The first wave of fa had been from the rchant coalition tournant in the first city. But the second wave ca from two far larger tournants in places of real significance.
The first of the larger cities was the capital of the Pelican Kingdom, whose ruler had built a massive coliseum shaped like an open beak. It could hold over a hundred thousand spectators and was usually reserved for royal events or century milestones.
Now it hosted Cattaleya.
The mont she stepped inside, half the audience rose to their feet. The remaining half followed out of instinct before even understanding why.
Her first opponent in this tournant was a high ranked winner from previous years, known for defeating thirteen people in one day. His muscles rippled like rolling steel and his reputation was so deeply ingrained in the region that children used to practice martial arts while chanting his na.
He lasted twenty nine seconds.
The Pelican Kingdom newspapers dedicated four full page illustrations to the mont of defeat. Artists worked overti. The king himself requested a second match, but the organizers reminded him of official rules. A royal sculptor even started carving a commorative statue of Cattaleya flicking the air.
Daoist Chu made a small fortune that day.
The second major tournant was held inside the Iron Hide Martial Sect's territory.
It was an arena built entirely from the bones of a colossal armored beast that had supposedly once terrorized the region. The Iron Hide sect prided themselves on producing the toughest body cultivators in the region. Their disciples trained by punching mountains and lifting boulders that weighed thousands of tons.
Their sect founder was rumored to have fought a Titan King Immortal Rhinoceros with nothing but his forehead.
So naturally, everyone was excited to see how Cattaleya would perform. They were not disappointed.
Her first opponent was a Fifth Tribulation stage Iron Hide disciple whose back muscles were so large that two small children could take naps on them. He roared with pride, executed a technique called Mountain Breaking Smash, and swung at Cattaleya with the expectation of testing her strength.
She flicked him.
He bounced off the ground, then off the barrier, then off a pillar, then rolled to a stop next to the spectator stands, groaning softly.
Cattaleya spoke kindly afterward. She said he was one of the better ones. The disciple cried tears of joy because she had complinted him for lasting more than ten seconds.
Her second opponent was a Sixth Tribulation stage disciple with skin tougher than iron. His defensive technique, Iron Body Sacred Coat, was supposed to withstand swords, spears, fire, lightning, and possibly even angry mothers in law.
Catt flicked him so hard he skipped across the ring like a stone thrown into a lake.
He was found afterward clutching the ground, saying, "Her finger broke through the sacred coat. How did her finger do what hamrs cannot."
Her third opponent was another sixth Tribulation expert who specialized in grappling and defensive counter throws. He had trained his bones to be denser than steel and had not been defeated in three years.
He lasted thirty seconds, and the crowd cheered because it was an achievent. When he stood up after defeat, he cupped his fists toward Cattaleya and shouted, "Thank you for the enlightennt." Then fainted.
By the end of the Iron Hide tournant's first week, Cattaleya's na had spread across every border city and clan nearby. rchants traveled specifically to find out if she would participate in their tournants. Wandering cultivators showed up to watch the destruction. Even elders from small sects ca out to see the famous One Flick Woman.
Daoist Chu, Elyon, and even Cattaleya herself continued to profit from the betting houses. But the betting houses had adapted quickly.
Originally the payout for her winning was ten to one. Then five to one. Then one to one. Then, after the Iron Hide tournant, it beca so low that it was practically not worth betting.
So the betting houses changed tactics.
Now they took bets on how long it would take for her to win.
These bets were far more popular.
One second to five seconds was the most common category, mostly by people who wanted to show off their own bravery.Five seconds to ten seconds was considered reasonable.Ten seconds to thirty seconds was considered
optimistic for the opponent.
There were even so jokes that if anyone bet on the one minute category, they were either drunk or delusional.
To the betting house's surprise, a large wave of gamblers placed bets on the thirty second category after her seventh tribulation fight. They thought maybe,
just maybe, she would slow down.
She did not.
Her average remained ten seconds.
Sotis eight.
Sotis six.
Daoist Chu beca very popular with the bookkeepers after managing to place accurate timing bets nearly every ti. Elyon also kept winning but never
revealed how he predicted things.
The truth was simple. He had been watching Cattaleya's finger movents carefully and had figured out that she flicked slightly slower when she enjoyed
the match more.
anwhile, Cattaleya's fa began affecting the other tournants.
So cultivators simply refused to enter when they saw her na on the
roster.
Others quit and ran to different events.
One was overheard crying loudly in a tavern, "I left the first tournant to
escape her. Then she appeared in the second. So I ran to the third. She was
there too. She is everywhere. Everywhere!"
He later beca known as the Man Who Fled From Ten Tournants.
Yet, despite the fear among weaker cultivators, there was also a strong wave of anticipation building among the talented ones.
Many body cultivators wanted to fight her.
So wanted to test their strength.
So wanted the honor of facing a monster.
So simply wanted to see if her flick really felt like being struck by a divine
hamr.
Rumors began spreading of high ranking participants in the upcoming Great Martial Fist King Tournant preparing counter techniques specifically
designed against flicks.
Soone even developed a technique called Flick Guard Barrier.
It failed when the user tested it by asking a friend to flick a pebble at him. The
pebble went through his shield and knocked him unconscious.
Still, people tried.
Because no matter how unstoppable Cattaleya seed, the martial world had a
saying.
Where strength rises, challengers appear.
And Cattaleya's rise was nothing short of teoric.
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