It was a head-on clash between their fists. When Da Shu was mustering up a new burst of energy to crush Lu Chen once and for all, he suddenly felt that something was not right.
The fist that was hurled at him was small and skinny, but it contained a seemingly unstoppable power.
The clash of their fists only lasted for a split second, but Da Shu felt that unstoppable force come crashing down on him.
An incredibly sharp pain radiated along his arm from his fist as his arm recoiled backward.
But the small fist continued forward and landed right on his chest.
Da Shu felt his body turned numb as he was sent flying backward. Whatever happened after that, he did not know anymore.
Da Shu was launched flying for a dozen meters away and rolled on the ground before coming to a stop. He had immediately lost consciousness.
The others were all shocked to see the outcome of the battle.
"One punch! One strike! And he knocked down Da Shu?"
"No, he didn't knock down Da Shu, he sent Da Shu flying backward. That strength of his...."
"No wonder he was picked by Master Wuzu. And I was still thinking how Master Wuzu could make a mistake. A talent that he handpicked will, of course, be powerful."
…
While the crowd was in a hot discussion among themselves, little did they know that even Master Wuzu himself was shocked by the outcome of the battle.
When Wuzu felt Lu Chen's awakening, he knew Lu Chen would be extraordinary. But in his thoughts, he was only hoping for Lu Chen to defeat Da Shu. He never ever once imagined that Lu Chen would defeat Da Shu in just one punch.
While the others were still in shock, Lu Chen speechlessly stared at his opponent spurting blood in before losing consciousness.
Damn it, I used my full strength out of nervousness. Is he going to die?
Although he had been training for the past few days, this was the first time Lu Chen was in a proper match.
Due to his inexperience in fights, Lu Chen couldn't help but get nervous when he saw Da Shu's charge attack at him. Thus, he reflexively used his full strength out of reflex.
But it was the Barbarian King's Bloodline that he had in his body, how could it be easy to defend his full strength?
A Strength of +10 meant he was ten times stronger than normal people. It was a strength that an ordinary young barbarian like Da Shu couldn't defend.
Lu Chen was a little worried looking at the fainted Da Shu. If possible, he wouldn't want to kill his own fellow villagers.
Thankfully, Wuzu was quick to come back to his senses.
He quickly moved up to Da Shu and placed a dried leaf in Da Shu's mouth. Then, he had the girls bring him a bowl of herbal soup and poured it down Da Shu's throat. It was then that Da Shu's condition was stabilized and his breath returned to him.
After that, Wuzu shifted his gaze to Lu Chen.
Immediately, Lu Chen said, "I'm sorry, Master Wuzu, it wasn't intentional. I was… I was too nervous…"
While he was still unable to survive on his own without the village's help, Lu Chen was quick to admit his fault.
However, before he finished talking, Wuzu smiled and interrupted.
"It's okay. It's not your fault. No one walks away from a battle unscathed. Da Shu was already prepared for injuries the moment he called for the challenge."
Although a challenger was wounded in the battle, Wuzu didn't have the slightest sign of punishing Lu Chen.
Instead, he was just smiling and comforting Lu Chen.
Looking at Da Shu getting carried away by the others and Wuzu trying to lift his guilt, never once had Lu Chen taken a clearer view of the golden rule of survival upheld by the barbarians—The strong is king!
Justice is in the hands of the strong, such is the way of the barbarians!
The little episode that happened from that battle was quickly settled and the battles resumed.
However, in the following duels, no one dared to challenge Lu Chen anymore. They would rather challenge the other talents ranked above Lu Chen.
To that, Lu Chen sighed quietly in his heart.
My Mastery Points!
Yes, Mastery Points. After his battle with Da Shu, Lu Chen noticed that the system had outputted a message after he won the duel.
[System Message: Host has defeated Wild Bull Village's young barbarian Da Shu and earned 5 Mastery Points.]
It could be because Da Shu was not strong enough, or because Da Shu was still alive, all in all, even when Lu Chen was rewarded with Mastery Points, he only earned 5 Mastery Points. The reward was not even close to that of the Mastery Points earned from killing a White Wander Roaming Spirit.
However, no matter how small a mosquito was, it was still a piece of meat. Lu Chen had a huge demand for Mastery Points.
Leveling up requires Mastery Points, skill upgrades also require Mastery Points. I have a huge demand for it…
Sigh, whatever. Since I know now that defeating others can earn me Mastery Points, I will find more chances in the future…
Seeing that no one challenged him, Lu Chen could only comfort himself that way.
While he was watching the battles at the same time as checking the system pages, he suddenly heard footsteps approaching him.
Lu Chen looked around and found himself surrounded by a group of barbarian girls.
"Ah'Chen, are you thirsty yet? Do you want to drink?"
"Here's some smoked meat I made myself, try it!"
…
Lu Chen couldn't help but start feeling his head ache at the girls surrounding him.
But it was only normal in the culture of the barbarians. On Earth, people idolized celebrities. But here in the Wilderness, they idolized someone who could protect them.
After all, only the strong could find enough food to feed themselves and their families.
Sadly though, the thought of setting up a family never crossed Lu Chen's mind. Thus, he shook his head to the girls and declined their goodwill.
"I'm sorry, I need some time alone. I have to prepare for the upcoming battles."
After he said it, the girls were disappointed but they didn't dare to stay around and take up any more of his time
Lu Chen then returned his gaze to the ongoing battles.
However, after looking at the battles for some time, Lu Chen noticed that the conditions of the challengers weren't good as well. Even when they didn't challenge Lu Chen, most of them still failed challenging the others.
Sure enough, there is a gap in prowess between the ordinary young barbarians and the elite group.
But that's only normal. Those in the elite group have the herbal soup to help extend their training time. How is it possible for the ordinary young barbarians to defeat them?
Furthermore, the true talents are all handpicked into the elite group by Wuzu and the chieftain a long time ago.
As he was in his thoughts, the battles were still ongoing. Soon after, the challenge battles had ended.
It ended with the first of the young barbarians from the duels defeating the seventh in rank from the elite group.
However, the end of the challenge battles did not mark the end of the day. Instead, they would now commence the ranking battles.
In the ranking battles, those in the elite group who were discontent with their ranks could challenge the higher ranking elites.
And Lu Chen was among those who were ready to challenge his seniors.
Initially, the ranking battles were announced solely because the other geniuses didn't recognize Lu Chen's strength. However, after the battle with Da Shu, they all acknowledged Lu Chen's prowess. And now, it was Lu Chen who wanted more.
This is a dangerous world, I have to increase my prowess but there is only so much herbal soup in the village. So do forgive me, I need the biggest portion for myself.
As he thought this, Lu Chen stood on the center of the plaza and looked at the elites in the plaza.
Somehow, the young barbarians from the elite group grew nervous under Lu Chen's gaze.
Although they were all from the elite group, one would understand the importance of their rankings from the order of distribution and difference in portion of herbal soups that were given to them. No one in the village would dislike having a bigger portion of the herbal soup.
Of course, the reason for their nervousness was because none of them had the confidence to defeat Lu Chen.
After all, Lu Chen's battle with Da Shu had shocked the elites, some were even feeling a little terrified. Even though Lu Chen only made one punch throughout the whole battle, his strength that could send a muscleman flying backward for a dozen meters was way above their acceptance.
However, while there were some that were terrified of him, there were also others who weren't. They were, of course, Xiao Shi, and Jian.
And Lu Chen focus rested on the two of them.
Since it's a challenge, I will challenge the strongest. The current me has the strength to do that!
Lu Chen turned his thoughts into actions and he said, "Master Wuzu, I'd like to challenge rank one, Shi."