The expectation in Zhao Jianhua's eyes made Chen Wu feel awkward.
Previously, Chen Wu hadn't been able to fully gauge Shi Feng's strength. He only felt it might have reached a certain level, but now that he'd actually seen it, his only reaction was shock, followed by more shock.
He couldn't imagine that a young man barely into his twenties had already reached a state of perfect refinement in his understanding of martial arts.
If it were just a profound understanding, allowing him to execute techniques effortlessly, Chen Wu could still classify Shi Feng as a genius. But to use techniques so naturally, as if they were alive and possessed a spirit of their own—this wasn't something achievable through understanding alone. It required vast amounts of real combat experience and countless life-or-death trials.
Even Chen Wu had only recently reached this level himself, but he was already forty-five. Since making his debut at sixteen, he had fought hundreds of battles large and small, even going to the battlefield, and had been tempered by war several times before achieving his current skill.
Chen Wu found it hard to believe Shi Feng could have that much real combat experience. Even if he had been fighting since the womb, reaching this level in his twenties was simply impossible.
"Because he's already transcended rigid techniques, it's hard for me to judge," Chen Wu said with a smile, a hint of emotion in his voice. "But to possess such cultivation at such a young age... I'm afraid you couldn't find another like him in all of Jinhai City."
"No way! Master Chen, your evaluation is too high," Zhao Jianhua exclaimed in surprise.
"No, my evaluation is not the least bit exaggerated," Chen Wu shook his head. "Although Shi Feng's constitution is a bit lacking, in terms of raw skill, there would be no problem for him to participate in the provincial martial arts tournament and contend for a top-ten position."
Chen Wu's words stunned both Xu Wenqing and Zhao Jianhua.
If the top martial arts champion in Jinhai City was considered a supreme expert locally, then at the provincial level, he wouldn't be considered much. After all, a province contained dozens of cities, and breaking into the top thirty was extremely difficult, let alone the top ten.
But for a martial arts grandmaster like Chen Wu to state it so definitively demanded everyone's attention. After all, Chen Wu himself had placed third in the provincial competition. He was very clear about the level at the provincial tournament; if even he said this, it proved Shi Feng truly had the strength to achieve a top-ten finish.
A province had a population of hundreds of millions, with tens of thousands participating in martial arts. To rank in the top ten among those tens of thousands carried a weight far beyond being the number one in Jinhai City.
Someone like Zhang Luowei, a martial arts genius, was only viewed favorably by Zhao Jianhua and Xu Wenqing as a promising junior. But Shi Feng's strength now demanded they take him seriously—or rather, view him as an equal.
"This kid Shi Feng really isn't simple," Zhao Jianhua murmured, his gaze on Shi Feng now devoid of the previous anger and contempt, replaced instead with a degree of appreciation. He then glanced sidelong at Lin Feilong beside him, thinking angrily, *This kid really had the nerve to use me as a pawn. Looks like I'll have to teach him a good lesson.* He had previously thought highly of Lin Feilong and was aware of his pursuit of Zhao Ruoxi, but he hadn't interfered. Lin Feilong was indeed outstanding and had the qualifications to court Ruoxi. However, now Zhao Jianhua found him quite distasteful.
Even someone not very perceptive could see that Lin Feilong had been using him. Lin Feilong had painted Shi Feng as utterly awful: from a poor family, pestering Ruoxi relentlessly, constantly bullied by others, and utterly mediocre. All of this had made Zhao Jianhua feel Shi Feng was unsuitable, prompting him to intervene. But now it was clear that was far from the truth.
Lin Feilong simply couldn't compare to Shi Feng and had tried to slander him to Zhao Jianhua.
Ninth in the whole school was impressive at Jinhai University, but put him in Jinhai City's martial arts tournament? He'd just be a newcomer contestant. Hundreds of such newcomers appeared every year. Put him on the provincial stage, and he probably wouldn't even cast a shadow.
Truly, the gap between Lin Feilong and Shi Feng was like that between heaven and earth.