Defeating Eleven People in a Row

"Huh?" The young man, who had been watching An Jing bully the others with such gusto that he'd almost shouted, "Put some muscle into it!" or "Knock that guy down!", was instantly dumbfounded. He pointed at himself in disbelief: "Knock An Jing down?"

"Me?"

This young man was one of the three who had finished the full course but hadn't challenged An Jing. His name was Cang Linzu. His strength was indeed decent; he had even attended the Dachen Martial Academy, and his eye for talent was sharp.

Precisely because of this, he knew very well that An Jing was likely just a bit "tired" the day before, whereas he himself had already been pushing his limits. This gap in stamina was difficult to bridge.

A person should know their own limitations; why bother?

However, being singled out by the instructor actually piqued Cang Linzu's interest, and he looked toward the stage.

At this moment, after defeating nine people in a row, An Jing did indeed show signs of fatigue.

It wasn't like he would get seriously injured anyway... this was definitely a good opportunity!

"Alright, I'll give it a try."

Don't blame me, An Jing. You're just too strong; I have to take advantage of this small opening to stand on the same stage as you.

Thinking this, Cang Linzu stepped into the sparring circle—the original tenth challenger had already conceded.

An Jing turned his head to look at Cang Linzu.

He wasn't actually tired at all, but when he defeated the fifth challenger, An Jing had noticed the subtle shifts in Instructor Li's behavior.

He wasn't stupid; a moment's thought made it clear. This "challenge," secretly encouraged by Xuanming Manor, including the meat he had been eating, was all meant to encourage the disciples to compete with one another.

Moving forward, the training within the manor would become increasingly strict, and the instructors would encourage the disciples to challenge and fight each other to select the elite who possessed both ability and martial prowess, eventually deciding the true "Senior Brother" before graduation.

But the premise was that the "number one" position had to be fluid to incite the disciples to fight for it.

If he were too strong, it would crush the others' motivation. Faced with an opponent they couldn't possibly beat, everyone would just give up.

It was no wonder Instructor Li was having such a headache.

But that was none of his business.

An Jing wouldn't lose; at most, he would pretend to win with difficulty so that the others felt they still had a chance.

"Offense taken!"

Cang Linzu didn't take a weapon, and An Jing dropped his short staff, clearly intending to spar with fists and feet.

The two bowed to each other. The next instant, the sound of wind erupted as Cang Linzu stepped forward and threw a straight cannon punch.

The Dachen Martial Academy was spread across the entire territory, and the imperial court used it to scout for talent and bring the nation's best into their fold. Every apprentice who could enter the academy would at least reach the realm of "Internal Breath Like a Tide" in the future, enough to serve as a local guardian.

Cang Linzu hadn't studied at the academy for long before the Frost Calamity struck, turning him into a refugee. But precisely because of this, his martial arts had been tempered by blood and fire. This cannon punch was completely different from the other challengers; it carried a hint of malice, struck with the force of thunder, and aimed straight for the heart.

An Jing narrowed his eyes. He raised his left hand to parry, meeting Cang Linzu's strike head-on. Both their bodies swayed slightly. Then, while An Jing appeared to reach out with his right hand, he actually stepped forward with his right leg, aiming to stomp on the other's foot.

But Cang Linzu's footwork was equally solid. He flicked his left foot to avoid the stomp and hooked his leg behind An Jing's, making it difficult for him to dodge. Twisting his waist to generate power, he threw another consecutive heart-piercing punch.

An Jing had anticipated this. Cang Linzu's techniques and footwork were solid—he was indeed professionally trained and had real combat experience. Even with An Jing's superior experience, it was hard to defeat him in one move by spotting a flaw like he had with the others.

Therefore, even before Cang Linzu threw his punch, An Jing had already exerted force with his extended right hand, aiming straight for the opponent's right shoulder.

This exchange of blows exceeded Cang Linzu's experience. Struck in the right shoulder, his strength waned, and his aim faltered, only landing a hit on An Jing's left shoulder. The sensation of the fist felt like hitting a leather bag packed with hard sand and gravel.

Having each landed a blow, the two stepped back. It looked like a stalemate, but only a few could see who held the advantage.

Damn it!

Knowing he had lost the initiative, Cang Linzu simply crouched and rolled. As expected, An Jing had already lunged over, and his knee kick missed.

Cang Linzu took the opportunity to side-roll, but was met with a horizontal elbow strike from An Jing. He was forced to take another hard hit, his body freezing in place.

This time, Cang Linzu was at a disadvantage. Just as he prepared to step back to avoid the onslaught, An Jing slammed into him from the side.

Cang Linzu tried to lift his leg to kick the groin and force An Jing back, but An Jing had already stepped on his other foot, throwing him off balance. At the same time, An Jing leaned his weight into him, knocking the breath out of him and nearly causing him to black out.

"I concede!"

Staggering and unable to stand, he finally sat down on the ground with a thud. An Jing didn't pursue, and Cang Linzu simply lay on the ground, shouting shamelessly toward the sky: "Brothers and sisters, whoever is still holding back, hurry up and make your move! If we're going to beat Brother An, today is probably the only chance!"

An Jing caught his breath and smiled, looking around at everyone present.

But no one moved. No matter how much Instructor Li hinted with his gaze, no one was willing to step up.

From start to finish, the eleven-bout series, which took less than a quarter of an hour, came to an end. An Jing had become the undisputed Senior Brother with absolute dominance, and the next challenge wouldn't be for another ten days.

But everyone knew that even in ten days, no one would challenge An Jing. Unless someone made an extraordinary breakthrough, no one would go looking for humiliation.

"Sigh. Alright, alright, An Jing wins!"

Instructor Li announced An Jing's victory with a lack of enthusiasm, then spoke irritably amidst the cheers of Gu Yeqi, Zhang Ying, and the others: "Start training!"

He drilled the group of young people mercilessly. After exhausting everyone until they were crying for their parents—even An Jing had his legs shaking from the targeted, intensive squat and horse stance training—Instructor Li returned to the center of Xuanming Manor, the Medicine Pavilion.

"Vice Envoy Yao."

He spoke respectfully to the old man who was on the fifth floor of the Medicine Pavilion, overlooking the training grounds after having watched the entire challenge process: "An Jing is indeed the most talented of this batch, but I didn't expect him to be this strong. The others don't even want to challenge him anymore."

"With the top spot fixed, what should we do?"

"The top spot is fixed?" The old man turned his head and looked at Instructor Li as if he were an idiot: "Since the top spot is fixed, why not let the second and third places have meat too? Let those little things fight for second and third, wouldn't that work?"

"At the very least, let the top five have meat. It's just a matter of increasing the portions."

"Are we really short on a few pieces of meat?"

After scolding Instructor Li, the Vice Envoy turned his head and looked at the training grounds with interest: "But indeed... this batch of disciples is truly of excellent quality. There are unexpected surprises."

After pondering for a while, the old man nodded: "Then let's start early. Eliminate the disciples with the worst stamina and use the saved resources on the others."

"It's time to make them fall in love with the feeling of 'eating meat'."