Wang Ma looked at Xu Zhiming with faint anticipation.
From Xu Zhiming's unwillingness to waste time watching him, he knew Xu Zhiming was a martial arts fanatic—a very hardworking person.
Yunshui Second High School did not lack hardworking students.
But Wang Ma lacked an opponent who was as strong and as hardworking as him.
Only competition brought progress.
Wang Ma thought of Feng Li. That didn't count.
Challenging Feng Li would just be him getting crushed like a rookie.
"Come on, let's give it a try."
Xu Zhiming took a deep breath and completed a round of Wind Thunder Fist.
You diligently practiced Wind Thunder Fist once, triggering a 150x Critical Hit Vitality: 36.79
"No competition. I just want to refine Monster Beast Essence Blood and increase my strength."
Wang Ma nodded. Whether they competed or not was not up to Xu Zhiming.
If he thought they were competing, then they were competing.
"Teacher Huang, my vitality is forty-five points, and my D-grade martial skill is at its highest le—"
Huang Yilong waved a hand, signaling him not to continue.
"I don't care about you two. Drink as you see fit. I'll set a time limit for you."
"Half an hour. Whoever drinks and refines the most Monster Beast Essence Blood wins."
Xu Zhiming did not even listen to Huang Yilong. He walked over to the barrel filled with Monster Beast Essence Blood.
He picked up a bowl and took a huge gulp.
In an instant, Xu Zhiming felt an immense energy erupt within his body.
It violently battered every organ in his body, as though it were about to tear him apart.
His expression darkened. He had underestimated the power of the Level 35 Monster Beast Essence Blood.
At the same time, it felt as though a huge, bloodthirsty Demon Wolf was howling in his mind.
There definitely could not be such a Demon Beast around Cloud Water City. Could it have come from the Mirage Realm?
A thought flashed through Xu Zhiming's mind. He immediately began practicing Wind Thunder Fist and Rolling Heavenly Thunder while refining the immense energy.
Beside him, Wang Ma saw Xu Zhiming take a huge gulp, so he took one as well.
His vitality was higher than Xu Zhiming's. Since the other guy drank that much, he definitely had to drink even more.
The instant it went down, he understood why Xu Zhiming had not said a word and immediately started practicing martial skills.
Damn it.
Why was this Level 35 Monster Beast Essence Blood so fierce?
He had drunk Level 30 Monster Beast Essence Blood before. It had been far weaker than this.
He closed his eyes and worked hard to refine the energy. He could not lose to Xu Zhiming.
You diligently practiced Wind Thunder Fist once, triggering a 120x Critical Hit You diligently practiced Rolling Heavenly Thunder once, triggering a 50x Critical Hit
Only one thought remained in Xu Zhiming's mind: refine the power within his body.
And resist the attack of the Demon Wolf's lingering will in his mind.
Xu Zhiming knew perfectly well that once his strength increased, he would eventually fight Demon Beasts.
This was a good chance to accumulate some experience.
After completing a round of Wind Thunder Fist, Xu Zhiming felt that the impact the Demon Wolf had on him seemed to have weakened somewhat.
He had no time to think about why and continued refining it.
Time gradually passed.
Five minutes later.
The watching students noticed that Xu Zhiming's complexion had eased considerably.
Unexpectedly, Xu Zhiming walked over to the Monster Beast Essence Blood and took another huge gulp.
Most people had not expected this.
Only one person had.
Huang Yilong.
A smile flickered through Huang Yilong's mind. It seemed this kid really had comprehended something from the Heavenly Thunder Fist left behind by Wind Thunder Martial Hall.
Even he had to marvel at Xu Zhiming's comprehension.
Though he had comprehended it on the foundation laid down by his predecessors, it was still very impressive.
Now he could be certain that Xu Zhiyuan had understood the true essence behind True King Wind Thunder's creation of Wind Thunder Fist.
Only by grasping that true essence could someone comprehend something from Heavenly Thunder Fist.
Thinking of what Xu Zhiming had gone through, it really did seem to be the case.
Come to think of it, it was quite strange.
Ever since school began in March, Yunshui First High School had wanted to give all its resources to Qiu Yingzong.
Peng Sixiong had refused because he feared provoking him.
Once he went out to hunt Demon Beasts, intending to verify his own path,
they impatiently gave all the resources to Qiu Yingzong in April.
Perhaps it was precisely that experience which had allowed Xu Zhiming to understand the true essence of Wind Thunder Fist.
"If you'd told me earlier that he needed this kind of unfair treatment, I would've gone out long ago.
Looks like I deserve part of the credit for this kid's rapid rise."
Huang Yilong chuckled and shifted his gaze to the other students attempting it.
Aside from Zeng Hao, only two people held on.
None of them reached the time he had set.
Moreover, as more and more people failed,
most people now had a benchmark to refer to and no longer dared to try.
Huang Yilong sighed inwardly.
These little brats had lived comfortable lives for too long.
They did not even have the courage to challenge themselves.
The time he had set for each of them was not something they could reach.
He merely wanted to select students who had always worked hard, persevered, and refused to give up.
Naturally, Huang Yilong would not say that aloud.
He quietly watched to see which of Xu Zhiming and Wang Ma would refine more Monster Beast Essence Blood.
Based on his assessment of these two sneaky students,
Xu Zhiming benefited from Wind Thunder Fist and Rolling Heavenly Thunder, which had effects that dispelled demonic evil and suppressed filthy corruption, so Xu Zhiming's refining speed should be slightly faster.
Wang Ma had stronger vitality and fairly good endurance.
All things considered, the two were evenly matched.
A few more minutes passed.
Wang Ma also went to take another huge gulp.
The students watching the excitement without fearing it would get bigger kept track of how much the two had drunk in total.
"Wang Ma has drunk nearly five hundred milliliters—almost ten times as much as me."
"Xu Zhiming has also had nearly five hundred. Their refining speeds are about the same."
You diligently refined Monster Beast Essence Blood. Vitality increased by 0.1, triggering a 10x Critical Hit. Vitality increased by 1 Vitality: 39.01 (2.2)
Under normal circumstances, Huang Yilong's guess would have been correct.
But he had forgotten that Xu Zhiming's vitality increased faster than Wang Ma's.
The stronger one's vitality became, the faster one could refine it.
And so,
everyone watched as the intervals between Xu Zhiming's drinks of Monster Beast Essence Blood grew shorter and shorter.
Half an hour passed quickly in such a tense atmosphere.
Fewer and fewer students remained to watch the two compete.
Only some students who were already exhausted from practicing martial skills that day were still watching.
"Wang Ma has reached one thousand milliliters."
"Xu Zhiming has already hit twelve hundred!"
"There are three minutes left. I think Xu Zhiming should win."
"Time's up."
Hearing someone say that time was up,
Wang Ma stopped, panting heavily. He felt as though his internal organs were about to burst apart.
Seeing Xu Zhiming continue drinking instead of stopping just because time was up, he raised his right hand and rubbed his eyes.
"Holy shit, what a beast!"
Seeing this, Wang Ma felt a sense of urgency rise in his heart.
If Xu Zhiming kept going like this, he felt his vitality would be surpassed.
He had always thought of himself as a King of Inner Rolled, yet today he had encountered a rival.
He had to keep grinding.
Two hours later.
Wang Ma collapsed limply onto the ground.
"Monster Beast Essence Blood may be good, but don't drink too greedily."
He conceded. Completely and utterly.
Xu Zhiming out-grinded him.
He had found the reason too. It had to be because of his martial skills and vitality cultivation diagram.
Xu Zhiming did not feel tired at all. Instead, he was in exceptionally good condition.
He pulled up the panel he had not examined carefully in a long time, preparing to see how all his current stats looked.
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