Invincibility Begins with Mastery of Fist Techniques-Chapter 93: The Challenger

"You can't be far from the Saint Awakening Realm. It looks like the world will soon have another master of Saint Awakening." 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Ding Jiutong said with a sigh.

"Matters of the Spiritual Realm are difficult to measure. No one can say for sure how far I have to go. Perhaps the next moment, or the next battle, will be the one to break through the final barrier. It's like they say, a single moment of epiphany can lead to absolute mastery. But it's also possible to get stuck on the very last step for more than a decade."

Zhou Yuanjue shook his head. Still, his Spirit had indeed transformed and ascended multiple times in a short period. He believed many top Martial Artists were in a similar situation; this grand tournament was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them.

With countless masters gathered in one place, it was like everyone adding wood to a fire. The flames of the Martial Dao and collective wisdom burned brightly, benefiting every Martial Artist present.

A person is not an island. The Martial Dao and the Spirit also require exchange to achieve their greatest potential. The Heart Fire of the masses fuels the great flame of wisdom.

Afterward, the group helped Zhou Yuanjue run a few more tests. They confirmed the power of his Star Fire, and the results were more or less in line with Wu Tianhe's predictions.

"What's the situation with the tournament?"

Once the tests were over, Zhou Yuanjue walked over to Lu Ming and Li Qingxuan to ask.

"A lot has changed. While some Level 5 Martial Artists are still holding back and observing, many others have started issuing challenges. There have been five champion challenges over the past few days. Most of the challengers failed, but one person actually succeeded."

Lu Ming said.

"Someone successfully challenged a champion?"

Zhou Yuanjue was slightly taken aback by this news. He knew the heirs of the Southern Eight Sects were the absolute cream of the crop, possessing Talent, willpower, and ingenuity far beyond that of ordinary people.

'So the person who beat one of them can't be just anyone, can they?'

"That's right. And the successful challenger was a female Martial Artist."

Li Qingxuan said with a smile.

'A female Martial Artist?'

Zhou Yuanjue's interest was instantly piqued.

Although modern society promotes gender equality, it was an undeniable fact that men and women are physiologically very different.

As a result, male Martial Artists had historically far outnumbered their female counterparts. This, combined with the fact that many schools stubbornly adhered to the tradition of only passing on their techniques to men, made powerful and famous female Martial Artists exceedingly rare.

Even though society had become more enlightened, the physical differences meant that for a female Martial Artist to reach the pinnacle was still an incredibly difficult feat, one that required immense determination and unwavering willpower.

Without even seeing her, Zhou Yuanjue could already tell she must be a worthy opponent who commanded respect.

"The one who was defeated was Yang Guhong of Mingzhu City's Nine Dragons Sect. The female Martial Artist who beat him is named Liu Lingjun, and she's from Miao Ling."

"I have a recording of the dueling match. Want to see it?"

Lu Ming asked Zhou Yuanjue.

"No, thanks. I'll wait for a chance to see her fight in person."

Zhou Yuanjue shook his head. Unless you were there in person, watching a recording made it impossible to truly sense the spiritual shifts during their confrontation. That would diminish the thrill of the match by at least seventy percent.

"What's the schedule for tonight's match?"

Zhou Yuanjue asked. Now that his injuries were healed, he couldn't afford to stay idle. It had been almost half a month since the tournament began, and practically no skilled Martial Artists were still stuck at Level 3, so he had simply told Lu Ming to arrange a random match for him.

"Hmm… The schedule should be out by now. Let me see who the Ji Po Jue Arena has matched you with…"

Lu Ming immediately pulled out his phone to check Zhou Yuanjue's match-up.

"Zhang Jinkai… Looks like he's an Advanced Decisive Fist Master?"

DING!

Just then, a notification sounded on his phone. Lu Ming tapped it open, glanced at the message, and looked up, a bit speechless.

"What is it?"

Zhou Yuanjue asked.

"Your opponent just forfeited."

Lu Ming said, shrugging helplessly.

Zhou Yuanjue was also a bit speechless at that.

To A Zhi and the others behind him, however, this seemed perfectly normal.

'Most Advanced Decisive Fist Masters are just trying to climb the ranks and make a name for themselves,' they thought. 'When faced with an expert like Zhou Yuanjue, what's the alternative to forfeiting? Waiting around to get beaten to a pulp and injured?'

"All right, then. I'll just continue training for today."

Zhou Yuanjue shook his head, quickly bid farewell to the fighters present, and left the Duel Training Ground. He returned to the training room in his villa to continue his personal training and research.

He didn't expect, however, that around four in the afternoon, Lu Ming would knock on the door to the training room and interrupt his session.

"What is it?"

Zhou Yuanjue opened his eyes. Seeing the odd look on Lu Ming's face, he asked curiously.

"I just got a message from the Ji Po Jue Arena. Someone has challenged you."

Lu Ming said to Zhou Yuanjue.

"Oh? Who is it?"

At this, a flicker of interest crossed Zhou Yuanjue's face.

'I'm not a no-name anymore. Anyone who dares to challenge me must have some real substance, right?'

Hearing Zhou Yuanjue's question, the look on Lu Ming's face grew even stranger.

"What's wrong? Is there something unusual about my opponent?"

Zhou Yuanjue asked with a frown.

"It's not a huge problem, exactly… It's just that the challenger is eighty-six years old…"

Lu Ming said with a slight cough, his expression unreadable.

"Eighty-six?"

That genuinely surprised Zhou Yuanjue.

After all, no matter how powerful a Martial Artist was, they were still human. And for any human, physical ability inevitably declined with age. This was an immutable law of nature.

He didn't know if the Saint Awakening Realm could defy this principle, but as far as he knew, no Martial Artist below that realm had ever managed to escape it.

Once physical strength declined, it was difficult to unleash one's true power and sharpness, no matter how strong one's Spirit was. As the saying goes, youth has the advantage in a fight. Even an expert like Zhang Ling Heng, who had achieved Mastery of Martial Arts and was only a step away from Saint Awakening, would have a hard time fighting an unarmed battle against a younger Martial Artist in their prime who had reached Mastery of Fist Techniques.

'And this old man was challenging *him*? Someone who was practically at the peak of human potential?'

'What is this person's objective?'

"I find it strange, too. How could someone that age manage to fight his way to Level 4? A normal person that old would be lucky to even walk steadily."

"I also looked into his previous matches. His opponents weren't exactly top-tier, but incredibly, not a single one of them lasted more than one move…"

"A lot of people are saying he's not actually using the Martial Dao, but Magic. According to those he defeated, they just saw the old man point a finger, saw a flash of light, and the next thing they knew, they were on the ground, with no idea how they got there."

Lu Ming finished, his expression as perplexed as ever.