Chapter 304: Top 100 Challenge (2)
At the same time.
At the corner.
A few people clad in robes and hoods were gathered together, looking quite mysterious. Many people would be shocked to see their actual appearances. Some of them had horns on their heads, some had the heads of animals. Some had fur on their faces, some had sharp ears.
These were the myriad race students!
Looking at Wang Peng, one of them smiled, "Great Xia Cultural Research Academy, Top 100 Ranking...feels quite weak."
Quite weak.
Eighth-stage Great Strength Realm and Mental Tempering Stage were enough to grant one the combat prowess comparable to an Infinite Strength cultivator, but this person was really quite weak for the person who had just spoken.
Even though this was only a ranking for those below the Skysoar Realm, both Zheng Yunhui and Wang Peng did not seem too strong to them.
"Weak? Not really." One of them spoke fairly, "There are a lot of academies in the Human Realm. Just Great Xia alone has dozens of academies. And this ranking is only for those below 30, not for all humans. Don't forget that. As for the Top 100 Ranking, you only need to focus on the top 10. The ones behind are weaker, but that's normal."
"I heard all the top 10 students are strong enough to fight Skysoars. I wonder if that's true."
"If you search the entire Human Realm and gather the 100 strongest cultivators under 30, I believe all of them would be strong enough to fight Skysoars. Is this still weak?"
Immediately, the group sank into silence. Those capable of fighting Skysoars before reaching that realm were all freaks. That was applicable everywhere. And the human race would be able to easily gather a hundred of such cultivators if they wanted. Thus, the human race was definitely not weak.
After all, the human race was also a top 10 race. How could they be weak?
The Great Xia Cultural Research Academy was merely a single academy within the Human Realm.
"Do we challenge the ranking?"
"Wait longer. See if anyone with a higher ranking is fighting."
Nearby, two old men were yawning in boredom. These myriad race students were too careful. Why hadn’t they charged into the ring straight away? If they thought that the students in the ring were weak, they should go up there! They should force even the top 10 students to make a move. Only then would things be fun.
Things were too boring right now. Wait? What were they waiting for?
While they were talking.
A Cloudbreach referee appeared in the ring. After looking at the two students, he sternly said, "Zheng Yunhui, are you sure you want to challenge the student ranked 91st, Wang Peng?"
A referee would be provided for each challenge match.
Zheng Yunhui answered, "Of course."
"You may concede. You may also leave the ring to surrender. If you don't concede or leave the ring, the referee won't get involved unless your life is in danger. If you end up seriously injured, don't blame me for not reminding you before the fight."
Zheng Yunhui laughed, "If I can win, why would I concede? If I can't, of course I will concede."
The crowd gasped. Damn it. This guy was speaking those words so loudly. Could he feel no shame?
The first challenge of the month was about to start.
Right that moment, someone else appeared beside Su Yu. It was Xia Huyou. The moment the fatty arrived, he asked in excitement, "Su Yu, who do you think will win?"
"Zheng Yunhui, I guess." Su Yu smiled, "They are both eighth-stage Great Strength cultivators, but Zheng Yunhui is the descendant of a Mountainsea. I think he has a higher chance of winning."
"Is that so?" Xia Huyou grinned, "That would be great. If he wins, I can get a few hundred merit points as well..."
Su Yu looked at his friend. Was this fellow taking bets for this fight as well?
"Don't look at me like that. I'm not taking bets this time. The fight is too sudden. But someone else is taking bets so I placed my bet on Zheng Yunhui."
Su Yu nodded. He was also tempted. Should he place a bet? Forget it. He was afraid that the academy would come raiding again. If that happened, he would lose his entire bet. And he was already very poor at the moment.
"Su Yu, are you challenging the ranking today?"
Su Yu ignored the question. He looked around before asking, "Is Yang Sha here?"
"Yang Sha?"
"Teacher Liu's student. I heard he challenged the ranking once before? The ranking isn't full today so is he not going to try his luck?"
Xia Huyou was speechless. Incredible. Su Yu still remembered this student of Liu Hong.
"He's over there." Xia Huyou pointed at a student in the crowd and whispered, "Are you plotting against him?"
Su Yu smiled, "Why are you putting it like that? Am I that kind of person? Do me a favor. Go talk to him and try to provoke him. See if he's willing to fight me. It would be even better if you can make him challenge me. Make it look like I am forced to fight. Make him put a wager of several hundred merit points in the fight. You can get 10 percent of the profit. What do you say?"
Xia Huyou looked at Su Yu speechlessly. "Several hundred merit points? Do you think everyone in the academy is rich? But then again, this fellow is really quite rich. Sure. I'll try. Do you really want to fight him? Why are you only scheming against those from Liu Hong's side? Isn't that a tad bit too shameless?"
"..."
Su Yu stared at Xia Huyou. Shameless? That word sounded somewhat ironic coming from Xia Huyou's mouth. Xia Huyou was speechless. What was that look in Su Yu's eyes?
"Fine. I'll give it a try. I'm getting 10 percent? Deal!"
He then ran off. Su Yu tossed the matter out of his mind. As for whether Yang Sha would be provoked into challenging him, it really wasn't that important.
But the Top 100 Ranking...could really be quite useful for him. After all, there were some grottos in the academy that were only open for top 100 students. Since he had cultivated even a heaven-grade technique, he did not intend to stay low key any longer. When the time was right, he needed to properly showcase his ability.
While Su Yu was deep in thought, the fight began.
In the ring.
Zheng Yunhui might sound arrogant, but he was extremely careful during combat. The moment the referee announced the start of the match, Zheng Yunhui's body enlarged.
That was a unique technique of the Zheng Family. Su Yu did not know what technique it was, but he knew that Zheng Yunhui would grow much stronger after growing larger.
"Kill!"
With a roar, Zheng Yunhui unleashed a sound attack. At the same time, his murder character was sent into his saber.
One acupoint after another ignited.
His vitality soared.
His murderous intent and vitality mixed together to generate a ferocious momentum.
The moment the match started, Zheng Yunhui fought without holding anything back. His eyes widened as more murderous intent leaked out of his eyes.
His imposing presence pressed down upon his opponent. Momentum was very important prior to a battle. By seizing the upper hand in the clash of momentum, a third of the battle would already be won before the battle itself.
Wang Peng was also an experienced combatant. With a snort, a slender sword appeared in the air. It was a cultural weapon.
The sword shot forth, aiming straight for Zheng Yunhui's navel. That was the location of the Violet Palace acupoint.
Source Break!
But Zheng Yunhui appeared completely indifferent. He stomped on the ground and leaped into the air. Holding his saber with both hands, he raised it before swinging it down.
Wang Peng frowned and shifted to the side while maintaining control over his sword.
The sword changed direction and aimed for Zheng Yunhui's Violet Palace acupoint yet again. Wang Peng was very experienced in combat, so he was able to calculate where Zheng Yunhui would land after avoiding this attack. His body flickered as he reappeared near where he judged Zheng Yunhui would land and threw a punch out.
He was attacking before Zheng Yunhui had even arrived. According to his experience, Zheng Yunhui would avoid the sword and land right in the path of his punch. That punch of his would strike Zheng Yunhui's chest and even break a few bones.
"It's over."
At this point, Su Yu muttered regretfully. Why must he underestimate his opponent?
Zheng Yunhui was not some inexperienced new student. He was someone who had taken lives before. That was something Su Yu had sensed during his previous fight with Zheng Yunhui. This fellow was willing to be cruel toward himself in his pursuit of excellence. More importantly, this fellow also had a healing Divine Character.
Wang Peng's choice wasn’t exactly wrong, but he had still underestimated how cruel Zheng Yunhui was willing to be toward himself.
And sure enough, Su Yu was proven right. Immediately after Su Yu muttered those words, a look of disdain appeared in Zheng Yunhui's eyes.
Instead of fully avoiding the sword, he allowed it to stab him while moving just enough to ensure that it didn't hit any acupoint. Then, he trapped the sword with his muscles before bringing his saber down with only a slight frown, as if the sword was merely a toothpick stuck on his body.
He attacked with all his strength.
Wang Peng's punch hit nothing. His face fell as he hurriedly retreated, but it was too late.
His source qi erupted.
But the saber crashed through his defensive source qi with a rumble.
Numerous people exclaimed in shock.
The referee was about to get involved when he stopped. Zheng Yunhui was attacking with the back of the blade. In that case, there was no need for the referee to get involved.
A loud bang rang out.
The back of the blade landed on Wang Peng's left arm. With a loud crack, the arm was broken. Wang Peng himself was sent flying before crashing heavily on the ground. When his figure settled, everyone could see that his left arm was already dyed red with blood.
Even the back of the blade was enough to break his bones and mutilate his arm.
At that time, Zheng Yunhui also landed on the ground. He pulled the sword out of his belly and tossed it toward Wang Peng. Then, he curled his lips and said with disappointment, "91st place? Are you sure you're not 910th place instead? You're even weaker than Su Yu. I only need a single strike to take you down. Top 100? Hehehe."
His voice was filled with disdain. Was this guy trying to force him to avoid the stab from a tiny toothpick like that? What was this guy thinking? The sword couldn't even pierce through his skin completely before he stopped it with his muscles. Even if it did, the injury would still be a light one.
The wound on his belly was bleeding, but a layer of light appeared and covered it for a short instant before fading away, revealing a layer of perfectly fine skin. The crowd sank into silence.
Many were looking at Wang Peng in stupefaction. The match was over already? But that was a top 100 student? Someone like him had been defeated so easily?
They weren't surprised that he lost. They were only surprised that he had been defeated so quickly. How embarrassing. He had indeed been defeated with a single strike.