Day after day passed, and the annual Yulan City New Blood Competition was fast approaching.
This so-called New Blood Competition was simply a contest among the younger generation of the great families — those under twenty years of age.
Each participating family would put forward a prize, and only the final champion could claim the grand reward.
Of course, while the prizes were valuable, the main purpose was to assess the strength of the next generation.
Over the past ten-odd days, Feng Hao’s progress had been remarkable.
What he accomplished in these days was worth more than years of bitter training before.
All the credit went to the Tiger Movement chapter — and, of course, the Divine Farmer’s Canon.
Neither could be spared.
During this time, Feng Hao did nothing but train — aside from eating and sleeping.
By today, he had reached the peak of fourth-stage Martial Apprentice, just a hair’s breadth away from the fifth stage.
All he needed was a single trigger.
As for the second posture of Tiger Movement, Feng Hao could barely manage it now.
It no longer caused him as much difficulty as before.
As dawn broke, he stood beneath the rosewood tree, body arched like a beast ready to strike at any moment.
The sight of him gave off a fierce, primal impression.
*Whoosh…
whoosh…*
Muscles slowly churned beneath his skin as he shifted between crawling and arching.
After only a few cycles, he collapsed to the ground.
“Heh heh.”
Feng Hao gasped for breath, but his weary face was full of delight.
With a thought, the medicinal energy spread, and he sat up.
“Let me try.”
He withdrew his aura, tensed every muscle, and fixed his gaze on the rosewood tree.
His eyes were rock-solid.
“Ha!”
His aura exploded outward like a beast lunging at its prey.
His fist shot out and slammed into the rosewood tree.
*Boom!*
Feng Hao stumbled back several steps before steadying himself.
Looking at the clear fist imprint embedded in the tree, a surge of wild joy flooded his heart.
“I did it!”
Though he still hadn’t mastered all of Tiger Movement, he was confident — even a fifth-stage Martial Apprentice would be hurt badly by that punch.
A commotion rose from within the city.
Feng Hao turned and dashed away quickly.
Everything he had done up to now had been in preparation for today.
He wanted to shed the label of ‘talentless fool’ in front of everyone.
He wanted his father to stand tall and regain the prestige he had once commanded.
At the center of Yulan City, an arena had been built early in the morning.
There was no worry about damage during the juniors’ competition.
Around the arena, the four great families each occupied a section.
The smaller factions could only watch from afar.
By the time Feng Hao arrived, the place was already a sea of people.
Fortunately, the crowd recognized him — the talentless young master — and parted to let him through.
Otherwise, he might have had to fight his way in just to get close.
Seeing Feng Hao approach, Feng Chen waved him over, signaling him to stand nearby.
His arrival drew some attention from the other families, but most of it was mockery and contempt.
In their eyes, a mere boy who dared to challenge a Fengyue Academy instructor had to be either crazy or stupid.
Someone as young as Yun Ying, already a high-tier Great Martial Master, clearly possessed extraordinary talent.
Three years from now, she might even have broken through to Martial Spirit.
What could a talentless boy possibly do against that?
Feng Hao ignored all those looks.
His expression didn’t waver, but his fists clenched silently.
He had endured these stares for years.
Today, he was going to change everything.
When the time came, the four family heads mounted the stage together.
They presented their prizes and gave encouraging speeches to the juniors.
Then they invited Ouyang Peng from the Yage Auction House to serve as the referee and announced the start of the competition.
*Thump!*
A figure leaped onto the stage, standing tall with some presence.
It was Yang Kui!
“Feng Hao!
Do you dare to come up?!”
He pointed directly at Feng Hao.
Clearly, the incident in the market still gnawed at him.
He had been thinking about revenge the entire time.
That was why he jumped on stage first, calling Feng Hao out by name, eager to humiliate him.
“Why wouldn’t I dare?”
Feng Hao’s eyes narrowed slightly as he stepped toward the stage.
Feng Chen didn’t try to stop him.
He knew that Feng Hao’s cultivation had long surpassed Yang Kui’s.
*Hmph.*
He snorted softly, glancing at the mocking, sneering, expectant faces around him.
He couldn’t help wondering whether those people’s eyes would pop out when they saw what Feng Hao was about to do on stage.
Feng Hao walked up onto the stage, step by step, and stood before Yang Kui.
The eyes of the entire crowd converged on them.
“I’m going to make you kneel and beg!”
Yang Kui’s face twitched as he spat out the words, his voice dripping with malice.
“Is that so?”
Feng Hao responded calmly.
An icy glint of disdain flashed through his clear eyes.
The moment Ouyang Peng gave the order, Yang Kui moved.
“Die!”
He threw his fist, putting all his strength behind it, aiming straight at Feng Hao’s head.
Feng Hao stood motionless, as if frozen in fear.
Seeing this, many of the Feng family’s younger members closed their eyes, unable to watch.
Aside from Feng Lie, the three other family heads all wore sneers.
But Ouyang Peng squinted, a deep puzzlement in his eyes.
He sensed that the former talentless boy seemed…
different.
He seemed to have shifted from cowardice to confidence.
Where did that confidence come from?
As he wondered, Yang Kui’s fist was already upon Feng Hao.
*Thud!*
A dull impact rang out from the stage.
“Impossible!”
Yang Chong, the Yang family head, shot to his feet, exclaiming in shock.
A wave of exclamations spread through the crowd.
The scene before them shook everyone to their core.
Yang Kui — who had long ago broken through to fourth-stage Martial Apprentice — had his thrown fist caught in the hand of the boy they had all called talentless.
No one wanted to believe their eyes.
“You!”
Sweat rolled down Yang Kui’s cheeks.
His face flushed bright red.
His earlier arrogance had turned to fear.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to struggle, or that he didn’t want to move — he simply didn’t have the strength.
Every time he summoned his power, it was casually crushed by that iron-like grip.
*Hmph.*
A sharp light flashed in Feng Hao’s eyes.
His hand began to tighten slowly.
Yang Kui’s fist emitted a series of harsh, grinding sounds.
“AHHH!!!”
Yang Kui could no longer bear it.
His shrill cry sent a shudder through everyone present.
As Feng Hao’s hand clenched tighter, his screaming grew more agonized, like a pig being slaughtered.
“Stop!
He concedes!”
Yang Chong’s face twisted.
He had no choice but to call out the surrender.
He knew that if it went on, Yang Kui would be crippled.
[END OF CHAPTER 15]