A Contest of Palm Power and the Dao Heart Exam

A Contest of Palm Power and the Dao Heart Exam

The Little Heavenly Star Palm had no moves of its own. It was a martial art focused purely on circulating magical power and transforming it into Yin-Cold Palm Power.

Now that He Dayou had unleashed the Little Heavenly Star Palm's power, he was confident he could severely injure Zhang Yu with Yin-Cold Palm Power and freeze his internal organs.

And given Zhang Yu's financial situation, He Dayou believed Zhang Yu definitely could not afford treatment at a hospital and could only endure it.

"Poor bastard, at least you won't be coming to school for a week."

Boom!

As their palms slammed together, their magical powers collided as well, seeming to explode inside their bodies with a bang.

Though He Dayou's Little Heavenly Star Palm was powerful, he had only just mastered it.

The martial art Zhang Yu used was merely ordinary Freehand Fighting, but he had already trained it to Level 3, allowing him to unleash considerable palm power.

As their palm powers clashed and magical power surged, He Dayou discovered that his advantage was not as great as he had imagined. His Little Heavenly Star Palm Power could only force back Zhang Yu's palm power bit by bit as it slowly invaded his body.

What surprised him even more was that Zhang Yu seemed like one of those weighted roly-poly dolls. Each time He Dayou's Little Heavenly Star Palm Power seeped into him a little, Zhang Yu swiftly forced it back out. Though clearly at a disadvantage, he stubbornly held his ground without falling.

At the same time, the magical power circulation within Zhang Yu's body continued running, endlessly replenishing his magical power and allowing him to withstand He Dayou's Little Heavenly Star Palm Power time and again.

The assistant teacher watching from the side was suddenly startled. "They're competing in magical power?"

Seeing the grave expressions on their faces, the assistant teacher feared something might happen to them. If it did, his performance rating for the year would go up in smoke. Especially since one of them was the school board member's son—nothing could happen to him.

He hurriedly reminded them, "Students, if either of you can't hold on, admit defeat immediately. The other person must also withdraw their magical power at once."

"Don't let yourselves suffer grave injuries and delay your futures over a Monthly Exam."

Neither spoke. He Dayou stared fixedly at Zhang Yu, frantically circulating his magical power and launching waves of Little Heavenly Star Palm Power at him.

Zhang Yu, meanwhile, calmed his mind and steadied his breath. He actively circulated the Heavenly Cycle Qi Gathering Method, recovering magical power while resisting He Dayou's Little Heavenly Star Palm Power.

In the blink of an eye, both their foreheads were covered in sweat, and steaming heat rose from their bodies as though they were two enormous furnaces.

Yet Zhang Yu's complexion was rosy, and he appeared increasingly relaxed.

He Dayou, on the other hand, had turned ashen-faced and was gradually showing signs of being unable to continue.

He could no longer control his emotions. He looked at Zhang Yu with shock and fury intertwined.

The assistant instructor checked the time. Their contest of magical power had already lasted more than a minute. Seeing He Dayou's condition, he had no choice but to remind them again, "Students, if you can't hold on, admit defeat immediately."

"This is only a Monthly Exam."

He Dayou struggled to open his mouth several times. Watching Zhang Yu grow more and more relaxed, he finally squeezed out a few words through clenched teeth. "I..."

"I admit defeat."

As both sides slowly withdrew their magical power, He Dayou abruptly collapsed onto the floor.

His face was as pale as paper, and the magical power in his dantian was almost completely drained.

He looked unwillingly at Zhang Yu and asked, "How much magical power do you have left?"

Seeing how weak and half-dead the other man looked, Zhang Yu immediately answered modestly, "Maybe ten or twenty percent."

He Dayou snorted. Judging from Zhang Yu's appearance, he knew it was definitely more than that.

He slowly stood up and gave Zhang Yu a deep look. "You're good."

"We'll spar again next time."

With that, He Dayou turned and left.

As he walked away, recalling today's battle, he had to acknowledge something in his heart.

"Zhang Yu... is strong."

"But... what a pity. As a poor man, he is destined to become our dog."

"I hope you can hold on until the day I defeat you fair and square next time. Don't leave a regret in my heart."

Elsewhere, watching He Dayou's unsteady retreating figure, Zhang Yu thought to himself, "Spar again next time?"

"Classmate, you should stop dreaming... this was the closest your strength will ever get to mine. This is your finest memory. If we fight again, I'm afraid you'll end up saying, 'I'm sorry, Lord Zhang Yu, I failed to make you use your full strength.'"

Zhang Yu walked toward the exit of the examination hall. The moment he stepped outside, he saw Bai Zhenzhen leaning against the wall.

"Yo, A-Zhen. That was quick."

"Mm, I settled it in a few moves." Bai Zhenzhen glanced at him curiously. "Who did you draw?"

Zhang Yu said, "He Dayou."

"Fuck!" Bai Zhenzhen stomped her foot in anger. "He got to show off during the Dao Arts Exam, and now he humiliated you badly too. That bastard must be having the time of his life today."

"But don't worry. Next Practical Combat Class, I'll challenge him and humiliate him right back for you."

Zhang Yu looked at Bai Zhenzhen speechlessly. "I won."

Feeling Bai Zhenzhen's astonished gaze, Zhang Yu simply made his move.

He threw a punch, only for Bai Zhenzhen to block it with her palm.

Their fists and palms collided in rapid succession. Their four arms became streaks of afterimages in the air, producing muffled thuds like heavy hammers striking each other.

Bang!

After exchanging several moves, they suddenly separated.

Bai Zhenzhen said, "Your Freehand Fighting is Level 3?"

Zhang Yu said, "Your Freehand Fighting is Level 3?"

Bai Zhenzhen said in shock, "Weren't you only Level 1 before? How did you suddenly reach Level 3? Could it be that you actually trained Freehand Fighting to Level 3 long ago and were just waiting for a chance like today, fighting He Dayou, to put on a huge show? You brat... you've read quite a few wish-fulfillment novels, haven't you?"

Zhang Yu looked at Bai Zhenzhen with equal suspicion. "A-Zhen, you just said your own thoughts out loud, didn't you? You clearly said you were only Level 2 in Freehand Fighting before. You little girl really will stop at nothing just to steal the spotlight."

Bai Zhenzhen's face reddened as she explained, "I wasn't doing it to steal the spotlight. Freehand Fighting's level doesn't earn extra points anyway."

"Instead, hiding a trump card during actual combat makes it easier to catch people off guard and score highly in the Practical Exam."

"Didn't the teacher say it before? Intelligence warfare is also part of actual combat."

Zhang Yu suddenly thought of He Dayou, whom he had fought today.

That Yin-Cold Palm Technique the other party had suddenly used had nearly caught him in the shadows.

Hearing Bai Zhenzhen's words now, Zhang Yu deeply agreed. "I really should keep something in reserve. I can't flip over every single one of my trump cards."

After Zhou Tianyi finished his exam as well, the three of them went to the cafeteria for dinner. Then they either went home or attended extra lessons.

Tomorrow would bring the Dao Heart, magical power, and Physical Strength exams.

But after Zhang Yu returned home that day, he went to the Unfinished Building again.

The twenty-four-hour cooldown for switching Feather Book Specialization had not yet passed.

Since Zhang Yu was still specialized in Freehand Fighting, he decided to keep practicing it and raise the level of this martial art further.

"Heh heh. Although I exposed my Level 3 Freehand Fighting trump card in front of A-Zhen, if I train it to level 5 or level 6 today, I'll have another new trump card."

Thinking about how shocked Bai Zhenzhen would look next time, Zhang Yu felt his punches grow more powerful.

So Zhang Yu diligently practiced Freehand Fighting. When he got tired, he used Breath Circulation to rest. Once his strength recovered, he stood up and continued practicing. Before he knew it, the entire night had passed.

The next morning, as sunlight slowly streamed through the hollow windows of the Unfinished Building and fell upon Zhang Yu, he slowly opened his eyes while sitting cross-legged on the ground.

After a night of arduous training, his Freehand Fighting had reached level 5 (3/50), and his understanding of this foundational martial art had deepened further.

His magical power had also risen from 11.7 to 11.8.

Zhang Yu sighed inwardly. "With the Heavenly Cycle Qi Gathering Method's Passive Breathing Technique effect, even though I've only used Breath Circulation while resting these past few days, my magical power has still increased quite a bit every day."

Feeling the magical power within him growing every moment made Zhang Yu feel much better.

It also made him look forward even more to the effects of raising the Heavenly Cycle Qi Gathering Method to Level 10 once the specialization-switching cooldown was over.

He squeezed onto the bus and made his way to school.

Songyang was still under a low-pressure atmosphere today.

Many students looked visibly miserable, clearly having had poor luck on their exams yesterday.

After breakfast, Zhang Yu arrived at the examination hall for today's first test—the Dao Heart Exam.

White walls and rows upon rows of neatly arranged beds made the examination hall look like a hospital ward.

Only, instead of oxygen machines, each hospital bed was connected to something resembling a mask.

Not long after Zhang Yu arrived at his assigned bed and sat down, he heard the countdown in his mind again.

Curling his lips, he simply sat cross-legged and began Breath Circulation.

While Zhang Yu circulated his breath, candidates continued entering. Before long, every bed in the examination hall was occupied.

As the ringing sound echoed out, the expressions of the students tightened. They knew the exam was about to begin.

At the same time, relaxing music began playing over the broadcast.

When the music ended, a woman's voice came through the speakers.

"This is Songyang City's unified monthly Dao Heart examination for all high schools. The examination will last sixty minutes."

Zhang Yu was not the least bit surprised by the broadcast.

After all, his memories already contained the experiences of several past Monthly Exams.

Unlike yesterday's General Knowledge Exam, Martial Dao Exam, and Dao Arts Exam—

Every Monthly Exam's Dao Heart Exam was unified across all high schools in Songyang City.

This was inseparable from the unique nature of the Dao Heart and the Dao Heart Exam itself.

At the same time, the woman's voice continued over the broadcast.

"Attention. Throughout the examination, please wear the Spirit Realm Mask properly over your face."

"Equipment inspection and fitting time begins now."

All the students immediately picked up the masks on their beds and began inspecting them.

Zhang Yu did the same. He first confirmed that the cable behind the mask was plugged into the socket, then turned on the power to make sure the mask was undamaged...

After checking and confirming that there were no issues, Zhang Yu put the mask over his face.

He felt the mask distort for a moment before perfectly covering his face, as if his face had gained another layer of skin.

But because the mask covered his eyes, Zhang Yu could see nothing but darkness.

A moment later, the woman's voice sounded again over the broadcast.

"Equipment inspection and fitting are now complete."

"The Dao Heart Exam officially begins."

The darkness before Zhang Yu's eyes suddenly trembled. As motes of light appeared, he arrived in another world the next moment.

(End of Chapter)