Battle Against Zhang Chong

A breath later, Chen Mo withdrew his gaze and walked calmly back to the sidelines.

There was an hour of rest before the next round of matches, during which everyone would replenish their energy with meat and qi-supplementing pills.

Chen Mo also took two qi-supplementing pills; as long as they weren't the kind of potent drugs that caused self-harm while wounding the enemy, the examiners would not interfere.

The hour was nearing its end.

Two martial artists at the Dark Jin stage from minor families, holding the "Jia-1" and "Yi-1" tokens, stepped into the arena.

As the two exchanged blows, the force of their palms surged outward, creating a constant humming sound...

In the third match, Xie Jinnian was defeated by Liao Tian in the sixth round.

In the fifth match, Liu Sha of the Black Tiger Hall fought a grueling battle of over ten rounds, ultimately defeating a martial artist who was on the verge of reaching the late stage of Dark Jin.

"Sixth match, will both contestants please enter the arena!"

Following the official's announcement, Zhang Chong stepped slowly into the arena, drawing a thousand gazes.

"That's the Zhao Family's son-in-law; it's said he already has one foot in the peak of the Dark Jin stage."

"I wonder who his opponent is; what terrible luck."

Chen Mo stepped out steadily and walked calmly to stand before Zhang Chong.

Seeing this, the crowd's eyes lit up with intense interest.

"I heard Zhang Chong betrayed the Tianqing Martial Hall, and that Chen Mo is from the Tianqing Martial Hall—this is going to be a good show!"

The two did not introduce themselves, nor did they exchange a single word.

There was no need for talk.

Instead, they each circulated the jin within their bodies; Zhang Chong's entire frame emitted a series of cracking bone sounds, while Chen Mo seemed to be able to hear the rushing flow of his opponent's internal jin.

At this moment, Zhang Chong made the first move.

Thud, thud, thud!

He stepped into a Bagua Formation Position, his palm force striking toward Chen Mo like a gale.

Chen Mo deployed the Luo Smoke Steps, wind rising beneath his feet, pushing his speed to the limit.

The two swept across the blue brick floor one after the other, the stones ringing out under their feet.

Chen Mo did not merely retreat; his right hand had already quietly prepared a Stone-Crushing Strike, which he suddenly unleashed.

Bang! Bang!

Fist and palm collided, a vast wave of jin rippling outward. The blue bricks beneath their feet shuddered violently, kicking up two clouds of dust.

After this exchange, both retreated several steps.

Zhang Chong felt a slight shock internally, thinking to himself, "Chen Mo's punch actually carries such immense force..."

The spectators on both sides of the arena saw this first round of combat and were stunned to find them evenly matched, which was completely different from what they had anticipated.

One had one foot in the peak of the Dark Jin stage, while the other had only just entered the Dark Jin stage—how were they fighting to a standstill?

On the sidelines, Yin Shanshan gripped her skirt tightly, her palms slick with sweat.

In the center of the arena, in the blink of an eye, the two shifted positions and crossed paths; within a few breaths, they had exchanged no fewer than ten blows.

The clashing jin sent out ripples that made the spectators' eardrums ache.

Chen Mo pivoted on his heels, leaped forward, and transformed his fist into a claw, unleashing the Dragon-Capturing Jin with all his might.

Zhang Chong stepped precisely into a Bagua Formation Position and, at a certain moment, turned his palm into a blade, slashing diagonally toward Chen Mo's neck.

In an instant.

The dragon-shaped claw and the Bagua palm-blade collided like steel, emitting sharp, clashing sounds.

They fought to the tenth round.

At this moment, the torrent of jin within Chen Mo's body was flowing more slowly through his spacious meridians, yet he continued to squeeze out every last drop of power.

Meanwhile, his opponent's clothes were disheveled, his face flushed, and his internal breath had become unstable.

He could not fathom how Chen Mo was managing to hold his own against him to this extent!

A man from a humble background who had only broken through to the Dark Jin stage due to a stroke of luck.

And he, Zhang Chong, though not from a prestigious family, was now the widely recognized son-in-law of the Zhao Family.

The two were worlds apart, like a towering peak and a deep ravine!

As he pondered this.

Chen Mo took the initiative to attack, unleashing the Dragon-Capturing Jin and Fuhu Fist with full force.

Using the Flowing Cloud Attack as his foundation, the Luo Smoke Steps as support, and the Snake Coiling Hand and Stone-Crushing Strike as his primary weapons, he ferociously targeted his opponent's throat, shoulders, and other vulnerable points.

His opponent's expression changed drastically; he immediately scrambled to set up a full Bagua defensive formation, stepping into position with his fists following suit, attempting to balance offense and defense.

Even so, Chen Mo's sharp, relentless assault forced him to retreat step by step, and cracks began to appear in the defensive structure of the Bagua formation.

Seeing this scene.

Zhao Huayuan's expression gradually turned cold and gloomy, like the water in a deep pool.

The words he had spoken earlier in front of Yin Tianqing felt as if they were being slapped onto his own face one by one, making his cheeks sting with pain.

The surrounding crowd was in an uproar, all of them craning their necks to watch, fearing they might miss a single moment.

"My god! What is happening?! Zhang Chong has actually fallen into a disadvantage!"

"This is the most brilliant martial arts trial of the year; I wonder if this will make Chen Mo famous throughout Anyang County."

"Looking at the situation, Zhang Chong is in a bit of trouble..."

Zhang Chong vaguely heard the discussions around him, and his state of mind shifted drastically; his face even began to twist, and the Bagua Formation Position beneath his feet grew increasingly chaotic.

Seizing this gap, Chen Mo did not hold back at all. He stomped hard on the blue bricks, his figure flipping like a hawk over Zhang Chong's head, followed immediately by a whip punch.

Fuhu Fist, sixth style: Swallow Return Strike.

Bang!

The punch struck Zhang Chong's shoulder blade, shattering the opponent's footwork entirely and sending him staggering back several steps.

The next moment, Chen Mo spun around rapidly and delivered a fierce punch.

Fuhu Fist, first style: Stone-Crushing Strike, layered with Dragon-Capturing Jin.

Bang-bang!

The punch was blocked by the opponent's hands for a few seconds before it forcibly broke through the defense and landed on his chest.

This punch.

It knocked him back four or five steps, causing the internal energy within his chest to surge in disarray.

Chen Mo felt that the physical strength of the late-stage Dark Jin was far beyond that of the early-stage. Although this punch had pushed Zhang Chong back, the opponent stomped hard on the ground and stabilized his stance.

Seeing this, Chen Mo moved again, Luo Smoke Steps layered with Flowing Cloud Attack; at the late-stage of Dark Jin, his speed was already hard to match.

Fuhu Fist, second style: Wave-Intercepting Style.

Both fists struck out simultaneously, blocking Zhang Chong's Bagua Palm counterattack. For a moment, their robes fluttered, and their faces felt parched from the force of the powerful fist winds.

Even though he held the upper hand, Chen Mo still felt his entire body go numb from the exchange of blows.

Suppressing the soreness in his body, he followed up with a straight, vertical uppercut.

Fuhu Fist, third style: Sand-Raising Style!

Zhang Chong's expression shifted slightly, and he immediately raised his palms to block.

The moment the fist and palms were about to collide, Chen Mo's fist momentum changed abruptly. The Sand-Raising Style hung suspended in mid-air as he used the Luo Smoke Steps to sidestep and circle around, his ten fingers curling like a dragon's claw to lock onto the opponent's shoulder.

The two were now back-to-back, but Chen Mo had already assumed a stance of sinking his waist to gather strength, his claws firmly gripping the other man.

"Oh no!"

Zhao Huayuan was suddenly shocked, cold sweat breaking out all over his body.

The two or three Hua Jin experts scattered around the training ground could tell at a glance the extraordinary lethality of Chen Mo's Dragon-Capturing Claw; if it landed fully, Zhang Chong would at the very least be injured.

After gathering strength for two seconds, Chen Mo suddenly exerted force with his ten fingers and threw Zhang Chong forward.

Sensing the crisis, Zhang Chong temporarily suppressed the chaotic thoughts in his mind and raised his palm to strike at Chen Mo's shoulder.

Both men exerted force almost simultaneously.

The moment Zhang Chong's palm struck Chen Mo's shoulder, Chen Mo's Dragon-Capturing Jin had already thrown the opponent out.

The crowd watched as a disheveled figure slid across the blue brick floor, nearly sparking, and finally stopped just one foot away from the boundary.

"Cough, cough--"

Just as Zhang Chong was about to get up, Chen Mo's figure flashed over.

A punch imbued with his full strength crashed down...