"Qi Shengjia…"
Just when Zhu Ting wanted to announce that Qi Shengjia had given up and Peng Wanli was the victor, he suddenly heard the word 'present' echoing through the entire battle hall.
Qi Shengjia dashed forward and leaped when he got near the battle stage.
The sparse and fragmentary sounds of whispering rang out. At this moment, one-third of the students in the battle hall had already left. The reason why they were here was because they wanted to see the fights of the top 50 ranked geniuses. At most, maybe the top 100. The more backward the ranking, the less interested they were.
"Quickly began!"
Those students who were arranged to battle near the end began to urge. They hated those who wasted time the most. If the challenger knew he couldn't make it, he might as well not show up to embarrass himself.
"I still thought that Qi Shengjia would forfeit!"
Wang Hao was surprised.
"Sun Mo must have encouraged him and he impulsively went up. Why doesn't he think a little? There's a two-level difference in their cultivation. How can he win?"
Zhou Xu shook his head.
On the stage, Zhu Ting spoke, "Both parties are to greet each other mutually."
"Peng Wanli, 6th-level of the body refinement realm. Please provide me with guidance!"
Peng Wanli who was short and stocky surveyed Qi Shengjia. Qi Shengjia's mental state seemed to be not bad, but it was fine. Their cultivation bases were two levels apart; he would win for sure.
When students wanted to participate in the challenge battles, they had to report their information during the registration. Peng Wanli was an official member of the battle hall, so he simply asked his friends who were in charge of registration and soon learned of his opponent's information.
"Qi Shengjia, 5th-level of the body refinement realm. Please provide me with guidance!"
Qi Shengjia adopted a battle posture. He remembered Sun Mo's instruction. Once the judge gave the announcement to start, he would attack immediately.
"He's actually at the 5th-level? No wonder he is so confident!"
Peng Wanli's lips twitched, yet he didn't really care at all. However, Zhou Xu and Wang Hao in the audience were stunned.
"Did I hear it wrong or did Shengjia say wrongly? 5th-level of the body refinement realm? If he lied, he would be expelled!"
Wang Hao was worried. He thought that Qi Shengjia was lying to Peng Wanli because he wanted to win.
"How stupid. This minor trick is useless!"
Zhou Xu hated iron for not becoming steel. Teacher Sun must have been the one who taught him this. If not, the honest Qi Shengjia wouldn't have done such a thing.
As for Qi Shengjia breaking through to the 5th-level, even if the two of them were beaten to death, they wouldn't believe it. Leaving aside the fact that Qi Shengjia spent more than half-a-year before he broke through to the 4th-level of the body refinement realm, his aptitude was extremely inferior and he had just successfully broken through to the 4th-level just a few days ago. How could he break through again?
"Begin!"
As Zhu Ting's voice rang out, Qi Shengjia was like a hungry wolf lunging over. His fists danced in the air, generating gusts of wind that swept over to Peng Wanli.
"Hmph!"
Peng Wanli didn't bother to evade, and he domineeringly faced the attack.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Fists and palms collided with each other. Their impact caused waves of energy to blast out.
"Teacher Sun is right!"
Qi Shengjia felt agitation in his heart as he recalled what Sun Mo had said to him.
"All young people would have pride in their hearts, let alone your opponent who is one level higher than you. He would definitely choose to face you head-on. At that time, aim all your attacks at his right shoulder!"
At the start of their exchange, it was already proven that Sun Mo was correct. This caused Qi Shengjia's confidence to swell as he gave it his all.
"Remember, trade injuries for injuries. Do not even retreat for half-a-step, just crush his right shoulder."
Qi Shengjia remembered Sun Mo's guidance. He gritted his teeth and fought valiantly. Peng Wanli's Eighteen Arhat Palms was indeed very powerful. Each blow on his body caused him extreme pain. He felt that if it was him in the past, he would definitely not be able to withstand this. But today, his condition was so good that it was terrifying. Although it was painful, it was like his endurance had also increased.
"Right, it must be the effect of the Ancient Dragon Capturing Hands!"
Qi Shengjia guessed. He was too stupid, and he forgot that after he leveled up, the strength of his body would increase as well.
"What's going on?"
Peng Wanli was frowning, and his display of the Eighteen Arhat Palms grew increasingly hurried. It was clearly a relaxed battle, but why did it feel so difficult? His opponent was like a mad dog, refusing to retreat. He was adamant about trading injuries with him.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
After another round of attacks, Peng Wanli who suffered over ten blows to his right shoulder continuously retreated in order to extend the distance between them.
Qi Shengjia's chest heaved violently as he panted.
"A pity!" Li Ziqi sighed.
Qi Shengjia's strength was only at this level. If he were stronger, he could take down Peng Wanli now if he exerted another spurt of energy.
Jin Mujie sat behind a long table made from mahogany. She was drinking tea and chatting with a few students, guiding them on their flaws. After Qi Shengjia got up the stage, her gaze instantly shifted over.
"He leveled up? Did he eat a peak-grade alchemy pill? Wrong, that intern teacher shouldn't be a fool. He wouldn't do something so meaningless like feeding an alchemy pill to the student just for the sake of winning this battle."
Jin Mujie analyzed, "But if he didn't eat an alchemy pill, how did he level up?"
This graceful young married woman furrowed her brows as a puzzled look appeared on her face. As a 3-star great teacher, her judgment was extraordinary and could naturally see Qi Shengjia's previous condition. Qi Shengjia hadn't been at the stage where he was about to break through. Hence, his current cultivation at the 5th-level of the body refinement realm was due to something the intern teacher did.
"My god...what the hell?"
Zhou Xu cried out in surprise. How could Qi Shengjia fight so dazzlingly against Peng Wanli? Could it be that Peng Wanli's ranking was fake?
"Did Peng Wanli have diarrhea today?"
Wang Hao was puzzled too. "Speaking of which, did Shengjia get a bit stronger?"
"Yeah, he couldn't really be at the 5th-level of the body refinement realm, right?"
As someone at the 6th-level of the body refinement realm, Zhou Xu realized Shengjia's outstanding performance. If one spoke of their mental states and imposing manner, Qi Shengjia might be even stronger than him!
"Could it be that he can really win?"
After Wang Hao mumbled to himself, he involuntarily shook his head. "I'm thinking too much, Peng Wanli isn't an immobile target!"
"I can win!"
On the stage, these three words appeared in Qi Shengjia's heart.
The scene right now was no different from what Teacher Sun had said.
"After some time, he wouldn't want to fight directly against you and will take the initiative to retreat. At that time, after your earlier eruption, you won't be able to catch up to him. However, don't be anxious. Take the chance to gather your breath and strength. You should use words to disturb his mental state."
As he recalled Teacher Sun's instructions, Qi Shengjia spoke.
"Peng Wanli, I've already seen through your flaws."
"Hehe!"
Peng Wanli laughed coldly, acting as though he wasn't bothered. However, his heart was pounding in fear.
"My aptitude is bad and my family is poor. If I cannot enter the Battle Hall this time around, I will have to quit school and be sold to a large clan as a servant. Hence, I will fight to the death in this battle today."
Qi Shengjia looked directly into Peng Wanli's eyes. His tone was honest and filled with desolation.
Sun Mo covered his face. Qi Shengjia completely didn't have any acting talent. Luckily, his current situation was roughly the same as what he said. Hence, his expression was still on the ball.
"What do you mean by this? You want me to show mercy?"
Peng Wanli wasn't those types of people that would be considerate to the circumstances of others.
Qi Shengjia didn't know what to reply, but Teacher Sun had said before that no matter what Peng Wanli said, he just had to repeat the words Teacher Sun had taught him.
"You and I are different. You are a genius, and even if you lost this, you will be able to rejoin the battle hall three months later."
"Hmph, that's only natural!"
Peng Wanli had arrogance on his face.
"However, if you truly fight to the bitter end with me, even if you won, you would still suffer some residual injuries. Although you will recover, your peak state will never be the same again!" After speaking, Qi Shengjia directly rushed out.
Skywolf Hunt! A moment later, twenty sets of fist shadows surged over.
Boo!
Scattered booing sounds rang out from the crowd, criticizing Qi Shengjia for using a dirty trick. However, the majority of students didn't care about it. Wasn't it just trash-talking? There were no problems as long as Qi Shengjia didn't use hidden weapons or disgraceful methods.
Zhu Ting, who had been bored to death, seriously surveyed Qi Shengjia after hearing his words. He felt somewhat taken aback. "Qi Shengjia actually knows how to use verbal attacks and fight a psychological battle?"
Jin Mujie nodded. Attacking the 'hearts' of your opponents was the supreme battle method!
"What?"
Peng Wanli retreated again and again. The pain in his right shoulder seemingly intensified. His doctor once told him that due to his injury, he mustn't fight in the meantime, or it would affect his recovery.
However, no one could avoid the test of the battle hall. When he had been selected by Qi Shengjia, Peng Wanli was rejoicing. He had thought that he had found an easy opponent. But who could have known that Qi Shengjia was a hot potato!
Peng Wanli's mind was unsettled. His pride made him not want to defend. However, the words from his doctor made him feel as though there was a bone stuck in his throat. He had no choice but to defend instead of attacking.
At this moment, Qi Shengjia's morale received a boost as he attacked even more fiercely.
"Is he going to win?"
Li Qizi's hands were tightly clenched as nervousness could be seen on her face.
"Let's go!"
Sun Mo turned to leave, there was no need to watch any longer. Peng Wanli's defensive posture indicated that his heart was already in chaos.
"What to do? What to do?"
Peng Wanli's heart was jittery and filled with anxiety. He didn't know what he should do.
Should he ignore the worsening of his injuries and defeat Qi Shengjia? However, the consequences would be severe. If he lost now, he could always join the battle hall again after he recovered three months later.
To a young guy that was 14 years of age. This choice that would affect his future simply gave him too much pressure.
As for Qi Shengjia, his confidence skyrocketed because up until now, everything that Sun Mo said, had come true.
"I can win this battle!"
Qi Shengjia stepped and punched out with immense might.
Skywolf Whistling at the Moon.
Roar!
Spirit qi whistled. The strands of it transformed into a wolf head and shot over to Peng Wanli, wanting to take a bite out of him.
Thump! Thump!
Peng Wanli continued to retreat. He executed his Arhat Heart Shattering Palm and after dissipating the wolf head, he discovered that Qi Shengjia had taken the opportunity to rush forward, appearing before him. It was too late now even if he wanted to continue defending.
Bang!
Peng Wanli's right shoulder was punched, and he fell down the stage from the impact.
"For this match, Qi Shengjia is the victor!"
Zhu Ting announced.
The entire audience was in a state of absolute silence. The eyes of the students were filled with a mixture of envy and disdain when they looked at Qi Shengjia. None of them felt he deserved the win.
They felt that Qi Shengjia didn't win by virtue of his strength. Rather, it was because Peng Wanli coincidentally had an injury and encountered him. If they were fighting against Peng Wanli, they would win as well.
"My god, Shengjia won"
Wang Hao rubbed his eyes forcefully. He felt that he was dreaming.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
All of a sudden, sounds of applause rang out. Everyone turned and discovered that the 3-star great teacher Jin Mujie was the source of it. She was clad in the long white robes with three strands of gold embroidered on it. The robes fully accentuated her full figure, and she exuded a sense of holiness and beauty.