The spear-wielding, blue-haired boy and Gao Liehu both stepped on the arena as the hosting instructor declared the start of the fight.
Gao Liehu was specialized in defensive battle skills and carried a big, dark blue shield that was half his size on his left hand.
His protection was impenetrable throughout the competition, and his opponents had no choice but to give up or get exhausted enough for Gao Liehu to ruthlessly pummel them till they were eliminated.
This far, he was very successful in his fighting plan, yet he felt very nervous about this match and looked intermittently at the cultivator overlooking the battle.
"If he freely grants this guy a victory over me, I won't take it low. I will protest until the end, even if I have to get beaten up… I won't allow him to belittle me!" Gao Liehu gritted his teeth as he thought with fervor, and actually, even the onlookers believed the same.
"He's just going to give him the win without fighting like the other times, what's the point of this masquerade?"
"They should directly give him the number 1 position and end the competition here, that would be faster…"
Some even had the idea that he might be the Tiger Martial Institute dean's hidden son, but of course no one would dare give this thought a voice.
The bells rang, and immediately the unknown boy got in stance and lightly thrust with his spear, a weapon made of refined iron.
Gao Liehu injected qi into his shield. From its edges spread out a squarish, blue barrier of light that enlarged in front of him and fully covered his body.
Earthen Rock Body!
He simultaneously used a defensive art, at once his skin turned and was completely covered in deep brown rocks.
The spear-wielding boy raised his eyebrows and added a bit more strength to his thrust.
Bang!
Instantly, a loud crash was heard as the blue light of the shield was smashed to bits like broken mirror fragments dancing in the sky, before vanishing.
After going through the barrier, the remaining spear energy collided with the rock skin, penetrating Gao Liehu's body as numerous small rock fragments flew out.
"Argh!" Intense pain flared up in Gao Liehu's mind as he lowered his head to look at the injury.
On his right chest was a hole the size of a duck's egg, and through it, you could see the tongue-tied expressions of the spectators in the bleachers.
Gao Liehu looked haggard as he tried to take a step, but before he could make it, he collapsed on the stone tiles, drenching the stage with his blood.
The hosting instructor announced the blue-haired youngster victorious as he flew in a hurry towards Gao Liehu.
"I thought he, at least, would be able to take one hit, damn it!" The instructor mumbled under his breath in frustration as he reached Gao Liehu.
The healing instructor urgently treated him, but his wound was too severe and he couldn't be saved. Gao Liehu succumbed to his injuries.
"What the f*ck!" The spectators stood up from their seats, dumbfounded.
"What happened, is it a joke?"
"One hit for this much damage, I can't believe it!"
Most of them only saw the young boy thrust out with his spear and the next moment, on the other side of the battle stage, Gao Liehu's defenses shattered and his chest was perforated.
"Mister Hong, do you know who this kid is?" The Gao clan elder asked gloomily. One of the promising new generation Gao clan members just died in front of his eyes. He wasn't in a good mood.
"Of course I know, he's the Jin clan young lord from Crow Black Town, Jin Hao Tian."
"Crow Black Town from the Floating Carp Region? But it's thousands of miles away, how could he be here?" The elders were surprised by this piece of news.
Now they understood why they could not recognize the young man. Crow Black Town was a small city deep inside the Floating Carp Region which was on the west, right beside the Cloud Region.
Although they couldn't recognize its members, they heard of the reputation of the Jin clan. It was a clan that focused on the mastery of the spear. They had many arts pertaining to this domain and created multiple experts.
Even though Crow Black Town was smaller and less powerful than Azure Water City, the Jin Clan was the sole power dominating the area and, as such, all the resources transiting in the city ended in their hands. Different from Azure Water City which divided them between the four clans while the scraps were left to the rest.
Currently, the Jin clan didn't lose out to the four clans at all.
"I was told he left his town alone on the back of a tamed blood beast months ago in the direction of Azure Water City. Apparently, he wanted to explore the world a bit and hone his skills while experiencing new things on the way before getting to destination and participating in the competition."
"Crow Black Town has only one martial institution, and it can't compare to ours, so it's understandable he would want to come here. Being able to travel all the way from Crow Black Town to Azure Water City without his clan's protection speaks for itself of his abilities." Hong Li explained, amused.
"Crossing an entire region by himself as a young Qi Gathering cultivator? I don't know if I should call this courage or foolishness." Han Zhen Jun commented on the side. He had a favorable impression of the young man.
In the meantime, many understood why the hosting instructor interrupted all of Jin Hao Tian's battles since now. That he was in the known of his identity or not wasn't confirmed, but as a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator, he could easily sense the cultivation and strength of Qi Gathering Realm juniors.
Every time Jin Hao Tian was about to attack, the instructor immediately understood his opponent wouldn't survive this strike and decisively stopped the fight.
However, this time he still underestimated Jin Hao Tian, causing Gao Liehu's death. After all, even if you knew someone's cultivation and could more or less determine their strength, it was impossible to understand how much experience they had, which cultivation technique and battle skills they trained in or how talented was someone at first glance.
All these characteristics could positively or negatively affect the battle strength of an individual.
"I'm curious to see how strong this city's young masters are compared to me." Jin Hao Tian left the stage, a smile hanging on his face.
The second fight contained nothing shocking, and the onlookers were able to slightly calm down from the surprise of Jin Hao Tian's battle.
It ended in the victory of a Yan clan member.
"Ye Mo vs Ha Jun!"
Eventually, it was Ye Mo's turn once again. His opponent was a rather famous youth.
He was the disciple of a vagrant cultivator currently settled in a neighboring city, and came all the way here to become a member of the Tiger Martial Institute.
As for why he was famous, he was no less than one of the few body refining cultivators.
"A fight between two body refiners haha, it's going to be fun."
"Two of them in the same competition is really uncommon, I wonder who's gonna win."
"Ha Jun broke through the third stage of the Iron Skin Body a week ago, the kid stands no chance."
"He has the strength to fight one layer higher than himself, there's no doubt about the victor for me."
Ha Jun stepped onto the arena. His arms and waist were thick like fence posts, and his skin gave off a metallic luster.
He had black hair and a growing mustache. Ye Mo looked tiny compared to him.
His arduous and time-consuming cultivation of the mid-tier Yellow Class Iron Skin Body was shown on the surface, as he was already 15 years old and still at the 5th layer of the Qi Gathering Realm.
Although it could be considered pretty good outside the institute, among the remaining participants, he was one of the worst regarding qi cultivation.
However, there was no doubt in everyone's mind that if Ha Jun was opposed to Li Cheng, he would easily crush him.
Bong!
The bells echoed out across the arena. It was time for the match to begin!