The white-clothed girl looked at Zhao Feng, shocked. "Brother Yijian, you have got to beat him."
"Xue'er, it is fine. I only need three to ten moves at most! But I won't let him off the hook that easily, I am also going to humiliate him," Zhao Yijian said confidently. His voice was very loud, so many of the people present heard it.
At this time, Zhao Feng's eyes landed on him. Their gazes clashed. While Zhao Yijian's eyes were cold, Zhao Feng had a faint smile.
"Number one hundred and eighty-eight vs. number two hundred and thirty-three!" The group contest continued.
After Zhao Feng beat Zhao Chengang, he had no more opponents that were his match on the seventh stage.
Sixteen wins…seventeen wins…eighteen wins…
Most of the people Zhao Feng met admitted defeat. And those who dared to fight, they were finished with one blow.
"It is too disgraceful to lose against a core ranked martial art!"
The Zhao sect disciples looked at Zhao Feng like he had a disease.
Eighteen wins…nineteen wins…twenty wins in a row!
Finally, Zhao Feng won twenty matches in a row, allowing him to proceed to the next round!
Chapter 22 – Birth of the Black Horse
Hu!
Zhao Feng let out a long breath as he sat down.
Zhao Feng was a black horse in the group contest. Using just his core ranked martial arts, he had beaten everyone in his way. Even Zhao Chengang, who was ranked seventh amongst the outer disciples, had lost to him.
"I wonder how the other groups are going." Zhao Feng's eyes scanned across the other stages. The preliminaries were split into ten different group, with each stage having a fair mix of strong and weak disciples.
Apart from Zhao Feng, there were many others who had won twenty matches in a row, so they were also able to advance straight into the next round. The fastest of them was Zhao Yijian from the second group.
Zhao Yijian's sword was extremely fast before his opponents could react it had reached their throats. In terms of speed to enter the next round, Zhao Yijian was even faster than Zhao Yue.
"Amongst the outer disciples, only the top three, Zhao Yufei, Zhao Yue and Zhao Yijian, can threaten me."
Zhao Yue's age was slightly higher, seventeen years old, and his muscular body seemed extremely big.
"Reverse Wind Fist!" One disciple of the third rank punched Zhao Yue, but the latter did not even move.
What!?
The disciple's forehead started to sweat. What defense!
Zhao Feng was slightly shocked. The full attack of a third rank could not even injure Zhao Yue a little bit. Zhao Yue must have trained in a high-rank body strengthening skill to allow his defense to surpass the damage dealt by the same rank.
Zhao Feng could not take on the blows from a third rank cultivator with just his body.
If Zhao Yijian was said to be fast and explosive, then Zhao Yue was the opposite. He was slow, and his defense was impenetrable.
Zhao Yufei used softness to beat hardness. She would casually wave her hand and defeat the opponent. Every move of hers seemed flawless. She wore a purple robe, and her beauty was outstanding. Those that watched her had a refreshing feeling.
"Who is she? To have the strength of a quasi Martial Artist at such a young age." Zhao Yufei attracted Even a few of the inner disciples.
"She's beautiful and talented at the same time. When people like her enter the inner disciples, we won't even have a chance."
"She is still too young. Another two years and she might be able to be compared with Sun Feather City's most beautiful girl, Qiu Mengyu."
Up to a certain point, more people focused on her rather than Zhao Yue and Zhao Yijian, who were first and second. This was mainly due to her beauty and talent.
Soon the ten groups each had a person with twenty matches in a row. The first group was Zhao Yue, second group Zhao Yijian, third group Zhao Yufei, fourth group Zhao Gan, fifth group Zhao Guang…
They were all ranked amongst the top ten outer disciples.
However, there was one unexpected person from group seven. Zhao Feng was a black horse that rushed out and took Zhao Chengang's spot.
Apart from these ten people, not many others won twenty matches in a row.
The group contests kept on running until there were ten people left in each group. Using one day of time, there was now a total of one hundred disciples left. These one hundred were the elite of the outer disciples.
On the second day, the one hundred people once again met at the Sky Martial Field.
Having rested for one night, Zhao Feng felt very energetic. He found that these matches had helped increase his cultivation to a certain extent.
"Today we will enter the second round of elimination! All of you are the elites of the outer disciples, but today, half of you will be eliminated, leaving fifty of you to enter the final tournament! Here are the rules…" a voice sounded throughout the field.
The one hundred contestants held their breaths as they listened to the rules.
Gaining points decided the ranking, and everyone started with one point; with every match they won, they would increase their points by one, and with every loss, they lost one point.
Finally, the fifty people with the most points would fight against the inner disciples.
"Start!" the judge's voice sounded.
"Number one hundred and forty-four vs. number twenty-six!'
"Number seventy-three vs. number four hundred and twenty-nine!"
The ten different stages quickly all had matches going on.
Many would admit defeat if they saw that their opponent was too strong. For example, Zhao Yue and Zhao Yijian's opponents conceded defeat as soon as they saw them. They would rather conserve their strength for the next round.
"Number one hundred and eighty-eight vs. number one hundred and sixty-nine!"
Finally, it was Zhao Feng's turn. His opponent was a black-faced youth of the second rank.
"I admit defeat!" The black-faced youth saw that it was Zhao Feng, so he immediately surrendered.
Zhao Feng was slightly stunned. The black-faced youth had been in the same group as Zhao Feng during the first round, but they never exchanged blows.
Like this, Zhao Feng gained his first point, and his tally went up to two.
Soon Zhao Feng met his second opponent. This time his opponent was a girl of the second rank.
"I know your strength is strong, but I will not admit defeat," the simple clothed girl bit her lip.
Facing this type of weak woman, some would let her win on purpose.
"Flaming Metal Fist!"
The simple punch once again came and knocked the girl six meters back. One move, swift and simple! Zhao Feng did not want to waste time as the opponent was too weak and would not help him improve.
I lost! The girl felt disappointed as she walked off.
"Hmph! Bullying weak girls, what is so cool about that?"
"Wait till I go on, I will take revenge for sister Xin!"
Zhao Feng's actions caused some youths to look at him in disdain.
"Number one hundred and eighty-eight wins!" The judge looked approvingly at Zhao Feng.
The next matches were too easy. Zhao Feng's points continued to rise.
"I give up!"
"I admit defeat!"
"Flaming Metal Fist!"
Most of Zhao Feng's opponents gave up, but the ones who didn't lose instantly.
"This kid's strength has probably reached the quasi Martial Artist rank."
As more matches went on, more and more people started to understand his strength.
Zhao Feng didn't forget to pay attention to Zhao Yue and Zhao Yijian.
At this time, on the third stage...
"Quick! Look! It is Zhao Yijian vs. Zhao Gan!"
Zhao Feng turned to see the two were already exchanging blows.
The second and fourth str
ongest outer disciple fighting easily gained the crowd's attention. These two people were both ranked amongst the top five, and originally their strength did not have much difference.
"Tenth Change of the Poisonous Snake!" Zhao Gan shouted as he twisted and twirled on the ground like a snake. He was so agile that he managed to dodge Zhao Yijian's sword many times.
Zhao Feng was slightly moved as Zhao Gan's strength had increased a lot since their encounter last month. He had also trained the Thirteen Changes of the Poisonous Snake to the tenth change, which meant that he now had the strength of a quasi Martial Artist.
Zhao Gan's strength was on par with Xin Fei from Sky Cloud Forest.
"Although you have improved a lot, you will still lose to me like you used to," Zhao Yijian said as he increased his speed once more.
"It is the high-rank skill Cold Flowing Sword! This is an extremely hard skill to train!" someone called out.
Zhao Yijian's sword became faster and faster. Zhao Gan was able to dodge at first, but as time passed, he was evaded less and less. Soon a few slash marks appeared on Zhao Gan's body.
"Zhao Yijian wins!" The judge stopped the fight as the sect wanted Zhao Gan to proceed to the next round without being too injured.
At this time, Zhao Gan's back was full of cold sweat as he looked incredulously at Zhao Yijian, "How did you do this…?"
Zhao Yijian used less than ten moves to beat Zhao Gan.
"Zhao Yijian's strength is so strong!" one of the Zhao sect disciples exclaimed.
Zhao Yijian and Zhao Gan did spar before, but at that time the fight lasted for a long time, with them exchanging over one-hundred blows. But now he only needed ten!
"Zhao Yijian's strength can probably be compared to Zhao Yue now," a few guessed.
Zhao Yijian and Zhao Yue. One's forte was attacking, while the other's was defense.
What would happen if these two met? Many were waiting for the clash. Zhao Yijian and Zhao Yue were the two hot picks for the title of ‘Strongest Outer Disciple.'
Zhao Yufei had not lost yet, either.
Zhao Feng's face remained calm as he looked on. He had now won forty-four matches in a row. However, at this time he met a powerful opponent. It was the fifth-ranked outer disciple, Zhao Guang!
Zhao Guang had over forty points, and the only match he had lost was against Zhao Yue.
"Hehe, kid! Your streak ends here!" Zhao Guang laughed happily.
Many looked gloatingly towards Zhao Feng. Fifth rank Zhao Guang was the strongest opponent he had faced so far.
"Your strength barely steps into the quasi Martial Artist rank," Zhao Feng said calmly.
"Really? Then I'll have a taste of what skills you have apart from the core ranked martial arts," Zhao Guang's eyes flashed.
Shua!
As soon as he finished his words he moved to Zhao Feng's side.
"What speed!"
"Zhao Guang and Zhao Yufei are both known for their footwork." Zhao Guang's speed caused many praises from the crowd.
A contest of speed? Zhao Feng looked mockingly at Zhao Guang.
Shua!
When Zhao Guang's palm was just about to hit Zhao Feng, the target disappeared from under his eyes! It was as if his palm split Zhao Feng into the air.
Not good…, Zhao Guang thought.
Hua!
The disciples below stared at the scene. Many who reacted fast stared behind Zhao Guang.
Angry Dragon Fists!
Zhao Guang only felt something come towards his back.
Pah!
Zhao Guang instinctively tried to block the blow and managed to do so, but then he felt a raging strength overpower him.
Boom——
Zhao Guang fell back a few meters and almost fell.
"What skill did he learn for his speed to be so fast!" Zhao Guang's heart rippled with shock.
Chapter 23 – The High Level of a High Ranked Skill
After the first exchange, their differences were immediately visible.
Zhao Guang finally steadied himself as he stared at Zhao Feng in shock.
Zhao Feng did not attack. In terms of speed, he had complete confidence that even some of the fourth rank cultivators would be unable to beat him.
At this point, the battle between Zhao Feng and Zhao Guang was the focus of the entire crowd.
"His speed is even faster than Zhao Guang!" The top three outer disciples were stunned.
"What a beautiful footwork skill!" The elders watching were also shocked.
"His skill is so familiar," the main judge murmured.
"He has learned Lightly Floating Ferry! I am sure!" One martial artist gave Zhao Feng a complicated look. This martial artist had once studied Lightly Floating Ferry. However, it was too hard to train in Lightly Floating Ferry's footwork, even though it was only one part of the skill, so he had only trained in it for two years before giving up.
"It is Lightly Floating Ferry!"
"To be able to train Lightly Floating Ferry to such a high degree means that his comprehension is not bad…"
Although Lightly Floating Ferry was a high-rank skill, it was considered a broken skill with limited potential.
"Zhao Feng's attacking!"
Zhao Feng was like the wind; his speed was just too fast. Zhao Guang used all of his strength but still could not dodge Zhao Feng's attacks.
"The fifth stance of the Angry Dragon!"
Angry Dragon Fists was very popular amongst the middle ranked martial art skills, so it was easily recognized.
Peh! Pah! Beng…
Zhao Feng pressed Zhao Guang. Zhao Guang felt as if he couldn't breathe as the pressure was too strong. Every punch would make him fall back. He was completely dominated by Zhao Feng.
In terms of speed, Zhao Feng easily surpassed him. In terms of power, Zhao Feng also exceeded him.
Wah!
After blocking the eighth punch, Zhao Guang spat out a mouthful of blood and surrendered. Zhao Guang, who was ranked fifth, had lost in ten moves.
Although they knew Zhao Feng was strong and could challenge the top five, the results still astonished the crowd. Zhao Feng's performance wasn't any weaker than Zhao Yue and company.
"This kid's intelligence is very high. Not only did he train a core rank martial art to the highest level, but he's also trained Angry Dragon Fists to the peak level."
"He could beat Zhao Guang just by relying on his peak level, middle-ranked martial art skill," the elders praised Zhao Feng.
The matches continued.
There were only four people who had straight wins: Zhao Yue, Zhao Yijian, Zhao Yufei, and Zhao Feng. These four were known as the Four Strong.
"Zhao Feng! Zhao Feng!" The crowd cheered as Zhao Feng went on stage. Every time he went on, most opponents admitted defeat, or were defeated in under three moves.
Zhao Feng even met Zhao Kun.
"I give up!" Zhao Kun bit his lip and wanted to dig a hole to hide in it.
Zhao Feng's strength had already surpassed his brother's, how could he win?
The Four Strong continued to dominate their matches. Many were anticipating when the Four Strong would clash.
Finally, after sixty wins, Zhao Yue, who was ranked first, faced off against Zhao Yijian, who was ranked second.
"Zhao Yue! Zhao Yue!"
"Zhao Yijian! Zhao Yijian!"
Many people screamed in anticipation.
"Zhao Yue! Since the battle I lost to you half a year ago, we finally meet again!" Zhao Yijian was full of fighting will.
In the outer disciples, Zhao Yue was very low key. All he did was cultivate every day, and therefore, his foundation was the most solid, allowing him to constantly sit on the number one seat.
"Make your move; we will see if your Cold Flowing Sword is stronger than my Metal Body." Zhao Yue's height towered over Zhao Yijian.
Jiang!
Zhao Yijian took his sword out of its sheath.
The moment Cold Flowing Sword was used, the air felt like it was freezing.
"Metal Palm!" Zhao Yue's body stood tall as his fist punched towards the sword.
Peng!
The explosion made the eardrums of lower level cultivators tremble.
Zhao Yijian moved back two steps, then spun around to stab at Zhao Yue's lower body.
"One of them is defensive while the other is offensive."
It was obvious that the strength that Zhao Yijian and Zhao Yue showed could easily beat quasi Martial Artists.
If Zhao Feng hadn't formed his chi, he wouldn't be able to break through Zhao Yue's defenses.
Ding! Ding! Beng…
Zhao Yue and Zhao Yijian's fight went into red-hot mode. Zhao Yijian's sword became faster and faster. The cold air enveloped Zhao Yue's body. Zhao Yue continued to block Zhao Yijian's sword.
If it was another third rank instead of Zhao Yue, they would have been finished in one move.
"Zhao Yue's foundation is very solid, and his specialty is defense. If Zhao Yijian cannot win in half the time it takes tea to boil, then he will not win," the main judge said.
"Hehe, half the time it takes for tea to boil? He will not need that long," the middle-aged man, Zhao Yijian's father, said confidently.
"Oh?" The main judge's expression changed.
At this moment, the battle suddenly changed.
Hu!
Zhao Yue groaned as his arm was cut.
‘How could my Metal Body be broken…?" Zhao Yue's face turned white.
Metal Body was a skill that made one's body turn as tough as metal. Accompanied with Metal Fists, his strength and defense had reached a high grade. He believed that no one under the fourth rank could penetrate his defense.
"High level of a high-rank martial art skill!" the judge shouted.
High level of a high-rank martial art? The disciples nearby sucked in a cold breath.
For most high ranked martial arts, it was already hard enough to train them to the low level. To train one to the high level was many times harder.
However, once it reached the high level, the damage of the skill would be fifty percent higher than what it was at the low level.
Flowing Cold Sword was already a terrifying high-rank offense skill. When someone of the third rank trained it to the low level, one could have the strength of a quasi Martial Artist. If one trained it to the high level, it could threaten Martial Artists.
King of Gods - (A Chinese Novel Translation): Book 1 Page 13
