Gao Wu: Oh no! Young Master Zhen is a cultivator!

"I admit, you are indeed very strong, but that's where it ends!"

Ye Chen took a deep breath, pressed down with his left hand, and a spatial compression pressed down on Lin Ran from all directions.

The air becomes viscous under compression, and moving through it feels like walking through water.

"That's it?" Lin Ran's lips curled into a disdainful smile.

He moved quickly, seemingly unaffected.

As he spoke, several more punches landed.

Bang bang bang!

Ye Chen's forehead was covered in sweat. Maintaining the spatial barrier continuously was extremely taxing on him, and he couldn't keep going like this for long.

The thought had barely crossed his mind when he saw Lin Ran gather his strength and throw a punch.

boom!

The spatial barrier shattered, scattering like a broken mirror.

Before Ye Chen could rebuild the barrier, Lin Ran's fist had already stopped between his eyebrows.

The force of the punch carried a strong wind, blowing Ye Chen's hair back and revealing a face full of disbelief.

"I lost..." His voice was slightly bewildered.

Lin Ran won all five of his matches, bringing his total points to ten.

In the sixth round, Lin Ran will face Chu Xining.

Since the two had already decided their match in the group stage, this game was neither a win nor a loss.

Chu Xining simply conceded defeat, and Lin Ran scored another 2 points.

After everyone else finished playing, the tournament reached its final round.

Lin Ran versus Su Jin.

Compared to Sun Jinghuan, who was born into a martial arts family, Su Jin, who also possesses S-level fire-type talent, is clearly more hardworking.

Sun Jinghuan, who has inherited his family's legacy, is still only at the Tongqiao Realm, while Su Jin is already at the peak of the Inner Breath Realm.

If Su Jin had the same resources as Sun Jinghuan, he would probably have already broken through to the Innate Realm by now.

The two players went up on stage, and the referee announced the start of the match.

Su Jin flipped his hands over, and a ball of dark red flame condensed in each palm.

The flames constantly changed shape and shifted unpredictably.

He didn't rush to attack, but instead slowly moved his feet around the ring.

"I've studied your fighting style." Su Jin looked at Lin Ran, his voice calm: "You've been overwhelming him with sheer power the whole time, yet no one has been able to force you to use your full strength."

Lin Ran said with great interest, "I thought you didn't like to talk."

"I just don't like talking nonsense, but I'm very interested in you."

"Sorry, no thanks!"

Upon hearing this, Su Jin paused slightly, then said in a deep voice, "The way you talk is truly annoying!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he made the first move.

He flicked his fingers repeatedly, and several fist-sized fireballs shot out, their trajectories unpredictable, blocking Lin Ran's escape routes in all directions.

He then clenched his right hand, and all the fire beads exploded at the same time, turning into a cloud of fire mist that enveloped Lin Ran.

Lin Ran threw a punch, and the force of the punch dispersed the fire mist.

Taking advantage of the moment, Su Jin moved closer, holding a short blade formed of flame in each hand, and slashed at his waist and ribs from the left and right.

"Quite a few tricks up your sleeve." Lin Ran took a half step back to avoid the attack, and then slammed his right fist into Su Jin's crossed wrists from below.

The flames exploded, sending sparks flying.

Su Jin used the momentum to leap backward, but stumbled when he landed, his breathing becoming slightly rapid.

"That's all?" Lin Ran asked casually.

Su Jin frowned slightly, took a deep breath, and suddenly exerted force with his feet.

In an instant, a ring of fire rose from beneath Lin Ran's feet and rapidly contracted inward.

At the same time, another pillar of fire crashed down from above, attacking from both above and below.

A burst of energy erupted from Lin Ran's body, shattering the fire ring beneath his feet. He then sidestepped the pillar of fire above his head.

boom!

The pillar of fire slammed into the arena, melting a dark red crater into the alloy floor.

At the same time, he swayed and instantly closed in on Su Jin, delivering a punch straight to the center.

Su Jin hastily conjured a fire shield to block.

The fist struck the fire shield, shattering it. Su Jin was sent flying backward, a trace of blood on the corner of his mouth.

"Your skills are indeed exquisite." Lin Ran stood still, not pursuing. "But between the Inner Breath Realm and the Innate Realm, there is a wall you cannot cross."

Su Jin propped himself up and stood up, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.

He looked down at his slightly trembling hands, then chuckled, "Heh... an insurmountable wall?"

As he spoke, the spiritual energy within his body suddenly surged violently, and the surrounding fire elements seemed to be summoned, rushing madly towards him.

The flames in his palms quickly turned from dark red to blazing white, and the alloy arena beneath his feet began to soften, emitting a dark red glow.

In an instant, his cultivation level rose from the peak of the Inner Breath Realm to the early stage of the Innate Realm, and his aura surged.

"Heh! Interesting! A breakthrough at the last minute." Lin Ran finally looked Su Jin seriously: "It seems I underestimated you before."

Ye Chen and Ma Yiming were able to break through to the Innate Realm at this age not only because of their own efforts, but also because of the support and influence of their families.

For a martial artist like Su Jin, who has talent but no background, to achieve perfect inner cultivation before the martial arts exam, the effort he put in is far beyond that of ordinary people.

Looking back now, it's clear that this guy's breakthrough on the stage wasn't solely due to talent and hard work.

This person has a bit of luck about them.

"Now, please be more serious!" Su Jin looked at Lin Ran, his eyes filled with fighting spirit.

Lin Ran raised an eyebrow and replied, "As you wish."

Su Jin shook his arms, and nine pillars of fire rose simultaneously from around Lin Ran, intertwining and rotating to form a cage of flames.

Bang!

Lin Ran unleashed a punch, the force of which shook the pillar of fire until it teetered on the brink of collapse.

Bang!

With another punch, the pillar of fire in front of him vanished instantly.

"I know this move won't hold you back." Su Jin leaped into the air, all the flames on his body gathering in his right arm, transforming into a blazing white flame spear several meters long.

The gun barrel was solid as a physical object, and the tip was pointed directly at Lin Ran.

"Please enlighten me on this shot!"

The flaming spear slipped from his hand and fell to the ground like a meteor.

Lin Ran looked up, a slight smile playing on his lips: "Not bad."

He raised his hand to gather strength, and then suddenly threw a punch.

boom!

The fist energy and the flame spear collided in mid-air, and the shockwave swept outwards.

The protective shield trembled violently, and cracks spread from the center of the impact.

The blazing white flames engulfed the entire arena, and the audience instinctively raised their hands to shield their eyes.

The light faded.

Su Jin knelt on one knee, his right arm training clothes turned to ashes, and his fingertips trembled slightly.

His spiritual energy was completely exhausted, and he didn't even have the strength to stand up.

"I lost." Su Jin raised his head, a self-deprecating smile on his face. "It seems you held back after all."

Lin Ran shrugged: "After all, I've been at the Innate Realm for a long time, while you just broke through."

"That makes sense." Su nodded and turned to walk off the stage.

Lin Ran won all seven matches, accumulating fourteen points and securing the championship.

After the final few matches, the final rankings began to scroll across the screen.

Lin Ran's name was at the top of the list, followed by Ye Chen, Ma Yiming, Chu Xining, Su Jin, Wang Lin, Zeng Aniu, and Li Feiyu.

Xinhai No. 1 Middle School occupied two of the top eight spots, while Su Jin from Xinhai No. 7 Middle School ranked sixth.

On the stands, Zhang Qichuan's smile was so wide it almost stretched to his ears.

The host returned to the stage and gestured for silence from the audience.

"After fierce competition, the final rankings of the top sixteen have been determined. Let's give these sixteen students another round of applause!"

Whoosh!

The audience erupted in applause, with Zhang Qichuan clapping with extra force.

The middle-aged man next to him, who had been pounding his chest and stamping his feet earlier, also started clapping, muttering that Xinhai City had truly stood up this year.

As the applause subsided, the host turned to face the podium above the stands and raised his voice a few octaves.

"As you all know, Senior Ye Wufeng, the Martial Saint of Canglan, has personally graced the martial arts examination with his presence. Next, please welcome the Martial Saint of Canglan to present prizes to the sixteen students!"

Another round of applause erupted in the arena.

Whoosh!

Ye Wufeng rose from the center of the podium and strode towards the ring.

Sixteen hostesses dressed in cheongsams filed out, each carrying a mahogany tray, following closely behind.

The Xuanhuang Cauldron in Lin Ran's sea of ​​consciousness trembled violently, and that familiar restlessness surged from between his eyebrows.

His gaze was fixed on the tray at the very front, beneath which lay the items he needed, set against a purple silk veil.