Overlord!

Sun Sheng stood in the center of the crater, the muscles all over his body still trembling slightly.

Having been smashed into the ground by Li Changqing's Sakyamuni Throwing Elephant, the Tai Chi Force contained within had not been easy to endure. Though he appeared uninjured on the surface, there were countless soft-tissue contusions and internal hemorrhages throughout his body.

Sun Sheng had to use vitality to support every movement. Otherwise, the intense discomfort in his body would make even taking a step difficult.

"Artistic Conception is the mark that distinguishes Mid-Rank Martial Artists from Lower-Rank Martial Artists. Only when a Martial Artist's vitality is abundant enough to overflow throughout the body can they begin nurturing their Mental Power and tempering their Artistic Conception."

Sun Sheng looked at Li Changqing.

"Your coach probably never taught you any of this, did he?"

Li Changqing neither confirmed nor denied it. Kang Tianchen truly had not told him about such matters.

"Since you said vitality needs to overflow throughout the body, you should still be a little short of that now, right?"

"Correct. My vitality is indeed insufficient to nurture my Mental Power, and I cannot temper my own Artistic Conception either. But..."

Sun Sheng's tone shifted. "That doesn't mean I have no way to comprehend Artistic Conception."

"This is not the gap between you and me. With your talent, anything I can do, you will certainly be able to do as well."

"This is the gap between the martial arts school you belong to and the one I belong to."

Sun Sheng made no attempt to hide it. There was nothing embarrassing about it. His martial arts school had deep foundations, so he had access to superior training.

He possessed great talent and received more resources, so he was stronger. There was no need to avoid the subject. That was simply the truth.

"Perhaps after the Youth Cup, once you make a name for yourself, you'll obtain resources even better than mine. But right now, without a powerful martial arts school backing you, you cannot defeat me."

"This is the fundamental gap between us."

"Chengtian is no match for Jixing."

Sun Sheng finished regulating his breath, and his vitality settled.

"I originally had no intention of using this power until I met you."

"You are qualified to witness my strongest state."

The corners of Li Changqing's lips curled upward.

"Since Artistic Conception is something only Mid-Rank Martial Artists can comprehend, can you use it with the body of a Lower-Rank Martial Artist?"

"Of course not." Sun Sheng did not hide anything.

"The prerequisite for Artistic Conception is sufficiently powerful Mental Power. Even if I can comprehend it ahead of time, I still cannot use it in battle."

"Therefore, many years ago, our martial arts school specifically created a cultivation method that simplified the requirements for using Artistic Conception, allowing exceptionally gifted Martial Artists to wield a portion of its power even at the lower rank."

"I call this power... momentum."

As his words fell, Sun Sheng's aura changed.

His already arrogant presence became even more pronounced, to the point of revealing a defiant wildness.

Xing Yi Quan was originally skilled at imitation. At that moment, Sun Sheng hunched his body slightly, his eyes flashing with the nimble spirit of an ape.

If the previous Sun Sheng had been a fierce tiger, brimming with confidence as it held its head high and surveyed the forest, then the current him was an ancient ape that feared neither Heaven nor Earth, one that would dare rush forward and wrestle a tyrannosaur in close combat.

"The Artistic Conception I comprehended is struggle, is battle. Next, you will witness power that does not belong in the realm of Lower-Rank Martial Artists."

Sun Sheng moved.

Though his body had been badly wounded by Li Changqing, the speed Sun Sheng erupted with now surpassed even his peak.

Bang!

The ground where Li Changqing had just stood cracked apart, massive spiderweb fissures spreading outward.

Sun Sheng's fist punched through the ground. It seemed his vitality did not even need to shift; before the force of the blow was spent, his body became an afterimage once more and vanished.

He appeared behind Li Changqing.

Bang!

In the state of Heaven-Man Resonance, everything in all directions was Li Changqing's eyes and ears.

He raised a hand to block Sun Sheng's fist, only to discover that the latter's strength had likewise exceeded its limits.

Crash—

The immense force shoved Li Changqing's body across the ground, and the soles of his shoes gave off a scorched smell.

Bang bang bang!

Sun Sheng pressed his advantage without mercy. His punches grew faster and faster, and the advantages of Xing Yi Quan allowed him to wield this simplified Artistic Conception as easily as turning his hand.

Monkey Fist, which should have emphasized agility, appeared Utmost Yang and hard in his hands.

Yet the more he attacked, the more alarmed Sun Sheng became.

In this state, whether in speed, strength, or neural reflexes, he was at least fifty percent stronger than his normal self.

But even Artistic Conception simplified through a cultivation method consumed vitality and stamina at an extreme rate. He could not maintain it for long.

And yet Li Changqing could actually keep his stance intact beneath his assault.

Sweep Through a Thousand Armies!

Sun Sheng swept low with his leg, forcing Li Changqing into the air. He then raised a hand and threw a chopping punch. Li Changqing crossed his hands above his head, unleashing Tai Chi Soft Strength. With the Flowing Water True Meaning, he deflected more than half the force, then reversed yin and yang, turning the Flowing Water True Meaning into flames of Utmost Yang and hard.

Their fists collided.

The collision of two immense forces exploded with a thunderous boom.

The ground beneath Sun Sheng's feet shattered. Li Changqing retreated three steps, leaving clear footprints across the plaza.

This was the first time he had damaged the terrain.

"Exhilarating!" Li Changqing grew more excited.

At last, after attaining enlightenment by the lake's heart, he was experiencing such an unrestrained battle for the first time.

Sun Sheng's expression, however, darkened. He was not at his peak, and even after entering this state, he could not take down Li Changqing quickly.

There was no choice.

"Playtime is over." Sun Sheng gathered the vitality in his dantian and relaxed every muscle in his body.

"The Youth Cup is next week. You haven't registered as a Martial Artist yet, so I'll cover the psionic medical expenses later."

"You think this strike can injure me?"

Sun Sheng stood on a rockery with his legs slightly bent. At that moment, his posture looked exactly like a monkey's.

"Protect yourself. I have never used this move on anyone before."

"Don't die."

Boom!

The gathered vitality erupted in his dantian. Newly born force was driven by the simplified Artistic Conception. Sun Sheng closed his eyes, and the insight that had left traces in his mind only after countless attempts at comprehension slowly surfaced.

"Hey!"

His exhalation boomed like thunder, sending ripples across the river.

Golden Monkey Raises the Thousand Jin Staff, Jade Firmament Clears Ten Thousand Miles of Dust.

In that instant alone, all of Sun Sheng's Mental Power was exhausted. He could not directly comprehend that Artistic Conception Scroll.

Instead, he had copied again and again the brushstrokes and ink in which his teacher had infused Artistic Conception.

Even so, up until now, he had only comprehended those two lines.

But that was enough.

After all, his opponent was merely an ordinary Lower-Rank Martial Artist.

Boom!

The rockery shattered. Sun Sheng turned into an afterimage and lunged directly at Li Changqing, his remaining vitality erupting in that instant.

Through that line of poetry in his mind, he drew the vague Artistic Conception into his heart, guiding the eruption of his power.

He effortlessly broke through the limits of a Lower-Rank Martial Artist.

Vitality poured out of his body in full, then unexpectedly formed a long staff of vitality visible to the naked eye in Sun Sheng's hand.

"A fragmentary Artistic Conception?"

For an instant, time seemed as though someone had pressed the pause button.

Watching Sun Sheng rush toward him.

Li Changqing closed his eyes.

The Overlord opened his eyes.

Clang!

Swords and blades rang in unison, while wolf smoke rose in all directions.

The Overlord who had fought an army alone and looked down upon all beneath Heaven.

True Intent descended!

Boom!

Li Changqing performed Embracing the Core and Returning Strength. Only at this moment was his one-hundred-percent vitality, erupting with all his strength, truly worthy of its name.

Two forces of Utmost Yang and hard collided head-on.

Both represented an invincible Artistic Conception that meant victory in every battle.

How could fragmentary, simplified Artistic Conception compare with True Intent that had now been comprehended?

With Li Changqing, who was like the Overlord descending into the world?

At the instant they made contact, Sun Sheng's Artistic Conception shattered.

An incomparably arrogant large hand seized the vitality staff in his grasp.

Then an immense force, so powerful that Sun Sheng could not even muster a trace of resistance, snatched the vitality staff from his hand.

Sun Sheng was dumbfounded. He stared at the invincible man before him, who looked down upon all beneath Heaven.

Was he truly Li Changqing?

The question in his heart did not even have time to rise into his mind.

Li Changqing held the staff in one hand. The invincible will brought by the Overlord's True Intent made him swing his arm and exert force.

"Is that what you call staff technique?" His smile was unrestrained, carrying the calm ease of one who could laugh at an army of thousands.

"Watch carefully. This is staff technique!"

Boom!

The vitality staff pierced through the air, stirring Heaven and Earth in every direction.

In an instant, the Tuo River roared, and wild winds followed.

At that moment, Li Changqing had not even entered the state of Unity of Heaven and Man.

The Overlord's True Intent relied entirely on vitality, forcibly prying Heaven and Earth with human strength.

"This is what you call Sweep Through a Thousand Armies!"

The vitality staff swung, wild winds close behind. The surging river battered the banks, and beneath the Lakeheart Pavilion it became a terrifying vortex.

Under the wind pressure, the airwaves were compressed by vitality until they became tangible.

The vitality staff, barely a meter long, swept across the entire Lakeheart Pavilion in an instant.

The rockeries, greenery, and courtyard.

All of it was swept away in a single stroke.

"Wah—"

Sun Sheng's eyes rolled white as blood sprayed wildly from his mouth.

His entire body was swept directly into the shrubbery by the wind and waves.

And he had merely been brushed by the aftershock.

The Overlord's True Intent came swiftly and departed swiftly as well.

The defiance faded from Li Changqing's eyes. He looked at Sun Sheng lying motionless in the shrubbery and blinked.

Had he gone a little too far?

Actually, even without using the Overlord's True Intent, he could have defeated Sun Sheng simply by entering the realm of Unity of Heaven and Man.

But the problem was...

"After finally finding such a strong sparring partner, if I don't use up all my moves this time, it feels like a waste."

Li Changqing raised his wrist and checked the time.

Without Sun Sheng, Coach Kang, our martial arts school should at least be able to win one match, right?