Chapter 464: Taking the Stage

When Lin Xiao’s gaze fell on Tian Junliang, the latter seemed to sense something and turned his head to glance in Lin Xiao’s direction. Yet, he saw nothing. A trace of surprise appeared on his face.

“Master, is something wrong?” Lei Wen, seated behind Tian Junliang, asked in a low voice.

Tian Junliang withdrew his gaze, his expression returning to calm. He placed both hands on the armrests of the grand chair and said lightly, “It’s nothing. Perhaps I was overthinking.”

‘As expected of someone standing at the pinnacle of the southern martial world. His perception is indeed sharp. I only released a trace of my aura, and even from this distance, he sensed it.’

Lin Xiao’s eyes were slightly closed as he pondered inwardly.

‘Seems like this West Sea Sect Master is on the verge of breaking through to Flowing Force.’

Tian Junliang was the strongest person Lin Xiao had encountered thus far—stronger even than Lei Qianting. Though he was at peak Dark Force, in Lin Xiao’s senses, he could break through to Flowing Force at any moment.

In the next half hour, martial artists arrived one after another. The seats around the ring quickly filled. Except for a few who were extremely confident in their strength, most wore solemn expressions and remained silent.

Dong!

Suddenly, a resounding bell rang out, echoing throughout the hall.

The bell signaled the start of the tournament. All conversations ceased automatically, and the vast venue fell into utter silence.

Dong!

Dong!

The bell rang three times in total, each louder than the last. It reverberated so powerfully that it made everyone’s eardrums buzz. A few weaker martial artists even showed discomfort on their faces.

When the bell faded, Xue Fanjia gave a slight nod to the other three before leaping into the air like a great eagle. With a few steps, he landed in the center square arena.

“Fellow martial artists, I am Xue Fanjia, Master of the Southern Martial Alliance. The annual Southern Martial Exchange Conference begins now. This year’s conference differs from previous ones. It will focus on live combat, which is why we’ve set up these nine arenas. The rules are already known to all, so I won’t repeat them. Anyone who steps onto the platform is considered to have signed a life-and-death contract. If one falls in battle, the opposing party bears no responsibility.”

Xue Fanjia was thin and dry-looking, but his voice rang out like a mighty bell, echoing through the hall, carrying an unmistakable edge of coldness.

“Of course, if one side concedes or is knocked off the platform, the other must stop immediately. Further action would be a violation of the rules, and consequences will follow. I hereby declare the martial hall assessment officially open.”

After speaking, Xue Fanjia leapt down from the stage and sat back in his grand chair.

Next, a man in a white suit who looked like a host stepped into the open space in front of the stage, holding a microphone. He began calling out numbers from a sheet of paper.

Every martial hall called had to send someone onto the platform to accept challenges. Each hall had one chance to challenge and one chance to be challenged, with the option to switch participants midway.

If no challenger stepped forward, the Southern Martial Alliance would send its own experts to assess them.

While the rules weren’t flawless, they left little room for exploitation.

The assessments proceeded from lowest to highest, starting with Class D martial halls, ending with Class A.

As the host called out numbers, martial artists took the stage one by one to face their assessments. But their skills were too weak to hold Lin Xiao’s interest, so he closed his eyes and rested.

Two hours later—

“Number 233, Chen Martial Hall, step forward for assessment!”

Lin Xiao heard the host’s voice.

He opened his eyes and turned to glance at Chen Lingxin, who happened to be looking at him.

Her eyes were bright and full of self-confidence and fighting spirit. “Master, it’s our turn. May I go up first?”

“Go ahead. I’ll hold the line behind you.”

The two of them stood up from their seats and walked toward the platform, one in front of the other.

As Lin Xiao rose, countless eyes locked onto him.

Among the martial artists present, many had witnessed his defeat of An Baichen and remembered him clearly.

“Look, it’s that young expert!”

“He’s from a Class B martial hall? Are you kidding me?”

“With his strength, he’d be more than qualified to be the head of a Class A martial hall. Something must be wrong here.”

“Shh, say no more. Let’s just watch. Plenty of people think the Chen Martial Hall is an easy target. I’m looking forward to seeing their expressions later.”

Among the crowd, many from Jiangnan Province had complicated feelings upon seeing Lin Xiao.

“I didn’t expect… Master Lin really came, and under the name of Chen Martial Hall.” A martial artist from Jiangnan Province sat upright, eyes fixed on Lin Xiao’s back, his tone full of envy. “Chen Martial Hall really struck gold.”

Many others shared this sentiment, feeling both envious and jealous.

With Lin Xiao present, Chen Martial Hall’s passing the assessment was all but guaranteed. Advancing further was also entirely possible.

Yang Yuanji touched his chin, visibly relieved. “With Master Lin here, that girl Chen Lingxin shouldn’t run into any danger. Now I can relax.”

Lin Xiao and Chen Lingxin arrived at one of the circular platforms.

Chen Lingxin turned to him and said, “Master, I’m going up now.”

“Go on. Fight with everything you’ve got. Don’t worry about anything else. Even if you lose, I’m here.” Lin Xiao waved his hand.

Chen Lingxin nodded firmly and turned, leaping onto the stage.

At the same moment she stepped onto the platform, over a dozen figures burst from the audience and charged toward her arena.

Leading the charge was a burly man with a face full of flesh. He was closest to the platform and ran the fastest. In just a few seconds, he was on the stage.

This man stood nearly 1.9 meters tall, built like a bear. His arms were thicker than Chen Lingxin’s, creating an extreme contrast in size.

“Heheheh… Looks like I got lucky. First one up.”

The burly man’s eyes gleamed as he swept his gaze over Chen Lingxin’s graceful figure, letting out a string of creepy laughs.

“Little lady, you’re way too pretty. I’d hate to mess up that face. How about you just admit defeat, so I don’t have to beat you black and blue? Wouldn’t that be a shame?”

Chen Lingxin’s expression remained icy. She ignored his taunts completely.

She stomped the ground, springing forward like a coiled spring—fast as lightning.

In a flash, she crossed the three-meter gap.

In the blink of an eye, she was in front of the burly man. Her left hand guarded her side, keeping calm and reserved, while her right fist struck toward his chest.

Chen-Style Fist Technique—Power Form!

Due to being female, Chen Lingxin had a natural disadvantage in terms of strength and couldn’t execute the hard-hitting, forceful version of the Chen-style fist. But she was highly talented and, with Lin Xiao’s guidance, had developed a new approach—focused on speed and agility.

Her version of the Chen-Style Fist had one defining trait: speed—blazing speed.

In martial arts, speed is invincibility.

This old saying might be an exaggeration for the average person, but among martial artists, it still held a measure of truth.

Speed could sometimes equal power—the higher the speed, the greater the impact. It compensated for the gap in strength between her and her opponent.