Chapter 33 — Section Thirty-Two: The Wild Wind-Cloak Staff Technique

"Senior Sister, who is he?" Cai Xue asked, curiosity written all over her face.

Their senior sister actually knew this man. Cai Xue and He Xiaoqin exchanged a glance, their hearts brimming with curiosity. Then they thought of how the headmaster had agreed to let them out—could the headmaster know too? And then there was that absurdly lavish lineup in the stands: two of Yaochuan City's top three masters had come, and though Liang Qiu of Beast Academy had not, Senior Wang Zhen himself had shown up. That alone spoke volumes about how seriously this was being taken.

Had Yaochuan City produced another astonishing genius overnight?

And he seemed quite familiar with their senior sister, too...

They knew perfectly well what their senior sister's attitude toward men was like.

"He is Tang Tang." Han Zhao forced herself to stay composed, struggling to suppress the intense embarrassment that Tang Tang's greeting had just brought on.

"What! He's Tang Tang?"

"He's Tang Tang?"

Cai Xue and He Xiaoqin cried out in unison, their faces a study in disbelief. The man down there was Tang Tang? The legendary super-repeat student, the trash student who had been kicked out of school—that Tang Tang? The Tang Tang whom Shangguan Qianhui had once favored above all others?

Shangguan Qianhui... could it be...

Cai Xue and He Xiaoqin exchanged another glance. They knew very well how deeply their senior sister revered Shangguan Qianhui.

Cai Xue hesitated, but could not help stammering out a word of advice: "Senior Sister, there's nothing wrong with liking Shangguan Qianhui, but liking her man—that seems a bit..."

He Xiaoqin was far more blunt. Her face turned solemn: "Senior Sister, there are plenty of fish in the sea. Why pick up another woman's cast-off shoes?"

Han Zhao's mouth twitched. She barely restrained the urge to draw her sword and cut down the two beside her, and forcing herself to look calm, she turned and regarded them with perfect seriousness: "You're overthinking it. Actually, I like women."

Cai Xue's and He Xiaoqin's expressions froze on their faces. They stared, dumbstruck, utterly speechless with shock.

Han Zhao turned away, as though she had said nothing at all.

By now quite a few people had recognized that the man below was Tang Tang.

"That's Tang Tang? Wasn't Tang Tang supposed to be a trash student?"

"Exactly, held back five years—if that's not a trash student, what is?"

"Then why have all these big shots come running here? Are they so bored their balls ache?"

"Uh, bored, sure, probably. But balls aching? You underestimate these big shots' balls. Their whole bodies are forged of bronze and iron—even their balls are steel balls..."

Though the crowd kept their voices low, Sima Tangshan and the others had terrifyingly keen hearing and caught every word. But when they heard that devastating remark, these masters of formidable strength all instinctively pressed their legs together.

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When the referee entered the arena, he was so stunned by the explosive atmosphere that he almost wondered if he had walked into the wrong place. Those familiar faces in the stands made his heart pound and his scalp prickle. Any single one of them, on any day of competition, would have made that day's hottest match.

Sima Tangshan, Han Zhao, Wang Zhen...

As a veteran referee who had served at the Xingfeng Martial Meet for over five years, how could he not recognize these people?

Good heavens, was this... was this really a preliminary round?

Fortunately, the other contestant entered just then, and the referee finally came back to his senses.

A fierce, powerful figure stepped into the arena. His voice carried a trace of killing intent: "Excuse me, is this Arena 3897?"

When the referee got a clear look at the contestant, his heart went cold.

Bare-chested, wearing only a crude pair of beast-hide shorts below the waist, his skin dark with a faint metallic sheen, barefoot, and in one hand he carried a bronze staff, both ends ringed with slightly protruding studs. But what struck one most were his eyes.

Fierce and brimming with killing intent!

"Oh?" Ming Guang looked surprised. "This one seems pretty strong!"

Wang Zhen grunted in acknowledgment. "His practical combat experience should be considerable."

Sima Tangshan sat up a little straighter, while Shen Yuan's face showed open astonishment.

Han Zhao narrowed her eyes slightly, and beside her, Cai Xue and He Xiaoqin grew markedly more serious.

The referee had seen all kinds of contestants, and at first glance he knew that this barefoot youth with the bronze staff was no pushover.

"Yes," the referee nodded.

The barefoot youth's gaze turned toward Tang Tang at the other end.

Tang Tang's eyes lit up, and he waved eagerly. "Aha, young man, so you're my opponent?"

The barefoot youth turned to the referee. "May we begin?"

The referee quickly asked Tang Tang, "Are you ready?"

"Been ready for ages," Tang Tang said carelessly.

The words had barely left his mouth when the barefoot youth vanished into the air, and a gust of staff wind suddenly appeared behind Tang Tang's head.

Tang Tang was startled—he hadn't expected the man to attack the instant he spoke—but his reactions were lightning-fast. He bent low and swept his left leg backward.

Bang!

Tang Tang's backward sweep was blocked by the barefoot youth's bronze staff.

Both staggered back several steps, reopening the distance between them.

"You dare sneak-attack me!" The smile vanished from Tang Tang's face. He glared at his opponent with open hostility and snorted coldly, "You're finished!"

The barefoot youth's expression was indifferent, as though he had not heard Tang Tang at all.

Tang Tang sank into a crouch, arms spread wide, his ten fingers locked onto the barefoot youth across from him.

In the stands, Han Zhao's gaze sharpened. She suddenly recalled that the day Tang Tang had climbed onto the Black-Armored Iron Rhino, he had struck exactly this pose.

In an instant, Tang Tang seemed a different person. Not a trace of mirth remained on his face; his eyes were steady, without the faintest ripple, and every muscle in his spread arms stood out in sharp relief, the hard lines radiating sheer masculine force.

Sima Tangshan, who had already straightened a little, gave a flicker of the eyes and sat up even straighter.

The others sensed the change in Tang Tang as well, and the stands, previously buzzing with chatter, fell silent at once.

The barefoot youth across from him noticed it too. A flicker of wariness crossed his eyes, and the long bronze staff in his hand snapped straight, its tip leveled at Tang Tang.

Though the barefoot youth felt the intense pressure, there was not a shred of fear in his eyes. A savage light flashed and vanished, and his figure once again disappeared from Tang Tang's field of view.

Almost at the same instant, Tang Tang's narrowed eyes flew open. His upper body swayed slightly like a pendulum, and his feet stepped backward.

The long bronze staff swept past, grazing his body.

Boom!

Before the staff even struck the ground, its force split the earth, sending clods of soil flying.

Tang Tang's fist shot out without warning from beneath the barefoot youth's right ribs.

[Flash Fist]!

The barefoot youth was no amateur. The instant his staff missed, as though he had anticipated Tang Tang's counter, he let his body fall straight sideways, evading the Flash Fist, and at the same time flicked the butt of his staff. The shaft lashed out like a striking viper—crack—straight at Tang Tang.

Tang Tang stepped laterally in the Empty Pile Stance, gliding as if on ice, and the viper-like staff head grazed past his shoulder.

The barefoot youth spun like a top, toppling straight in another direction, and the heavy bronze staff was whipped up once more.

Woom!

The staff's hum was deep and resonant, enough to make the heart quail.

Tang Tang leaped aside again.