93 Chapter 92: Unbreakable Shell (1/2)

Most of the other matches were not as difficult as the one against Tu Zi Yi. I managed to win all of them over the next few days.

Fortunately, we were given a month or so for the preliminary rounds. So as long as we had the battles on consecutive days, we were able to finish the matches within the month. Nonetheless, my friends were surprised that I succeeded in defeating Tu Zi Yi.

”You actually defeated Tu Zi Yi?” Tong Xue demanded, his eyes growing in shock. I nodded, a little weary from his interrogation. ”How?!”

”Why don't you just watch the match recording to find out?” I was doing my best not to snap irritably at him. Damn, I was just so tired. I didn't have the energy to put up with his interrogation. ”The details are all there.”

”Hmm,” Tong Xue mumbled in agreement as he consulted his tablet. No doubt he was searching for the replay of my duel with Tu Zi Yi. As he watched, he couldn't help but grin. ”You sneaky little bastard.”

”I'm not a sneaky bastard.”

”Yeah, try convincing Tu Zi Yi that. I doubt she'll forgive you for what you did.”

”You think I care? And I don't see why I need to be forgiven in the first place. She tried to beat me up. You think she's entitled to a victory over me?”

”I didn't say that.” Tong Xue raised both his hands. ”Just that your methods of victory are…unconventional.”

”Yeah, but I'm not the only one who uses unconventional techniques.” I stared at him. ”You do most of all.”

”Ugh…I can't deny that.”

”Well, it is fine, isn't it? As long as Fei Wu won.” Lian Rou stepped in to mediate. ”And you won most of your matches too, Xue, so that's fine.”

”What about you?”

I regretted asking the moment I saw Lian Rou's expression fell. Tong Xue grimaced and nudged me.

”Rou had a match with Bai Ning Xue.”

From his tone, I could already guess the result.

”I lost two out of my ten matches,” Ban Zhang assured her. ”So it's not like you're the only one. We all have it tough.”

”I've yet to face Wu Hei Gui or Wu Xing,” I joined in. Currently I still hadn't lost, but other than Tu Zi Yi, I had yet to face any real challenge from the rest of my opponents thus far. ”And you know what my chances are like against them.”

”Yeah, I lost my one hunded percent winning streak against Shi Bai yesterday.” Tong Xue groaned as he leaned back against his chair. ”I'm also going to face Feng Tian Yong next week. I don't fancy my chances against him…he has been blitzing and crushing everyone in my group so far. I doubt my strategy can hold him off.”

”Just do your best,” I told him.

”You too,” he replied.

”What is everyone talking about?”

Everyone glanced up and saw Tang Qi Hong coming over. We immediately fell silent. Tang Qi Hong noticed the awkward atmosphere and frowned.

”What's going on?”

”Ha ha, nothing.” Lian Rou was quick to speak up. ”How did your matches go so far, Qi Hong?”

”Do you even have to ask?” Tang Qi Hong smiled brightly. ”I've won all of them! I'm currently at the top of the group.”

”Yay…”

”Good for you.”

”That's great.”

All of us forced smiles onto our faces. Don't get me wrong. We were genuinely happy for Tang Qi Hong – at least I was – but it was hard not to feel envious and a wee bit of resentment at how easily she was cruising to the top spot of her group.

”How about you guys?”

”…”

All of us turned away, avoiding her gaze. Realizing her mistake, Tang Qi Hong forced a sheepish laugh.

”Um, never mind. I hope everyone will rank highly in the tournament.”

To be fair, Zhu Jiao would probably garner the same response if he was here. He had gone off for his match, having been among the first for the day, and from the live updates on our tablets, we could see that he was winning.

And one-sidedly at that. Typical of a wuxia/xianxia protagonist. Of course he would crush every nameless opponent without breaking a sweat. He was completely unlike me, who had to fight hard for my victories. How was this fair?

Paying Zhu Jiao's match no attention, my friends just nodded at Tang Qi Hong's well-meaning encouragement.

”Yes…”

”We'll do our best.”

”Don't worry, I'll be focusing on blacksmithing and Spirit Engraving.”

Tong Xue, Ban Zhang and Lian Rou seemed somewhat resigned. As for me, I smiled and nodded determinedly.

”I won't let you down!”

Unfortunately, I was aware that my match against Hei Wu Gui was drawing closer, and this would determine my standing in the academy.

And that match happened to be in an hour or so. Sighing, I shook my head and straightened up, steeling myself.

”So, shall we get ready for our matches?”

”Yeah.”

”We should.”

”Let's go then.”

With that, my group of friends (minus Zhu Jiao) dispersed and we headed to our assigned rooms for our matches.

Wu Hei Gui, huh…

Like Tu Zi Yi, Wu Hei Gui was a classmate I was somewhat familiar with. We had been in the same class since middle school, and just like all the others, we ended up in the same class when we rose to high school.

Even then, I wasn't very close with him. Wu Hei Gui was from the Black Tortoise Sect, one of the most prestigious sects in the Martial Arts Alliance, and among the eight major sects. Major, meaning strongest, in other words.

Wu Hei Gui and Wu Xing from the Kun Lun Sect were the favorites to win my group. Needless to say the bookies didn't even consider my existence. I probably had a 1/24 chance of winning the group, even though I was ranking pretty highly after winning all my matches. So far. Even so, I had difficulties in winning against the other opponents, while Wu Hei Gui and Wu Xing were essentially cruising in their matches. Even Tu Zi Yi had one-sided victories.

Speaking of which, despite her initial defeat, Tu Zi Yi was proving herself to be a competent combatant. She had won the majority of her matches so far, only losing to me and Wu Hei Gui. She had yet to face Wu Xing, but she was clearly making a strong case for herself. No doubt she would be ranked highly when the tournament ended, especially with her highly impressive performances.

In contrast, I had not put on a single display where I overwhelmed my opponent completely. That was why no one took me seriously. It was also because my opponents were largely competent and I wasn't that strong to begin with.

Boom!

I stopped when I heard the explosion. Since there was still quite some time before my match, I couldn't help but be drawn toward the various matches taking place at the moment. Through a transparent screen, I caught sight of a familiar silhouette.

Isn't that Wu Xing?

The Five Elements master of Kun Lun Sect, Wu Xing. I could see five different types of elemental qi swirling around him before they blasted off like projectiles. His opponent, a thick, muscular guy that I had trouble defeating just a few days ago, prepared his defenses, but he was knocked over almost instantly by the blow.

My eyes widened.

During our match, I had to kick him over a hundred times before I finally got any damage through his thick, slab-like muscles and iron defense. Even then, what finished him off was my all-out Seismic Step, and I almost suffered a serious injury in return when he retaliated.

However, Wu Xing one-sidedly crushed him from a distance before the poor guy could even strike back.

”You've got to be kidding me…”

I stared in disbelief as the huge guy lay on the ground, unmoving. Okay, probably some time passed since the match had begun, but the way that Wu Xing took him out was just stunning. I gulped as the prodigy of the Kun Lun Sect raised his hand in victory.

It would be interesting to see the outcome of the match between him and Wu Hei Gui. I wondered if Wu Hei Gui would be able to defend against those five element techniques. Certainly, his defenses were much more formidable than the huge guy lying on the ground, but even then…

Speaking of which, I should worry about my own match first.

Taking a deep breath, I proceeded toward the room. Before I took more than two steps, I was suddenly aware of Wu Xing staring at me.

He was grinning arrogantly, his eyes boring into me in a condescending manner. Evidently he recognized me as one of the rivals in his group, and he probably knew how weak I was in comparison to himself.

I turned away and continued down the corridor. I wasn't in the mood to rise to his provocation, and it wouldn't benefit me anyhow. We would meet in battle soon, and I would rather our fists do the talking.

There was no point bantering and arguing verbally. Words would be meaningless in the face of actual action.

As I expected, I was early and Wu Hei Gui wasn't here yet. That was fine. I should prepare for the duel. Taking a seat in the empty training room, which had been requisitioned as a mini-coliseum for the school tournament, I began to meditate. Manipulating and controlling the flow of qi inside my body, I began to purify it using that water-filter imaging exercise that Master taught me.

Drip by drip. Through the filter. Purified qi emerging from the filter.

Regulating my breathing, I executed the Heaven and Earth breathing method to refine my qi and further purify it, increasing its potency. It also helped me increase and improve my cultivation, somewhat, but obviously meditation and breathing methods alone weren't going to help. I also needed to train physically.

I had no idea how much time I spent on this, but eventually the door clicked open and I broke out of my trance to see Wu Hei Gui step inside.

”Oh, you're already here. Sorry for the wait.”

Sturdily built, a little on the short end in terms of height, and with messy black hair, Wu Hei Gui didn't seem all that different from when I first met him three and a half years ago. He was a little taller and better built – with a lot more muscles than before – but he was easily recognizable, especially with that round face and slightly pudgy figure.

”No, I was preparing for the duel anyway.”

While the statement could be interpreted in the wrong way, Wu Hei Gui knew me well enough that he didn't suspect me of cheating. Furthermore, there was a security camera in the training room, recording my every movement ever since I had entered the room, and the staff manning them would have summoned me if they saw me sabotaging anything.

Standing up, I stretched myself. ”Ready for the match?”

”Yup.”

As usual, we both glanced up at the speaker next to the revolving security camera. We didn't have to wait long.

”All right, both participants are here.” Teacher Cai Pan's voice streamed from the speaker. ”Both of you may begin the match whenever you're ready. Just let me know.”

”Understood.”

Taking a deep breath, I glanced at Wu Hei Gui, allowing him to decide whenever. He nodded and bowed, cupping his hands formally.

”Wu Hei Gui, class 1-4, Wu Ling Academy High School. The Black Tortoise Sect. I specialize in the Black Tortoise Mystical Heart Sutra, water-based elemental techniques such as the Black Tortoise Mystical Flow Formula, and the defensive technique, Black Tortoise Unbreakable Shell. Currently, I possess about three sexagenaries of qi.”

He was a level 8, as were most of the other Four Star Constitution cultivators. I nodded and returned the greeting. This time, I didn't leave out Heavenly Draconic Meteor Swordsmanship, but I didn't mention my self-created techniques.

”Anytime when you're ready,” I told him. Wu Hei Gui beamed and nodded. He raised his head toward the camera.

”We're ready.”

”All right then. Begin!”

I waited. So did Wu Hei Gui. We both stared at each other, not moving, each waiting for the other to make his move.

Then Wu Hei Gui sighed.

”You know my techniques are mostly defensive based, right? Let's not waste any time. Come and get me.”

”Don't give me that,” I snorted. ”I know you have offensive techniques too. Black Tortoise Mystical Flow Formula, wasn't it? That uses water elemental attacks to destroy the enemy from range. You don't just have defensive based techniques.”

Wu Hei Gui merely smiled. ”I know. I just want to give you a chance to attack me before I defeat you.”

A vein twitched in my brow, but I clamped down on my anger. I wasn't immature or petty enough to fall for his provocations. Assessing the situation, I saw that Wu Hei Gui was right. He had no benefit to provoke me into closing the distance and attacking. If he wanted to ambush me or attack, he could do it from long range.

This was more of a disadvantage to him than anything.

However, this also indicated just how confident he was in his defense. He was inviting me to attack precisely because he believed that I wouldn't be able to break his defensive technique, the Black Tortoise Unbreakable Shell.

Admittedly, he had every reason to be arrogant. Up till now, no one had broken through his Black Tortoise Unbreakable Shell. Yet. At least no one who wasn't Bai Ning Xue or Zhu Jiao. Even Du Lang. Li Chun Long and Feng Tian Yong had trouble penetrating Wu Hei Gui's formidable defenses, but it wasn't impossible.

Every match in the tournament thus far, Wu Hei Gui had won in this manner, by sheer intimidation and driving despair into his opponents when they failed to breach his barrier. With their spirit broken, he then finished them off with a single attack.

To him, a One Star Constitution cultivator like me wasn't a threat. Especially because I was only a One Star Constitution cultivator.

”…I see.”

I closed my eyes briefly and took a deep breath.

I wasn't a naïve person who adhered to stupid concepts of honor and fairness. Those values never got me anywhere when I was abducted by the Chinese Parasol Tree Sect or lost on my own in the wilderness of the savage Sen Lin Forest. No, if my opponent was going to offer me an advantage, I might as well grab it with both hands.

”Then I'll take you up on your offer.”

Using Jin, I dashed forward and delivered a devastating Shadow Kick that would have cracked even the reinforced walls open. Wu Hei Gui smiled, having already executed his Black Tortoise Unbreakable Shell technique. A shimmering, translucent black barrier formed over him, taking the shape of a sturdy tortoise shell.

Bam!

”!”