This martial arts hall examination placed ordinary disciples' assessments second; the clashes between elite disciples were the true matter of greatest importance.
Two people had drawn especially loud cheers in this elite disciples' competition. One was named Lin Hao. His strength was only a hair's breadth below that of the previous first senior disciple, but when the two had competed for the position, he had fallen one move short and lost, allowing the position to go elsewhere.
This time, he had prepared for the contest over the first senior disciple's seat for a long while. He was determined to win.
The second person who drew loud cheers was Li Yuan. Ever since the previous trip to Changgan, his reputation had spread throughout Jiujiang Commandery.
Every martial artist who had participated in that mission held Li Yuan in high regard. His fame had come from outside the martial arts hall, and many of its disciples knew that Li Yuan had distinguished himself brilliantly during an expedition.
Yan Nian, a True Qi Realm martial artist who had taken part in the trip to Changgan, had a close relationship with Qi Zhengyang. Once, while drinking with Qi Zhengyang, Yan Nian had mentioned in passing that Qi Zhengyang should devote more effort to cultivating Li Yuan. That boy's future achievements were boundless.
Qi Zhengyang had been greatly surprised. He knew Yan Nian well, and this True Qi Realm martial artist's eye for talent was far from ordinary. There were few people who could earn such praise from this veteran of the True Qi Realm.
At the same time, Qi Zhengyang was also curious about what had actually happened during the trip to Changgan, so he asked.
Because the matter involved certain hidden circumstances and concerned the Corpse Demon, Yan Nian could not say much. He only said that the convoy they were escorting had failed to enter the city in time and had been surrounded and attacked by Evil Creatures. Li Yuan alone had killed dozens of zombies and evil ghosts, as well as a Half-step Blood Robe.
Qi Zhengyang froze when he heard of Li Yuan's battle record. Such strength had far exceeded what anyone in the Inner Force Realm should be capable of, yet how long had it been since Li Yuan broke through to the Inner Force Realm?
A month at most!
How had he done it?
Could such a monstrous martial arts talent truly exist in this world?!
Qi Zhengyang's heart was filled with questions. He was extremely curious about Li Yuan's true strength, and the selection for first senior disciple that he had organized was an excellent opportunity.
The martial arts hall had seven elite disciples in the Inner Force Realm. They would draw lots to determine the strongest, with one bye arranged first, making eight seats in total.
First, eight would become four, then four would become two, and finally, the last two would fight for the one spot!
Someone might say that whoever drew a bye had an unfair advantage, but anyone could draw the bye, so the process was still fair.
If one insisted on putting it another way, then luck was also part of strength.
The seven martial artists stepped forward one after another to draw lots. Li Yuan drew number four. Number eight was the bye, and the person who drew number seven was unexpectedly Wu Si'an. He had a bye in the first round. One had to admit that the man's luck was excellent.
The competition soon began. Number one was a woman named Dong Yuezhen. She was the only woman among the Inner Force Realm disciples, and her opponent was Lin Hao, number two.
The first match soon began. Both of them fought with their fists and feet. Dong Yuezhen's martial art was unexpectedly the same as Li Yuan's—Cinnabar Palm. She struck out with both palms in a chain, attacking Lin Hao without pause.
Lin Hao used Thousand Leaf Palm. Its palm movements were intricate and extremely difficult to defend against.
The moment the two exchanged blows, Li Yuan's spirits lifted. Dong Yuezhen used Cinnabar Palm, which he also knew, and she was a woman at that, so he paid the match a little more attention.
After only a couple of glances, Li Yuan judged Dong Yuezhen's mastery of Cinnabar Palm. She had only just reached the minor mastery stage, and the Shocking Force she had cultivated was not very substantial. She was utterly incomparable to him.
Lin Hao was indeed the person closest to the previous first senior disciple. His Thousand Leaf Palm was far stronger than Dong Yuezhen's. His palm technique was polished, and whenever their moves traded places, he could always gain the upper hand.
The shadows of Thousand Leaf Palm overlapped in thick layers, reality and illusion interweaving until they were impossible to distinguish. Several palms had deceived Dong Yuezhen's defense and struck her body.
Though Dong Yuezhen was a woman, she possessed none of the frailty of an ordinary young lady. The ferocity in her fists and palms was in no way inferior to a man's. Even after Lin Hao struck her several times, leaving patches of purple bruises across her body, she did not retreat in the slightest. Instead, the more she fought, the more valiant she became.
With a muffled bang, Lin Hao struck Dong Yuezhen's left shoulder. His palm force entered her body, worsening her injuries, while she struck him beneath the ribs at the same time. Shocking Force erupted. Lin Hao's face went pale, and he staggered back a step.
Several blood vessels appeared in Dong Yuezhen's eyes. She knew that her strength was inferior to Lin Hao's, so she would trade injury for injury and see who could endure more. Whoever fell first would lose.
Watching Dong Yuezhen charge over as if she did not fear death, Lin Hao felt a headache coming on. "This madwoman—she's that ruthless?"
He was fighting in this disciples' grand competition to seize the position of first senior disciple. He needed to preserve himself in the best possible condition to face the several opponents after this, especially Li Yuan.
Over the past few days, Lin Hao could not even take a stroll outside the martial arts hall without running into several people praising Li Yuan's excellence and declaring that he was destined for greatness. A worthy man had no empty reputation. This placed enormous pressure on Lin Hao. He had a premonition that Li Yuan would very likely be his greatest competitor this time.
Lin Hao was not afraid of injury or pain. He was only afraid that suffering too many pointless injuries at Dong Yuezhen's hands would affect his later matches.
"I have to end this fight quickly."
The two clashed again. Lin Hao unleashed Thousand Leaf Palm with all his strength, and the Inner Force in his body erupted continuously, making his palm technique fiercer and fiercer. Dong Yuezhen soon could not hold out and was beaten into staggering retreats.
The gap between her and Lin Hao's strength was obvious. Even trading injury for injury could not make up for it. Dong Yuezhen's face grew paler and paler, while the Inner Force in her body dwindled. She was already showing signs of exhaustion.
Lin Hao seized an opening and struck out with a palm, its momentum fierce and forceful. Dong Yuezhen was exhausted at that moment and had no chance of blocking it, but Lin Hao's palm did not land. The edge of his palm stopped steadily an inch beside Dong Yuezhen's temple.
The victor had been decided.
Dong Yuezhen steadied herself, nodded at Lin Hao, and left the arena.
After winning one round, Lin Hao felt slightly relieved. He soon left as well, giving up the arena.
The second match was number three against number four. It was Li Yuan's turn to take the stage.
His opponent was named Ji Hongchun, and he practiced Returning Wind Swordplay. After stepping onto the platform, he regarded Li Yuan with a solemn expression. Li Yuan's recent fame had been too great, placing considerable pressure on him.
By rights, Li Yuan had only broken through to the Inner Force Realm a month ago. How strong could someone like that be?
Ji Hongchun had broken through to the Inner Force Realm many years ago, and his Inner Force was incomparably deep. Could he really lose to a newcomer who had only just broken through?
In Ji Hongchun's heart, he had always harbored some doubts. Was Li Yuan truly that strong?
Could he be nothing more than a fraud who had stolen a false reputation?
Today, he would weigh just how much he was worth!
Li Yuan walked slowly onto the platform and stopped in front of Ji Hongchun. After carrying out mission after mission and killing a mountain of Evil Creatures, he had already gathered a formidable Killing Intent around himself. Ji Hongchun's heart tightened at the sight, and he became even more wary of Li Yuan.
Holding a wooden sword, Ji Hongchun said to Li Yuan, "I practice Returning Wind Swordplay. Since I have a weapon in hand, I have a slight advantage. I hope you won't take offense, brother."
Looking at Ji Hongchun holding the wooden sword, Li Yuan smiled faintly. "It's fine. Begin."
To Li Yuan, it made no difference whether these martial arts hall disciples carried weapons. As long as he wished, he could end the battle in an instant.
The match began. Ji Hongchun seized the initiative, thrusting his wooden sword toward Li Yuan!
Li Yuan watched the incoming wooden sword with a smile. A faint sound of stone bricks cracking rang out beneath his feet. Ji Hongchun's sword struck empty air, while Li Yuan's figure had already vanished from where he stood.
Shocking Step!
Qi Zhengyang, who had been sitting upright at the front desk all this time, was suddenly startled. He rose abruptly. "What is this?!"
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