That point was the weakest node, the very spot where Qin Feng had just attempted to circulate the Mental Power-Spiritual Energy Aggregation!
BUZZ!
A peculiar vibrating force traveled from that point, instantly spreading through Qin Feng’s entire Long Spear.
Qin Feng felt the web of his thumb go numb as a clever, irresistible force struck him. The Alloy Long Spear in his hand flew from his grasp, tracing an arc through the air before landing with a CLANG at the far end of the ring.
The battle was over.
From start to finish, it had taken thirty-two seconds.
Qin Feng looked at his own empty hands, then at Wan Kun, who stood with his staff, still holding the posture of his last move. A wry smile touched his lips.
He had lost, cleanly and decisively.
"Brother Qin Feng, your strength is terrifying!"
However, what surprised Qin Feng was that after winning and retracting his staff, Wan Kun showed no trace of smugness. Instead, his face was filled with utter shock and astonishment.
He strode over to Qin Feng and praised him sincerely, "I thought that with the advantage of my Fourth-level Killing Technique at the Minor Achievement Realm, I’d be able to beat you within ten exchanges. I never expected you to rely on your absurdly powerful body and your Grandmaster Level fundamentals to close the gap between our killing techniques by so much!"
Wan Kun shook his head, filled with emotion. "A Fourth-level Killing Technique doesn’t just create a gap in skill. At our level, whose fundamentals haven’t been honed to perfection? It brings an all-encompassing advantage in pure explosive power, destructive force, and speed! For you to fight me to this extent without even an entry-level killing technique... your physical body is simply... terrifying!"
"Senior Brother Wan, I’m the one who lost."
Qin Feng retrieved his Long Spear and said, half-laughing and half-exasperated, "Your staff techniques are sharp and unpredictable. I am no match for you."
"Bah, that’s only because you haven’t even learned a killing technique yet!"
Wan Kun waved his hand emphatically. He looked at Qin Feng, his eyes full of anticipation. "Once you learn a Fourth-level Killing Technique, your Combat Power will become absolutely terrifying! For today, just consider me a temporary whetstone on your path of the Martial Dao!"
He laughed heartily and slapped his chest. "I, Wan Kun, rank somewhere in the upper-middle tier among the tens of thousands of Sixth-level Martial Artists in the entire Fearless Warband. You lost to me today, but I’ll be waiting for the day you defeat me! And I believe that day is not far off!"
"Alright!"
Qin Feng looked at this forthright and open-minded senior brother, nodded solemnly, and replied with a smile.
Though he had lost this battle, it gave him the most direct and profound understanding of how Sixth-level Martial Artists fought and of the terrifying power of a Fourth-level Killing Technique.
As Qin Feng and Wan Kun stepped down from the ring, the long-suppressed murmurs from the crowd finally erupted like a bursting dam.
The brief yet incredibly spectacular duel had delivered a massive visual and psychological shock to all the spectators.
"Whether it’s Qin Feng or Senior Brother Wan, they’re both monstrously strong!"
A newly promoted Sixth-level Martial Artist murmured to himself, the shock still visible on his face.
"What do you know!"
A more senior student beside him shot him a look as if he were a country bumpkin, his voice filled with awe. "Qin Feng is the one who’s truly strong! His physical body is genuinely terrifying!"
"That’s right!"
Another person immediately chimed in, "We all know Senior Brother Wan’s strength. His Fourth-level Killing Technique, the Sea Covering Staff, has long since reached the Minor Achievement Realm. Among his peers in the entire Warband, he’s easily in the upper-middle ranks! Logically, when fighting a newcomer who just broke through and hasn’t even begun learning a Fourth-level Killing Technique—even one with Top-grade Primordial Acupoints—it should have been a complete walkover!"
"But what happened? Qin Feng actually held on for a full thirty-two seconds! Did you all see that? He relied on his freakishly powerful physical potential and terrifyingly solid fundamentals to forcibly compensate for the huge disadvantage in killing technique level!"
"Hiss— If you put it that way... just how terrifying is Qin Feng’s foundation?"
"He’s truly worthy of the name ’Qin Beast’... they weren’t wrong to call him that. A Starry Sky Giant Beast in human skin—his reputation is well-deserved!"
The stream of discussions and exclamations of awe clearly reached Qin Feng’s ears.
But he just smiled at it all, not taking any of it to heart.
The praise or criticism of others could no longer shake his rock-solid Martial Arts Heart.
He was more concerned with the shortcomings he had revealed in the fight and his newfound understanding of the power of a Fourth-level Killing Technique.
Just then, three familiar figures made their way through the chattering crowd and appeared before him.
It was Dragon Jade, Nissan, and Ning Jing.
"We just got here and saw you stepping down from the ring."
Dragon Jade had a gentle smile on his face. He glanced at Wan Kun, who was bragging about the fight to his friends a short distance away, and asked curiously, "So, what was the result of your spar with Senior Brother Wan?"
Qin Feng smiled openly, held up three fingers, and made a small gesture. "A loss. I lasted thirty-two seconds."
"Tsk, lasting thirty-two seconds against Wan Kun is already damn impressive."
Unexpectedly, upon hearing the result, Ning Jing—who was known for being picky and having high standards—was the first to let out a heartfelt sigh of admiration.
He looked at Qin Feng with a complex expression, one of a fellow sufferer. "After my last breakthrough, I excitedly challenged Senior Brother Wan to a fight, too. In the end, I only lasted three seconds before he knocked me off the ring with one swing of his staff. It’s infuriating when you start comparing yourself to others."