As the contest went on, Wu Zhi stood out more and more. While most battles lasted at least a few exchanges all of Wu Zhi's lasted only one. It was in a pretty eye-catching manner as well. It looked like he was making a statement when he ended every battle in one slap.
"What's his problem"?
"Why does he keep doing this"?
"Is he making a statement that he's the strongest or the most dominant contestant"?
"Is this a tactic to scare future opponents, or maybe it's a smokescreen for something else"?
More and more people had their questions about why Wu Zhi was doing this. Little did they know that the answer was not that complicated.
'I'm bored, maybe I should switch it up a little bit' Wu Zhi thought to himself. He had to admit that winning in the same way over and over again was getting pretty old. That being said it was still his most effective strategy. Maybe instead of changing the attack he should change his approach. He had just waited for the enemy to come into his range before he slapped them. Sometimes they would try to cast spells but everyone who saw that happen would facepalm. In a small close quarters combat arena it was the worst move you could make. It was basically a free win for whoever their opponent was. Given the fact that they could close the range in an instant and beat them up before they could cast their spell. Spells take time to cast, not to mention your opponent wasn't just going to sit there and let you cast your spell in peace. Anyone with a little bit of knowledge in combat would immediately rush at the spell caster. In a tournament all about combat with tantalizing rewards attached to it. Anyone with brains would have done the bare minimum amount of research or had the bare minimum amount of skills or experience for combat. Essentially this was not a place for noobs, as they would immediately lose their fight. As for Wu Zhi, he just decided for the next few matches he would rush at his opponent and not give them time to defend themselves or come up with a strategy.
The plan worked spectacularly as his opponents were caught off guard thinking he would take his usual stance. Needless to say the results were to be expected. Wu Zhi easily cleared the remaining opponents he faced and eventually he made his way to the finals.
"Ladies and Gentlemen thank you for coming to the tournament today as we finally have our final contestants. To one side we have Fang Mo a prodigy in martial arts using her superior flexibility and mobility to defeat her foes. On the other side we have WU ZHI the GIANT an opponent that defeated all of his foes in one slap. Come tomorrow to watch the finals as these two young heroes battle it out" Elder Ming said.
"It would seem you have no real competition" elder Ming said. As they were currently sitting in the tea house in the flower garden estate.
"I can thank you and the clan for that father, with your help this wouldn't be possible".
"Although that's true, the clan would have never invested into a dullard, it was your dedication that helped you as well. Anyway after you win this tournament I will have a legal excuse to give you all the rewards. I made sure that it was just the right amount to not get criticism from the sect while maximizing the rewards."
"Thank you".
"Un, I imagine you won't have any trouble with Fang Mo so the rewards should be set in stone. Seeing you win so easily against qi gathering cultivators I want to see how well you do against foundation establishment next. Really I just want to test out the blood technique I gave you before we move on to other things".
"Then I will do my best to win" replied Wu Zhi.
The next day came as the finals for the tournament began.
"Welcome all to this days event. Today we will see the final battle between Wu Zhi and Fang Mo. Make sure you made the right choice if you decided to bet on today contestants. Without further ado let the battle begin".
"Who did you bet on".
"Wu Zhi, obviously he's going to win".
"I don't know, Fang Mo might be able to react in time".
As the crowd was heated the fight on the arena started. Wu Zhi went in for his strike ready to get this over with. His hand whipped out like a snake ready to strike Fang Mo. Only for her to dodge it with her inhumane reflexes, she used the opportunity to counter attack. She went in for a low kick to his leg ready to start working on decreasing his mobility. Only for her bone to fracture when she delivered her kick. It felt like she had just kicked a stone wall. With her own mobility now significantly impaired she couldn't dodge the next strike. *Whack!* Down she went with one slap.
"AND THE WINNER IS WU ZHI" elder Ming shouted.
It was a pretty easy fight for Wu Zhi. That being said Fang Mo wasn't taken down in one strike. She had made it farther than any of the other contestants had and that said something. Never the less, Wu Zhi had won, and with it came the rewards.
"500 contribution points, 3000 spirit stones, and 20 grams of spirit gathering powder" the clerk said as she handed Wu Zhi his earnings. It was quite the haul for him.
"Thank you" he said as he had a gentle smile on his face.
After this however he would have to fight foundation establishment cultivators. "*Sigh*, no rest for the wicked, as they say".