Chapter 89: The Desperate Gap

The cheers at the scene were boiling!

However, Hong Qianhai, as an Organ Cultivation strong person, had a loud voice, which clearly spread to most of the area.

Swish!

The new batch of students of the martial hall, including those old students who came to watch the battle, were all stunned.

Did they hear it wrong?

This Kong Kong Guanzhu Hong is saying that Lin Chen's Qing Feng Palm has reached Perfection?

This is impossible?

At this moment, even seed students like Gu Shan lost their previous reserve.

If Lin Chen's Qing Feng Palm was Great Accomplishment, it made them wary and gave them the strength to make them treat it seriously, but if it was Perfection……

Then fight a fart!

Gu Shan's mouth kept twitching. He just said he wanted to see whether Lin Chen's Qing Feng Palm was sharp or his Iron Bone Art was hard.

Now no need to look. If Lin Chen is really Perfection Qing Feng Palm, cutting him is like cutting vegetables.

Ten times the power erupting from his own strength, to be honest, five acupuncture points can fight eight acupuncture points, not to mention Lin Chen is still at six acupuncture points.

So, is Lin Chen's Qing Feng Palm Perfection?

All seed students stared tightly at Qihe at this moment.

"Liang'er, what is Perfection?" Lin's mother asked curiously after being excited.

"Mother, I haven't practiced martial arts, I don't know." Lin Liang shook his head.

"Yu Yu Jiaoxi, what does Perfection mean?"

On the Kaohe Town

Among the Martial Hall students, aside from a few in the town whose families had practitioners and thus had some understanding of the subsequent path of the Martial Way, many students who came from the villages were just like Lin Chen had been—their understanding of the subsequent stages of the Martial Way was a blank slate.

"Perfection—that is the mark of a cultivation technique having been practiced to its ultimate limit."

"Yu Yu Jiaoxi, have you practiced your technique to perfection?" a student asked foolishly.

Yu Yu Jiaoxi Liu and Yu Yu Jiaoxi Chen's expressions stiffened, but they immediately admitted calmly, "No. But as you have all seen, your Lin Lin Shixiong has practiced his technique to the ultimate limit. As disciples, you need not be inferior to your instructors."

……

……

At the scene, Qihe had never felt such immense pressure, especially since he also sensed the angry gaze of Uncle Xia from the left area.

Uncle Xia was a Ranked practitioner who had come out of the Qing Feng Wuguan; although his Qi and blood had already declined and his strength was likely inferior to his own now, he dared not show any negligence when facing Uncle Xia.

Not to mention the Xia family's influence in Poyang City, the Xia family alone had three Organ Cultivation practitioners, and as a Ranked practitioner, Uncle Xia's network of connections was not something his own Organ Cultivation stage could compare to.

He really did not want to admit that Lin Chen's Qingfeng Palm was at perfection, but under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he was not the only one practicing the Qingfeng Palm; it was useless for him not to admit it, as there were plenty of people who could confirm Lin Chen's Qingfeng Palm was at perfection.

"Looking at this palm from Lin Chen, it is indeed the Qingfeng Palm practiced to perfection. Giving Lin Chen the Acupuncture Pill and passing on the Qingfeng Palm to him back then was indeed a wise move."

Qihe spoke up, not forgetting to mention at the end of his words that it was he who had taken the initiative to admit Lin Chen into the Qing Feng Wuguan; this was his credit.

It was just that the people from the other martial halls at the scene directly ignored this latter sentence of his; the entanglement between Lin Chen and the Qing Feng Wuguan was something the major martial halls had all understood clearly after yesterday.

Qihe could not wash himself clean.

Hearing Qihe say it himself, Gu Shan and the others had incredibly ugly expressions.

How could they compete with Lin Chen, whose Qingfeng Palm was at perfection?

They simply could not beat him.

As the seed students of their respective martial halls, they had their own pride and would not easily admit defeat.

But Lin Chen had clearly already surpassed the limits they could withstand; unless someone could break through to the ninth acupuncture point at this moment, there was absolutely no possibility of being Lin Chen's opponent.

This grand competition had already ended prematurely.

For Gu Shan and the others, their goal was first place; now that the opportunity was gone, whether it was second or third place did not hold much significance for them.

Watching Lin Chen walk off the ring, these people really wanted to ask: is he even human?

Were you raised soaking in the Qingfeng Palm since you were small?

At the Jing Shui Wuguan, Lin Chen enjoyed the attentive gazes of all the Senior Sisters and Junior Sisters. Fu Jingya was the first who could not help but speak: "Lin Lin Shidi... no, now it is Senior Lin Lin Shidi. Senior Lin Lin Shidi, you really hid your strength deep."

Kong Yinglei also wanted to say these words.

Good lad, to think he had reached perfection in the Qingfeng Palm and didn't reveal it, only saying it was at mastery. If he had told her earlier, she wouldn't have made a fool of herself in front of Xiao Xiao Shimei Shen just now.

"It was also luck; last night I suddenly had an epiphany, and the Qingfeng Palm broke through to perfection."

Lin Chen smiled slightly, and sensing the somewhat resentful gaze of Kong Kong Guanzhu Kong, he explained, "This disciple thought that since I would be demonstrating it today, I didn't inform the Kong Kong Guanzhu in advance."

"Lin Chen, you did the right thing. Revealing your strength before a fight is a major taboo; hiding your clumsiness is the right move."

Shen Lin took a step forward to take the conversation, looking at Lin Chen with a smile. If he had informed Jiang Jiang Shijie Kong in advance, wouldn't that have just given Jiang Jiang Shijie Kong another chance to show off?

Kong Yinglei rolled her eyes in her heart, but regardless, Lin Chen's Qingfeng Palm reaching perfection brought her a surprise.

If she had previously only felt that the Jing Shui Wuguan had three students who could enter the top ten this time, then now she could declare categorically that the first place of this session belonged to the Jing Shui Wuguan.

First place would only be produced between Lin Chen and Jiang Qing.

Thinking that the battle for first place this session would be an internal war for the martial hall, Kong Yinglei couldn't help but be overjoyed.

It was a pity that the Jiang Jiang Shijie wasn't here. If it were the Jiang Jiang Shijie's temperament, knowing Lin Chen's Qingfeng Palm was at perfection, she would never have missed this excitement, and with the Jiang Jiang Shijie's temperament, Qihe would have been humiliated to death by her.

By comparison, she was still a bit lacking in this regard and would have to learn more from the Jiang Jiang Shijie.

No matter how much shock Lin Chen brought to the practitioners present, the competition had to continue. As the subsequent students took the stage, the commoners still watched with great interest, cheering continuously.

However, the practitioners present, watching the matches on the ring, no longer had their original anticipation in their hearts. Like Meng Yuan of the Mantis Martial Hall fighting Qi Fei of the Cloud Hidden Martial Hall, the battle was extremely brilliant, but they always felt something was missing.

More accurately, everyone's minds were not on the ring; they were somewhat absent-minded.

With Lin Chen's excellent performance as a precedent, the remaining few matches, while brilliant, could not bring them shock and were rather dull.

Qi Fei and the others were the same; after the matches ended, whether they won or lost, they all hurried off the stage.

Soon, the top nine were produced.

Of the eight major martial halls, except for the Qing Feng Wuguan which was completely wiped out, the other martial halls each had one person left, while the Jing Shui Wuguan had three, including Fu Jingya who had a bye.

The referee in charge of the drawing went to the backstage again, his gaze landing on Lin Chen: "In this round, Lin Chen has a bye."

Gu Shan and the others were startled upon hearing this, but then a sigh of relief escaped from the depths of their hearts involuntarily.

They had to admit that in this round of the competition, they would rather face Jiang Qing than face Lin Chen.

The Wuzheng Office designating Lin Chen for a bye just happened to save them from worrying about encountering Lin Chen in the next round.

Lin Chen also did not expect the Wuzheng Office to directly arrange a bye for him; he was somewhat astonished, but he did not refuse.

Being able to have a bye was naturally a good thing.

After the drawing ended, Lin Chen and Jiang Qing returned to the Jing Shui Wuguan side. When Kong Yinglei learned that Lin Chen had a bye, she also nodded.

Although surprised, she understood.

The second round of the competition did not have the fast pace of the first round. Of the eight people drawing lots, except for Fu Jingya, the others were all seed students of their respective martial halls, and there was no great disparity.

Who could win and who could triumph depended on their respective on-the-spot performance and combat techniques.

This intense and exciting competition made the cheers of the commoners at the scene come in waves, one after another.

After the second round, the top five rankings were produced.

Fei Hong of the Iron Tie Tie Xue Wuguan, Gu Shan of the Zhenyue Martial Hall, Jiang Qing of the Jing Shui Wuguan, Song Yu of the Seven Stars Martial Hall, and Lin Chen who had the bye.

Five people—would someone have to have a bye in this third round as well?

Not only Lin Chen and the five, but the practitioners watching at the scene were also thinking about this point.

The battle in this third round would inevitably be extremely tragic, yet the person with the bye could maintain the best state and wait at ease for the exhausted; this was too unfair to the four who did not have a bye.

"I think we should just proceed with a round-robin battle; the five will take turns fighting to determine the final ranking."

"That is inappropriate. If it were like this, those who fight first would still be at a disadvantage; it is unknown how much strength they could still exert after experiencing a fierce battle."

"Taking turns to fight is not impossible, but every student should be given enough time to recover. However, if that were the case, the time would be too long; it would take at least two days to finish."

With so many commoners watching at the scene, if the final battle for first place were extended to tomorrow, this martial hall competition would not be perfect.

Behind the ring.

Jiang Qing swept a glance at the silent Gu Shan and the others and suddenly spoke: "I have already broken through to the ninth acupuncture point."

Swish!

The pupils of Gu Shan and the others contracted as they looked at Jiang Qing in disbelief.

Ninth acupuncture point?

Shocked?

Indeed shocked.

But with Lin Chen's Qingfeng Palm at perfection as a precedent, what could be unacceptable about Jiang Qing reaching the ninth acupuncture point?

In their hearts, accepting Jiang Qing reaching the ninth acupuncture point was far easier than accepting Lin Chen's Qingfeng Palm at perfection.

Lin Chen raised his eyes to look at the Jiang Jiang Shijie; he was not too surprised either.

Before the competition, the Jiang Jiang Shijie had revealed that it was possible to step into the ninth acupuncture point before the competition.

He was more curious about the purpose of the Jiang Jiang Shijie saying this?

Persuading them to withdraw with strength?

"Only Lin Lin Shidi is qualified to fight me at the scene. You three can withdraw from the competition or compete for the subsequent rankings elsewhere; there shouldn't be much difference for you between third, fourth, and fifth place."

Jiang Qing spoke domineering words in a flat tone.

Lin Chen's guess was right; Jiang Qing was indeed prepared to persuade them to withdraw with strength.

Leading the eighth acupuncture point by the ninth is not as simple as just one acupuncture point.

She did not want to drag it out any longer; only Lin Lin Shidi at the scene could make her get serious.

Gu Shan, Fei Hong, and Song Yu looked at each other, both seeing the bitterness in the other's eyes. As the top martial hall students, when had they ever been looked down upon like this?

But they had to admit that Jiang Qing was right. For them, whether it was third place or fourth place did not have much significance; the three of them didn't care at all about the extra bit of silver reward.

Facing Jiang Qing at the ninth acupuncture point, they were indeed powerless to resist, but what about Lin Chen?

They knew the power of a cultivation technique practiced to perfection, but they hadn't experienced it before. To let them give up just like that because he was two acupuncture points ahead of Lin Chen—they were truly unwilling.

Seeing Gu Shan and the three looking at him, Lin Chen also guessed the thoughts of these three; they were unwilling and didn't want to give up like this.

Since that was the case, he would let them give up completely.

"Yesterday, I also opened an acupuncture point; now I am already at the seventh acupuncture point."

Gu Shan:...

Fei Hong:...

Song Yu:...

Not playing anymore!

You guys from the Jing Shui Wuguan go play by yourselves.

The three of them were somewhat broken down at this moment. Are you Jiang Jiang Shijie and Lin Lin Shidi playing us for fools here?

One hid the strength of an acupuncture point, and one hid the Qingfeng Palm at perfection and an acupuncture point. If you had said so earlier, we wouldn't have competed.

……

……

Behind the ring, a man from the Wuzheng Office hurried toward the left area and stood respectfully before Su Lingchuan.

"What is the matter?"

"Lord Su, Gu Shan of the Zhenyue Martial Hall, Fei Hong of the Iron Tie Tie Xue Wuguan, and Song Yu of the Seven Stars Martial Hall have chosen to give up the fight for first place."

The man's words made the practitioners at the scene frown.

Having reached this step, giving up the final fight?

Even if Lin Chen's Qingfeng Palm was at perfection, it was not as if there was no chance to fight; to be cowardly before fighting was truly a disgrace.

"Bastards!"

On the left side of the first row, a middle-aged man had a livid face; this person was the master of the Fei Family Manor, Fei Hong's father.

He could accept his son losing, but he could not accept his son admitting defeat without a fight.

The path of the Martial Way is long; how many heaven-gifted geniuses will one encounter later? If one is cowardly and refuses to fight, one will never be able to enter the Ranked Tier in this lifetime.

"What is going on?" Su Lingchuan also frowned. He could not care about those ranked outside the top fifty, but the top ten students were still within his attention.

"Jiang Qing of the Jing Shui Wuguan has already broken through to the ninth acupuncture point and persuaded the three to give up. Furthermore, that Lin Chen has also broken through to the seventh acupuncture point; it has already been verified."

The man's answer made Fei Cheng's expression become strange. With the ninth acupuncture point and the seventh acupuncture point, plus the Qingfeng Palm at perfection, he had indeed wronged Hong'er.

Su Lingchuan had a sharp light in his eyes. The martial hall students of this session really gave him a surprise. Jiang Qing was still within expectations, but Lin Chen gave him a big surprise.

"Since the students have made their own decisions, then proceed directly to the final round."

Su Lingchuan made the final decision. As for the third, fourth, and fifth rankings, they could be placed at the Wuzheng Office to be contested later.

Having obtained Su Lingchuan's permission, the man soon went to the backstage to notify them. Ten-plus breaths later, when they saw Gu Shan and the three return to their respective martial hall areas, and Lin Chen and Jiang Qing walked onto the ring.

Seeing this scene, the students of the major martial halls at the scene, including Kong Kong Guanzhu Fu and the instructors, were stunned. What is going on?

Why did Jiang Qing and Lin Chen appear on the stage?

According to the situation in the previous rounds, students from the same martial hall would not face each other.

"Lin Lin Shixiong Gu, what is going on?" Fu Ang asked curiously.

"Jiang Qing is at the ninth acupuncture point, Lin Chen is at the seventh acupuncture point. Song Yu, Fei Hong, and I have given up the fight for the first ranking."

Gu Shan spoke very flatly, but as soon as his words came out, the Zhenyue Martial Hall side was silent.

There were two other areas that were equally silent; the Seven Stars Martial Hall and the Iron Tie Tie Xue Wuguan were the same.

"Jiang Jiang Shijie, did you hear that?"

Shen Lin's beautiful eyes had a bright light. The Zhenyue Martial Hall was right beside them, and with her hearing, she had heard Gu Shan's words just now clearly; she thought the Jiang Jiang Shijie must have heard them too.

However, Kong Yinglei looked at her with an angry expression, which made Shen Lin freeze. She didn't understand what the Jiang Jiang Shijie was angry about?

Weren't these all good news?

The first and second places were monopolized by their Jing Shui Wuguan.

"Kong Yinglei, Vice Kong Kong Guanzhu of the Jing Shui Wuguan, asks here: why arrange for two students of my martial hall to fight? Does this exist as unfairness?"

Shen Lin's eyes widened suddenly. How... how could the Jiang Jiang Shijie have the thick skin to say these words?

Swish!

The vice hall masters of the other seven martial halls were also stunned. Kong Yinglei is not acting like a human!

To kill someone and then punish their heart!

The commoners present did not know the inside story, but with Kong Yinglei asking this, the Martial Administration Office had to give an answer. The commoners of the entire Poyang County would know that Jiang Qing and Lin Chen of the Jingshui Martial Hall had strength that far exceeded the students of other martial halls—they were a unique existence.

In the hearts of the commoners, the Jing Shui Wuguan would also be the number one martial hall in Poyang County.

Ordinary commoners would not pay attention to the results of the martial hall competition every year; for most commoners, watching this competition was very likely the only opportunity in their lives.

The situation of this competition would be talked about with relish by them and told to the next generation of children.

But, your Jing Shui Wuguan only recruits female students; what do you want this empty name for?

Could it be that the Jing Shui Wuguan wants to break the rules, having tasted the sweetness this time, and wants to recruit male students?

(End of chapter)