Chapter 66: Braving A Challenge
A large person is supposed to move awkwardly and react slowly as compared to leaner people.
But Wurth was an exception.
Wurth, though exceptionally fat, moved dexterously and lightly in the battle ring to dodge Tan's signature martial art, the Sacred Wood Thrust.
Wurth was able to steer clear of each fatal blow.
Tan's violent and intensive session proved depressingly futile.
Wurth, seeing that Tan had exhausted his tricks, approached his rival with sarcastic remarks, “It seems to me that you are not that powerful.”
Upon hearing what Wurth said, Sean explained to Zen, “Tan's signature martial art with Sacred Wood Thrust resulted in three successive defeats for Drizzle Peak. However, Wurth seems to be a smart opponent.”
Zen nodded in approval.
Tan's assault revealed that his strength was like Randall's, however, the latter was superior to the former in terms of martial skills.
Tan's attacks did pay off to some degree.
But having only one signature, excellent way of attacking would leave some part of the refiner vulnerable.
A signature move, once being seen through by a rival, would put a person in a disadvantageous position.
Tan's skill that had earned him three previous victories was vulnerable to some counter-blow.
At that moment, Zen noticed a yellow halo beneath Wurth's feet and then realized it was Wurth's countermeasure.
If Zen were in Wurth's place, the former would crumble the Sacred Wood Thrust through his mighty feet.
However, Wurth decided to defend from Tan's fatal blows in an ingenious manner. He concentrated his life energy on his feet to sense his rival's direction.
Since his strategy was not yielding results, Tan became increasingly frustrated. As time wore on, his aggression and arrogance diminished as well.
Tan was ultimately angered to display his ultimate martial prowess.
An instant later, a dozen brown eddies of life energy began taking shape. They produced sacred wood thrusts that were aimed at Wurth.
“Whizzing.....”
Such violent assaults were supposed to be insurmountable.
But Wurth was dodging them dexterously like a butterfly, though he was rather fat.
“They are useless and futile because I have seen through your tricks,” Wurth grinned amid the heat of the fight.
Leveraging his momentum, Wurth confronted his rival face-to-face and gave his rival a stunning blow.
That blow proved overwhelmingly strong.
Tan was flung out of the battle ring.
The outer disciples at Drizzle Peak marveled at Wurth's victory and were gleeful about Tan's failure.
“Wurth, well done!”
“Wurth gave Tan a phenomenal blow!”
Since the disciples were thrilled with Wurth's success, their gleeful uproar could be heard all over Drizzle Peak.
There were twenty disciples that came from Vulture Peak standing outside the battle ring, the head of which ordered others to send Tan for treatment.
They were surprised to see that Tan had been severely wounded and that his gown was marked with footprints.
The outer disciples at Drizzle Peak must have added their blows after Wurth flung Tan out of the ring.
Feeling invincible, Wurth said to the other disciples of Vulture Peak, “So, who's the next?”
A light voice rang from the crowd. It came from a short man who braved the challenge. He said harshly, “I thought that Tan could only beat two of you at most, but surprisingly he has won three battles and made it to the forth one. Drizzle Peak has been proved worse than I have imagined.”
Wurth frowned and asked the short man to introduce himself by sharing his name and rank.
But the short man refused to answer him directly. “Learn my name after you beat me!”
“Since it is so, let me witness your martial prowess!” Wurth said as he prepared for the new attacks.
His life energy helped him move and react quickly. He seemed to be as nimble as a swallow!
Zen had noticed that Wurth had fought Tan with ease. While battling the short man, Wurth's speed reached its pinnacle. In fact, Wurth was so quick that it looked like his shadow was falling behind.
“You think you can move faster than me? How ridiculous this is!” The short man was enraged. Then he began to move at full speed, which was faster than Wurth's!
The two rivals battled so fiercely
that it was an enthralling performance indeed.
Some inferior disciples including Nory who was at the bone refining level became confused about the developments.
But Zen became anxious when he realized that
Wurth was not in a position to win the battle.
The short man was a halfway into the nature level. He was moving much faster and fighting with much more strength than Wurth.
His endurance was to Wurth's disadvantage.
“Pounding!”
“Flopping!”
“Clicking!”
As Zen had predicted, Wurth lost the fight quickly.
What led to Wurth's defeat was that his back was vulnerable. When he made a careless move, the short man took advantage.
“Pounding!”
The stunning blow threw Wurth out of the battle ring despite his massive size.
In the blink of an eye, Zen darted toward Wurth and held him effortlessly.
On examination, he saw that Wurth was as grievously wounded as Tan had been.
“Ahem!”
Wurth spat out a mouthful of blood. His face was flushed with pain.
“Wurth, are you okay?” Zen helped Wurth lie down and then inquired about Wurth's condition.
Wurth moaned and touched his chest. Zen gently felt Wurth's chest and realized that he had broken ribs. Despite his injuries, Wurth was happy to see Zen after his long absence.
Zen nodded and handed an elixir from his space ring to Wurth and said, “Wurth, please consume this elixir. It will help heal you. We'll talk later.”
Meanwhile, the short man was challenging the other disciples at Drizzle Peak truculently. “Who is your final candidate? Come out and fight with me,” he said arrogantly.
According to the rules and regulations, five contestants from each peak were eligible for the battle ring.
Four contestants from Drizzle Peak had lost. Now, only one contestant would be permitted to fight.
“I think Gury who ranks fourth in our peak is a good choice for the next battle.”
“No, Terry is better than Gury!”
“I think Henry has a greater chance of winning the last battle!”
“Although Henry stands a good chance against the short man, he is currently refining his martial arts at a retreat. Our rivals are taking advantage of this to challenge us. Our masters, who know this, should have refused the challenge!”
Henry Hao ranked first among the outer disciples of Drizzle Peak and beyond.
It was said that Henry was refining his martial arts to enter the nature level, and was thus unable to participate in the challenge.
“I think every member of Drizzle Peak is a coward. Now your failure is sealed!” The short man challenged Drizzle Peak in a humiliating manner as he was delighted at his invincibility.
At that moment, Zen rose to undertake the challenge. The cold expression glimmering on his face revealed his feelings of being taunted in such a manner.