Chapter 371: First Encounter With Xia Yuwen (3)
Su Yu was sent flying backward while more blood flowed down Zhou Hao's head. He looked like a mad demon. Flinging the saber in his mouth away, he dashed forth and rammed his head in Su Yu's direction once again.
Boom!
Su Yu had just landed. Before he could stabilize his footing, Zhou Hao's stomp on the ground caused the ring to shake, causing him to stagger slightly. Then, Zhou Hao's head rammed into his chest. Sounds of his ribs breaking rang out.
Everything had happened too fast. A majority of the students around the ring couldn't even see the fight clearly. And a minority of them could only see two silhouettes flickering all over the ring.
Su Yu coughed a mouthful of blood from the attack. At the exact same moment, with a frosty expression, a hammer appeared. Near the ring, Chen Yong and Xia Yuwen trembled in shock.
Willpower technique?
The hammer descended.
Zhou Hao could sense the attack, but he was no longer able to release the powerful source qi beam he had released early in the match. With a roar, his source qi erupted, but it failed to block the hammer.
Boom!
A loud boom rang out in his mind. The observers saw nothing. They only saw that Zhou Hao had suddenly paused for a split second. Right that moment, Su Yu sent a kick out. With a boom, the leg stabbed through Zhou Hao's flesh.
His chest had actually been punctured. His internal organs were clear for all to see. Su Yu was showing no mercy. If it wasn't for the fact that Bai Feng wasn't around, this would be a fight to the death. And that was on Zhou Hao's suggestion.
And since Zhou Hao was still alive, he didn't intend to stop. His left leg swept out and broke both of Zhou Hao's legs. Both legs broken, Zhou Hao dropped to his knees. He had finally recovered from the hammer strike.
With a bestial roar, he rammed his head in Su Yu's direction once again. His source qi erupted with an incomparable might. He was basically a savage. The students nearest to Zhou Hao hurriedly stepped back in alarm. This fellow was still so ferocious even after suffering such heavy injuries. What a scary person.
That baleful presence of his caused their hearts to palpitate in fear. They were feeling so even when they were watching outside the ring. What about Su Yu? Just how heavy of a pressure was he withstanding in the ring? How much courage did he require to face a savage like this in battle?
But when they thought of how Su Yu was ruthless enough to cut off his own arm...
Even the researchers from the single character faction were starting to develop some fear toward Su Yu.
Xia Yuwen had produced a student so savage out of nowhere, but the refined and graceful Su Yu was able to fight just as fiercely as Zhou Hao was. Neither of them looked like a cultural researcher. They were basically beasts in human bodies.
...
"Su Yu won."
Jia Mingzhen muttered with a complicated expression. From the moment Su Yu demonstrated the willingness to sever even his own arm, he had won. With one arm as the price, he had removed two of Zhou Hao's arms from the equation. That was the main contribution of his victory. There was no longer any suspense in the match.
Even without taking such a drastic action, Su Yu still stood a chance to win against this opponent. But for a speedy victory, he had actually...Even Jia Mingzhen couldn't help but to admire the kid's ruthlessness. What a ferocious kid.
This wasn't a hopeless match. Yet to guarantee the victory, he had actually sacrificed his own arm. Jia Mingzhen thought to himself that Su Yu was definitely a student that did not need any further provocations from him to be more motivated in cultivation. The kid was already crazy enough about cultivation that he was even willing to put his life on the line.
...
And what happened next verified Jia Mingzhen's thoughts.
The moment Zhou Hao lost his arms, this match was lost for him. But he was also a ruthless individual. He wasn't willing to concede defeat. Thus, he stubbornly continued fighting Su Yu. Without his arms, he would use his legs. Without his legs, he would use his head, his teeth, his back, his chest...
Every part of his body could be used to kill.
He was much stronger than Huang Qifeng. Sure, both Huang Qifeng and Zhou Hao had had their willpower heavily damaged by Su Yu. But Zhou Hao was not a willpower cultivator in the first place. Thus, the backlash he suffered from his willpower injury wasn't too bad. He had only been assaulted by a dizzy spell.
When Zhou Hao charged at Su Yu with his head once again. The saber returned to Su Yu. There, it shrunk in size before shooting straight at Zhou Hao's head.
Liu Hong was about to stop the match when Zhou Hao roared, "I have not lost yet!"
Liu Hong was more than happy to not do anything. Zhou Hao roared and moved his head slightly to the side, allowing the saber qi to mutilate both his ears and his face before he chomped down on the saber. At this point, his mouth was so mutilated that the blood coming out of it was starting to take a purple tinge. With the saber in his mouth, he continued his charge toward Su Yu.
"Hmph!"
With a cold snort, Su Yu slammed his left foot down and leaped into the air before sending his right leg out.
Boom!
A crack rang out.
The kick was extremely powerful, and it landed right on Zhou Hao's skull. It almost looked like Zhou Hao's head was on the verge of being split apart. He spat the saber out of his mouth and roared before madly biting down at Su Yu.
Hiss!
Zhou Hao managed to tear a chunk of flesh out of Su Yu's body, but at this point, he was already out of strength. The saber flew back before stabbing toward Zhou Hao's head. Finally, Liu Hong moved and intercepted the saber. Any later and Zhou Hao would die.
The moment he caught the saber, he cursed inwardly. It turned out that a clump of black fire had erupted from the saber to burn his willpower, torturing him with intense pain.
Damn it!
That damn rascal was deliberately burning him!
At that moment of distraction, a ruthless glint shone in Su Yu's eyes as he rammed his head into Zhou Hao's face.
Bang!
Zhou Hao collapsed onto the ground. He was without both his arms while his entire head had been mutilated badly. And he was no longer showing any signs of life. The blood-soaked Su Yu was gasping for breath as he looked at Liu Hong.
Liu Hong was staring at Su Yu blankly.
Holy shit!
Was he dead?
Damn it! That damn kid had deliberately burned him to distract him! But when he scanned Zhou Hao one more time, he exhaled in relief. The kid was still alive, albeit barely. Good. What a relief. He would be in big trouble if a student was killed under his watch.
As for Zhou Hao's injuries and whether he could recover...well, that had nothing to do with him. He only needed to ensure that the student wasn't dead. Even if the student was barely alive, that wasn't his business.
He then looked at Su Yu again. What a ferocious kid. At that moment, Su Yu's left arm was broken while his right arm lay on the ground. He sent some source qi into his left arm and forcefully used it to pick up his right arm before sticking it back on his stump.
With his source, he started repairing his arm and the nerves within. Waves of sharp pain assaulted him. But he made no sound. The entire area was enveloped in silence.
Xia Yuwen shot Su Yu a glance before looking at Liu Hong. Finally, he waved his hand, causing the badly mutilated Zhou Hao to fly into his arms. Together with Zhou Hao's severed arms, he turned around to leave.
"Teacher Xia, don't forget to pay 10 merit points. That's my spoils of war."
Su Yu's calm voice rang out, "Also, Student Zhou does not cultivate willpower. That's not good since he's a student of a cultural research academy. You need to be more responsible as a teacher, Teacher Xia."
Xia Yuwen ignored him and continued walking away.
In the ring, Su Yu smiled and hollered, "Let us continue! The next top 100 ranking above me, get in the ring!"
Gasps of shock rang out from the crowd.
Everyone was shocked.
Had this fellow gone mad? He was going to continue in this state? Xia Yuwen's steps halted momentarily, but he didn't stay and hurried off. He had returned today. But instead of successfully establishing his dominance in the academy, he had humiliated himself.
Zhou Hao had been defeated. Not only was Zhou Hao nearly killed, but after the fight, Su Yu was still continuing with his challenge matches.
"Su Yu."
Xia Yuwen muttered that name while walking. His face slowly turned solemn. This was not Bai Feng the second. This was someone stronger and far more ruthless.
Right that moment, Zhao Ming appeared in front of him. With a cheerful smile, Zhao Ming said, "Tsk tsk. He's in a bad condition. I can perform emergency healing on him to preserve his life. But I'm charging 500 merit points for my service."
Xia Yuwen stared at him coldly.
Zhao Ming’s smile grew wider, "1,000 merit points. Stop wasting time. If he really ends up dead, I'll report you for murdering a student."
Xia Yuwen ignored him and continued walking away.
Zhao Ming's eyes flickered as he started shouting, "Xia Yuwen, have you gone mad? He's going to die without immediate medical help. Are you still trying to save your merit points at this time? Are you trying to get your student killed so that you can place the blame on Su Yu? What a cruel teacher. You're using your student's life as the price to expel Su Yu from the academy?
"Everyone, look at this! Xia Yuwen is trying to kill his own student! I promise you that right this moment, his student is still alive! He can still be saved! I can save him for only 1,000 merit points! Is that too much? Is someone like Xia Yuwen not able to pay that much money?
"He is deliberately letting his own student die! Is someone like this still qualified to be a researcher and a teacher? He is a hypocrite through and through! Someone like him is trying to become the next prefect? Heavens! If he gets to become the prefect, I guarantee that the Great Xia will be ruined! He is too cruel!"
Countless people were alarmed.
"Shut up!"
A furious shout rang out. Next, a powerful wave of willpower descended from the sky and entered Zhou Hao's body. His life force slowly recovered.
Xia Yuwen stared at Zhao Ming coldly. Zhao Ming was still smiling as he said, "Why should I shut my mouth? Vice Principal Xia, are you trying to abuse your power to protect your own? Was I wrong? Is the academy going to start censoring us? Xia Yuwen was clearly trying to get his own student killed! I'm going to save him! 1,000 merit points! Pay up!"
Right after that, he sent a white ray of light toward Zhou Hao's body.
Looking at Xia Yuwen with a smile, Zhao Ming ignored the powerful presence in the air and softly said, "Be a good boy and return me my job as the referee. Xia Yuwen, don't mess with me. If you don't return me my job, I'll make sure you regret it."
Xia Yuwen stared at him coldly.
Zhao Ming had a toying smile as he said, "You doubt me? Sure. Let's have some fun. I entered the academy 10 years before you. Do you think I can't do anything to you? I'll file an official complaint against you at the Talent Fostering Bureau tomorrow. The day after, I'll file a complaint against you at the prefect's manor. The next day, I'll file a complaint against you at the military. And next, I'll file a complaint at the Knowledge Seeking Realm. Have you forgotten who I am?"
Xia Yuwen gave Zhao Ming a long stared before leaving with Zhou Hao. He said nothing.
Zhao Ming!
Zhao Ming sneered at the departing Xia Yuwen before looking at Su Yu and Liu Hong. Waving at Liu Hong, he said, "You have helped me with my job for a day, but the day's wage is still mine. Little Liu, don't even dream of swallowing my money or I'll make you regret it."
Then, Zhao Ming swaggered off. While leaving, he shouted, "I refuse to believe that rules no longer exist in the entire Human Realm! How dare he leave without paying after I heal his student!"
...
Heart Cultivating Pavilion.
Xia Changqing was frowning. Looking at the person beside him, he said, "Go. Pay him 1,000 merit points. Tell Yuwen to return him his position as a referee. Zhao Ming has never gotten involved in factional politics. Why provoke him for no reason?"
The old servant beside him sighed, "Young Master Yuwen is only slightly arrogant. And he doesn't know Zhao Ming well. He doesn't know that Zhou Ming is like a stubborn stain that is very difficult to get rid of."
Xia Changqing nodded, "Placate Zhao Ming. We can't let him escalate this. The grotto faction has always been neutral in the academy. There is no need to get them involved."
The old servant nodded.
Strictly speaking, the grotto faction wasn't an actual faction. It was merely a group of people who were in charge of guarding the Grotto District and watching over the House of Hundred. Even the academy guards were a part of them. That was a truly neutral faction. They only cared about cultivation and rules. Nothing else mattered to them.
Zhao Ming was one of them. But for some reason, he seemed to be slightly favoring Su Yu today. Naturally, everything that had happened today was still within the bounds of the academy rules.
...
At the same time.
In the ring, Su Yu smiled and asked, "Is there nobody else from the single character faction here? Fine. Di Feng has been waiting for me, right? Come on. Get in the ring."
Su Yu couldn't even stand properly anymore. His body was completely dyed red with blood, his right arm had barely been connected to his shoulder, and his left arm was still broken. The crowd was shocked. Was he really going to keep fighting?
Many single character faction students started looking at each other in dismay. Should they go? But in this situation, even a victory would cause them to lose more of their prestige. But if they refused to go, they would also lose a lot of prestige.