Mountain-Crushing Turn

"Third round of the re-examination, prepare to enter the arena!" Lin Feng's voice broke the silence.

Two disciples from the hall entered the arena in response.

Their faces were filled with obvious dejection, still immersed in the shadow of Yuan Lingling's crushing defeat.

As the battle began, the two moved stiffly, their techniques loose and lacking any of the sharpness or fighting spirit a martial artist should possess.

They attacked and parried like wooden puppets, devoid of any method and riddled with openings. A few impatient murmurs rose from the sidelines.

"What kind of fight is this?"

"They have no spirit at all, it's embarrassing."

"Sigh, I suppose it's understandable."

"Let's just get this over with, I'm waiting for Senior Brother Li He to enter."

This ugly battle ended hastily after one of them stumbled and fell.

It was less of a contest and more of a mere formality.

"Fourth round, Li He, Yuan Ziheng, prepare to enter the arena!" Lin Feng's voice rang out again, carrying a hint of gravity compared to before.

This would be the final match of the re-examination, and the only one likely to bring any variables.

"Senior Brother Li He is going up?"

"Yes, it's him."

"Good luck!"

A few low cheers echoed from the sidelines.

Li He stepped into the arena.

His opponent, Yuan Ziheng, also stepped onto the field. A smile hung on his face, though only the depths of his eyes flickered with a wary light. The previous probing had been fruitless, making him even more cautious of Li He.

"Hey, Big Li, we meet again!" Yuan Ziheng greeted him, attempting to disrupt Li He's focus with words. "How was your rest? Are you really not going to eat that chocolate? Don't blame me later when I've worn you out and you have no strength left!"

Li He looked at him calmly and took his stance, a fierce and overbearing aura faintly seeping out.

"Begin!" Lin Feng commanded.

Yuan Ziheng's eyes sharpened, and he launched the first strike.

"Watch out!" As soon as the words left his lips, Yuan Ziheng stomped his foot hard—not at Li He, but at the Quicksand Pit!

Bang!

A burst of clever force erupted.

A large cloud of murky yellow sand mixed with water instantly obscured their vision, the sand grains laced with sharp gravel.

"Despicable!"

"Shameless!"

Angry exclamations erupted from the sidelines!

Yuan Ziheng chuckled, using the sand screen as cover to unleash the same moves he had used against Shi Lei, targeting Li He's vital points.

Though submerged in the sandstorm, Li He did not panic in the slightest. He unleashed the Cloud Hand Eighteen Forms, a soft yet resilient force swirling around his body like an invisible vortex!

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Yuan Ziheng's lightning-fast finger winds and palm shadows were like clay oxen entering the sea, all falling into this swirling cloud vortex!

"How is this possible?" Yuan Ziheng was shocked, never expecting that someone with such a tower-like physique could master such exquisite martial arts.

The two exchanged dozens of blows in the blink of an eye, locked in a stalemate until the sandstorm dissipated.

In that instant, Li He launched the Earth-Shaking Stomp.

"Hmph! Still trying to use that move?" Yuan Ziheng sneered, darting backward and narrowly avoiding the shockwave.

That move is useless against me, he thought triumphantly, preparing to regroup and find another opening.

But!

Li He's movements did not stop.

Just as Yuan Ziheng retreated and shifted his center of gravity, Li He's spine tightened like a drawn bow, and a thunderous sound exploded from deep within his muscles and bones.

Ape Demon Steps, Sky-Splitting Thrust.

His massive body erupted with terrifying speed completely at odds with his size, launching forward in a straight line!

"What?" Yuan Ziheng's pupils contracted.

He never imagined that after executing the Earth-Shaking Stomp, Li He could so fluidly transition into such a violent charge.

In his haste, he pushed his Ape Trace Steps to the limit, making an incredibly strange turn toward the rear-side!

Swish!

Li He's fierce fist whistled past the edge of Yuan Ziheng's robe, missing by a hair's breadth.

Just as a glimmer of relief rose in the heart of Yuan Ziheng, he did not expect that Li He's movements had not yet ceased; at the very moment when the momentum of the Sky-Splitting Thrust was about to exhaust itself and his body leaned forward due to inertia.

A sound like a tiger's roar and thunder erupted from within Li He's body.

He twisted his waist and hips violently, using his left foot as an axis, and stomped his right foot fiercely into the ground.

Ape Demon Three Styles, Mountain-Crushing Turn.

His massive frame, while in the midst of a high-speed linear charge, forcibly defied physical inertia to complete a near-right-angle change of direction!

Swish!

Li He's figure instantly appeared before Yuan Ziheng, who had just finished dodging and had not yet regained his footing.

The distance between the two was mere inches.

The relief on Yuan Ziheng's face transformed into boundless horror; his pupils dilated as he stared at Li He, who had appeared before him like a demon god, his mind going completely blank.

This is impossible! That was the only thought remaining in his mind.

This explosive power to force a change in direction and this level of control over his own body were simply inhuman.

Li He's gaze was cold, without a hint of hesitation.

Ape Demon Three Styles, Void Breaker!

His punch struck like a dragon, carrying a fierce, violent intent capable of shattering the void and destroying all, slamming heavily into the arms Yuan Ziheng had hastily raised to defend.

Crack!

Before Yuan Ziheng could even let out a scream, his protective qi shattered instantly, his sternum collapsed, and he was sent flying backward as if he had been struck head-on by a charging rhinoceros, blood mixed with fragments of internal organs spraying from his mouth.

The same fate as Zhao Dahai.

He rolled several times across Boulder Beach, smashing through several rocks before finally coming to a stop.

"Hiss!" A moment later, a chorus of gasps echoed from outside the arena.

"This speed, this change of direction—it's too overbearing!"

"What kind of movement technique is this? It's not from our martial arts hall, is it?"

"Yuan Ziheng, a guy as slippery as him, actually..."

On the stone platform, Senior Brother Wang Meng's face turned ashen as he looked at his severely injured disciple, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"Director Yuan, when this lad goes out to travel, why not have him come take a look at my company?" Sun Zhenhai extended an olive branch.

"That will depend on the disciple's own wishes," Director Yuan Shan replied.

Just as Lin Feng and the medical team were preparing to go and treat Yuan Ziheng.

"Wait!" Yuan Ziheng said weakly, "Ape Standing Stake, mastery-level technique, Old Monkey Returns to Origin."

As the words fell, Yuan Ziheng's injuries began to self-repair at a speed visible to the naked eye; in just a moment, he stood back up.

Li He was slightly startled, not expecting the opponent to possess such an ability.

"Still want to fight?" he asked.

"No, no more. I can only use this move once, and you... those moves of yours aren't even mastery-level techniques, are they?" Yuan Ziheng said with great resignation.

Li He did not answer.

He instinctively felt that Yuan Ziheng had not yet used his full strength, but since the other party had conceded, he couldn't be bothered to press the issue.

He walked off the stage.

He could feel countless gazes focused on him—awe, fear, confusion, fighting spirit, scrutiny... these gazes intertwined with one another.

He closed his eyes to regulate his breathing, slowly calming the surging blood and qi within his body.

A brief rest period followed.

Everyone silently consumed a simple lunch.

"Semifinals, the draw begins!"

The results of the draw were soon revealed: the first match was Sun Ao versus Sun Jiaoyang, and the second match was Li He versus a disciple from the hall.

Sun Ao stood up instantly, clenching his fists.

His gaze was like a blade, carving fiercely into the cold figure in the rest area. Since he was a child, Sun Jiaoyang had been like an insurmountable mountain, pressing down on him until he couldn't breathe. That remark, "Your path of martial arts ends here," was like a maggot in the bone, gnawing away at his pride.

Today, in front of everyone, he had to wash away this humiliation and prove to everyone that he, Sun Ao, was absolutely not trash.

Using the White Ape Martial Way might not be enough, but the martial arts technique that Sun Ao was most proficient in was not the White Ape Martial Way at all, but the secret technique passed down through the Sun family.