Chapter Twenty-Five: Martial Arts Tournament for Enrollment

A few more days passed, and Chen Bo finally decided not to participate in the academy’s martial arts recruitment this year. With his current abilities, entering the competition would only be asking for a beating. Besides, he still hadn’t mastered even the first stage of the Ninefold Killing Fist; sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t.

“I’m exhausted,” Chen Bo muttered after running through the set of techniques, feeling as though he’d hit a minor bottleneck. If he could just break through this barrier, he’d wield the first stage of the Ninefold Killing Fist with ease.

As for challenging those far above his level—such a notion was nearly impossible. No matter how much strength he could muster, if his body couldn’t withstand it, all that power would be wasted.

Even if Chen Bo unleashed his full force—over six hundred pounds—he was still only at the Skin Tempering stage. Whenever he used the Ninefold Killing Fist, his muscles ached unbearably. If he relied on it continuously throughout the day, his body would be utterly ruined. Nothing in the world is perfect; even the most formidable martial arts have their fatal flaws.

That day, Chen Bo received word that the people from Sunfire Academy had arrived in Flame Town. Curious, he went to take a look, and was left so stunned he could hardly speak.

He was especially envious when he saw the mighty mammoth beasts, each as tall as a two-story building—riding one of those would be the picture of awe-inspiring power.

But Chen Bo also worried for the roads of Flame Town. The mammoth beasts’ route happened to pass over the very stone pavement his family had painstakingly laid, now pockmarked with deep and shallow craters—the massive footprints left behind. Each mammoth beast must weigh as much as a heavy truck, if not more. The bluestone of the roads was far inferior to urban concrete; a few steps from those beasts and the path was completely ruined.

Elsewhere, the heads of the three great families of Flame Town had been waiting for quite some time. The tutors from Sunfire Academy dismounted, and after some polite exchanges—clearly, they were already acquainted. Their attitude toward Chen Zhenhai was especially warm and ambiguous, drawing the envy and jealousy of the Qin and Zhang family heads. The Qin family head, in particular, regretted the matter of Qin Ruolan; he hadn’t known at first, and when he finally did, it was far too late.

In his eyes, Chen Bo might have been a worthless youth, but he had a genius for an elder sister—studying at the imperial capital’s academy, soon to become an instructor herself, and said to be close friends with a princess of the royal court. That alone surpassed anything the Myriad Sword Sect could offer. With Chen Jingjing’s current connections, a single word in the capital could spell trouble for the entire Qin family. Truly, children have always been their parents’ undoing!

The tutors from Sunfire Academy settled in for the night; the recruitment tournament would begin the next day, and all the slots would be fought for with fists. Chen Bo shook his head at such a savage method—this sort of rough competition was hardly suited for him. Could he even beat anyone?

The answer was clear: absolutely not.

A day later, the recruitment tournament began, held on the grounds of the Chen family. The only reason for this privilege was Chen Bo’s sister, which made him all the more curious about this “sister he had never met.”

It was a strange feeling, as if Chen Jingjing were the protagonist, and he, Chen Bo, was just a shadowy figure in the background.

Well, it didn’t really matter who was the protagonist. As long as he won the three-year bet, he could enjoy a long, peaceful respite.

The Chen family’s grounds were packed with people from all over Flame Town, ring after ring of spectators, numbering several thousand. If the martial arena could have held more, perhaps half the town would have come.

At first, Chen Bo hadn’t cared about the tournament, but seeing so many people gathered to watch, he felt his own blood stir. Since arriving in this world, he’d never seen a real martial contest between cultivators.

The rules were simple: one challenger held the stage against a whole crowd of opponents. Chen Bo found it laughably unfair—a blatant gauntlet of one-vs-many! Even if you were a genius, you’d tire eventually.

But the true prodigies weren’t foolish; they all aimed for the last few spots, so the early rounds were filled with second-rate riffraff slugging it out.

Still, to someone like Chen Bo, who had seen nothing but the mundane, it was an exhilarating spectacle. Earth’s martial contests were restricted in a hundred ways—even so-called no-rules fighting banned weapons.

But here on the stage, a Chen family disciple and a Qin family disciple clashed with swords and blades, fighting with wild abandon. As long as you didn’t kill your opponent, you could even break their limbs—watching it sent chills down Chen Bo’s spine, making him realize how truly dangerous this world was.

“Qin Shi of the Qin family wins! He’s the new champion of the ring!”

A host-like figure shouted excitedly. The Qin family erupted in cheers, and the crowd applauded generously.

The defeated was a Chen family youth, talented but bested. His sword had snapped during the match, and Qin Shi had slashed his abdomen, leaving him grievously wounded and bleeding out on the ground.

Immediately, several doctors rushed to carry him off for emergency treatment. Medical skills in this world were extremely advanced, as were their miraculous medicines; in no time, the Chen family youth’s bleeding was staunched and his life no longer in danger.

Watching the triumphant Qin family, the Chens could hardly keep their composure, while the Zhangs looked on with schadenfreude, relishing the conflict between the other two families.

“For the next round, Chen Long of the Chen family challenges the champion, Qin Shi of the Qin family!”

The moment the announcement was made, the Qin family was thrown into confusion. Everyone knew Chen Long by reputation—one of the most outstanding youths in all of Flame Town. Qin Shi was no slouch, but his chances against Chen Long were slim, especially since he’d just fought a grueling match and was still exhausted.

Leaping onto the two-meter-high stage, Chen Long, sword strapped to his back, smiled and saluted the Sunfire Academy tutors, who nodded in approval.

If only Chen Long weren’t so arrogant, he might become a true figure of note one day. But a person’s character isn’t something that can be changed overnight.

Qin Shi rested for a while before the match began. Gripping his steel blade tightly, he shouted, “Chen Long, draw your sword!”

“Draw my sword?” Chen Long let out a disdainful laugh. “A wretch like you isn’t worth me drawing my blade. My bare hands are more than enough!”

The crowd erupted in uproar at Chen Long’s words, especially the Qin family, who couldn’t contain their fury.

“That Chen Long is too arrogant! Looking down on our Qin family—damn it, I’d love to hack him to pieces myself!”

“Damn it, the Chen family has gone too far! Who does Chen Long think he is? Qin Shi, finish him off!”

“Hmph, these youngsters really don’t know the meaning of humility!”

Up on the stage, Qin Shi could only grit his teeth. His strength had only recovered about sixty percent, while Chen Long was full of vigor. There was little doubt about the outcome—this bout was surely doomed.

There’s much more to come tonight; the next chapter will be posted at eleven.