A muscular girl is presented to the passionate world of crossover anime.

"It's almost the end of the year, so after this conference, I'm definitely going to have a blast for a year and a half until I graduate high school!" Hana secretly made up her mind: "I'm going to enjoy life to the fullest!"

Hopefully... this isn't a flag... I hope so.

The wait before the start wasn't long. Before Kanon could even dream about the future, the list of contestants was announced outside.

"After a long century, and generations of eager anticipation, we have finally returned to this arena! The Chinese constellations cycle every twelve years, just as the West has the twelve zodiac signs and twelve months in a year. The Buddha was protected by twelve divine generals, and Jesus had twelve disciples… Today, twelve Neptunes will compete. Let us welcome them—Sun Haiwang from Jilin Province's Jiequan Dao! Yang Haiwang from Shandong Province's Jingangquan! Liu Haiwang from Heilongjiang Province's Bailin Temple! Also from Heilongjiang Province's Bailin Temple, Lie Haiwang! Mao Haiwang from Hebei Province's Shourouquan! Samwang Haiwang from Thailand's Muay Thai! Chen Haiwang from Fujian Province's Sanhequan! Chu Haiwang from Jiangsu Province's Longwangquan! Nu Li'an Haiwang from the American Bailin Temple branch! Ji Haiwang from Japan's Paolinji Quan! Li Haiwang from Guangdong Province's Yaoyingquan! And Ye Haiwang from Guangdong Province's Ye Family Quan!"

The twelve people who competed as the Sea King were all in one group. Every time the commentator called out one of them, one person would come out, and the arena outside would cheer. The commentator introduced them very quickly, and gradually the cheers became a continuous chorus. The atmosphere of the entire arena also reached its peak. This effect could be achieved without deliberately trying to evoke emotions. The level of the commentator was far superior to that of the commentator in the Tokyo Dome underground arena under Tokugawa Mitsunari.

Hanon was the last of the twelve to appear, and it was only then that she learned how the Martial Arts Province defined her: in terms of affiliation, she was listed as the Sea King of Guangdong Province, and in terms of style, she was "Ye Family Fist". Hanon had no objection to this, after all, it was just another way of saying "my style" or "self-created martial arts".

To Hanon's slight surprise, the cheers from the audience rose to another level when she appeared. At first, she thought that since she was the last one to appear, the cheers were for all twelve of them. But after listening for a while, she realized that most of the audience really were supporting her.

"King Ye Hai! King Ye Hai!"

"Kane, you're the best!"

"Ye Huayin, I love you like a mouse loves rice!"

That last line... Kanon really misses it. How many years has it been since she heard anyone say that? But why?

Well, Hanon's popularity in the country, especially in the Martial Arts Province, is much higher than she realizes. First, she is the only female Sea King in a century, making it hard not to think of Yang Miaozhen's "twenty years of unparalleled skill in the Plow Flower Spear" from a thousand years ago; second, Hanon's Sea King trial last year directly led to a major reform in the Martial Arts Province, with the three elders being replaced one after another, the long-standing vested interests falling, and the Martial Arts Province's huge funds and power being distributed evenly, with most of the Martial Arts Province members sitting here today having benefited from it; third, everyone in the Martial Arts Province deals with martial arts every day, and Hanon's performance at the Kengan Association in Japan and the Tokyo Dome underground arena is widely known, how could a hero who brings glory to the country not be loved?

Ahem, one last thing: Kanon is young and beautiful. Being a sucker for good looks is probably one of the essential human traits...

The cheers that surprised Hanon lasted for more than ten seconds before being interrupted by the commentator—who was indeed very professional, with excellent pacing, almost like a martial arts master: "Twelve people have gathered here, but there's one more... Although we all knew he would come, seeing him in person is still amazing! After a hundred years, the previous champion has reappeared, and this is the real deal! At the age of 146, the king of kings, Guo Haihuang! He is still alive!"

Guo Haihuang is a living legend, almost a symbol of Chinese martial arts. However, because of his unbelievable age and his reclusive lifestyle, his appearance did not raise the atmosphere of the competition. Instead, there was a collective gasp, and many people were afraid of him.

Fortunately, the commentator quickly changed the subject: "And another thing! Three other martial arts masters recognized by the Chinese Martial Arts Province will also be participating in this year's Grand Tournament. They are—Muhammad Ali II, the heir of Muhammad Ali; Long Shuwen, who is neither a member of the Western King nor the Sea King system, yet is also a source of pride for Chinese martial arts; and Yujiro Hanma from Japan, known as the 'strongest creature in the world'! Welcome!"

Guo Haihuang and the other three also stood in the line of the twelve sea kings. Hanma Yujiro was still very obedient and cooperated with the explanation. If it weren't for the arrogant smile on his face, Kanon would be a fake "giant"!

"The above sixteen people are the participants of this conference. A century of anticipation and a century of pressure have been released in one day!"

The conference was devoid of sentimentality, and everything proceeded quickly. The sixteen participants made a brief appearance, followed by the group assignments. However, surprisingly, the so-called grand tournament didn't announce the matchups all at once; instead, the list of participants was revealed for each match as it began.

The first match is between "The World's Strongest Creature" Yujiro Hanma and "Fist God" Liu Haiwang.

Author's Note: I always feel like all I have left in life is writing.

Section 673, Chapter 666: The "Disgraceful" Boxing God

"We are only announcing one pairing at a time to emphasize martial arts, prevent the preparation of targeted tactics in advance, and ensure the fairness of the competition... Now we only have two fighters left, the rest of you please leave the stage."

So now everyone who's left could be Kanon's opponent? Kanon nudged Retsu Kaioh: "I hope we don't run into each other in the first round."

"Oh! Okay..." Retsukai's attention was entirely focused on Liu Haiwang and Hanma Yujiro, and he had no time to pay attention to Kanon, after all, his mentor was about to face that giant monster...

However, the people from the Martial Arts Department clearly didn't think that way. Just like their arrogant attitude towards Kanon before, Yujiro Hanma didn't receive any better treatment either. Even this very professional commentator changed the subject and questioned Yujiro: "We have a question for the two warriors who remain in the ring. 'Fist God' Liu Haiwang is undoubtedly the pride of Chinese martial arts, but is his opponent, Yujiro Hanma, qualified to stand on the grand ring? We have prepared a test that is very suitable for him, and we hope that Mr. Hanma will demonstrate his martial arts in public."

Then, the staff carried up forty tiles, allowing Yujiro to demonstrate his skills in breaking bricks and tiles in front of everyone.

"Let Yujiro Hanma break the tiles..." Kanon covered her forehead: "They really dare to think and do things." She looked at Retsu Kaioh: "Since you knew Yujiro Hanma was going to participate, you should have reminded them not to provoke him."

"Let Yujiro Hanma break the tiles..." At the same time, Yujiro in the arena was also muttering this sentence. He raised his head and was not angry at all! "I have never done such a thing before... Hmph, such a thin thing, no matter how many pieces are broken, it doesn't prove anything."

He gently stroked the tiles; the forty tiles were roughly the same height as Yujiro Hanma's shoulder, just the right position to exert force. With a slight push of his right hand, he cleaved each tile in two with a single, decisive blow. No, not cleaved, but shattered into countless scattered specks of dust.

Yujiro smiled at Liu Haiwang and said, "You agree, right, Liu Haiwang? Whether it's planks, bricks, tiles, paper, or watermelons, kicking and hitting things that can't speak or fight back is just taking pleasure in bullying the powerless. Is this your Chinese martial arts?"

As he spoke, Yujiro glanced at Kanon, their eyes meeting. Kanon, who had been staring at him, was startled and nudged Retsu Kaioh hard. "Hey, hey, that's not a peaceful smile! Yujiro Hanma is definitely up to something big! This is bad, this is bad!"

"The Grand Tournament has already begun, and all the warriors are fighting fairly. I cannot stop them." Retsukai was also in a dilemma. As someone who had personally witnessed Yujiro's ferocity, he was naturally worried about his master. Unfortunately, Retsukai, who was powerless, could only sigh: "This kind of intimidation tactic is still a legacy of the previous Third Elder. It is indeed a terrible provocation... I can only place my hopes on my master's unfathomable strength."

Is it Liu Haiwang's strength?

Faced with Yujiro Hanma's sinister question, Liu Haiwang didn't rush to attack. Instead, he began to explain the principles of martial arts: "Martial arts exist for the weak. If one day you suddenly become able to destroy things you couldn't destroy before, then gaining the satisfaction of becoming stronger by striking these inanimate objects isn't entirely meaningless... A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. A great river is formed from countless small streams. This is how the strong grow step by step."

Yujiro Hanma laughed loudly, "Very well, then let me tell you how ridiculous it is that your Chinese martial arts have been accumulated for four thousand years, and the so-called 'small streams' have built up your so-called strongmen."

With the sound of a gong, the battle began.

Liu Haiwang's muscles bulged to their limit, just like his appearance. At the same time, this old man had been practicing martial arts for a hundred years, and his skills were beyond the imagination of ordinary people. His fingers were in a flower-picking shape, which was the exquisite power transfer of Chinese boxing. The efficiency of his strikes was very high. Liu Haiwang's attack was swung towards Yujiro.

“His muscle movements are too obvious, making them not difficult to predict.” Kanon, however, noticed the problem with this move: “Is it because he’s too eager to win with one blow against Yujiro? But with such an obvious intention, the only way to hit is to outspeed your opponent…”

When it comes to speed, Yujiro Hanma is second to none!

Just moments before Liu Haiwang's peculiar attack struck Yujiro, Yujiro had already plunged his hand into Liu Haiwang's face, his entire hand piercing through the soft muscle behind the jawbone and seizing Liu Haiwang's entire face.

This injury is incredibly painful! Even more importantly, Liu Haiwang (the actor playing Liu Haiwang) doesn't dare move, because the slightest movement would peel off his face.

But it wasn't Liu Haiwang who kept saying it, but Yujiro: "'Fist God', how impressive! You've used this face for a hundred years, let me change it for you!"

"Whoosh—thump!" Liu Haiwang was lifted up and slammed down by Hanma Yujiro, his head hitting the ground, blood spurting out, and his face was peeled off in the process.

With a casual flick of his wrist, Yujiro sent Liu Haiwang's intact, blood-soaked face flying onto the commentary booth. The professional commentator was so shocked he couldn't speak, finally managing to stammer, "That's...that's too much..."

"Hmph, you should say 'the outcome is decided' instead." Yujiro looked arrogantly at the commentary booth—he wasn't just targeting the commentator, but the entire Chinese martial arts province behind him, those guys who wanted him to break tiles to demonstrate their "qualification" in public.

Yujiro Hanma is not only vengeful, but also extremely vindictive!

"I knew Yujiro was going to cause trouble..." Hanon shook her head and sighed. Her impression of Liu Haiwang wasn't too bad, after all, she had been treated well by him and Retsu Haiwang these past few days... By the way, seeing her mentor get his face peeled off by Yujiro in one move, what about Retsu Haiwang... wait, where is Retsu Haiwang?

"Yujiro Hanma!" A sharp shout rang out as Retsu Kaioh appeared in the arena. The man could no longer contain his rage: "Fight me right now! Right now!"

"I couldn't be happier!" Yujiro rolled his eyes, getting excited. Compared to Liu Haiwang, Retsu Haiwang seemed to be stronger: "Come on!"

Just as the two were about to draw their swords, Liu Haiwang stood up and waved to Lie Haiwang, stopping him from attacking. He mumbled something, but due to his severe facial injuries, it was completely inaudible: "&%%……＃*（！*%"

King Retsu asked, puzzled, "What did you say?"

"You want to..." Liu Haiwang gasped for breath, gradually catching his breath, "You want to humiliate me?"

This is his battle; he hasn't lost consciousness or died yet!

He tossed the blood-soaked towel to Yujiro, and Liu Haiwang followed up with a kick. This kick was a testament to his century of cultivation. Even though he was seriously injured, the kick was still precise and powerful, tearing Yujiro's clothes... just his clothes.

Yujiro was incredibly wild and had an extremely sharp intuition. In an instant, he took a small step back to avoid Liu Haiwang's kick. At the same time, Yujiro also launched a flying kick, which struck Liu Haiwang squarely in the face.

Having already lost face, Liu Haiwang suffered another blow to his face, and now he really can't stand up anymore.

The so-called "God of Boxing" was unfortunately defeated by the "Mega Fierce"... a crushing defeat.

Author's Note: It's a little late today. Things have been a bit unusual lately. Since it's almost May Day, I've started a road trip, driving all afternoon and writing in the evenings. Updates today and tomorrow will be a little slower, but it won't affect things too much. However, from May 30th to May 4th, I might only be able to update twice a day, and I might even have to take a day off. Just letting you all know in advance!

As for the plot of this grand arena battle, I will try to keep the other battles brief and not too long. The scene where Liu Haiwang gets skinned in this chapter is quite memorable.

Ah, that picture of the peeled-off skin is too graphic, so I won't post it. You all understand.

Section 674, Chapter 667: The Horse Stance in My Memory

Liu Haiwang was carried off the field. He remained silent after being kicked, but a master with a century of cultivation wouldn't easily fall into a deep sleep even after being struck twice by Hanma Yujiro. Liu Haiwang's body was trembling, clearly indicating that he was still conscious and deeply grieving his crushing defeat.

Seeing his mentor like this, Retsu Kaioh was so angry that his face twitched. However, after Liu Kaioh interrupted his challenge to Yujiro Hanma, Yujiro left the ring, leaving Retsu Kaioh alone and at a loss.

"I hope I'm the one fighting next!" King Retsu said bitterly, "That way I can avenge my master in the second round!"

Hanon stood in the distant entrance passage, her heart aching: "No... Retsu Kaioh might be stronger than Liu Kaioh, but he's no match for Hanma Yujiro. With such a hasty mindset, he might even be in mortal danger."

Retsu Kaioh is undoubtedly a chivalrous and courageous man, but he's also the most stubborn person Kanon knows. He's incredibly persistent, and once he decides to do something—mostly a duel—not a second thought can be swayed. Kanon sometimes worries that if Retsu Kaioh were to encounter a powerful, murderous opponent, this brave man who's willing to bear all consequences might truly face unbearable repercussions…

"The second match is going to feature..." The commentator began announcing the lineup for the second match, but his voice trembled slightly due to the impact of Liu Haiwang's bloodied face: "It's Lie Haiwang and Sun Haiwang!"

"Damn it! Is it really Retsu?" Kanon cursed out loud. Wasn't this arrangement sending Retsu Kaioh to his doom?!

Fortunately, the commentator immediately added: "As mentioned before, although the match list has been arranged, in order to ensure that the fighters do not prepare in advance based on their opponents' characteristics, we will gradually release the battle list. Moreover, the order of the eight matches in the first round will be shuffled. Therefore, it does not mean that the winner of this match will face Mr. Yujiro Hanma in the next round."

I see... Although the opaque competition system of the Martial Arts Province makes one want to complain, this arrangement does protect Retsu Kaioh, so Kanon is too lazy to say anything more.

The second match was about to begin, and Lie Haiwang stood in the ring waiting for his opponent. When his opponent, Sun Haiwang from Jilin Province's Jiequan Dao, walked out of the passage, he saw Lie Haiwang practicing his horse stance.

"King Retsu, what's going on?" Normally, interactions between Kings were rare, but earlier this year, both King Sun and King Retsu had attended Kanon's King Trial and even had a meal together afterwards, thus establishing a rapport. Seeing King Retsu's current posture, King Sun was baffled, even wondering, "Could it be that King Liu was humiliated and severely injured by the Japanese warriors, causing Retsu to suffer a mental breakdown?"

For a master like Lie Haiwang, practicing the horse stance was the most basic thing. As he practiced the horse stance, he closed his eyes and focused his mind, recalling the past: "Twenty-five years ago..." Lie Haiwang said, "The day I became a disciple, the horse stance was the first thing my master Liu Haiwang taught me."

Having abandoned his horse stance, Lie Haiwang faced Sun Haiwang and said, "Now that my mentor has fallen, I will bear the burden of the entire Bailin Temple."

As expected of the Sea King, he adjusted his mindset in the blink of an eye, and even took it a step further, reaching his peak performance.

“Is that so… I admire your determination, but I also have the honor of my sect to bear.” Sun Haiwang pondered for a moment, then raised his hands: “Have you noticed the rings on my ten fingers? They are not weapons, but seals.”

As Sun Haiwang spoke, his ten fingers clenched into fists, and the compression of his muscles caused the rings to crack and shatter, drawing gasps from the audience: "What incredible grip strength!"

"This is the first time I've removed my ring in seven years since I became the Sea King." Sun Haiwang struck a pose: "Come on, Lie Haiwang, let's have a showdown! Friendships aside, I won't hold back."

The gong sounded, the match began, and in the very first second, Lie Haiwang's hand grasped Sun Haiwang's hand.

Almost everyone was shocked: "Is Retsu Kaioh... going to have a grip strength contest? After Sun Kaioh demonstrated such a high level of grip strength?"

Only Hanma Yujiro looked down on the two of them; Guo Haihuang was calm and confident; Hanon shook his head: "If it's just about breaking the ring, I can do that too."

However, Kanon is not the martial artist with the strongest grip strength.

“When I was in Japan, I met an opponent named Kaoru Hanayama. He was a gang leader and also had an incredibly strong grip. He could easily tear a deck of cards off a deck with his fingers, something your grip obviously couldn’t do.”

Friendship aside, Lie Haiwang wouldn't show any mercy. He spoke these words expressionlessly, and no matter how hard Sun Haiwang tried, he couldn't break free from Lie Haiwang's grasp!

"Damn it!" His furious roars couldn't stop the defeat. Sun Haiwang could only clench his fist and punch Lie Haiwang, essentially abandoning his most prized strength—arm wrestling—in order to break the deadlock with martial arts techniques. But having lost even in arm wrestling, how could Sun Haiwang possibly counter Lie Haiwang's moves? Lie Haiwang further channeled his power into his hand, and before Sun Haiwang could even land a punch, he was completely crushed to the ground.

“Sun…” Retsu Haiwang’s expression turned slightly melancholy: “Relinquish the title of Haiwang and start practicing from Zama.” With that, he reached out and struck Sun Haiwang on the back of the neck, ending his consciousness as Sun was unable to lift his head.

The second round of the Grand Challenge was an even more overwhelming crushing defeat than the first.

"That brat Lie, he clearly won, but his face looks worse than when he lost. He doesn't even have a smile on his face. He's probably lamenting that Haiwang's level has dropped significantly! Heh, what can you do about it~" Guo Haihuang wheeled himself over to Huayin's side: "This is all the result of those three good-for-nothings from the Martial Arts Province messing things up before... When I was young, Haiwang's level was much stronger than it is now."

"Huh? Why did you come out here?" Because of her good relationship with Retsu Kaioh, Hanon was watching the game from the side of the entrance passage. Now Guo Haihuang has also come here. This is something that didn't even happen when Hanma Yujiro came out.