The Contest Rages OnSoon the round came to an end, the fourteen partic.i.p.ants that were left in the compet.i.tion, advanced to the next round.The ballot drew Bi Fan to be the first number and so his fight started on the first stage.Bi Fan’s opponent was much weaker, hadn’t even made it to the ‘inner breath’ layer yet, making it an easy contest, and allowing Bi Fan to move ahead with ease.In this round, both Teiniu and Li Shu won their fights easily; the other four partic.i.p.ants who won their fights were also lingering around ‘inner breath’ layer.Since there were only seven contestants left, one of them would be getting a bye, allowing him to go directly to the next round.A name was randomly picked from the ballot and Teiniu was awarded the bye. He started laughing on the spot, flashing his yellow teeth, which give others a sense of nausea. Teiniu obviously didn’t seem to care much.This time, Bi Fan’s opponent was a man name Yang Lin. He had already crossed into ‘inner breath’, had a plump build and carried a sneaky smile on his face.“Bi Fan; pleased to meet you.”“Yang Lin; pleased to meet you.”Bi Fan’s tone was very firm. As soon as the fight started, Yang Lin charged at Bi Fan very quickly, his movements symbolizing his love for violence.It was obvious that beating Yang Lin wasn’t going to be an easy task, and Bi Fan would have to seize any opportunity he could find.He attacked Bi Fan employing ‘Iron plate bridge’ technique, and Bi Fan dodged it. Yang Lin quickly steadied himself and turned around to face Bi Fan again. Bi Fan attacked with a sweeping kick, his legs moved at a lightning fast pace. Energetic and vigorous, he managed to connect the strike.Yang Lin rolled over and fell to the ground, unable to dodge Bi Fan’s counter.Yang Lin got up immediately, looking slightly embarra.s.sed.He took out a dagger from the folds of his clothes. It appeared to be a low grade magical weapon.“Bi Fan, you’re still going to lose. You might be stronger, but you will kneel before my dagger.” Yang Lin said, feeling rather proud.Bi Fan, in a cold voice retaliated: “I’d like to see you try.”Bi Fan habitually touched his chin, as if poking his beard, which he obviously didn’t have. This gesture of his looked rather funny.Many of the girls sitting in the stands chuckled at his action.“Bi Fan, what are you touching your chin for?” Muttered one of the Yunufeng girls from the stands.Yang Lin, still holding his dagger, charged at Bi Fan at an amazing speed.Bi Fan, who was usually easy to scare, stood there motionless, poking his imaginary beard.Xiaofeng screamed: “Bi Fan, what are you doing, get out of there quickly!”As the dagger came uncomfortably close to his body, Bi Fan unveiled a sly smile. His right hand came forth at a lightning fast speed, his two fingers moving directly towards the attacking dagger.“Bi Fan, you silly boy; you think you can thwart a dagger with just your fingers. Even though it’s a low quality magical weapon, it’s still a magical weapon! ” Most of the spectators commented.Bi Fan quickly used his ‘inner breath’ strength to cast out ‘the immortal finger’, not to attack, but to defend.With the ‘the immortal finger’ coming to his defense, and he caught the dagger right between his two fingers.Bi Fan’s fingers looked like they were made of gold and jade, sparkling and translucent at the same time.Yang Lin’s dagger stood motionless between Bi Fan’s fingers, no matter how hard Yang Lin tried to retrieve it.Bi Fan raised his left hand and punched Yang Lin in the face.Yang Lin had obtained this dagger with great difficulty and didn’t want to lose it at any cost.“Boom!”Bi Fan connected the hit perfectly; Yang Lin’s eye looked as black as a panda’s.Yang Lin shook his head, concussed and dizzy; he didn’t even know where he was walking, his hands still tightly clinching his dagger.“Go on!” Bi Fan said as pushed Yang Lin. Yang Lin was thrown out of the ring, along with his beloved dagger.“Ah!! Amazing!!…”“Handsomely done! Are his fingers made of diamond or something?”“Miraculous, fearless, he actually used the dagger to his advantage with those fingers!”…. ……. ……The crowd went ecstatic after Bi Fan display, Bi Fan was in the limelight again.Bi Fan didn’t pay any attention to any of it, and with an expressionless face, strolled back towards the stands.Ling Xin Ya looked over at Bi Fan from his seat and said: “This boy keeps a cool head on the battle field, looks like a very exciting talent. He is still young and innocent, could be vigorously trained into something great.”He immediately called out to his servant and asked him to investigate into Bi Fan’s life.“Bi Fan, show me your fingers.” Xiaofeng said, and without bothering to wait for his response, grabbed his fingers and looked at them carefully.“Hey, not even a single scratch! How did you do that?”As his hand was being held delicately by Xiaofeng’s soft and warm hands, he felt very comfortable.He closed his eyes, feeling intoxicated, and didn’t even hear what she was saying.Xiaofeng let go of his hand and said: “Say something, will you?”“What?” Bi Fan asked bewildered.“How did your hand not get hurt?” Xiaofeng was staring at Bi Fan, puzzled.Bi Fan replied: “I caught the dagger right between the fingers, and managed to avoid the blade.”“I think there more to it than that.” Xiaofeng retaliated, her eyes filled with doubt.“I’m telling the truth.” Bi Fan tried to defend himself.Soon, the other fights were decided, Li Shu won his fight with ease. The other partic.i.p.ant to go forward was a boy named Zhou Feng.With the last four remaining, there was now going to a stiff compet.i.tion for ranking, as the difference between third and fourth place was a ma.s.sive one.The numbers were drawn once again, and Bi Fan was matched with Teiniu. Li Shu would go up against Zhou Feng.For the next round, only one stage was set up, so everyone could watch the fights carefully.First, it was Bi Fan vs Teiniu, Bi Fan had just come onto the stage when suddenly, Teiniu said: “I give up!”Then, he turned towards Bi Fan and laughed: “You’re too strong; I’m no match for you.”A close look at Teiniu’s teeth was enough to kill a man, even Bi Fan couldn’t help but feel a little nauseated, and he hurriedly stepped down the stage, as if his life depended on it. Teiniu looked puzzled as he walked off the stage.Then it was time for Li Shu versus Zhou Feng, after the two made their salutes, the contest began.The winner in this fight would be competing against Bi Fan for first place, so naturally Bi Fan was watching very attentively.Zhou Feng and Li Shu were both considerably strong, and the two of them fighting against each other made for a very exciting contest.As the fierce contest unveiled in the ring, the spectators in the stands cheered louder and louder.Li Shu and Zhou Feng were both using very simple martial arts techniques, but the fight was very exciting, they were really getting the crowd going.Bi Fan was watching their fight very carefully; he wanted to get a good feel of their styles.It was no secret that if he could figure out how these two fight, then later it would be very useful for him. He could use this knowledge to gain an extra edge and use it to win.Li Shu and Zhou Feng were charging at each other recklessly, they had both sustained injuries, it was the semi-final after all, and they were both giving it their all. In the end, Li Shu emerged victorious.Next, a rest for one hour was announced. After the break, first the contest for the third and the fourth place would take place.The one hour pa.s.sed very quickly, Teiniu and Zhou Feng made their way to the stage.As Zhou Feng walked onto the stage, one could make out that he was in considerable physical discomfort, his injuries hadn’t healed properly.“Let the fight begin!”Teiniu again ran for his opponent, trying to put him in a hold, this was his only trick.Zhou Feng on the other hand, was a very skilled and flexible fighter; he dodged Teiniu and tried to open his attack up. Zhou Feng hit Teiniu with his palm.Teiniu had no skill, but had a very st.u.r.dy body, even though he took the hit, it barely made any difference to him.“Hey!” Teiniu grinned as once again went for the hold.He grabbed Zhou Feng by his feet and succeeded in completing his hold.Even though Zhou Feng was very quick in the beginning of the tournament, the injuries in the previous fights were taking their toll; he had become a lot slower. And this time, he was unable to dodge Teiniu.“I admit defeat.” Zhou Feng said, looking depressed.If he hadn’t had to fight Li Shu earlier, he would have beaten Teiniu quite easily.The award for the fourth place was very lowly compared to the third. The difference was the same as fourth and tenth place. And Zhou Feng’s face was dull with disappointment as he walked of the stage.