Chapter Seventy-Six: The Final Match Unfolds

3:30 in the afternoon.

The sky was bright and clear, sunlight pouring down in golden waves.

At the athletic plaza, the final match of the promotion tournament was about to begin.

The four who had advanced to the semifinals were Cheng Feng, Luo Ke, Wang Yuming, and Duan Wu.

Cheng Feng was matched against Duan Wu.

Luo Ke faced Wang Yuming.

Shortly after, as applause echoed through the stands, the semifinals drew to a close.

Duan Wu, who stood as Cheng Feng’s opponent, was by no means weak. His superpower allowed him to conjure smokescreens, and as a semifinalist, he proved to be a formidable adversary.

After a hard-fought battle, Cheng Feng finally emerged victorious.

With Duan Wu defeated, Cheng Feng advanced to the finals. In the other bracket, Wang Yuming overcame Luo Ke and also secured a spot in the championship match.

The two victors would now meet in the tournament’s last contest.

At precisely four o’clock in the afternoon, the grand finals officially commenced!

“Ohhhhhh!”

“Let’s go!”

*Clap, clap, clap!*

The anticipation for the upcoming match electrified the crowd of over thirty thousand in the stands. Cheers, applause, and shouts of encouragement crashed together in a wave of excitement, everyone eagerly awaiting the final showdown.

“It’s starting—my brother’s last match,” Cheng Yi said anxiously, as if she herself were about to step onto the stage.

By her side, Liu Shiyu appeared far more composed. “Don’t worry. Trust your brother.”

On the giant screen, the final matchup was displayed:

[Grand Finals — Cheng Feng vs. Wang Yuming]

In the ring.

This time, the chief examiner himself presided as host. Once both competitors had signaled their readiness, he announced the start of the match.

Dozens of media cameras trained their lenses on the ring from every angle; this was the most thrilling battle of all, and every detail needed to be captured for the coming reports.

“The final match,” someone murmured.

In the VIP seats, the president watched the two figures on the stage in silence. “Cheng Feng... will you be able to win?”

Cheng Feng and Wang Yuming stood face to face.

Wang Yuming met Cheng Feng’s gaze. “Cheng Feng, this is our first meeting. A pleasure.”

“A pleasure,” Cheng Feng replied.

Wang Yuming continued, “There’s something I should mention. The truth is, I’ve been quietly watching each of your matches.”

Watching me? Cheng Feng took half a step back. “Are you... gay? You look so dignified—I never would’ve guessed.”

“You misunderstand... I’m not so depraved,” Wang Yuming replied, a hint of embarrassment on his face. “The reason is simple: you’re strong. Among all the competitors, I always believed that if I reached the finals, you would be the opponent I’d most likely face.”

“You think that highly of me?”

“Of course. You’re truly formidable.” With a flash of light, Wang Yuming’s spirit blade, Sandstar, appeared in his hand. Calmly, he said, “Just as I predicted, here we are in the finals, facing each other at last.”

Cheng Feng summoned his own spirit blade, Thunderclap, and assumed a battle-ready stance. “Since your predictions are so sharp, who do you think is stronger—between you and me?”

“We’ll know soon enough,” Wang Yuming said seriously. “But the championship means everything to me... Victory will be mine.”

In the next instant, his eyes shimmered, turning a deep, dark gold as he entered Spirit Release mode.

Wang Yuming’s tone turned cold. “Since this is the final match, there’s no need to hold anything back. Go all out.”

Cheng Feng did not answer aloud, but silently agreed. In all the earlier matches, he had never gone all out from the start, deliberately concealing his full strength to keep some cards up his sleeve for later rounds.

Now, however, there was no need for subterfuge. The last match demanded everything.

He entered Spirit Release as well. His obsidian eyes transformed into dazzling silver, and a surge of spiritual energy exploded from within, his aura rising sharply.

Spirit Release, a power of the enhancement class, came with both gifts and dangers.

The benefit: it could multiply all aspects of one’s combat prowess.

The drawback: if used beyond the body’s limits, it inflicted severe, sometimes irreparable, harm.

Cheng Feng, blessed with the regenerative abilities of his bloodline, had little fear of the physical toll. Yet stamina, once spent, could not be recovered.

For him, Spirit Release could last just over twenty minutes.

Which meant that within those twenty-some minutes, he needed to decide the match.

The same theory applied to Wang Yuming—but lacking Cheng Feng’s bloodline, his body would bear the strain and burn through stamina even faster.

Although Cheng Feng knew Wang Yuming’s superpower was sand manipulation, he had yet to glimpse the man’s true strength. In every previous bout, including the one against Gu Yan, Wang Yuming had never truly unleashed his full might.

Seeing Cheng Feng hesitate, Wang Yuming struck first with an earth-based ability. Instantly, a fierce wind swept across the ring.

A dense cloud of yellow sand swirled around Wang Yuming, solidifying in midair into more than a dozen sharp, conical sand spikes. Turning as one, they shot toward Cheng Feng in a deadly barrage.

“Come on!”

Cheng Feng’s eyes narrowed as he dashed forward, activating his Blood Battle Art.

Threads of blood seeped from the pores of his right arm, swirling in his palm until they formed a thick, sturdy shield. He thrust it in front of him.

A chorus of metallic clangs rang out as the sand spikes struck the blood shield, shattering back into grains of sand.

Under the relentless assault, the blood shield began to fracture, spiderweb cracks splintering its surface like a mirror on the verge of shattering.

Seeing his onslaught blocked, Wang Yuming abandoned ranged attacks and charged headlong. The stone beneath his feet exploded as he surged forward.

Grip tightening on the hilt, he flooded his blade with spiraling energy. The slender sword, Sandstar, gleamed with golden light, its cutting force magnified.

Spotting the attack, Cheng Feng flung aside his nearly broken blood shield, gripped Thunderclap, and unleashed Lightning Flash. He transformed into a streak of silver-white lightning, hurling himself forward with unstoppable momentum.

They closed the distance in a heartbeat, blades swinging simultaneously.

Clang!

Silver and gold spirit blades collided in a thunderous impact. Lightning and earth energies intertwined and burst, the shockwave rippling outward.

The force was so immense that the ground beneath them buckled, cracks radiating like a spider’s web through the paving stones. Within seconds, fissures veined the ring for dozens of meters.

“You’re not here just for the glory of the championship, are you?” Cheng Feng pressed his blade close, questioning at point-blank range. “I remember you telling Gu Yan in your match that you had a reason you had to win.”

“So you heard.” Wang Yuming’s gaze was unwavering. “That’s right. My reason for entering this tournament is unlike yours. Not for fame, nor fortune, nor advancement…”

His voice was resolute. “All I want is the two hundred thousand prize money—for the sake of saving someone’s life!”