Yu Fei launched his attack.
Pushing his abilities to their absolute limit, he used the yin force of Yin Stream Shattered Jade to bind his own piercing, steel-like force.
It was like trying to steer nine wild stallions through a winding path with a single, thin rope—the slightest misstep, and he would lose control.
This state consumed a massive amount of his Qi Blood.
"Twenty seconds!"
Yu Fei calculated his consumption rate.
'I have to end this fast!'
Yu Fei's left hand suddenly formed a claw, tearing toward the corner of Zuo Qiuming's mouth.
The moment Yu Fei attacked, Zuo Qiuming had already dodged. Yu Fei's yin force erupted again and again as he forcibly changed his targets—
Shoulder, chest, throat, Dantian, and even his groin.
A single strike twisted into nine variations, contorting Yu Fei's body.
Zuo Qiuming looked like he was performing a bizarre robot dance. Fine beads of sweat broke out on his forehead.
'I can't keep up!'
From Zuo Qiuming's perspective, the complexity of Yu Fei's attacks had suddenly increased by forty or fifty percent.
He could sense the attack trajectories, but his reactions and movements couldn't keep up. He could only rely on instinct to make small evasive maneuvers, but it was no use.
Suddenly, Zuo Qiuming felt a sharp pain in his chest as a fist slammed into him, his blocking form faltering.
As if starting a chain reaction, the blow shattered Zuo Qiuming's defensive rhythm, creating an opening in his guard.
Yu Fei's fists immediately exploited the opening. In less than three seconds, Zuo Qiuming's defense was shattered.
Pausing briefly to gather his strength, Yu Fei viciously slammed three punches into Zuo Qiuming's chest.
His vision instantly went black. Zuo Qiuming couldn't muster any strength; he stumbled and collapsed, unable to get back up.
The referee declared Yu Fei victorious! Afterward, Yu Fei leaned against the edge of the ring, panting.
He was at his limit!
But then Yu Fei checked the Fate-Defying Pearl: he had acquired the [Insight] talent.
A brilliant purple light, magnificent and noble!
"Score!"
Yu Fei looked completely satisfied.
Below the stage, Yan Sea wore a grim expression. Normally, with a certain level of mastery in Yin Stream Shattered Jade, one could rein in their force to alter their techniques, but there were limits.
Generally speaking, at the introductory level of Yin Stream Shattered Jade, you could alter a move once; at minor completion, two or three times; and at major completion, no more than five times.
But Yu Fei's performance in the ring was completely unorthodox. From his observations, Yu Fei could execute a single strike with nine variations. Yet, based on his form, it looked like he had only just reached major completion in Yin Stream Shattered Jade. How was that possible?
And as for that Zuo Qiuming, his Yin Stream Shattered Jade hadn't even reached the minor completion stage. What was even more unorthodox was that he seemed to predict the direction of Yu Fei's attacks before he even threw a punch.
Forget some low-level Martial Artist—even he himself couldn't do that. Yan Sea could beat Yu Fei to a pulp, but he couldn't predict every single one of his attacks.
"What a pair of freaks!"
Yan Sea was deeply unsettled.
He had always stressed the importance of willpower because most people in the world were ordinary, just like him. Talent was pre-determined; if you didn't want to resign yourself to your fate, the only thing you could do was fight with sheer willpower.
But some talents just defied all logic.
Like those two hackers on the stage... At the same cultivation realm, they probably had few rivals.
Yan Sea thought, his brain short-circuiting.
'An ordinary Martial Artist really does have to rely on willpower!'
Zuo Qiuming was taken away for medical treatment. No sooner had Yu Fei returned to the lounge than a staff member brought him a bottle of Spring Dew.
Gao Yunxiang had given him a bottle of Spring Dew before. It was incredibly effective at restoring Qi Blood!
"Mr. Yu Fei, the head referee noticed your Qi Blood consumption during the last match was quite high. Per regulations, we are to provide you with a restorative for your Qi Blood. Please accept it and sign for it."
The person who arrived was a curvaceous young woman in a black, form-fitting skirt and a small white blouse. The top buttons were strained to their limit, looking as if they might burst at any moment.
Yu Fei immediately felt his Qi and Blood surge for a whole new reason, and his mouth went dry.
He suddenly wanted to chat a bit longer. Not for any particular reason, of course—he just wanted to know why he hadn't received this "perk" after his first two matches!
"Are there specific rules for receiving Spring Dew? I don't think I got one for my last two fights."
"Our head referee is an Inner Qi Realm Martial Artist, so it's up to his discretion. Besides Spring Dew, there are two other types of restoratives, given out based on the degree of Qi Blood consumption. Your expenditure in the first two matches wasn't considered significant. Do you have any other questions?"
Looking at the clipboard the young woman held out, Yu Fei hesitated before speaking.
"Uh… do you have a pen? I didn't bring one!"
The young woman pulled a black gel pen from her breast pocket. Yu Fei took it. It was still warm in his hand, with an almost soft, supple feel.
After signing, Yu Fei picked up the Spring Dew and downed it in one gulp. A pleasant warmth instantly spread from his stomach throughout his entire body. His fatigue washed away, and his Qi Blood rapidly recovered.
The young woman watched Yu Fei finish the potion but didn't leave. She simply gazed at him softly, her eyes occasionally flicking down to the pen in his hand.
Yu Fei acted oblivious.
The young woman had no choice but to speak up, clearing her throat.
"Mr. Yu Fei, could I have my pen back, please?"
Yu Fei glanced at the pen, then immediately stuffed it into his pocket.
"What pen? I didn't see any pen!"
"???"
"Please, I'm begging you, give me the pen back. I've already lost a dozen of them this morning!"
The young woman's expression was desperate.
Yu Fei scratched his head and looked around. "I haven't seen your pen. Really, you have to believe me!"
"Hmph!"
The young woman stomped her foot, clutched her clipboard, and stormed off in a huff.
Yu Fei stared dazedly at her retreating figure. With his seven-times-normal reaction speed, he could make out every detail—the friction of the fabric against her skin, the swaying of her soft, full curves. He zoned out for a moment.
"Nice…"
The young woman stormed back to the service desk. Seeing her supervisor checking a list, she leaned in and spoke softly.
"Ma'am… I need to request another box of pens…"
"Didn't you just get a box this morning?"
"Those awful guys… they take my pens and never give them back…"
"If you stopped sticking your pens in your blouse and clipped them to your folder instead, maybe people wouldn't take them."
"Really? Why is that?"
The supervisor glanced at the young woman's ample chest, then down at her own shoes, and suddenly lost the will to speak.
"Do you want the pens or not!"
"Yes, yes! I do!"
"..."
Once the Spring Dew took full effect, Yu Fei went out to let Yan Sea know he was heading back. Wang Jiale's match hadn't started yet, and Yan Sea needed to be there for him.
Yu Miao went back to the hotel with him. She wanted to chat for a bit, but Yu Fei refused.
"I'm going to take a nap!"
Yu Miao was taken aback.
"It's only ten-thirty in the morning. Why are you going to sleep?"
Yu Fei's match today had been early, but his afternoon bout was much later, not starting until four-thirty.
Yu Miao couldn't understand. He'd been up for less than five hours—what was there to sleep about?
Yu Fei put on a grave expression, his eyes filled with profound meaning.
"You're not a Martial Artist, so you wouldn't get it. My opponent and I just engaged in a profound spiritual battle on the stage. My Spiritual Power is completely drained, and I'm in desperate need of rest!"
Yu Miao aimed a kick at him, which Yu Fei easily dodged.
"Do I look like an idiot? A 'spiritual battle'? Someone at your level isn't even qualified for that!"
Even though she wasn't a Martial Artist, she still knew a thing or two about them. Spiritual battles were something only Grandmasters were capable of.
Online, there was plenty of discussion about low-level Martial Artists and Grandmasters. The truly mysterious ones were the Martial Artists of the fourth, fifth, and sixth realms.
"Er… I need to be alone for an hour or two. The reason is... a secret!"
'I can't believe Sis is this sharp,' he thought. 'I can't fool her.'
Yu Miao gave Yu Fei a suspicious look. "You're not… going to do anything shady, are you?"
"Shady? Like what?"
"Get lost!"
Lying on his bed, Yu Fei prepared to examine the effects of his new [Insight] talent.
He guessed the talent would be a great aid in combat but wouldn't help much with his actual cultivation, since its original owner wasn't all that powerful to begin with.
In any case, he was definitely going to equip this talent. If he only had three talent slots, he might have hesitated. But as long as he had enough energy, the Fate-Defying Pearl could unlock new slots, so he didn't need to worry about encountering a better talent later and being unable to use it.