Seeing this, the old man continued:
"Next, the disciples whose names I call will proceed to the dueling arena."
"In the first round, Gu Changqing will face Lin San."
As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd below the stage began to discuss among themselves.
"Gu Changqing? Isn't he a useless spiritual root? How dare he sign up?"
"Yes, Lin San is a master at the third level of Qi Refining. Isn't this just giving him away for free?"
"I think he deserved a beating. If it weren't for the sect rules against fighting amongst ourselves, he would have been beaten to death long ago for his arrogant attitude!"
...
As the person involved, Gu Changqing naturally heard these people's discussions, but having long been used to it, he turned a deaf ear to them.
With a powerful stomp of his feet, Gu Changqing leaped onto the dueling platform, where he faced Lin San, whom everyone considered a master.
"Hahaha, I didn't expect it to be you in the first round, kid. It seems that God is not on your side."
Lin San was the tall man who had mocked Gu Changqing as a good-for-nothing yesterday. Now, he was looking at the latter with disdain.
Gu Changqing remained calm and composed, merely glancing indifferently at the arrogant Lin San, and said softly:
"One punch."
"What punch?" Lin San asked, somewhat puzzled.
"I'll take you down with one punch."
"Hahaha."
Hearing his former good-for-nothing look down on him so much, Lin San laughed angrily and said fiercely:
"You think you can cultivate like this, you piece of trash?"
Hearing Gu Changqing's arrogant words, the crowd below the stage also spoke up, some mocking and some sighing.
"I think that Gu Changqing has gone crazy from practicing boxing all day. While others cultivate, he practices boxing. How can he injure a cultivator with fists that have no spiritual power?"
"Hmph! I think he's just ignorant."
"Sigh~ It's a pity there are no bettors here, otherwise I would definitely have placed a huge bet!"
The old man in the air, seeing that the competition hadn't even started yet and there was already chaos below, scolded:
"Shut up."
Hearing the old man's authoritative voice, the gossipy servants all shut their mouths in fear, but their eyes still held a hint of sarcasm as they looked at Gu Changqing.
"Let's get started."
Gu Changqing's tone remained as calm as before, as if he were talking about everyday matters.
Lin San, already seething with anger, stared intently at Gu Changqing, gathering his spiritual energy in his hands and feet, and rushed forward at top speed.
As Lin San drew closer, Gu Changqing simply clenched his fist with one hand and gently struck forward.
Seeing Gu Changqing's dismissive attitude, Lin San couldn't help but shout:
"You piece of trash! Today I'll show you the insurmountable gap between immortals and mortals!"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the two men's fists slammed together, creating a loud bang throughout the training ground.
pong!
After the loud bang, the disciples who had just been mocking Gu Changqing stared wide-eyed in disbelief at Lin San lying on the ground, his hands covered in blood.
"How...how is this possible! Why was Brother Lin San knocked down with a single punch by someone with a useless spiritual root?!"
"Hey, am I seeing things?"
"Phew~ Luckily there are no gambling dens here, otherwise I would have lost a lot of money. I didn't expect Gu Changqing to be so well hidden. Even Lin San was no match for him."
The white-haired old man above the high platform also glanced sideways. The servants below the platform might not understand, but surely he did?
In the old man's eyes, the power of Gu Changqing's punch was probably not even comparable to that of some Qi Refining Ninth Level cultivators. Just as the old man was considering whether to make an exception and recruit him directly, an unexpected event occurred.
"Cough cough cough."
Lin San, who had been lying on the ground, slowly got up, coughing up blood as he stared intently at the indifferent Gu Changqing.
The audience below the stage was also puzzled, wondering why Lin San hadn't given up yet. Did he also hide his strength?
Just as everyone was speculating, Lin San actually took out a sharp dagger from behind his back, and poured all the spiritual power in his body into his feet, rushing towards Gu Changqing like an arrow released from a bow.
"Huh? Despicable! Weapons are not allowed in duels!"
"Sigh~ This Lin San is wicked. Even if he is at the fourth level of Qi Refining, he will probably stop here. I wonder if that young man Gu can escape."
The crowd below the stage scorned Lin San's unruly behavior and were also curious whether Gu Changqing could withstand his desperate attack.
Unlike the many servants below the stage, the white-haired old man could tell at a glance that Lin San was already at his limit. In his opinion, if Gu Changqing could not withstand this attack, there was no need to recruit him out of turn, so he did not intervene.
Looking at the dagger so close to him, Gu Changqing simply smiled and quickly extended his left hand, firmly grasping the sharp dagger in his palm amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd below.
"How...how is this possible?!" Lin San stared in horror at Gu Changqing, who caught the dagger with his bare hands, and the left hand holding the dagger didn't even have a cut.
"Incompetent fools."
As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Changqing exerted a little force with his left hand, and the dagger in his palm shattered like a mirage, scattering across the arena.
Then he clenched his right fist and punched Lin San hard in the chest.
Lin San was still deeply shocked by what had just happened, so much so that he didn't even try to dodge and was hit hard by a punch that was close to the Foundation Establishment level.
Before he even had a chance to scream, Gu Changqing's fist pierced straight through Lin San's chest, and the latter's body, riddled with holes, fell limply to the ground.
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