Chapter 89: Fang Chen Takes the Stage
Chapter 89: Chapter 89: Fang Chen Takes the Stage
Facing this swift and fierce attack, Fan Yutong merely raised her left hand with seeming casualness. She spread her five fingers slightly and pressed forward.
BANG!
As the leg and palm clashed, a muffled sound of impact echoed!
However, to the surprise of many candidates below the stage who let out soft gasps, Su Zhe actually appeared evenly matched in this exchange!
"Huh?"
"Su Zhe is that strong?"
"I thought Su Zhe’s leg was going to snap for sure."
Low murmurs of exclamation immediately rippled through the surroundings. Even Su Zhe himself couldn’t quite believe it.
But Fang Chen noticed the crux of the matter.
From the very beginning, the True Qi fluctuations emanating from Senior Sister Fan Yutong had remained at the level of the Late Stage of True Martial Realm. There was absolutely none of the oppressive feeling that came with the Qualitative Change of the High Martial Realm! Moreover, she had been introduced earlier as an expert in Leg Techniques, yet she hadn’t used them.
He thought, "It seems she deliberately suppressed her strength to a level similar to the candidates."
Fang Chen understood clearly. "It’s to evaluate the candidates’ true level more fairly. This also avoids a one-sided, instant knockout that wouldn’t even give them a chance to show what they can do."
Sure enough, there was no trace of anger or surprise on the repelled Fan Yutong’s face. Instead, a flash of approval crossed her eyes.
She lightly shook her wrist. Looking at Su Zhe, whose eyes held a mix of shock and a hint of smugness, she beckoned with her finger, gesturing for him to continue.
"Your strength is acceptable, but the transitions are too slow. Again," she said. Her voice was cold and clear, carrying the tone of an instructor.
Hearing this, Su Zhe’s spirits lifted. He lunged forward once more, his legs whipping up streaks of afterimages as he executed the moves of the Twelve-Step Leg Springing Technique to their fullest extent.
Meanwhile, Fan Yutong kept her strength suppressed at the Late Stage of True Martial. Whether blocking or dodging, her occasional counterattacks were timed perfectly to force out Su Zhe’s potential and adaptability. It looked more like an instructional bout.
"Is that all?" Fan Yutong’s crisp voice rang out, tinged with scrutiny.
Su Zhe’s heart skipped a beat as he internally cursed, but it was too late to change his moves!
His vision blurred. Before he could even see how Fan Yutong moved, she sliced into his wide-open guard in an instant, like a phantom! Immediately following, a knee strike as swift as lightning smashed into his abdomen like a heavy sledgehammer!
THUD!
A muffled sound of impact echoed!
The Spiritual Crystal Stone on the chest of Su Zhe’s Combat Suit flashed violently. Its glow dimmed by more than half at a visible rate! However, the force of this strike was clearly not completely dispersed. A terrifying impact pierced straight through his body!
"Aargh—!"
Su Zhe let out a miserable scream. His entire body curled up instantly as he crashed heavily to his knees. The excruciating pain made him retch uncontrollably. His stomach churned violently until he vomited bile, his face instantly turning as pale as a sheet of paper.
This miserable scene caused the crowd below the stage to frown.
"Hiss... This senior sister doesn’t pull her punches..."
"Yeah, kneeing him right in the lower abdomen. Hope she didn’t neuter him..."
"What did you expect? She definitely has to establish some deterrence. Otherwise, if everyone thinks she’s a pushover and picks her for their first try, wouldn’t she be worked to death?"
"Fair point..."
Su Zhe lay on the ground, rolling in agony. The blow had clearly damaged his internal organs. The pain pushed him to the verge of losing consciousness, leaving him only able to weakly raise a hand and wave it.
"I... I yield... I forfeit..."
He was quickly helped off the stage.
Fang Chen noticed that although there were school medics on standby at the edge of the venue, no one rushed forward to treat Su Zhe right away. There wasn’t even a single word of comfort.
He thought, "Are they testing the students’ own preparations?"
Fang Chen’s mind was as clear as a mirror. "After all, everyone still has two more chances to challenge later, and the intervals are short. Relying solely on meditation to circulate Qi won’t restore a good condition in such a short time.
"They can only rely on Potions and Elixirs prepared in advance. At the end of the day, this second round is also a competition of individual financial preparation and logistical support.
"Either you have absolute strength to gain the examiner’s high approval in the first challenge, saving your stamina and chances; or you have to use the power of wealth, relying on Potions to recover quickly, showcasing your potential for sustained combat and the resource backing behind you."
Fortunately, Su Zhe’s family background was quite affluent. After being helped down, he immediately pulled out a recovery Potion and painkillers from his backpack. After downing them, his pale complexion improved at a visible rate.
After Su Zhe, the next to take the stage was a female student. She was only an Ordinary Martial Artist and had chosen to fight the examiner skilled in Fist Techniques.
Fang Chen noticed that this examiner did not suppress his cultivation to the same realm as the student, unlike what Fan Yutong had done with Su Zhe.
He pondered, "It seems they can’t suppress their strength as much as they please. The Mid-Stage True Martial is probably the absolute limit of their suppression."
After the female student went up, she threw several punches with all her might. Her moves were fairly standard, but in front of that examiner, it was like a fly trying to move a mountain. The examiner didn’t even shift his feet, merely blocking casually.
In the end, seeing that she seemed to have nothing new to offer, the examiner threw a casual punch that landed squarely on her shoulder.
The Spiritual Crystal Stone on her Combat Suit flickered violently, dimming by nearly half. The tremendous force sent her flying more than ten meters through the air before she crashed heavily onto the ground.
THUD!
Another muffled thud rang out.
By now, however, the people in the examination hall seemed a bit numb. Someone quickly ran over to help her up and guided her to the side to rest. She had clearly suffered from the concussive force. Her face was pale, visibly injured.
But unlike Su Zhe, this girl evidently hadn’t prepared any expensive recovery Potions. She just sat on the sidelines, taking small sips of water to calm her Aura, her eyes filled with helplessness and despair. Nearby, Su Zhe was circulating his True Qi to slowly recharge his Spiritual Crystal Stone. This girl, however, had neither True Qi to heal her injuries and recharge the stone, nor a spare Spiritual Crystal Stone for replacement.
Fang Chen sighed inwardly. "Clearly, she belongs to the batch that is one hundred percent guaranteed to be eliminated."
Resources and connections were equally indispensable aspects on the path of the Martial Dao. In some instances, the lack of them was even more cruel than a lack of talent.
The assessments continued in order. Soon, over a dozen candidates had been tested.
Without exception, they all displayed their ultimate skills to their hearts’ content, only to be knocked out in a single move when they ran out of new tricks. Everyone sustained injuries and had to sit on the sidelines to rest.
"Next. Group 8, Number 16, Fang Chen!"
It was finally Fang Chen’s turn.
He calmly stepped out of the line, his gaze sweeping over the three examiners once more. Ultimately, his eyes settled on Fan Yutong, the one who had just incapacitated Su Zhe with a single blow.
Although this Fan Yutong specialized in Leg Techniques, there were no rules restricting either side to only using their legs. Just now, during the first exchange with Su Zhe, she had also used quite a few Palm Techniques to block.
Moreover, Fang Chen noticed a quirk about Fan Yutong—she always met the first attack head-on. While the other examiners would sometimes take the initiative to strike first, she never did.
She was the one.
"I choose Senior Sister Fan."