The Six Immortals Chapter 18

 Forces Collide Bi Fan had been watching the contests carefully, and had noticed that there were several participants who were lingering around ‘inner breath’ layer. But when Bi Fan tried to compare himself with them, he figured that he’s probably stronger than them. And suddenly Bi Fan was booming with confidence, he hadn’t realized the true value of his own strength, he always thought that he was average. “Bi Fan of Yunufeng, report to arena number three.” Finally it was Bi Fan’s turn to take the stage. “Bi Fan, good luck, the prestige of Yunufeng resides on your shoulder.” Xiaofeng waved at Bi Fan as he started to walk towards the stage, encouraging him. Bi Fan strode towards the stage confidently, but his mind was very alert. His was blood boiling with passion, but mind, cool and calm. As Bi Fan entered the ring, his opponent was already present. He looked prepared, full of fighting spirit, but his mind seemed a little worried. Disciples would have to register a good winning streak before they were allowed to enter the next round, so no one would easily accept defeat, which made the contest even more entertaining and competitive. After the two made their gestures of respect, the fight officially began. Both the fighters immediately started exchanging blows, deploying Wan Zu fist boxing technique. It was evident that both the fighters had been practicing very hard. “Bang!” Bi Fan at last managed to connect one. Bi Fan stood his ground, while his opponent retreated a few steps before steadying himself again. They were attacking each other recklessly, with no regard for their own safety. The participant that got two points first, would be declared winner. They both kept punching like wild animals. Bi Fan wasn’t trying to make any fancy moves, and was simply trying to land a punch on his opponent’s body. So much so that Bi Fan hadn’t even tried to dodge to the side of his opponents like he had done earlier.  Engaged in combat, they both were fully concentrated on their fight. And then suddenly, Bi Fan managed to land his second, a hard one this time. His opponent flew a good two meters before falling to the ground, but immediately stood up again. “Bi Fan of Yunufeng wins!” The opponent stepped down, and a new contestant entered the ring. Bi Fan still used the Wan Zu boxing technique, and with ease was able to replicate the result of the previous fight. At this early level in the competition, technique wasn’t very important, however, strength was a key factor to success. Anyway, most fighters here were barely at ‘martial strength’ layer, and their techniques weren’t very refined either. Bi Fan estimated that he should be able to lift four stones, making him one of the strongest contestants in the tournament. Even though Tieniu was naturally gifted with massive strength, wouldn’t be able to compete with Bi Fan. He would only have to careful against participants who had entered ‘inner breath’ layer, being careless around them could turn into a very costly mistake. Bi Fan was able to register three consecutive win with ease, and smoothly made the cut. “Well done Bi Fan!” Xiaofeng cheered and clapped loudly for Bi Fan. Watching Xiaofeng cheer for him, distracted Bi Fan’s thoughts, but he quickly shook his head and decided to focus his attention at the task at hand. Xiaofeng was almost like a goddess, and way beyond the reach of an ordinary orchard farmer. The difference in their status was far too great. Bi Fan lived in reality; he wasn’t going to let himself get deluded so easily. Soon, the first round finished, leaving twenty eight participants for the second round. In the next round, the rules were slightly different. Only one fight would take place and the winner will advance to the next round. Bi Fan was randomly allocated the number fifteen, so he would have to fight number sixteen. Three rings were being used simultaneously, so it wouldn’t be long before Bi Fan’s turn.   Teiniu was allocated number two, so his fight was the first one to start, on stage one. His opponent was fairly strong too; he had been able to lift two stones. After the formalities, the fight started and Teiniu shouted as he charged at his opponent wildly. He managed to grab hold of his opponent. “Ah…… Ah……” the contestant struggled for a while, writhing in pain, but couldn’t break free and ultimately admitted defeat. Teiniu won, flashed a smile, revealing his disgusting yellow teeth; he looked rather scary. The females in the arena didn’t even want to look at him. The second batch of contestants came in to the ring, Li Shu was amongst them. Two of these six had crossed into ‘inner breath’ layer and won their fight rather easily. As the third round started, Bi Fan was called to stage two. Unfortunately, Bi Fan’s opponent was a guy called Wang Feng. He too had crossed into the ’inner breath’ layer. The two of them glared at each other, ready for a battle. Wang Feng had seen Bi Fan’s agile displays and wouldn’t be careless enough to stand idly. Bi Fan was aware of Wang Feng’s plan, but didn’t care, he was going to play this match purely on physical strength. Both the participants started boxing with each other. Bi Fan touched his chin, and then dashed at Wang Feng with all his might. His punch aimed at Wang Feng’s face, was more like a gale with an edge of a knife.  Wang Feng wouldn’t dare stand up to such a powerful punch and leaned sideways to dodge. Bi Fan swiftly changed his body’s momentum to the left and suddenly his punch was now again aimed at Wang Feng. Because Bi Fan had been practicing ‘the dance of mist’ footwork, he could change directions with great ease. His body was capable of making such smooth, subtle movements at great speeds, that most people wouldn’t even be able to evade his attacks. Wang Feng unable to dodge Bi Fan’s sudden change in direction, desperately punched back. Their fists collided with each other’s. “Bang!” Bi Fan used the full force of his body to stabilize himself, took a step back. Wang Feng however, had barely managed to cope with his sudden maneuver, went back five or six steps. Bi Fan hadn’t been able to deploy his full strength to this attack; otherwise Wang Feng might have ended up a lot worse.  Bi Fan burst forward again, planning on using even more strength this time, employed Wan Zu fist boxing. He volleyed an array of punches, directed at Wang Feng’s face. Each, more ferocious and more pressing than the last one. Wang Feng had already reached the end of the ring, in attempts to dodge Bi Fan’s punches. Now he had nowhere to hide, nowhere to run. He used everything he had, and exploded back at Bi Fan with a powerful punch. They both groaned as their fists came together again. Bi Fan was pushed back, he went back at least ten steps before regaining his balance. Wang Feng was much worse off; he directly went flying out of the ring. Obviously, with the balance of power on his side, Bi Fan prevailed. “Bi Fan wins!” Bi Fan had won again, this time beating an ‘inner breath’ layer opponent. He looked at the crowd as they cheered and praised him. However, in one corner, sat a man; glaring at Bi Fan with a cold and gloomy look in his eyes; as if his heart was wishing to tear Bi Fan apart. Zhu San was the biggest bully Bi Fan had ever known. Not only had Bi Fan survived the Wan Snake Cave, he had also become a lot stronger, which made Zhu San very mad. He had come to the valley to watch the tournament, and accidently stumbled upon Bi Fan. It was exactly like Daniu had described, Bi Fan was a changed man. Zhu San was shocked to see Bi Fan; his heart was brimming with a desire to kill Bi Fan, once and for all. But Bi Fan had become a lot stronger, much stronger than him, eliminating Bi Fan now, would be a lot harder. He would need a proper plan. Bi Fan felt as if someone was glaring at him, he turned around to see Zhu San sitting in the crowd. As their eyes met, Bi Fan smiled at Zhu San. A chill ran down Zhu San’s spine; intimidated, he got up and left in a hurry. “He has seen me, this can turn into a problem, I need to find a way to kill him.” Zhu San walked away, thinking to himself. Bi Fan paying no attention to Zhu San, strolled back to Xiaofeng’s side. Zhu San was nothing compared to Bi Fan, Bi Fan could crush him whenever he desired. Bi Fan had already become a disciple, and if he did well in the tournament, he could end up joining a high class school. His reputation and status in the society would be greatly raised. An allegation such as killing an ordinary outside practitioner, like Zhu San, wouldn’t make any sense to people.

Chapter end