Chapter 162: [This is too crazy]

Tsk tsk!
A genius!
This is what a true genius looks like!
Tang Mubai's "genius" was essentially cheated; he had the system to help him.
When it came to natural talent and comprehension, Tang Mubai was merely at the level of an ordinary person.
Li Ling was different.
The concept of Intent was something that could only be achieved through personal epiphany and comprehension. If one could not comprehend it, even decades or a century of bitter practice would be useless.
As an opponent in the championship match, Tang Mubai felt both honored and somewhat troubled.
Without a doubt, Li Ling's Sword Intent made his strength soar several times over.
If Tang Mubai did not release his pressure, it would be very difficult to defeat him.
Releasing thousands of calories of vitality and crushing him with absolute force was certainly an option.
However, if he did that, his true strength would also be exposed.
How...
Wait, hold on!
Suddenly, Tang Mubai thought of a problem he had overlooked.
Sword Intent was powerful indeed, but the person had to release it!
Much like dodging a bullet—you don't need to run faster than the bullet, you just need to be faster than the person pulling the trigger.
Li Ling possessed Sword Intent, but as long as Tang Mubai was faster than him, refusing to give him the chance to release his Sword Intent, or ensuring that if it was released, it would miss, Tang Mubai could still emerge victorious!
Having figured this out, Tang Mubai let out a breath, shaking his head inwardly with a wry smile.
He must have lost his mind; it was just Sword Intent, and it had almost thrown him off balance!
Steadied in mind, Tang Mubai walked onto the arena under the gaze of the entire audience.
Li Ling, who had rested for half an hour, also stepped onto the stage once more.
"Hey, both of these are teenage geniuses. Who do you think will win first place in the youth division?"
"I'm betting on Li Ling. You saw that final sword strike just now, right? The kid Li Ling released Sword Intent! If he hadn't comprehended Sword Intent, Tang Mubai definitely would have won. After all, Tang Mubai's archery, reaction time, and speed are all simply too formidable."
"Agreed! Li Ling's Sword Intent makes him virtually invincible among his peers. Unless Tang Mubai has also comprehended Arrow Intent, it's impossible for him to contend with him!"
"No way? If Tang Mubai has also comprehended Intent, then he's not a genius—he's a monster!"
"Who knows if he has comprehended it? As long as he doesn't expose it himself, outsiders like us will never know."
"..."
In the spectator stands, the crowd buzzed with discussion.
Those who recognized that Li Ling possessed Intent all believed that Li Ling would ultimately prevail.
An ability like Sword Intent was simply too powerful.
Even a Master-level martial artist could be slain if they were caught off guard.
Talented though Tang Mubai might be, running into Sword Intent meant he could only resign himself to bad luck!
...
Resign himself to bad luck?
That was completely impossible!
On the arena, Tang Mubai and Li Ling stood facing each other at a distance of ten paces.
The moment the referee shouted the start, Tang Mubai instantly erupted, executing his lightness skill and running in circles around the edge of the arena.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Swish! Swish! Swish!
His figure was like a ghost, transforming into an intangible illusion.
Each circle was faster than the last, more ferocious than the last.
By the end, nothing was left except blurred afterimages moving at high speed along the perimeter of the stage.
Everyone in the audience was dumbfounded at this sight.
Even Li Ling was somewhat bewildered.
But right at that moment—
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Arrows carrying terrifying force suddenly broke through the air, hurtling toward him.
It turned out Tang Mubai was shooting arrows while moving at top speed.
The power of every single arrow was not the least bit weak, amplified by several archery techniques, tracking and locking onto Li Ling so he could not dodge and had to take the hits head-on.
Li Ling was startled, and while defending, he launched a counterattack.
Yet, whether it was his sword Qi or his Sword Intent, none of them could hit Tang Mubai!
Tang Mubai, running circles around the edge of the arena, was so fast that Li Ling could not even locate his true body; all of his attacks struck empty air.
Meanwhile, Tang Mubai's sharp arrows never stopped, flashing out like lightning from time to time amidst the circle of afterimages, attacking Li Ling and forcing him to spin around in circles on the spot as well.
If Li Ling had practiced a lightness skill of exceptional caliber, he might have been able to catch up to Tang Mubai's trajectory.
Perhaps then he would have had a chance to force Tang Mubai's true body out.
Unfortunately, Li Ling's lightness skill was only mediocre. Defending against the arrows shot by Tang Mubai while spinning in place quickly left him dizzy and disoriented.
Seizing this opportunity, Tang Mubai fired three arrows in rapid succession, every single one exploding with force, sending Li Ling flying out of the arena and crashing into the sand pit!
Silence.
As Li Ling fell into the sand pit, the arena plunged into a dead, absolute silence, shocked and speechless!
He lost...
Li Ling, who possessed Sword Intent, had actually lost just like that!
If they had faced each other in a direct confrontation, Tang Mubai would have found it nearly impossible to resist the terror of Sword Intent.
Yet Tang Mubai completely refused to play by the rules, running in circles around the arena with unbelievable speed.
Li Ling couldn't even pin down Tang Mubai's true form; how could he possibly win?
Utter silence!
For a long time, not a single sound stirred across the vast arena.
Full minutes passed before a commotion finally erupted. Then, the roar grew louder and louder, surging like ocean waves and echoing back and forth across the plaza.
"Bravo!"
"Too cool!"
"Tang Mubai! Tang Mubai!"
"..."
This was a world where the victor was king.
A loss was a loss, and there was nothing to complain about.
Furthermore, Tang Mubai had won fair and square, without resorting to hidden weapons, medicinal pills, or any other despicable and shameless means to cheat his way to victory.
By relying on speed and archery pushed to their absolute limits to defeat Li Ling—who possessed Sword Intent—he appeared all the more formidable.
Because this victory proved to everyone that Sword Intent wasn't all that special.
As long as you were fast enough, Sword Intent was nothing more than a decoration!
...
With Tang Mubai defeating Li Ling, the youth division tournament came to an end.
The prizes for the top three places were awarded right there on the arena stage.
A bank card, martial arts manuals, and the divine weapon "Vajra Ring" were handed to Tang Mubai one by one.
Holding his rewards as he returned to his seat, the little cousin jumped and danced with joy, Fang Shuixian's eyes welled with tears of emotion, and Xu Dalü enthusiastically slapped Tang Mubai on the shoulder.
Lin Huafeng was equally ecstatic, shouting that they absolutely had to drink heavily at noon and not return until they were thoroughly drunk.
"If we're going to celebrate, we'll celebrate tonight. I still have a match this afternoon," Tang Mubai chuckled.
Hearing this, Lin Huafeng froze. A moment later, he swallowed hard and asked in a low voice, "What place do you have confidence in securing for this afternoon's match?"
"If I say first place, Uncle Lin, would you be willing to believe it?" Tang Mubai countered.
"I..." Lin Huafeng opened his mouth, wanting to say he didn't believe it, but a subconscious voice told him—
What Tang Mubai said was the truth! He genuinely had a chance to win first place in the adult division!
But that was far too crazy.
First place in the youth division was something Lin Huafeng could accept; after all, Tang Mubai's archery and lightness skills were indeed superior to ordinary people.
As for first place in the adult division...
To be honest, Lin Huafeng was somewhat terrified.
If Tang Mubai actually managed to claim first place, the entire Thirty-Eighth Territory would be shaken to its core!
Because everyone who had persisted in the adult division until now was, without exception, a Master-level martial artist!
When Tang Mubai defeated Xu Zhaolong, "luck" had played a major part.
Could that kind of luck possibly continue?
Lin Huafeng didn't believe it.
Yet he could not refute it either, leaving him with no choice but to respond in silence.
Then.
In the third match of the afternoon, Tang Mubai took the stage. Just like in the morning, he refused to give his opponent the opportunity to release their pressure and envelop him, choosing instead to move frantically around the perimeter of the arena.
In the end, with a nine-arrow volley—each arrow growing more powerful than the last—he forcefully shattered his disoriented opponent's defenses, blasting the man entirely out of the arena.
The instant the opponent hit the ground, the entire arena boiled over!