69novels Chapter 355: Winning the Championship
Chapter 355: Winning the Championship
Chen Yuefeng’s expression was complicated—a mix of excitement, nervousness, and a trace of undeniable... sheer luck.
He had indeed reached the finals, but luck had played a huge part in his journey.
The top geniuses from the Three Greats academies had almost all been eliminated by Xu Wuyi single-handedly.
But now, standing before Xu Wuyi—the recognized strongest competitor of the tournament—Chen Yuefeng felt little will to fight. Instead, he felt a sense of relief, ’It’s enough to have made it this far,’ and a calm acceptance of the absolute gap in their strength.
"North Peak Martial Arts University, Chen Yuefeng." He cupped his fist in a salute, his posture deferential.
"Star Martial University, Xu Wuyi." Xu Wuyi returned the salute.
"I know I can’t win." Chen Yuefeng was direct, offering a wry smile. "I’m already satisfied just making it to the finals. But since I’m standing on this stage, I still want to see for myself the true level of a top-tier genius."
He took a deep breath, assumed a stance, and his Qi and Blood began to surge. He was clearly preparing to go all out, leaving no regrets.
Xu Wuyi nodded. He respected such an attitude.
"Please."
The word had barely left his lips when Chen Yuefeng let out a low roar and charged forward. An earthy-yellow glow coalesced around his fists, carrying a steady and heavy Power—this was the very Mountain-Suppressing Fist that had made him famous.
The wind from his fists howled, powerful and heavy. Among ordinary Martial Artists, it would be considered a decent attack.
But Xu Wuyi just watched quietly.
He only moved when the fists closed to within two meters.
He didn’t use his Golden Crow Carrying the Earth Heart Image Prototype, nor did he even activate his Undying Flame.
He simply raised his arm and thrust his spear.
The Meteor Iron Long Spear transformed into a flash of black lightning, striking first despite being launched second.
The spear tip precisely tapped Chen Yuefeng’s fist, and a Hidden Force, condensed to its absolute limit, silently channeled through the weapon’s shaft.
Chen Yuefeng felt the condensed Earth Element Power on his fist crash against an invisible iron wall and instantly shatter.
Immediately after, a scorching, piercing force penetrated his arm, instantly disrupting the flow of his Qi and Blood.
He let out a muffled grunt, his forward momentum coming to an abrupt halt. He stumbled backward uncontrollably for seven or eight steps before managing to steady himself, his right arm numb and temporarily powerless.
Chen Yuefeng looked down at his right arm, which was completely unharmed but felt sore and weak. He then looked up at Xu Wuyi, who had already retracted his spear and was standing calmly, an expression of shock and bitterness mixing on his face.
One spear.
He hadn’t even felt his opponent use much Qi and Blood. There were no earth-shattering phenomena, just a single, casual thrust that broke the Fist Momentum he had painstakingly practiced for years.
The gap... was too great.
So great that he wasn’t even qualified to make his opponent get serious.
"...I concede." Chen Yuefeng lowered his arm and let out a long breath. His tone held no resentment, only complete acceptance.
[VICTORY! CHAMPION!]
Golden text lit up before Xu Wuyi’s eyes. At the same time, a triumphant system announcement rang out across the entire virtual arena and through all the spectator channels.
[Congratulations to Xu Wuyi of Star Martial University for winning the championship of this year’s Federation Youth Martial Arts Tournament!]
Above the Circular Plaza, virtual fireworks bloomed, and starlight flowed, converging into a giant champion’s emblem.
After a brief silence, the spectator channels were completely drowned in a tsunami of discussion.
"It’s over! He’s the champion!"
"One thrust! Even the finals were just one thrust!"
"Too strong... they’re not even on the same level!"
"A champion from Star Martial University! My god, it’s been a long time, hasn’t it!"
"Who was the last champion from Star Martial? ’Yi Xunzhen’ from twenty years ago?"
"A monster! A true monster!"
Xu Wuyi stood in the center of the plaza, sensing the surrounding, invisible clamor and the focus of all eyes on him, yet his heart was exceptionally calm.
Winning the championship was expected. On his journey here, he had already surpassed his peers by far too much.
He raised his head, his gaze clear as he looked at the champion’s emblem slowly rotating in the air above.
...
「Real world. Villa 7, Hidden Dragon Garden, Star Martial University.」
Xu Wuyi sat up in the Battle Network connection pod, his consciousness returning to his body.
Outside, the last rays of the setting sun shone through the window, casting warm patches of light on the floor.
On his personal terminal, message notifications were flashing constantly.
He tapped open the light screen, and the first things to greet his eyes were two system notifications.
[Notice from the Federation Youth Martial Arts Tournament Committee: Congratulations on winning this year’s tournament. The prize money of 1,000,000 Federation Coins has been disbursed to your registered account. Please check for receipt. The delivery method for your certificate of honor will be announced at a later date.]
[Notice from the Star Martial University Office of Academic Affairs: Congratulations to student Xu Wuyi on winning the Federation Youth Martial Arts Tournament! By university decision, you have been awarded 3,000 school points as encouragement. The points have been credited to your student account. We hope you will continue to strive for excellence and reach new heights!]
One million Federation Coins, three thousand school points.
The tangible rewards for the champion were indeed substantial, especially the three thousand points.
As for the prize money from the youth tournament officials, the top sixteen all received the same one million Federation Coins; it was more of an encouragement.
Xu Wuyi didn’t feel much excitement, simply confirming the information calmly. After a moment’s thought, he transferred the entire one million Federation Coins he had just received into his parents’ joint account.
The attached message was simple: "Dad, Mom, this is the prize money from the youth tournament. Use it. Whether it’s for a new house or just improving your lives, don’t be too frugal. Everything’s great on my end, so don’t worry."
Having done this, he closed the financial interface.
To him now, money was far less important than points and merit. Making his parents’ lives better was the best use for this prize money.
He had, in fact, previously received a forty-million Federation Coin reward from the Royal Family in the West Desert, but that money was for a private commission and was different in nature.
This youth tournament prize money was perfect to give to his parents. Besides, his parents knew where the money came from, so they could use it with peace of mind.
Next came a flood of congratulatory messages.
Principal Zhang Qiming, Wang Wenhai, Han Mo, Qiao Zhiyao, Tana, and even a short congratulatory message from Chu Shanhe.
Xu Wuyi politely replied to each of them, thanking them for their well wishes.
It was only when he opened a few major martial arts news platforms that he discovered his name had blown up, occupying nearly every headline.
[SHOCKING! Star Martial University Sophomore Xu Wuyi Dominates Youth Tournament, Claims Championship Title!]
[A New King Ascends the Throne! The Federation’s Youth Martial Arts Realm Welcomes Its New Ruler!]
[IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS: From Commoner Genius to Champion King—The Rise of Xu Wuyi!]
[One-Thrust Victories, an Undefeated Run! A Review of Youth Tournament Championship Records!]
The content of the reports was largely the same, all sensationalized to the extreme and vividly describing his every victory. His duels against Chu Shanhe and Zhai Zidu, in particular, were analyzed and interpreted over and over again.