The air in Thong Nhat Stadium solidified, so tense that people could hear their own heartbeats. Every light, every camera, every gaze was fixed on the two figures on the stage.
"GRAAAAAAAH!"
Ly Thien Ba spoke no more. He let out a beastly roar, the ground beneath his feet cracking slightly, and he charged at Lam Minh like a runaway truck. His speed wasn't overwhelming, but every step carried a terrifying power, creating an invisible pressure that bore down on his opponent.
"Unbelievable strength!" the MC screamed. "This is the power of an Awakened! How will Lam Minh deal with this?"
Facing that destructive charge, Lam Minh was completely unfazed. He remained still, his calm eyes observing his opponent's every movement.
In the eyes of an ordinary person, Ly Thien Ba's charge was unstoppable. But in Lam Minh's eyes, it was riddled with flaws.
"Uneven speed, center of gravity too high, power focused on a single point, a waste of energy," he critiqued internally.
Only when Ly Thien Ba's fist, the size of a watermelon, was just centimeters from his face, did Lam Minh move.
He didn't dodge. He didn't block.
He simply shifted his body to the side by an incredibly small angle, just enough for Ly Thien Ba's fist to graze his hair. At the same time, he reached out and tapped his opponent's elbow with two fingers.
It was an extremely gentle, elegant movement, like a dragonfly skipping across water.
Ly Thien Ba felt the entire force of his punch suddenly vanish, as if sucked into a black hole. The immense power had nowhere to go, causing his entire arm to go numb and throwing him off balance.
He staggered past Lam Minh, nearly falling flat on his face.
The entire stadium let out a collective "Ooh" of astonishment.
Ly Thien Ba turned around, his eyes filled with bewilderment. What just happened? He couldn't understand it at all. How could his full-power punch be neutralized so easily?
"Is this all you have, Awakened one?" Lam Minh's voice sounded, not with mockery, but with a faint disappointment. "If this is it, then this is truly boring."
This disappointment was more insulting than any taunt.
"YOU!" Ly Thien Ba roared, his anger flaring up again. He didn't believe in magic; he only believed in power. He charged again, this time with a flurry of combination punches. Each punch could have demolished a wall.
But the result was the same.
Lam Minh moved like a ghost in the eye of a storm. He didn't retreat a single step, using only the most minimalistic turns and shifts of his body to evade every attack. He was like a master artist, turning the ring into his personal stage, and Ly Thien Ba, with his destructive power, became a clumsy clown.
"Impossible! Impossible!" Ly Thien Ba screamed in desperation. He felt like he was punching at smoke.
"You rely too much on raw power," Lam Minh "lectured" as he dodged. "Uncontrolled power is just a double-edged sword. It makes you slow, rigid, and full of openings."
In the VIP section, Mr. Lam Dao gripped the armrests of his chair, his eyes unblinking. "This... this is the legendary 'Borrowing Strength to Strike'! No, it's more than that! This boy... has he already reached the realm of 'No Move Trumps Any Move'?"
In the surveillance area, Quynh Nhu's jaw had dropped. As a warrior, she understood what was happening better than anyone. Lam Minh wasn't just dodging; he was controlling the entire fight. He was using Ly Thien Ba's own power to make him lose balance, to expose his own weaknesses.
"A genius... He's a true combat genius," she murmured.
After being "played with" like a child for several minutes, Ly Thien Ba was exhausted. He stood panting, drenched in sweat, his eyes filled with bewilderment and fear. For the first time in his life, he felt that the power he had always been so proud of was so utterly useless.
"Have you had enough?" Lam Minh stopped, standing opposite him. "The fun and games can end now."
He slowly walked forward.
Ly Thien Ba instinctively raised his hands to defend himself.
But Lam Minh didn't attack. He just raised a single finger and tapped the center of Ly Thien Ba's forehead.
A tiny stream of "qi," as cold as ice, was transferred. It didn't cause pain, but it instantly severed the connection between Ly Thien Ba's brain and his muscles.
Ly Thien Ba felt his entire body go limp. The surging power within him suddenly vanished. He could no longer control his limbs. He could only stand there, frozen like a statue.
"Your power... I'll just borrow it for a moment," Lam Minh said softly, just loud enough for him to hear.
Then, Lam Minh took a step back and threw a punch.
It looked like a very ordinary punch, not fast, not powerful.
It landed lightly on Ly Thien Ba's chest.
But the giant of the tournament, the "Monster" Ly Thien Ba, flew backward like a dry leaf, soaring out of the ring and landing unconscious instantly.
Silence enveloped the stadium.
Everyone had seen it. Lam Minh's final punch clearly had no force behind it. But why did Ly Thien Ba fly away like that?
No one understood. Only Ly Thien Ba, before he lost consciousness, had felt it. The punch contained no force, but it had triggered a chain reaction, causing the chaotic energy in his body to explode on its own, blasting him away.
It was a level of energy control that was simply unimaginable.
Lam Minh stood alone on the stage, hands in his pockets, his expression as calm as if he had just returned from a stroll.
The referee, after a long shock, finally raised the winner's hand.
"THE CHAMPION... OF THIS YEAR'S STUDENT COMBAT TOURNAMENT... IS TRAN HUNG DAO HIGH SCHOOL! IS... LAM MINH!!!"
The entire stadium erupted in an earth-shattering roar.
[Absolute victory. Displayed skills far beyond this world's comprehension. Completed the "Playing the Pig to Eat the Tiger" performance flawlessly. Fame has reached its peak. Reward: 5000 Immortality Points.]
Lam Minh looked up at the sky, a faint smile on his lips.
The tournament is over. Now, it's time... to prepare for a real war.