"I'll definitely win my fight for this round."

He Xianru said with confidence to Ha Ken who stood by her side.

"So confident? Have you already checked the matchups?"

"Yeah. My opponent is very weak. To erase my earlier defeats, I will finish this match with a single move."

"Xianru, don't be overconfident. No matter who your opponent is, you shouldn't put your guard down. Don't try to rush the fight for absurd reasons."

"And I told you to stop treating me like a child. You don't understand, my opponent has a cultivation of the 4th level.

I don't even understand why he's participating in the competition. I looked at his record and it seems that he only won his first fight through sheer luck. He got a bye for the second round.

The only thing that this guy has going for him is his luck. I will tell him to face the reality first, if he doesn't agree. I'll show the audience the shortest fight of the competition."

"You should still be careful. Everyone has something they can rely on."

"Just stop! There's no way I'm going to lose to this guy. I have to recover my image in front of the city and my father. At Least I can warn this guy before he makes a fool of himself, unlike you and Su Libai."

Ha Ken knew that she would be alright. He Xianru wasn't a child, she should have gotten his message already. He wasn't too interested in watching her establish herself in beating up a person with inferior cultivation.

"Master, it seems your fight this round is with He Xianru. Are you confident?" Asked Devanshu.

Yun Fei just laughed as he replied,

"I can't see myself losing to her. From what I've seen, she seems too rash.

Maybe the fight will last some time if she fights prudently."

Devanshu coloured, "If that is so, maybe you could be easy on her."

Yun Fei grinned as he looked towards Devanshu. 'Does this kid like her or something?'

As they talked, Ha Ken went up the platform and stood imposingly.

His opponent climbed up the stage. However, before the Referee could even announce the start of the fight, he announced his withdrawal.

What Yun Fei had predicted had started happening. A lot of people's true strength was now out in the open. This would obviously lead to people withdrawing from fights that were their sure defeats.

Afterall, this was a round robin tournament. The only thing that mattered were the amount of points people accumulated. It was better to preserve your strength for battles you actually had a chance to win. No one wanted to waste their time battling Ha Ken who had a 6th layer cultivation.

Right after an effortless victory for Ha Ken, Su Libai was the one to replace him on the same platform. Yun Fei predicted that even his opponent would withdraw without a fight. Su Libai had defeated He Xianru rather effortlessly, in Yun Fei's eyes that was enough to display his strength.

Surprisingly, there was no withdrawal. The fight had started as usual. Yun Fei was perplexed.

'Is this because people aren't scared of him?'

The fight continued. Even though the skills of the opponent were much less than He Xianru, there was still no swift end to the fight. The only thing Yun Fei could glean from this was, 'Su Libai is not very skilled at head-on attacks.'

His opponent, although with less skill than Xianru, was still much more prudent than her. He had clearly learned a lot from the fight in the second round.

His strategy wasn't much different

He just increased his vigilance and kept his movements swift and concise. Even with this attitude, he still received numerous cuts. None of them lethal.

'The winner is obvious.'

The man had no capital to contend against Su Libai's illusions. To Yun Fei, it seemed that he was just trying his luck out. After suffering quite a deep slash. The man jumped backwards as he loudly announced his loss. He was clearly not willing to lose more.

After Su Libai, the next notable fight was of Xuan Wu. However, there was nothing to see as even his opponent withdrew without exchanging a single blow.

It was finally the time for his own fight. Yun Fei had already stretched his muscles and warmed himself up. He was in top condition, ready to perform to his peak in this battle.

Standing at one side of the platform, Yun Fei stood quiet as he circulated the Qi inside his body. Under his focused gaze, the princess of Sungon city climbed up the stage.

The crowd went wild as usual. There was no way they could stay quiet before the fight of their idol. Children and adults alike cheered with all their might as they supported He Xianru.

As He Xianru raised her hand in a gesture, their voices died down. She opened her small mouth to speak.

"I don't want to bully someone with a lower cultivation. Although, you have performed quite well till now. I suggest that you withdraw.

You can incur serious injuries if you try to overexert yourself. It is not worth it for you to participate in this battle."

"Ahhh, Young Miss is so kind hearted."

"Miss Xianru, you're the best!!"

"Is there someone else with such a gentle heart? She warned her opponent because she didn't want him to get injured."

People instantly started voicing their opinions in her support as soon as she finished. Her image in their hearts rose to even greater heights. All her fans were greatly moved by her kindness.

Yun Fei wasn't one to get pressured off stage just because someone wanted him to withdraw. He instantly refused,

"I won't withdraw. If you have the time to provide unsolicited advice, start the fight already."

"This bastard is so ungrateful!!"

"Prostrate yourself, you idiot, or you'll lose miserably."

"How dare he call her advice unsolicited. I want to beat this bastard up."

Jeers rang out from the crowd. Along with additional unsolicited advice, all of them wanted him to listen to He Xianru.

'Are these people so retarded? Do they really think that I would withdraw just from the words of some amateur that couldn't even control her feelings?'

"So you've made your choice. Since you have decided to battle, I can't go easy on you.

I will show everybody the shortest battle of this competition."

"It will be enough if you just go as easy on me as you went on Su Libai."

Yun Fei replied with a chuckle.

"You..."

This was her sore spot, she had made such declarations and then had an overwhelming loss to Su Libai. His insensitive remarks only served to deepen her resolve to have no mercy.

Yun Fei was surprised that he got no laughs. He thought it was funny to mock her prideful dialogues. When he looked into the audience he realised why.

He Xianru's overwhelming number of supporters looked hurt in her place. They stared daggers into people that seemed like they would laugh. Even Devanshu had a plain face like a stone statue, he didn't want to get lynched by a crowd.

The Referee finally announced the beginning of the match.

He Xianru had a cold face. She was angered by Yun Fei's dialogue. She wanted to teach him a harsh lesson so he wouldn't dare this again.

He Xianru's body flashed and she blurred into a number of forms. Her movements were simple but elusive, like the floating clouds and flowing rivers: graceful. Her shadows gradually coalesced, until it was difficult to distinguish just which one she was.

The audience gasped in amazement at this display of Hayashi Forms. They had already seen it in her fight with Su Libai, but they couldn't get enough of it. Their cheers furthered He Xianru's confidence even more.

"Her movement technique is too exquisite, I don't think that guy stands a chance against her." Commented Scholar.

"Since he didn't withdraw, he should have something he can rely upon. Maybe he'll last some time."

Replied Daoist Ren.

He Xianru drew her sword. But, it was more accurate to say that over half a dozen He Xianru's had drawn their sword.

This was a relatively elementary move in the Hayashi Forms. She didn't use something like this against Su Libai because it would be easily seen through.

However, would someone with a lower cultivation than her be able to see through it?

Not a chance.

He Xianru didn't think that Yun Fei deserved more effort than this from her.

The many swords rose at the same time, a thick layer of Qi condensing at the sword point. It substantiated into a visible sword light that reflected off the tip.

With blinding speed, all the afterimages rushed towards Yun Fei.

This strike surged with momentum, He Xianru's Qi swelled forth just like a torrential river.

The dense rain of sword lights would've made anyone tense up: how could one possibly hide from this?

Looking at He Xianru who rushed towards him, Yun Fei's face was devoid of any expression. She was the second person who dared to underestimate his perception, the first one still hadn't recovered from his injuries.

Since she dared to be so arrogant when facing him, Yun Fei would teach her in place of her parents.

He Xianru and her afterimages drew closer. It was a piece of cake for Yun Fei to single out her true body. While she was still some distance away, he finally made his move.

Qi surged into Yun Fei's legs. It reinforced his quads and calves. However, the true force came from the explosion in his soles.

It propelled him forwards with a horrifying momentum. Earlier, Su Libai's speed had just been an illusion but Yun Fei matched that speed in reality.

He Xianru could dodge even Su Libai's illusion at the last second. However, this time she couldn't even move a finger.

Just as her eyes met Yun Fei's purple pupils, she was stopped in time. No matter how much she willed it, she couldn't move her sword to defend in the front.

She was completely helpless in front of Yun Fei. All she could do was watch as he transferred all the momentum from his dash into his left hand.

Along with the momentum, the remaining Qi in his body also made it's way into his knuckles. He wasn't pulling any punches. Since He Xianru had irritated him, she would suffer the consequences.

"BANG!"

With a solid punch from Yun Fei. All of He Xianru's afterimages vanished. Everyone's favorite young miss of the Sungon city was sent flying backwards like a broken kite.

The speed with which she bounced off the ground was even greater than the speed she had rushed with.

Even her sword was sent flying off in another direction. The force that struck her was so monstrous that she couldn't even maintain a grip on her blade.

He Xianru verily bounced out of bounds. She still wasn't stopping though, moving with such speed that she almost crashed into the second stage.

Before the spectators could even blink. Just as her body was about to interrupt the other fight that was going on. Ha Ken suddenly appeared in her path and caught her. Even he was pushed backwards till his ankles teetered to the edge of it.

The whole arena was submerged into an eerie silence. No one uttered a word. Even the contestants on the other platforms looked over in surprise towards He Xianru.The silence was broken by Yun Fei's exhale.

The Referee pulled himself together from the shock he was feeling and announced Yun Fei's victory.

Yun Fei didn't have anything to say. He had already displayed all he had to. He just turned around and walked off the platform. The only thing left in the place he had stood at was a crushed tile.

'How is this possible?'

The Referee looked towards Yun Fei's back and the crushed tile in incredulity. He had never expected that he would witness such strength in a competition between kids.

The competition still continued, he wiped his forehead as he announced the start of the next fight.

Yun Fei looked at the gaping Devanshu,

"She was too arrogant for me to go easy on her."

In the stands a dumbfounded Uncle said as he watched Ha Ken carry He Xianru.

"This was really the shortest fight of the competition."

The others also couldn't find any fault with the statement and agreed.

"Looks like she didn't boast after all. She really showed the audience the shortest fight of the competition."

The group contained their muffled laughter as they waited for another good match to start.