denial. I didn’t figure it out, Xue Shaonu taught me.” Jian laughed again at the angry look Zen gave him. “It must hurt, huh? The fact that she taught me a technique that only her family members know. That’s how close we are and always have been. She views me as an equal, worthy of her secrets, while you… you’re nothing more than a goofball that she always has to bail out.”

Zen’s anger grew to a boiling point. He sent out thick waves of killing intent. He rushed for Jian, shouting as he did.

Jian elegantly danced around Zen’s attacks, making his own counters as Zen failed. Numerous of times, Zen was put on the ground only to get up again and be painfully put on the ground. His anger and killing intent only grew ever more intense as Jian laughed at his attempts to hurt him.

Jao Cong looked at the fight in despair.

“Well, that’s unfortunate.” Ao Li said. “Zen has lost control. His taking more damage than he can handle. He’ll probably make a mistake even he can’t out tough.”

“Yes but it was a good match.” Deng Ai offered in console.

“No,” Jao Cong said sadly under his breath.

Zen threw a punch. Jian leaned his head to the side as the punch sailed past him. He kneed Zen’s rib and flipped him over his shoulder whenre Zen landed on his back. Zen rolled to his feet in anger and charged forward into a punch which sent him staggering. Jian finished it off with a kick, sending him flying.

Zen laid on the ground for a moment, his killing intent vanishing.

The referee began counting…

Zen leapt to his feet. He dashed forward, screaming, as killing intent rose again. His attacks once again were reckless once again. Jian easily dodged them and aimed his counter attacks. In his angry attacks he left himself open.

Jian saw the opportunity to end the fight right there. Jian raised his palm and thrust it down towards Zen’s face. “Pulsing Palm!”

Zen twisted around, dodging the blow and striking Jian with his own counter attack. “Dazzling Jab!”

Zen;s hit found it mark on Jian’s face. Zen then delivered an upper cut that sent Jian airborne. “Blitz PUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNCH!”

Zen leapt up and delivered an extended Blitz Punch, that lasted more than one second. Jian was punched further up to the air, his body being throttled with 100 punches, 200, 300…

When Zen felt his arms start to give up, he stopped the technique and grabbed Jian. “Now, go away, you bastard!” He spun around, still holding Jian firmly, and slammed him into the ground, head first.

Zen landed, his breathing was short and ragged. He had done it. Jian’s body twitched for a moment, with his legs in the air and his head on the ground. Then he tipped over like a felled tree.

The referee began counting.

“1, 2, 3, 4, …”

To everyone’s amazement, Jian began to rise.

“5, 6, 7, 8…”

Zen was hoping that he would not get up in time.

“…9…”

Jian made it to his feet, breaking the count.

“You bastard, you pretended to still be angry and lured me into making that attack. That-that almost killed me.” Jian said in utter shock. “If it wasn’t for…” Jian glared at Zen. “I’ve had enough of this!” A killing intent was beginning to rise from Chen Jian. “Well done, Wang Zen. You have forced me to use my most powerful technique. Remember it well, because it is the last technique you will see!”

A massive amount of ki began rising from Chen Jian.

Zen looked at Jian. He was too exhausted to even feel fear at the massive amount of pure white ki he was gathering. His arms were numb and swore, making them hard to move.

“Oh well,” Zen said. “I’ve been practicing this for a while. So I might as well use it now. My most powerful technique!”

Zen also began gathering his ki of a darker white.

Jian’s massive ki formed the upper body of a humanoid, in the humanoid’s left arm, was a round shield and in his left, a sword.

Everyone gasped when they saw this. Not that Zen had noticed, he was too focussed on tasking down the boy who had cloaked himself in the technique.

Zen leapt in the air. “This will be the last time you stand in my way, you bastard!” Zen shouted as the ki around his body began talking shaper the higher in the air he got. His upward movement suddenly stopped. “Meteor Kick!”

“Phantasm Figure!” Jian shouted.

Zen’s trajectory towards Zen looked like a streaking meteor, made of ki. Jian swiped his left hand and the humanoid brought its shield out front to collide with Zen’s attack. Zen’s attack landed on the shield…

The shield was obliterated, along with the arm and shoulder that had been holding it. But just as part of the humanoid had dissipated, so had Zen’s Meteor Kick, leaving him in the air with all his ki having been spent. However, the figure still had half of its form intact, with sword!

Jian swung his hand down and the figure also brought the sword down! It slammed into Zen and sent him crashing into the barrier that separated the ring ground from the seats in the stadium.

Jian lifted his arm back and the humanoid figure did the same, drawing its sword back, ready to thrust it forward.

“DIE!” Jian shouted as he thrust his arm forward and the sword did the same, aiming to pierce Zen. A few inches away from skewering Zen, Jian ran out of ki and the Phantasm Figure vanished.

Zen had already been knocked out. He could not stop himself as he fell forward and landed on the ground. A moment later, Jian, now fully out of ki, also lost consciousness and fell to the ground. However, that did not matter, as Zen was the first to fall, touching the ground outside of the ring, therefore, losing the match.