Even the judge was shocked. He turned to Lin Yun and asked, “Just who are you? Why haven’t I heard of you before?”
“I only became an outer disciple three months ago, and I was a sword slave in the Sword Cleaning Chamber before that,” Lin Yun explained, not bothering to hide his background.
The judge was amazed. He looked Lin Yun up and down and smiled, “Well, that explains it! Work hard, young lad. You might have a chance to stand out in the sixth group. I hereby announce Lin Yun’s victory for this round. He is granted one point!”
“Thank you,” Lin Yun breathed a sigh of relief. He jumped off of the stage after the judge announced his victory.
Because there was a small set back refining the beast core, it’d taken him two days to absorb it and raise his cultivation to the sixth stage of the Martial Path. In the process, he had also fused with the essence of the Saber-toothed Tiger, which added a sharpness and dominance to his aura. Luckily, he managed to read over the rules and find his stage on time. He was really close to being disqualified.
The rules of the mid-year test were simple. All the disciples would be separated into groups and go through elimination rounds within their respective group. Over two thousand outer disciples had been divided into ten groups, with each group containing about two hundred disciples. Only the top eight could advance to the next round. This meant only the top 80 outer disciples were qualified to fight for the ten inner disciples slots.
As Lin Yun looked over the groups, he noticed that the strength of every group had been balanced, with the top outer disciples being equally distributed. The Elder must have done this to prevent the top talent from ending up in the same group and eliminating each other prematurely.
Lin Yun walked around to scout out his potential opponents. In the sixth group, the strongest person was probably Zhang Han. Zhang Han was ranked among the top 10 and as strong as Zhou Yun. His cultivation was also in the seventh stage of the Martial Path.
Apart from this, Lin Yun knew nothing about him. However, he wasn’t too bothered as he only had to get into the top eight to advance to the next round. If he was lucky enough, he might not even encounter Zhang Han at all.
“Next round, Lin Yun versus Hu Feng!”
When Lin Yun heard his name announced, he rushed to the assigned stage. He did not want to give three moves to his opponent again.
When Hu Feng saw Lin Yun ascending the stage, a trace of fear flickered in his eyes. Lin Yun had become famous in the outer sect. He went from being a sword slave to defeating Chen Xiao with a single punch in only a few months. His achievements alone were a miracle.
After the judge announced the start of the battle, Hu Feng gnashed his teeth and circulated his internal energy before charging at Lin Yun. His palm as it shone with a cold flash as he gathered all his internal energy into it. It was evidently a palm technique, and Hu Feng seemed to be accomplished in it too!
Ferocious Tiger Fist!
Lin Yun bent his knees slightly before dashing forward and punching.
Boom!
The two of them collided midair. A miserable groan leaked from Hu Feng’s lips as he was blown off stage.
“The victory goes to Lin Yun!” the judge announced after a brief moment of hesitation.
“It’s the Ferocious Tiger Fist again!”
“What’s going on? Is Lin Yun not going to use his sword?”
“I really want to see his Flowing Wind Sword!”
The spectators were disappointed to see Lin Yun end the fight with a single punch.
After another short rest, Lin Yun welcomed his third opponent – another nobody who hadn’t reached the sixth stage of the Martial Path.
In all honesty, if this fight had taken place before he refined the beast core, Lin Yun might have had some trouble. He won again with a single punch.
“Victory goes to Lin Yun!”
“Victory goes to Lin Yun!”
It didn’t take long for Lin Yun to rack up ten wins. After all, very few outer disciples’ cultivation were in the sixth stage of the Martial Path.
Aside from his first opponent, Liang Wenbo, who was the only one so far that had made Lin Yun feel even remotely threatened, most of the remaining fights only took one punch. Most importantly, Lin Yun had only used the Ferocious Tiger Fist thus far, a fact that had shocked and disappointed his peers. When his thirteenth fight began, he finally met a worthy opponent — Ma Kui!
Ma Kui was in the sixth stage of the Martial Path and specialized in the advanced martial technique Purple Cloud Fist. He had also cultivated the Iron Wall Art, which refined his physique to be as solid as iron. Among the sixth group, even Zhang Han would have trouble against him.
Ma Kui had swept through his opponents without a single defeat, same as Lin Yun. With his ferocious offense and stunning defence, no one wanted to face him.
“Finally! There’s no way Lin Yun goes into this fight without his sword.”
“Yeah! If he holds back against Ma Kui, he’s a dead man.”
“What’s even better is that neither of them have lost yet. That means their win streaks are on the line!”
“Oh yeah, that really ups the ante! The higher the win streak, the more points you’re awarded. This’ll be interesting!”
Lin Yun knew the outer disciples were eager to see his Flowing Wind Sword, but he had his own concerns to worry about. His Flowing Wind Sword was his trump card. If he could keep the fact that he’d achieved greater mastery hidden through the group tournament, it would be his ace in the hole during the elimination round. He would not use it if he could help it. Besides, his Ferocious Tiger Fist and third stage Pure Yang Art had been more than enough.
When everyone saw Lin Yun going up the stage without his sword again, they were dumbfounded.
“Isn’t he taking Ma Kui a little too lightly?”
“Seems like all the victories have gone to the sword slave’s head. Senior Brother Ma, you have our support!”
“Senior Brother Ma, show him the might of your Purple Cloud Fist!”
On the stage, Ma Kui scowled. Not even Zhang Han dared to insult him like this. This sword slave had some nerve.
“Am I a joke to you, sword slave?” Zhang Han’s eyes flashed with rage. “Bring out your sword. I’ll only accept a loss if it’s to your Flowing Wind Sword.”
“I’m sorry, but that’s not happening,” Lin Yun wanted to explain that he wasn’t looking down on Ma Kui, but now was not the time.
“You’re pretty arrogant!” Lin Yun’s words had completely enraged Ma Kui. As he circulated his Iron Wall Art, his already robust figure doubled in size. The muscles on his naked upper body were glistening with a metallic luster.
Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!
Ma Kui charged, cracking the floorboards with each step. The ground shook so violently the closest spectators worried the stage would collapse.
“Senior Brother Ma is furious!”
“WSenior Brother Ma is way stronger than I remember! Has he been hiding things from us?”
“Let’s go! Beat that sword slaves ass! Make him regret not bringing out his sword!”
The crowd roared when they saw how powerful Ma Kui was. On the other side of the stage, Lin Yun looked unconcerned. When Ma Kui got close, Lin Yun greeted him with his fist.
Boom!
Lin Yun’s hand went numb.
“This is only just the beginning!” Ma Kui smiled when he saw Lin Yun flinch. His fists darkened as he delivered a flurry of punches.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Lin Yun retaliated with his Ferocious Tiger Fist, blocking each punch with one of his own. On the last punch, Ma Kui’s fist turned deep purple and Lin Yun was sent flying. He landed with a groan, nearly falling off stage.
“The Purple Cloud Fist!”
“Senior Brother Ma has reached greater mastery in the Purple Cloud Fist!”
“What a strong fist technique!”
Lin Yun was shocked. He changed his strategy and started drifting on the ground. Using the Wild Goose Art, he dodged his opponents attacks at lightning speed.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
As Lin Yun dodged, he seized every opportunity he could to throw punches into Ma Kui’s body. However, his punches were repelled with a metallic klang every time. Lin Yun had started losing feeling in both hands but Ma Kui looked completely fine.
“It’s futile. You’ll never penetrate my iron body. Once I land a solid hit, you’re done for! Dodge this!”
Swoosh!
Ma Kui stuck like a bolt of lightning. He had trained this punch for years. It was too fast. Lin Yun could only cross his arms together to defend himself.
Pfft!
A metallic taste coated Lin Yun’s mouth as blood leaked from its corner. The Purple Cloud Fist had caused internal injury.
“You should have used your sword, sword slave! Now get off my stage” Ma Kui roared as he charged Lin Yun like an iron chariot while he was still in the air.
The crowd was elated to see Lin Yun backed into a corner.
“Senior Brother Ma is going to win!”
Lin Yun was impressed. He hadn’t taken Ma Kui as the cunning type. Ma Kui knew he was slower, so he planned to hit Lin Yun before he could land.
Unfortunately for him, not even this warranted the Flowing Wind Sword.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
Lin Yun’s bones crackled as he pushed the Ferocious Tiger Fist to its limits. His sixth stage aura exploded and his punch roared as he threw it. His momentum was akin to the descent of a ferocious tiger.
The Hundred Beast Wave!
CRUUUNCH!!
The sound of the two fists colliding was accompanied by the sound of metal shattering. Ma Kui’s face contorted as he was sent flying, his body returning normal as he slid off the stage.
Roar!
On the stage, the tiger’s roar still lingered. A fierce wind blew through Lin Yun’s clothes. He displayed the same confidence he had when he faced the herd of Golden Brute Bulls.
“Ferocious Tiger Fist in complete mastery?!”
“Hot damn! Someone really managed to train in the Ferocious Tiger Fist to complete mastery!”
“But the amount of comprehension and willpower needed isn’t worth it… Just how stubborn is this guy?!”
“He’s…he’s a monster! He might be unstoppable…”
Lin Yun’s sudden reversal had stunned the crowd. They had been hoping to see his Flowing Wind Sword this whole time and thought this would be the match to force his hand. Seeing he had achieved complete mastery of the Ferocious Tiger Fist, they understood. Not even Ma Kui warranted enough of a challenge.