“Fourth Uncle, how is the power of the Thousand Trickeries?”
Miss Lu asked.
“His Power?” The fourth Uncle grunted wryly and continued, “Lei Qianjue had reached enlightenment on the arctic tundra and gained the ability of the Thousand Trickeries. He had been invincible ever since.”
Rumor had it that he had shredded a polar bear that weighed a few hundred pounds into pieces with a wave of a hand.
“So… Is that boy in big trouble now?” Miss Lu paused. She covered her mouth to suppress a cry.
“Even if Lin Hu didn’t use the Thousand Trickeries, the boy was no match against him nonetheless.” Fourth Uncle shook his head and said.
In the eyes of Fourth Uncle, Lin Hu had already reached the precipice of Internal Force cultivation. Even if he was facing a Transcendent Master, he should be able to escape unharmed. Judging by Chen Fan’s appearance, Fourth Uncle was convinced that the boy had never undergone martial artist training. Even if he were a powerful caster, he would be no match against a martial artist in close range.
Despite spellcasters’ unimaginable power, they needed to play their ability in the right circumstances. In a close quarters tournament stage such as this, the casters were in a severe disadvantage since the martial artist would be able to take the initiative and finish off the caster before the latter had a chance to unleash his or her power.
Therefore, Fourth Uncle was convinced that Master Chen was going to lose the fight.
Fourth Uncle was not alone, as his worry was shared by all the bosses that sat around the table. The difference between Lin Hu and Chen Fan was unbridgeable. One was a renowned fighter overseas, and in China, the other was a no account.
They watched as Chen Fan waved a hand and drew all those deadly stringy energies into his arms as easily as a professional noodle maker would to flours.
“Impossible!”
Lin Hu’s face darkened.
The energy inside the Thousand Trickeries was highly concentrated Internal Force and lacked any physical substance. Therefore, it was impossible to be drawn into Chen Fan’s arm.
“I have already told you, you haven’t seen real martial arts yet.”
Chen Fan moved his hands about before his chest as if he was holding a giant ball.
“Humph! What you used is not martial arts; it was just a spell!” Lin Hu was still in denial. He granted and decided to ditch the Thousand Trickeries and use one of his most powerful abilities instead.
Suddenly, Lin Hu snarled at Chen Fan, and his frame increased in size again. As his body grew bigger, his muscle also increased in volume. Without any warning, he charged out and slid past Chen Fan. With an abrupt about-turn of his body, he hurled a fist at the back of Chen Fan ‘s head.
The fist traveled at lightning speed and boomed in the air as a fighter jet would. The execution of the punch was the epitome of the Internal Force’s deadliness.
“Ah!”
Chen Fan heaved a sigh. He turned around, raised both hands, and bore down onto his opponent.
Chen Fan’s move seemed ordinary. However, Lin Hu’s face paled at the sight of the incoming attack. He could feel the immeasurable power carried by Chen Fan’s strike. It was as if a powerful immortal had lifted the Pillar of the World above his head. He knew right away that he should avoid a direct impact.
“Sh*t!”
Lin Hu was startled by the power of the blow; he was forced to retreat his punch to defend himself.
Even as everyone was wondering why Lin Hu wouldn’t finish his opponent off, they watched as Chen Fan pressed one hand on the ground.
“Kaboom!”
It sounded like a meteor striking the earth, and the loud din was followed by a shock wave.
The earth trembled, and many audience members were tossed out of their chairs by the shock wave, A large crack appeared on the stage, originating from where Chen Fan’s fist had landed.
“Is this real Martial Arts?”
Lin Hu, Fourth Uncle, and Master Gu were all stunned by the display of power.
Nothing seemed to make sense. The Thousand Trickeries was Lei Qianjue’s most famous art, yet it was countered easily. Furthermore, Chen Fan was supposed to be a spellcaster, but not a martial artist. Where did he learn such a belligerent and mighty fist technique?
Although his punches appeared to carry a measure of levity, its blows were as heavy as a mountain. There was no doubt that such power was beyond the ability of a mortal.
Lin Hu’s mind reeled after seeing the development.
Master Chen was not a spellcaster, but a Martial Artist, a mighty one while at it. Chen Fan’s physical strength and inner force cultivation were not any less powerful than his. He wagered that even his teacher, Lei Qianjue could not defeat the boy without struggling, much less him.
“What should I do now?”
Lin Hu hesitated.
Chen Fan opened his arms abrupted like a crane stretching its wings
“The second From, Humble Cloud Hand.”
“Shit! That’s enough!”
By then, Lin Hu had lost all appetite for fighting, so he retreated. Even as he pulled back. Chen Fan waved both hands in front of him and caught up with Lin Hu in a heartbeat
“That’s impossible!”
Anger and fear spurred Lin Hu to attack again as he threw one last punch at Chen Fan.
This punch was his coup de grace as he had channeled all of his Internal Force into his fist. It would be able to crush a granite boulder much less human flesh.
Chen Fan’s counter-attack seemed almost lazy. He swept his finger gently across the air and reached Lin Hu’s chest.
“AHRR!”
Lin Hu shouted, and his attack was halted cold in its tracks.
Lin Hu stumbled but managed to stand up. When everyone had seen the damage done by Chen Fan, they gasped.
On Lin Hu’s body was a large wound that opened up his chest. The wound was so deep that one could see the white rib bones.
Chen Fan was able to devastate his opponent with only a gentle sweep of fingers. If he had used a fist or a palm strike, Lin Hu might as well be dead by now.
“He is too powerful.
“Pull back; I need to get out of here.”
Lin Hu could only think of escaping; time is running out. Ever since he became a martial artist, he had never met anyone this powerful. Let it be the Sky Hammer or the Humble Cloud hand; he could not withstand the power in either of them.
Desperate, he channeled out his last remaining energy and started the water walking secret art to help him run away.
He turned on his heels and ran toward the lake.
Lin Hu’s plan was simple: get to the lake first. If Chen Fan happened to be able to walk on water as well, he would have to deal with him then. But now, the lake was his only hope.
In a blink, Lin Hu had arrived at the lakeshore, and when one of his feet touched the water surface, he nearly let out a sigh of relief. However, a booming voice came from behind.
“Third form: Void Dimension Shockwave!”
Everyone watched as Chen Fan closed his fingers, and with a great measure of levity, he threw a punch at the air. His movement seemed almost lazy.
No one felt anything after Chen Fan’s punch; not even the air was stirred.
However, far away from the stage, Lin Hu’s body trembled, and his back was dealt a blow. The force in the blow rippled through his body from the back as a fist-sized relief suddenly burgeoned on Lin Hu’s chest. He wished to take another step, but his feet were too heavy. After a few seconds, Lin Hu finally collapsed to the ground.
Chen Fan had dealt a solid blow to his opponent at a few dozen paces.
“The Hundred Paces Fist of Immortals?”
Fourth Uncle gasped as he jumped out of his seat.
This was the staple technique of a Transcendent Master! None of the previous techniques, let it the Thousand Trickeries or the Sky Hammer, had directly unleashed the Internal Force without any aid like the Chen Fan’s last attack. Therefore, only the last blow was the true indicator of Chen Fan’s power.
Only a Transcendent Master could kill from a hundred paces away, and he could do it as quietly as a ghost.
Lin Hu managed to push himself to his feet, trembling. He smiled wryly and asked:
“What kind of technique is it call?”
“The first three forms of the True Martial Thirty-Six Forms.”
Chen Fan gathered himself and said lightly, “I have prepared seven forms thinking that I will fight your teacher. What a shame that I couldn’t show you the rest four I have prepared. ”
“Hehe, the True Martial Thirty-Six Forms? Is it an art of the Immortals?” Lin Hu’s voice was waning.
“I have been wrong from the outset. How could I fail to see that Master Chen was a Grand Master of Martial Arts? I thank you for opening my eyes to the real power…”
Lin Hu’s feeble voice faded, and he collapsed to the ground again. This time, he didn’t get up.
A renowned fighter and businessman, the confidant and disciple of Lei Qianjue was finally defeated.
Chen Fan linked his hands behind his back and asked lightly:
“Is there anyone else that wants to try me?”
The field suddenly became pin-drop quiet.
The audience and businessmen alike kept their silence.
Chen Fan had pulled the rug from under everyone by defeating Lin Hu in less than ten minutes. However powerful and mighty was Lin Hu, he was no match against Chen Fan’s god-like abilities.
Chen Fan’s power didn’t belong to a mortal.
Chen Fan’s casualness and levity had also added into the theatrical effect when he defeated Lin Hu — making his power all the more terrifying to the audience.
Yang Li and the people around her gaped at Chen Fan incredulously.
A’Xiu covered her mouth and looked at the stage with joy and disbelief.
Miss Lu was shocked by the development. This was the first time she had misjudged the power of a fighter. She felt ashamed for being shortsighted at the beginning of the match.
Brother Zhang’s eyes were filled with regret as he lamented his foolish thoughts earlier.
Xin Zhong collapsed in his chair, and despair was written all over his face. If Master Chen were able to defeat his champion, he could dominate the stage for the rest of the event.
A broad smile broke over Zhou Tianhao’s face. He hadn’t felt so relieved for a long time.
“Master Chen… Master Chen Fan
“No wonder you didn’t listen to Master Gu’s warning.”
“If I were you, I wouldn’t care for money nor power either. As you said, you can overcome any problem with a sweep of your blade. I didn’t believe you, but now I do.”
Xu Ao watched the boy and recalled their conversation by the Yan Gui Lake. He had thought the boy was unbearably arrogant; now the joke was on him.
He knew from that moment that the boy was going to be a dominating figure in the entire Jiang Bei region if not in the Hu Dong Province.
Most importantly of all, Xu Ao could stop hoping that he could bend the boy’s will to work for him.
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