"My father is Niu Wanbao!"
Niu San shouted again, his Qi axe growing even larger. Dong Guilin could no longer hold out in a contest of pure physical strength; his bizarre footwork reappeared, skirting past Niu San's Qi to close the distance once more as his long sword thrust toward Niu San.
Dong Guilin smiled at the corner of his mouth—he had him.
"Wait! What did your father say his name was? Niu Wanbao?" Dong Guilin abruptly stopped, reacting to the name. "The commander of the 300,000 Iron Ox Guard of the Northwest, the imperial court's only non-royal prince, the great pillar Niu Wanbao? You're his legendary only son?"
"How do you know? Who leaked my identity?!" Niu San looked at Dong Guilin with an innocent expression.
Blocked by the barrier of Qi and Sword Qi, the people beneath the stage could not hear what they were saying.
"Ah!"
Dong Guilin suddenly let out a loud cry and flew backward. Countless wisps of Sword Qi instantly dissipated, a mouthful of blood spewed from his lips, and he crashed heavily off the stage. "Such formidable Body-Protecting Qi Shield! I concede."
Countless young women in the audience had their hearts broken, while the men raised their arms and cheered: "Niu San!"
The host climbed back onto the stage and came to the side of Niu San, who had already put away his Qi. "The champion of this year's Martial Arts Tournament is the wild ox, Niu San!"
Niu San chuckled and cupped his fists. "Thank you for the courtesy, thank you. I never expected my Qi had developed a counter-damage effect, hahahahaha."
"Well, can you kill him without a sound?" Watching the match's outcome, a person wearing a bamboo hat asked another pale, clean-featured young scholar.
That scholar was none other than the Wheel-Turning King, Gu Chenwan.
"Simple." Gu Chenwan chuckled, having already taken the measure of Niu San's strength.
"True enough, but Niu San's boundless Qi here had better be left to me." The bamboo-hatted man smiled ominously.
The two of them blended seamlessly among the various martial arts wanderers.
"Chen Xiaofei, didn't you say you were going up to fight the last one?" Xia Yun looked at Chen Xiaofei expectantly. "Isn't there only one left now? Why aren't you going up?"
"I originally wanted to fight your master, but I didn't expect it to turn out to be this guy."
Chen Xiaofei was in a difficult spot. Plans could never keep up with changes—how was he supposed to handle this?
"Brother, do you two want to know what happened to Liu Bo?" The swordsman had just scrambled up from the ground and sidled back over to Chen Xiaofei.
Chen Xiaofei glanced at the swordsman and finally made up his mind. "Fine, if I'm going to fight him, I'll fight him. I'll go up and have some fun."
The swordsman was dumbfounded, turning to look at Xia Yun. "What is he going up there for?"
Xia Yun ignored him, merely watching the stage and cheering twice.
With a slight bend of his knees, Chen Xiaofei leaped up onto the martial arts stage, landing lightly opposite Niu San.
"Little brother, is there something else you need? Are you in such a rush to shake hands with our champion?" The host chuckled from the side, then shouted loudly, "It seems our champion Niu San is truly popular! But everyone, please don't disrupt the order of our Martial Arts Tournament. Our Tianji Pavilion..."
"Scram!" A fierce Qi burst forth from Chen Xiaofei's body.
"Right away."
With a backflip, the host leaped off the stage.
Sensing the imposing aura radiating from Chen Xiaofei, Niu San turned serious. "Are you here to challenge me? How come I didn't see you the past few days?"
"Fighting for a few days is too much trouble. I'll just fight you directly."
Chen Xiaofei nonchalantly picked at his ear.
"Too arrogant!"
"Beat him to death!"
"Wow, who does he think he is?"
The spectators in the audience grew furious, pointing at Chen Xiaofei and cursing bitterly.
"Do you want me to let you recover first?"
Ignoring the curses from the audience, Chen Xiaofei casually flicked his ear and asked Niu San.
"No need! Grandpa will give you this chance. Let's see how many blows a scrawny guy like you can take from me."
Lifting the great axe with one hand, Niu San slashed down toward Chen Xiaofei with utter disdain.
"What? Look down on me?"
Chen Xiaofei raised his right hand holding Dao Da, easily blocking the axe with the scabbard.
"Huh?"
Niu San was startled. He brought his other hand up as well, exerting force with both hands, only to find he couldn't shake Chen Xiaofei in the slightest.
"Good fellow, what strength!" Niu San finally decided to get serious. Qi surged from his body, and a tremendous pressure bared down upon Chen Xiaofei.
Still, Chen Xiaofei didn't budge an inch.
"My father is Niu Wanbao."
Niu San let out a low shout, and the Qi around his body multiplied exponentially.
"The Mandate of Heaven Sutra?" Chen Xiaofei's eyes lit up. "You're using your old man like an aphrodisiac!"
"You even know about this?" Niu San was surprised that Chen Xiaofei had named his cultivation technique, but answered with a clear conscience, "My father is my life, so what? My father is Niu Wanbao!"
The Qi erupted once more, crushing down with overwhelming, all-encompassing force.
Chen Xiaofei finally drew his blade.
With a single slash of Dao Da against the boundless Qi in the void, a breach was instantly torn open.
"You should be able to take that aphrodisiac one more time. Let me see just how tough you really are!" Chen Xiaofei was filled with curiosity.
"Fine! My father is Niu Wanbao!" Niu San shouted again. The shattered Qi re-gathered, once more condensing into a massive Qi axe that hacked down toward Chen Xiaofei.
"You haven't mastered this properly, have you? Why do you only use these same three moves over and over?"
From the moment he stepped onto the stage to fight, Chen Xiaofei's feet had barely moved. With another wave of Dao Da, the sky-filling Qi was instantly swallowed up by countless Blade Auras.
The martial arts stage returned to calm.
Niu San withdrew the great axe, panting heavily.
"The Mandate of Heaven Sutra—I've heard that if you designate something as your destiny and make a vow, it can massively boost your Internal Energy, but you must spend your entire life fighting for that designated destiny. You took your father as your destined entity; what a dutiful son. Your old man really hit the jackpot having you."
Chen Xiaofei sheathed his blade, expressing his admiration to Niu San.
"I lost. I don't know how you trained that scrawny body of yours—teach me?" Niu San panted, asking for guidance with an open mind.
A chorus of boos rose from the audience; no one had expected Niu San to lose just like that.
"Alright." As soon as Chen Xiaofei spoke, the entire venue suddenly fell silent.
Niu San was startled, looking all around. Everyone had perked up their ears to listen, and the host had somehow returned to the stage, standing stealthily off to one side.
"Damn it, this is being taught to *grandpa* here, what are you all listening for?" Niu San roared in anger, and a massive burst of Qi appeared once more, pulling himself and Chen Xiaofei into the center.
"Little brother—no! Big brother! Big brother, please teach me!" Niu San's expression flipped instantly.
"It's very simple. 1,000 push-ups, 1,000 sit-ups, 1,000 squats, 1,000 frog leaps, and a 10-li run every single day," Chen Xiaofei said with a deadpan expression. "Pair that with your bald head, and in just three years, you'll be invincible across the realm."
"Really?" Niu San's eyes shone brightly. "May I ask big brother's honorable name?"
Chen Xiaofei gave a light cough, raising Dao Da to his chest as a sharp Blade Aura pierced the sky.
"I am Chen Xiaofei."