Cattaleya leaped from the audience seats like a cannonball and landed in the ring with a boom that cracked the stone slightly.
The announcer rubbed his face. "Contestant Cattaleya, please wait until your opponent enters."
She waved. "He can hurry."
High Elder Redfist walked in calmly, hands behind his back, robes fluttering. He looked like a dignified mountain that had learned how to walk.
He cupped his fists. "Lady Cattaleya, I have long wished to test myself against you."
Cattaleya grinned like a predator. "Good. Because I have been bored."
The referee floated between them.
"Contestants, take your positions."
They stepped back.
The stadium went silent.
"Begin!"
WHOOSH!
The mont the word left the referee's mouth, Cattaleya exploded forward. She did not walk.She did not dash.She did not even jump.
She vanished.
High Elder Redfist widened his eyes. He was just about to gather his immortal essence, just about to activate his famous redirection technique, just about to say sothing dramatic.
Too late.
"Duskthorn Style Fist Arts: Hate Sky Hamr Fist!"
Her fist swelled with terrifying power. Red and black immortal essence twisted around it, forming a massive hamr shaped phantom.
And then.
BOOM!
Her fist struck straight under the elder's chin.
The sound was not a punch.
It was a thunderclap mixed with a mountain breaking in half.
High Elder Redfist's feet left the ground.
Then his body.
Then the ring.
Then the stadium.
WHOOSH!
He shot upward like a human teor.
Cattaleya froze.
Her eyes went wide.
"...shit."
The elder slamd into the first sky barrier.
CRACK.
Second barrier.
CRACK.
Third barrier.
CRACK.
Fourth.
CRACK.
Fifth.
CRACK.
He kept going.
The crowd slowly lifted their heads, tracking the tiny dot that used to be a respected elder.
He kept rising.
Cattaleya started hopping nervously.
"Fuck. Fuck! FUCK! That was too much. That was way too much. I forgot to hold back."
She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted upward.
"HEY! YOU BETTER BE AWAKE WHEN YOU CO BACK DOWN!"
Silence.
Then, very faintly...
"...mmmph..."
The dot finally stopped rising.
Then it began to fall.
Very fast.
The air scread.
People instinctively backed away.
The elder crashed back into the ring.
BOOOOOOM!
A crater appeared.
Dust rose like a mushroom cloud, stones flew, the stadium shook and everyone
stared.
But no one spoke.
Cattaleya leaned forward. "Uh... he alive?"
Healers rushed in.
After a few seconds, one of them stood up.
"He is alive... but unconscious... and... uh... a shattered jaw and... missing most
of his teeth."
The elder lay in the crater, jaw bent at an unnatural angle, eyes rolled back,
dignity scattered sowhere in the clouds.
Cattaleya scratched her head. "I told him to stay awake."
The announcer swallowed.
"...The winner is... Cattaleya Duskthorn."
The crowd exploded.
So cheered.
So laughed.
So stared in pure fear.
Lin Mu rubbed his temples. "She did not even let him use his technique."
ng Bai whispered, "That was not a fight. That was an accident."
Daoist Chu nodded. "A very violent accident."
Cattaleya walked back to the stands, looking a little embarrassed.
"I didn't an to end it that fast."
Lin Mu smiled faintly. "You ended it before it started."
She slumped into her seat. "Now I have to wait again."
anwhile, the announcer raised his voice.
"Since Cattaleya has won, she advances to the finals. The remaining semifinalist... Lin Mu... will advance as well, due to the odd number."
Lin Mu simply nodded.
The finals were now decided.
Cattaleya Duskthorn.Lin Mu.
The crowd went insane.
People started shouting bets, rchants started rewriting prices and sect
elders started whispering in fear.
Cattaleya looked at Lin Mu.
Her grin returned.
"Good. Now I can finally punch you properly."
Lin Mu smiled back calmly.
"I will try not to break the stadium again."
She cracked her knuckles. "No promises."
The Great Fist City had not seen a final like this in countless generations.
And everyone knew.
In a few minutes, sothing ridiculous was going to happen.
The mont High Elder Redfist was carried away and the dust from his crater
finally settled, the stadium should have gone quiet.
Instead, it grew louder.
People shouted.
People argued.
People laughed.
People scread bets at the top of their lungs.
And then the announcer floated forward, his voice amplified by dozens of
formation arrays.
"Due to the extrely fast conclusion of the semifinal match, and since the
majority of spectators are already present, the finals will begin today."
The crowd erupted.
Normally, the finals were held the next day. It allowed travelers from nearby
cities to arrive, allowed sects to prepare ceremonies, and allowed rchants to
triple their prices one last ti.
But today was different. Nearly ninety five percent of the entire Great Fist City was already here.
The stadium was full.
The skies were full.
Floating platforms, flying swords, immortal beasts, clouds, even personal flying
ships filled the air above the stadium.
Formation screens across the city were broadcasting everything live.
No one wanted to wait anymore.
"However," the announcer continued, raising his hand, "due to the... excessive destructiveness of today's matches, the finals will resu after a short delay. The formation arrays will be reinforced to maximum safety levels."
Cattaleya cracked her neck loudly. "Good. I do not want it breaking halfway." Lin Mu nodded calmly. "That would be inconvenient."
The formation masters rushed out in groups. Dozens of elders. Hundreds of
assistants.
Thousands of formation flags, jade plates, rune stones, and immortal crystals were brought in.
Lines of glowing patterns began to spread across the ring like veins of light. At the sa ti, elders of the Martial Fist King Sect flew to designated positions around the stadium. Each one sat cross legged in the air, palms glowing as they
began pouring immortal essence into the arrays.
"This is not normal reinforcent. This is a War Defense Array." Daoist Chu muttered. "They are preparing for catastrophe."
Elyon folded his arms. "They are afraid."
Cattaleya grinned. "Good."
As the arrays were being reinforced, a strange pressure slowly descended on
the stadium.
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