Chapter 1120: You Are Still Short of Members for Your Hanging Meeting? (Part 1)

Xiao Qin's mouth twitched.

Was this supposed to be him fighting a group, or a group fighting him one-on-one? Although their strength wasn't exceptionally high, each of them looked menacing, with a powerful aura. Weren't they supposed to be from a small place, and fatigued from their journey? How come they showed no fatigue at all? Instead, upon hearing about a competition, they were all excited, as if they had found a bunch of weaklings.

"I'm at the peak of Saint Realm 1-dan. Do you have anyone with similar strength?" Xiao Qin asked. Since they wanted to test the opponent's strength, finding someone of similar power would ensure the strongest combat performance and fairness. Otherwise, lowering one's cultivation to fight, with vastly superior experience and insight, would be obvious bullying. Of course, if fairness was requested, the other party wouldn't be brazen enough to engage in a group attack.

"Saint Realm 1-dan?" Young Master Ruohuan frowned. Most members of the Suspense Society were new students. Since the beginning of the semester, they had only been cultivating for a few months. Even with rapid progress, most would be at the Reversion Realm at most. As for reaching the Saint Realm... well, there was one such person!

"Go invite Senior Sister Qiqi over!" he instructed, turning his head.

A young man ran out, and soon after, Luo Qiqi arrived. In the Suspense Society, so far, besides the most powerful Zhang Xuan, she was the only one.

"I'm really sorry," Young Master Ruohuan said, a little embarrassed. "Among us in the Suspense Society, Senior Sister Qiqi is the only one who has reached the peak of Saint Realm 1-dan. How about you... have a match with her?"

Although Luo Qiqi was also a member of the Suspense Society, she had received personal guidance from the Headmaster. Her cultivation and insight were far superior to theirs, so having her fight would truly be unfair.

"Fight a girl?" Xiao Qin frowned. He was an unparalleled genius of the Combat Master Hall; his vital energy, physical speed, reactions... all far surpassed his peers. To just casually bring a girl to fight him seemed a bit too disrespectful!

"What's wrong with a girl?" Luo Qiqi snorted, raising her delicate eyebrows, and beckoned with her hand. "Come on!"

"Since you insist, I'll respectfully comply! But don't worry, if you can't handle it, I'll stop before causing serious harm..."

Seeing her insistence, Xiao Qin sighed and bowed politely like a gentleman. Then, with a flip of his hand, he infused vital energy throughout his body, and a powerful aura surged forth. His body swayed as he stepped forward. As a Centurion of the Martial Skills Hall, he excelled in martial arts. Although it was just a light step, it contained seven or eight variations. His figure flickered, as if several identical shadows appeared at once, making it impossible to discern his true attacking direction.

The martial skill: Thousand Trace Illusions! Thousand Trace Illusions was created two thousand years ago by a Soul Reflection Realm senior from the Combat Master Hall. Once unleashed, illusions abound, making it difficult to distinguish reality from illusion, easily leading opponents into traps.

Although his opponent was a girl, he unleashed his full power from the start, holding nothing back. The principle of the Combat Master Hall: never underestimate any opponent!

Whoosh! As Thousand Trace Illusions was deployed, he simultaneously pointed two fingers like a sword, resembling a poisonous snake darting out of its hole, thrusting forward. This was also a martial skill called 'Hidden Dragon Emerging from the Sea,' incredibly fast and precise, with dragon and snake-like movements that were impossible to guard against. When these two moves were combined, even within the Combat Master Hall, few at the same level could prevail against them.

"Not bad!" With a slight smile, the girl opposite moved. She didn't use any particular martial skill or make any grand movements; she simply spread her five fingers and slapped downwards. The simplest palm strike!

However, for some reason, despite its simple appearance, Xiao Qin felt his footwork and techniques were completely suppressed by her. It was as if no matter where he tried to escape, he couldn't dodge the attack.

"What kind of move is this?" His pupils contracted, and cold sweat broke out all over his body. Her move looked simple, but it actually saw through all his variations. No matter how he changed his movements, the outcome would always be the same... he'd be slapped down.

"I can only meet force with force..." As expected of a genius from the Combat Master Hall, he knew that dodging was impossible and continuing with his current moves would only lead to disadvantage. So, he gritted his teeth, flipped his palms, and met the attack head-on. There was no escape, so he would meet it head-on!

Although he wasn't as extreme as those from the Defense Hall, his vital energy and physical body were well-balanced. In a head-on confrontation, he was no weaker than others at the same level. Moreover, his opponent was a girl, so she certainly wouldn't be strong in terms of raw power.

As his palms danced, just about to make contact with her hand, he suddenly realized that the girl's figure had flickered and vanished from his sight.

"Oh no..." His hair stood on end; Xiao Qin felt his soul leave his body, drenched in cold sweat. The move that had forced him into a head-on confrontation just now was actually... a feint!

"Ah..." With a sharp gasp, he hastily retracted his forward attacking force and struck backwards. Although his movement was fast, the opponent was even faster. He felt a huge force crushing down on his back, and before it even landed, it seemed poised to tear his internal organs apart.

"It's too late..." Knowing that his opponent had seized the initiative and that he would surely be severely injured by the time his palm reached her, Xiao Qin gritted his teeth and quickly channeled all his internal energy to his spine. For now, he could only endure the blow and then figure out a way to counterattack.

He gritted his teeth, expecting the opponent's palm strike to be a furious onslaught, but suddenly felt the aura behind him vanish. All the pressure and attack dissipated into thin air. He hastily turned his head and saw the girl, who had retreated seven or eight steps at some point, standing quietly in place, motionless, as if she hadn't attacked at all.

"You lost!" Luo Qiqi said calmly.

"Pfft!" As her words finished, Xiao Qin's face turned pale. A mouthful of blood spurted out, and he then felt all his strength drain away, unable to stand any longer. Although they hadn't exchanged a single direct blow, his opponent had successfully manipulated the flow of vital energy within him. The two consecutive forceful retractions of vital energy had caused such severe backlash that he couldn't withstand it.

Without a single touch, simply by her insight and perception, she had severely wounded him, almost killing him on the spot. This girl... her understanding of martial skills and combat was terrifying! They were not on the same level at all!

"I lost!" Taking a deep breath, he regulated his breathing for a moment. Suppressing the pain in his body, Xiao Qin stood up, his face full of dejection. He had initially paid little attention to this Master Teacher Academy coming for an exchange, thinking their reputation was exaggerated. But only after truly fighting did he realize how formidable they were. He couldn't even stand against a casual girl; he truly wondered how strong the others would be!

"Actually, your vital energy, physical body, speed, and reactions are all quite good. Your martial skills are just too poor!" Seeing his disheartened expression, Luo Qiqi offered comfort.

"Martial skills too poor?" It would have been better if she hadn't said anything comforting. Hearing those words, Xiao Qin's mouth twitched, feeling even more deeply struck. He was the most famous genius in the Martial Skills Hall of the Combat Master Hall. At only Saint Realm 1-dan, he had mastered four Saint Realm-level martial skills, making him a rare talent in the entire Combat Master Hall. It could be said that, within the Martial Skills Hall, aside from Centurions with higher cultivation than him, almost no one at his level surpassed him in understanding martial skills... Under these circumstances, for his opponent to actually say... his martial skills were too poor, was like a blatant slap to his face.

"Don't believe me?" Luo Qiqi smiled faintly. "You can ask any student present to comment on what went wrong with your fight just now!"

"Comment? Them commenting on me?" Shaking his head, Xiao Qin looked around. The cultivators around him were almost all below the Reversion Realm, and some were only at the Spirit Unification Realm. In the past, he wouldn't even have the patience to glance at cultivators of this level, let alone let them comment... Could they understand the profundity of his moves? Could they comprehend the sophistication of his martial skills? Comment! What a joke!

"What, do you think their strength isn't enough to see through the flaws in your martial skills?" Luo Qiqi shook her head. "I'm not trying to put you down, but with your current strength and understanding of martial skills, even if you lowered your cultivation to fight any one of them, you wouldn't last two moves!"

"Any one of them? Please don't be so arrogant!" Xiao Qin's face darkened. No matter what, he was an expert from the Combat Master Hall. To say he couldn't even withstand two moves from someone who hadn't even reached the Reversion Realm... that was blatant contempt.

"Senior Sister Luo Qiqi isn't wrong, your strength is indeed quite poor.""Even if you lower your cultivation to fight us, you wouldn't be our match!""We're not lying, your understanding of martial skills is too weak..."

Seeing his unconvinced expression, everyone chimed in, offering "comfort." They had expected some kind of master to arrive, someone who would give them a good challenge, but they were quite disappointed to find him so weak. If he was going to challenge them, why didn't he bring someone decent, someone a bit stronger? This guy in front of them had such a poor understanding of martial skills; wasn't he just asking for a beating by coming here? Ugh, he's too weak! Everyone felt a wave of disappointment.

"You all... fine. I originally thought lowering my cultivation to fight you would be bullying, but since you insist, bring it on!" Seeing everyone sighing and looking at him as if he were a "weakling," Xiao Qin was about to explode with anger. Unable to hold back any longer, he took a healing pill to recover from his injuries. With a roar, he continuously suppressed his aura, and in the blink of an eye, he had lowered his cultivation to the peak of Bridge Heaven Realm.

"I've lowered my cultivation. Is there anyone here who wants to fight me?" He looked around, his expression indifferent.

"Peak Bridge Heaven Realm? Almost everyone here is at that cultivation level. Just pick anyone you want..." Seeing his defiance and desire to fight, Young Master Ruohuan shook his head and looked around.

"Alright!" Seeing the confident nonchalance of the Suspense Society's steward, who told him to pick anyone he wanted, Xiao Qin felt as if he'd been slapped again. He gritted his teeth in anger, looked around, and randomly pointed at an unassuming person in his early twenties, with a fair complexion, slightly frail appearance, and a shy demeanor.

"You want to fight me?" The person called out stepped forward, seemingly struck by a stroke of luck, a little disbelieving.

"Yes!" Xiao Qin gestured with his hand.

"I can fight you, but you're injured now, and fighting you like this would be a bit unfair..." He hesitated, then a good idea seemed to strike him. Excitement flashed in the fair-skinned young man's eyes as he seriously declared, "I'll tie my hands and fight you without using them... that way, it'll be fair!"