Chapter 3396: Cattaleya’s Meteoric Fame

The first wave of fame had been from the merchant coalition tournament in the first city. But the second wave came from two far larger tournaments in places of real significance.

The first of the larger cities was the capital of the Pelican Kingdom, whose ruler had built a massive coliseum shaped like an open beak. It could hold over a hundred thousand spectators and was usually reserved for royal events or century milestones.

Now it hosted Cattaleya.

The moment she stepped inside, half the audience rose to their feet. The remaining half followed out of instinct before even understanding why.

Her first opponent in this tournament was a high ranked winner from previous years, known for defeating thirteen people in one day. His muscles rippled like rolling steel and his reputation was so deeply ingrained in the region that children used to practice martial arts while chanting his name.

He lasted twenty nine seconds.

The Pelican Kingdom newspapers dedicated four full page illustrations to the moment of defeat. Artists worked overtime. The king himself requested a second match, but the organizers reminded him of official rules. A royal sculptor even started carving a commemorative statue of Cattaleya flicking the air.

Daoist Chu made a small fortune that day.

The second major tournament was held inside the Iron Hide Martial Sect’s territory.

It was an arena built entirely from the bones of a colossal armored beast that had supposedly once terrorized the region. The Iron Hide sect prided themselves on producing the toughest body cultivators in the region. Their disciples trained by punching mountains and lifting boulders that weighed thousands of tons.

Their sect founder was rumored to have fought a Titan King Immortal Rhinoceros with nothing but his forehead.

So naturally, everyone was excited to see how Cattaleya would perform.

They were not disappointed.

Her first opponent was a Fifth Tribulation stage Iron Hide disciple whose back muscles were so large that two small children could take naps on them. He roared with pride, executed a technique called Mountain Breaking Smash, and swung at Cattaleya with the expectation of testing her strength.

She flicked him.

He bounced off the ground, then off the barrier, then off a pillar, then rolled to a stop next to the spectator stands, groaning softly.

Cattaleya spoke kindly afterward. She said he was one of the better ones. The disciple cried tears of joy because she had complimented him for lasting more than ten seconds.

Her second opponent was a Sixth Tribulation stage disciple with skin tougher than iron. His defensive technique, Iron Body Sacred Coat, was supposed to withstand swords, spears, fire, lightning, and possibly even angry mothers in law.

Catt flicked him so hard he skipped across the ring like a stone thrown into a lake.

He was found afterward clutching the ground, saying, "Her finger broke through the sacred coat. How did her finger do what hammers cannot."

Her third opponent was another sixth Tribulation expert who specialized in grappling and defensive counter throws. He had trained his bones to be denser than steel and had not been defeated in three years.

He lasted thirty seconds, and the crowd cheered because it was an achievement. When he stood up after defeat, he cupped his fists toward Cattaleya and shouted, "Thank you for the enlightenment." Then fainted.

By the end of the Iron Hide tournament’s first week, Cattaleya’s name had spread across every border city and clan nearby. Merchants traveled specifically to find out if she would participate in their tournaments. Wandering cultivators showed up to watch the destruction. Even elders from small sects came out to see the famous One Flick Woman.

Daoist Chu, Elyon, and even Cattaleya herself continued to profit from the betting houses. But the betting houses had adapted quickly.

Originally the payout for her winning was ten to one. Then five to one. Then one to one. Then, after the Iron Hide tournament, it became so low that it was practically not worth betting.

So the betting houses changed tactics.

Now they took bets on how long it would take for her to win.

These bets were far more popular.

One second to five seconds was the most common category, mostly by people who wanted to show off their own bravery.Five seconds to ten seconds was considered reasonable.Ten seconds to thirty seconds was considered optimistic for the opponent.

There were even some jokes that if anyone bet on the one minute category, they were either drunk or delusional.

To the betting house’s surprise, a large wave of gamblers placed bets on the thirty second category after her seventh tribulation fight. They thought maybe, just maybe, she would slow down.

She did not.

Her average remained ten seconds.

Sometimes eight.

Sometimes six.

Daoist Chu became very popular with the bookkeepers after managing to place accurate timing bets nearly every time. Elyon also kept winning but never revealed how he predicted things.

The truth was simple. He had been watching Cattaleya’s finger movements carefully and had figured out that she flicked slightly slower when she enjoyed the match more.

Meanwhile, Cattaleya’s fame began affecting the other tournaments.

Some cultivators simply refused to enter when they saw her name on the roster.

Others quit and ran to different events.

One was overheard crying loudly in a tavern, "I left the first tournament to escape her. Then she appeared in the second. So I ran to the third. She was there too. She is everywhere. Everywhere!"

He later became known as the Man Who Fled From Ten Tournaments.

Yet, despite the fear among weaker cultivators, there was also a strong wave of anticipation building among the talented ones.

Many body cultivators wanted to fight her.

Some wanted to test their strength.

Some wanted the honor of facing a monster.

Some simply wanted to see if her flick really felt like being struck by a divine hammer.

Rumors began spreading of high ranking participants in the upcoming Great Martial Fist King Tournament preparing counter techniques specifically designed against flicks.

Someone even developed a technique called Flick Guard Barrier.

It failed when the user tested it by asking a friend to flick a pebble at him. The pebble went through his shield and knocked him unconscious.

Still, people tried.

Because no matter how unstoppable Cattaleya seemed, the martial world had a saying.

Where strength rises, challengers appear.

And Cattaleya’s rise was nothing short of meteoric.

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