Countless onlookers outside the field gasped in surprise when they saw Yan Liqiang beginning to show off his might. Shi Dafeng burst into laughter, his attack power once again heightened to another layer. Every time he struck out with the Full Arm Boxing technique, it would emit an explosive noise which sounded like firecrackers, overturning the candidates around him in succession. After Shen Teng got over his initial surprise, he also increased his speed.
Momentarily, only the three Dharmic projects of a tiger (Yan Liqiang), a gibbon (Shi Dafeng) and a crane (Shen Teng) could be seen roaring and prancing about in the large ring. The gibbon cried as the tiger roared, the trio had actually completely stolen the limelight from others.
The number of candidates kicked out or overthrown from the ring kept increasing. In a short span of time, the numbers standing inside the ring had already been down to almost twenty. The birth of the top ten honor roll was imminent.
Yan Liqiang set his sights on Qi Donglai. Qi Donglai was extremely cunning in his tactics and had been relentlessly engaging in battle with another opponent of similar caliber to stall for time. Just when he intended to fling Qi Donglai out of the ring, Shi Dafeng unexpectedly rushed headfirst towards Qi Donglai. Without any explanation, he immediately engaged the two, throwing both Qi Donglai and his opponent out of the ring within record time, causing Qi Donglai to be ineligible for the top ten honor roll.
Apart from Yan Liqiang and the duo, the other strong candidates inside the ring had also each won against more than one opponent. Those with superior strength were gradually revealing themselves.
At this time, Yan Liqiang gradually stopped fighting. Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng also gradually did the same because there was no point for them to continue fighting any longer as there weren’t many people left in the ring. Should they continue to launch a blanket assault now to drive the other candidates who were only slightly inferior to them out of the ring and made the strong candidates lose their eligibility to enter the top ten honor roll, then it would be counted as offending others.
Although Yan Liqiang seemed unrestrained earlier on, in actual fact, every move he made was extremely calculated. His targets were all candidates with middle or lower strength among the fifty. The chances of those candidates being ranked among the honor roll were already bleak to begin with so it was normal for them to be thrown out of the ring by him.
"Hahaha, what a kick! So satisfying!" laughed Shi Dafeng heartily, moving towards Yan Liqiang. "Both of us should have a friendly competition later on. I’m excited to see whether your Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist or my Full Arm Boxing is stronger!"
"There is no relative superiority in fist techniques. Whoever moves first, wins!" Yan Liqiang spoke in a bullshit manner. The phrase was simple yet had a profound meaning, causing Shi Dafeng to be taken aback after hearing it.
"Well said!" Shen Teng also had come over, looking at Yan Liqiang with amazement. He couldn’t prevent himself from exclaiming in admiration, "The Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist is originally the most basic fist technique there is, but today when in your hands, you showed me an extraordinary might. Being graced the chance to fight with you today is certainly a pleasure in life!"
Smiling, Yan Liqiang said modestly, "Then I will request that the both of you show some mercy later on!"
"That won’t do! That won’t do…" Shi Dafeng’s head shook like a rattle-drum. "Although you’re younger than Shen Teng and me, the full might of your fist art is a force to be reckoned with. When we compete later, I will definitely exert my full strength. If I show any mercy, in the blink of an eye, you’ll probably beat me to the extent where I’ll piss my pants in terror! That would be too humiliating!"
"I am afraid to be lenient with you as well!"
The three of them exchanged a glance with each other before bursting into laughter.
It was also in the midst of the trio’s laughter that the last seven candidates were distinguished, winning the fights against their own respective opponents. Just like that, the list of candidates entering the top ten honor roll was decided.
"Candidates within each ring are to recuperate for 30 minutes. After 15 minutes, the fight for the top three will take place!" Outside the ring, a judge from the martial arts academy announced, then immediately lit up half an incense in the nearby censer.
Within the large ring, a candidate of the top ten honor roll with some bruises on his face was gasping hard, trying to catch his breath. He cast a glance at the calm and composed trio near him and abruptly raised his hand. "Report! I’m withdrawing myself from the fight for the top three!"
"You have thought it through?" A judge from the outer ring asked again.
"Yes!"
"Walking out of the ring on your own will be considered as forfeiting the match for the top three. After forfeiting the match, your ranking in the top ten honor roll will still remain!"
The candidate nodded his head and directly walked out of the ring. A smile eventually broke out on his face as he heaved a heavy sigh of relief.
This year, Yan Liqiang, Shi Dafeng, and Shen Teng were too strong. When pit against the strength of other contestants, there were completely of another caliber. In previous years, there would still be candidates who were willing to challenge the top three of the preliminary exams. However, there didn’t seem to be any possibility this year, especially when an unexpected winner like Yan Liqiang was around. So long as they were not blind, they could easily tell that rather than suffering a crushing defeat or being injured at the hands of the trio, during the fight for the top three before the eyes of many, it would be better for them to forfeit with dignity. Since they were already in the top ten and wasn’t utterly defeated, it would sound far more pleasant if word got out.
During the martial arts examination held every year, there were a lot of candidates who would forfeit during this segment. This wasn’t entirely something that was embarrassing to begin with.
The other candidates were no fools either, on seeing that someone took the initiative and withdrew, each and every single one of the remaining candidates made their choice as well, after mulling over and comparing the disparity between their own strengths and the trio.
"I’m also voluntarily forfeiting the match…"
"I’ll forfeit!"
"I’m withdrawing from the fight for top three!"
In the blink of an eye, apart from Yan Liqiang’s trio, all the other candidates who made it to the top ten honor roll walked out of the ring on their own accord. The match this time to determine the top three ranking was destined to be between these three.
"Do any of you still need to rest for the entire fifteen minutes before beginning the match?" The judge outside the ring asked.
"Hahaha! What rest? I don’t need it! I can fight again anytime!" Shi Dafeng was the first to answer. He then looked towards Yan Liqiang and Shen Teng. "What about you two?"
Shen Teng drew in a deep breath. "Then let’s start now!"
Yan Liqiang smiled. "I have no problems with that!"
The three of them went to the outer ring, and once again drew lots to decide the battle sequence.
There were only three rounds in total for the top three rankings. Everyone participating would respectively fight two rounds. Those with exceptional achievements would emerge as the victor. If their scores were the same, for instance, each of them won one match and lost in the other or they were at a draw for all three rounds, then the rankings would instead be determined by Shen Hongbing and Shi Changfeng based on the trio’s overall performance.
In the blink of an eye, the results of the draw were released. The first round would pit Yan Liqiang against Shi Dafeng while Yan Liqiang would be against Shen Teng in the second round. In the third round, Shi Dafeng would versus Shen Teng.
The three of them once again arrived at Arena A. The rules were exactly the same to the matches prior.
Under the countless eyes of the public, Yan Liqiang and Shi Dafeng went into Arena A at the same time.
Yan Liqiang stood next to the red line on the left side of the arena whilst Shi Dafeng stood next to the red line on the right side of the arena. The two of them cupped their fists in salute to each other.
"START!" the nearby judge gave the order.
The moment the judge finished giving the order, Yan Liqiang and Shi Dafeng strode forth and towards each other at the same time, each throwing a fist at the other.
Yan Liqiang’s tiger Dharmic projection, as well as Shi Dafeng’s gibbon Dharmic projection, appeared simultaneously.
The tiger roar and gibbon cry simultaneously erupted as their fists collided with each other.
Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist and Full Arm Boxing were strong and ferocious techniques. This simple confrontation instantly distinguished the relative superiority of the formidable might of the two fist arts.
Yan Liqiang’s body didn’t move a single jot whereas Shi Dafeng was forced back three steps from Yan Liqiang’s punch. His expression paled slightly but without waiting for Shi Dafeng to react, Yan Liqiang’s fist was already swinging towards him. He basically didn’t grant him the slightest chance to react to the situation.
In that moment, all Shi Dafeng could see were only Yan Liqiang’s fists everywhere. One followed by another, Yan Liqiang’s fists were akin to rapidly speeding wheels, more like a continuous and uninterrupted stream. Every punch was full of immense power. He didn’t give any time for Shi Dafeng to fight back and had sealed off Shi Dafeng’s attacks all at once.
When faced with the ceaseless assaults, Shi Dafeng did one thing based on his instincts.
DANG! DANG! DANG! DANG! DANG! DANG! DANG! DANG!...
When he blocked the eighth blow, all of a sudden, Shi Dafeng felt his legs were standing on nothing, losing balance in an instant as his body collapsed backward. Without waiting for him to catch onto something, Yan Liqiang struck out with another blow. Shi Dafeng blocked it, but by then his body had already left the stage and fell from the arena.
As he fell, Shi Dafeng did a somersault in midair and ended with both of his feet touching the ground. Lifting his head, he caught sight of Yan Liqiang smiling at him from the arena.
After he took another look at his feet and stared at Yan Liqiang in the arena, did Shi Dafeng only realize what had happened. He scratched his head and stared at Yan Liqiang dejectedly. "Consecutive attacks?"
Yan Liqiang smiled and cupped his hands at Shi Dafeng. "Thank you for the match!."
"Consecutive attacks…"
"He actually used the consecutive attacks of the Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist…"
"Sure enough, this Yan Liqiang didn’t exert his full strength earlier!"
Every candidate who was watching the scene unfold abruptly broke into an uproar. What happened just now was too quick and the majority didn’t manage to clearly witness the events that had transpired. They only felt that the stage had been instantly covered in shadows of fists flying one after another and amidst the explosions and the reverberating tiger roars; none of them expected that the first round of the tournament ended just like that.
The most powerful part of the Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist wasn’t the tiger roaring but the consecutive attacks. If the practitioner exhibiting the fist arts had mastered it, the moment he struck out with the consecutive attacks, his iron fists would roll out consecutively like a boulder. It had the ability to completely overwhelm the opponent, causing them to passively defend against the attacks or keep sustaining heavy injuries. Those with an inferior strength would instantly be crushed.
Seeing that Yan Liqiang used the consecutive attacks of Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fists to win Shi Dafeng, Shen Teng’s expression also became gravely solemn.
In the arena, the judge announced that Yan Liqiang had claimed the first round victory. Following which, he proceeded to ask Yan Liqiang a question. "According to regulations, you may rest for 15 minutes before moving on to the next match. Do you need to rest?"
"No need. I just got into the flow. Bring it on!"
"Alright!"
Without stopping to rest, Yan Liqiang proceeded to face Shen Teng.
This time around, Shen Teng learned his lesson. After the judge announced that the battle had commenced, instead of charging towards Yan Liqiang immediately, he distanced himself.
And just like before, Yan Liqiang acted like a fierce tiger pouncing on its prey. He charged towards Shen Teng, taking the initiative to go on the offense.
The arena wasn’t big enough to begin with so there was limited space to maneuver. On top of that, apart from the immense power of Yan Liqiang’s fist arts, his reaction speed was not inferior to Shen Teng’s. Although Shen Teng made a supreme effort to avoid being entangled in Yan Liqiang’s Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist attacks, the longest he could last was barely a minute. After the two of them exchanged blows a few times, the surge of heavy fist assaults instantly engulfed Shen Teng.
Right after Yan Liqiang launched seven consecutive strikes, although the graceful Shen Teng appeared confident and at ease, he still followed in Shi Dafeng’s footsteps and was knocked out of the arena by Yan Liqiang...