Volume 1, Chapter 114 – Yuan Shan

After everyone placed their bets and the wagers were closed, they all returned to the edge of the arena, watching the two people on stage and commenting away.

“Yuan Guanhai is at the peak of the eighth stage of the Innate Realm, while the one who just went up is only at the seventh stage of the Innate Realm. There’s no suspense at all in this bout.”

“Hard to say. Who knows if this girl is hiding some powerful artifact.”

“Artifact? You think Yuan Guanhai doesn’t have one? The Purple Cloud Mace he used in the first two rounds is a top-grade artifact.”

“No one who fought Yuan Guanhai in the first two rounds walked off the stage on their own. This girl is probably in for a world of trouble.”

“What a waste of such a good talent.”

The scholar who had placed a heavy bet listened to the whispers at his ear, his heart turning ice-cold, and could only sigh over how muddle-headed he’d been.

Gu Rentong returned to his original spot, looking completely at ease as he stood there with his eyes closed, resting his spirit.

…

After Elder Xin finished explaining the rules of the match, he looked over at Shi Lan and Yuan Guanhai.

“Do either of you have any objections to the rules?”

Shi Lan and Yuan Guanhai both shook their heads.

“In that case, the match begins!”

Once Elder Xin finished speaking, he stepped back, crossing several dozen zhang in a single stride to land at the edge of the arena.

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Yuan Guanhai fixed his gaze on Shi Lan and gave a playful, lewd smile. “I won’t give you the chance to admit defeat…”

Before the words left his mouth, Yuan Guanhai felt his vision blur. A small, pale fist wrapped in a massive, light-golden fist aura came straight for his face, filling his entire field of view!

Yuan Guanhai’s expression changed drastically. The golden fist aura was already in front of him. He had no time to dodge and could only forcefully rouse his true qi, lifting both arms to shield his face.

Bang!

With a thunderous boom, Yuan Guanhai’s body was hurled backward, sliding tens of zhang before he barely managed to stop at the very edge of the arena.

Every bone in Yuan Guanhai’s body trembled violently. His arms, which he’d raised to shield himself, dropped limply. The tip of his nose flushed red, and two streams of bright blood slowly dripped down.

Shi Lan withdrew her hand, her face expressionless. She couldn’t be bothered to waste words on the man in front of her.

“Such a hot temper. Don’t rush, we’ve got plenty of time to play slowly…” Yuan Guanhai wiped away the blood with a raised hand, a cruel grin appearing on his face. The aura of the eighth stage of the Innate Realm around him suddenly surged, leaping up a whole level into the ninth stage of the Innate Realm.

A spark of spiritual light leaped out and condensed into a purple jade mace about four feet long, landing in Yuan Guanhai’s hand.

“Today, I’ll let you see…”

Before Yuan Guanhai could finish speaking, Shi Lan’s figure disappeared from in front of his eyes again. An instant later, he felt his jaw clamp tight as two slender, tender fingers like bamboo shoots pinched down hard on his lower jaw.

Crack! With a crisp sound, those fingers suddenly exerted force, and in the span of a breath they ground his jawbone to pieces.

“Mmm… urgh… gah…” Yuan Guanhai let out a series of muffled roars. The jade mace in his hand lifted as his qi surged, bringing with it a shrill whistling as it lashed toward Shi Lan!

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Boom!

Before Yuan Guanhai’s jade mace could land, Shi Lan had already slipped into his arms. Her hips and waist tightened, all the strength in her body condensing to a single point as her right shoulder, like a mountain crashing down, slammed hard into his chest!

A series of cracking bones rang out. Yuan Guanhai’s chest caved in at once as he spat out a mouthful of blood and was sent flying off the arena. Before he could even hit the ground, Shi Lan had already moved ahead of him, arriving in front of him and raising her leg to kick him back onto the arena.

“Thud—”

The arena forged of black iron was smashed into a shallow pit. The jade mace in Yuan Guanhai’s hand had long since flown away, landing beneath the stage.

Shi Lan landed back on the arena and gave Yuan Guanhai not the slightest chance to catch his breath. Her fists and feet came down like a sudden rainstorm.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

For a time, the only sounds on the arena were the dull thuds of blows landing on flesh.

What Yuan Guanhai had said earlier matched Shi Lan’s own thoughts exactly. She had never planned to give him the chance to admit defeat.

All around the arena, there was dead silence. The scene before them was the complete opposite of what everyone had expected.

Yuan Guanhai curled up on the arena, his hands and feet protecting his vital spots, completely unable to move. Every time he tried to rouse his true qi to fight back, Shi Lan’s fists and feet would land at just the right time, scattering whatever true qi he managed to gather.

He wanted to open his mouth and concede, but with his jaw ruined he couldn’t force out even half a word.

Standing at the edge of the arena, Elder Xin’s eye twitched. That little girl who looked so easy to feel protective toward, once she started fighting she was even more ferocious than a man.

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Gu Rentong also stood at the edge of the arena, watching Shi Lan’s blows, feeling a bit shocked as well.

Elder Xin had no intention whatsoever of stepping in to halt the match. Although Yuan Guanhai no longer had any strength to fight back, he could see that Shi Lan’s control over the strength of each punch and kick was just right. They were nothing more than flesh wounds and would not endanger Yuan Guanhai’s life.

On top of that, he hadn’t been very fond of some of Yuan Guanhai’s actions in the first two rounds of the tournament, so when it came to Shi Lan’s actions, he naturally chose to turn a blind eye.

“Do not harm my son!” A furious shout suddenly rang out from outside the arena.

Shi Lan, in the middle of throwing a punch, suddenly felt killing intent lock onto her. A chill ran through her whole body.

A figure charged onto the arena, drawing out a long rainbow as he shot straight toward Shi Lan.

Before that figure could get close to Shi Lan, Elder Xin had already intercepted him. At the same time, several more purple-robed figures landed on the arena.

“Yuan Shan, this isn’t your first time attending the martial meet. Do you really not understand the consequences of interfering in an arena match without permission?” Elder Xin’s voice was icy, his gaze as sharp as a blade.

The one who’d rushed onto the arena was a man of medium build who looked to be in his early forties, his features bearing some resemblance to the prone Yuan Guanhai.

At Elder Xin’s words, the anger on Yuan Shan’s face vanished without a trace as cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He hurriedly admitted his fault. “I was only acting out of fatherly concern. I hope the elders can forgive me…”

“Get down!”

Elder Xin flicked his sleeve, and Yuan Shan was struck by an invisible force, instantly knocked off the arena.

“That’s enough.” Having done all this, Elder Xin turned around and gave Shi Lan a mild reminder.

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Shi Lan shook out her hand, flicking away a few strands of blood she’d accidentally gotten on her. She was just about to speak when she felt that same killing intent lock onto her once more.

Following the trail of that killing intent, she saw Yuan Shan’s face as dark as water. Shi Lan gave a cold, mocking smile, slowly lifted her foot, set it on Yuan Guanhai’s legs, and then, without the slightest hesitation, stomped down hard.

“Crack—”

“Aaagh—”

Yuan Guanhai, who had been feigning death on the ground, suddenly widened his eyes and let out a howl of pain before rolling his eyes back and fainting dead away.

“You!”

Faced with such blatant provocation, Yuan Shan clenched his hand, the killing intent in his eyes growing even stronger. Yet there was nothing he could do to Shi Lan right now, so he could only look toward Gu Rentong, who was standing at the side of the arena.

Gu Rentong kept his eyes half-lowered, as if meditating, looking for all the world like he was dozing off, completely ignoring Yuan Shan’s gaze.

Such an attitude nearly made Yuan Shan cough up blood in fury.

“The match is over. Shi Lan of Gufeng City is the victor.” Seeing that Yuan Guanhai had fainted, Elder Xin stepped forward, announced the result, and then looked toward Yuan Shan.

“For interfering in an arena match without permission, Lingfeng City is henceforth banned from participating in the martial meet for the next ten years!”