Chapter 91: The Number One Person
Chapter 91: Chapter 91: The Number One Person
"AHHH!"
The entire arena erupted into uncontrollable gasps of shock. Everyone’s eyes widened, staring at the figure in midair in utter disbelief. They thought Fang Chen might put up a beautiful fight, or perhaps suffer a narrow defeat, but they never imagined the scene would turn into Fang Chen holding an absolute advantage!
Fan Yutong forcefully twisted her body in the air, trying to adjust her landing posture. However, her neck suddenly tightened. A powerful hand had already clamped down on her slender neck like an iron vice!
"He’s so fast!" Fan Yutong was horrified.
Fang Chen’s eyes were icy. Gripping Fan Yutong by the neck as if holding a piggy bank, he ruthlessly smashed her down from midair toward the ground!
"BOOM!!"
A massive crash echoed as dust and smoke billowed! Even the ground seemed to tremble!
Before Fan Yutong could recover from the heavy impact, Fang Chen’s other fist was already raining down on her vitals protected by her qi, blurring into afterimages like a piledriver!
"BANG BANG BANG BANG!"
Every punch landed true, generating endless explosive blasts! Her Protective True Qi flickered violently, on the verge of collapsing.
"AHHHH!" Fan Yutong finally couldn’t hold back her cries of agony, feeling as though her entire skeleton was about to be shattered!
"Stop hitting me! Stop!" she shouted with the last bit of her strength, her voice ragged and frantic. "I lost!"
Fang Chen’s fist came to an abrupt halt less than an inch from her face. The Fist Wind blew back her disheveled hair.
The moment Fan Yutong conceded, earth-shattering cheers and exclamations erupted around Area 8!
"WOAAH!!"
"He won! He actually won!"
The fierce battle here had long attracted the attention of candidates preparing in other areas. From the moment Fang Chen first forced Fan Yutong back, heads had continuously turned to watch. Eventually, several nearby areas had even temporarily paused their assessments, and many candidates who had been healing their injuries gathered around to witness the showdown.
"Who is this guy? He’s too fierce! He actually beat an examiner?"
"I think he’s a candidate from Jinchuan City!"
"Did she go easy on him?"
"Shh! Don’t talk nonsense! If the academy wanted to accept him, they could just give him a high score. There’s no need to lose on purpose. Winning wouldn’t give her any extra rewards anyway."
"True... My god, our batch has produced a monster!"
"You can say that again!"
The murmurs spread like a tidal wave. Even the usually arrogant local candidates of Cyan Yang City had shock and disbelief plastered across their faces. Among them were many scions of great families who were similarly equipped with Tier 2 Spiritual Crystal Stones. But they knew in their hearts that even if weapons were allowed to be equipped with Spiritual Crystal Stones, they wouldn’t have any confidence in defeating a High Martial Realm Martial Artist! Let alone completely suppressing and defeating one from start to finish like Fang Chen just did!
Fang Chen looked at Fan Yutong, who had conceded and whose face was slightly bruised and swollen. He reached out a hand, his tone carrying a trace of apology. "I’m sorry, Senior Sister. No offense intended."
Fan Yutong scoffed coldly. Struggling to stand up on her own, she dusted off the dirt on her clothes. "You only took advantage of..."
She swallowed the rest of her words and just waved her hand, her tone complicated. "Forget it. A win is a win. You’re... really not bad."
Saying no more, she turned and walked toward the edge of the arena. Unlike with the candidates, the academy’s medical staff immediately approached to examine her and treat her injuries.
The two judges responsible for scoring were stationed nearby. One was a middle-aged man wearing the uniform of Qingyang Academy, and the other was an old man in a gray robe. They exchanged a glance, both seeing profound astonishment in the other’s eyes.
The middle-aged man from the academy spoke first, his tone filled with disbelief. "He... actually won? If I remember correctly, there has never been a candidate who truly defeated an examiner in the second round of the Cyan Yang City martial arts exam, right?"
The gray-robed old man stroked his beard in thought and slowly shook his head. "I’ve never heard of such a thing. I have overseen martial arts exams across the Southwestern Province for years, and even in the assessments of other secondary cities—let alone Cyan Yang City—there has never been a precedent."
Changing the subject, he analyzed objectively, "However, Fan Yutong was indeed a bit careless in this fight. If she had treated him seriously from the start and hadn’t lost the initiative by being forced back by his first move, or if she hadn’t suppressed her cultivation base, this boy would have absolutely no chance of winning."
The middle-aged man chuckled. "Rules are rules. This round of the assessment is meant to test the candidates’ comprehensive abilities. If the examiners just suppressed them with pure power, we wouldn’t be able to see anything."
He looked admiringly at Fang Chen, who was standing calmly in the arena. "Even so, the Cultivation Techniques, physical toughness, and True Qi quality of the senior students acting as examiners are far beyond what a typical Martial Artist at the Peak of True Martial Realm can compare to.
"The fact that this boy was able to seize a sliver of an opening and unleash a continuous, torrential assault is remarkable. He seamlessly utilized his fists, legs, Body Technique, and even Hidden Weapon techniques with absolute mastery. What’s even rarer is his combat intelligence and ruthless decisiveness. It’s truly not easy to pull off."
The gray-robed old man nodded in agreement. "Indeed, his solid foundation and adaptability in battle are definitely top-tier. However..." He frowned slightly. "Spending so much time and energy to cultivate several True Martial Level Martial Skills to such a profound stage is definitely difficult.
"But once he reaches the High Martial Realm, the power of any random Martial Skill, even at a Minor Achievement, will be far beyond what these True Martial Level Martial Skills can produce. He might not necessarily go far in the future."
The middle-aged man took it in stride and laughed. "Well, since he doesn’t have a High Martial Realm Cultivation Technique, he probably had nothing else to focus on. Rather than sitting idle, polishing his foundation isn’t a bad thing. Anyway, enough chitchat. What about the score?"
Hearing this, the gray-robed old man smiled as well. He picked up his pen and quickly scribbled on the score sheet. "The score? Does it even need to be said? If I don’t give him a perfect score, I’m afraid your academy will think I’m a spy sent by a rival school!"
"Hahaha!" The middle-aged man also laughed heartily as he gave out his own perfect score.
After laughing, their gazes fell on Fang Chen once more, their eyes filled with curiosity.
The middle-aged man rubbed his chin. "According to the rules, he still has two chances to challenge. Will he fight the next two matches?"
A sharp glint flashed in the old man’s eyes. "He should fight! He must! It’s the perfect opportunity to see just where this boy’s limits... truly lie!"
Amidst the crowd’s complex gazes, Fang Chen walked back to the group in Area 8. His classmates immediately swarmed him in excitement, their faces radiating an undeniable sense of pride.
"Boss Fang! You’re too fierce! You actually beat the examiner!"
"Wow, watching that got my blood boiling! But I could never copy that. I absolutely couldn’t! Even after watching the whole process, I feel like I could never replicate your timing and explosive power from the first move!"
Yuan Xiao forcefully patted Fang Chen’s shoulder, clicking his tongue in amazement. "Not bad, Old Fang! You’re probably going to be a celebrity now. The title of the number one freshman at Cyan Yang Martial Arts Academy is pretty much locked in for you!"
Meanwhile, Cai Long rubbed his chin, his eyes darting toward the edge of the arena where Fan Yutong was receiving treatment with a rather unpleasant expression. He said eagerly, "Hey, hey, I’m up next. What do you guys think? If I challenge Senior Sister Fan right now, since she was just worn out by Fang and is in bad shape, will I have an easier time and get a high score?"
Su Zhe, who was standing nearby, laughed and warned him. "Hehe, Cai, I advise you to be sensible. Do you really think Senior Sister Fan isn’t holding in a stomach full of rage right now with nowhere to vent it?
"If you go up to her now, you’ll be throwing yourself right into the line of fire. She wouldn’t dare mess with the rules, but do you think she wouldn’t dare be a little more ’strict’ with you? Go ahead and give it a try. You have my moral support."
Cai Long shrank his neck back upon hearing this and hurriedly waved his hands. "Never mind then! I don’t want to follow in your footsteps. I’d rather take fewer injuries and save my strength to prepare for the second round."