Eighteenth: Third in the Rankings!!

"How is this possible!!!"

Chen Zhen stared intently at the scene before him, disbelief etched deeply within his single eye.

One punch!

With just one punch!

He had defeated the Blood Qi Layer Eight Martial Arts Puppet.

Such combat power...

Hiss!!

For a moment, even Chen Zhen couldn't help but gasp in astonishment.

"No! This kid's martial arts..."

However, Chen Zhen, being an instructor for the Martial Arts Class, was no ordinary person. He could tell at a glance that Lu Sheng's martial art was not simple.

"Blood Refining Martial Art!!"

A brilliant gleam flashed in Chen Zhen's single eye.

"Judging by Lu Sheng's appearance, it seems he has cultivated this Blood Refining Martial Art to the Great Accomplishment stage. Such talent..."

Chen Zhen's breathing involuntarily quickened.

The commotion from Lu Sheng's side naturally drew the attention of the other students. Even the other students from the Martial Arts Class who were still fighting their own puppets couldn't help but look towards Lu Sheng.

"This guy..."

Bai Mo frowned slightly as he watched Lu Sheng, who had already defeated the Blood Qi Layer Eight puppet.

He knew that even he was still struggling with his own Blood Qi Layer Eight Martial Arts Puppet and hadn't defeated it yet, yet Lu Sheng had managed to do so.

"Hmph!"

As someone from a martial arts family, Bai Mo had always been among the elite, whether in his previous classes or in the Martial Arts Class.

He had never even paid attention to Lu Sheng, his former classmate.

Even when Lu Sheng had displayed some talent in the previous ranking, Bai Mo hadn't taken him seriously.

And now...

Although Bai Mo hadn't done anything, seeing that Lu Sheng's achievement had surpassed his own, Bai Mo couldn't help but feel a sense of annoyance towards Lu Sheng.

He immediately snorted and focused entirely on fighting the Martial Arts Puppet in front of him.

Lu Sheng's actions also instilled a sense of urgency in Bai Mo.

Beside him, Chu Yanran, clad in a form-fitting outfit, revealed her well-developed figure, resembling an S-shaped curve.

Her gaze fell upon Lu Sheng, and a look of surprise appeared in her eyes.

"I didn't expect classmate Lu Sheng's talent to be so powerful. Even Bai Mo hasn't defeated a Blood Qi Layer Eight puppet, yet he has! Perhaps... I should get to know him better!"

Chu Yanran thought to herself.

It wasn't just the two of them; all the students in the Martial Arts Class within the Martial Arts Training Hall, seeing the situation with Lu Sheng, had their own thoughts.

However, most of these thoughts were shock!

Soon, the defeated Martial Arts Puppet slowly recovered, its aura surging once more.

Blood Qi Layer Nine!!!

An even more immense aura emanated from the Martial Arts Puppet, carrying a palpable pressure that bore down heavily on Lu Sheng.

Lu Sheng's brow furrowed slightly.

"As expected, spanning two realms, I felt a trace of pressure in just one exchange..."

"But..."

The corners of Lu Sheng's mouth curved upwards.

Resilience triggered!!

Although supportive martial arts talents wouldn't provide Lu Sheng with a significant boost, they were incredibly effective at specific moments.

Coupled with...

Ronin triggered!!

Defense increased by twenty percent!

"Come and fight!!"

With both talents activated, Lu Sheng felt a surge of immense confidence.

He immediately charged towards the Martial Arts Puppet!

But this time...

Even though Lu Sheng was using his full strength, as his fist landed on the Martial Arts Puppet, he felt a stinging sensation in his own fist.

As the puppet's cultivation increased, its body also became more rigid.

However, Lu Sheng's eyes showed even greater excitement.

"Perfect, let me see where my limit is!!"

Lu Sheng growled, pushing his fists forward wildly.

Fist imprints crazily vented, like a torrential downpour, continuously smashing onto the Martial Arts Puppet.

Thump, thump, thump!!!

The training hall echoed with vibrations.

In a corner, Chen Zhen's gaze remained fixed on Lu Sheng. The shock in his single eye gradually faded, replaced by a look of intense admiration.

"His talent and combat power are both top-notch. Facing a Martial Arts Puppet with a far superior cultivation, he can still confront it head-on... This kid's mindset is also excellent!"

"Not bad, not bad!!"

Chen Zhen stroked his chin, his gaze towards Lu Sheng growing more satisfied.

A moment later, even though Lu Sheng had used his full strength and even triggered Strong Strike several times during the fight, the gap in cultivation was not so easily overcome.

After holding out for a full incense stick's worth of time, Lu Sheng, in a moment of carelessness, was defeated by the Martial Arts Puppet.

Although Lu Sheng felt some regret, his eyes were remarkably bright.

"My current combat power is probably around Blood Qi Layer Nine. If I can cultivate Arhat Fist to the perfect realm, I might be able to defeat it!"

"Of course, Martial Arts Puppets are still a bit different from real Martial Artists, but I can at least be considered invincible below Blood Qi Layer Nine now!"

Lu Sheng made a judgment about his current combat power, feeling quite satisfied.

As Lu Sheng's defeat marked the end of the first round of testing for the students, they all finished.

Chen Zhen did not announce their results. He simply called the students for the second round of testing to come forward and then pulled Lu Sheng aside.

Seated, Bai Mo watched Chen Zhen call Lu Sheng away privately, and couldn't help but frown slightly.

"This guy... even the Instructor wants to summon him privately?"

For some reason, ever since Lu Sheng had first defeated the Blood Qi Layer Eight puppet, Bai Mo had found Lu Sheng increasingly displeasing.

He felt as if this guy was stealing the spotlight that rightfully belonged to him.

In the corner, Chen Zhen looked at Lu Sheng before him, his expression suddenly becoming rather serious.

"Lu Sheng, where did you get your Martial Arts from!"

Besides the black market, the Martial Alliance, and the inheritance of Martial Arts families, there was another way to obtain Martial Arts!

The Demonic Cult!

When the alien demons descended, although the Great Xia's Martial Artists were passionate, there were always some opportunistic individuals who chose to defect to the alien demons, becoming their spies within Great Xia.

These people were called the Demonic Cult!

The existence of the Demonic Cult in Great Xia was like rats crossing the street – everyone shouted to beat them.

Yet, Great Xia was unable to eradicate this cancerous existence.

Sometimes, to develop its members, the Demonic Cult would not hesitate to use Martial Arts as bait, luring Great Xia's Martial Artists to become members of the Demonic Cult!

Given Lu Sheng's background information, Chen Zhen feared that Lu Sheng had been tempted by the Demonic Cult to obtain Martial Arts, which was why he specifically called Lu Sheng over to inquire.

After all, Lu Sheng's talent was evident. If he didn't meet an untimely end, he would at least be a Viscera Refining Realm Martial Artist, and might even surpass the Viscera Refining Realm.

Chen Zhen did not want Lu Sheng to go down the wrong path due to poor judgment of character.

Seeing Chen Zhen's serious expression, Lu Sheng was a bit confused and said blankly, "I got it from the Heaven and Earth Dojo! As long as you pass their assessment, you can get Martial Arts for free!"

Hearing Lu Sheng's explanation, Chen Zhen also vaguely remembered the existence of the Heaven and Earth Dojo.

"So that's how it is!"

Chen Zhen nodded, and then his gaze towards Lu Sheng held a hint of envy.

"So... you've joined the Heaven and Earth Dojo now?"

Obtaining Martial Arts from the Heaven and Earth Dojo was not an easy feat. Although the Heaven and Earth Dojo claimed to give Martial Arts for free, it still required passing an assessment.

And those who could pass the assessment generally had pretty good talent.

Besides obtaining Martial Arts, they could also join the Heaven and Earth Dojo and become an outer disciple.

Since Lu Sheng had obtained Martial Arts from the Heaven and Earth Dojo, it naturally meant that Lu Sheng had already joined the Heaven and Earth Dojo.

"Mm!"

Lu Sheng nodded and replied.

Joining the Heaven and Earth Dojo was not a secret, so Lu Sheng naturally did not hide it.

Chen Zhen patted Lu Sheng's shoulder and smiled, "Not bad, not bad. Becoming an outer disciple of the Heaven and Earth Dojo is quite rare in Cloud City, but with your talent, it's normal!"

"Outer disciple..."

Lu Sheng touched the tip of his nose.

In Chen Zhen's opinion, he was just an outer disciple of the Heaven and Earth Dojo...

But then again, besides his First Senior Sister and Second Senior Sister, their teacher had only taken him as a disciple.

Chen Zhen thought it was quite normal for him to be considered an outer disciple.

After all, being an outer disciple and having the backing of a force as mysterious as the Heaven and Earth Dojo in Cloud City was already quite good.

If Chen Zhen knew that the outer disciples of the Heaven and Earth Dojo called him Third Senior Brother one after another...

Lu Sheng glanced at Chen Zhen without a trace and quickly nodded.

After clarifying the source of Lu Sheng's Martial Arts, Chen Zhen felt relieved and signaled Lu Sheng to find a place to rest.

Then, he began to observe the other students being assessed.

As time passed, after about half an hour, the ranking assessment finally concluded.

Chen Zhen had recorded all the students' results on the document in his hand.

"Assemble!!"

Chen Zhen stood in the center of the field, his voice like a thunderclap, suddenly booming out.

Everyone immediately stood up and lined up in front of Chen Zhen, their eyes filled with anticipation as they looked at him.

Chen Zhen got straight to the point and announced the rankings for this session.

"First place, Hong Wu!"

"Second place, Jian Yunlong!"

Upon hearing Chen Zhen's words, Lu Sheng's brow twitched slightly, and his gaze fell upon a burly young man and an extremely calm young man.

They were none other than Hong Wu and Jian Yunlong, who had taken first and second place.

The cultivation of both of them had reached Blood Qi Layer Nine, especially Hong Wu, who had cultivated to the peak of the ninth layer and was on the verge of breaking through to the Blood Qi peak.

It was within Su Yu's expectations for the two of them to become first and second place.

The next moment, Chen Zhen's voice sounded again.

"Third place... Lu Sheng!!"