Chapter 452: Too Brutal! (Request Monthly Tickets)

31 matches, Lin Qi's gaze flashed like lightning, sweeping across the field before landing on his opponent.

【Match 4: Lin Qi (Xia Guo) vs. Hattori Sōsai (Sakura Nation)】

…

After seeing his opponent, Lin Qi smirked with amusement.

Beside him, Jiang Tao's expression instantly turned excited.

"Lin Qi Ge, your opponent is Hattori Sōsai from Sakura Nation—make sure you give him a good beating."

Lin Qi chuckled: "You want me to kill him in one move, or really torture him?"

Jiang Tao froze: "You can choose?"

"Lin Qi Ge, do whatever you want—just don't lose because of me!"

Lin Qi patted Jiang Tao's shoulder and smiled: "Relax, I'll give him a proper beating."

"Just Hattori Sōsai? Won't affect the final outcome."

…

On the Sakura Nation spectator seats,

Hattori Sōsai, only 1.75 meters tall and with a distinctly sleazy face, saw his opponent was Lin Qi and broke into an excited grin:

"Lin Qi from Xia Guo? We got lucky."

"Actually matched against him."

He turned to glance at the distant, good-looking Kitano Wakana, his eyes lingering deliberately on her prominent chest.

"Kitano-chan, I'll avenge you with my sword."

"I'll eliminate him."

Kitano Wakana immediately shook her head: "No, I don't need revenge!"

"Besides, you might not even win!"

After watching Lin Qi defeat the SSS-tier genius Tracy from the White Eagle Federation, she felt Lin Qi was stronger than Hattori Sōsai.

Hattori Sōsai's face darkened instantly—being openly told he was inferior to another, especially by someone like her, was unbearable.

If Kitano weren't also an SS-tier genius, he'd have taught her a lesson.

…

The main tournament's seventh round officially began.

Everyone who reached this round was a top-tier expert—no more one-hit KOs.

Senior Shen Heng and Ivan were exceptions, since they were already seventh-realm warriors.

After waiting ten full minutes, it was finally Lin Qi's turn to step onto the stage.

【Please welcome the two competitors for Match 4!】

Lin Qi looked at the information that flashed before him, then slowly rose to his feet.

Jiang Jiang Miaoyin punched the air: "Ji Ge, go get 'em!"

Lin Qi nodded, and the next instant, he was enveloped in a crimson light pillar and descended onto the arena.

On the spectator seats, millions of viewers began analyzing the matchup.

"Hattori Sōsai from Sakura Nation—can't deny he's short."

"Since the Martial Era began, almost no male martial genius has been under 1.8 meters."

"And he's this ugly too—strange, but his talent is genuinely impressive."

"SSS-tier talent in his fourth year, incredibly strong—might even make it to the top 16."

"But his opponent? Lin Qi. Xia Guo's Lin Qi."

"He's labeled SSS-tier, but I feel he's got SSS-tier talent."

"Only a second-year, yet his talent and strength are monstrous—even Tracy, an SSS-tier genius, fell easily to him."

"This is bound to be an epic match."

"But I think Hattori Sōsai will win—Lin Qi's still too young."

One spectator analyzed everything, then delivered his verdict.

"Pfft, what nonsense."

"I say Lin Qi will crush Hattori Sōsai effortlessly."

"Lin Qi's never lost before—this won't be the first time." Others countered.

…

Not just the spectators—the live comments were also erupting in arguments between the two nations.

Sure, Hattori Sōsai was ugly, but he was still Sakura Nation's genius.

On the arena.

The crimson light pillar faded. Lin Qi stepped forward in a sleek black combat suit, one hand gripping his spear.

Opposite him, Hattori Sōsai, barely 1.7 meters tall, wore a black combat suit with a silver longsword strapped at his waist.

Both wore black combat suits—but they were polar opposites.

Matching outfits aren't the problem—it's who looks worse.

Lin Qi was tall, handsome, with perfect proportions; Hattori Sōsai was short and ugly.

Hattori Sōsai stared at Lin Qi across the arena, a flicker of inferiority in his eyes, then sneered:

"So what if you're handsome? You'll still fall to my sword."

"Lin Qi of Xia Guo—this is your final match."

"I'll give you a memory you'll never forget."

Lin Qi scoffed: "Pathetic clown."

【Countdown: …3, 2, 1】

【Seventh Round, Match 4—Combat Begins!】

The arena's AI voice echoed.

"Huuu!!"

Instantly, water materialized from thin air amid the ruined ruins, the atmosphere growing damp.

Blue patterns surfaced on Hattori Sōsai's skin, condensing into streams of blue water that coalesced into blade-like edges along his sword.

"Swoosh~"

A fierce aura erupted from Hattori Sōsai. At just 1.7 meters, his frame was lean and powerful—he vanished from his spot the moment his feet pushed off.

His longsword thrust forward, unleashing his sword art.

He shot forward like a laser beam. Seeing him charge, Lin Qi's body erupted in golden light, his golden pupils instantly activating.

In his vision, Hattori Sōsai's speed slowed to a crawl.

Hattori Sōsai truly had grounds for arrogance.

According to data gathered by Liu Yuanzhang and Wan Ming, he was a late sixth-realm cultivator, nearly at the peak of his realm.

An SS-tier genius, he lacked height but was born with exceptional agility, coordination, and flexibility.

When fully unleashed, his speed was astonishing. Ugly and grotesque by nature, he became obsessive after awakening his special ability 【Flowing Water】 and trained relentlessly.

His sword art reached fourth-stage mid-level, just a hair away from late-stage.

In pure speed, he was faster than Tracy from the White Eagle Federation.

Pure speed—similar to Miyamoto Genichirō, classic Sakura Nation style: sword art pursued absolute speed.

This unorthodox approach delivered formidable power.

And Hattori Sōsai was like a swordfish—the fastest creature in water.

He controlled his special ability 【Flowing Water】 like a high-pressure hose, channeling it for maximum velocity.

"Shiiii! Shiiii!"

His sword pierced the air, trailing sharp, curved whistles.

In Lin Qi's eyes, every trajectory of Hattori Sōsai's sword was crystal clear—he'd already predicted the blade aimed straight for his face.

Trying to scar my face?

!

How amusing—you're jealous of my looks.

Lin Qi rooted his legs into the earth. Under his control, golden blade-energies in the air coalesced into countless sharp blades, firing at Hattori Sōsai.

"Bang! Bang!"

Hattori Sōsai slashed, unleashing a thousand sword shadows.

Blade edges clashed with golden blades, canceling each other out.

Meanwhile, he himself darted forward like a swordfish, closing the distance to just one meter from Lin Qi.

"Shiiii! Shiiii!"

Simultaneously, Lin Qi swung his black great spear.

"Clang! Clang!"

Weapons collided, and force clashed violently in the air.

Hattori Sōsai had absolute confidence in his sword art, unleashing it without restraint.

His sword technique was the 【Ten Thousand Waters Sword Art】, balanced between hardness and softness—but in his cultivation, he pushed the softness to its extreme.

Combined with his special ability 【Flowing Water】, his speed became Jizhi —light, swift, and relentless.

The sword technique unleashed, like ten thousand waters shooting forth.

He just wanted to slash Lin Qi's handsome face—he hated good-looking men the most.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!!"

The great spear and long sword clashed, forces colliding, the air exploding in sound.

Jin Feng and Flowing Water stood head to head!

Lin Qi wielded the great spear with ease, his spear technique as fluid and continuous as a river's spirit.

Each collision was perfectly timed, effortlessly blocking Hattori Sōsuke's sword strikes.

"How is this possible!"

After just dozens of exchanges, Hattori Sōsuke sensed something was wrong.

He immediately unleashed his full power, accelerating the frequency of his sword thrusts.

"Shii! Shii!!"

"Dang! Dang!!"

Lin Qi spun the great spear, turning it into a shield, blocking every strike.

At the same time, he channeled the power of 【Jin Feng】, releasing it as countless sharp blades.

"Puff! Puff!!"

The highly condensed golden blades sliced across Hattori Sōsuke's face like razor blades.

So painful!

Hattori Sōsuke inwardly recoiled—he was sixth realm, his skin and membrane hardened tougher than ox hide.

Even with a knife pressed hard, it couldn't cut through.

Yet it was pierced by an energy form—how strong was this blade's power?

"Too slow! Too slow!"

"How did you even earn an SS-rank title with speed this sluggish?"

"With speed like this, in our Xia Guo, you'd only qualify as an S-rank prodigy."

Lin Qi mocked, watching the multiple bloody cuts on Hattori Sōsuke's face.

The pain on his face, combined with Lin Qi's taunts, ignited his fury—he frantically activated his special ability.

His sword technique grew faster, the Flowing Water realm merging into his strikes.

Lin Qi shook his head—on this year's Global Martial Arts Tournament, even fourth-year SS-rankers, or even SSS-rank prodigies like Senior Shen Heng and Ivan,

hadn't fully mastered their special abilities.

All of them were merely at the Great Completion stage, at most a 1.8x power boost.

Not to mention Hattori Sōsuke across from him.

"Puff~ Puff~"

The golden blades kept striking out; Lin Qi felt it was enough—Hattori Sōsuke hadn't mastered a Minor Divine Art.

This was already his limit.

"Boom!!"

Realizing this, Lin Qi suddenly unleashed his full power—vast energy surged forth, vibrating with force, merging with the golden blades like a coiling serpent.

He swung his golden great spear with all his might!

Two-fold power boost!

"Bang!!"

The great spear and long sword collided; golden blades erupted like a thousand arrows, crashing together with the force.

The air exploded—Hattori Sōsuke's eyes widened as the golden blades pierced through his eyeballs, blood spurting wildly.

The terrifying force surged into his body, instantly tearing it apart.

Though he possessed extreme speed, his body's endurance was far too weak.

Bones shattered; his body was flung away like a rag.

"Bang!"

His body slammed into the ground, face a bloody, unrecognizable mess—utterly gruesome, mumbling "Impossible…"

His entire body was engulfed in searing pain.

Finally, he dissolved into nothingness!

【Match 4: Lin Qi (Xia Guo) Wins!】

The arena's AI voice announced coldly.

In the spectator seats, Wan Ming couldn't help exclaiming:

"Too brutal!!"

…

(End of Chapter)