At the clerk's call, this round of matches drew to a close. Fourteen contestants with Dark Jin had emerged victorious.
The final round of matches would take place next. The fourteen victors would be paired off to fight, producing seven winners. After that, there would be no more matches.
At the end, the examiners would combine the results of the Strength Trial and Technique Trial to determine the top ten of the Martial Examination, who would then be granted the title of Martial Scholar.
After a brief rest, the final round began as scheduled.
Several contestants entered the arena at a steady pace.
Chen Mo looked up. Xie Jinyou, Liao Tian, Chang Hao, Liu Sha, Ye Zimou, and other young talents who had long made a name for themselves were among them.
But in the eyes of those present, Chen Mo had joined their ranks as well.
"Please draw a wooden lot to determine your matchups."
The clerk bowed slightly as he spoke.
Compared with the previous two rounds, his voice was much gentler as he called out.
They all lived in the same county, and the clerks occasionally had dealings with the various lineages. They saw one another often.
The clerks merely worked in government service, while those young talents from the lineages were the genuine heirs. In the future, one stomp of their foot could set off a storm.
So it never hurt to leave a favorable impression.
The tall, burly Chang Hao was the first to draw a wooden lot. Without trying to hide it, he slapped it hard onto the table beside him. Everyone looked closely: the lot bore the words "Jia One."
Next, Xie Jinyou stepped forward and casually plucked a lot from the wooden box. He had drawn "Yi Two."
A few more people drew lots. To everyone's surprise, Liu Sha and Liao Tian ended up facing off in a clash between two powerful opponents.
When only three people remained, Chen Mo stepped forward and reached into the box. The lot he drew bore the words "Yi Two."
Chen Mo versus Xie Jinyou?!
The crowd's eyes burned with excitement.
The former had been one of the hottest names these past two days.
The latter was the strongest contestant in this year's Martial Examination.
Their clash was bound to be like the points of two needles meeting.
When Chen Mo saw the words on his lot, he paused for a moment.
His fight with Zhang Chong had nearly drained seventy percent of his jin. Now that he had to face the even stronger Xie Jinyou, let alone putting up a fierce fight, even posing the slightest threat to his opponent seemed like a pipe dream.
But then he felt a surge of joy.
His Comprehension of Dragon-Capturing Jin and Fuhu Fist had both reached the minor mastery stage. In actual combat, he could grasp the essence of a martial art through his Comprehension.
And a powerful opponent like Xie Jinyou was the perfect match for that.
Seeing Chen Mo's calm expression, the crowd on both sides of the arena looked even more eager.
"Look, Chen Mo's still so composed even facing Xie Jinyou. He must be pretty confident."
"I don't think so. Xie Jinyou's strength is at the peak of Dark Jin, and he's already got one foot in Hua Jin. There are only a handful of Hua Jin experts in all of Anyang County."
All fourteen contestants finished drawing their lots, and the matches began in order.
Chang Hao was still as fierce as ever. Even though his opponent was also an expert at the late stage of Dark Jin, he gradually began to lose ground beneath Chang Hao's punches, which landed with bone-crushing force and left nothing to the imagination.
In the end, Chang Hao emerged victorious in the twenty-first exchange.
The second match was the one everyone had been waiting for.
The two contestants entered the arena almost at the same time. Xie Jinyou greeted Chen Mo with a respectful salute. "These past two days, I've heard a great deal about you, Brother Chen Mo. I'm fortunate to have the chance to exchange insights with you. The others haven't been enough to make me fight with all my strength, but I think you can."
Chen Mo replied, "Whether or not you fight with all your strength, I'll give it everything I have."
"Good." Xie Jinyou smiled like a spring breeze. "If you can make me fight with all my strength, I'll personally pay you a visit after the Martial Examination."
"It's a deal."
"It's a deal!"
With that, Chen Mo moved first. His feet stepped through the Luo Smoke Steps, his figure blurring with speed as he thrust out a plain, unadorned punch.
His fist compressed the air to its limit, letting out a low, whistling roar.
Xie Jinyou's brows furrowed slightly. He immediately raised the stance of Xingyi Fist, yet made no attempt to defend. Instead, he met fist with fist.
His Step-Following Crushing Fist collided with Chen Mo's Stone-Crushing Strike.
The astonishing force of the two punches crashed together, and a blast of wind burst outward, spreading with a piercing hum that made the eardrums of those closest to the arena ache.
In an instant,
Xie Jinyou swiftly withdrew his fist and followed with Sparrowhawk Pierces the Sky, slipping beneath Chen Mo's left arm. Then came Coiled Snake Exits the Cave, a punch shooting straight toward Chen Mo's lower ribs.
At the same time, Chen Mo unleashed Flowing Cloud Attack and drew his abdomen backward. His opponent's fist skimmed between his ribs, missing by a hair's breadth.
But Xie Jinyou changed moves at astonishing speed. His punch toward Chen Mo's ribs snapped back and shot out again, transforming into Golden Rooster Shakes Feathers. His fingers touched Chen Mo's ribs, then suddenly unleashed their force.
Thud!
Chen Mo's ribs went numb and sore in an instant, and the qi and blood inside him surged wildly.
At the sight of this, the crowd around the arena cried out in alarm. They all held their breath for Chen Mo, hoping he could last a little longer.
They thought to themselves that Xie Jinyou truly deserved his reputation as an expert with one foot in Hua Jin. In just three exchanges, he had driven Chen Mo into a desperate situation.
Just as they thought Chen Mo was about to lose...
At some point, Chen Mo's right hand had curled into a claw. He quietly pressed it against Xie Jinyou's shoulder and yanked backward, borrowing the force to flip himself forward over his opponent's head.
The instant he landed, he threw a backhand whip punch.
At the same time, Xie Jinyou twisted his feet sharply against the blue bricks and spun around, executing Xingyi Fist's Returning Eagle Catch.
In the blink of an eye, their fists collided once more.
Thud! Thud!
Chen Mo staggered back four or five steps. Xie Jinyou, on the other hand, stepped back twice and came to a steady stop.
"Brother Chen, I used my full strength in that move just now."
Xie Jinyou made no effort to hide the truth. He spoke frankly and deliberately raised his voice.
The spectators nearby heard him.
"Seriously? Xie Jinyou fought at full strength? That must be a first for this year's Martial Examination."
"He said it himself. How could it be false? He'd never used that move in any of his previous matches."
Chen Mo nodded slightly but said nothing. It wasn't that he didn't want to speak; the jin inside him was surging so violently that he couldn't form words properly.
"The gap between me and Xie Jinyou is obvious," Chen Mo thought. "These few exchanges have already given me some insight. This fight should be nearly over."
As he thought this, Xie Jinyou's next wave of attacks was already coming.
His Xingyi Fist was almost at the great mastery stage. He unleashed Tuoxing Hand and Eagle-Catching Hand one after another, his punches terrifyingly fierce.
Chen Mo used Wave-Intercepting Style to defend. After two breaths of fighting, the stance of Wave-Intercepting Style collapsed completely, and the remaining force of the punch struck his chest.
A sweetness rose at the corner of his mouth, and the blow sent him flying out of the arena.
Cheers rang out around them. They were for Xie Jinyou, but also for Chen Mo.
Though he'd lost, few with Dark Jin could fight Xie Jinyou to this extent—especially when Chen Mo was only at the early stage of Dark Jin.
"This young man's future... is limitless."
In the viewing area reserved for the Xie Family, a white-haired old man stroked his beard as he spoke.
"Patriarch, are you talking about Chen Mo?" a middle-aged man beside him asked respectfully.
The white-haired elder nodded. "That's right. Just watching him for a little while tells me he has excellent Comprehension and character. He's a true martial arts prodigy. I just don't know what his natural endowment is like..."
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