Chapter 3437: Second Round Of The Semifinals
Chapter 3437: Second Round Of The Semifinals
With the crowd buzzing like a kicked beehive, the referee finally announced that the semifinals round for the day was complete. All contestants were granted a mandatory one day break for recovery.
Cattaleya nearly exploded.
"One day. One whole day of waiting. Why do they torture us like this?" she complained, pacing in agitation.
Lin Mu smiled slightly. "It is only a day."
"It is a lifetime," she muttered, crossing her arms. "I was warming up. Now my mood is ruined."
Meng Bai laughed quietly. "Senior Cattaleya has the patience of a little child."
Catt glared at him, but even she cracked a smile.
Despite her displeasure, the day passed quickly. The excitement throughout the Great Fist City was at an all time high. Restaurants were packed, betting halls overflowed with gamblers, and merchants scrambled to adjust their predictions and item prices.
Because for the first time in centuries, no one had the faintest clue who the champion would be.
With the break over, the semifinals resumed.
Only six contestants remained: an elder of the Martial Fist King sect, Cattaleya, Lin Mu, Blueback, and two powerful outsiders.
The lots were drawn.
Cattaleya held her breath.
Lin Mu raised a brow.
Daoist Chu leaned forward with interest.
All of them were wondering if Lin Mu and Catt would be in a matchup.
In the end, fate separated the two again.
Cattaleya exhaled with frustration. "Unreasonable. I want to fight the sect elder. He looks fun."
Lin Mu scanned the names and smirked. "Seems I drew Blueback."
Cattaleya brightened. "Better. Fight him hard. I want to see how he handles your attacks."
Elyon nodded solemnly. "Be careful. He is hiding more than regeneration. His essence flow is odd. There are layers under layers."
Lin Mu simply nodded. "That is why I want to fight him."
The stadium filled once more, louder than before. Nearly the entire city had shown up early just to secure a seat. Even the floating platforms that were added later were crowded with spectators.
And even then there was not enough space, so people simply floated in the sky on their own or on various tools and weapons to watch the fights.
The referee announced the first Match of the Day which was Elder Redfist versus Wandering Onyxhide.
The fight featured the remaining elder of the Martial Fist King sect. A man known for his incredible mastery of force redirection. His opponent was an outsider with a physique known as the Onyxhide Carapace, a body capable of tanking powerful blows without cracking.
The fight was spectacular, but brief.
The elder used his redirection techniques to twist the outsider’s heavy blows away from him and guide his force back toward his own body. Each strike the outsider launched came back like a rebounding hammer.
In half an hour, the outsider staggered and fell to one knee. His body was strong, but not strong enough to overcome the elder’s mastery of momentum.
The elder claimed victory and bowed respectfully, earning loud applause.
Second match was Cattaleya versus Scarlet Boulder Monk
Cattaleya entered the ring with a cold expression. She wanted that elder. Instead she got a hulking red skinned monk from a distant world.
Lin Mu observed the man since he was a monk, but did not seem to be from buddhism.
’Wonder what school he belongs to...’ Lin Mu thought.
But while Lin Mu was thinking that,Cattaleya had no patience left.
The fight began and Cattaleya instantly invoked her Duskthorn Fist Arts: Ravaging Thorn. Her fist bloomed with a massive black thorn of energy.
The monk prepared a powerful defensive stance.
It was useless.
Her attack struck with the force of a meteor. The monk was thrown across the ring, rolled twice, and fainted on impact.
Thirty seconds. That was all it took.
Cattaleya dusted off her hands and walked away.
"I am still annoyed," she muttered, returning to the stands.
Meng Bai whispered to Lin Mu, "She is scarier when she is annoyed."
Daoist Chu nodded. "Terrifying."
Now it was finally time for the match the entire city had been waiting for.
Lin Mu Versus Blueback
Blueback entered the stage with calm steps and a steady gaze. His tattoo flickered faintly on his back, though not fully awakened yet. He cracked his knuckles and neck, then looked at Lin Mu with a grin.
Lin Mu stepped into the ring with relaxed steps, eyes calm and curious.
The crowd fell into a hush, holding their breath for the clash of two monsters.
The referee raised his arm.
"Contestants, prepare."
Lin Mu and Blueback locked eyes.
Blueback smiled in a dangerous and excited way.
Lin Mu smiled back.
The referee lowered his hand.
"Begin!"
The moment the referee’s words were spoken, Blueback made his move.
"You might just be the most dangerous person I’ve seen so far, as such I cannot let you have your freedom." Blueback stated as he turned into a blur.
Lin Mu found that he wasn’t using any illusory skills or any other supplemental techniques, but rather pure speed. His legs seemed to contain the power of ten thousand beastly tendons that were coiled like tight springs, and allowed him to move with a pace faster than an ordinary immortal’s perception.
~WHOOSH~
Blueback appeared at Lin Mu’s side as he whipped his leg filled with the power of reinforced tendons.
CLANG!
The leg clashed against Lin Mu’s side, which made the sound of an iron plate being hammered.
"UGH!" Much to everyone’s surprised, it was Blueback that was injured first.
His leg packed with energy was now cracked awkwardly and blood flowed from the torn flesh. Lin Mu meanwhile just glanced at the man, without any anxiety. It was as if everything was within his calculations.
Which was exactly what was happening...
Lin Mu had let the man act as he please, because he wished to see just what he was hiding. He had not been able to figure out all his secrets before, but now that he was face to face, he could analyze them in depths.
And what he found out got him very... very interested.