I Choose Luo Hou

"This person is Pang Ying from the Black Tiger Hall. Challenging a Ming Jin with Dark Jin is a wise choice; he can remain in an invincible position."

Yin Shanshan whispered from the side.

Chen Mo raised his eyes to look, seeing that Pang Ying was as sturdy as an ox, his two arms knotted with muscle.

The Ming Jin brother from the Panshi Martial Hall who had been chosen by him trembled as he stepped onto the stage, assuming a half-hearted defensive stance.

The final outcome was self-evident; Pang Ying won in the fifth exchange.

In the next two matches, a collateral nephew of the Zhao Family challenged a contestant from the Wu Family; the two fought fiercely for over twenty exchanges before the Wu Family contestant was defeated.

The other match saw Li Xuan choose a Ming Jin contestant from the Panshi Martial Hall, winning by a narrow margin and saving face for the Tianqing Martial Hall.

At this moment, it was the Zhao Family's turn to choose.

Zhao Huayuan cast a look of unknown meaning toward Zhang Chong, who nodded slightly before stepping into the arena, his gaze sweeping toward the direction of the Tianqing Martial Hall.

He said in a deep voice, "I would like to invite Yue Lun of the Tianqing Martial Hall to be my opponent. Brother Yue, would you do me the honor?"

Upon hearing these words, Yue Lun's expression froze, and Yin Tianqing, standing to the side, saw his own face darken.

How could Yin Tianqing not know Zhang Chong's purpose, or rather, the purpose of the Zhao Family?

The moment he rejected Liu Zongsheng, it meant that the other party would certainly not let things rest today.

His top disciple, who once had a marriage agreement with his daughter, had become a live-in son-in-law for the other side, and in turn, had defeated the strongest second disciple currently under his tutelage.

What could be more humiliating than this!?

But as the master of a hall, he could not refuse at this moment.

"I can only hope for Yue Lun's good fortune..."

Yin Tianqing sighed silently, his heart pinning all its hopes on the slim probability of Yue Lun winning.

Yue Lun stepped forward.

"Good!"

The entire audience's interest was ignited.

It was not just because of the spectacle between the Tianqing Martial Hall and the Zhao Family, but also because this was the first time two Dark Jin practitioners were fighting today.

Every Dark Jin practitioner in Black River Town was watched by various forces, and it was not easy to see them make a move.

Chen Mo also focused his attention.

Possessing the Mountain and Water Cultivation, his comprehension was far superior to ordinary people; watching two Dark Jin practitioners fight up close was a rare opportunity for insight.

Where everyone's gaze converged.

After the two exchanged cupped-fist salutes.

Zhang Chong made the first move, his figure leaping out to strike at Yue Lun's side.

The technique he practiced was the Wind Gale Jin, and his strikes were often swift, fierce, and solid, proficient in both fists and palms.

Chen Mo's expression tightened slightly.

One could see from Zhang Chong's opening move that the gap between Ming Jin and Dark Jin was significant; if this strike landed solidly, Yue Lun would inevitably end up injured.

Yue Lun practiced the Water Wheel Stake Technique, and while his fist and palm strength were far inferior to the Wind Gale Jin, they had the advantage of being continuous and unending.

In the blink of an eye, their bodies collided.

Although Yue Lun used a unique method to neutralize fifty or sixty percent of the Wind Gale Jin's force, the remaining power still surged within his body, and he retreated four or five steps before barely coming to a stop.

At this moment, Zhang Chong's figure leaped out like a leopard once again.

Yue Lun exerted his full strength to perform the Water Wheel Stake Technique, but he could only barely block; after this exchange, blood was already spilling from the corner of his mouth, and his face was as pale as paper.

Two exchanges.

The Zhao Family's new son-in-law had already beaten the Tianqing Martial Hall's strongest disciple until he had no power to parry.

Everyone pondered inwardly.

After this, would the Tianqing Martial Hall still have the face to remain open?

Yin Tianqing clenched his fists, fine bloodshot lines appearing in his eyes.

On the other side, Chen Mo had observed the two exchanges of battle just now and had quietly grasped some essentials of actual combat, while also gaining a preliminary understanding of Zhang Chong's fighting style.

While everyone had their own thoughts.

The third exchange was initiated by Zhang Chong once again.

He saw his figure move almost as fast as a blurred shadow, tap-tap-tap!

In just three steps, he had already closed in on Yue Lun, throwing a fierce punch, which the latter raised his palms to block.

The fist force arrived in an instant!

Under this punch, Yue Lun's defense shattered in an instant, and the remaining seventy or eighty percent of the fist force landed on his chest.

"Puda!"

The sound of his sternum shattering echoed within his body; at the same time, his figure flew out of the arena, landing on the ground in front of Yin Tianqing, the blood he spat out staining Yin Tianqing's pant leg red.

At this moment, every spectator in the vicinity changed color in an instant.

Yin Tianqing saw this scene, his face as dark as the bottom of a furnace, and he leaned down, his hands trembling as he helped Yue Lun up.

"Take Yue Lun back immediately, and summon the best physician in Anyang County!"

Yin Tianqing said in a deep, furious voice.

Before his voice had even faded, Ji Chang and the others had already rushed to Yue Lun's side, lifting him by his head and feet before hurrying toward the martial hall, while two others rushed off to fetch a physician.

Yin Tianqing withdrew his gaze and looked up at the two people sitting at the entrance of the Hua Pavilion.

He knew clearly in his heart that to scold Zhang Chong at this moment would be equivalent to slapping his own face, and Zhang Chong was undoubtedly acting under the instructions of Zhao Huayuan.

He had rejected Liu Zongsheng, so the other party had crippled his strongest disciple.

Having lost Yue Lun, to pin his hopes on Li Xuan and Chen Mo to win glory in the Martial Examination?

That was nothing but a pipe dream!

When the time came, if the two of them were humiliated, his, Yin Tianqing's, face would be like the paving stones on the Martial Examination field, trampled over again and again by those Martial Scholars!

As these thoughts raced through his mind.

At the entrance, Zhao Huayuan slowly stood up and pointedly reprimanded Zhang Chong, "Zhang Chong, how could your strike be so heavy? That was your former fellow apprentice!"

Zhang Chong paused, then lowered his head toward Zhao Huayuan in feigned self-reproach, "This was not the junior's intention; it was truly an accident that Yue Lun was injured. I ask the seniors to punish me."

Hearing this, Zhao Huayuan nodded slightly, then turned to Yin Tianqing and said, "Master Yin, although Zhang Chong did not mean it, and there is always a risk of injury in sparring matches, Yue Lun is indeed severely injured. How do you think Zhang Chong should be punished?"

The eyes of the entire crowd turned toward Yin Tianqing.

He closed his eyes, his chin whiskers trembling slightly, then slowly opened them again and said, word by word:

"In a sparring match, injuries are, borne, by, oneself!"

Yin Shanshan saw that her father seemed to have aged ten years in this moment; she wanted to go up to support him, but after a moment's thought, she retreated back to Chen Mo's side.

"Heh heh, Master Yin is truly magnanimous," Zhao Huayuan said with a smile. "Zhang Chong, why haven't you thanked Master Yin for his grace in not punishing you?"

Zhang Chong then cupped his fists toward Yin Tianqing, "Many thanks, Master... Yin."

A few sparse, mocking sounds drifted from the surroundings, and following Zhao Huayuan's command of "The matches continue," this interlude was temporarily turned over.

At this moment, Zhao Huayuan seemed to have discovered something, a mocking curve appearing at the corner of his mouth, "It should be the turn of the last person from Tianqing Martial Hall to choose now. The available opponents should include one Ming Jin disciple from Panshi Martial Hall, as well as my disciple, Luo Hou."

The eyes of the entire crowd converged here.

Yin Shanshan whispered a warning, "Luo Hou is at the early stage of Dark Jin."

Her intention was for Chen Mo to choose the Ming Jin disciple from Panshi Martial Hall.

But Chen Mo pondered internally.

Choosing the Ming Jin disciple was certainly the safer option.

However, he had watched several matches between Dark Jin practitioners today and had gained some insights; if he could choose a Dark Jin opponent to fight, it would be of great benefit to his future advancement to Dark Jin.

That Luo Hou happened to be at the early stage of Dark Jin, so why not...

"I choose Luo Hou."

After a brief moment of consideration, he said calmly.