Chapter 72: Suppression

Chapter 72: Suppression

After defeating a formidable opponent, Bai Zhenzhen surveyed her surroundings. She had expected her victory over the high-achiever from Red Pagoda High School to draw widespread admiration.

But when she looked up, she realized the audience barely noticed her corner arena. Most spectators were fixated on Song Hailong, Le Muran, and Zhang Yu—the one with a perfect 300 score.

“Damn it!” Bai Zhenzhen muttered internally. “A bunch of score-obsessed fools who can’t even recognize a true championship contender.”

Still, she believed her performance would eventually earn attention as the tournament progressed.

Meanwhile, the other two students in Bai Zhenzhen’s group had been watching her fight against Hu Yuntao closely. Their original goal was to observe Hu, since Bai’s performance in the scoring match had seemed weak. But they hadn’t expected Hu to suddenly retreat to the arena’s edge and get knocked out in one move.

From their perspective, Bai Zhenzhen had simply vanished mid-fight.

Suddenly, they recalled Zhang Yu’s earlier 300-point match—how he’d used a similar tactic to send the Yellow Turban Enforcers out of bounds.

“Is this Songyang High School’s new strategy?” one mused.

“Using underhanded tricks to force opponents out of the arena? Relying on deception to win against stronger foes?”

“These students from other schools are clearly inferior.”

The two exchanged glances, reinforcing their belief in the unspoken rule: lower scores equaled lower quality.

Though they scorned the tactic, they resolved to stay alert—if they faced Bai Zhenzhen later, they’d avoid falling for such tricks.

At that moment, Bai Zhenzhen noticed Zhao Tianxing in the audience, giving her a thumbs-up and waving.

“Hmph, old Zhao,” Bai Zhenzhen thought, waving back. “Guess these low-scorers know how to appreciate me emotionally.”

---

In the audience section, Zhao Tianxing grinned as he gestured. “Ah Zhen saw us!”

“Never thought she’d beat Red Pagoda’s Hu Yuntao so easily,” he added.

“I was genuinely worried Hu might crush her at first,” He Dayou remarked dryly. “But it was just luck. That tiger brute was clearly all brawn no brains—anyone could’ve tripped him out.”

Though he’d felt sympathy watching Bai Zhenzhen struggle against the Yellow Turban Enforcers earlier, He Dayou now felt irritation at her smugness after defeating Hu.

Qian Shen frowned. “It doesn’t feel that simple. Why did that tiger suddenly rush to the arena’s edge?”

Zhao Tianxing suddenly pointed. “Zhang Yu’s up next!”

Sighing, he added, “Good thing Yu and Ah Zhen are in different brackets. No intra-school fights early on.”

He Dayou muttered, “Unless Zhang Pianpian rigged the draw.”

Privately, he knew his own father—a Songyang board trustee—had manipulated the practical exam’s matchups. A billionaire with 2.5 billion credits? Zhang Pianpian could easily fix things too.

Qian Shen suddenly gasped. “Dayou, is that your junior high classmate facing Zhang Yu?”

He Dayou stiffened, turning to the arena.

As Zhang Yu and Chu Qiuhai stepped onto the platform, He Dayou’s expression darkened.

Zhang Yu—the pauper who’d humiliated him—was someone he desperately wanted to lose. But Chu Qiuhai—the classmate who’d always looked down on him—was equally unwelcome as a Songyang victor.

“God damn it… both hands covered in crap. Can’t they both just get eliminated?”

---

On the arena, Chu Qiuhai positioned himself firmly at the center, avoiding the edges where Zhang Yu’s tricks might send him flying.

As he moved, he felt his blood surging, his heartbeat pounding, his temples throbbing. He’d taken the drug.

His coach’s words echoed: “This new combat enhancer boosts your muscle strength and stamina, temporarily raising your Physical Strength Level to 2.2.”

Chu Qiuhai had hesitated. “Is this necessary?”

The coach had countered, “Zhang Yu might lack stats, but his martial techniques and tactics are sharp. And do you think their school won’t use enhancers to beat us?”

Now, feeling the drug’s power coursing through his muscles, Chu Qiuhai had never felt better.

“This new formula’s incredible!” he thought. “Screw tactics—today I’ll crush you with pure strength!”

As the countdown hit 3…2…1…

Chu Qiuhai lunged like a beast, leaving a blur.

Boom!

His fist shot forward, radiating a storm of energy like a freight train barreling into Zhang Yu.

Expert-Rank Technique: Truck Ram Fist! Level 2 Activation!

Ancient martial artists had studied birds and beasts, mountains and rivers, to create their arts. Now, modern masters observed highways and skyscrapers to forge new techniques.

The Truck Ram Fist was born when a martial genius spent three months by a highway, absorbing the essence of crashing trucks—translating the momentum of tens or hundreds of tons into a fist technique.

As a strength-focused Physique Cultivator, Chu Qiuhai had chosen this art to maximize his advantage. Now, at Level 2, his charge felt like a hundred-ton truck roaring across the arena, shaking the platform as it bore down on Zhang Yu.

“Zhang Yu has only one choice now…” Chu Qiuhai thought confidently.

He knew Zhang couldn’t match his raw power—only dodge. But the Truck Ram Fist had countermeasures for that.

“Once he dodges, I’ll pivot with the Truck Sharp Turn, adding rotational force to amplify the strike’s power by 50%!”

“I’ll send you flying out of bounds!”

But then—Zhang Yu suddenly thrust out a palm glowing with white Vitality Qi, directly intercepting the punch?

Boom!

Chu Qiuhai’s fist slammed into the Formless Cloud Qi, unleashing a force like a herd of wild boars tearing through the energy, trying to shatter it and send Zhang Yu flying.

Heavenly Martial Cultivation Heart Sutra Level 10: Total Focus Mode!

The world slowed to a crawl.

As Chu Qiuhai’s fist inched into the Vitality Qi, Zhang Yu precisely traced the force’s trajectory, subtly twisting the Formless Cloud Qi to redirect the blow.

Crash!

Chu Qiuhai felt his punch glance off the Formless Cloud Qi like a slippery ball, missing entirely and slamming into empty space.

But he halted his momentum with sheer strength, immediately throwing another punch.

Crash!

Again, the strike was deflected, leaving him wide open as Zhang Yu slipped inside his guard.

Pop!

Zhang Yu-1 landed three rapid blows to Chu Qiuhai’s chest, ribs, and abdomen.

Roar!

The enhancer numbed the pain, fueling Chu Qiuhai’s rage. He clamped his arms around Zhang Yu, trying to crush him.

“With my strength, I’ll just grab and crush you!”

But Zhang Yu evaded the grapple at the last millisecond, twisting free.

Chu Qiuhai struck again—only to have the force redirected once more, his chest hit twice.

“Just one hit! If I can land the Truck Ram Fist through his Vitality Qi, even once on his body, I’ll win!”

He kept attacking furiously, yet felt himself… being suppressed.

Zhang Yu danced like a winged bouncy ball, evading grabs with razor-thin margins or redirecting punches with Formless Cloud Qi.

“I’m the one getting hit…”

“Am I the one being suppressed?”

“Is he using pure technique to dominate me—someone stronger in power, speed, and stamina?”

Chu Qiuhai’s disbelief shattered when another Formless Cloud Qi blast slammed into his abdomen.

Though the enhancer dulled the pain, his endless stamina faltered briefly, his body freezing.

“Shit… internal bleeding?”

That split-second hesitation was all Zhang Yu needed.

Blows rained on his upper abdomen, chest, shoulder, waist—every strike interrupting his attempts to fight back.

Chu Qiuhai felt like a sandbag, absorbing endless punches before collapsing limply.

“I… I lost?”

“To a student outside the Three Great High Schools?”

Humiliation washed over him. He imagined his classmates’ scorn, his plummeting status, becoming a laughingstock and slave to his peers. The thought of jumping from Bailong High School’s 30th floor towered in his mind…

Then darkness claimed him.

Zhang Yu claimed victory!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end