When Jing Yan used Moon-Freezing Triple Waves, it was as powerful as common Top-grade martial systems.
The Stance of Autumn Wind and Falling Leaves was also as strong as common Middle-grade martial systems in the hands of Jing Yan.
As Jing Yan was pressed to the edge of the ring, both martial systems began to fuse and evolve.
The boost in power was exponential.
However, Jing Yan couldn’t afford to think about it any further. He was about to be forced out of the ring, after all.
Swoop!
He took one huge step back all of a sudden.
That one step brought him to the very edge of the ring. If he were to move just slightly further back, he would be disqualified and the fight would end.
Li Tianfu’s eyes glimmered. He thought Jing Yan was about to give up.
Victory seemed to be within his grasp.
“Open!” Jing Yan shouted out of nowhere. A divine light glittered in his eyes.
Suddenly, Jing Yan’s faltering black sword screen, which had been on the verge of collapse, seemed to have been infused with new vigor. The power of his sword flash fanned out with ferocious might at Li Tianfu, who was still in midair.
“What?”
Li Tianfu sensed that the strength of Jing Yan’s martial system had been unexpectedly boosted. He glared at Jing Yan as a shockwave of power rolled toward him.
Boom!
Li Tianfu’s body was sent flying backward. Countless eyes watched as he soared through the air.
“No!” Li Tianfu shouted.
His body dropped sharply toward the ground, as if some force was hauling him back down.
Bang! His feet eventually touched the ground, landing him roughly in the center of the ring.
However, despite having touched down, the inertia from the huge blow was still pushing him back.
The blood in Li Tianfu’s body seemed to be about to boil.
Claaang! He brought his black saber down hard on the ring.
Sparks flew where the tip of the blade met the floor of the ring.
Everyone watched the orange glow created by the fountain of sparks.
Li Tianfu still couldn’t stop himself from reeling backward. The sound of his sword grating against the ground was a deafening shriek, and the friction burned a clear white gash across the ground.
The ring had been constructed using special materials, which made it extremely sturdy. It was so sturdy that not even Precelestial warriors could destroy it, let alone someone at the Ninth Heaven. It would take a great amount of effort from an Enlightenment warrior to damage that material through force alone.
With that level of resilience, there was no way Li Tianfu could shove his blade into the ground.
He lurched all the way to the edge of the ring, yet he was still reeling back.
Li Tianfu put his saber away with a sigh. He had given up.
He knew that he wouldn’t be able to keep himself from being thrown off of the ring despite his best efforts. He had lost the battle.
When he stopped using his sword to slow himself down, his body flew out of the ring in an instant. He lurched back several more meters before he was able to steady himself.
“I lost,” Li Tianfu said when he finally regained his balance. He took a good look at Jing Yan. The expression in his eyes was conflicted.
However, he admitted defeat right away and in a sporting manner.
Jing Yan, who was barely standing within the ring himself, finally let himself grin. A trail of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. Despite his best attempts to suppress the force that had come against him, he failed to hold it off entirely. Blood continued to ooze from his mouth.
That battle had been extremely perilous. He was almost defeated. However, his fusion of martial systems in the final moment had allowed him to reignite hope for victory. Jing Yan had forced Li Tianfu out of the ring by cranking up his Vital Qi without worrying about the consequences. In so doing, he had risked minor damage to his meridians.
Jing Yan nodded to Li Tianfu when he heard his opponent admitting defeat.
“You’re a fearsome opponent, and I’m far below what you’re capable of.” After saying that, Li Tianfu turned around and headed to the passage reserved for contestants. He quickly disappeared from sight.
The crowd on the first floor was silent for a long moment, and then a huge uproar exploded throughout the hall. It felt as if the entire building of the Extreme Combat Association was about to get blown into the heavens.
“Noooo!”
“Ahhhh, this cannot be! This is impossible!”
No one had expected Li Tianfu to lose.
Everything seemed like a nightmare to those gamblers. Their faces twisted with fury and regret and utter disbelief.
Even at that moment, there were still many who refused to believe that Li Tianfu had actually lost. There was no way he could have lost to Jing Yan, who was only at the Seventh Heaven.
All those huge bets they had placed on Li Tianfu were gone.
Many lost all they had.
“Aaarrrrggghhhh…”
Zhao Dengtian, who was in his private room at that moment, was thrown in a frenzy. His eyes were bloodshot as he yelled hysterically.
He had no idea how Li Tianfu ended up losing just like that. Jing Yan had been on the verge of losing, and then Zhao Dengtian had watched with his own eyes as Jing Yan somehow retaliated at the last moment and won against Li Tianfu. Zhao Dengtian found that totally unacceptable.
The 20,000 Spiritual Stones he had wagered on Li Tianfu were gone. It was all out the window, just like that.
“I can’t believe this!!” Zhao Dengtian stormed out of the room like a madman.
“Young master!” The elder felt rather dazed as well. It was only when he saw Zhao Dengtian storm out of the room and head for the ring that he came to his senses. He desperately called for Zhao Dengtian to stop as he charged out of the room as well.
Doing anything less than appropriate in the association would only make things worse for them. Unfortunately, at this point, the young master of the Zhao Clan had apparently lost his mind. It seemed as if he was out to settle scores with Jing Yan.
The elder had seen with his own eyes what Jing Yan was capable of. Despite only having a cultivation at the Seventh Heaven, his powers weren’t something that the young master of the Zhao Clan could match. If Zhao Dengtian lashed out against Jing Yan and ended up getting killed, the elder wouldn’t have long to live himself. He wouldn’t be killed for losing the 20,000 Spiritual Stones, but if he failed to keep the young master alive, he would definitely suffer a fate worse than death.
“Huh?” Ran Qi was still reeling in shock herself.
When she saw Zhao Dengtian charging toward the ring, she seemed to come back to herself. She vanished from the room.
…
At the ring.
“Jing Yan, there… there’s no way you could have defeated Li Tianfu. There is no way you could get that powerful! You, you have definitely used some kind of dirty trick, you despicable *sshole! You made me lose 20,000 Spiritual Stones! Twenty thousand! I’m going to kill you!” Zhao Dengtian’s eyes were bloodshot as he charged at Jing Yan, thrusting his sword straight at the man.
“Know your place!” Jing Yan snarled with a low voice.
He swept a sword screen at Zhao Dengtian right away.
Despite his meridians being too damaged to use much Vital Qi, Jing Yan was still far above Zhao Dengtian in terms of combat prowess. Zhao Dengtian was immediately sent flying as the black sword screen hit him. He had no chance of resisting at all.
Zhao Dengtian, who was a Seventh Heaven warrior, slammed limply onto the ground.