First Victory (Please Follow!)

"Yang Family, Yang Tao."

"Tianqing Martial Hall, Chen Mo."

The two men announced their names.

After the formalities, Yang Tao lowered his waist and raised his hands, settling into his stance.

Chen Mo took one look and recognized the style as Meihua Stake Fist, a technique that emphasizes using footwork to drive the punches, with power rising from the feet.

Chen Mo did not move, waiting for his opponent to strike.

Yang Tao thought nothing of it, stepping forward with Meihua Steps to close the distance.

When they were only five feet apart, Yang Tao suddenly exerted force through his legs, twisting his feet against the blue brick floor. His right fist whistled through the air, leaving an afterimage as it struck toward Chen Mo's face.

The young women watching Chen Mo quickly covered their eyes.

How could a Ming Jin practitioner withstand a full-force punch from a Dark Jin martial artist?

The swift, fierce punch grew rapidly in Chen Mo's vision.

At that very moment.

His body suddenly drifted two feet to the side, shifting out of the opponent's line of attack.

The force of the punch whistled past his face, the wind ruffling two strands of hair on his forehead.

After Chen Mo dodged the blow, Yang Tao whipped his head around, his eyes filled with disbelief as he thought, This man was only at Ming Jin yesterday...

In that split second, Chen Mo's body snapped back into position. He raised his right fist, the power of Stone-Crushing Strike instantly coalescing.

A crisp crack of knuckles echoed between his fingers.

Yang Tao's expression shifted, and he raised both fists to block.

Boom!

The punch landed like a thunderclap.

Bang! Bang!

A powerful force erupted in front of Yang Tao, sending him flying ten feet back.

Thud! Thud!

He stomped his feet hard against the blue brick floor to steady himself.

The sudden shift in the scene caused an uproar in the training grounds.

The young women opened their eyes in confusion, only to see that Chen Mo hadn't moved, while Yang Tao looked rather disheveled.

Seeing this, Ji Chang jumped seven feet into the air with excitement.

Beside him, Yin Shanshan also smiled in relief.

Immediately after.

Chen Mo spread his legs and took two large strides forward, pouncing like a leopard. His fingers curled into beast-like claws, and a faint, bestial roar seemed to ripple through the air.

Whoosh—

Yang Tao, standing opposite, didn't just stand there. He engaged his Meihua Steps, clenched his sandbag-sized fists, and moved his punches in sync with his feet.

In the blink of an eye, Chen Mo's claw force collided with the opponent's fist power.

Bang! Bang!

The claw force tore two gashes into the opponent's fists, blood flowing freely as Yang Tao's face twisted in pain.

"What kind of fist technique is that?"

Someone asked in astonishment.

In the distance, Yin Tianqing also frowned. "Neither Dragon-Subduing Stake Technique nor Fuhu Fist possesses such claw strength. This kid is becoming hard to figure out..."

The next moment, Chen Mo didn't hesitate. He launched a Snake Coiling Hand, bypassing the opponent's guard to strike directly at his throat.

Yang Tao was no amateur; he immediately arched his back, executing Arching Body Gazing at the Moon to narrowly dodge the Snake Coiling Hand.

Chen Mo was not annoyed that his strike missed. He quickly transitioned the Snake Coiling Hand into a Swallow Return Strike, swinging his arm back for a fierce whip-punch.

Bang!

The punch struck the opponent's shoulder blade.

"Argh—"

A sharp pain shot through Yang Tao's shoulder, forcing a scream from his lips.

Chen Mo moved again.

The most basic principle of real combat is: attack the weak, dodge the strong, and strike while they are vulnerable to finish them off!

He spun around and initiated Flowing Cloud Attack, closing the distance to Yang Tao in a single breath. His right hand lunged out like a dragon's claw.

Though the opponent quickly raised his guard, it was like rotten wood against the force of Chen Mo's strike.

In an instant, the defense was shattered.

Chen Mo's claw struck Yang Tao square in the chest; the fabric over the latter's chest shredded instantly, and his entire body flew out of the arena like a kite with a broken string.

The entire venue fell silent.

Could the Ming Jin martial student from yesterday, who was thought to have "nothing but brute strength," actually tear apart a Dark Jin martial student today?

A few sharp-eyed observers noticed the anomaly.

"Look at his aura now; it seems he has already broken through to Dark Jin!"

"To break through to Dark Jin overnight, right before the technical examination—what monstrous luck!"

Chen Mo walked calmly back to the side of Xie Jinnian, who studied him for a long time as if seeing him for the first time.

"You are the most miraculous person I have ever met!"

He blurted out, "Brother Chen, I've decided to be friends with you! You were Ming Jin yesterday, and today you break through just like that. Even if my cousin Xie Jinyou were here, he would be shocked to hear of this!"

Hearing this, Chen Mo humbly replied, "Just good luck. I happened to stumble upon an opportunity to break through."

Xie Jinnian clicked his tongue twice. "I don't believe a single word you're saying now!"

Chen Mo shook his head helplessly and turned his gaze toward the training grounds.

Among the martial students who competed afterward, Xie Jinyou faced a mid-stage Dark Jin martial student. When the latter realized he was up against Xie Jinyou, he shook his head and sighed repeatedly; in the end, Xie Jinyou secured victory in just five moves.

Following that, Zhang Chong, the person Chen Mo was most concerned about, finally took the stage.

In the distance, Zhao Huayuan walked up to Yin Tianqing, his gaze fixed on the arena as he spoke, "Master Yin, your former beloved disciple is about to fight for my Zhao Family. I forgot to thank you."

Yin Tianqing laughed instead of getting angry. "You didn't just come over here to mock me, did you?"

Zhao Huayuan also smiled. "Zhang Chong has the strength to be in the top three of this year's Martial Examination. Even taking a step back, the top five is guaranteed. As for that little disciple of yours named Chen Mo, even if he was lucky enough to win his first match, he won't be able to make any further progress."

"Say what you have to say." Yin Tianqing, growing impatient, flicked his sleeve sharply.

Zhao Huayuan remained unhurried, speaking slowly, "My point is that among this group of disciples, none can inherit your mantle. It would be better to cooperate with my Zhao Family; I could send you a disciple who is actually worth something."

Hearing this, Yin Tianqing understood his intentions and sneered, "That won't be necessary. Although Chen Mo has only just entered the Dark Jin realm, I believe he will make the rankings, and I value his character and temperament even more!"

Zhao Huayuan burst into laughter. "Hahaha, he is nothing but a yellow-mouthed child! To think that you, Yin Tianqing, have fallen to such a state where your students are so withered! What a pity, what a tragedy!"

With that, he strode away.

As he left, Zhang Chong on the arena had already beaten his opponent into a state of total helplessness. With one fierce, heavy punch, his opponent was sent flying out of the arena, collapsing to the ground unable to rise.

After Zhao Huayuan walked away, Yin Tianqing clenched his fists tightly.

Beside him, Ji Chang, Yin Shanshan, and the others were also gnashing their teeth.

Before long, the first round of matches had concluded.

Twenty-eight winners were decided, and these twenty-eight winners were required to draw wooden tokens again to determine their next opponents.

Xie Jinnian and Chen Mo walked to the wooden box one after another to draw their tokens.

Xie Jinnian drew "Yi-3," and since there were few people left, it was easy for everyone to find their opponents.

He looked left and right, and upon seeing that Liao Tian, the head disciple of the Qi Family head, was holding the "Jia-3" token, he couldn't help but rub his forehead in frustration.

Liao Tian's strength was enough to secure a spot in the top ten, while he, Xie Jinnian, was among the weakest of these twenty-eight.

When it was Chen Mo's turn to draw, he glanced at the "Jia-6" written on his token. By chance, he caught a glimpse of the wooden token in Zhang Chong's hand not far away, which bore the characters "Yi-6."

The two locked eyes, their gazes intertwining.