Chapter 501 286: Fortune's Favor, Victory in a Single Move! (Part 2)

A crimson giant wolf phantom swelled violently against the wind and condensed, then swept out in a rush, wrapped in raging flames.

"What dense Qi Blood and Power, this man's strength is formidable!"

A Tiger Roar quickly drew many gazes; having just finished the minor arena ranking match, Shangguan Ke was among them. From several zhang away she sensed the aura of Qiu Tie on the stage, inwardly sighing.

"If I had faced this man earlier, even if I burned my Qi Blood I wouldn't last ten exchanges—no, I'd probably be defeated and die within five!"

Shangguan Ke was secretly shocked by the gap. She was, after all, someone who had fought her way into the minor ranking match, and it was only the second round of the main arena bout now, yet the aura Qiu Tie was unleashing already terrified her.

"That man is Qiu Tie, the Saber that Slays Tigers, a Donglai military officer. Three years ago he already advanced to the Fifth Grade Realm. It's said he once slew a Demon Tiger and drank its blood, his physique far surpasses the norm. His strength is likely enough to break into the grand ranking match!"

"Likely to break into the ranking match and already this strong? Looks like we're in for a good show."

The spectators beneath the other arenas all moved toward the eastern platform. They knew Wang Chan could stir up phenomena and could even make the Li Family willingly forfeit for him, so he obviously had something extraordinary. But Qiu Tie's strength was also outstanding.

In everyone's eyes, even if Wang Chan ultimately won, this battle could not be underestimated. It was the perfect chance to see Wang Chan's true strength.

Many shared such thoughts at this moment; even members of the Li Family, Baili Hongtang and the others, all turned expectant gazes over.

Slew a Demon Tiger?

Su Mu's expression faintly froze at those words, his gaze burning.

Yet in everyone else's eyes this looked like a lapse of focus; such a momentary distraction on the arena was fatal. Facing a killing move like this, even if it were Tao Xinglie, Song Jingyuan, or Guo Zhen, none of them would dare be so careless.

Seeing Su Mu like this, Qiu Tie was delighted yet a flash of anger crossed his heart. The man before him actually dared to look down on him so much—truly courting death. In that case, he couldn't be blamed!

The raging flaming giant wolf howled as it swept past, the surrounding air violently twisting, waves of air rolling, the temperature shooting up dozens, even hundreds of degrees in an instant.

"Pu!"

In just a heartbeat, the giant wolf tore Wang Chan's figure to shreds and burned it to ash.

"Wrong!"

But that saber strike did not transmit back the real feedback. As a Donglai military officer, Qiu Tie's eyes immediately narrowed; he realized that saber had missed.

Focusing his gaze, he saw that what had been shredded was merely an afterimage. The Wang Chan at the original spot dispersed like foam, and somehow had already appeared out of thin air half a zhang to his flank.

"So—so fast!"

With his rich combat experience, a sudden unease surged up in Qiu Tie's heart. He hadn't been able to sense at all when the other party had used that Body Technique.

"Zila!"

At once, the long saber in Qiu Tie's hand cleaved out again, becoming a saber light that swept along with the roaring flaming giant wolf. This slash was even faster than the last, so fast it dragged out streak after streak of afterimages.

On the stage, another "Wang Chan" was torn to pieces. Around Wang Chan, Qingfeng brushed gently by; his figure was like an extremely agile mountain sparrow, or a nimble flying cicada. With the lightest tap of his feet his body shifted, narrowly dodging past Qiu Tie's saber edge time and again.

"Huhuhu!"

The assault was like fire; saber light crisscrossed across the stage. Many who had taken part in the minor matches could no longer fully follow the exchanges with the naked eye. In the span of a single breath Qiu Tie slashed no fewer than ten times, yet every time Su Mu narrowly evaded, slipping past every killing move.

Quite a few people below widened their eyes several degrees. The scene looked rather eerie, as if the two on stage had colluded beforehand and were now putting on a coordinated act.

Only the faint unease that had just arisen in Qiu Tie's heart was now turning into intense fear. Though he wasn't skilled in speed and his Saber Technique was broad and forceful, when going all out his speed was by no means slow.

Yet the opponent slipped past his attacks every time with uncanny precision, as if he could foresee them in advance.

"Impossible, this is impossible… He must have steeped himself in Body Technique. Yes, that must be it."

Qiu Tie forced himself to stay calm, suppressing the fear in his heart, and barked out harshly.

"Hmph, Wang Chan, as a Tributor of the Li Family, can it be that you only know how to dodge?"

"Then as you wish…"

Before the words fell, Qiu Tie's face lit with wild joy as he suddenly launched an assault, cleaving out another saber, thinking he had keenly seized upon a flaw in Wang Chan's defense.

However…

Qiu Tie's burly body suddenly trembled for no reason at all. In that instant, the intense unease already in his heart flared up, as if he'd been targeted by a Humanoid Demon Beast.

Su Mu clenched his right hand into a fist, his figure swayed slightly in place, yet in Qiu Tie's eyes it suddenly magnified without limit, making the latter's pupils abruptly contract.

His right fist, though launched later, arrived first, striking straight on without the slightest deviation.

In an instant, the snarling, clawing giant wolf of flame was torn to pieces, and then the Blood-Jiao Armor around Qiu Tie's body cracked like porcelain, abruptly covered in dense fractures, and the whole man shot backward like a cannonball with a booming sound.

His burly body flew five or six zhang straight out and slammed heavily onto the ground, like a massive hammer striking earth, erupting in a thunderous crash.

"Puchi!"

Qiu Tie suddenly spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, the wild joy and disdain on his face completely vanishing, replaced by a trace of fear and respect.

Right then Qiu Tie got up and sheathed his saber, cupping his fists toward Su Mu in salute.

"Many thanks... I admit defeat!"

The East Arena fell abruptly silent for a moment; on everyone's faces, aside from shock, there was only thick confusion. All had been able to foresee that Li Family's Wang Chan had a greater chance of winning this bout, but they had not expected Wang Chan to defeat Qiu Tie with a single move.

As for the confusion, it was that Qiu Tie had been defeated by Wang Chan in one move, so why did he instead open his mouth to give thanks?

Qiu Tie lowered his head slightly, a shock he could not conceal still lurking deep in his eyes. Just now he had clearly felt that the other party's fist had landed on the Blood Wolf Saber in his hand, and then from the blade there had surged back a Divine Power he could not resist.

Yet at the very last instant, the other party had withdrawn part of that force; at the moment he merely looked miserable, but in truth his injuries were not serious. This degree of control over strength was simply horrifying.

Given his earlier conduct, the fact that the other party had still held back like this made even Qiu Tie feel ashamed and full of respect.

As for further words of thanks, Qiu Tie was somewhat embarrassed, because Song Jingyuan was still present on the field. Song Jingyuan was the second son of the Lord Governor; Qiu Tie, a Donglai military captain, might appear incomparably glorious in others' eyes, but in this second young master's eyes he was likely no more than a dog.

In short, he could not afford to offend Song Jingyuan, and could only give a simple thanks for the mercy shown, then slink off the East Arena with his tail between his legs.

Su Mu calmly accepted Qiu Tie's salute, then turned and stepped down from the platform.

"In this bout, Li Family's Wang Chan is the victor!"

The elder presiding over the East Arena was also stunned for a few breaths before loudly announcing the result, while the crowd below had long since begun buzzing with discussion.

What others thought, Su Mu did not care; there was his own reasoning behind showing mercy this time, or perhaps it was merely on a whim. Leaving his hand like this might allow him to use Qiu Tie to probe into the matter of the Demon Tiger.

"This will most likely work."

All of Qiu Tie's subtle expressions just now had been seen clearly by Su Mu. He judged the plan feasible, and when he had approached at close range he had indeed sensed a trace of Demon Blood aura on Qiu Tie, which proved the earlier talk was not baseless rumor.

All in all, with Qiu Tie's level of strength, Su Mu did not even take him seriously; sparing him was nothing more than something done in passing.

"So strong, Wang Chan—you actually beat that guy with just one punch!"

At some point Li Yao had arrived at the East Arena; she waved excitedly at Su Mu as she spoke.

"Truly a fool... Qiu Tie isn't seriously hurt. That punch just caught this man's opening, and that's how he blasted Qiu Tie off the platform."

Song Jingyuan glanced at the departing Qiu Tie and quickly worked out the truth of the matter. The shock faded from his proud eyes, and when he looked toward Su Mu, there was still disdain in his gaze.

"His Body Technique is indeed somewhat extraordinary, but that's all... I'd like to see how long luck can shield you. Hmph."

What followed was that Su Mu's luck was exceedingly good.

The second round cut the numbers in half again, to twenty-five, and in the third round a bye slot appeared.

"In the East Arena's third round, Number Thirteen draws a bye!"

The resentment in Song Jingyuan's eyes grew even deeper. Su Mu only sighed inwardly, thinking to himself that he had lost yet another chance to warm up.

Very soon the fourth round began; Su Mu took the stage, and after both sides announced their names and backgrounds—

They fought fiercely for over a dozen exchanges.

A figure was once again sent flying.

"I—I admit defeat!"

The crowd below froze for a moment, then many people's mouths twitched a few times; from beginning to end, Su Mu had only used a single move to defeat his opponents.

Because so far, no one had managed to force Su Mu to use a second move.