Chapter Sixty-Two: Beautiful, Powerful, and Tragic (Eighth Update)

Bai Yushuang was exceedingly enthusiastic, yet Song Mingyue showed no interest whatsoever. She shook her head slightly to decline, unwilling even to speak with Bai Yushuang. This left Bai Yushuang somewhat frustrated. She turned to Gao Wu beside her, “How should I address you?”

Gao Wu was a little displeased as well—this person had come straight to Mingyue, and only after failing to engage her thought to speak to him. He wagged his finger at Bai Yushuang, “Sorry, you’ve missed your chance to be friends with me.”

“Alright then.” Bai Yushuang glanced regretfully at Song Mingyue. Such a uniquely graceful and radiant girl must be quite famous. Moreover, her attire was exquisitely refined, clearly indicating a distinguished background. If she wished, she could easily find her again.

She nodded elegantly to Song Mingyue, “I’m sure we’ll meet again.” After walking a few steps, Bai Yushuang suddenly turned back to Gao Wu, “I remember now—you’re that demon-slaying youth who’s all the rage online.”

Her beautiful sword-like brows arched as she spoke with a half-smile, “Number one in the world! Majestic and imposing. I hope I’ll have the chance to witness the might of the world’s best in the ring…”

Though she was taunting him to his face, Gao Wu, thick-skinned as he was, didn’t mind. He laughed heartily, “I’ll be waiting for you!”

Seeing Gao Wu laugh so confidently and boldly, Bai Yushuang was genuinely surprised. For someone to become an internet celebrity, he must possess some talent; if nothing else, his composure and bearing far surpassed that of ordinary youths.

Bai Yushuang lingered for another look at Song Mingyue before finally turning to leave.

Gao Wu grinned at Song Mingyue, “She’s taken a fancy to you.”

Song Mingyue answered coolly, “Excessive injections of pharmaceuticals cause hormonal turbulence, which can lead to confusion about one’s own gender—it’s quite common.”

She watched Bai Yushuang’s tall silhouette recede and mused, “Her hormone levels are steady; it’s more likely psychological.”

“How much chance do I have against her?” Gao Wu asked, curious.

“She’s close to the limits of martial artists in every aspect, but in the ring, she’s unlikely to pose much threat to you.” Song Mingyue considered for a moment, then added, “If she uses a sword, you’ll definitely lose. Her White Ape Sword has probably captured some of its essence.”

“So formidable?” Gao Wu was a little unconvinced, feeling his own swordsmanship was not lacking.

He was curious, “How can you tell her sword technique is so good?”

“Observation and intuition. Besides, the Bai family of Anjing is a top-tier clan, renowned for the White Ape Sword and fist techniques. With Bai Yushuang’s talent, she’s sure to have inherited the true teachings. She’ll definitely be faster than you, which gives her a huge edge with the sword.”

Song Mingyue cautioned Gao Wu, “Bai Yushuang is carefree and generous, but other Bai family members may not be. When dealing with prominent families, it’s best to be cautious.”

“I’ll listen to you,” Gao Wu replied obediently.

At nine-thirty in the morning, a committee chairman took the stage for a speech. A few minutes later, the preliminary round of the Xuetao Cup officially began. Shen Yue hurried in with his filming equipment.

He greeted Gao Wu and Song Mingyue, appearing particularly nervous in front of Song Mingyue. Using the excuse of filming, he quickly ran off with his camera.

With so many participants, Gao Wu, being a competitor himself, could only watch by ring number ten.

Yang Ru, Han Yang, and Yu Rulong each took the stage in turn and defeated their opponents.

This group was for the youth category, actually those under twenty-two years old. Many of the advanced martial artists were students at martial arts universities.

Gao Wu watched for quite a while, not recognizing a single person. These advanced martial artists were a few years older, but they had no real advantage over Yang Ru and the others.

Han Yang, in particular, was skilled and powerful in martial technique, his moves fast as the wind. In terms of agility, he might even surpass Gao Wu by a small margin.

If Gao Wu hadn’t used the adamantine serum, he’d have to slowly wear Han Yang down, only getting a chance to win by the third round.

Now, though, things had changed completely. With a strength rating of 10.5, he was already brushing against the threshold of a warrior. In the confined space of the ring, his sheer power was enough to suppress all martial artists.

What was even more frightening was the terrifying physical resilience he possessed; the adamantine serum had brought out the full advantage of his fifteen-point constitution, making him truly as tough as steel.

Weapons weren’t allowed in the ring, so other martial artists could hardly do anything to him. Coupled with his exceptional stamina, he could completely dominate all peers in this kind of match.

The battles proceeded swiftly. In less than an hour, it was Gao Wu’s turn to take the stage, and Shen Yue had returned as well.

Entering the ring, Gao Wu found his opponent was Bai Xiang.

This youth, over two meters tall, had an abnormal bluish-purple hue to his face, twisted facial muscles, and appeared fierce and menacing. Who knew how many pharmaceuticals he had taken, as there was even a faintly fishy odor emanating from him.

It was an unpleasant smell!

Gao Wu knew this was from excessive drug use, which had destroyed basic metabolism, causing acne and festering skin, and in turn, the whole body exuded a strange odor.

His Azure Dragon Vital Energy Mantra had reached the minor mastery stage, and Bai Xiang was the first formidable enemy he’d defeated. Bai Xiang’s competitiveness had left a deep impression on him.

It had only been two months since their battle, and Bai Xiang had already become like this, which gave Gao Wu complicated feelings.

To win at any cost, even damaging his own body—Bai Xiang was truly persistent. Gao Wu didn’t pity him; at eighteen, one must take responsibility for their choices.

He simply wondered, without the Infinite Merit Book and the Azure Dragon Vital Energy Mantra, would he have ended up like Bai Xiang? He couldn’t say.

Bai Xiang, however, wasn’t thinking so much. He was extremely serious—Gao Wu had slain demon god followers, and Bai Xiang felt a bit intimidated facing him now.

He quickly suppressed his uneasiness, let out a fierce yell, and lunged forward with a punch.

Through repeated injections, his punch strength had reached eleven hundred kilograms, and he could ignore pain, fighting without any need to consider defense.

Faced with Bai Xiang’s ferocity, Gao Wu casually deflected—the gap in strength was too great. Bai Xiang’s fist was easily redirected, sending his whole body uncontrollably charging to the side.

Gao Wu simultaneously struck upward with his palm, landing right on Bai Xiang’s chin. Though gentle, the blow was heavy, instantly knocking Bai Xiang unconscious.

In a single exchange, Bai Xiang collapsed flat on his back. Gao Wu grabbed his collar and softened his fall, letting the two-hundred-fifty-pound giant land lightly on the ring.

The referee hurriedly signaled the end of the match.

The spectators were all silent. Though Bai Xiang was lacking in many ways, his size was impressive, yet Gao Wu had knocked him out with effortless ease. The disparity was evident.

Shen Yue’s eyes widened—he knew Gao Wu was strong now, but hadn’t realized just how strong.

Last time, Gao Wu had barely scraped a win against Bai Xiang; this time, he defeated him in one move. Using Bai Xiang as a benchmark, Gao Wu’s progress was clear!

His phone was streaming from Gao Wu’s account, with several thousand viewers in the broadcast room. With three million followers, this was a sparse turnout, but Gao Wu rarely streamed, so his fans hadn’t formed a habit of watching live.

If not for the Xuetao Cup, even this many people wouldn’t have gathered.

Now, a flood of comments appeared in the stream: “Wow, awesome!” “Instant kill!” “So cool…”

Among the barrage, there were some scattered tips; evidently, everyone was quite satisfied with Gao Wu’s performance.

Han Yang’s expression was serious. He said to Yang Ru and Yu Rulong, “Gao Wu has gotten even stronger. Don’t try to be reckless if you face him.”

The gap between them and Gao Wu was obvious. Sparring was one thing, but if they were foolish enough to anger Gao Wu in the ring, the consequences would be dire.

In the second round, Yang Ru faced Gao Wu.

Yang Ru stood at a striking height of one meter eighty; her loose, bright red martial arts uniform couldn’t hide her graceful figure, and the color accentuated her snow-white skin. With almond eyes, red lips, and striking features, she was exceptionally beautiful.

Shen Yue focused his camera on Yang Ru, and the streaming room erupted in all sorts of exclamations.

“Beautiful, really beautiful!” “Strong and tragic!” “Why tragic?” “In my mind, always tragic!” “Shameless! I like it. You two are always tragic in my mind, hahaha…”

Shen Yue glanced at the chat—there were plenty of trolls online, but he ignored them. On the internet, everything depends on self-restraint; it’s hard to enforce rules, especially in just a streaming room.

Yang Ru, of course, couldn’t see the chat from the ring, and she had no mind to pay attention to anything else—her focus was entirely on Gao Wu.

Standing before Gao Wu, she felt enormous pressure.

“Please,” Gao Wu said politely, cupping his hands. Yang Ru returned the gesture, then gritted her teeth and launched herself at him.

She practiced the Heavenly Horse Fist—her movements rising and falling like a horse, her punches like a cavalryman thrusting a lance, all her power converging at her fists, agile and fierce, with great impact.

Gao Wu stood firm, unmoving, and casually blocked. The forceful punch, like a thrusting spear, was stopped dead in its tracks. Yang Ru’s expression changed; it felt as though she’d hit an iron wall, the shock reverberating back and numbing her arm, robbing it of strength.

“This guy’s body is so tough! Did he undergo bio-enhancement surgery?” Yang Ru was astonished, but had no time to dwell on it. She quickly pulled back her fist and raised her leg.

The best aspect of Heavenly Horse Fist was its kicking technique. Yang Ru’s high sweep was fast, light, and vicious. She saw that Gao Wu stood too relaxed, not even setting up a guard, so it was the perfect moment to kick.

Gao Wu casually raised his arm to block. There was a dull thud, and Yang Ru’s high sweep was stopped cold by his arm. It felt to her as if she’d struck an iron bar, her shin bone seemingly fractured.

The pain twisted Yang Ru’s beautiful face, slowing her movements. Gao Wu seized the opportunity, stepping forward and using his shoulder and arm to drive into Yang Ru’s chest. He used only a fraction of his strength, yet Yang Ru was sent flying.

Losing her balance, Yang Ru crashed two meters away, hitting the glass wall. She tried to push herself up, but one leg was so numb she couldn’t summon any strength, unable to get to her feet at once.

Yang Ru looked weakly at Gao Wu; she didn’t raise her hand to admit defeat, but in her heart, she had already conceded.

Gao Wu did not pursue her. Though he disliked Yang Ru and her friends’ arrogance, he saw no need for revenge.

The referee came over and signaled Gao Wu to stop, indicating the match was over. The gap was too vast; continuing would be pointless.

A flood of comments filled the streaming room, “Awesome, awesome!” “So gentle when fighting a woman—are you a simp…” “With such a beautiful girl, of course you should be gentle. That’s called cherishing beauty!”

Gao Wu couldn’t see the chat. Thinking that he might be teammates with Yang Ru in the future, he gently asked, “Yang, did I hurt you?”

Yang Ru was barely holding back tears, and that question nearly made her cry…