Chapter 46: Hard Within or Hard Without

Seeing that the first ring was about to produce its first advancing contestant, the audience below the stage erupted into thunderous cheers.

At the same time, the background information of the robust man on the stage was immediately dug up completely!

"This is Li Tie, a core disciple of the Vajra Sect!"

"Eh? Is that the Li Tie who loves to flick his hair? I heard he likes to flick his hair before every fight."

"Of course it's him! Look, look, he flicked it, he flicked it, haha..."

"The Vajra Sect lives up to its reputation, and his external conditioning technique is simply unfathomable. I heard this Li Tie was still in Lady Shisan's bed last night, hehe..."

"Stop grinning, tell us more about it."

Gao Wu also pricked up his ears, shifted his footsteps quietly, and leaned closer.

At the eighteenth ring, Zhou Zhiruo had already stepped onto the stage, facing a glaring, wide-eyed giant monk.

This giant monk had already injured two opponents in a row, possessing profound strength. Seeing Zhou Zhiruo mount the stage, he sneered, "Little lady, don't be in such a hurry to throw your life away!"

Zhou Zhiruo's expression remained unchanged as she slowly drew the Heaven-Declining Sword from her back. Below the Xiantian realm, there was no one who could make her feel fear!

Her sword was as fast as lightning. With just a single move, she forced the giant monk's expression to change drastically as he retreated frantically to dodge.

However, Zhou Zhiruo's face was as cold as frost, pursuing him relentlessly without giving the giant monk the slightest chance to counterattack, and with a single palm strike, she knocked him right off the ring!

On the Bai Xiao Tower, Bai Xiao Sheng had a head of white hair, but his figure was tall, robust, and full of vitality.

It seemed that when Xiao Heizi had disguised himself earlier, he had merely put on a full head of silvery hair.

Quietly gazing down at the imperial capital beneath his feet, he laughed in a low voice, "The good show begins!"

He raised his head again to look at the boundless night sky. Although it was broad daylight, in Bai Xiao Sheng's eyes, countless stars were gathering, as if a rain of stars was coalescing.

Finally, it was Gao Wu's turn to take the stage. The Vajra Sect's giant had already defeated nine opponents in a row and was about to become the first lucky person to advance today.

The moment Gao Wu stepped onto the ring, the giant looked eager to try, appearing exceptionally excited.

The crowd below the stage favored the giant even more, shouting in unison, "Li Tie of the Vajra Sect!"

At the top of the tower, Her Majesty the Empress's gaze also swept toward the first ring. Seeing that Gao Wu looked completely ordinary as he ascended the stage, she gently shook her head and thought to herself, 'It seems this Li Tie will claim the first victory!'

Gao Wu drew the Crimson Fire Ice Sword, and as the referee struck the opening bronze gong, the two of them charged toward each other simultaneously.

Clang...

The Crimson Fire Ice Sword slashed against Li Tie's body, producing a resounding metallic clang!

A precious sword worth fifty thousand taels of silver was unable to cut open Li Tie's sinewy steel-like bones.

Hmph, Li Tie gave a grim laugh and smashed his fist toward Gao Wu's head!

Damn it, playing for keeps, are we?

Gao Wu stood on ceremony no longer. After dodging the attack, he waved his long sword, and a fire dragon surged directly toward Li Tie's crotch.

"Such a vicious and insidious move!"

"Is that guy on the opposite side from the Demonic Cult? Does anyone know who he is..."

"You don't even know him?"

"You know him? Quick, tell us, stop holding back!"

"This is none of other than the Human Ranking Gatekeeper, Gao Wu, ranked one hundredth!"

The emotions of the crowd below surged even higher. The servant beside Wan Fang could not help saying, "Young Master, is it really wise of you to build up Young Master Gao's reputation like this?"

The battle between the two on the stage remained fierce. Every single one of Gao Wu's moves targeted Li Tie's lower body, and Li Tie indeed dared not take them head-on.

Li Tie was at the peak of the Qi-Guiding realm, relying on his formidable external cultivation to endure until now. To defeat him, one had to be able to break through his defense.

Gao Wu had understood this point while standing below the stage, but after a round of exchange, he truly felt just how hard this man opposite him was!

Down below, Li Xingyun, who had previously been watching the battle at another ring, was also drawn over by the cheers from the first ring. Upon seeing the two combatants on stage clearly, Li Xingyun was overjoyed.

"Ruxue, it's Brother Gao Wu! I didn't expect that after a month apart, his strength has already reached the peak of the Qi-Guiding realm!"

"But that Li Tie from the Vajra Sect has been famous for many years, and the longer he practices his external art, the more powerful its effects become!"

"Brother Gao will definitely win!"

"It seems we don't see Lady Long and Lady Zhou?"

Li Tie on the stage, after dodging continuously several times, seemed as if he had played enough. He suddenly stopped his footsteps, lowered his stance, and braced himself to take Gao Wu's attacks head-on without flinching!

Li Tie's lower body was not his fatal weakness; previously, he had merely been deliberately drawing Gao Wu's attention.

Li Tie let out a loud shout, "Want to find the fatal weakness of my Golden Bell Shield? It's not that easy! Die!"

He took a step forward and slammed into Gao Wu. He had originally thought he could easily send him flying, but he hadn't expected Gao Wu's footing to be equally solid. Though he staggered slightly, he ultimately maintained his balance.

Realizing he hadn't found the right vital spot, Gao Wu knew this would be a grueling battle. His current offensive means were still too few. He did possess the Heart-Shattering Fist, which could settle the outcome of the universe, but this was merely a martial arts tournament after all; actually resorting to the Heart-Shattering Fist would still be somewhat too vicious.

Right now, there was only one path left to take: head-on collision!

Although Gao Wu did not possess external hard qigong, he had multiple Xiantian-level internal cultivation mental arts protecting his body. At his current internal cultivation level, he estimated that most Qi-Sea realm martial artists could not match him!

The two of them were now locked in a clash of external toughness versus internal resilience!

And thus, a war of attrition began on the ring!

"Going on like this is quite unfavorable to both of them! Li Tie has already fought nine matches and might not outlast Gao Wu. But even if Gao Wu defeats Li Tie, he still has nine more matches to fight afterwards. How much internal energy will he have left?"

At the other rings, contestants were constantly being knocked out of the ring or directly collapsing from serious injuries on stage, to be carried away.

Yet the two men on the first ring remained deadlocked.

As for this battle, Gao Wu's gains were actually massive. Not only did he integrate all the martial arts he had learned, but he also discovered many of his own shortcomings.

For example, his offensive methods were single-faceted, and the Ambidextrous Combat Technique could not exert its greater potential, and so on.

"Stop!" The referee suddenly stepped onto the stage to separate the two, and simultaneously announced, "According to the rules, Li Tie advances to the next round, and Gao Wu is credited with one win!"

"Li Tie, please step down. Gao Wu, continue!"

"Good! Go for it, Brother Gao!"

Gao Wu couldn't help but sweep his gaze toward the audience below; just now, he seemed to have heard a familiar voice.

The next person to come up was a Jianghu heroine with a long sword strapped around her waist. Although her appearance did not reach the level of top-tier beauty, her attire was alluring, and as she walked, her hips swayed in a way that set the imagination running wild.

The time left for Gao Wu to rest was very short. This sword-carrying heroine covered her mouth and smiled lightly, "I am Zhao Feifei. Please enlighten me, young master!"

"Please!"

"Does the young master not need to rest a bit longer?" Zhao Feifei asked whether Gao Wu wanted to rest, but her hands had already drawn her sword.

This was a soft sword, exceptionally thin and long!

Gao Wu indicated that he really didn't like this and wanted to send her off the ring early. "No need, come on!"

When Zhao Feifei had been watching Gao Wu and Li Tie trade blows back and forth without any fancy tricks from below the stage, she had thought that she could at least hold out for a while or even find an opportunity to win.

However, after a single encounter and just one move—