Zhou Chen smiled arrogantly and took a step forward. He was taller and more muscular than Qingyan, with defined muscles visible beneath his combat robe. His Mid Foundation Establishment aura was clear and oppressive.
"Finally…" he said loudly so everyone could hear. "A slut with a princess face. That black dress looks good on you, but it would look even better on the ground, with you on your knees."
The crowd burst into laughter and whistles. Some disciples shouted crude comments.
Qingyan didn't respond. Her expression remained cold and distant, as if the young man's words weren't worth the air he used to speak them. She simply looked at him with those dark violet eyes full of indifference.
Zhou Chen attacked first.
He lunged forward with surprising speed for his level. His right fist cut through the air with a whistle, loaded with solid, heavy Qi. It was a direct, brutal strike without refined technique, but with raw power capable of breaking bones.
Qingyan moved at the last instant.
Her body leaned slightly to the side, dodging the fist by centimeters. The displaced air from the punch stirred her black hair and the fabric of her black dress.
Zhou Chen didn't stop. He spun and launched a low circular kick, aiming to sweep her legs.
"Come on, slut! Move faster if you don't want me grabbing that ass you keep shaking!"
Qingyan leaped lightly, dodging the kick. In mid-air, she twisted and delivered an open-palm strike to her opponent's shoulder. The impact was precise and clean. Zhou Chen staggered back two steps, but smiled with even more arrogance.
"Good! Finally someone who knows how to move! But that won't save you, whore. When I'm done with you, I'm going to drag you out of the arena and teach you what that body of yours is really for."
Qingyan felt the cold anger of the former Emperor ignite inside her.
She said nothing.
Instead, she attacked.
She disappeared again and reappeared to Zhou Chen's left. Her fist struck the young man's side with force. This time the impact was stronger. Zhou Chen grunted and retreated, but countered with a downward elbow strike.
The two began exchanging blows at a speed that left most spectators stunned.
Zhou Chen was stronger in raw power. Each of his strikes carried heavy force that made the air tremble. Qingyan was faster and more precise. Her attacks were surgical, targeting vital points and creating openings in her opponent's defense.
But it wasn't easy.
Zhou Chen was good. Very good for his age. His Mid Foundation Establishment gave him a resistance and power that Qingyan, still at Initial Foundation Establishment, had to compensate for with technique and millennia of experience.
"Ha! You're fast, but not fast enough!" Zhou Chen shouted as he unleashed a chain of punches. "When I defeat you, I'm going to enjoy breaking that slutty body of yours!"
Qingyan dodged two punches and blocked the third with her forearm. The impact forced her back half a step. She felt the pain in her arm, but she also felt something else: a rage that made her Qi flow with greater force.
Her eyes narrowed.
The next time Zhou Chen attacked, Qingyan didn't just dodge.
She counterattacked with greater intensity.
Her palm struck Zhou Chen's chest with a dull thud. The young man flew several meters backward before regaining his balance, coughing.
The crowd shouted.
Qingyan stood motionless in the center of the arena, breathing calmly, but her eyes were no longer indifferent.
They were cold.
Dangerous.
Zhou Chen wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and smiled more cruelly.
"Good… now I'm really starting to like you, whore."
Li Wei, from the platform, watched everything with an intense gaze, not missing a single detail of Qingyan's body every time she moved.
Zhou Chen took a step forward. His arrogant expression transformed into something darker, more serious. The lewd smile disappeared, replaced by a cold and calculating gaze. He flexed his shoulders, and his Mid Foundation Establishment Qi exploded around him like a heavy wave, making the arena floor vibrate slightly.
"Good…" the young man murmured, loud enough for everyone to hear. "I'm done playing with you, slut. That ass you keep shaking isn't going to save you now."
Qingyan didn't respond. Her face remained impassive, cold, arrogant. Only her dark violet eyes gleamed with a flash of contempt.
The real fight began.
Zhou Chen attacked first with brutal speed. His right fist sliced through the air with an audible whistle, loaded with dense, heavy Qi. It wasn't an ordinary strike; it was an academy technique, "Falling Mountain Fist," designed to shatter defenses and crush bones.
Qingyan moved at the last instant. Her body leaned gracefully to the side, dodging the fist by barely a centimeter. The displaced air stirred her black hair and the fabric of her black dress. Before Zhou Chen could regain his balance, she counterattacked with an open palm aimed at the side of his torso.
The impact sounded like a dry thunderclap.
Zhou Chen staggered back three steps, coughing. A red mark appeared on his side, but he smiled with even greater ferocity.
"Not bad!" he shouted. "But if you think that's enough, you're very wrong, whore. When I'm done with you, I'm going to enjoy breaking that body everyone keeps staring at."
The crowd roared. Some whistled, others shouted crude insults at Qingyan.
Li Wei, from the judges' platform, watched without blinking. His eyes followed every movement of the young woman, especially the way her black dress tightened over her large, round ass every time she moved.
Zhou Chen gave no quarter. He unleashed a chain of punches, each one stronger than the last. His strikes were like hammers, loaded with solid Qi. The air filled with explosions every time Qingyan dodged or blocked them with her forearms.
She felt the power behind every impact. Zhou Chen was stronger in raw force. His Mid Foundation Establishment gave him resistance and power that she, still at Initial Foundation Establishment, had to compensate for with technique and experience.
One fist grazed her cheek. Another struck her shoulder, forcing her back a step. The pain was sharp, but Qingyan made no sound. Instead, she spun and delivered a high circular kick, striking Zhou Chen's jaw with her heel.
The young man flew several meters backward before landing on his feet, spitting blood.
"Fuck!" he roared, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "You're fast, slut! But that won't save you. When I have you on the ground, I'm going to enjoy touching every part of that body of yours. That big ass… those tits… I'm going to make you beg."
Qingyan felt rage building inside her. It wasn't just the insult. It was the public humiliation, the eyes of hundreds of people, the way Li Wei watched her from the platform as if she already belonged to him.
Her Qi responded to the fury.
She attacked again.
This time it wasn't just speed. It was precision and power. She appeared in front of Zhou Chen and unleashed a series of short, rapid strikes to his torso. Each palm hit vital points with surgical accuracy. Zhou Chen blocked some, but others landed and made him grunt in pain.
The fight grew more intense.
The two moved across the arena like shadows. Zhou Chen used heavy, direct techniques, trying to crush her with brute force. Qingyan responded with fluid movements, precise dodges, and lethal counterattacks. Every time he insulted her, she answered with greater force, her strikes gaining intensity.
"Arrogant whore!" Zhou Chen shouted as he launched a downward kick that Qingyan blocked with both arms. "When I defeat you, I'm going to fuck you in front of the entire academy so everyone can see what you really are!"
Qingyan felt a treacherous heat in her lower abdomen, but she ignored it. Her mind was pure ice.
She spun and delivered an elbow strike that slammed into Zhou Chen's ribs. The young man retreated, coughing blood, but smiled with madness.
"Yes! That's what I like! Show me more, slut!"
The fight had already lasted more than ten minutes. The arena was covered in Qi marks and cracks. The spectators were silent, hypnotized. They had never seen such an intense final between applicants.
Zhou Chen was breathing heavily. His robe was torn in several places and he had visible bruises. But his expression was one of pure determination.
"Good… enough games," he growled.
He activated a more powerful technique. His Qi became denser, almost visible as a dark brown aura around his body. "Unbreakable Iron Mountain," a high-level combined defense and attack technique for Mid Foundation Establishment.
He charged at Qingyan like an enraged bull.
Qingyan dodged the first strike, but the second caught her squarely in the shoulder. The impact sent her flying several meters backward. She rolled across the ground but rose almost instantly. She had a dark bruise on her shoulder, but her expression didn't change.
Inside, the Immortal Emperor's fury burned.
"This insect… dares to touch me."
She responded with even greater force.
Her movements became faster, more precise. She used forbidden techniques from her previous life, adapted to her current level. Strikes aimed at meridians, weak points, and the very structure of her opponent's Qi.
Zhou Chen began to retreat. His defenses were cracking. Every time he tried to counterattack, Qingyan was already somewhere else, striking from an impossible angle.
"Damn you!" he roared, launching a final punch loaded with all his Qi.
Qingyan didn't dodge.
Instead, she raised her right palm and channeled all her power into a single attack.
It was a technique she remembered from her life as the Immortal Emperor: "Palm of the Fallen Dragon."
A simple, almost elegant palm strike.
But when it collided with Zhou Chen's fist, the result was devastating.
An explosion of black and violet Qi erupted in the center of the arena. The impact was so strong that the ground cracked in a ten-meter radius.
Zhou Chen's eyes widened in terror.
Qingyan's Qi pierced his defense like a spear. His arm broke with an audible crack. The force continued into his chest, shattering ribs and damaging internal organs.
The young man flew backward like a rag doll, slamming into the edge of the arena. He fell to his knees, spitting black blood.
Qingyan stood in the center, breathing calmly. Her black dress was intact. Not a drop of blood on her skin.
Zhou Chen tried to say something, but only a gurgle came out. His eyes dimmed.
He collapsed face-first, dead.
An absolute silence fell over the plaza.
Then, chaos.
Shouts, exclamations, some applause, many murmurs of shock.
Li Wei rose from his seat, his eyes shining with interest and desire.
Qingyan stepped down from the arena without looking at the corpse. Her expression remained the same: cold, arrogant, untouchable.