A loud gasp came from the crowd. “Advanced stage-four warrior?! So this is Heng Jingchuo’s true ability?!”
“We couldn’t tell at all before… How did he suppress his strength?”
“I heard that mystic arts or having a Yuan instrument will allow one to hide their abilities… This is interesting! The battle of two advanced stage-four warriors!”
“I thought that he was the unluckiest to have to battle Rong Jin, but now… we won’t know who’s going to win!”
Rong Jin’s expression turned gloomy and stiffened when he heard the surrounding chatter. Even after such a long time, he did not even detect that Heng Jingchuo had concealed his strength!
Looking back at what Heng Jingchuo said, his words were ludicrous! Teach? We are on the same level, and it is clear that he said those words on purpose from the way he spoke!
“I didn’t expect you to improve this much in a year.” Rong Jin remembered that Heng Jingchuo was still a beginner stage-four warrior last year. He actually managed to break through and become an advanced stage-four warrior in such a short time!
Thus, it wasn’t surprising that everyone was astonished.
Heng Jingchuo’s smile deepened. “I just got lucky. I only broke through a few days ago.”
But that statement only made Rong Jin feel more uncomfortable because it took him almost two years to break through from a beginner stage-four warrior to an advanced stage-four warrior!
Heng Jingchuo’s words were clearly him showing off!
“If that’s the case, our fists can do the talking!” Rong Jin did not want to hear from Heng Jingchuo any longer. He circulated his force and struck first!
He only used 70% of his strength in that earlier strike, but he used his full force now!
Heng Jingchuo met Rong Jin head-on!
The two were quickly embroiled in an intense battle.
…
Even though they were both of the same cultivation stage, people thought Rong Jin would have the upper hand since he had broken through long ago.
But as time passed, the crowd found that this was not the case.
Faced with Rong Jin’s attacks, Heng Jingchuo received them calmly and even seemed quite at ease.
On the other hand, Rong Jin gradually realized that Heng Jingchuo was stronger than he had ever imagined after his string of unsuccessful attacks!
The match—which Rong Jin thought he was sure to win—was now at a stalemate!
Rong Jin grew increasingly anxious.
…
Sun Zhongyan knitted his brows as he watched the match. “I remember that this Heng Jingchuo could not be considered the best before, right? How did he improve this much in a year?”
Wen Yan nodded. “You’re correct. He’s ranked sixth because he was luckier than he was last year and did not meet any particularly strong opponents. It seemed like he was playing it safe and wasn’t particularly outstanding… I don’t know what happened this year.”
Sun Zhongyan tugged at his beard. “Perhaps… he ran into an opportunity, for all we know.”
Wen Yan and the others eyed each other and saw the worry in each others’ eyes.
What they were most concerned about was not the leap of progress that Heng Jingchuo had made in the span of a year, but whether Rong Jin could win the match!
Rong Jin was recognized as one of Tian Lu Academy’s strongest students. They were all hoping that he would come in first, and Rong Jin clearly shared the same idea.
If he lost this round… he would end up in the bottom five of the top ten! Then, the best ranking he could achieve would be sixth! That would be worse than his position as the fifth-ranked last year!
It was fine for others to lose, but Rong Jin’s loss would make the academy look bad.
Bai Chen looked around but smiled. “Elder Sun, we don’t have to be too worried. No matter what, we still have Little Liuyue!”
Chu Liuyue currently held the number one position! The honors would be theirs as long as they kept that position!
Sun Zhongyan was hesitant. He was still a little worried.
This Heng Jingchuo still seems to be holding back…
…
Unlike the gloomy atmosphere at Tian Lu Academy, the crowd at Tai Yan Academy was invigorated.
Cheng Han laughed out in surprise. “This fellow is tight-lipped! Even I didn’t know that he broke through and became an advanced stage-four warrior!”
Situ Xingchen was feeling a lot better and smiled in response. “Master, you’re so busy. It’s normal for you not to notice something so insignificant.”
Even though Cheng Han was the director, there were a lot of things that he did not keep track of. Most of his energy was placed on Situ Xingchen. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have had the hopes of having Situ Xingchen become the number one heavenly doctor in her first Qing Jiao Competition.
“Haha! No matter what, this fellow has a bright future ahead of him! When the Qing Jiao Competition ends, we’ve got to put more resources and attention on him!”
The other teachers nodded in agreement. “The director is right.”
Cheng Han stared at the arena contentedly. He had a sharp eye.
One look, and it was clear that Rong Jin was at a disadvantage!
As long as Heng Jingchuo persisted with his performance, winning the match was only a matter of time!
Even though they lost Situ Ziyue earlier, they had Heng Jingchuo now!
He wanted to see if the people at Tian Lu Academy would still be as arrogant when Rong Jin lost!
…
The number of wounds on Rong Jin grew. Even though they weren’t severe, the blood on his clothes made him look extra pathetic.
Heng Jingchuo, on the other hand, seemed to be at ease.
The contrast between the two was strong.
The crowd’s chatter faded away slowly, and they watched the scene closely.
Heng Jingchuo suddenly closed in!
Rong Jin was stunned and immediately backed away! But he was injured, so how could he possibly be faster than Heng Jingchuo?
The distance between the two decreased rapidly.
Heng Jingchuo finally struck again!
Rong Jin could not avoid it, so he had no choice but to meet it head-on by throwing a punch!
Hong!
The two forces ripped at each other, and bursts of energy rippled outward!
But at this moment, Rong Jin felt that something was off.
A cold sensation was making its way up to Rong Jin’s arm from his palm! At the same time, the force in his body was thrown into disarray and quickly disappeared!
His heart skipped a beat, and he immediately looked up! “You…”
Something was wrong about Heng Jingchuo’s strike!
“It’s time for this to end.” Heng Jingchuo met Rong Jin’s gaze directly and gave him an ominous smile. His originally quiet and polite voice became much colder.
Rong Jin sensed the danger and immediately wanted to back away, but Heng Jingchuo was faster!
He reached out and gripped Rong Jin’s wrist. He then exerted a scary amount of force, and Rong Jin’s wrist instantly turned purple!
“How dare…”
Before Rong Jin could finish, Heng Jingchuo had grabbed him by the wrist and flung him away.
The crowd only saw Rong Jin’s body fly uncontrollably.
Bang!
Rong Jin landed on the floor. More importantly, he was outside the arena!
Out of bounds; thus, Rong Jin was eliminated!
