Chapter 606: Again Using Great Effort

"Oh no, why did Master Zhang agree to a fistfight?" Hall Master Kang exclaimed, his face etched with anxiety as he clearly saw the situation on the stage.

The main reason he hadn't believed Master Zhang could win the championship was precisely this fear. With such weak cultivation, a true battle would leave him vulnerable to his opponents. Martial contests rely on raw power and cultivation. No matter how extraordinary his previous displays or how profound his state of mind, it wouldn't matter!

"Indeed, that was a bit reckless..." Master Su and Master Ling's faces also turned pale, looking quite troubled.

While the Alliance of Ten Thousand Kingdoms, based on previous results, couldn't dictate the type of contest, there was still one opportunity to decline. If an opponent challenged them to a physical fight, why not simply refuse? "Actually... refusing wouldn't have helped!" Zhao Feiwu, who had discerned the Masters' thoughts, interjected with a wry smile.

"Oh?" Everyone frowned and turned their attention to her.

As long as it wasn't a physical fight, Master Zhang's accomplishments in other areas were certainly on par with anyone else's, making it nearly impossible for his opponent to win. So why claim that refusing would be useless?

"The opponent knows Master Zhang's cultivation is his sole weakness. Why would they pass up such an opportunity? If Master Zhang didn't agree to a fistfight, they would certainly propose a sword fight, or a saber duel... perhaps even a contest of pure vital energy density. If you refuse one, you certainly can't refuse the next!" Zhao Feiwu explained.

Although she had never witnessed a true Master Competition, she had read extensively and understood the rules quite thoroughly.

"This..." Master Su, Hall Master Kang, and the others' expressions froze.

It wasn't that they were foolish or hadn't considered this; rather, their concern had clouded their judgment, leaving them momentarily unable to react. Furthermore, as Masters, competitions were expected to be fair and impartial. Who would have anticipated such a cunning maneuver?

Hearing the young woman articulate it now, their beards practically bristled with indignation. "Despicable!" Master Ling roared, "That is utterly contemptible!"

"Actually, it's not exactly despicable. In a competition, one naturally uses their most potent techniques," Hall Master Kang said, shaking his head. "Now, we can only hope for another miracle..." "A miracle? That's highly unlikely," Master Su responded, shaking his head. "Master Zhang has only just broken through in cultivation. Even setting aside whether he has consolidated his gains, the opponent is at the mid-stage Turbid Clarity realm. A two-minor-level difference makes victory incredibly difficult..."

Once one reaches the Transcendent Mortal realm, each subsequent level represents a vast gulf. Leaving other factors aside, consider power alone: a peak Yin-Yang realm practitioner commands 800,000 ding of strength, whereas a mid-stage Turbid Clarity realm practitioner possesses 1,200,000 ding. That's a colossal difference of 400,000 ding, a gap that sheer luck cannot hope to bridge.

"Yes, the disparity between them is too vast. I don't have high hopes for Master Zhang either... huh?" Hall Master Kang nodded, his spirits sinking, just as he was bracing himself for Master Zhang's defeat. Suddenly, he froze, his eyes wide, as if struck rigid.

"What is it?" Master Su couldn't help but glance over.

"Look at the stage, quickly..." Hall Master Kang urged.

"The stage?" Master Su quickly looked up, only to see Zhang Xuan standing alone on Arena D. His opponent, Wu Tianhao, had vanished without a trace.

"Where's the man who was fighting him?" Master Su quickly asked. How could he vanish in the blink of an eye? Once a match begins, anyone who leaves the stage is immediately declared the loser!

"He... he's..." Hall Master Kang's lips trembled as he pointed skyward. "He's flying..."

"Flying?" *Thud!* Master Su and the others nearly stumbled. Flying? Could that man be a Saint?

They all followed his gaze, and upon seeing the sight, their faces immediately took on peculiar expressions.

Indeed, a dark figure was freely soaring through the sky, already at least a hundred meters away and still ascending.

If this were an attack, he would undoubtedly be flying closer. Yet, this man wore a look of utter panic, screaming incessantly as if he'd seen a ghost, retreating at an incredibly high speed, much like a soccer ball that had been kicked.

"What in the world just happened?" Master Su finally blurted out.

"Master Zhang... with a gentle flick, he... just flew away!" Hall Master Kang's mouth twitched. Even after witnessing the scene firsthand, it still seemed utterly unbelievable.

The mid-stage Turbid Clarity realm expert from the sect, relying on his formidable cultivation, had launched a powerful punch at Master Zhang.

Judging by the force of that strike, even Hall Master Kang would have had to momentarily evade it. Yet... Master Zhang didn't move an inch. His palm met the blow, gave a gentle flick, and then... there was no 'then'.

The man was already soaring away...

"A gentle flick?" Master Su, Master Ling, Jin Conghai, and the others exchanged bewildered glances, feeling as if they were listening to a fantastical tale.

A mid-stage Transcendent Mortal Fourth Layer expert, whose strength, knowledge, and Master ranking were comparable to their own, sent flying by a mere flick of Master Zhang's palm... How could something so unbelievable sound like a simple narrative?

It wasn't just them who were stunned; the entire plaza had fallen into a stunned silence. Initially, when people saw Wu Tianhao directly challenging Master Zhang to a fistfight, they felt a degree of indignation. But upon witnessing this scene, everyone gaped at each other, their eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

What just happened?

They had imagined Master Zhang might win, but only after many difficult moves. Yet, with a single flick, the man was sent flying as if he were a mere stone. Was this real?

Since when did mid-stage Turbid Clarity realm experts become so easy to defeat?

"Master Zhang's discernment is simply incredible!"

"He didn't use his own power to send Master Wu flying; he redirected his opponent's force!"

"Indeed, he instantly perceived the trajectory of his opponent's power, then used a technique to suppress it and leverage that momentum to send him flying... This technique is practically a textbook example of how the weak can overcome the strong in combat!" "How did he discern all that at such lightning-fast combat speed?"

Soon, many spectators reacted, each one filled with profound shock.

Although the exchange had been incredibly swift, many four-star Masters with astonishing observational skills were present, and they could still discern certain details.

Wu Tianhao had attacked with a punch, pouring all his strength into it. However, excessive rigidity is short-lived, while extreme flexibility is difficult to defend against, and excessive force tends to break. His opponent instantly identified a flaw in the move, seized the opportunity, and with a sweep of his palm, sent him hurtling through the air before the first move had even concluded.

And thus... the scene of the human projectile came to be.

Wu Tianhao's companion, witnessing this, rolled his eyes frantically and nearly coughed up blood.

If only he had known how formidable this man's strength was, what terrible advice had he given? Now look what happened! Even if Wu Tianhao wasn't severely injured, that flight... if it didn't kill him, it would at least leave him incapacitated!

Could it be... he was the fabled "useless teammate"?

As he was reproaching himself, he saw Wu Tianhao, who had flown an unknown distance, lose momentum and plummet straight down from the sky. He plunged headfirst into a tall building within the Alliance Leader's mansion, followed by a cloud of dust and a bloodcurdling scream... then vanished from view.

"Junior Brother Tianhao..."

He jolted as if struck by lightning and rushed toward the direction of the fall. He hadn't gone far when he heard the young man on Arena D speak with an utterly innocent tone: "Ah, my apologies... I seem to have used too much force again..."

Used too much force?

His body swayed, and he nearly collapsed.

You, who are supposedly weaker and lower in cultivation, sent a powerful practitioner flying and then claim you used too much force...

The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became, almost to the point of madness. In the preliminary rounds, he had already ruined everything, and now, at the very beginning of the combat rounds, he had sent an expert two minor levels above him soaring into the sky...

What kind of freak was this guy anyway?

Was there any justice left in the world?

He was so frustrated he was nearly losing his mind. But to be honest, Zhang Xuan felt even more vexed.

The man had charged forward aggressively, unleashing his most potent force from the very first move. While this would have been overwhelming for anyone else, for Zhang Xuan, it was nothing.

His vital energy strength was 1,000,000 ding, and his soul power was 1,600,000 ding. As long as his Spirit Soul remained within his physical body, no one could discern that his combined might of 2,600,000 ding was equal to, if not greater than, that of a mid-stage Harmonious Spirit realm expert. It would have been truly bizarre if this fellow could have withstood it.

However, he also knew that directly punching the man and sending him flying would be far too sensational. So, he intentionally used his Eye of Insight to pinpoint a flaw, aiming to simply toss him off the arena...

Unexpectedly, the man had used too much force, and compounded by his recent breakthrough, Zhang Xuan hadn't yet fully grasped the precise power of a Transcendent Mortal Fourth Layer expert. He had inadvertently added a little too much strength...

Falling from such a height, even someone at the mid-stage Turbid Clarity realm would likely be thoroughly disoriented. Even if he didn't die, it would be difficult for him to recover enough to stand for at least a month or two.

To be precise, he truly didn't do it on purpose.

He had only ever sparred with his clone, and he had been beaten like a dog then. He had always assumed that all Transcendent Mortal Fourth Layer experts were extraordinarily powerful. Who would have thought that a single toss would send someone flying so incredibly far?

"Well then, Master Hong, does this count as a win for me?"

Knowing the man had flown away, there was no point in dwelling on it further. Zhang Xuan could only look at Master Hong with a helpless expression.

"You... you won!" Master Hong's mouth twitched.

It seemed this fellow could damage not only artifacts but also people...

And it wasn't just him thinking this; many Masters on the stage who were participating in the competition had their eyebrows twitching erratically.

"Whatever you do, don't engage this guy in a physical fight!"

"Exactly, but... if not a physical fight, then what else?" "I don't know either. All I know is, avoid a physical fight, or you'll die without even knowing how..."

They had all assumed that this person was only at the peak Yin-Yang realm, and that by simply unleashing their true strength, they could easily defeat him. They never dreamt... that this was not the case at all.

Wu Tianhao was a painful example of this.

Even just witnessing it made them wince in pain, let alone being the one involved.

Zhang Xuan quickly emerged victorious. In the other three venues, the contests had also concluded after a prolonged period.

In this particular round of competition, only his match involved a physical fight; the other three venues saw battles resolved using traditional Master methods.

One match even resorted to a "verbal duel."

Masters not only possess a deep understanding of cultivation techniques but also command a vast breadth of knowledge.

A verbal duel, somewhat akin to a Pill Debate, involves verbally attacking an opponent by posing questions or presenting knowledge that they cannot answer. The first person unable to respond concedes defeat.

For fairness, these contests are typically decided by a best-of-three format.

After three rounds of the verbal duel, another Master from Luo Xuan's sect emerged victorious.

After watching for a while and realizing that most of the matches were largely similar, Zhang Xuan lost interest. Some time later, Master Hong's voice resonated once more.

"Alright, the top sixteen have now been determined. Everyone will rest for half an hour, and then we'll proceed with the competition for the top eight!"

"The top sixteen have been announced?" He looked up, intending to see who had made it, when he saw Young Master Ruohuan approaching with a worried expression.