Chapter 110: Chu Feng: "Fatty, you're a successful man now"
"Wow, Senior Brother Cao is incredible! He defeated his opponent without even making a move!"
"I've never seen this kind of match in my entire life!"
"Back then, Senior Brother Cao broke the Cold Pool record set by Senior Brother Jin Chan. It's a pity he didn't join our Body Refinement Institute—otherwise, he'd have been a seed contestant long ago."
"That junior is from the Body Refinement Institute. You'd better watch your words—your seniors are all watching you."
"…"
Amid the gasps of the crowd, Cao Youqian stepped into the air and made his way directly toward his master.
Meanwhile, Tie Xing's fellow disciples fished him out of the lake as fast as they could.
When they saw his face had been smashed completely flat, all of them fell silent.
Was Senior Brother Cao's voice really that powerful?
Just who had taken away his spot as a seed contestant?
"Second Senior Brother, you're amazing!"
As soon as Cao Youqian landed, Wang Baole hurried up to congratulate him.
This was the first time in his life he'd seen such a ferocious man.
Cao Youqian smiled faintly. "It's not that I'm strong. That guy was just too weak. I didn't even try, and he went down."
Wang Baole asked curiously, "Senior Brother Cao, what technique did you use to counterattack him?"
All the other institute heads pricked up their ears. Cao Youqian's display of strength had completely overturned their previous impression of him.
Cao Youqian laughed. "I think it was the Tiangang Boy Art, or maybe Iron Shirt. I've practiced so many hard-body techniques I can't remember anymore."
As he finished speaking, the nine institute heads—everyone except Chu Feng—were stunned.
They all turned toward Chu Feng with confused expressions.
But Chu Feng ignored their gazes and simply smiled. "Just don't overdo it."
Cao Youqian patted his chest. "Don't worry, Master. I know what I'm doing."
Even Xiao Chen chimed in. "Master, there's no need to worry about him. After all, not many at the same level can withstand ten of my sword strikes."
Cao Youqian immediately looked speechless. "Senior Brother, can you not use Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin every time you beat me up?"
Xiao Chen shook his head seriously. "No. The word 'lose' doesn't exist in my dictionary—even in sparring."
Cao Youqian: "…"
Wang Baole asked timidly, "Second Senior Brother, isn't Tiangang Boy Art a technique only boys can cultivate?"
"For beginners, yes. But who am I? The second prodigy of the Miscellaneous Dao Institute! A man who awakened a divine physique! With my talent, even simple arts like that are trivial!"
Cao Youqian said this with great pride.
The surrounding institute heads, hearing this, shifted their gaze from confusion to bafflement—and even a bit of envy.
Only the Xuanhuo Alchemy King sipped his tea with a smile and thought, 'The Cao family has found its heir.'
After a day of rest—
Wang Baole, now among the top hundred, continued to compete. Cao Youqian also continued his run through the preliminaries.
To his annoyance, aside from Tie Xing, every opponent surrendered after seeing him, sometimes after just one move.
Cao Youqian found the whole thing extremely boring. After one of the matches ended, he went to complain to Xiao Chen.
"Senior Brother, these guys are all cowards."
Xiao Chen said calmly, "They each gave it their all the moment they stepped up. It's not cowardice—they just couldn't break through your defense. The real battles will start when you make it into the top hundred."
Cao Youqian rubbed his already bald head. "Might as well go watch Little Junior Brother beat people up. That's more fun."
Since the outer sect had already begun the top hundred matches, Chu Feng came with Qin Qin to watch. That left only Cao Youqian and Xiao Chen in the inner sect.
The Core Disciple Tournament would only begin after the inner sect preliminaries. Xiao Chen was a seed contestant and didn't need to participate in prelims, so he could stay here a few more days until the core top hundred began.
The Outer Sect Tournament had now entered its final stages.
Wang Baole advanced to the top ten without the slightest pressure.
After the match ended, he ran up to Chu Feng, excitement all over his face. "Master, Master, I made it into the top ten! Once the tournament is over, I'll officially be an inner sect disciple!"
Chu Feng patted him on the shoulder and smiled. "Win two more matches, and you'll be a successful man."
Wang Baole: "…"
Pfft—
Qin Qin couldn't hold back her laughter. "Junior Brother, Senior Sister didn't mean to laugh, it's just too funny."
Wang Baole scratched his head awkwardly. "Master, is top four really that embarrassing?"
Chu Feng gave him a meaningful smile. "You'll understand later. Just do your best."
Though still puzzled, Wang Baole nodded firmly. "I'll work hard to go even further, Master!"
Two days later, Wang Baole won two matches in a row and secured a spot in the top four.
The final four of the Outer Sect Tournament were now confirmed: aside from Wang Baole, there were Jian Chen from the Sword Dao Institute, Liu Li from the Law Institute, and Wu Ming from the Body Refinement Institute.
This result didn't surprise any of the institute heads.
Chu Feng glanced at Wu Ming, who sported a shiny bald head, and turned to the Second Elder of the Alchemy Institute. "Elder, does our Wendao Academy accept monks?"
The Second Elder chuckled. "Of course we do. That little monk comes from the Heart-Questioning Temple. His ancestor was once a disciple of our Wendao Academy. Every ten years, they send one disciple here to cultivate.
Aside from this little monk, other sects and forces founded by disciples from our academy also send their own disciples here to train.
After this tournament, during recruitment, your Miscellaneous Dao Institute might get a few disciples from those major forces too."
"I see. That little monk is quite something," Chu Feng said, examining him with interest.
The Second Elder laughed again. "Head Chu, don't tell me you've taken a liking to that little monk. But he likely won't join your Miscellaneous Dao Institute. He'll probably stay in the Body Refinement Institute—cultivating both physical arts and Dry Zen."
Chu Feng quickly waved it off. "No, no, no, Elder, don't misunderstand. I'm not interested in disciples who come with a ready-made inheritance. I just think this kid will probably take first place in the tournament."
"Sharp eyes. It's said this kid is the greatest prodigy in a thousand years at Heart-Questioning Temple. He was sent to Wendao Academy two and a half years ago, which is why you haven't seen him until now," the Second Elder explained in detail.
Hearing that, Chu Feng instinctively looked at Wu Ming's shoes.
When he saw the pair of dull, black shoes on the boy's feet, his lips couldn't help but curl into a faint smile.
Wang Baole said, "Master, if you think he's taking first place, then doesn't that mean I'm guaranteed a top-four spot?"
Only then did Chu Feng remember that Wang Baole's next opponent was Wu Ming.
"The match hasn't started yet. We'll talk after it does."
Wang Baole clenched his fists. "I'll give it everything I've got, Master!"
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