Upon seeing w.a.n.g Zongquan's body lying motionless on the cracked marble floor, the spectating crowd froze, and a deathly silence fell over the entire hall. A short moment later...
"How is this possible?!"
"This is a lie, right?! w.a.n.g Zongquan actually got defeated, just like that!?"
"Who is this s.h.i.+ Feng!?"
The spectating experts simply couldn't believe their eyes as they gazed at the unconscious w.a.n.g Zongquan. This was an apex internal force expert they were talking about. w.a.n.g Zongquan stood at the apex of Fenglin City, yet, now, he was actually defeated effortlessly by an ordinary youngster who did not give off even the slightest hint of an aura.
The exchange between s.h.i.+ Feng and w.a.n.g Zongquan had been so decisive that it couldn't even be considered a fight. It was practically a drubbing.
"So many of the experts here reacted with fear toward w.a.n.g Zongquan before, so shouldn't he be very strong? Why did he get defeated so easily?"
"Could Heaven's Rumble have paid w.a.n.g Zongquan to stage an act?"
"I'm guessing that's most likely the case. w.a.n.g Zongquan is an internal force expert. On the other hand, that s.h.i.+ Feng is so young. Even if he is powerful, how powerful could he possibly be? Moreover, the fact that someone like w.a.n.g Zongquan even appeared here is very strange, to begin with. Heaven's Rumble must've hired w.a.n.g Zongquan to pretend to fight to raise its fame."
Unlike the experts in the hall, the spectating fighting enthusiasts felt that w.a.n.g Zongquan had acted out a play when they saw him so easily defeated. After all, when w.a.n.g Zongquan was fighting Fire Dance earlier, they could more or less tell how powerful he was.
However, when w.a.n.g Zongquan fought s.h.i.+ Feng, from start to end, they hadn't seen any hint of that power w.a.n.g Zongquan had displayed before. They felt that w.a.n.g Zongquan had deliberately coordinated his movements with s.h.i.+ Feng, jumping into the air the moment s.h.i.+ Feng grabbed his wrist and letting s.h.i.+ Feng freely throw him. The fight could not be any faker.
At this moment, aside from the fighting enthusiasts, the training center and dojo members present also found this fight fake. The strength an internal force expert wielded far surpa.s.sed that of ordinary people. If w.a.n.g Zongquan had thrown his punch with his full strength, even an internal force expert couldn't have stopped his punch by grabbing his wrist.
A fake match? At this moment, even Xiao Yu was dumbfounded by this scene.
However, he instinctively refuted the possibility, as he had never heard about such plans from s.h.i.+ Feng earlier. Moreover, the Starline Corporation had been keeping an eye on the Heaven's Rumble Training Center. Only an existence like the Starline Corporation could employ the services of someone like w.a.n.g Zongquan. Most importantly, why would an apex internal force expert agree to min his own reputation just to uplift the Heaven's Rumble Training Center's reputation?
As Xiao Yu was wondering why w.a.n.g Zongquan would put on a fake fight, Chen Tianhe, who stood beside Xiao Yu, suddenly revealed a look of horror.
"Neu...tralizing... He is...a neutralizing grandmaster!" Chen Tianhe muttered quietly as he stared at s.h.i.+ Feng, his complexion paling as if he had just seen a ghost.
"Neutralizing...grandmaster?" Xiao Yu momentarily fell into a daze when he heard Chen Tianhe's words. Compelled to seek confirmation, he asked, "Master Chen, you're saying that s.h.i.+ Feng is a neutralizing grandmaster?"
In the fighting industry, those capable of grasping internal force were considered absolute experts. Less than 0.1% of professional fighters would ever succeed in grasping internal force. For those that did, their understanding and usage of their body and strength would far surpa.s.s those of ordinary people. No matter where these experts went, they would have the qualifications to establish a training center or dojo and accept disciples—hence, internal force experts were labeled masters.
However, above internal force experts, there were still neutralizing experts. Ordinary people would already be fortunate to come across an internal force expert. As for neutralizing experts, most ordinary people would most likely never meet one. Every neutralizing expert was a t.i.tan in the fighting industry. They were people who could contest for first place in international fighting compet.i.tions. The fame and status they enjoyed were far superior to those of people like Chen Tianhe and w.a.n.g Zongquan.
If one were to draw a comparison between internal force experts and neutralizing experts, the former would be candlelight while the latter would be the blazing sun.
"It is possible," Chen Tianhe said hesitantly. "Only, since when has there ever been such a young neutralizing grandmaster in this world? Even the ancient aristocratic families are incapable of producing a neutralizing grandmaster this young."
Ordinary people most likely wouldn't find anything special about s.h.i.+ Feng's grabbing and throwing motions; in fact, most of the professional fighters present wouldn't. However, Chen Tianhe, who had already mastered internal force to the apex, could tell just how frightening s.h.i.+ Feng's usage of his body and strength was.
First, upon grabbing w.a.n.g Zongquan's wrist, s.h.i.+ Feng had immediately redirected and nullified the force in w.a.n.g Zongquan's arm. Then, when w.a.n.g Zongquan put more strength into his arm to break free of s.h.i.+ Feng's hold, s.h.i.+ Feng made use of w.a.n.g Zongquan's strength and coupled it with his own to lift and throw w.a.n.g Zongquan to the ground.
Although this series of actions appeared very simple, executing it within a mere instant was exceedingly difficult. Only neutralizing grandmasters, who could push their muscles to the limit, could accomplish such a feat.
What made Chen Tianhe doubt his conclusion was that s.h.i.+ Feng was simply too young!
Even now, Chen Tianhe was considered one of the top-ranking experts in the country. He had also been famous for a long time already. In his many years mingling in the fighting industry, he had come across plenty of internal force experts of varying standards and even neutralizing grandmasters. However, despite his extensive experience, he had never even heard of a neutralizing grandmaster who was in his 20s.
At this moment, aside from Chen Tianhe, Master Yang from the Extreme Light Dojo, Zhang Tianya, and the other internal force experts present were similarly gazing at s.h.i.+ Feng in astonishment and horror.
"Impossible! How can he be a neutralizing grandmaster?!" Zhang Tianya blurted out in shock.
Ordinary people might have failed to discern the intricacies of w.a.n.g Zongquan's fight with s.h.i.+ Feng, but internal force experts like Zhang Tianya managed to roughly discern its crucial parts.
In most people's eyes, w.a.n.g Zongquan's fight did indeed look like an act. However, this was because s.h.i.+ Feng's usage of his strength was too ingenious. He was already at the stage of simplifying complex movements; hence, his fight with w.a.n.g Zongquan looked very fake.
"A neutralizing grandmaster?! s.h.i.+ Feng is actually this powerful?!" Zhao Yueru could not help growing excited when she heard Zhang Tianya's words.
Although she did not have a clear concept of what a neutralizing grandmaster was, she still understood how powerful grandmaster martial artists were. They were supreme existences within the country, experts that even the various top- ranking dojos and training centers feared greatly.
Meanwhile, when Gentle Snow saw the exchange between s.h.i.+ Feng and w.a.n.g Zongquan, she felt an indescribable sense of shock and familiarity.
This was because she could tell that s.h.i.+ Feng's usage of his strength and body very closely resembled the principles of the Refinement Realm and Truth Realm. It was as if he had just merged these two concepts and demonstrated them. Only, this should be a technique that existed only in G.o.d's Domain. Now, however, he had actually displayed it in the real world.
As for Zhuo Linqiu, who sat in a corner of the hall, he was gaping in shock at s.h.i.+ Feng.
Zhuo Linqiu had never imagined that s.h.i.+ Feng was such a powerful expert!
He was actually telling the truth!
Although an aristocratic family's disciple would indeed daunt an apex internal force expert like Zhuo Linqiu, this would not deter him from taking action against one. However, a neutralizing grandmaster was a different story. It was no exaggeration to describe a neutralizing grandmaster as superhuman. Compared to s.h.i.+ Feng's ident.i.ty as a neutralizing grandmaster, Fire Dance's ident.i.ty as an aristocratic family's disciple was utterly insignificant.
Neutralizing grandmasters were existences that even major corporations had to show respect to, because these people held ma.s.sive influence in the fighting industry. Moreover, there were times when major corporations also needed the help of these experts. After all, the various major corporations' upper echelons were frequent targets for a.s.sa.s.sination. Only with the protection of a neutralizing grandmaster would one be able to guarantee their safety.
At this moment, the various internal force experts present finally understood that s.h.i.+ Feng had not been lying before. Fire Dance's achievement could very well have been thanks to s.h.i.+ Feng's guidance. After all, it wasn't impossible for a neutralizing grandmaster to nurture an internal force expert. In fact, there were many precedents.
During the time everyone was quietly discussing this situation, w.a.n.g Zongquan had regained consciousness. However, when he came to, his mind was a huge blur, and his body ached all over. He could tell that he had several broken bones. He would need more than a month to recover fully from such injuries.
"Well? Master w.a.n.g, do you still wish to continue sparring?" s.h.i.+ Feng asked as he watched w.a.n.g Zongquan struggle to his feet.
