40 Shi Clan Tournament 7 - Challenge (1/2)

Shi clan, Clan arena.

”Shi Li, you're gonna fight against Shi Kuai. Do you accept the challenge?” Shi Xingtai asked.

”Shi Kuai?” Shi Li couldn't help but mutter as he looked at the other participants, his eyes landing on a certain individual.

This individual was quite skinny, but not skinny enough compared to Shi Li's body. His stature was smaller compared to Shi Li by a bit, yet his pitch black hair and irises exuded an aura that won't lose against Shi Li's. Shi Li could also feel some sort of strength hidden beneath the skinny frame, allowing the individual to gain the moniker of Lightning Feet.

The individual Shi Li was looking at was precisely Shi Kuai.

”Oh? Checking me out to see if you could win?” Shi Kuai noticed Shi Li's gaze and couldn't help but sneer. ”In front of absolute speed, you'd lose in front of me, Shi Kuai!” He puffed his chest out, asserting his position of dominance.

Shi Li ignored Shi Kuai's actions and instead commanded his eye to identify Shi Kuai's attributes. Gradually, Shi Li's pupils turned crimson red as a screen filled with information appeared in his head, rather than a white screen in front of his face.

He was a bit shocked as to why a screen popped inside his head, but he thought it was better since it's his little secret.

~~~~~~~~

Shi Kuai

[Cultivation Realm]: D-2 (Tempering 2nd Stage)

[Peak Combat Strength]: 45 ren (?)

Stats (based on average D-2 cultivator stats):

Vitality - C+

Strength - B

Defense - B-

Agility - A+

Intelligence - C+

Skills:

[Lightning Stab], [????]

~~~~~~~~

Reading Shi Kuai's information, he was surprised that a Second Stage cultivator who would usually have only one skill, would actually have two!

'[Lightning Stab] is his main martial technique, which relies on his agility that's at A+, which is the same grade my strength was at when I was still at the First Stage of Skin Tempering.'

'What's the second skill then? Is it related to his cultivation technique? Is it a martial technique focused on defense? Or is it possibly a movement technique, which made him gain the moniker 'Lightning Feet?''

He took a deep breath before muttering softly, ”In any case, this is a good way to test out my current strength.”

Shi Li looked at Shi Kuai who still stood there like an inflated balloon and lightly chuckled. Shi Kuai saw that Shi Li was laughing at him, making him frown as he stood properly. ”What? Are you laughing cuz you're scared? Hahaha! If you don't want to fight, then kneel down and beg for mercy!”

Shi Li looked at him and thought that this Shi Kuai had some sort of 'young arrogant master' disorder commonly found in the novels he read. He also thought that it might be just him putting up a false front so he could still retain his pride.

'I'm sure that it's the latter and not the former. It might be because I'm way stronger than him, yet he has participated in the tournament for multiple years now, and he was pushed down to third place given my strength,' Shi Li got to a conclusion.

”Since this guy wants to use me as a stepping stone, let him be my stepping stone to the top then,” Shi Li muttered inwardly as he stopped laughing.

He then looked at Shi Kuai with an arrogant grin on his face, angering Shi Kuai on purpose. ”Oh? You think I'm scared of you? What a joke. Let's fight it out and see who's stronger.”

Shi Shisi heard Shi Li's statement and hurriedly came closer, whispering something in his ear. ”Shi Li, are you sure? I know you're saying these because you want to agitate the competitor, and trust me I've done that before. But do you think you can beat him?”

Shi Li looked at Shi Shisi, lightly grinning as he replied, ”As you've said, we're not limited to this place alone. We're meant for the world outside. If I can't beat this kind of guy right now, what would happen to me in the future?”

Shi Shisi looked at Shi Li's eyes filled with resolution and determination. From this, he knew he found someone similar to him. He then chuckled as he said, ”I worried for nothing hehe. Show these kids that they're only frogs in a well!”

Shi Kuai saw Shi Li and Shi Shisi's actions of ignorance and mockery, which fueled Shi Kuai's rage. He couldn't help but harrumph as he said, ”What are you waiting for? You said we're fighting, let's fight!”

...

Shi Li and Shi Kuai were positioned at each end of the stage, facing each other with solemn gazes. Shi Li looked at Shi Kuai's eyes that were filled with flames of rage and couldn't help but smile.

'This is gonna help me a bit,' Shi Li said inwardly.

Shi Li learned from his tempering journey that agitating your enemies would impair their cognitive abilities, allowing you to use your superior wits to win. Even if there's a large gap of strength, with a bit of agitation and a pinch of luck, anything is possible.

Shi Xingtai looked at the faint light blue barrier surrounding the stage and commanded a few clan members to infuse more qi into it.

”But Elder...”

”As they say, prevention is better than cure. Shi Li's peak combat strength is at the Second Stage of Bone Tempering, this barrier can only hold up against 2 to 3 hits of a Second Stage Bone Tempering cultivator. We need to ensure that the barrier can withstand at least 10 hits of that level.”