<h4>Chapter 79 - Surrender</h4>


    One was a sinister man wearing ck gloves—the ck Crane Sect''s first core disciple, Mendi. The other two were young girls in distinctive bluebat attire. One was in her twenties, and had exquisitely beautiful features and a voluptuous figure. Her blue hair was tied up into a ponytail, draped lightly over one shoulder. She was the second core disciple of the Singing Water Sect. As for the other girl, her distinctly youthful teenage face was a dead giveaway: the Singing Water Sect’s prodigy, Heidi.


    "Senior Sister, what''s so interesting about this? Let''s go watch our First Senior Sister''s match." Heidi blinked.


    "Don''t underestimate the core disciples from the major sects, Heidi. They are all close to the level of a pugilist." The second senior sister shook her head. "Their strength should be simr to yours, and they all have an abundant amount of practicalbat experience. Let’s watch closely."


    The air was thick with tension as the two opponents, both of simr heights, stared each other down.


    "Don''t think that breaking two small sects'' teams is something to be proud of, kid. Let me teach you a lesson in humility." Guro sneered, remembering yesterday''s events.


    "Careful. You don''t want me to beat you to deathter. I might not be able to hold back," Cassius said, clenching his fist and grinning broadly.


    "Begin!" the referee announced, jumping off the stage.


    In the sunlight, as Cassius twisted his neck, a series of cracking sounds echoed. He said calmly, "Try not to die from my punches."


    There was apletely different meaning when he calmly repeated it for the second time.


    Sneering, Guro was about to retort when he felt an extremely menacing aura lock onto him, akin to suddenly being targeted by a tiger while trekking through the jungle. His heart skipped a beat.


    "Remember the name of the person who''s about to defeat you! Li Wei from the Wind Elephant Sect!"


    As soon as he finished speaking, the entire round stage shook violently. Cassius''s robust figure suddenly materialized in front of Guro. Layer byyer, the outline of his ck muscles all over his body became increasingly defined.


    "Wind Owl!"


    A strange bird call suddenly came from the wind. Cassius''s right hand instantly blurred into a huge ck shadow. The shadow rushed toward Guro''s head at high speed through the air.


    "Cranes Draw!"


    Guro''s adrenaline surged in response to the impending danger. He forcibly used all his might to execute the ck Crane Sect''s ultimate move. His five fingers pinched into a point, and his crane hand shot out like a drill, a shimmeringyer of ck light on the surfacesurface.


    <i>Ding!</i>


    <i>Crack.</i>


    "<i>Ah</i>!!!"


    The sounds of impact, bones breaking, and screams merged into one.


    Guro''s face twisted as he quickly retreated, the five fingers on his right hand now irregrly extended like chicken ws. The red muscles at his joints were torn, three of his fingernails had flipped up, and blood streamed down from his palm.


    "My hand!!!"


    In the midst of his excruciating pain, Guro suddenly held his breath as a tall figure appeared in front of him like an apparition.


    <i>Swish!</i>


    A massive ck shadow descended on him like Mount Tai.[1] Guro''s eyes nearly popped out, and he raised both hands to block.


    <i>Dong!</i>


    The entire stage shook violently.


    In the sunlight, Guro was on his knees, trembling. His arms were still crossed and raised above his head. He could acutely feel the bones of his forearms fracturing painfully. It was the kind of shuddering feeling of bone fragments piercing into his muscles. Blood from his wounded arms dripped onto his face.


    Completely stunned, Guro had just managed to take a breath when he felt an overwhelming force press down on him again.


    Inch by inch... Bit by bit... It was as if a steamroller was ttening the ground; heavy and absolute, and without any care of what was underneath it. He trembled; he could practically hear his muscles and bones groaning. Guro''s whole body was forced down, his spine bending inch by inch while his head shook like a leaf.


    Cassius''s bloodshot eyes shed before him.


    <i>elerated blood flow!!! A pugilist!!!</i>


    He roared, "I surrender! I surrender!"


    The humongous arm that was pressing down on Guro paused for a moment, and then it pulled away. Cassius shook his head expressionlessly. "I thought you''dst longer than that. You shouldn''t act so arrogant when you''re only at this level."


    For a moment, the entire stage fell into an eerie silence. Then the audience erupted into a frenzy. Despite both parties being core disciples of major sects, the actual gap inbat was astonishingly vast!


    Guro''s opponent had crushed him like a child, forcing him to surrender in just two moves.


    "It''s actually a pugilist!" Mendi squinted at Cassius below the stage, ignoring Guro''s serious injuries. He muttered to himself, "Wind Elephant Sect really lucked out with three pugilists. Seems like I''ll have to adjust the order..."


    On the other side, Heidi couldn''t bear to look at the stage due to Guro''s terrifying bloody appearance. Her second senior sister patted her shoulder.


    "This is why I wanted you to watch the others'' matches. It''s impossible to not get injured or bleed when you''re in realbat. You''re still too young and don''t have enough practicalbat training. Every Covert Martial Artist must ovee this, Heidi."


    The second core disciple of the Singing Water Sect gazed at Cassius standing on the stage with her beautiful eyes. "But I never expected the Wind Elephant Sect to have another pugilist! And an eighteen-year-old at that! No wonder that guy from the ck Crane Sect was beaten down in just two moves. A pugilist and those below are like night and day, so it''s normal for the results to be this crushing."


    "That person looks quite scary when he''s being ruthless," Heidi said, ncing at the stage. The image of the formidable figure with the terrifying statue on that stage was deeply etched in her somewhat still immature mind.


    Guro had already been taken down for treatment, leaving only Cassius and the referee. The referee dered Cassius as the victor. Cassius nodded slightly, then said, "Let''s start the next match right away. I don''t want to waste any time. I saw my opponent..." He stopped talking. The young man who had just been sitting in the row of red wooden chairs to his right was suddenly gone! Had he been seeing things?


    "Uh, Contestant Number Thirteen? Contestant Number Five told me he forfeited just now. He''s already left." The referee beside him had a strained smile.


    "He forfeited?"


    "Yes."


    "Then I''m leaving," Cassius said, flipping off the stage and walking towards the door. Since he had no opponent to fight, he had the gift of time back.


    The crowd blocking the door parted fearfully, creating a path for him as he walked past.


    Five minutester, Cassius headed to a distant arena, on a staff member''s directions, where his Fourth Senior Brother Moses waspeting. Bored, Cassius decided to take a look.


    As soon as he squeezed through the crowd and saw what was happening, a peculiar smile appeared on his face. "Third Senior Brother and Fourth Senior Brother are fighting each other..."


    He had definitely jinxed it!


    1. A mountain of historical and cultural significance located north of the city of Tai''an. It is the highest point in Shandong province, China. ?