One Hammer Blow, Three Steps
The most threatening one, Si Ming, casually walked around the arena with a bow and arrow in hand, but even though he didn't assume an archery stance, he still attracted most of Murong Zhe's attention.
The situation seemed to be tilting in Si Ming's favor.
However, after five minutes of stalemate, Tao Chengsi, Xiong Aixin, and Qian Yu began to breathe erratically, were covered in sweat, and showed signs of exhaustion. Chen Shimi also showed signs of fatigue after controlling the flying sword for a long time. Only Yun Yinmo and Si Ming were able to maintain a high level of concentration.
In contrast, despite Murong Zhe's greater effort in fighting six opponents, he remained completely at ease, without even breaking a sweat.
The Foundation difference is too great!
"You played well, but at this rate, you're still doomed to defeat. Don't expect me to go easy on you."
With the pressure lessened, Murong Zhe was able to speak up and offer reminders.
However, the moment he finished speaking and revealed a slight flaw, Si Ming shot!
The arrow pierced through the air, stirring up the airflow, seemingly with a special technique, generating a spiraling force, and shot straight at Murong Zhe's side waist.
"You're too impatient."
Murong Zhe remained calm and unhurried. He struck out with both hands, condensing his True Qi into a wall of energy that repelled Xiong Aixin and Qian Yu. Then, he struck out with his backhand, gathering his True Qi in his palms to block the arrows, intending to shatter them with his power.
At this moment, Tao Chengsi made a gesture of launching a desperate attack, abandoning all attempts to dodge and gathering all his strength to unleash One Sword thunderous sword strike.
Those who disperse their energy are acting on divine orders; their use must follow the subtle shifts in their movements.
Rogue Person momentum means breaking down the opponent's momentum, thereby exposing their weaknesses, and then accurately seizing those weaknesses to break them in one blow.
Yun Yinmo also threw out all the throwing knives he had, some of which even changed direction mid-flight and shot out from different directions.
"You two are too slow."
Murong Zhe stretched out his other hand, spread his five fingers, and twisted them in the opposite direction, generating a powerful suction force. He caught all the flying knives thrown by Yun Yinmo in his palm, kneaded them into a lump of iron, and then smashed them hard against Tao Chengsi's thunderous One Sword, causing Tao's tiger's mouth to crack.
The arrow struck Murong Zhe's palm, colliding with the highly concentrated ball of True Qi. It was as if it had hit an iron shield, and was shattered.
However, after the first arrow, there was another!
"A barrage of arrows!"
Murong Zhe showed a surprised expression once again. Because his vision was blocked, he failed to notice the arrows following closely behind, and he did not expect that Si Ming would use up both of his remaining arrows in one go.
At the same instant, relying on her strong physique, Xiong Aixin caught her breath, opened her arms, and pounced.
In a real fight, this wide-open stance is like trying to light a lantern in a latrine – suicidal!
But Xiong Aixin Murong Zhe couldn't kill him with one blow, so she decided to be ruthless and try to grab Murong Zhe around the waist to restrain his movements.
On the other side, Chen Shimi stopped using Sword Manipulation Technique, held his sword with both hands, and charged forward in a charging posture.
"Burn my soul, unleash the final light, tear apart the darkness of eternal night! My dearest friends, step over my corpse, climb the final platform, and snatch the crown of victory!"
Putting aside the cringeworthy lines he shouted, he certainly exuded a heroic spirit of wanting to perish together with his opponent, as if he had completely immersed himself in the character he imagined.
According to Murong Zhe's original plan, he should have been able to free his hands to thwart Xiong Aixin and Chen Shimi's desperate attack. However, due to the unexpected barrage of arrows, he was forced to slow down.
"... You did very well, but there's still something missing."
Chapter 103 One Hammer, Three Steps
Faced with a three-way attack and not enough hands to handle it all, Murong Zhe did only one thing.
He raised his leg and kicked Xiong Aixin away.
Then, he exerted force with his left hand, shattering the third arrow, and seized the opportunity with his right hand, striking the sword that was thrusting towards him by Chen Shimi. A surge of powerful True Qi erupted, and he and his sword were sent flying off the arena.
When he lowered his leg, it landed exactly on the original footprint, without any deviation.
Throughout the entire battle, he did not move an inch. His resolute face and majestic gaze were like a statue that had remained unchanged for a thousand years, unmoved by wind and rain, inspiring a sense of powerlessness in others.
Faced with such a huge gap, Tao Chengsi, Qian Yu, and Yun Yinmo launched another desperate charge, completely abandoning defense and concentrating all their strength on their palms. The three of them formed a perfect alternation with Xiong Aixin and Chen Shimi, who were flying backward. Seizing the moment when Murong Zhe withdrew his energy, six palms struck his chest and back.
"Not giving up easily is commendable in its courage, but somewhat reckless."
Murong Zhe took a deep breath, his internal True Qi surging rapidly, alternating the force of the three men's palm strikes. Then, his body trembled, and the force surged back, causing the three men to retreat even faster than when they arrived. At the same time, the force penetrated deep into their limbs and bones, numbing their nerves and temporarily rendering them unable to fight.
"Try again next time..."
Murong Zhe had barely uttered a few words when he saw a dark shadow rushing towards him, carrying a fierce roar of air, like a giant beast descending from above. The force of the attack was so strong that his hair seemed to be breaking free from the restraints of his headband. It was Si Ming, who was raising his square hammer and leaping down from the air!
The bow and arrows that Si Ming used before were weapons chosen by Xiong Aixin, but the long-handled square hammer that he chose now was the weapon he chose himself. Compared with the previous gourd hammer, this square hammer is larger and heavier. At first glance, it looks like a heavy weapon specially designed to smash through the city gate.
In a flash, Murong Zhe understood the tactical plan of these younger generation members. The efforts of the other five were all for the purpose of restraint, and everything they had done before was just a cover-up, with the sole purpose of creating an opportunity for this killing move.
At this moment, he was in his weakest state, with some of the three men's palm strikes still remaining in his body. Although he seemed to have effortlessly neutralized their all-out attack, he hadn't actually completely transferred the force. After all, he wasn't proficient in the art of using someone else's strength against them, and his own energy expenditure was also quite high. It was only Foundation was strong enough that he didn't show any signs of fatigue.
However, based on this tactic alone, Murong Zhe mentally gave the six a satisfactory score.
The first round of testing aims to assess strength; passing it proves one's eligibility to join the team. The second round of testing aims to assess other qualities. Whether one wins the battle is not important; the key is to demonstrate one's strengths to the examiners.
From the school's perspective, they don't really care about students' pre-admission abilities; they value students' potential for growth more. After all, some people haven't received formal martial arts training before and may have enormous untapped potential. As the best high school in Tange City, they have great confidence in their teaching staff.
Conversely, some people are forced to grow too fast; they are more advanced than their peers before entering school, but are surpassed by others a year later and left far behind. Such examples are not uncommon.
A flurry of thoughts flashed through Murong Zhe's mind, and he immediately made a decision. After accepting the blow, he would say a few words of praise to encourage the students, so as not to undermine their confidence too much. Then, when they were all dejected and thought they were doomed to elimination, he would reveal the answer to the test, thus tempering their character.
Using both kindness and strictness—this is a tried-and-true method of educating people, summarized by our ancestors over thousands of years.
With this in mind, Murong Zhe reached out and caught the hammer, his face remaining calm as he proceeded according to plan.