The Supreme God of Martial Arts

At the moment, Austin felt deep reverence for this proud and reserved young warrior.

Symon could afford to accept what happened to him. The merits of it far outweighed the other defects he might have.

"Good! | promise you. Symon, | will be waiting for you, although I highly doubt you will be able to defeat me," Austin replied.

All wise men appreciated intelligence in others.

Symon looked at Austin in awe. Then at once, he turned around and jumped out of the battle ring, leaving at a confident pace.

All around Austin was deathly silence.

The result cas a surprise to everybody on the sidelines. They couldn't believe what had unfolded before their very eyes. They stared at Symon in disbelief. How could Austin defeat Symon without the slightest of efforts? It was unimaginable of Symon to give up so easily. Leaving the battle ring was akin to waving the white flag of surrender. Symon, a man of iron, was not popular for admitting defeat.

They wondered if there were other reasons behind it.

Nobody knew exactly what occurred during the progress of the battles, but that didn't stop them from endless and unnecessary fault-findings. The young warriors were fond of the limelight. It was human nature, after all, and not something that ought to be criticized too harshly. But just now, when Symon left the ring, the verbose young men suddenly couldn't find their tongues. It was like somebody had seized them by their throats, letting no air in and no sound out.

However, no matter what these young men thought, the battle between Austin and Symon was over. Austin emerged victorious and Symon was defeated.

This legendary battle was now done and dusted! Austin had proved himself one more time.

Elsewhere, on the other battle rings, things were quite different.

Leo summoned nine fierce gigantic cannon-like Demon Fists. The Nine Demon Fists were enveloped in blood, fighting a three-legged golden crow with all their might. Raging flames emerged from inside the three-legged golden crow and shot into the sky.

"It is burning!" people screamed.

Two warriors fought a pitched battle.

Suddenly, Leo called out to his Nine Demon Fists.

The Nine Demon Fists answered the call of their master at once. They bellowed in a crushing roar of rage and suddenly thunder rolled in the distance, the rumbling noise fast approaching the crow.

The Nine Demon Fists burst into flames and hit the three-legged golden crow on the head simultaneously. A combined force of as many as nine fists was behind the attack. The enormous power could easily tear mountains and rivers apart.

Sad and shrill wails were torn out of the three-legged golden crow. It keened like ghosts and howled like wolves.

Shortly after, the bird fell onto the ground and burst into nothingness.

A tremble ran through the battle ring as the large bird hit the ground, hammering a crater right in the center of it —a result of the explosion and shock waves of the furious vital energy. The battle ring looked to be utterly ruined because of the deep, wide hole.

The three-legged golden crow's explosion affected Garret too. As the battle ring collapsed, he was knocked unconscious underneath. He now hung between life and death.

Undoubtedly, Leo had won this one.

The outcwas no surprise, but the battle had been astonishing. Nobody uttered a word at all.

After a while, the old court eunuch climbed onto the center of the ring, trembling a bit. He announced, "Honorable guests! | hereby declare the semi-finals of the competition closed! Sometlater, we will be advancing to the finals!" The crowd burst into abrupt applause.

The eunuch took a deep breath, continuing, "Austin and Leo have reached the finals.

Symon and Garret will compete for the third place! The competition will begin in an hour.

You are all requested to wait patiently. The finals are the last rounds of the Outstanding Talents Exchange Games.

One of these young warriors will be our champion—to be crowned today!" The spectators hollered, restless with emotion. The lively atmosphere and warm applause made Austin feel a bit off color. It disturbed him to be witness to the hubbub of voices around him.

For the coming competition, he returned to the contestant lounge area for the hour. Finding a small space of relatively level ground, he brushed the dust off and sat down on it. He then closed his eyes and began to practice the Golden Sun Scripture to find ssemblance of inner peace.

He was frustrated when his vital energy hit a plateau. However, after engaging in a fierce battle with Symon, the King of Blade, Austin could sense vital energy running through his body. It was different. It felt so great, so powerful! He believed that his big breakthrough was just around the corner.

As expected, the answer to the plateau issue was to exercise under battle conditions. A life-and-death battle with a close rival like Symon had undertaken its effect. Austin had steeled himself in exercise and cultivated his force and ability, although there was still room for further improvement.

The vital energy within his body scoured channels up and down to his energy meridian and circled his body. By the end of it all, he had gained a more thorough understanding of the vital energy and his own self.

At the stime, the spectators were caught up in heated discussions about the gsituation.

At the high platform where the emperor sat, ministers of the empire and leaders of different sects were engaged in lively chatter.

"That was beyond all my expectations! Who would have thought of such a thing! No one expected that this Austin boy could dodge all obstacles and cthis far. Now he is going to compete for the championship! Incomprehensible, inconceivable!" "I've already told you the young lad has many prospects. He is very talented." The Sect Leaders too seemed caught up in the vigor. Their hearts felt as if they rose and fell like waves.

This was the case in particular with the Sect Leaders of the Flaming Sun Valley, the Bloody Hero Gang, and the Joy Gang. Their faces were pale with rage. None of their disciples had made it to the final and it was humiliating.

They had lost their faces today, so they could not find it in themselves to utter a single word.

However, on the other side of them, Theon betrayed expressions of neither anger nor pleasure.

Though Austin had left his Sun Sect, the young warrior had studied under him. That was an indisputable fact, so the Sun Sect took vicarious pride in his great achievement.

However, it also meant that Austin's exceptional talent was testimony of Theon's failure to recognize such an outstanding warrior beforehand. He, as the leader of Sun Sect, let Austin go. Because of that, he would becthe laughing stock of the other sect leaders. People would say that he showed a lack of sound judgment.

"Oh, nonsense! This Austin boy is an utter nobody. He defeated Symon by sheer accident. True warriors never rely on luck alone! Isn't that true, Your Majesty? He thinks he is a rising star, but | think that's hogwash! What's more, true eminent warriors like Leo are unmatched anywhere in the world! There is no way a young boy like Austin stands any chance while confronting him.

Your Majesty! | bet Leo would scare this Austin boy out of his wits! Let's wait and see!" the leader of the Peripatetic Sect said indignantly.

He didn't even attempt to conceal his contempt and conceit.

"Oh, truly? I suggest you do not talk so big in front of His Majesty, in case you make a fool of yourself afterward," retorted someone sarcastically.

The emperor took no notice of the lot and said nothing.

Tflew by quickly. Austin opened his eyes.

An hour had passed by in a flash.

"Tis up. The gstarts now!" the officiate eunuch announced.

"The last four competitors: Austin, Leo, Garret, and Symon, please occupy your respective spots!" The high-pitched, piercing voice of the eunuch seemed to penetrate their eardrums.

Austin suppressed the vital energy surging inside of his body and stood up slowly.

"Success or failure hinges on this one round. | hope | can make a breakthrough today," he murmured to himself.

However, Austin knew that the gap between the Earth Realm and the Mysterious Realm was nearly unbridgeable. There was no easy way to turn a deep chasm into a thoroughfare. A breakthrough wasn't guaranteed at all. Most talented warriors spent their entire lives stuck at the Earth Realm and never made it onto the next stage. That was the harsh reality of it all.

The breakthrough of vital energy was particular about letting nature take its own course. Forcing the body would only lead to devastating consequences—too ghastly to even contemplate.

"I quit! I don't want to fight anymore!" someone shouted all of a sudden.

It happened so soon that the eunuch had no idea how to react at first.

Garret from the Flaming Sun Valley was who had spoken up. He looked pale and listless in spirit. The onlookers hadn't realized before how severely wounded he was from the previous battle. He was now at a stage where he had to choose one option out of two: to die with honor or to default in the semi-finals. It was clear that he had cto a decision.

He was no match for Symon, the King of Blade, even when he was at his zenith, let alone now, when he could barely catch his breath. He surrendered to his despair.

It was better to live a wretched existence than to experience untimely death—that was Garret's philosophy.

Admitting defeat was not shameful, he consoled himself.

Practically speaking, Garret had made the correct choice. While there was life, there was hope. Nobody could blhim for choosing the easy way out, although this decision of his would beca blot on his past.

"All right, | hear you. Garret from the Flaming Sun Valley has given up on account of injury. Is there anyone else who wants to withdraw from this game? If there is none. | hereby announce, the third place of the Outstanding Talents Exchange Games goes to Symon, the King of Blade! Now, onto the finalists, Leo and Austin, please!" "To the battle ring! To the battle ring! To the battle ring!" the voices in the crowd rose in chants and the eunuch left the stage.

With a flash of light, Austin and Leo disappeared in the blink of an eye. The crowd's eyes searched around wildly and found them already in the battle ring. Austin took in a deep breath. He and Leo looked at each other in silence.

They knew that the final round of the Outstanding Talents Exchange Games would culminate in a fierce battle.

They had made up their minds to fight it out here today.