Chapter 61: Chapter 61: The Contrasting Yu Fei

Yan Sea fell silent for a long time, his lips trembling slightly.

"Teacher... please wait a little longer. After some time, I will tell you everything."

Liu Ming’s expression darkened, but he nodded.

"Alright!"

Yan Sea was Liu Ming’s student. That was many years ago, back when Liu Ming had just become a martial arts teacher at Nanguan Second Middle School. Yan Sea was in the first class he ever taught.

Yan Sea was an orphan. He hadn’t been an outstanding student—in fact, he was rather quiet and reserved. Throughout his three years of high school, Liu Ming gave Yan Sea the greatest support, help that continued all the way through university.

Their bond was like that of a father and son, which was why Yan Sea had subconsciously returned to Nanguan Second Middle School after the great disaster that had befallen him.

...

With the preliminaries over, the announcer declared a short break. The final championship would begin at two in the afternoon.

Yu Fei finished his lunch early and took a quick nap in the break room.

He needed to ensure he was in peak condition. Ye Feng possessed an orange-level talent, but what kind of talent it was remained unknown.

His opponent was already a minor realm above him, which meant Ye Feng had the upper hand in strength, defense, and speed.

Among the five stages of the first realm of martial arts, the Bone Stage was known as the most difficult because it tested a Martial Artist’s mastery of their pile skill. The time it took to temper the bones depended on one’s mastery of the [Ox Subduing Pile Skill].

Generally, only a pile skill at the Minor Accomplishment level would grant the ability to temper one’s bones. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

If the Bone Stage tempering was complete, a Martial Artist’s strength would increase immensely.

If Ye Feng’s talent was related to physique or constitution, his raw power would be even greater.

At two in the afternoon, the top-eight tournament began.

The eight contestants would face off in pairs. Winners would advance to the top four, while losers would be eliminated. There were no second chances.

"Dear viewers, welcome back! At this point, our roster for the top eight has been finalized. They are..."

"After the backstage lottery just now, the matchups for the first round have been decided. Please look at the big screen."

"Ye Feng VS Che Lichuan

Yv Yeye VS Jiang Yifan

Dongfang Yebai VS Yu Fei

Zhu Chenyu VS Zhong Yonghua..."

This result was somewhat surprising. The second and third-seeded contestants had been pitted against each other. After the first round, either Dongfang Yebai or Yu Fei would be eliminated, with no chance of making the top four.

Luck was also a form of strength.

The whistle blew. Yu Fei and Dongfang Yebai stepped onto the stage, standing on the left and right sides respectively.

They both wore white martial arts uniforms, differing only in their school emblems and the font of the lettering.

Across from him, Dongfang Yebai’s face was filled with Evil Qi as she stared daggers at Yu Fei. This was a battle for revenge.

This year’s students had been practicing martial arts for over half a year, and the vast majority were still at the Flesh Refining stage. In previous years, only the fastest cultivators would have just reached the Muscle Refining stage by this time—which was exactly Dongfang Yebai’s level.

But this year had produced two freaks: Ye Feng, at the Blood Refining stage, and Yu Fei, at the Bone Refining stage. This was extremely rare for Tianning County, which was why the concept of "seeded contestants" had been introduced. There was no such precedent in previous years.

Dongfang Yebai stretched her limbs. Even though Yu Fei was a minor realm above her, she felt no fear. The main benefit of Muscle Refining Perfection was an increase in the body’s flexibility, allowing one’s moves to flow more smoothly.

But as a girl, her flexibility was naturally better than a boy’s. The outcome was still uncertain; they would only know after they fought.

Yu Fei still had two uses of his copy ability left. He wasn’t willing to waste them on Dongfang Yebai, planning to save them all for Ye Feng.

"Begin!"

Dongfang Yebai’s footwork shifted. Circulating her Qi Blood, she unleashed [Light Swallow Shadow] and charged toward Yu Fei at extreme speed, taking the initiative to attack.

Her figure was graceful, like a real swallow skimming low to the ground. She moved in a beautiful arc, her leg sweeping toward Yu Fei’s lower body like a spreading wing.

Just as she was about to launch her kick, Yu Fei took a small half-step back.

Dongfang Yebai had used her speed and momentum to launch the kick, intending to catch him off guard with its swiftness and gain the upper hand. Unexpectedly, the tip of her foot only grazed Yu Fei’s pant leg, hitting nothing but air.

’A coincidence? Or...’

With no time to think, Dongfang Yebai instinctively rose and spun, transitioning from a yin force to a yang force as she brought her elbow down swiftly toward Yu Fei’s shoulder.

This series of attacks was as swift as a rabbit’s leap and a falcon’s dive, flowing seamlessly. Dongfang Yebai possessed a high degree of combat sense and a profound mastery of her Cultivation Techniques.

However, she had run into Yu Fei.

With a single upward thrust of his hand, Yu Fei unleashed his Great Accomplishment level [Yin Stream Shattered Jade]. Its yin force wove into a net, completely dissipating the yang force of Dongfang Yebai’s heavy elbow strike. Seizing the moment her Qi Blood was depleted, he unleashed the hidden yang force behind his technique. Dongfang Yebai, still in mid-air, suddenly felt her body go weak and powerless. Completely under his control, she was brutally slammed to the ground.

This entire exchange of forces happened in a flash. The situation reversed silently, and the victor was decided. To the audience, the scene was incredibly dramatic. In short, Dongfang Yebai had rushed in, kicked nothing but air, and then jumped up only to be thrown to the ground with an over-the-shoulder toss.

With his two combat talents, [Super Speed Reaction] and [Insight], backing him up, Dongfang Yebai’s seemingly swift attacks were full of openings in Yu Fei’s eyes. He ended the fight effortlessly.

As Dongfang Yebai hit the ground, Yu Fei quickly followed, pressing his knees into her back and shoulders. He grabbed her hair with his left hand, grinding her face into the floor, while his right hand twisted her right arm behind her back, preventing her from exerting any strength.

To treat a beautiful, genius girl so brutally—the scene was both cruel and despicable.

Below the stage, a refined, middle-aged man desperately tried to rush the ring but was stopped by security.

"We forfeit! We forfeit! That bastard, how could he do this!"

He was Dongfang Yebai’s father. He had come happily to support his precious daughter’s match, only to see her head being ground into the floor by that abominable boy the moment she stepped on stage.

He was absolutely furious. That scoundrel was too despicable! His daughter was already down, and he was still taking advantage of her helplessness.

On the stage, Dongfang Yebai was filled with grief and indignation, wishing she were dead. She tried to resist, but the moment she moved, the bastard on top of her immediately increased the pressure. Her teeth felt like they were about to be embedded into the floorboards.

’Damn it, doesn’t this guy know how to show a little tenderness to a girl? Sniff... Ye Feng is so much better. When we sparred, he would always help me up if I fell.’

Left with no choice, Dongfang Yebai struggled to make a surrender gesture with her free hand.

A sharp whistle blew. The referee pulled Yu Fei away and declared him the winner.

Yu Wei’s eyes went wide as she stared at this version of Yu Fei, so different from the one she knew.

"Mengyao, is my brother always this... savage in his matches?"

This was a complete stranger compared to the gentle older brother who was usually busy in the kitchen with a spatula in his hand.

"How could he be so ruthless to a girl?"

Li Mengyao didn’t know how to explain, so Du Mingxuan spoke up:

"Weiwei, in the advanced class, if a girl spars against your brother, she’ll get beaten to tears nine times out of ten. As for the boys, they’ve all been beaten so badly they have psychological trauma."

"That’s..."

Yu Wei felt that she shouldn’t try to mess with her brother in the future. The guy was too vicious.

On the stage, Dongfang Yebai stood up, her eyes shimmering with tears. She wasn’t actually crying. It was just that when that bastard Yu Fei had slammed her down, she had landed face-first. Her nose had taken the brunt of the impact, and then he had ground her face into the floor, making her nose sting unbearably.

’If I hadn’t already passed the Skin and Flesh stages, my face would probably be disfigured.’

Yu Wei carefully pointed at Dongfang Yebai and whispered to Li Mengyao, "Look, my brother made her cry."

Then she turned to her father and said, "Dad, don’t you think my brother went too far?"

Yu Zhiguo patted Yu Wei’s shoulder. "Weiwei, think about it. What if your brother was the one being pinned to the floor on that stage? Would you still think it was going too far?"

"Uh... In that case, he should just beat other people up!"

On the stage, Yu Fei slowly turned his head and looked to the northwest. He scanned the area briefly but found nothing.

Just now, he had felt a cold, sinister malice sweep over his entire body. It was extremely intense.

It had come from the general direction of the northwest, but with so many spectators, he couldn’t pinpoint the source.

’This feeling... it’s a lot like that long-haired man I ran into last time in Y-City, the cult member. Is this... another cultist?’

Yu Fei pondered for a moment. He wasn’t entirely sure.

Malice came in different levels. For example, the malice Dongfang Yebai felt after being thrashed by him was, by analogy, like an autumn breeze in September—just a little cool. In other words, at most, she just wanted to beat him up.

But the malice from a cult member was like the biting wind of the dead of winter, a cold that seeped into the very marrow of his bones. It was a malice far worse than the simple desire to kill.