Among the five disciples with the highest cultivation at Zhenwei Martial Arts School, aside from Guo Mingyuan, whose cultivation had been piled up through medicinal baths and was nothing but shoddy goods, the other four were no simple figures. Each had a reason to believe victory was his.
Lin Qing was simply lucky. He could enter the Cangshan Sword Sect directly, so he did not need to compete with them.
Song Tianqing actually did not need to compete either. After entering the Cangshan Sword Sect, he would surely focus on swordsmanship, with fist techniques serving only as support.
But that was simply his nature. He had never been willing to admit defeat, never willing to lag behind others, and his possessiveness was exceptionally strong.
The White Ape Through-Arm Fist was neither here nor there to him, but he still did not want to give it to anyone else. He was tyrannical to the extreme.
After a moment, Song Tianqing arrived as well, with Zheng Zhishan following behind him.
Upon seeing Han Zheng, Zheng Zhishan shot him a vicious glare.
Han Zheng merely smiled indifferently.
Why bother arguing with an old fellow who was practically halfway into his coffin?
Li Jingzhong emerged from the martial arts academy's inner hall. Sweeping his gaze around, he said in a deep voice, "Han Zheng, Song Tianqing, begin the final round."
After a pause, Li Jingzhong added, "Though blades and swords have no eyes, and fists and feet show no mercy, you are fellow disciples after all. Once victory and defeat have been decided, do not strike to kill."
These words were clearly meant for Song Tianqing.
Yet Song Tianqing had obviously not taken them to heart, nor did he wish to.
At the center of the training ground, Song Tianqing gave Han Zheng a somewhat sinister smile. His body suddenly lunged forward with speed taken to its limit, and in the blink of an eye, he had appeared before Han Zheng and thrown a punch.
He did not care whether Han Zheng had chosen to take the money and withdraw.
But Han Zheng had failed to appreciate his favor and still dared dream of contending with him. That was simply courting death.
Song Tianqing assumed the stance of the Vajra Fist, but just as Chen Zhao had said, the style of his punches was utterly different from the Vajra Fist.
This punch appeared to be aimed at Han Zheng's chest, but halfway through, its force suddenly shifted. It slanted beneath Han Zheng's ribs, changing from a fist into a palm and stabbing toward his waist!
If it landed solidly and its force erupted, Han Zheng's kidney would suffer internal damage in an instant.
Han Zheng's blood and qi surged throughout his body, his muscles and bones cracking. The meridians in his arms pulled at his acupoints as though a thick Vajra Pestle had been swung violently, directly knocking Song Tianqing's palm aside.
Bang!
With a dull thud, Song Tianqing was sent flying more than a meter away by that tremendous force.
"How could his strength be so great!?"
Song Tianqing's eyes abruptly widened, revealing a trace of shock.
They both cultivated the Iron Elephant Skill, and the extra lessons he had taken outside were martial skills, not cultivation methods.
Even if their individual constitutions caused some slight difference in strength, it should not have been this absurd.
From that strike just now, Song Tianqing's tiger's mouth had even gone numb. It felt as though he had punched an iron pillar!
Han Zheng pressed his advantage without mercy. Assuming the Vajra Fist stance, his arms became like Vajra Pestles as he swung and smashed wildly toward Song Tianqing.
Every blow seemed to carry the weight of a thousand jun, exploding with a thunderous roar as it descended.
Song Tianqing was not shoddy goods like Guo Mingyuan. His foundation was exceptionally solid, and his strength was no weaker either.
With a low shout, Song Tianqing's blood and qi surged and boiled throughout his body. His form flashed like lightning, his fists crashing toward Han Zheng like a raging storm.
The two of them both used the Vajra Fist.
Yet Han Zheng's Vajra Fist was powerful and heavy, advancing steadily and placing momentum above all else.
Song Tianqing's Vajra Fist, meanwhile, was swift as the wind, mixed with moves that carried a trace of viciousness and madness.
As the two exchanged punches, a string of crackling explosions rang throughout the martial arts academy's training ground.
The faces of the watching disciples had all turned somewhat pale.
If it had been them, they likely would not have lasted even ten moves before being beaten until they spat blood.
After more than a hundred exchanges, even Song Tianqing's arms had gone numb, and his blood and qi had begun to stagnate.
He could not understand it. He had clearly opened one more meridian than Han Zheng and could mobilize more inner force than his opponent, so why was he so much weaker in strength?
Could Han Zheng have been born with divine strength?
But judging from Han Zheng's build, calling Li Sancheng someone born with divine strength would have been more believable.
As Han Zheng forced him back step by step, Song Tianqing's body suddenly became elusive and ethereal.
His entire body moved like a spirit snake. He deflected Han Zheng's punch, his left hand following the force to coil around Han Zheng's arm, locking, wrenching, and seizing.
His right hand changed from a fist into fingers, stabbing fiercely toward Han Zheng's eyes with such speed that it even let out a shrill whistle!
"Eight Snake Strikes!"
Li Jingzhong's expression abruptly changed.
The Eight Snake Strikes was one of the signature ultimate techniques of Cao Bin, the First Gang Leader of the Three Harmonies Gang, known as the Green Scale Hand.
The Eagle Claw Skill Guo Mingyuan had learned before was merely a Houtian martial art, while the Eight Snake Strikes was a genuine Xiantian martial art, containing fist techniques, movement techniques, grappling techniques, and many other forms of combat.
The martial artists of Black Stone County's three gangs generally had no proper masters or inheritances, nor were there many rules binding them.
So long as one offered enough money or benefits, one could completely learn the Eagle Claw Skill as Guo Mingyuan had done.
But the Eight Snake Strikes was a Xiantian martial skill, one of Cao Bin's famed ultimate techniques. He had even passed such a move to Song Tianqing—who knew how much silver Song Tianqing had spent?
In truth, Song Tianqing had not spent any silver at all. All he had given was a promise.
Of the Three Harmonies Gang's three gang leaders, Cao Bin wanted his son to inherit the position of gang leader, but the other two were unwilling to agree.
Song Tianqing had merely promised Cao Bin that, so long as he became the Song Family's young master in the future, he would certainly do everything in his power to support Cao Bin's son in becoming the Three Harmonies Gang's gang leader.
Though it was merely an empty promissory note, Song Tianqing had seized the timing perfectly. He had caught a white wolf with empty hands and obtained a Xiantian martial skill.
Originally, Song Tianqing had not intended to reveal the Eight Snake Strikes during the martial arts academy competition.
He had planned to reveal it during the Song Family's internal competition and catch the other Song Family disciples off guard.
But he had not expected Han Zheng's strength to so thoroughly exceed his expectations, forcing him to use the Eight Snake Strikes as his trump card.
If news of this battle reached the Song Family, the strength he had concealed would inevitably be exposed as well.
The more Song Tianqing thought about it, the angrier he became, until his eyes even carried a trace of killing intent.
As Song Tianqing's fingers nearly reached his eyes, every hair on Han Zheng's body stood on end, and a chill rose within him.
That strike was too swift and too fierce, so fast that Han Zheng could not even turn his head to evade it.
He focused his mind and calmed his breath. The more perilous the moment, the calmer Han Zheng's state of mind became.
His blood, qi, and inner force surged within him as Han Zheng activated the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill with all his strength.
Vast, immense power gathered within Han Zheng's body. He suddenly shook, like a giant elephant stomping the earth with an enraged roar. Power reached every part of his body, as though the earth itself were quaking!
Song Tianqing had not expected Han Zheng to have such a move. Half his body was wrapped around Han Zheng, and when he was suddenly flung by the force of that elephant stomping the earth, his body sharply shifted off course.
The finger strike that could have pierced Han Zheng's skull merely brushed past his ear, leaving behind a streak of blood.
A gleam burst forth in Li Jingzhong's eyes as he looked at Han Zheng in delight.
Though Han Zheng's move just now had gathered the power of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill, it had actually been executed using the martial essence of the Iron Elephant Skill.
Iron Elephant Stomps the Earth, power carrying the weight of a thousand jun.
Han Zheng's mastery of the Iron Elephant Skill had already reached perfection. This move flowed from him naturally, and since the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill and Iron Elephant Skill originated from the same source, even Li Jingzhong had failed to notice that another power was mixed within it.
There were quite a few people who could cultivate martial skills to the point of grasping their essence.
But most cultivation methods merely trained strength and required the slow grinding of water against stone, so there were very, very few martial artists who could cultivate a method's essence.
Even among those who could, fewer still could integrate it into battle and killing.
Han Zheng was only in the Houtian Realm now. It was already no easy feat for him to reach this point.
At the very least, Li Jingzhong himself absolutely could not have done this at Han Zheng's age.
Touching the bloodstain beside his ear, Han Zheng's eyes also turned cold.
With the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill circulating within and Iron Elephant Stomps the Earth unleashed without, Han Zheng took one step that seemed to shake an explosive boom from the ground.
The Vajra Fist's momentum transformed into a Vajra Pestle that smashed down through the air. Combined with the might of the Iron Elephant Skill, it actually produced the imposing aura of a vajra riding an elephant, subduing demons and exterminating evil.
Song Tianqing hurriedly blocked, but the descending force of Han Zheng's Vajra Fist shook his blood and qi into a boil.
His Eight Snake Strikes were vicious and swift, and even contained a secret inherited movement technique.
But Han Zheng had already brought the Iron Elephant Skill's essence and spirit to life. Iron Elephant Stomps the Earth shook the blood and qi throughout his body, and that vast, heavy momentum happened to restrain the Eight Snake Strikes.
The moment Song Tianqing approached, his blood and qi were directly shaken into turmoil. Then a Vajra Pestle smashed down, blasting him back several steps.
Moreover, Han Zheng pressed his advantage without mercy, advancing step by step. In almost an instant, Song Tianqing had been forced to the edge of the training ground.
Outside, Zheng Zhishan anxiously shouted, "Young Master, admit defeat! Stop fighting! The Lineage competition is coming soon—you cannot be injured at a time like this!"
Song Tianqing seemed not to hear him, a fierce glint appearing in his eyes.
If he could not even defeat this pack of stepping stones in the martial arts academy, what right did he have to compete for the position of Song Family young master?
The instant Han Zheng drove him back once more, Song Tianqing gave a low shout, and the blood and qi throughout his body instantly swelled to their utmost limit.
Seizing the opening when Han Zheng's punch descended, his body shot toward Han Zheng like a spirit snake flicking out its tongue, one palm thrusting straight for Han Zheng's throat!
This move abandoned defense entirely and nearly exhausted all of Song Tianqing's inner force. It could be called the killing move among killing moves.
The Vajra Fist was clumsy, and Han Zheng's move had reached an opening. Song Tianqing was betting that Han Zheng was not as fast as him!
Li Jingzhong's expression suddenly changed, and he tried to intervene, but it was already too late.
Yet at that moment, Han Zheng abruptly changed his fist into a palm. As the blood and qi around him surged, a frigid, grim Killing Intent came roaring forth.
That palm swept upward from below like a long blade leaving its sheath, carrying a surging, concentrated Killing Intent as it directly sent Song Tianqing flying!
Bang!
With a tremendous crash, Song Tianqing struck the ground and spat out a mouthful of blood with a "wah."
Song Tianqing had trump cards—did Han Zheng not have any?
This was only because it was a public occasion, and Han Zheng could not strike to kill a member of the Song Family.
Otherwise, once the Vajra Demon Subduing Seal came out, Song Tianqing would not merely have been beaten until he spat blood. His head would have been smashed to pieces!
"Young Master!"
Zheng Zhishan hurried over and helped Song Tianqing to his feet.
"Go!"
Song Tianqing stared at Han Zheng, then staggered away with Zheng Zhishan's support, not even waiting for Li Jingzhong to announce the result.
"This round goes to Han Zheng!"
Li Jingzhong looked at Han Zheng and nodded in satisfaction.
Han Zheng had only obtained the Blood Fiend Saber Art a few days ago, yet he had already grasped the key to condensing Killing Intent.
More importantly, his comprehension was exceptional. He had actually learned and applied it so quickly.
The martial arts academy disciples from commoner backgrounds around them also began cheering the instant Li Jingzhong announced victory and defeat.
Though it was not they who had won.
Though after leaving their masters, most of them could only continue serving wealthy landlords and nobles as guards for their homes.
At least at this moment, they had held their heads high.