Victory

At the viewing area's podium.

The Principal, Vice Principal, Dean of Academic Affairs, and other school leaders arrived one after another.

Qin Fen and Shi Jian emerged from the Rest Area at the same time and came to the foot of the Arena in the Competition Area.

After the school leaders delivered their remarks, the two slowly stepped onto the Arena.

This match used the simplest Arena Match rules.

Victory would go to whoever knocked their opponent down and rendered them unable to fight within the allotted time, or blasted them out of the Arena.

During the match, weapons, hidden weapons, and other external objects were prohibited, as was deliberately endangering another person's life.

They were all classmates. This match was meant as a friendly spar, not a fight to the death.

"Please teach me."

Before the match, Qin Fen and Shi Jian performed a Fist-and-Palm Salute to show their respect for each other.

After exchanging salutes, Shi Jian made the first move. He hunched low, his feet moving in a strange pattern.

Qin Fen knew that Shi Jian cultivated the Silken Entanglement Grappling Hand. Like Eighteen Falls Upon Touching, it was a Lower First Grade Martial Art, except the Silken Entanglement Grappling Hand focused on offense, while Eighteen Falls Upon Touching placed greater emphasis on defense.

Though he had never practiced the Silken Entanglement Grappling Hand, his teacher Zhou Wu had explained its characteristics.

During training, Zhou Wu had also used moves from the Silken Entanglement Grappling Hand to Feed Moves with him.

The strange footwork Shi Jian was displaying was the Serpent Step from the Silken Entanglement Grappling Hand. Its movements were bizarre, like a venomous snake swaying along the ground, seemingly moving left while actually moving right. It could temporarily increase one's speed.

Qin Fen narrowed his eyes. Judging by Shi Jian's proficiency with the Serpent Step, he had not merely reached the Entering the Hall and Reaching the Inner Chamber level in the Silken Entanglement Grappling Hand. He had attained a fair degree of mastery. Once caught by him, one would be like prey ensnared by a snake—the tighter one struggled, the tighter it would coil.

If two opponents possessed equal strength, being caught at vital points all over the body by the Silken Entanglement Grappling Hand would make escape extremely difficult. But Qin Fen had already cultivated Flowing Strength and could channel and combine fifty percent of his body's power. His strength far surpassed Shi Jian's, so breaking free of a grappling technique would not be difficult.

"Student Shi Jian's footwork is quite good!"

On the viewing area's podium, Principal Han Siyuan nodded approvingly.

"To cultivate the Silken Entanglement Grappling Hand to such a level in just one month is indeed no easy feat." The Vice Principal beside him immediately agreed. "Moreover, Student Shi Jian's Internal Strength cultivation is not weak either. He has circulated power through both his arms and legs. In another month at most, his Galloping Horse Strength will reach the Peak Realm, allowing him to break through to the Second Realm of Jing Li, Flowing Strength."

Shi Jian used the Serpent Step, moving at tremendous speed. In just a few steps, he reached Qin Fen.

Shi Jian immediately darted to Qin Fen's side, his five fingers like iron hooks as they grabbed for Qin Fen's shoulder.

No matter how grappling techniques changed, their core consisted of three major categories: Bone Grabbing, Tendon Grabbing, and Acupoint Grabbing.

Qin Fen wanted to end the fight quickly, so he allowed Shi Jian to seize his shoulder.

At once, he felt a powerful force coming from his shoulder.

"A fine grappling technique, but it is useless against me."

Qin Fen gave a low shout. Power flowed from his legs to his waist, then his back, then his shoulder, passing through layer after layer. Although only fifty percent of his body's power had been combined by the time it reached his shoulder, it still vastly surpassed Shi Jian's.

His raw strength already exceeded two thousand jin. After combining his power, it exceeded three thousand jin.

Qin Fen shook his shoulder hard, and a tremendous rebounding force instantly blasted apart Shi Jian's tightly clenched fingers.

"What? Your strength has reached three thousand jin?"

Shi Jian staggered back from the shock, his face full of disbelief.

According to the test, his strength had reached fifteen hundred jin.

Qin Fen had broken free from his grappling technique so easily. His strength had to be at least twice Shi Jian's.

An Internal Strength Quasi-Martial Artist could not possibly possess three thousand jin of strength. That meant Qin Fen's control over his power had already reached Flowing Strength, allowing him to channel and combine his body's power. That was why his strength so greatly exceeded Shi Jian's.

"I have already reached Flowing Strength. Your grappling techniques are useless against me."

Qin Fen crushed him directly with his realm. There was no need for techniques or moves.

"You've really reached Flowing Strength?"

Qin Fen's words shook Shi Jian's mind, causing his emotions to waver.

Like Qin Fen, Shi Jian had been somewhat nervous before the match due to the pressure in his heart.

After adjusting his mindset under his teacher's guidance, he had suppressed those feelings. But upon learning that Qin Fen had reached Flowing Strength, the emotions he had suppressed resurfaced. His mind went blank for an instant, and he did not know what to do.

Qin Fen immediately seized the opportunity and lunged forward, instantly arriving before Shi Jian.

There were many little tricks in combat—feints to deceive one's opponent, deliberately exposing flaws to make the opponent think they had an opening, or provoking them with words to affect their emotions and throw them off balance, thereby affecting their attacks.

These were all common tactics Zhou Wu had told him about in the Rest Area.

However, given Qin Fen's combat experience, using feints to confuse an opponent was too difficult. Deliberately exposing flaws would also feel unnatural; his acting was not convincing enough, and anyone perceptive could see through it at a glance.

Only abundant combat experience allowed one to use such tactics skillfully.

Therefore, Qin Fen used only the simplest verbal provocation, stirring up Shi Jian's underlying nervousness and causing him to lose his composure. A simple attempt, and the effect was indeed good.

"Not good!"

Shi Jian's expression changed drastically as he tried to resist.

But it was already too late. The speed Qin Fen unleashed was too fast.

Bang!

Shi Jian was knocked to the ground. He immediately braced himself with both hands, trying to get up.

But Qin Fen would not give him that chance. He instantly rushed in front of Shi Jian and kicked him off the Arena.

Qin Fen had not used his power in that kick. Otherwise, he could have shattered even one-centimeter-thick hard granite with a single kick. If it had struck Shi Jian, it would have injured his bones.

They were classmates. There was no need to strike so heavily.

With Flowing Strength, power could be released but not withdrawn. Once a strike was unleashed, if the opponent could not withstand it, they would suffer severe injuries.

If Shi Jian had also reached Flowing Strength, and the two were evenly matched in a fierce battle, their fists and feet colliding as their blood boiled, then every exchange would happen in an instant. At that point, Qin Fen would not dare hold back.

Whoever held back would be irresponsible with their own life.

Boom!

Shi Jian's body slammed heavily off the Arena, but he was not seriously hurt.

"What? Shi Jian lost that easily?"

Those most surprised by this result were the classmates who had trained alongside Shi Jian.

They knew Shi Jian's strength very well. More than twenty classmates who had cultivated Jing Li had attacked him together, only to be knocked down one by one. Yet against Qin Fen, he had not even lasted two minutes.

Could it be that he had become nervous after stepping onto the Arena and failed to perform properly?

Shi Jian's teacher, Liu Sheng, on the other hand, remained calm.

With his keen eye, Liu Sheng had seen when Qin Fen broke free of Shi Jian's grapple that Qin Fen had already reached Flowing Strength. Even at the initial stage of Flowing Strength, one could combine fifty percent of one's body's power. Only then could he break free from Shi Jian's Silken Entanglement Grappling Hand so easily.