Chapter 1004: Chapter 1004

"Leader Tang, you must be careful."

Long Ao looked at Tang Ming with a serious expression, reminding him with concern, "This Wan Yong was once an unknown figure, suddenly rising in prominence during this Martial Arts Tournament. I suspect he might have been sent to some formidable Hidden Sect or Hidden Family to learn martial arts from a young age, specifically to deal with our Dark Group faction during the tournament."

"Yes, yes, this duel between you is of great significance. Whoever loses will definitely affect the morale, and it will be exceedingly difficult to win back in the subsequent matches."

Wu Xiaoyu also looked at Tang Ming with a tense expression.

"Tang Xin, your duel might decide the outcome of this Martial Arts Tournament, so don’t let us down."

Being familiar with Tang Ming, Lin Canghai didn’t have many reservations in his speech, directly pointing out the importance of this tournament: "The Dark Group has been repressed for over a decade, whether it can awaken depends on you."

"I will do my best, but compared to the Martial Arts Tournament, I am more concerned with having an evenly matched competitor."

Tang Ming smiled faintly, striding into the Cultivation Room.

The two entered the Cultivation Room without anyone moving, and neither wore the so-called armor.

"It seems we still have some tacit mutual understanding."

Tang Ming laughed as he looked at Wan Yong.

Wan Yong glanced at the armor beside him and scoffed:

"A single move can decide the outcome of our duel. Whoever gets hit, the subsequent points will lose their significance because the one who gains the advantage won’t give the opponent a chance to retaliate. This armor is unnecessary."

"Wearing armor ultimately affects movement, and it doesn’t mean much to us."

Tang Ming smiled, his eyes flashing with a brilliant light, "Without armor, the first to be struck loses, how about it?"

"Fine, if the first to be hit doesn’t concede, then there’s only the path of death."

Wan Yong nodded, walked to a table, and grabbed a handful of silver steel balls, "My hidden weapon is the Thunder Pearl, and you?"

Tang Ming paused, glanced over the table, and finally grabbed a handful of Golden Needles, "I’ll use these Golden Needles."

Seeing that Tang Ming and Wan Yong were not planning to wear armor, the audience was in an uproar.

By now, this was no longer just a simple match. If one gets hit, it will either be fatal or cause serious injury, which will impact subsequent matches even if it doesn’t kill.

Judging by the situation, these two genuinely planned to treat this duel as the ultimate showdown of the Martial Arts Tournament.

Faced with this situation, the heads of the nine Families, except for Meng Xiaolu who calmly sat on the sofa fanning herself, all stood up unconsciously, walked to the window, and stared at the big screen intently.

In the office, Fu Tianyou first burst out swearing:

"That damned Wan Yong, could he be from the Dark Group? Actually suggesting not wearing armor. Does that mean all my carefully laid plans were in vain?"

Seeing Fu Tianyou lose his temper, Lengzhan weakly reminded, "It seems that Tang Xin not wearing armor is more dangerous than wearing it. After all, armor provides some defense, and with them going light, getting hit means certain death."

Fu Tianyou finally realized and immediately laughed, "This way, Wan Yong also has no protection, and if he’s hit by Tang Xin, he will be in danger as well."

Lengzhan nodded continuously, saying with anticipation, "Given the current situation, it’s best if both of them go down together, that would be perfect."

Although Wan Yong is a contestant from the Ming Group faction, he is, after all, from the Wan Family. If Wan Yong wins, the Wan Family will control all resource allocations for the next three years, surpassing the other nine families in status, just like the Fu Family did before.

And the only way to suppress Wan Family’s rise is to let someone from Wan Family take over the Deputy Director position of the Ming Group three years later, thereby preventing Wan Yong from continuously winning.

But if that happens, his position as the current Deputy Director of the Ming Group would be in jeopardy, so the best outcome is for Wan Yong and Tang Ming to both fall, allowing others to compete for the top spot in the Martial Arts Tournament.

The remaining participants do not have the potential to win consecutively, so his position would remain secure.

Thinking of these things, Fu Tianyou was no longer angry but rather watched the match with great interest, silently praying for the anticipated result to come about.

Once Tang Ming and Wan Yong were ready, Qin Fang closed the door of the Hidden Weapons Room, officially starting the match.

Tang Ming held the Golden Needles in his hand, looking at Wan Yong with a solemn expression, but did not launch an attack immediately.

His state was somewhat similar to Liu Yeqing, and their previous professions were somewhat similar, so they adopted the same tactic, which was to observe the situation and move according to opportune moments, seeking a way to strike decisively.

Wan Yong didn’t have such good steadiness. After nearly a minute of staring down Tang Ming, he suddenly flicked his right hand, and a steel ball turned into a streak of silver light, shooting towards Tang Ming like lightning.

"This guy still couldn’t hold back."

Tang Ming smiled slightly, raising his hand to wave in front of him. A point of golden light flashed from his fingertips as he used the Golden Needle to deftly deflect the steel ball.

Seeing Tang Ming able to use the Golden Needle to deflect his Thunder Pearl, Wan Yong couldn’t help but praise, then quickly launched further attacks, with streaks of silver light shooting towards Tang Ming from various angles.

"I don’t know if you are a Cross Training Martial Master, but to be able to utilize the Thunder Pearl to this extent, the strength in your fingers is already no less than that of a Cross Training Martial Master, impressive."

Tang Ming didn’t shy away from words of admiration either, flickering his form and using his fingertips to constantly draw golden starlight across, deflecting the steel balls attacking him.

Time passed little by little, with Wan Yong attacking and Tang Ming focusing on defense.

Although the two stood at a considerable distance, leaping up and down, dodging left and right, they appeared like two maniacs!

But all the spectators knew that the confrontation between these two was extremely perilous, with any slight error risking death.

When only thirty seconds remained, everyone held their breath because Wan Yong’s attacks became more and more fierce, while Tang Ming remained in a defensive position.

However, everyone knew that the actual thrilling moment was about to arrive.

Since both had the courage to actively request a duel, neither were cowards. They both wanted to determine a victor in this confrontation, so they would inevitably unleash their Big Moves in the final moments.

Now it was just a matter of who would strike first or who would hold out longer.

"Not bad, you have been able to withstand my attacks for so long, but the next move, if you can block it, then it’s your turn to strike."

As time was about to run out, Wan Yong suddenly paused, then clenched his fists in front of him, preparing to unleash his Big Move.