Chapter 42 - Winning Consecutively with Ease

“That’s cruel. Too cruel!”

“Did I see wrongly? He killed Sun Youwei with a single punch, even while he wore armor? How terrifying!”

“Heavens, that soft-scaled armor could block attacks from a seventh-level martial artist, but a punch from Chen Fan shattered it. Is he really at the sixth level and not the eighth?”

“That’s incredible! Not to mention the sixth level, even seventh-level martial artists would have found it hard to kill Sun Youwei in one blow. Only those at the eighth level or above can do it.”

“Chen Fan must have hidden his cultivation level. He is likely at the eighth level, not the sixth.”

“You fool, you can’t tell the depths of Chen Fan’s cultivation, but surely Elder Sun can! If Chen Fan was really eighth level, would he have suggested the bet with Elder Qin, losing both fortune and son?”

“In that case, Chen Fan’s cultivation is at the sixth level, but his actual combat strength is on par with the eighth level?”

“That’s not it, either. Although Sun Youwei was wearing the soft-scaled armor, safeguarding him from the attacks of seventh-level experts, it could only protect him from three hits at the most. Chen Fan should be on par with the stronger seventh-level experts. The gap between his strength and that of an eighth-level expert should be significant.”

......

The crowd reacted to the situation and began discussing among themselves, shocked by Chen Fan’s ability to kill Sun Youwei with a single punch.

Chen Fan walked off the fighting arena expressionlessly.

Qin Changkong approached him with long strides, patting Chen Fan’s shoulder heavily and smiled, “Good lad, you really surprised me!”

Chen Fan smiled and asked, “Where’s Senior Sister? How did her match go?”

“Nothing of note. Her cultivation is already at the peak of the seventh level. As long as she doesn’t run into someone at the eighth level, she won’t be defeated easily. Entering the top 100 shouldn’t be a problem.”

Qin Changkong smiled and continued, “This time, all thanks to you, I got the Bone Spirit Flame from that old fool Sun Wenshan, and you also eliminated Sun Youwei in one strike. The flame will give Yaoyao a great opportunity to become an Alchemist.”

“Uncle Qin, fusing with a primeval flame can be dangerous, right?”

“That’s only natural, but I have been helping Yaoyao prepare for years. We have a sixty percent chance of success. Once she becomes an Alchemist, she can use this Bone Spirit Flame to deal with enemies. It might even allow her to contend with eighth-level martial artists and become one of the top 10 outer sect disciples.”

The Outer Sect Grand Competition was not a one-day event. It was divided into several phases, with breaks of a few days in between each phase to allow the outer sect disciples to recover.

While they were conversing, Qin Yao approached them, having just won her match effortlessly.

“Senior Sister,” Chen Fan greeted Qin Yao calmly, though he felt flustered inside.

Qin Yao glanced at Chen Fan without acknowledging him and greeted Qin Changkong, “Father.”

“Yaoyao, take a look at what we have here,” Qin Changkong said, taking out the crystal ball containing the Bone Spirit Flame and shaking it.

Although Chen Fan had caused a commotion earlier by defeating Sun Youwei with a single punch, only a portion of the crowd had noticed it. The audience of the other nine arenas had no idea what had transpired.

The ten fighting arenas were each showing spectacular and intense battles.

“This is... Bone Spirit Flame!” Qin Yao’s eyes instantly lit up.

“That’s right. It’s a Bone Spirit Flame.”

Qin Changkong smiled. “You should thank Xiaofan quickly. He defeated Sun Youwei in one strike and helped me win this Bone Spirit Flame from that old fool Sun Wenshan.”

“No need for that. I’m delighted to be able to help Senior Sister.” Chen Fan hurriedly waved his hands.

“Yaoyao, once the first phase of the grand competition concludes, use the break to fuse with this primeval flame. It will aid your journey to becoming an Alchemist and increase your strength. With it, you'll have a fighting chance against someone at the eighth level; you might even defeat them. Becoming one of the top 10 disciples of the outer sect may even be a possibility.”

All fathers in the world looked out for their children.

......

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

A short distance away, hundreds of members from the Heaven's Alliance had gathered. Fei Kuang and his companions had watched Chen Fan's battle, and their eyes gleamed with coldness, a smile on their faces.

“Hehe, looks like that guy does have some strength. He killed Sun Youwei, that good-for-nothing, with one blow. His combat strength is comparable to a seventh-level martial artist, but that’s it. Who among you drew the tenth group? Swap lots with me. I’ll go meet him when the time comes.” Fei Kuang turned his head and said to the people behind him.

“Me.”

“I’m also in the tenth group.”

Immediately, more than ten members of the Heaven's Alliance responded.

Fei Kuang randomly picked someone and swapped his lot with them; the coldness in his eyes and smile grew more intense.

Act out all you want for now; your time to die is coming soon!

Time flew by swiftly as all ten fighting arenas completed a round of matches, resulting in the elimination of half the disciples, numbering several thousand. Tragically, over a hundred disciples lost their lives in the process.

Soon, the second round of matches began.

“Tenth group, number 345 versus number 932.”

It was once again Chen Fan's turn to step into the arena.

His opponent in this battle was even weaker than Sun Youwei; it was a youth with fifth-level cultivation.

As soon as they were both on the stage, a bitter smile appeared on the youth’s face, and he promptly admitted defeat. After all, he’d personally witnessed Sun Youwei’s death.

Even with soft-scaled armor, Sun Youwei died from a single punch. If he faced Chen Fan without any protection, they likely wouldn’t even find his corpse.

Chen Fan didn’t like to kill indiscriminately, but the sight of him killing Sun Youwei had left a deep impression on these people. Disciples with cultivation lower than Chen Fan's perceived him as a demon.

In this second battle, Chen Fan emerged victorious without even having to fight.

Several hours later, the second round ended, reducing the number of remaining disciples by half again. The third round of battles commenced.

Soon, the presiding elder called Chen Fan’s number again.

This time, Chen Fan’s opponent was a round-faced youth with seventh-level cultivation.

Unaware of Chen Fan's previous feat of obliterating Sun Youwei with a single punch, the youth burst into laughter upon realizing his opponent's identity and began taunting him.

“You’re Chen Fan, right? On account of your commendable courage to dare come on stage, I’ll let you make the first three moves. Come on,” declared the round-faced youth, disregarding Chen Fan.

Meanwhile, the crowd below the arena covered their faces, cursing the round-faced youth inwardly for his stupidity and arrogance.

“Go down!”

Chen Fan didn't attack to kill, but the force behind his fist produced a resounding roar as it surged toward the round-faced youth.

That round-faced youth immediately realized he had underestimated Chen Fan and roared angrily. His cultivation surged, and his primeval qi howled, but he barely managed to withstand three punches before flying out of the arena.

Once again, Chen Fan achieved an easy victory.

His opponent for the fourth battle wasn’t strong, either. His strength was comparable to the round-faced youth from the third battle, both at the early stage of the seventh level.

Despite his opponent's initiative to launch a flurry of attacks upon stepping onto the stage, he was defeated by Chen Fan after just ten moves, without consuming much of Chen Fan's energy.

By this time, the sun was beginning to set.

The fifth round was also the last round for the first phase of the grand competition.

In this round, Chen Fan finally encountered an expert–Gu Zhan!