Rule Changes

After everyone had walked away, Yu Shuying said to Si Ming in a malicious tone, "That girl is interested in you."

"I know, it's about the same level of fandom. After all, I'm handsome and skilled in martial arts, it would be strange if I wasn't popular with girls."

Si Ming put his hands behind his head, fingers spread, forearms crossed to form a square, striking a smug pose. Suddenly, he touched his chin in confusion. "Speaking of which, I've always been puzzled. Why didn't any girls confess to me in school? It shouldn't be like that. Even if you're just a handsome shell, girls still chase after you. Why is it that no one pursues a martial arts master like me, who has both good looks and substance? As for fame, I'm a member of the Second Martial Arts Club, and I've made quite a splash at the martial arts tournament. I'm not some nobody like Qingqing."

Because while you were not at school, someone asserted their dominance over you, and not just one person...

Yu Shuying said, "You do the math yourself. How long have you actually been at school? I doubt anyone even remembers your name."

"That makes sense... Oh well, I'm not the kind of shallow guy who gets chased by girls. If I don't get it, I don't get it. It's not a big deal."

"He clearly had a very regretful face."

There's no great regret, just a minor one, Si Ming changed the subject. "That way, Sun Wu University won't focus its attention on me, right?"

"You're overthinking it. Although Huyan Lie is now sharing the firepower, you are their primary target. After all, you are the direct beneficiary and the one who caused Sun Wu University to lose face. Don't treat everyone like fools. The negotiations just now can only fool people with below-average IQs. Experienced politicians can see through our true intentions."

"You mean to say that my plan to frame someone is doomed to fail?"

"No, since he's an old fox, he'll definitely choose to see through things but not say anything, pretending not to know. The message I conveyed during the negotiation just now was actually only one sentence—this is a good opportunity to Huyan Lie when he's down, don't miss it."

Si Ming suddenly realized why Xin Jia's uncle accepted it so readily and made his stance clear at the end. It seemed he understood what Yu Shuying was trying to convey—we're handing you the sharpened knife; remember to stab us deep.

Dealing with Huyan Lie was a matter of personal gain, while upholding the school's reputation was a matter of public justice. Perhaps there are many virtuous gentlemen in the world who would give up personal gain for the sake of public justice, but there are many more who think, "After I die, who cares about the deluge?"

"Forget it, this matter is over and done with, there's no point in dwelling on it. What I need to do now is ensure a perfect ending to this arena battle."

The seventh day of the arena battle.

There were even more spectators today, and quite a few reporters sneaked in, hoping to get a big story, but they were thrown out on the spot after their identities were exposed.

Si Ming's supporters also surged, eventually occupying half of the audience seats, rivaling the opponents. Their argument was that "Si Ming clearly stated on his banner that his target was 'effeminate Military School strategists led by Fu Feng,' not all Military School. As long as you have nothing to do with Fu Feng, you are not the object of ridicule. Only those real effeminate men would feel humiliated."

Even among the opponents, many cursed Fu Feng, believing that he was the culprit and that without him, such a big problem wouldn't have occurred. However, he is now hiding like a coward, afraid to show his face, which is truly hateful.

The challengers on the final day of the arena battle were generally not very strong. After all, the experts who were confident in their abilities had already fought against Si Ming. Most of the remaining ones were not professional martial artists, but rather enthusiasts. However, many more people were hoping to have a chance to spar with a Spirit Transformation level martial artist and desperately raised their hands to try and stand on the arena.

Since he had come all this way, Si Ming thought he might as well put on a grand show and started playing the game of using the opponent's own methods against them. Over the past six days, he had sparred with nearly five hundred students. He had encountered some of the famous techniques of Sun Wu University more than a dozen times and had already thoroughly analyzed the skills. Even if he could not learn the internal energy cultivation methods, he could make the external moves look very realistic and indistinguishable from the real thing.

"Hey, isn't that our school's Three Brightness Divine Palm? How come he knows it too?"

"The technique he just used seems to be the Military Dao Killing Fist personally taught by Dean Zhou. I once sparred with Wu Xiangyu, Dean Zhou's personal disciple, and his skill in this technique seems to surpass Wu Xiangyu's."

"Look, the leg technique he's using now is the Forest-Piercing Leg Technique of Minister Chang of the Logistics Department. This leg technique is invisible and intangible, and it excels at turning the illusory into the real. It is said that the highest level is one leg with six illusions. The kick he just delivered had five illusions, and he is only one step away from the mastery level."

"That laughter... it's the Laughing at Poverty Divine Art! How is that possible? It's one thing to quickly master external martial Cultivation Method, but the Laughing at Poverty Divine Art, a sonic technique, involves the movement of internal energy. If you make a mistake, it will cause internal injuries. You must be extremely careful when practicing it. Moreover, unlike ordinary sonic techniques that only train the lungs, practicing the Laughing at Poverty Divine Art requires first tempering the heart. Once the heart is strong enough, you can use the resonance method to drive the liver with the heart, then the spleen with the liver, and finally the lungs, thereby achieving the effect of strengthening all five internal organs."

"Wait a minute, you said all five internal organs are strong, but you only mentioned the heart, liver, spleen, and lungs. What about the kidneys?"

Si Ming couldn't defeat his opponent using the same moves as him, since some people used family secret techniques that he couldn't just learn and use on the spot. But he could defeat his opponent by using palm techniques against palm techniques, Swordsmanship against Swordsmanship, and lightness skills against lightness skills, all of which were martial arts he had secretly learned in the past six days.

At this moment, he was like Jiumozhi from "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils," using the Lesser Formless Art to unleash the Seventy-Two Arts of Shaolin, leaving a group of Buddhist School monks in awe and admitting their inferiority.

"Bah! Jiumozhi is the villain, Laozi 'm the hero, how can you lump us together?"

While Si Ming was internally criticizing himself, he spun his great axe rapidly and swept his opponent down with a move called "Falling Blossoms in Profusion". He used a soft force when he made the move and deliberately used the back of the axe, so he did not hurt anyone.

"The Falling Cherry Blossom Divine Axe! Another ultimate technique! My god, just how many of our martial arts does he know? Wasn't he supposed to be an exchange student from the Su State? How can a disciple of the Mohist School be more proficient in Military School strategy than us?"

"I counted, there are thirty-six in total. He knows a full thirty-six of the school's unique skills!"

"I remember that the most learned student in our school's history only mastered twenty-seven skills, nine fewer than him... No wonder he was able to defend his title successfully. Knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to victory. His opponent has thoroughly studied our martial arts, and in some aspects, he has even surpassed his master. It would be strange if we didn't lose."

Si Ming tossed aside his axe and asked, "Time's almost up. Anyone else want to come up and challenge us?"

The students who had been eager to try looked at each other, none of them daring to step forward. It wasn't that they were worried about not being able to win; that was already a consensus. They were worried that if they were forced to use the thirty-seventh ultimate technique, they would truly Nowhere to Hide.

"It seems there's really no one left... In that case, I declare the seven-day arena duel over. Thank you all for your support."

Si Ming clasped his hands in a fist salute and waved to all directions of the arena.

After a brief silence, scattered applause suddenly broke out, and as someone started clapping, more and more people joined in, and the applause grew louder and louder.

Perhaps many of them still dislike Si Ming, believing that Si Ming built his reputation by stepping on Sun Wu University and is the school's public enemy. However, they also have to admit that there is nothing wrong with his actions. He challenged his opponent openly and fairly, using his strength to subdue him without resorting to any tricks or schemes. He relied entirely on his genuine skills and knowledge.

Even if such a person is an enemy, he deserves respect. Every martial artist understands the principle that respecting your opponent is respecting yourself. Moreover, Military School have always had a tradition of respecting the strong.

Apart from a few people who left in anger because they couldn't accept defeat, the vast majority of people chose to express their respect by clapping. The supporters of Si Ming clapped even more enthusiastically, using their applause to vent their surging passion. The enthusiastic applause echoed in the martial arts hall like a tidal wave, almost lifting the ceiling off.

Although the enemies he defeated were not particularly formidable, and he had never faced any danger to his life, and had not even used 30% of his strength, and his battle with the King of Monsters was incomparable, Si Ming, surrounded by applause, suddenly felt a strong sense of accomplishment at this moment.

No wonder people crave recognition from others; the feeling of being recognized by many is indeed exhilarating and exceptionally pleasant.

Si Ming knew that from this day forward, he was no longer an unknown junior, nor was he "Yan Jinghong's disciple." He had truly stepped onto the grand stage of the martial arts world of the Sea Continent in his own right.

Chapter 649 Rule Change

"Huh, the Martial King Cup has changed its rules?" Si Ming glanced at the urgent notification he had just received. "Even the venue has changed. It's not the training ground from last time, but... an island? What are the Nation of Valor organizers up to?"

Si Ming carefully reviewed the document. The gist of it was that the Nation of Valor organizers believed the traditional ring duels were outdated and couldn't keep up with the advancements in martial arts in the modern era. The narrow and unchanging environment limited tactical execution, reducing the outcome of the competition to a contest of numbers on paper. Martial artists encounter all sorts of variables in real combat, making it far more complex than a ring duel. Therefore, after inviting several Spirit Transformation Grandmaster and renowned military strategists to discuss the matter, the organizers decided to change the competition rules to better reflect real combat, incorporating more variables and allowing for greater tactical flexibility.

"That sounds nice, but reforms always tend to make things more chaotic, especially for events that change organizers every year. The next event might not even follow the rules of the previous one."

Looking back at the college entrance examination reform in the Celestial Empire, the students in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, which were the pilot areas, were incredibly unlucky. They were tormented by the college entrance examination rules that were changed every few years. Despite the large amount of educational funds invested every year and the availability of excellent students, the college entrance examination results did not improve and instead presented a chaotic situation.