Chapter 281 All In!
At Fang Qiu's request, six people had already leaped into the ring soon. Along with the other four, there were now 10 people in it.
At a glance, at least seven of them were at peak level martial arts practitioners.
Therefore, Fang Qiu reduced his own power to that of a peak level martial arts practitioner and readied himself to fight all 10 of them.
Below the arena.
Everyone watched as Fang Qiu prepared to fight against the 10 men and immediately began to discuss among themselves.
"Wow, one against 10. This is the first time I've seen something like that. We're in for a treat!"
"Yeah, we don't get to see this often."
"In this case, I'm afraid Senior John Doe over there might be unable to win 10 experts of this level if he doesn't use internal Qi."
"After all, he's taking on 10 challengers at once. It'll be hard to predict who'll prevail."
"We've always believed that there is strength in numbers. Furthermore, those 10 are nearly as strong as each other. The unknown fellow's abilities have been suppressed to about that of theirs. That's to say that he needs to be able to put an all-round plan into action to deal with all of them. Also, he needs to be quicker than them."
"I think this match is 50-50."
The discussions continued. Everyone felt that even though Fang Qiu was strong, it would be a stretch for him to take on 10 opponents at the same time. As such, subconsciously, they began to believe that Fang Qiu would lose.
However, what unfolded next shocked everyone greatly!
They saw the 10 surround Fang Qiu once the match began, and they came at him from all directions.
However, Fang Qiu moved with great flexibility, as if he was a silver, glittering fish swimming in an ocean. He moved with great agility, darting in and out of the group of opponents.
The 10 could not even lay a finger on Fang Qiu.
As for Fang Qiu himself...
...even though he could not continue taking down his opponents one by one with a blow each, the result was still the same.
In the short span of a minute, the 10 challengers were defeated!
This shocked the crowd watching below the arena.
They could sense that Fang Qiu's strength was indeed suppressed and at peak martial arts practitioner level. It did not surpass this level in the least bit, and he did not use internal Qi at all.
It also meant that in terms of ability, Fang Qiu was similar to any single one of his opponents.
However, the result was startling.
Fang Qiu had won without a doubt, even though he had taken on 10 challengers at the same time!
It was an eye-opener for everyone who was watching.
This meant that footwork and speed were also an essential part of one's abilities. One's level of cultivation and strength were not the only deciding factors in a fight.
Fang Qiu asked with a sigh, "How many more of you are there?" after defeating all 10 opponents.
"There are still 15 more."
The emcee's voice came from beneath the ring. "As we predicted that there might not be enough time to hold too many matches, we only accepted 20 registrations. Including the five that registered earlier on, there are a total of 25 challengers."
Upon hearing that, Fang Qiu nodded. "In that case, let all of them come!" he then said.
After he said that, the audiences beneath the ring were stunned.
Wasn't 10 at a time enough?
Now, he wanted all 25 challengers to attack him in one go?
John Doe's overbearing nature was revealed entirely now!
At first, everyone believed that one against 10 was already something mindblowing. However, no one expected that Fang Qiu would request to take on 25 people on his own accord. It was unbelievable.
In the meantime.
"Whoosh..."
The sound of a strong gush of wind could be heard.
An older man leaped into the manor from a distance away rapidly.
Upon a closer look, one could tell that the older man was muscular, and he had a full head of white hair. His face was a little gaunt-looking, and he wore a set of navy blue martial arts practitioner attire. He seemed to be very energetic.
His eagle eyes were extremely sharp, and he gave everyone a feeling that he was an extraordinary person as he swept his gaze across them.
"Elder Zhou."
Elder Yi immediately walked forward upon noticing the old man.
"Elder Yi, is that the mysterious and anonymous person you told me about?" Elder Zhou asked.
"That's him alright."
Elder Yi nodded.
"Isn't he behaving far too impudently?" Elder Zhou asked indifferently as he glanced at Fang Qiu, who was still in the ring.
"I heard that his wish to take on 25 challengers the moment I arrived. He seems to be able to suppress his skill level to make it look as though it's on par with his opponents before taking on all of them. Don't you think that he's gone too far?"
"He really is."
Elder Yi nodded before shaking his head and laughing bitterly. "However, he has been able to back himself up!"
"Back himself up?"
Elder Zhou grunted coldly before continuing. "Martial arts practitioners are no match for an internal Qi expert. So what if he's able to defeat 25 of them?"
On the arena.
"Indeed!"
Fang Qiu was sure of his deduction after defeating 10 opponents.
He realized that the more opponents he faced, the greater pressure he would feel.
Under such pressure, the amount of internal force that his body would channel under such dangerous situations would be greater.
In fact, he could very clearly sense that a portion of internal force that he could channel was never used by him before.
It made him feel as though he was a millionaire who had hidden all his money in many different corners of his own house. Without being able to find them, he would be unable to use them. He would discover he was so rich only when he saw his money and held them in his hands.
Fang Qiu understood now.
His body had already developed by a great deal when he last began cultivation. He was only using one-tenth of his body's capabilities currently.
He could use this power anytime we wished, but he could sense that it was also his current limit.
The other 90 percent of his body's capability would push him to the extreme.
What he needed to do was to keep breaking through his limits to force all of his potentials out.
Of course, 10 percent was just an estimate.
Fang Qiu was also clear that he could never achieve perfect mastery of his own body. This was because his potential would increase every time he made a breakthrough.
In simpler words, if Fang Qiu's internal Qi was an ordinary river that was sufficient when he faced an ordinary opponent, then he would have required an ocean to deal with more opponents!
How could he possibly turn a river into an ocean?
This was the essence of achieving breakthrough!
Forced breakthrough.
Fang Qiu could not sense all these if he had not been fighting.
Until now, he finally realized why the old master wanted him to immerse himself in real battles.
Firstly, it would force all of his unused abilities to be unleashed. Secondly, it would increase the physical limitations of his body!
This was the essence of advancement and real breakthrough!
Of course...
Fang Qiu was also aware that he could handle at most 15 opponents of the same level at peak martial arts practitioner level, or rather when his internal force was at its peak.
His request of 25 challengers was because he wanted the additional 10 challengers to force his body to achieve the next breakthrough!
Shortly after, 25 people ascended into the ring.
Even though it was huge, the 26 combatants, including Fang Qiu himself, took up more than half of the arena.
Due to a large number of combatants, Fang Qiu stood in the middle of the ring, and the 25 challengers surrounded him from various positions.
"Do battle!"
Fang Qiu shouted after the 25 challengers had readied themselves.
They immediately changed their formation.
They had agreed to use the "Five Cycle Backspin Formation" beforehand.
They divided themselves into five groups. Each group formed a circle of five people to surround Fang Qiu.
Despite a large number of challengers, Fang Qiu's body was only that big. If all of them attacked at once, most of them would not be able to do anything to him.
So, they had come up with this formation.
There were five of them in the innermost circle.
They strode forward upon hearing Fang Qiu's low growl. They then circled around him and attacked him as they did so.
Fang Qiu was right in the middle of the group.
Fang Qiu had to observe everything happening around him continuously. He needed to dodge every attack from each direction.
Luckily, only five challengers were attacking him, and it was no big deal for Fang Qiu.
"Bap...bap...bap..."
Intense clashes kept ringing out.
Everyone beneath the ring could observe clearly that Fang Qiu was continually trying to counterattack while being surrounded and attacked by the five challengers.
He had just beaten 10 opponents.
How could five of them suppress Fang Qiu?
...
As expected, Fang Qiu spotted an opening from one of the challengers after a few exchanges. He struck him with his palm, sending the opponent flying backward.
...
With one down, the five-man inner circle formation was immediately broken.
...
However, just as everyone beneath the arena thought that Fang Qiu would charge into the formation, someone from the other group of five in the second circle immediately slotted into the empty spot to complete the inner circle again.
At the same time, the other four also added themselves to the inner circle.
All nine continued to sprint at a fast speed circularly. They kept looking for opportunities to attack Fang Qiu.
Fang Qiu was getting serious.
His nine opponents had two hands and feet each, and they could attack him from any position. Most importantly, due to so many opponents, there were numerous instances where Fang Qiu would be attacked from different directions at the same time.
Under such circumstances, Fang Qiu could only unleash his natural reflexes to their maximum level and dodge continuously while looking for counterattacking opportunities.
Fang Qiu looked as though he had lost the upper hand.
The 24 challengers still standing on the arena began to get excited.
The five in the third circle found the right time to join in the inner circle as well.
Now, there were 14 challengers circling and attacking Fang Qiu ferociously.
Now, the intensity of the attacks Fang Qiu was facing had increased by many times.
He was feeling real pressure now!
Fang Qiu took in a breath of air and dodged the incoming attacks with incredible speed.
Fang Qiu was still standing strong against the attacks of all 14 opponents. The other 10 glanced at each other and immediately joined in the fray.
There were now 24 opponents surrounding Fang Qiu.
They peppered Fang Qiu with ferocious attacks while circling around him.
At this moment, Fang Qiu felt that he was under unprecedented pressure.
Under such terrible pressure, Fang Qiu had utterly forgotten the proper way to deal with each attack. Instead, his body would be forced to take evasive measures when he sensed an incoming attack.
While dodging, his fists would instantly shoot out toward his opponents once he sensed any opening. He did not even know that he could box like that.
He had no time to think at all.
All his movements seemed to be automatic reactions made by his body under such intense, unprecedented pressure.
"Continue, continue..."
At this moment, Fang Qiu suddenly felt that the movements of his 25 opponents seemed to have slowed down.
He felt as though his entire person seemed to be distanced from the fight. He could capture all of their actions, attacks, and even their expressions.
It seemed as though time has slowed down.
"Faster, faster!" Fang Qiu roared.
Upon hearing his shout, everyone's expression changed!