Chapter 066: Blown Away with a Single Punch (Fourth Update—Requesting Votes)

"Indeed! Old Li, just look at the way he stands—he has the air of a true master!" Wang Junwei praised Xin Lang. For once, he and Li Xuanming refrained from arguing, and even before Xin Lang had made a move, they gave him an unprecedentedly positive appraisal.

Inwardly, Ouyang Tianfeng was cursing, "My nephew has such outstanding potential and yet you two act as if you can't see it, while that boy simply stands there and you both become so enamored! Do you two idiots even have eyes?" But these words could only remain in Ouyang Tianfeng's heart; he dared not speak them aloud, for he could not afford to offend either the Martial Arts Academy or the War Academy.

While Li Xuanming and the others were talking, Ouyang Feiyun had already charged up to Xin Lang, launching his "Bone-Shattering Hand" straight at him!

As Ouyang Feiyun closed in, Xin Lang's lips curled into a wicked smile. "So you finally got your chance to compete, did you? Are you happy? Excited? Still, I won't give you a chance to show off!"

With that, Xin Lang threw a punch at Ouyang Feiyun as he came within range. There was nothing fancy about the punch—plain and unremarkable. Yet when their fists collided, a tremendous hidden force exploded from Xin Lang's fist, with the power to shatter stone and break iron!

With a muffled bang, ripples spread through the air where their fists met!

Everyone in the arena witnessed an astonishing scene: Ouyang Feiyun, who had unleashed the third-level hidden force "Penetrating Strength" and was using the Earth-rank mid-level technique "Bone-Shattering Hand," was sent flying by Xin Lang's simple punch!

"What happened? How could Yun'er be sent flying?" Ouyang Tianfeng shot to his feet, his mouth agape in disbelief.

"Impossible! He didn't use any technique, just hidden force, and still sent his opponent flying!" Li Xuanming's face was equally full of shock.

"What level of hidden force was that just now? I couldn't see it clearly. It looked like third-level, but it felt as powerful as fifth or even sixth-level!" Wang Junwei was baffled by Xin Lang's punch.

From the stage, the chubby Gu exclaimed, "Damn, boss is a monster!"

He Qianbaidu, however, showed little surprise. "Our transfer student is truly the strongest," he said with a smile.

Luo Hengxing, seeing Xin Lang's overwhelming punch, crossed his arms and nodded approvingly, silently acknowledging the power of that blow.

Meanwhile, the sisters Meng Linglong and Meng Chuchu were so stunned they couldn't speak; their mouths formed perfect O's and their eyes were wide with disbelief at what they had just witnessed.

"To send Ouyang Feiyun, a third-level martial artist, flying with a single punch—what incredible strength!" The spectators were all in awe of Xin Lang's display.

Li Xuanming of the Martial Arts Academy and Wang Junwei of the War Academy glanced at each other, sparks flashing in their eyes, as if to say, "Don't even think about it—I want this one for myself!"

In truth, Xin Lang's actual level was the same as Ouyang Feiyun's—both were third-level martial artists. The reason Xin Lang's punch was so powerful was because he had used the super-weapon "Sky Halberd," which doubled the force of his hidden energy, and so Ouyang Feiyun was sent flying by a single blow.

Ouyang Feiyun, who had hoped to show off his skills, landed hard beneath the platform, hitting the ground and spitting blood before losing consciousness—never understanding how he had lost so terribly.

Seeing his nephew gravely injured, Ouyang Tianfeng immediately called for the medics to carry him away and didn't bother to watch the rest of the competition, hurrying off to find an alchemist to treat Ouyang Feiyun's wounds.

With Ouyang Tianfeng gone and Ouyang Feiyun badly wounded by Xin Lang, there was no one left from Shengyang Academy to take charge. Xin Lang stood on the platform for quite a while, but no new challenger came forward from Shengyang Academy.

After a long wait, the referee finally turned to Ouyang Yanran. "Miss Ouyang, please send a contestant up so the tournament can continue!"

Ouyang Yanran looked at her teammates—aside from herself, there were no other martial artists left. Even Ouyang Feiyun, a third-level martial artist, had been sent flying by Xin Lang's punch; who else could possibly stand against him?

"We... we... we forfeit," Ouyang Yanran said helplessly.

In the first match of the semifinals, Xuyang Academy emerged victorious! Although this was only the first semifinal, everyone knew that Xuyang Academy was already the de facto champion of this year's Nine Academies Tournament.

The upcoming match between Lieyang Academy and Sheyang Academy thus became little more than a contest for second place.

After a fierce and brutal battle, Lieyang Academy defeated Sheyang Academy and advanced to the finals to challenge Xuyang Academy for the ultimate championship.

However, after that grueling match with Sheyang Academy, most of Lieyang Academy's team was badly injured, while Xuyang Academy's three main fighters—Xin Lang, Qianbaidu, and the chubby Gu Ge—were all full of energy, and each of them was in the "Hidden Force" stage.

Seeing Xin Lang and his two companions, Lie Gucheng could only shake his head and resign from the match.

Xin Lang's explosive power forced both Shengyang and Lieyang Academies to withdraw, making Xuyang Academy the undisputed champion of the tournament.

"Clang! Five-Diamond Main Quest completed! Reward: 500 experience points!"

Delighted by the notification, Xin Lang thought, "500 experience points! Damn, even though I spent nearly two hundred thousand gold in this period, it was worth it!"

In order to secure the championship, Xin Lang had poured resources into Gu Ge and Qianbaidu, and had even hired martial artist Luo Hengxing as a sparring partner at high pay.

On top of that, the rare and precious medicinal ingredients Xin Lang used to treat his own blocked meridians had nearly wiped out the twenty thousand gold he’d earned from selling the "Seven-Turn Rejuvenation Pill."

But now, money was meaningless to Xin Lang; what mattered most was the experience points for upgrading his system.

With the 500 experience points from completing the five-diamond main quest, his total had reached 1,175.

Xin Lang could now promote himself to peak martial artist, but he chose to wait—his meridians still weren’t fully healed. If he became a peak martial artist and the next main quest required him to cultivate to grandmaster level, he knew his body wouldn’t be able to handle it.

That night, because Xin Lang, Gu Ge, and Qianbaidu had brought the championship of the Nine Academies Tournament to Xuyang Academy, Meng Linglong, as the principal, naturally wanted to reward everyone with a grand banquet. Even Lie Gucheng of Lieyang Academy and Shi Zhongtian of Sheyang Academy came to join the festivities.

Lie Gucheng and Shi Zhongtian, upon hearing how Xin Lang had once been rejected when he applied to their academies, were filled with regret and wished they could punish the staff responsible for his testing. They had come specifically to apologize to Xin Lang, fully aware that his future achievements would be extraordinary—a person to win over, never to make an enemy of.

However, an awkward situation arose for Meng Linglong at the banquet: none of the guests of honor showed up.