[WORD COUNT 1852]
One win. Two wins. Three wins.
Zhao Wei's winning streak continued all the way to the 18th match!
And they were all completed with only one move!
There were neither flashy techniques displayed nor outstanding or overwhelming show of strength.
There was only… a single move. A single step that muted all the sounds in the universe so that only it remained supreme.
Zhao Wei didn't need to use any of his learned techniques when he was already capable enough to finish his fights easily.
He was already adept in controlling his own strength. As the famous scholar Leonardo Da Vinci once said, "One can have no smaller or greater mastery than mastery of oneself." In relation to the saying, Zhao Wei had great mastery over his whole body movements. Even without using his techniques, he could use his powerful body to defeat his opponents with just pure speed.
There were really no unnecessary movements whenever he moved. He was like a soundless breeze.
The fifth platform had already begun to catch the attention of almost all the outer disciples and the judges. The main judge, the white-robed great elder, also became interested in the events occuring on the fifth stage, specifically Zhao Wei.
As a man of insightful eyes when it came to analyzing fights and techniques, the main judge had already concluded that Zhao Wei was a person with great control over their body movements. Additionally, he must have refined his physique to terrifying levels. But If he only knew how wrong he was and Zhao Wei had just barely trained the [Primordial Stellar Energy Body Refining Art] to the initial level….
"Hoho, this one is no longer in the realm of being a dark horse. He's something else entirely." The main judge smiled, his words shaking the minds of several elders near him.
To get such an evaluation from the great elder, then that outer disciple was certainly exceptionally gifted.
Other noteworthy participants like Zhao Yijian, Zhao Yue, Zhao Yufei and Zhao Feng also directed their gazes towards the fifth stage with intrigued expressions on their faces.
They didn't recognize Zhao Wei since he looked too ordinary and he had appeared out of nowhere.
Among those four top contenders, Zhao Feng was the most shocked due to his left God Eye.
He had been breezing through his fights with a maxed out core ranked technique and he thought he was a little special among other disciples. But when he had focused his analytical power through his left God Eye.
He found it very difficult to track Zhao Wei movements!
That was in itself too shocking to Zhao Feng's mind!
He was currently pretty confident in his reaction speed but seeing only Zhao Wei's blurred movements really dealt him some blow to his superiority when it came to his left eye abilities.
Nonetheless, Zhao Feng didn't lose his confidence in any way. It only fueled his fighting intent to the extreme. By chance, he also happened to be someone who excelled in speed.
Zhao Yijian didn't find Zhao Wei interesting, probably blinded by his arrogance and superiority. He had also breezed through his fights by using only one swing of his domineering sword. He had never viewed other participating top outer disciples as his worthy opponents. He only had his eyes at being the best out of all outer disciples and getting at least a position in the top 20 of the inner disciples. And if his luck was good, being in the top ten wouldn't be that bad either.
In front of his sword, who would dare declare being the best… that word was the only one reserved for him, Zhao Yijian.
As for Zhao Yufei, she only felt curious about Zhao Wei. She had thought Zhao Feng was rather full of surprises as an individual but the young man at the fifth stage… he had really hidden himself well like a crouching tiger.
She also found out that his movements weren't inferior to her own footwork technique.
Zhao Yue just stayed silent with a serious expression on his face.
He was thinking if Zhao Wei had more surprises hidden under his sleeves.
He just hoped that when he faced Zhao Guang, he would be forced to show his full abilities.
At the fifth platform,
"Standing at the top of the world, there is no pressure, no challenge, no difficulty, and…"
"Is this what it really feels like to be invincible?"
"Sigh, it's too lonely. Too lonely."
"Why won't the heavens hear my prayers of finding a good opponent?"
A solemn voice with a poignant sense of loss and loneliness was heard from the fifth platform.
His voice was heard by almost everyone.
"Sigh, heavens? Why would you do this? The heavens are truly unjust to the woes of a pitiful man!" Another sigh escaped Zhao Wei's lips as he looked at the azure skies.
He wasn't even bothered to look at his current famous opponent, Zhao Guang, who was ranked fifth among outer disciples.
The crowd was roused immediately by Zhao Wei's words.
What kind of shamelessness was that?!
A spectating elder in the crowd was so dumbstruck by Zhao Wei's words that he almost spurted a mouthful of blood.
"This… I am touched by his words but the level of shamelessness he's employing is really remarkable!" A disciple in the crowd shouted in disbelief.
"It really sounds poetic and makes one think that he's really invincible? But who the hell does he think he is?" Another disciple retorted.
"He's simply crazy by assuming invincibility in the presence of even the top inner disciples!"
"That guy is a nutcase! Truly a nutcase!"
"I bet his shameless words have now earned him the ire of some inner disciples."
"He would soon face the wrath of the inner disciples. That guy must be taught a severe lesson!"
Numerous talks were heard among the disciples after they heard Zhao Wei's boastful voice.
No challenge?
No pressure?
So absurdly shameless!
Who would dare to say those words when the sect already had an unrivaled top disciple among inner disciples?!
Zhao Wei's words could be said to be challenging the whole lot of disciples irregardless of status!
"Standing at the top of the world, there is no pressure, no challenge, no difficulty… haha. Interesting, so interesting!" The white-robed great elder burst out in laughter while smiling widely.
"I can feel arrogance, loneliness, and even supreme confidence from his words. But can he really make his words a reality? Or is he just posing and blatantly putting on airs?"
The judge in charge of overseeing the fifth platform felt his lips twitch involuntarily.
He just had to witness the rise of a lunatic on his own platform.
'This young pup is really bringing himself so much trouble.' He could only let out a helpless, disappointed sigh.
'It seems young people are very arrogant nowadays.'
As the atmosphere was vastly affected by Zhao Wei's shamelessness, the only person who stood to be ignored was Zhao Guang, the fifth ranked outer disciple.
His face was contorted into one of complete discontentment at being disregarded.
Harshness and pure malice flashed in his eyes.
He wanted to beat the heck out of Zhao Wei until he blacked out.
"The fight has officially started! Fight!" The judge finally declared after the momentary disturbance died down a little bit.
Many people were obviously very interested in seeing Zhao Wei's boastful ass handed down to him.
You can't just come out of nowhere and just start spouting shit and expect to be left alone?!
Zhao Wei smiled inwardly after witnessing the commotion he had made.
He felt at peace with what he had just said. It was a comedic relief for him. He wasn't uptight when it came to saying whatever he wanted.
That was his path. If he was constrained by how others viewed him then that in itself was a fault. He was reserved when it was time to be reserved and unbridled when it was time to be unbridled.
So far he hadn't let loose on his true abilities since he hadn't been forced to.
Undoubtedly, it seemed he also enjoyed causing a ruckus. It was like going alone to a different hood and saying that the gang is gay.
"Damnit, wouldn't it hurt you just once to look my way and treat me like an opponent?!" Zhao Guang complained with burning fury written in his eyes.
"Zhao Guang is so angry. This guy is definitely going to be taught a lesson!" The disciples watched in raw anticipation.
"How will he fare against Zhao Guang's speed?"
Most of them vouched for Zhao Guang's victory.
"You are just a weak, conceited guy masquerading as some powerful being!" Zhao Guang continued angrily.
He didn't like the way Zhao Wei was behaving as if everything was inconsequential in his presence.
Finally, Zhao Wei turned his eyes away from the sky and looked at his opponent.
If he remembered well, then his opponent should be the guy that Zhao Wei faced in the second round of elimination.
"Watch your tone… boy!" Zhao Wei's cold eyes were like those of a deadly viper, threateningly staring at its prey.
"Fuck, I am gonna shut that foul mouth of yours!" Zhao Guang declared confidently before calming down his anger.
He was a speedster, someone who relied on their overwhelming speed to triumph over their opponents. So he was going to use his superior speed before his opponent had time to react.
He didn't know the full capabilities of Zhao Wei so he could only resort to being the first to act. Going all in and full strength at that.
Whoosh!
Zhao Guang was like a meteor, his speed unsurpassed and unmatched as he appeared behind his opponent.
With his palm raised in attack, his hand gravitated down on Zhao Wei's back, intending to make him cough up blood before knocking him down.
Time seemed to be slowing down as Zhao Guang's attack gradually aimed for Zhao Wei.
"As I said once… it's truly lonely. Invincibility is illusory yet I feel as if it's been birthed into reality at this very moment. The words of a determined man cannot be ignored," A deep sigh was heard as if originating from an era of antiquity.
Without even looking, without even turning his body, Zhao Wei raised his hand and delivered a backhanded fist to his attacker.
A Saitama-esque bored expression could be seen on his face as Zhao Guang was hurled in the air like a ragdoll. His face was bashed up inwardly and all of his teeth were broken funnily. His face was folded and deformed beyond measure. And the place he landed was a very long distance from the fifth platform, which in itself signified a guaranteed set of broken ribs and bones.
Shhhh!
Silence!
No challenge! No pressure! No difficulty!
Those words repetitively echoed in everyone's mind at that very moment!
After seeing what had just happened those words seemed to be the only thing that mattered.
It's lonely. Truly lonely.
***