This kind of showdown isn't even a tournament anymore—it's a straight-up public siege, right in front of everyone.
"Master!"
"Boss!"
......
Next to them, Warren Yuan, Lin Zhan, and the rest were all clenching their fists—everyone knew that no matter how strong those three grandmasters were, there was no way they could withstand a joint attack from five cities. Plus, Wuzhou and Bazhou were way stronger than the other three combined. Bazhou's always been the land of military talent, loaded with martial experts, and this time they've got nine fighters, with four full grandmasters among them. Wuzhou? Don't even mention it—almost every one of their team radiates grandmaster-level aura.
But the strongest in Wuzhou’s squad—Nate Ye—still hadn’t joined the brawl. Of course, he wasn’t looking nearly as chill as before; his eyes were already blazing with excitement and battle lust.
Right now, no matter how fierce Harbor City’s three guys looked, there was no way they could hold off an all-out attack from more than forty top fighters—and at least a dozen of them were grandmasters.
"Harbor City’s doomed this time. This whole tournament is obviously rigged against them—seven cities teaming up to crush just one. Even if you count Ryan Ling and their five grandmasters, there’s no way they can stand up to a joint attack from so many!"
"Yeah, Harbor City’s made people sit up and take notice, but thinking one city can take on five? That’s just an ant trying to stop a cart—there’s no way they won’t lose, and it’s gonna be ugly!"
"Sigh, you’re not wrong. Looks like they’re headed for the meat grinder. Didn’t you hear? Wuzhou Martial Arts Association president Darren Deng is already shouting shameless slogans about ‘exterminating the demon king.’ With the Azure Dragon Society backing them, they’re hell-bent on crushing Harbor City—there’s no way out. What’s even scarier is, today’s massacre might just be the opening act. Harbor City’s already been marked as the Azure Dragon Society’s special pharmaceutical testing ground, thanks to Stanley Hong’s secret dealings using locals as guinea pigs. Now the Hong clan’s wiped out, Wuzhou’s top heirs got killed, even Dragon Ao’s son nearly died in Harbor City—do you really think Wuzhou and the Azure Dragon Society will just let that slide?"
"Holy crap, there’s actually all this complicated stuff going on behind the scenes? No wonder Darren Deng dares to blatantly break the rules in public—he’s out for blood!"
"Whatever, as long as we get it. Today’s just Harbor City’s one brief flash before disaster. It’s a shame about that Ryan Ling kid—he managed to train up four grandmasters all by himself! Total freak talent. I just found out he even took down the Grandmaster Cemetery. If he weren’t from Harbor City, I’d throw my whole fortune at recruiting him, maybe even marry off my daughter. The guy’s still in high school—who knows how strong he’ll get?"
"No matter how strong or talented he is, today he’s toast. Don’t forget, Nate Ye still hasn’t made a move. Word is, he’s reached orange-realm grandmaster over in North America!"
......
Just as everyone was sighing over Harbor City’s fate—right as those three Harbor City fighters were about to get shoved off the platform—suddenly Lin Zhan’s voice roared out.
"Brothers, what are you waiting for? Kill!"
Lin Zhan’s shout was the trigger—Warren Yuan, Harvey Jin, Frank Qin, Tom Tang, all the furious heavy hitters jumped onto the stage. In a flash, four more grandmaster auras exploded out.
In that instant, every fighter below grandmaster on the ring was blasted clean off.
One second it was hell, the next it was heaven!
Nobody expected it—just as everyone thought Harbor City was finished, Ryan Ling’s four iron-brother teammates suddenly leaped onto the platform. Eyes everywhere went wide: all four were grandmasters too, and their level seemed even higher and sharper than the first wave.
At this moment, a lot of martial artists who’ve been stuck at peak innate for over ten years—guys in their forties—just about want to cough up blood. Becoming a grandmaster isn’t something any innate fighter can just achieve. There’s an old saying in the martial world: if you get one or two grandmasters out of a thousand, that’s enough for the whole city to celebrate. If you get one in a hundred, that’s a straight-up miracle.
But now, look at this—every single person Ryan Ling brought is a grandmaster. The audience that used to genuinely feel bad for Harbor City is stunned. Harbor City’s own martial artists are dumbfounded, and even the high-and-mighty Darren Deng, the Dai and Qiu clans, and a bunch of martial arts families from Wuzhou are staring blankly.
Right now, while everyone’s watching the eight Harbor City grandmasters at the center of the ring, they can’t help but look over at Ryan Ling in the Harbor City section—his eyes calm as ever. People already thought he was special, but ‘special’ doesn’t cut it anymore. To train up eight grandmasters in such a short time? That’s what you call ‘once in a century.’
For a moment, all eyes are on Ryan Ling, even more than Nate Ye. Nate, over in the Wuzhou section, has lost his cool—he’s staring hard at Ryan, his face twisted in pure jealousy.
"Kill!" The eight grandmasters move as one—brothers in arms, their strength unstoppable. In a flash, eight waves of gang-qi sweep out like a storm. The grandmasters from five cities instantly join forces to block them.
In that instant, the whole arena shakes like an earthquake. Tens of thousands of people stare wide-eyed, not daring to miss a second. The organizers and reporters are buzzing with excitement, cameras zooming in on every corner of the ring, broadcasting the action to every city and town in East River State.
Win or lose, Harbor City has already made its name in East River. Anyone who still calls them ‘the sick men of Harbor City’ is just embarrassing themselves.
"Harbor City invincible!" Liu Tianxiang, president of the Harbor City Martial Arts Association, shouts again. The whole Harbor City section goes absolutely wild, their cheers shaking the stands.
[Skipped: System/web-novel message, not relevant to the novel’s narrative.]
While they’re celebrating, the grandmasters from five cities quickly huddle up, merging their gang-qi into a defensive circle to try and hold back Harbor City’s grandmasters. They know there’s no chance of winning now—if they can just hang on for a draw, that’s already a miracle.
"Hold them off! We’ve got more grandmasters than they do—our strength is definitely greater!"
"Everyone, join forces! We can definitely hold out!"
Right then, the grandmasters from Wuzhou and Bazhou are shouting at the top of their lungs.
But before their words even fade, the eight Harbor City grandmasters strike together. There’s a deafening boom across the arena—every grandmaster from the five cities is swept off the ring like stray dogs, coughing up blood as they hit the ground. Their gang-qi vanishes in an instant; not only are they defeated, their martial cultivation is completely destroyed.
In a flash, the whole stadium goes absolutely nuts!
Everyone can’t help but shout two words—Harbor City.
Right then, every high-level figure in the Wuzhou stands has a face like iron—this is Wuzhou’s public humiliation.
"Nate Ye!" Darren Deng can’t hold back anymore—he snaps his gaze to Wuzhou’s sole competitor, Nate Ye.
Right now, this orange-realm grandmaster’s face is just as dark. He doesn’t hesitate for a second, stepping onto the ring with a freaky, ghost-like footwork.
"Heads up—this guy’s on another level!" Warren Yuan, Jason Lin, and the others were just starting to relax, but the moment Nate Ye flashes in front of them like a ghost, they all snap to full attention.
Up in the stands, Ryan Ling is locked onto Nate Ye too. He’s been watching this Wuzhou ace for a while now—Nate’s strength is way above your average grandmaster, and his mental game is flawless. That’s the kind of killer instinct only top assassins have.
Now, facing eight grandmasters alone, Nate Ye’s eyes show zero fear—just a cold, bone-chilling aura.
"Surround him!" Warren Yuan shouts, and the eight grandmasters instantly close in, boxing Nate Ye in. Eight streams of gang-qi flare up, sealing off the whole ring in a blink.
"Heh, what a joke." Nate Ye snorts, and suddenly his own grandmaster gang-qi erupts. The crowd jumps—his aura glows with a unique orange light, every spark packed with jaw-dropping power...