Chapter 41: 41 - The inner disciples selection (03)
"That was a good battle." Bao Zhang patted Lei Feng on the shoulder.
The young man was discouraged, he was sure he would be able to rise as an inner disciple.
Sadly, fate had been cruel in pitting him against Qingyi.
"Easy for you to say, you're on the opposite side to that monster! By the time you meet him, you'll already be in the finals." Lei Feng grunted, and Qingyi couldn't help laughing.
It really was a good battle. If he hadn't had the lightning steps, Lei Feng would certainly have won.
Qingyi was simply the worst opponent he could face.
"Look on the bright side, at least we'll be able to become inner disciples together in the next selection!" Jun Hao joined in the conversation, but only managed to draw another despondent sigh from Lei Feng.
They didn't even know when the next selection of inner disciples would be. It could be next year, or just in ten years.
"Yu Hanzi and Bao Zhang! One step ahead!" Elder Tian's voice caught the attention of everyone there.
Bao Zhang jumped towards the arena, his eyes focusing on the figure in front of him.
Yu Hanzi was a tall, handsome man. Despite being a commoner, he still carried all the arrogance of a nobleman.
Like Bao Zhang, he was also a palm cultivator with an eighth-level spiritual root, and one Zhang knew well.
They had already had a few disputes over cultivate resources, and many duels to try to prove themselves the most powerful palm cultivator among the outer disciples.
One of these disputes even nearly ended in a battle to the death. Something horrible would have happened if it hadn't been for an elder intervening.
"Don't expect any elders to save your life this time, Bao Zhang!" Yu Hanzi growled, his fists glowing.
"Just don't cry like a little girl when I screw up your face. I can see that your nose hasn't fully recovered yet." Bao Zhang smiled provocatively.
"Don't you dare!" Yu Hanzi's face fell apart, his arrogant look turning to pure anger.
This was the greatest shame of his life.
Who did Bao Zhang think he was to talk about this publicly?
"Begin!" Elder Tian's voice echoed through the arena and they both stepped forward.
Their hands met with powerful thuds. The marble floor cracked beneath their feet, their foundation realm cultivations exploding into golden auras.
They stood in a stalemate for a long moment before stepping back, staring at each other.
"You're weaker than before... have you been running away from training to hook up with prostitutes again?" Bao Zhang teased, but he couldn't help feeling his hands shaking.
Yu Hanzi had also advanced to the second stage of the foundation, and his base was no weaker than Bao Zhang's.
This fight would be much more difficult than he had expected. Luckily, he also knew how to deal with men like Yu Hanzi.
He just needed to aim for the face.
With a confident smile, he advanced again. His fists shone as if they were covered in a veil of gold, launched straight at Yu Hanzi's handsome face.
"No!" Yu Hanzi sensed the danger immediately and turned his body. Bao Zhang's right palm passed inches from his face, but his left had another target.
"Argh!" A grunt of pain echoed, followed by a thud as Bao Zhang's fist met Yu Hanzi's chest.
The handsome young man retreated desperately, coughing up a large gulp of blood and barely able to breathe. But he didn't surrender.
"Let's end this!" Bao Zhang roared, appearing over Yu Hanzi and letting his fist fall on him.
"That won't work twice!" Yu Hanzi revealed a bloody smile as he parried Bao Zhang's fists, but regretted it the next moment.
Bao Zhang wasn't trying to punch him.
Bao Zhang was trying to grab him!
Without even giving the handsome young man time to react, Bao Zhang grabbed his fists firmly before launching a kick towards his knees.
Yu Hanzi's legs buckled, and he fell onto the ground.
He barely had time to cast a pleading glance towards the elders before Bao Zhang's boots collided with his face.
With the first blow, his nose broke, his head hitting the concrete with a thud.
In the second, he lost his front teeth.
In the third, his jaw broke.
It was only on the fourth blow that one of the elders next to Elder Tian acted, his Iron Body Realm cultivation falling on Bao Zhang.
"Enough!" He landed beside him, looking at Yu Hanzi's disfigured face, sunk in a pool of blood.
It would be difficult for him to heal from that, even with the best healing pills in the sect.
"I didn't expect you to be so cruel," Qingyi commented as Bao Zhang returned to the stands.
"I wouldn't be that cruel, he was begging for it," Bao Zhang laughed, drawing a surprised look from Qingyi.
It was one of the first times he had seen that man break his seriousness.
Unfortunately, his moment of relaxation didn't last long and soon Qingyi's face turned serious.
It was Tianming's turn for battle.
He was on the same side as Bao Zhang and, if they both didn't lose any battles, they would face each other in the semi-finals.
"Anyone you know?" Bao Zhang asked.
"Just an annoying fly," Qingyi replied, his eyes sweeping over Feiyan.
The bronzed beauty was calm in his arms, barely sparing a second glance as Xu Tianming descended into the arena.
Tianming was dressed differently from what he normally wore.
His robes bearing the Xu family symbol were nowhere to be seen, replaced by plain black clothes.
His cold gaze swept over everyone there, landing on Qingyi and Feiyan for a brief moment before looking forward again.
She looked much more beautiful than before, But he didn't let himself get carried away.
He sighed heavily and drew his sword, the silver sword Qi taking on a sickly green color as it spread across the blade.
The moment Elder Tian's voice rang out, announcing the start of the match, he threw himself forward.
His sword clashed only once with his opponent's before he retreated.
He didn't need more than that.
To the surprise of everyone there, the young man who had fought Tianming barely managed to take two steps forward.
There were no visible injuries, but his face took on a purple hue and he fell to his knees, unable to breathe.