Yu Xian had no interest in the matches between other minor extras.
The entire time, his mind was wandering elsewhere—which in truth meant he was surfing the internet. Only when Song He stepped out did he log off and turn his attention toward the arena stage.
Song He’s entrance drew cold jeers and ridicule from many in the crowd. After all, Song He wasn't the least bit ugly now, and true masters were all supposed to be hideous!
Of course, amidst the boos were also lovestruck women cheering for Song He, some even worrying that he might get hurt. Most terrifying of all was a baboon-faced woman who roared loudly when Song He's opponent took the stage, threatening that if the man dared lay a hand on Song He, she would make him pay dearly.
After the referee called for the match to begin, Song He's opponent—a donkey-faced man—spoke up: "Kid, I advise you to surrender right now, or don't blame me when you're disfigured!"
"Rest assured. Being able to enter this tournament naturally means I have some ability," Song He replied with a genial smile.
The donkey-faced man drew a deep breath, his eyes turning vicious. "Then take this!"
With that, he unleashed the first form of the Hands of Total Disfigurement: the Sharp-Mouthed Monkey-Cheek Finger!
This move resembled the Flower-Pinching Hand, except whoever was struck would have their jaw crushed, leaving them with sunken cheeks and a pointed muzzle like an ape—a disfigurement virtually impossible to restore.
Evidently, the donkey-faced man was profoundly jealous of Song He's looks.
Why should Song He be so handsome and yet so strong, while he himself had to become hideous just to gain first-rate strength?
Facing the donkey-faced man's attack, however, Song He remained completely unhurried. He slowly extended a hand. His hand seemed imbued with magic, causing the donkey-faced man to freeze for an instant, feeling as if bathed in a gentle spring breeze.
This was the Handsome and Dashing Hand: the more handsome the practitioner, the greater its power.
Furthermore, when deployed, it carried an innate effect that drastically reduced the target's hostility, preventing them from striking with full strength.
Expressed in gaming terms, it roughly meant: while dealing damage to the target, it reduces the target's attack power by 20%.
Finger met palm.
Because the donkey-faced man lost focus, Song He's palm strike snapped his hand instantly. Unchecked, the momentum slammed hard into his chest. The donkey-faced man sprayed a mouthful of blood and went flying backward through the air.
The entire audience erupted in an uproar at the sight. This was the first time an un-ugly contestant had ever defeated an ugly one.
The women shrieked in excitement and began cheering Song He on with renewed fervor.
"How is this possible?!"
Lying on the ground, the donkey-faced man stared at Song He in disbelief.
The Hands of Total Disfigurement was an entire martial discipline rather than just a few isolated moves. It encompassed an internal mental method as well as dozens of techniques.
The mental method itself was top-tier, yielding internal energy far stronger than ordinary arts, and paired with techniques distinctly superior to common moves, its power was downright terrifying.
Normally, unless the opponent had also cultivated the Hands of Total Disfigurement, there was no way they could possibly win.
By analogy, if the highest grade of martial arts and techniques in this world was S-rank, then the Hands of Total Disfigurement was SS-rank, utterly crushing everything beneath it.
If you didn't cultivate it, you were doomed whenever you crossed paths with someone who did.
Yet now Song He had become an exception. He had not cultivated the Hands of Total Disfigurement, and his internal cultivation was not much different from the donkey-faced man's, yet he had defeated him.
Ordinary spectators failed to grasp the deeper implications, but every martial artist present realized the truth.
Song He's martial art was very likely of the same tier as the Hands of Total Disfigurement—and practicing it didn't make one ugly!
This alone was enough to drive the entire martial world mad. Some people didn't even stay to watch the rest of the matches, turning immediately to spread the word, vowing to seize the art Song He cultivated.
"Do you wish to continue, or forfeit?" Song He asked, looking down at the donkey-faced man.
Though the donkey-faced man wanted to fight on and probe for more information, the palm strike to his chest left him powerless to do so. In the end, he had no choice but to concede in humiliation.
After that, Song He continued through the tournament, effortlessly dispatching opponent after opponent.
Some opponents even broke down emotionally, shouting in protest over why Song He was both handsome and strong, complaining that it wasn't fair.
Of course, kind-hearted as Song He was, he wasn't foolish enough to tell them about the Divine Art of Graceful Elegance. Still, he vaguely sensed the undercurrents surging through the audience.
However, he had already anticipated all of this before coming, so he didn't pay it any mind.
Cradling Little Face-Hound, Yu Xian was cheerfully watching Song He cut through his opposition when he suddenly sensed something. Frowning, he looked up at the sky. Surprises were always inevitable, but this one had come at the worst possible time.
Because the bounty posted by Nora and the others was simply too alluring, a faction of bounty hunters across the myriad worlds had abandoned their usual work, dead set on tracking him down.
Worst of all, these people knew very well how powerful he was.
So they all searched using avatars and kept livestreams running the entire time. As long as he dared show his face, they would immediately go claim the reward from Nora.
Yu Xian was genuinely weary of these pests and avoided them whenever possible. He just hadn't expected the bounty hunters to trace him all the way to this world.
Should he run?
Yu Xian felt a little conflicted. After all, he still wanted to see how far Song He could go.
Yet if he didn't run and the bounty hunters found him, Nora would definitely descend upon him in an instant, and it would take him considerable effort to slip away from her again.
While he hesitated, a massive spaceship appeared in the sky above the tournament grounds.
Instantly, everyone froze and looked up at the vessel in the sky, their faces filled with bewilderment, shock, terror, or curiosity.
Just then, a beam of light shone down from the ship, landing squarely on the arena stage. Three men clad in black metallic armor slowly descended along the pillar of light onto the platform.
"Who... who are you people? Immortals?" one of the contestants currently fighting couldn't help asking.
Seeing this contestant, one of the bounty hunters exclaimed in shock, "Holy crap, that's hideous! Captain, look, everyone around here is so ugly! Could this be a world where ugliness is considered beauty?"
"Don't cause unnecessary complications. Begin searching this planet. Anyone who interferes... kill," the leading man said flatly.
Because Yu Xian was too powerful, scanning abilities were useless against him; one had to look and perceive in person to confirm his identity.
Even if Yu Xian disguised himself, as long as something felt off, they could strike immediately to force him to reveal himself.
The bodies they were currently using were avatars—strictly speaking, genetically cultured vessels fitted with an extraordinary-grade chip in their brains, allowing them to control the bodies across worlds.
Even if they died, it would have zero effect on their true bodies.
Moreover, the genetic makeup of these avatars incorporated the DNA of numerous mutated beasts with superpowers. At the very least, each had System Rank strength, enough to sweep through the natives of the vast majority of worlds.
Using these avatars to search was both fast and safe, which was basically how all the bounty hunters tracking Yu Xian operated.
Chapter 663