Luo Qingyue raised her hand and launched a fierce attack. As she unleashed the Dragon-Tiger Combat Technique, her muscles and bones rang in unison. Her fist tore through the air, wrapped in crushing force, and slammed toward the short-haired young man.
The young man stood rooted in place, his expression calm. He pressed one hand down into the air, intercepting Luo Qingyue's fist with pinpoint precision.
His wrist turned slightly, releasing a deft force that instantly dispelled Luo Qingyue's power.
"So strong! He dispelled my strength so easily..."
A chill ran through Luo Qingyue's heart. Sensing her opponent's formidable strength, she transformed her fist into a claw in an instant. Power shimmered across her five fingers as she slashed toward the short-haired young man's face.
He seemed to have seen through Luo Qingyue's attack long before she made it. With a slight sidestep, he let the fierce wind from her claws skim past his cheek.
He jabbed out a finger. A cold glint flashed at its tip, swift as a falling star, stabbing straight toward the space between Luo Qingyue's brows.
Luo Qingyue's claw missed. Seeing the finger strike coming, she hurriedly pulled back.
The short-haired young man saw her retreat, curled his finger into a fist, then stamped forward and closed the distance, driving a punch at her.
"Good! Bring it on!"
Luo Qingyue stopped backing away and met his attack head-on with a punch.
Boom!
Their fists collided with a heavy thud. Luo Qingyue staggered back several steps, clearly at a disadvantage.
I can't lose!
Luo Qingyue's heart sank. She clenched her teeth and charged at the short-haired young man again, gathering all her strength into her arms. Her fists and claws shifted in a flurry: her punches fell like a sudden downpour, while her claws flashed razor-sharp. She was determined to defeat her opponent.
Yet faced with her violent onslaught, the short-haired young man remained calm and composed. He fought with one hand, still at ease.
"This man must have trained a martial art to Great Accomplishment..."
Liu Chu's gaze flickered as he sized up the short-haired young man. His opponent was also a Tendon Refining Realm martial artist, but having trained a martial art to Great Accomplishment made him truly formidable.
Luo Qingyue's fierce attacks were undone with one hand. In terms of martial arts, she was clearly a cut below.
Moreover, Luo Qingyue's combat awareness was plainly lacking. Liu Chu had experienced this before: she was poor at adapting in the heat of battle, falling short of the short-haired young man before them.
After more than ten exchanges, Luo Qingyue gradually fell under his control. Even after using every trick she had, she still couldn't turn the tide.
The short-haired young man, by contrast, neither flushed nor lost his composure. His breathing remained steady, and he looked quite relaxed. He struck with one hand, yet every move was sharp and precise, and his ability to adapt in battle was exceptional.
By the time they had traded twenty or thirty moves, Luo Qingyue was struggling to hold her ground. A flush spread across her face, and it was clear her blood and qi were surging as she gritted her teeth and hung on.
Then, at a certain moment, the short-haired young man suddenly jabbed a finger into Luo Qingyue's shoulder, unleashing a burst of ferocious force.
Luo Qingyue staggered back again and again. One of her arms briefly went limp.
"Not good..."
Luo Qingyue sensed the danger and hurriedly dodged, but the short-haired young man had already thrown a punch. It crashed forward like thunder, shrieking through the air as it reached her in an instant.
Caught off guard, Luo Qingyue could only raise an arm to block. The punch smashed into it, and the tremendous force sent her flying backward.
"She lost!"
Luo Qingyue steadied herself in midair, but after landing, she stumbled back several steps. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. Her face was pale, her eyes dim.
"You're even weaker than I imagined!"
The short-haired young man stood with his hands behind his back, his face full of arrogance.
"Senior Sister Luo lost. This man is also a Tendon Refining Realm martial artist, and incredibly strong. He actually defeated Senior Sister Luo with one hand!"
The martial arts hall disciples sighed. They hadn't expected much from Luo Qingyue to begin with. After all, she had once lost to a Skin Refining Realm martial artist and was clearly no good at fighting.
But now, Senior Brother Lin Bei was gravely injured and unconscious. Senior Sister Luo was the only Tendon Refining Realm martial artist in the hall.
When faced with a challenge, of course Senior Sister Luo had to step up!
Unfortunately, in the end, she still couldn't win.
Seeing the disappointment in everyone's eyes, Luo Qingyue pressed her lips together and clenched her fists. She could only retreat quietly to one side.
"Well? My disciple isn't bad, is he? Does he have what it takes to inherit our sect's legacy?"
Seeing his disciple win, the middle-aged scholar couldn't help the faint lift of his lips. He smiled calmly. "If you pass the cultivation method on to your junior brother, perhaps you'll get to see our sect's legacy reappear in the world through him."
Yang Wenhuai's face turned livid. He remained silent.
"Hmph! If Senior Brother Lin Bei hadn't been poisoned and gravely wounded, he would have beaten him!"
Seeing their master's grim expression, one of the disciples immediately shouted indignantly.
"Exactly. He was afraid he couldn't beat Senior Brother Lin Bei, so he resorted to such a vicious trick. He's nothing but a bully who picks on the weak!"
"Right! If Senior Brother Lin Bei were here, he wouldn't be acting so high and mighty!"
The other disciples chimed in one after another.
"Heh!"
The short-haired young man glanced at them with disdain. His gaze was haughty as he snorted. "A pack of rabble. Even if your Senior Brother Lin Bei hadn't been injured, he still wouldn't have been my match!"
His words immediately set everyone off. One person pointed at him angrily. "Senior Brother Lin Bei is gravely injured and unconscious. Of course you can say whatever you like!"
"A piece of trash is still trash. I can't be bothered to explain myself to trash!"
The short-haired young man said coldly. He looked around at the martial arts hall disciples with scorn, hands behind his back and arrogance written all over him.
"Arrogant bastard! Let me take you on!"
The short-haired young man's arrogant words enraged the disciples. One of them leaped out and unleashed the Dragon-Tiger Combat Technique, charging at him without a word.
Burning with anger, he attacked fiercely, his fists and claws whipping up a storm. He threw everything he had into bringing down the arrogant bastard before him.
The short-haired young man looked disdainful and continued to fight with one hand, appearing entirely unruffled.
The two exchanged a few moves in an instant. Then one figure flew backward and crashed heavily to the ground.
It was a martial arts hall disciple!
"Senior Brother Zhou!"
"Junior Brother Zhou!"
Everyone hurried over and helped him up.
"A piece of trash is still trash. I let you have one hand, and you still couldn't last more than a few moves!"
The short-haired young man looked down haughtily at the figure on the ground.
"You!"
"Damn it!"
Everyone glared at him. Some were already preparing to challenge him.
"Trash? If you ask me, you're the real trash!"
Suddenly, a cold voice rang out.
"Hm?"
The short-haired young man frowned and looked over. A figure dressed in black was slowly emerging from the crowd.
"Junior Brother Liu Chu?!"
The martial arts hall disciples turned toward him, their faces filled with surprise. Junior Brother Liu Chu hadn't come to the hall in quite some time, so nobody had even noticed he was there.
"Junior Brother Liu Chu is pretty strong and specializes in combat techniques. I wonder if he can beat this arrogant bastard!"
"He probably still doesn't stand much of a chance. I'd love to see Junior Brother Liu Chu defeat this guy and humiliate him, but his strength is too great. Even Senior Sister Luo, a Tendon Refining Realm martial artist, couldn't beat him!"
"Junior Brother Liu Chu specializes in combat techniques, but he's only in the Skin Refining Realm. Beating a Tendon Refining Realm martial artist will be incredibly difficult!"
Though everyone pinned their hopes on Liu Chu, they still couldn't help sighing inwardly.
In truth, from the moment Senior Sister Luo lost, they had already accepted that the martial arts hall would be defeated.
But the man was so arrogant and overbearing that even knowing they couldn't win, they still attacked in anger to defend their pride.
"Hmph, another piece of trash!"
Seeing Liu Chu step forward, the short-haired young man remained unconcerned, his face full of disdain.
Liu Chu, however, remained calm. He glanced at him and said evenly, "A piece of trash like you—I can beat you in one move!"
Beat you in one move!
A commotion erupted!
Liu Chu's words stunned everyone. They stared at him in disbelief, uncertain what to make of it.
Arrogant!
Far too arrogant!!
They hadn't expected Liu Chu to be even more arrogant than the short-haired young man—to actually claim he could defeat him in a single move!
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