Chapter 221: Chapter 220: Defending the Ring, Another Victory

"One punch? He defeated Sun Yan in just a single punch?"

After a moment of dead silence, the square erupted with incredulous gasps. Countless eyes were filled with utter shock.

"Of course! Su Yu is at the Mid-stage of the Flesh Refining Realm! Sun Yan is a whole minor realm beneath him and still dared to attack? It’s like an ant trying to shake a tree. He was asking to die!"

"Sigh, what a shame for Sun Yan. He rose from the ashes, a true genius! But his luck ran out when he met a monster like Su Yu, who defies all logic!"

"How terrifying! Su Yu truly deserves the title of number one genius of Black Stone City’s younger generation!"

"’Number one genius? Isn’t that a bit of a bold claim?’ someone retorted jealously. ’Cui Wanhe and Dai Xing haven’t even fought yet! One is at the Late-stage of Flesh Refining, and the other is also at the Mid-stage. Their foundations are every bit as strong as Su Yu’s. Especially Cui Wanhe—he’s the one everyone acknowledges as the true number one!’"

"’That’s not a given. Su Yu is only twenty, after all—he’s younger than both of them! Give him a few more years to mature, and it’s not out of the question that he could catch up to or even surpass Cui Wanhe!’"

The disciples from the various martial arts halls argued heatedly, their faces flushed. While some still didn’t believe Su Yu could be considered the absolute number one, their gazes toward the straight-backed figure on the fighting stage were now, without a doubt, filled with deep reverence.

In the distance, the influential figures watching from the shaded pavilions had all shed their earlier disdain, firmly committing the name Su Yu to memory.

In the Thousand Mechanism Tower’s seating area, the eyes of Lu Guandu, the Silver Steward leading the delegation, lit up. He took out a gold-trimmed booklet, and his brush flew across the page as he quickly recorded a new entry:

"Black Stone City, Su Yu. Age: twenty. Realm: Mid-stage of Flesh Refining. Remarkable innate talent, overwhelmingly powerful physique. Shows potential to dominate opponents of a higher cultivation level. Eligible for evaluation for the Qing Province Martial Arts Potential Dragon Ranking!"

Meanwhile, in the pavilion of the Flying Fish Martial Arts Hall.

Ding Mianyue, who had once fought Su Yu during the Yuan Lantern Festival, was now staring at the stage, her beautiful eyes unblinking. When she saw Su Yu demolish Sun Yan with a single punch, a fierce battle intent instantly blazed within them.

"Father!" Ding Mianyue turned to the man beside her, Flying Fish Hall Master Ding Yi. "What did you make of the Qi and Blood Su Yu just revealed? Is he one of those types who forces his cultivation with pills, resulting in an unstable realm?"

Ding Yi stroked his long beard and shook his head, his expression solemn.

"From what I saw of his punch, his Qi and Blood is as dense as mercury; his foundation is frighteningly solid. It’s clear that Sun Yan was leagues below him. That one strike wasn’t even close to forcing him to use his true trump cards. Yue’Er, though you’ve also entered the Flesh Refining Realm, you are a minor realm beneath him. I’m afraid you are no match for him."

Hearing her father’s pronouncement, Ding Mianyue bit her lip, and the battle intent in her eyes finally melted into admiration. "Good, Su Yu. You didn’t disappoint me after all! ’But just you wait. I refuse to let you keep me suppressed. Sooner or later, I will defeat you with my own two hands!’"

...

On the high stage.

After taking out Sun Yan with a single punch, Su Yu didn’t turn to leave. Instead, he stood silently in the center of the stage, as still and straight as a pine tree.

’Since I’ve already made my move, I might as well see this through to the end. I’ll push my reputation and the hall’s to the absolute peak and seize a spot in that five-hall alliance!’

"Who else would like to offer their instruction? Please, step onto the stage!"

Propelled by his surging Qi and Blood, Su Yu’s clear voice carried across the entire square.

A hush fell over the crowd below. For the time it takes half an incense stick to burn, the vast square was utterly silent. No one dared to answer.

Was this a joke?

The image of Sun Yan defeating the genius from Canglan Martial Arts Hall was still vivid in their minds, and yet a fighter as strong as Sun Yan had been demolished by Su Yu in a single blow. Among the disciples of the younger generation, besides Cui Wanhe and Dai Xing, who wouldn’t just be serving themselves up for an easy defeat?

Seeing the situation devolve into an extremely awkward stalemate, the masters of the three major martial arts halls on the high platform exchanged a glance.

Then, Liu Cheng, the master of the Chasing Wind Martial Arts Hall, stroked his goatee. His clouded eyes narrowed slightly as he shot a meaningful glance toward his hall’s contingent below.

BOOM!

The next moment, a figure shot out from the ranks of the Chasing Wind Martial Arts Hall. Built like an incredibly stocky, ferocious bear, he landed heavily on the stage, causing the bluestone slabs to shudder and hum.

The newcomer was a man in his thirties, with an exceptionally burly build. On his back, he carried an eight-ridged steel warhammer with a head the size of a watermelon.

He brought his fist to his palm in a salute, his voice coarse as thunder. "Bai Zhang of the Chasing Wind Martial Arts Hall! Thirty-two years old, Mid-stage of the Flesh Refining Realm! I’ve come to witness Junior Su’s great skills!"

The moment he spoke, an uproar went through the crowd below.

"It’s Bai Zhang! I recognize him! In the Outer City Martial Examination over a decade ago, he swept aside all his peers with his Heaven-Shaking Hammer Technique and achieved the astonishing feat of placing in the top five!"

"Shameless! This man is a veteran expert who’s been famous for over a decade! Even though his realm is the same as Su Yu’s, he’s using the deeper foundation from years of extra cultivation to bully a junior!"

"’What’s so shameless about it? Hall Master Hong said it himself: as long as they’re in the same realm, veterans can take the stage! It’s obvious the three major martial arts halls are determined to crush Su Yu!’"

"Sigh, what a shame. It seems the White Ape Martial Arts Hall’s ambition to claim a spot in the alliance is as difficult as ascending to the heavens."

Listening to the discussions below, the referee, Ye Xiaohong, remained expressionless. He simply announced in a perfunctory, deep voice, "Both combatants have been named. Let the match begin!"

"Heaven-Shaking Hammer!"

Bai Zhang didn’t dare hold anything back; he went all out from the very beginning.

He gripped the incredibly heavy, eight-ridged warhammer with both hands and began to swing it wildly above his head like a deadly pinwheel. Wreathed in ferocious Ming Jin, the hammer let out a hair-raising shriek as it cut through the air, creating a veritable hurricane on the stage.

Such terrifying power made the martial arts hall disciples closest to the stage feel their breath catch in their chests, and the gale it produced forced them to stumble backward.

"As expected of a veteran expert! The density of Bai Zhang’s Qi and Blood places him at the very peak of the Mid-stage of the Flesh Refining Realm!"

A sharp-eyed old martial artist couldn’t help but exclaim in amazement, "Judging by the way he’s channeling his power, he’s likely already opened his Gaohuang and Pohu acupoints. He’s just a single step away from breaking through the Double Dragon Pass and stepping into the Late-stage of the Flesh Refining Realm!"

"Su Yu is in danger! No matter how much of a prodigy he is, he only just reached the mid-stage. How can he possibly block a blow backed by a foundation built up over so many years?"

Before the crowd’s gasps of alarm had even faded,

on the stage, Bai Zhang had already used the terrifying momentum from swinging his hammer to close within ten feet of Su Yu.

"Get off the stage!"

Bai Zhang’s eyes were wide with fury. The steel warhammer, trailing a destructive wind, cast a vast shadow of death over Su Yu as it smashed down with the force of a collapsing mountain!

This one strike unleashed the full extent of his power at the Mid-stage of the Flesh Refining Realm. If it landed squarely, never mind a body of flesh and blood—even a small hill would be instantly pulverized!

However, faced with this devastatingly powerful strike,

Su Yu didn’t retreat a single step.

a brilliant light exploded in the depths of his eyes. His Dantian Qihai began to churn like a raging furnace. A torrent of Qi and Blood surged through the major tendons of his waist and legs, channeling with overwhelming force into his right shoulder.

"Ferocious Ape Cleaves the Mountain!"

A layer of icy Profound Silver Flow Armor instantly coated Su Yu’s right fist. Propelled by his forward momentum, his fist struck out. Though he moved second, his punch landed first. Like a bolt of lightning streaking toward the heavens, it shot brutally upward, straight into the path of the heavy warhammer!

’Is this kid insane? He’s trying to block a steel warhammer weighing over a hundred pounds with his bare fist?’

The thought had barely flashed through everyone’s mind.

BOOM!

Fist and hammer collided in mid-air!

A terrifying boom erupted, shaking the entire fighting stage.

A violent shockwave radiated out in a ring from the point of impact, raging across the stage. It bent the arm-thick flagpoles at the edge of the ring until they nearly snapped, the banners whipping wildly in the wind!

The expression on Bai Zhang’s face froze solid.

The scene he had imagined, of his hammer crushing Su Yu, did not happen. Instead, it felt as if he had smashed it against an immovable mountain. The immense rebounding force sent his eight-ridged warhammer flying high into the air.

The webbing between Bai Zhang’s thumb and forefinger instantly split open, spraying blood, and he nearly lost his grip on the warhammer.

What made him despair even more was the overwhelming Ming Jin that had drilled into his body and was now rampaging through his meridians.

In an instant, his own Qi and Blood was thrown into complete disarray by this tyrannical power. A sweet, coppery taste filled his throat as a mouthful of blood surged upward.

’Fuck! What the hell kind of monstrous power is this?’

Bai Zhang was horrified beyond belief. ’With a physical foundation like this, you’re telling me he’s only at the Mid-stage of the Flesh Refining Realm?’

’What right did that Sun Yan have to even be on the same stage as Su Yu?’

Just as Bai Zhang was gritting his teeth, desperately trying to regain his balance and swallow the blood rising in his throat,

Su Yu vanished from before him.

’Not good!’

As a battle-hardened veteran, Bai Zhang felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. An overwhelming sense of mortal danger instantly washed over him.

BANG!

Before he could make a single defensive move, an iron fist gleaming with a cold silver light slammed mercilessly into an opening at his ribs!

"PUFF!"

He felt as if he’d been struck by a primeval bull. The wisp of Qi and Blood he had just barely managed to gather was completely scattered, and he could no longer hold back the blood in his throat, spraying a mouthful of it into the air.

But before he could even recover from the excruciating pain, another, even more powerful fist was already hurtling toward his face.

"I surrender!"

The words burst from him, so fast that his voice cracked with panic.

Thankfully, the deadly fist stopped just inches from his face. The fierce wind it generated felt like a steel blade scraping across Bai Zhang’s cheeks, making his scalp tingle in fear.

A drop of cold sweat trickled down his forehead, landing on the white stone stage with a soft PAT that was shockingly audible in the dead silence.

Below the stage, the hundreds of Martial Artists were once again frozen on the spot like clay statues.

"Hey, am I seeing things? Did Bai Zhang actually lose?"

"You’re not seeing things. Not only did he lose, he didn’t even last three moves..."

"Damn, what a freak! Su Yu just crushed a veteran expert! He’s invincible! Unbeatable! Now *that’s* a true genius, a monster!"

The murmurs rose in a continuous wave as countless gazes, filled with a mixture of reverence and fanaticism, fixed upon Su Yu on the stage.

In the White Ape Martial Arts Hall’s seating area,

Lin Wanzhu gave a long, languid stretch, putting her heart-stopping, statuesque curves on full display. A smile played on her lips as her shimmering eyes watched the back of the figure on the stage.

’And this is just the beginning. The real surprises Ah Yu has in store for you all are yet to come. Just watch. This is what a true genius looks like!’

Beside her, Senior Sister Qin Yu was even more ecstatic, her eyes shining brightly.

She slammed her hand on the table and shot to her feet, her full chest rising and falling dramatically with her extreme excitement.

’Yes! Yes! Yes!’

’Junior Brother Su Yu, you’ve already become this powerful?’

’You truly are the peerless genius our White Ape Martial Arts Hall is so proud of!’

She recalled how just a few days ago, after Liu Yuan’er of the Liu Family had learned that Su Yu rejected their marriage alliance, she had dared to be insolent right to her face, mocking Su Yu as nothing but a country bumpkin with no foundation or resources, destined to be crushed under the feet of the true geniuses from Jian’an Prefecture.

Qin Yu took a deep breath, a feeling of immense satisfaction welling up inside her.

’Today, when news of this gets back to the Liu Family, she’ll see just how blind she really was!’