Era of Mist

Chapter 121: Chapter 120: Short Stature, Great Skill

A medical team swept across the circular platform like a gust of wind and carried the tall woman away. Shi Tiexin’s gaze followed them. Looking closer, he saw that even while unconscious, the woman was subconsciously clutching her throat, her expression pained.

’She crushed her throat in a single blow?’

How cunning. How ruthless. Unbelievable.

Shi Tiexin made an instant decision. ’I can’t possibly watch everyone. I’ll just focus on her, the short one!’

The fights in the other secret realms hadn’t ended yet, giving the short girl a relatively long time to rest and recover. Shi Tiexin stared, scrutinizing her from head to toe. He noticed the six-colored layer of light covering her body wasn’t completely unscathed; there were cracks in it, especially around the top of her head. But as she composed herself, the cracks in the light began to mend.

’So that’s how it is,’ Shi Tiexin realized. ’Fighting with the layer of light must consume mental energy. The total amount of one’s reserves will determine the layer’s resilience and durability.’

The short girl quickly mended the cracks in her layer of light. Her face seemed a little pale, but it soon regained its color, so it probably wasn’t a major issue. Just as she opened her eyes and stood up, all the duels in the Wenxin Secret Realms concluded.

"Losers, withdraw. Victors, continue."

The Dragon Map Scholar gave them no time to rest. He shouted again, "Merge!" and the remaining thirty-two secret realms began to fuse randomly in pairs.

Sixteen secret realms. Sixteen pairs of opponents. Some were panting for breath, others were calm and composed. Shi Tiexin was inwardly awed. This was an intense, all-encompassing test of strength, endurance, tactics, and luck. The stronger fighters could save time and recover their energy. The weaker ones would find their disadvantages compounding until failure was their only option.

The top three chosen through a selection process like this would truly be anything but weak.

This time, the short girl’s opponent was a man who stood 1.8 meters tall. The six-colored layer of light around him was completely intact.

Shi Tiexin’s pupils contracted. ’Is this man that strong? No,’ he thought, recalling the previous round. ’This man seems to be one of the few who got a bye in the first round. That’s why he’s completely unharmed and had the most time to rest and prepare.’

’Looks like the short girl’s luck is pretty bad.’

But the short girl’s aura showed no signs of being diminished. Her eyes blazed with a fierce, ruthless intensity.

"Ready—Begin!"

At the Dragon Map Scholar’s command, the short girl shot forward with a WHOOSH, springing from her feet.

’So fast!’

Shi Tiexin’s eyes widened as he watched closely. He wondered if it was because her smaller, lighter body allowed her to generate greater acceleration with the same amount of force. In any case, with another WHOOSH, she soared toward the man opposite her. The man was fast too. He assumed a boxing stance Shi Tiexin didn’t recognize and, from his superior height, threw a punch down at the short girl’s forehead.

But Shi Tiexin’s pupils constricted—the short girl didn’t dodge, evade, or alter her attack in the slightest. She met his fist head-on, delivering a fierce headbutt!

BANG! The layer of light on her forehead shattered. But she used the momentum to accelerate again, driving forward. She had traded the unexpected headbutt for a split second of her opponent’s shock, and she used that opening to instantly close the distance and get inside his guard.

CRACK! The two fighters crossed paths. In that brief instant, Shi Tiexin couldn’t see exactly what happened. All he knew was that after a crisp, horrifying sound, the man’s eyes bulged as he collapsed to the ground. He clutched his throat, trying to speak, but only gouts of fresh blood spilled from his mouth.

CRASH. The secret realm shattered, and the man tumbled out. He was dutifully loaded onto a stretcher and removed from the exam.

The short girl had once again insta-killed her opponent, buying herself precious time to recover. This time, she hadn’t escaped completely unharmed. The layer of light on her forehead was shattered, and a cut had been opened on her brow, with blood trickling down her temple. But she seemed completely unconcerned. She wiped the blood away to keep it out of her eyes and ignored the wound.

’This girl’s destructive power is astounding!’ Shi Tiexin marveled.

In the Essence Qi Realm, a Martial Artist’s physical capabilities did indeed improve as they cultivated their essence. But this improvement was relatively limited, essentially staying within the range of a normal person. Even in the Old Era, an ordinary person who didn’t cultivate their essence could achieve similar results through sheer, extreme training.

The difference was that such extreme training exhausted one’s life force and potential, whereas cultivating essence nourished life and accumulated potential.

In essence, the two were worlds apart.

But on the surface, in a fight, there wasn’t much difference.

Especially when it came to destructive power. Cultivating essence certainly granted greater stamina and explosive force, but it wasn’t so easy as to let you crush a throat in one blow. And from the looks of that man, it wasn’t just a crushed throat; his spine was probably snapped as well. To cause that much devastating damage in the brief moment they crossed paths... Shi Tiexin knew he couldn’t do it, no matter how deep his own cultivation was.

After all, no matter how deep one’s cultivation, it was still just essence, not a piercing force.

"Losers, withdraw! Victors, continue! Merge!"

The pace grew ever more frantic. Every participant knew they couldn’t afford to drag out their fights. The longer their own match took, the more time they gave others to rest, meaning their next opponent would have a greater advantage. Because of this, no one was fighting a war of attrition.

This time, the short girl couldn’t completely repair her layer of light. She opened her eyes to see her next opponent: a man nearly two meters tall. He was powerfully built, with thick, brawny arms. He looked like trouble.

The man’s gaze immediately locked onto the short girl’s forehead. The light there was still cracked, and given their height difference, it was the perfect target for him.

"Ready—Begin!"

The man let out a low roar and charged at the short girl. He swung his massive arm, bringing it down on her head as if trying to smash her into a pulp.

This time, however, the short girl didn’t meet the attack recklessly with another headbutt. Instead, she flipped over in a peculiar way. Her legs seemed to undulate as if boneless, evading the massive arm. At the same time, her right hand formed a tiger’s mouth grip, her five fingers striking the man’s knee like a venomous snake.

’Snake Form?’

Shi Tiexin suddenly recognized it. The short girl was using Snake Form Fist, one of the Ancient Boxing Skills, and she was clearly an expert. There was a saying: ’An inch longer, an inch stronger; an inch shorter, an inch deadlier.’ The short girl was short in every respect, making her fighting style exceptionally deadly.

She moved like a true snake, coiling and weaving around the man. She was already a rare sight in this new era due to her short stature; when she crouched down, the man’s height made it almost impossible for him to hit her. Though he had the advantage of height, his footwork was clearly unstable. He had no way to deal with her circling movements, and she soon had him completely flustered.

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