A perilous thought surfaced in Tong Yuling’s mind. All she felt was that the young man before her eyes suddenly seemed tall and unfathomable.
She was warning Chen Yu out of the kindness in her heart for him to guard against the wheel battle Le Feng and the others were going to mount on him.
Yet she never thought that Chen Yu’s goal wasn’t just limited to fighting over the top three with Le Feng and the others a long time ago. He actually wanted to participate in the power struggle between the two dragons and dip a finger into that crown of becoming the “Champion of the Great Tournament”?
Irrespective of his strength, the self-confidence, as well as the boldness he possessed had already surpassed the few people preceding him.
“I challenge Cao Lei, ranked tenth.”
A pure and charming young lady took the stage first and issued an attack at the top 10.
This young lady was Jiang Yun’er, who ranked 20th.
Those with rankings nearer to the rear would generally issue the challenge in the second round of the tournament, which was the ranking battles.
Jiang Yun’er was originally hopeful in storming into the top 15 with her strength. However, she suffered the greatest humiliation after she lost to Chen Yu, so her performance afterward was just so-so.
She pointed at the top 10 once she got on stage.
Unfortunately for her, Jiang Yun’er crossed blows with him less than ten times before Cao Lei forced her out of the tournament stage without the slightest regard for her welfare.
There was a somewhat large discrepancy between the top 10 and the top 20.
After her, the disciples ranked 19th… 18th… 17th issued their first wheel challenge one after the other.
For the most part, the targets they chose to challenge were the top 10s like Cao Lei and Huang Yuan.
The fact of the matter was proof that there was still a certain trust in the rough ranking arranged based on the knockout competition. These people ranked below 15 challenged the top 10 and suffered defeats one after the other. There was a rather large disparity between them as well.
Even if that was the case, the top 10 was still the target everyone wanted to challenge.
That was because only the top 10 in the Great Outer Sect Tournament were rewarded. Even though the top 10 didn’t have comparatively large hopes like the top three in being chosen to enter the inner sect, their rate of exposure was higher at the very least.
The challenge truly became intense until the top 12th placings.
Yang Fan and Fang Xing were ranked 11th and 12th respectively with their scores tied.
The two of them were originally ranked ninth and eighth respectively in the previous tournament, but they were unfortunately squeezed out of the top ten in this year’s tournament.
The main reason was that three great dark horses, Chen Yu, Tong Yuling, and Cao Lei, had made their appearance in this tournament.
“I challenge Tong Yuling, ranked first!”
Yang Fan held a pike in his hands as he mounted the tournament stage and pointed at those in the first place.
His luck was rather bad in the Great Tournament this time as he was squeezed out of the top 10, being extremely annoyed by that.
He didn’t challenge Cao Lei, Huang Yuan, or the others, but rather, he was pointing directly at Tong Yuling, who was temporarily lined up in the first place.
Currently, only Tong Yuling appeared to be slightly weaker amongst the six who were jointly ranked in the first place.
“As you wish.”
Tong Yuling was all smiles as she swiftly took the stage.
The duo crossed blows a few times at lightning speed on stage and they fought to the point where they were playing with real fire in an instant.
In less than ten moves.
“Go!”
A bloody awn flashed from the soft sword in Tong Yuling’s hand and gave rise to multiple astonishing cold awns when she swept the sword. The afterimages of a sword that were akin to a raging tsunami drew Yang Fan’s pike away as it fell to the ground.
Wah!
Yang Fan spat out a mouthful of blood and had an appalled expression on his face.
How did Tong Yuling become so valiant? That Inner Breath of hers, in particular, was frightening and astonishing as it had a surge of bloody qi.
“It’s very likely this girl has a little fortune on her.”
The Sect Master of Yunyue Sect skimmed a glance over Tong Yuling.
“There are countless rare and strange treasures in this world. It would naturally be good if one can utilize such treasures, but if one is excessively reliant on them, it would throttle an individual’s potential and even beckon disaster upon themselves,” said Fairy Xia Yu as she nodded.
The fortunes of a few disciples weren’t considered to be rare in the sect world. Every single one of these Elders present could only achieve the level they were at now because they had significant fortunes as well.
After Yang Fan, Fang Xing, who was ranked eighth in the last tournament, issued a challenge.
He challenged Cao Lei and was defeated after several dozens of moves.
Since then, not a single person succeeded when the challenge of those outside the top 10 concluded!
Immediately after that, those ranked seventh to tenth, Yuan Beitong, Cheng Yun, Huang Yuan, and Cao Lei, could issue challenges.
In reality, the four of them obtained similar results. They only lost once in the knockout competition.
“I challenge Huang Yuan.”
Cao Lei, who was one of the three great dark horses, was the first to issue a challenge to Huang Yuan, who ranked seventh in the last tournament.
Metal Sand Palm!
Heatwave whirled around Cao Lei’s palm technique that was at the peak of perfection. His palms were blazing red with heat.
Close to 100 moves were exchanged during this match.
In the end, Huang Yuan barely defeated Cao Lei as he relied on his strength and deep Inner Breath.
From seventh place until tenth place, the competition between Yuan Beitong, Cheng Yun, Huang Yuan, and Cao Lei was extremely intense.
In the end, Huang Yuan and Cao Lei both failed in their challenges whereas Yuan Beitong and Cheng Yun were temporarily in the lead.
However, Yuan Beitong and Cheng Yun didn’t immediately fight for their rankings, but rather, they simultaneously fixated their gazes on Chen Yu.
“Chen Yu!”
Yuan Beitong stood on the tournament stage with his tall body that resembled an iron tower. His eyes were round and wide as he slammed his fists together. The powerful momentum of the airwaves made one feel terrified.
Le Feng, Hu Yiba, and Cheng Yun all wore a hint of a smile on their faces.
According to the plan, Yuan Beitong was the first person to spearhead the attack.
“Lunkhead, you came just in time.”
Chen Yu laughed indifferently as he jumped on stage.
Ever since that mysterious heart fused with him, the strength of his constitution had intensified by a large margin. Under most circumstances including the prior battles, he deliberately took it easy and didn’t display his full strength.
At this moment, his opponent was Yuan Beitong, the outer sect’s “God of Strength”. The other party genuinely possessed innate divine strength.
Chen Yu still wanted to know whether there was a difference between this acquired divine strength of his and Yuan Beitong’s innate divine strength.
“Let’s compare who’s stronger!”
Yuan Beitong’s voice was like muffled thunder. He slowly swung his fists while his deep Inner Breath vibrated in a low tone.
Mountain Cutting Fist!
A palm that was as heavy as a millstone rumbled out. Strong violent winds emerged as a wave of dust rose from the ground, bringing an oppressive heaviness to it.
“You came just in time!”
Chen Yu wasn’t frightened, instead, he was pleased. The heart in his body throbbed steadily as he launched a punch. His strength surged and rushed forth.
A layer of copper luster naturally appeared on his fist when he merely circulated his power.
Bang, bang!
Two tremendous forces vibrated as they came in contact. The violent strength caused the tournament stage to shake slightly.
In the twinkling of an eye, a formless yet pounding airwave enveloped a radius of several meters with the duo at the center.
Everyone offstage held their breaths as the confrontation of terrifying strength frightened them. It was as though they were watching two metal oxen ramming into each other.
In terms of body size, Chen Yu was already considered to be tall and sturdy for his age. On the other hand, Yuan Beitong was taller than the average person by half their height and was like a gigantic ape.
But at the instant the two fists collided, Yuan Beitong swayed as he looked a little startled.
Thump, thump, thump!
Chen Yu and Yuan Beitong fell a few steps back at the same time, but it appeared that Chen Yu’s pace and breathing were steadier.
This scene startled numerous disciples greatly.
“Chen Yu’s strength had actually reached this level. It’s definitely because Yuan Beitong didn’t use his full strength.”
Wang Lingyun found it difficult to accept this.
“Hahaha! You can actually take on an attack from me at 70% of my strength. I never thought that I, Yuan Beitong, could encounter an opponent who can fight me on an equal level in terms of strength.”
Yuan Beitong laughed heartily.
His entire face was rosy with excitement. He took in a deep breath as all of the muscles on his entire body abruptly swelled. He was storing his energy and giving rise to a far stronger explosive power than before.
Mountain Cutting Fist!
The next few punches from Yuan Beitong reached a whole new level of strength.
Chen Yu was calm and unafraid. As the heart in his body throbbed, his strength exploded. It was as though all the bones and flesh across his entire body were being activated as he summoned astonishing strength.
He didn’t circulate the [Bronze Statue Technique] to the Bronze Muscle level because he intentionally wanted to look into the secret of his heart.
Bang, bang, peng!
Chen Yu felt that his entire body was relaxed and comfortable as they collided time and time again. His strength exploded in a steady flow as well.
Soon, the duo on stage had exchanged one to two hundred strong punches. They fought to the point that they were shaken to their cores. Every attack produced a kind of illusion that the ground was swaying gently.
As Chen Yu was unleashing his strength, he faintly grasped a few techniques to utilize the mysterious heart.
He could store up energy when he matched his breathing to the mysterious heart. For example, he could unleash an explosive punch that far exceeded normal conventions when he took in a deep breath to store up his energy.
Other than that, he could increase his explosive power in an instant under the stimulation of external pressure, which caused his heart to pound at high speed.
Such an instantaneous increase in power resembled how he killed the Bandit King in an instant a few days ago. It bypassed the ranks and unleashed this kind of profound strength of “congealing a fiend in the might of a fist”.
“If he continues fighting like this, Chen Yu will have exhausted much of his physical strength and vital energy.”
Hu Yiba and Cheng Yun were smiling, but Le Feng was faintly somewhat uneasy as he remembered the miracle of how Chen Yu stalled the Bear King over the time it took to burn half an incense stick when he was at the Body Tempering stage.
After 200 moves, Chen Yu was breathing steadily in neither a slow nor hurried manner. Wisps of sweat were already seeping from Yuan Beitong’s forehead.
“It seems like the greatest advantage the mysterious heart gives me in strength is just secondary. The restoration and self-recovery aspects of my constitution, as well as its durability, are far superior,” Chen Yu thought to himself in his mind.
Even though Yuan Beitong had immense strength, he didn’t have enough strength after launching explosive punches one after the other at the extreme boundary of his strength.
“Let’s end this,” Chen Yu suddenly muttered in a low voice as he circulated his [Bronze Statue Technique].
Buzz!
The skin on his entire body was plated with a layer of copper luster. It outlined the vein lines of the copper skin, resembling a fluid statue as his entire being swelled up a little.
All of a sudden, a formless aura from his physique produced powerful oppression on one’s qi and blood.
“He transformed…could it be that this fellow knows sorcery too?”
Yuan Beitong’s breathing became obstructed as he looked at Chen Yu, whose body had changed greatly. There was a somewhat lifeless look in his eyes.
“Bronze Statue Technique!”
A few Elders amongst the higher-ups in the sect uniformly voiced out in surprise.
“This boy’s [Bronze Statue Technique] had actually reached the Bronze Muscle level! It’s the basic Bronze Muscle form at the very least!”
Elder Nangong and Elder Mao were startled.
The duo exchanged a glance and appeared to be somewhat delighted that things were better than they expected.
Bang, peng!
It was as if Chen Yu’s large copper-lined hand came from a bronze Buddha statue. His punch jolted Yuan Beitong, who didn’t have any reserve strength left, sending him flying a few meters away.
“Stop, stop, stop…I’ll let you have the position of the outer sect’s God of Strength!”
Yuan Beitong jumped off the tournament stage in a flustered manner.
He suffered losses the more he fought in that battle where two strong people were up against one another. The final punch from Chen Yu’s transformed form truly subdued him.
Offstage, Le Feng, Hu Yiba, and Cheng Yun exchanged glances.
“I’ll fight him first according to the plan. He should have exhausted some of his physical strength and vital energy.”
Cheng Yun nodded and said.
Once he said that, he put forward to the referee that he wanted to challenge Chen Yu.
“Chen Yu, you were challenged once just now so you have the right to defer one match,” said the referee as he inquired whether Chen Yu wished to do so.
“Humph! So what if he’s just going to drag one match out?” Wang Lingyun secretly sneered to himself.
A few matches that were quicker ended in a dozen or so moves.
“There’s no need to do that.”
“You guys want to challenge me? Then line up together so we can settle this in one go and save some trouble!” Chen Yu sneered.
What?!
The faces of Yuan Beitong, Le Feng, and Cheng Yun sank.
This Chen Yu was incredibly savage. He surely knew that this was a wheel battle, yet he dared to say such things and let everyone line up.
In a corner on Cloud Sky Summit.
“Elder Brother Chen Yu, this Great Tournament concerns your fate. How can you be so careless…”
Mu Xueqing’s eyelashes trembled slightly. A hint of worry flashed in her gorgeous and touching eyes.
For some unknown reason, she had a kind of intense hope. If that Elder Brother Chen Yu, who she relied on and fixated her gaze on, could enter the inner sect and enter the path of martial arts with her, how blissful would life be!
Ding, ding! Clank, peng!
At this moment, the two figures on stage crossed blows a few times at lightning speed.
Clank!
A large bronze statue hand that was as heavy as tens of thousands of catties immediately slapped Cheng Yun’s treasured sword and sent it flying.
How quick!
Mu Xueqing, as well as the indifferent Seventh Prince beside her, was taken aback.
The disciples offstage were in an uproar.
Cheng Yun, who ranked sixth in the outer sect, actually couldn’t brace himself for over ten moves in Chen Yu’s hands.