As soon as the bells rang Ye Mo darted towards Ha Jun and with a light leap aimed his left fist at him.

"What are you doing, pointing your fist at me?" Ha Jun didn't take Ye Mo's strike seriously. He was already at the third stage of the Iron Skin technique and his body was tough like a monolith.

Although he knew Ye Mo was a body refiner as well, how far could have gone this young lad in such a difficult and lenghty art?

Maybe he had a body refining technique of a better rank to compensate the lack of time but with quality came harsher requirements in its cultivation and then he would have even less progress.

All in all, in close combat, Ha Jun didn't take Ye Mo for a threat. He calmly raised his hand to catch Ye Mo's fist and mostly stood on guard against a feint from his opponent.

But the feint never came and instead the fist connected with the palm as Ha Jun felt great strenght crashing on his hand. His arm was deflected through this powerful strike and Ye Mo's right fist immediately followed strucking his face.

Ha Jun took three steps back, holding his face with one hand while instinctively punching in front of him with the other.

Ye Mo wanted to pursue him and make use of this advantage but seeing the fist coming his way, he unhesitatingly leaped backwards going out of range.

Ye Mo's fist was slightly numb and he felt like he had just hit a steel plate.

"Normal attacks won't be sufficient against him, i need to go all out." Ye Mo's eyes shone brightly.

Ha Jun removed his hand from his face as two trails of blood escaped his nostrils.

"I will take this fight seriously from now on." Ha Jun looked solemnly at Ye Mo as he swept the blood from his face while no hints of contempt could be felt from him anymore but inside he was ashamed and angry at himself.

He remembered his master at the gates of the city telling him to never drop his guard yet he was caught careless and this was the result.

Ye Mo instead was amazed. He had put enough strenght to crush the bones of an ordinary man and put his life in danger yet beside a nosebleed Ha Jun didn't seem to have suffered more damage. But Ye Mo wasn't surprised as he knew himself the strenght of a body cultivator.

If it wasn't this much Ha Jun wouldn't have reached the top 20 of the competition.

Both contestants looked at each other for an instant before charging.

Tum tum tum.

Every time Ha Jun's feet stepped on the ground, it produced a loud and deep sound as the stone tiles cracked under his feet.

They met at the middle of the stage where they engaged in close combat.

Ha Jun's fists and feets were big, his skin was durable and he had a better reach than Ye Mo.

Nonetheless Ye Mo showed no emotions as he readily exchanged blows with his opponent.

The wind was screaming from their attacks and Ye Mo soon took the advantage.

He quickly realized that Ha Jun's body refining technique mostly increased his defense and slightly his strenght. His skin was like a sturdy armor protecting him and he was much more resistant than Ye Mo but his strenght, even with his size and the increase of his qi cultivation and body refining technique, wasn't on par with Ye Mo.

As for other physical capabilities like speed or agility, there wasn't even any comparison to make, Ye Mo easily surclassed him in every point.

Here showed the difference in a simple Yellow Class mid-tier body refining art and a Star Class high-tier one. It must also be taken into account that Ye Mo was barely in the first revolution of the fiend body while Ha Jun already reached the third of the five stages of his Iron Skin body.

But the reason for his advantage was not only due to his physical attributes but also to his superior close combat skills.

Ye Mo's thirst for power bloomed a long time ago. Although his past condition didn't let him take part in any confrontation he frequently asked himself, what was the best way to fight? What was the most effective fighting style to vanquish the enemy?

Living in the slums at this time, Ye Mo was a witness of multiple brawls, muggling, murders and gang wars as he roamed the streets looking for a way to fill his stomach.

Through various observations, conjectures and his own experience he came to a conclusion.

Your body must become a weapon!

Feets, knees, fists, elbows and even the head! Everything was used in order to destroy all opposition. Every parts of his body became the embodiment of destruction under Ye Mo's fine control.

A flurry of fists shadows constantly harrassed Ha Jun and when he tried to grab Ye Mo's arms, a serie of kicks repelled him.

When he wanted to tackle, a flying knee was sent to his chin.

When he closed the distance to block the strikes, razor-like elbows split the wind, cutting his flesh and pouring blood on the arena.

When Ha Jun endured all theses to hug Ye Mo immobilizing his body, his head smashed his nose and his teeth tore a piece of his ear only hanging by a thread of skin.

Ha Jun grunted under the waves of pain he felt from his bitten ear.

"That's the first time i see mortal martial arts in such a grand competition."

"This kid is really a commoner, such a shame he got to join the Tiger Martial Institute."

"His life will completely change for sure, if he can do all that with brute force alone im curious to see what he will achieve with Qi and battle skills."

"He already pushed a mortal prowess to the limits but i'm afraid it won't be enough..."

The onlookers were divided towards this scene, some praising him while others only felt contempt and disgust towards such inferior fighting way.

Most of them were cultivators from organisations, sects or rich families.

They were protected since young and when they came of age they would start cultivating Qi and train in battle skills so they never had to learn the rudiment of ordinary martial arts which was mainly deemed for mortals.

Ha Jun kept retreating, his sweat poured out like a river and he was pressed hard by Ye Mo until he reached the edge of the stage.

"Im not done yet!" But in the end Ha Jun was still a Qi cultivator.

Ha Jun loudly roared as his body expanded visibly and his size grew by a fold. His shirt was tored under the growing mass of muscles. His eyes turned red and the pilosity of his chest, arms and legs increased.

Great Bull Berserk Incarnation!

Ha Jun punched towards Ye Mo, his arm thick like the trunk of a tree.

"Looks like an amplification battle skill." The speed of Ha Jun increased and Ye Mo could feel the enormous wind pressure behind the strike.

He quickly raised his leg in front of him, the fist connected with the sole of his foot as Ye Mo pushed when he was sent flying.

He did his best to maintain his balance in midair; he twisted his waist and landed on the ground on his feet more than 20 steps away.

The moment he landed, he tried to move and felt the articulation of his knee and hip hurting.

"His strenght increased as well, even when drawing back i was still injured." Ye Mo narrowed his eyes, his gaze deep like an ancient pool.

He didn't put the pain of his leg in mind as he rushed at Ha Jun without any fear.

The muscles of Ha Jun's body tightened and his brows knitted when he saw Ye Mo come at him once again before both contestants ran against each other.

Boom boom boom!

Loud impact sounds echoed through the arena as Ye Mo unleashed all his brutality, taking turns attacking and defending.

However this time it was Ha Jun that gradually supressed Ye Mo. His increased speed unabled him to parry Ye Mo's strikes with less difficulty and as time passed he slowly adapted to Ye Mo fighting style.

His strenght was now on par with Ye Mo and his skin defense much better but Ye Mo didn't restrain himself anymore.

At times he used fingers to poke at the eyes, sometimes hitting the addam's apple with the knuckles, kicking the crotch, targeting the opponent's articulations or hitting the ears with the palm of his hand.

Each strikes were sent with killing intent and even though Ha Jun had the upper hand he stood mostly on guard, pressured by the potentially fatal injuries he could incur if one of Ye Mo's blows landed.

This way the match fell in a stalemate where both contestants neutralized each other for a few breaths when Ha Jun tried to kick Ye Mo.

Ye Mo squatted down, dodging the attack, then fiercely hugged Ha Jun's waist using his strenght to push him down causing Ha Jun to fall to the ground. Then he rode on his waist and quickly punched Ha Jun's head.

"Against a bigger and stronger opponent, the best way to defeat him is to take the fight to the ground where he can't use his advantages properly." Ye Mo smiled coldly as blows rained on Ha Jun.

Without battle skills or trump cards like his opponents but just his body alone, all Ye Mo could use was his knowledge and instincts to triumph over his adversaries!