High Martial Arts: Grinding for the Supreme Talent

Chapter 457: Chapter 439: Defeated in a Single Strike

WHOOSH!!

A fierce wind swept across the arena as Song Zhengzai swung his Battle Saber.

Heavy Mountain Saber Technique—Mountain Technique!

A towering mountain seemed to crash down, and Lin Qi felt a heavy aura rush toward him.

His expression was calm, but a frenzied aura instantly erupted from his body.

A golden light shone from his eyes, and the black Big Gun in his hands was enveloped in Golden Sharpness, transforming it into a golden Big Gun.

A gale whipped up around him. In the next instant, he stepped forward and charged, lunging like a golden tiger.

He thrust the golden Big Gun forward abruptly. Golden Sharpness and Mountain and River Power converged, and as the tip of the spear quivered, the Sharpness condensed and shot out as a golden spear gleam.

Instantly, alarms blared in Song Zhengzai’s mind as he sensed a lethal crisis.

The spear gleam, in particular, filled him with a sense of intense danger.

He swung his Battle Saber violently, clashing with the golden spear gleam.

’He thinks he can force me back with a single spear gleam?!!’

He suddenly exerted his strength, unleashing his Special Ability, [Heavy Earth]. His power was amplified, and his entire body began to glow.

BANG!!

The golden spear gleam collided with his Battle Saber, the air cracking with the impact as a fierce wind raged.

Song Zhengzai felt a powerful Energy shockwave. The stone armor on his body shattered, and he was forced to stumble backward.

TAP! TAP! TAP!

Song Zhengzai was aghast. ’I was forced back by a mere spear gleam?’

’What kind of power is this?’

It was common knowledge that a Martial Artist’s strongest Techniques were a combination of their Weapon and their Special Ability.

Using a Special Ability alone was potent, but it wasn’t enough against a Martial Artist of the same level.

Yet now, he had been repelled by a simple spear gleam.

Song Zhengzai was horrified.

SWOOSH—

In the next instant, Lin Qi appeared before him as an afterimage.

Lin Qi swung the black Big Gun, the Flow of Power within it creating a roaring sound.

He thrust out like a bolt of Lightning. The tip of the spear quivered, a cold light flashed, and killing intent surged.

BANG!!

SPURT—

Song Zhengzai’s chest was protected by hard armor made of highly condensed brown stone.

But Lin Qi effortlessly pierced through the hard armor, sending stone fragments flying. The spear then tore through his Combat Suit and skin, shattering his heart.

His stone armor Body Protection was rendered completely useless.

Blood sprayed from his body, which was now impaled on the Big Gun.

Feeling the pain in his chest, Song Zhengzai stared at Lin Qi in disbelief.

’I’m... I’m actually dead. Just like that.’

The defense granted by [Heavy Earth] had been utterly useless.

”You...”

Before he could finish his sentence, he dissolved into the Void.

He was teleported back to the spectator stands.

His face was grim. He had been killed with a single spear thrust before he even had a chance to use his Little Divine Power.

Earth Attribute Special Abilities were naturally advantageous when it came to defense.

While his Special Ability, [Heavy Earth], excelled more at enhancing his strength...

...it was by no means weak in terms of defense.

Yet it couldn’t stop Lin Qi.

He had originally thought that with [Heavy Earth], he could at least withstand two or three of Lin Qi’s Techniques.

It seemed he had overestimated himself.

His opponent’s strength had far surpassed his own.

It was as if he were standing at the foot of a mountain while Lin Qi was already halfway to the summit. They weren’t on the same level at all.

”Don’t feel bad, Zhengzai,” a tall, handsome boy with gray hair said with a confident smile from nearby.

”If I’m matched against Lin Qi from Xia Country in a later round, I’ll eliminate him with my own hands.”

Li Hexuan, who was standing beside him, also nodded.

”Senior Jin Zhongyu is a fourth-year SS-level genius and a Martial Artist at the Sixth Realm of Marrow Refining. He can definitely defeat Lin Qi from Xia Country.”

Song Zhengzai nodded in agreement. No matter how strong Lin Qi was, there had to be a limit.

And a fourth-year SS-level genius was not someone he could handle.

...

[Match 10: Lin Qi (Xia Country) Wins!]

An automated voice announced the result above the arena as a screen appeared, making it visible to the entire audience.

The spectators who had watched the fight were stunned.

This was especially true for those who had participated in the Global Rookie Tournament before.

Meanwhile, the audience from the Silla Kingdom was losing their minds.

”How could this happen?”

”He lost just like that? Is this really Silla’s SS-level genius?”

”Has he even been putting any effort into his Cultivation?”

The geniuses from other countries were also remarking:

”As expected of Lin Qi. He’s gotten even stronger over the past year.”

”SS-level geniuses might not be a match for him anymore.”

”Did you see that? He actually Awakened a Special Ability! Does that mean he already has the strength of an SSS-level genius?”

...

In the high-level spectator stands,

After watching the battle, the King of Mountains and Rivers’ stern face broke into a smile of appreciation.

”Very good!”

”Lin Qi is very good. He’s not weak even among those in the Sixth Realm.”

”He must have cultivated his Vajra Fist to the Perfection realm, and his control over his Special Ability has also reached Perfection, allowing him to unleash its maximum power.”

”Many geniuses only manage to cultivate their Five Elements Fist to Perfection when they reach the Seventh Realm.”

”He’s more than qualified to be an SSS-level genius!”

The other high-ranking officials beside him also smiled upon hearing this.

Those were the exact words they had been waiting for from the King of Mountains and Rivers.

With his endorsement, they could upgrade Lin Qi to an SSS-level genius after the tournament.

...

After Lin Qi was teleported back to the spectator stands, the other SS-level geniuses from various countries—Miyamoto Genichiro, Victor, and Havier—all frowned. They had already lost all hope; if they were matched against Lin Qi, they might as well just surrender.

When Lin Qi sat down, the others around him didn’t have much of a reaction.

After all, Lin Qi was currently one of the top five in the Celestial Vault Institute’s Disaster Beast Trial Tower rankings.

A second-year SS-level genius was only ranked around 80th in the Celestial Vault Institute.

They were no match for Lin Qi at all.

The tournament continued, with eight matches running simultaneously.

The two SSS-level geniuses, Chu Yu and Du Shanyan, also had their turns and easily defeated their opponents to advance.

In addition, Shen Heng, Meng Yuxuan, Lei Frost, and Zhang Tianyang also defeated their opponents with ease to claim victory.

Besides them, there were other powerful contestants from other countries.

Several of them were no weaker than Lei Frost or Zhang Tianyang.

’They are my future opponents, too.’

After watching for a little while longer, he logged off to continue his Cultivation.

Inside the Martial Arts Room, Lin Qi slowly stepped out of the white Virtual Cabin.

As the tournament progressed, the time he had for Cultivation was growing shorter and shorter.

He felt that his Spear Technique was on the verge of a breakthrough, likely within the next few days.

...

「8:00 PM」

After a full day of competition, the second round of the main tournament had officially ended.

Almost everyone from the second year of the Celestial Vault Institute had advanced.

Inside a lecture hall in the Celestial Dome Tower.

All 51 students were present.

Dean Liu looked around at the students and began with words of praise:

”I’m very pleased that all of you have made it to the third round.”

He raised his hand, projecting a large green screen, and continued,

”The upcoming third round is where the real danger begins. A large number of you may be eliminated.”

”According to the backend data from the Red Realm, out of the 1,000 advancing contestants, 624 are Awakened geniuses—an average of 208 per year.”

”There are 90 SS-level geniuses...”

”...and 15 SSS-level geniuses.”

When Dean Liu finished presenting the data, the students were all shocked.

When they thought about it, the number of geniuses was not small at all.

The number of top-tier geniuses alone came to 105.

...