The Examiner with Five-Stage Strength

Meanwhile, inside the Virtual World, Chen Mochuan had already entered the exclusive arena for the simulated combat assessment.

Seven or eight meters in front of him stood a man of medium build, dressed in a standard martial arts uniform with a plain, unremarkable face.

This man was not a real person, but an artificial intelligence examiner generated by the Virtual World, with his base strength set equivalent to the candidate's current Blood-Qi Value.

The system would grade the candidate based on their comprehensive performance during the live combat engagement.

The preparation time ended, and the assessment officially began.

Chen Mochuan launched the first offensive, his footwork swift and steady, colliding head-on with the examiner.

He appeared to have plenty of room to spare; relying solely on the moves of the Foundation Building Fist, he firmly seized the upper hand after a few probing exchanges, completely suppressing the examiner and forcing him into a purely defensive stance.

However, prolonged defense inevitably leads to mistakes. Chen Mochuan spotted a lapse in the examiner's guard and threw a straight punch imbued with Clear Force, fast as lightning, instantly shattering the opponent's defensive posture.

As the examiner leaned back from the impact and left his vitals exposed, Chen Mochuan's follow-up heavy punch followed like a shadow, striking the opponent's chest and abdomen with precision.

Taking this heavy blow, the examiner paused, then dissolved into a streak of white light and vanished without a trace.

Chen Mochuan felt a sense of unfulfilled potential; he hadn't even used the Tiger Fiend Fist, which he had already mastered, and had easily finished off his opponent in less than half a minute using only the Foundation Building Fist.

Just as he thought the assessment had concluded, a prompt message, the likes of which he had never encountered during previous exams, suddenly appeared in the Virtual World:

[You have defeated the standard examiner of the same rank with a massive advantage. Your current performance cannot accurately gauge your strength. Do you wish to continue challenging an examiner of a higher rank?]

Chen Mochuan's eyes narrowed. Without a second thought, he chose to continue the challenge without hesitation.

The virtual space rippled slightly, and at the spot where the original examiner had disappeared, a figure rapidly condensed into shape.

An examiner identical in appearance to the previous one appeared, but with one difference: he possessed greater strength, specifically simulated by the system as a fifth-rank martial artist.

After a brief rest, the battle began again.

The examiner's figure flickered as he closed in rapidly, a fierce hook punch striking toward Chen Mochuan's side like a heavy hammer, with speed and power significantly greater than the previous examiner.

"He's using the Tiger Fiend Fist too!"

Chen Mochuan, who was extremely familiar with this set of fist techniques, felt a jolt in his heart. He employed the deflection techniques of the Foundation Building Fist and immediately used his arms to block.

"Bang!"

A massive force surged through him; he felt his arms go numb and his blood-qi roil, his entire body staggered back two steps before he managed to stabilize his stance.

The Blood-Qi Value of this examiner was clearly far beyond the level of someone who had just broken through to the fifth rank!

The examiner did not let up, seizing the initiative to stick to him like a shadow and launch a fierce assault.

Fists, palms, fingers, elbows, and knees transformed into a torrential storm of attacks, continuous and relentless. Every strike contained Clear Force, fully displaying the strength of a fifth-rank martial artist and creating an overwhelming sense of pressure.

Chen Mochuan pushed the defensive stance of the Foundation Building Fist to its limit, his feet shifting and his body dodging and parrying within the violent wind of fists like a willow catkin.

Although he was not struck directly in the vitals, the counter-vibrations from every block and parry caused his blood-qi to churn and his arms to ache, leaving him in a precarious situation.

"I can't just keep defending!"

Thinking of the examiner he had just easily defeated, Chen Mochuan understood the principle that prolonged defense leads to defeat.

He hardened his heart, suddenly dropping his body low to narrowly dodge a heavy punch aimed at his head, then crossed his arms to block the next incoming strike.

Immediately, he used the momentum of the opponent's punch to retreat rapidly, creating a relatively safe distance.

Shaking his slightly aching arms, his aura underwent a subtle change.

"If I want to trade blows, I can't rely on the Foundation Building Fist, which is comprehensive but lacks offensive power. I must use the fierce and unstoppable Tiger Fiend Fist!"

Facing the examiner who was charging at him again, Chen Mochuan sank his hips, his spine arching slightly like a great dragon, his fists clenched and ready to strike.

He stopped dodging and instead charged forward to meet the opponent.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The fierce, domineering nature of the Tiger Fiend Fist collided head-on with the examiner's solid power, producing a series of dull, heavy thuds.

Chen Mochuan's fist style was wide and open, putting his full strength into every punch, attempting to replace defense with offense and tear apart the opponent's rhythm.

However, the gap in their Blood-Qi Values was real.

Although the examiner's mastery of the fist technique was inferior to Chen Mochuan's, his power was greater and his speed faster. Under the high-intensity confrontation, his move transitions were actually more fluid and seamless.

Even though Chen Mochuan's fierce assault was imposing, he was still firmly suppressed. Beyond his arms becoming increasingly sore, he had added several more stinging pains where the edges of the opponent's fists had grazed him.

The simulation effect of the Virtual World was near-perfect; sweat had soaked his martial arts uniform, and his breathing had become heavy.

He gritted his teeth, his focus at its peak, watching every minute movement of the examiner.

With a clear advantage, the opponent's moves were like those of a precision instrument, leaving almost no openings.

But Chen Mochuan did not give up. His brain raced, and the over one hundred combat experiences he had accumulated in the Heaven Martial Battle Net were frantically mobilized at this moment.

At the same time, the martial arts insights regarding the Tiger Fiend Fist, which had come from Feng Shi in his mind, were being rapidly digested and absorbed.

Finally, after a seemingly perfect exchange of fists and palms, the examiner, following his programmed logic, prepared to transition into the starting move of the next Tiger Fiend Fist sequence.

He retracted his right fist, and his left shoulder twisted backward by a fraction—a movement so subtle it was almost imperceptible. This was a natural precursor to gathering force for a strike, easily overlooked in high-speed combat.

However, this tiny window of opportunity, like a firefly in the dark, was instantly captured by Chen Mochuan's keen perception, which had been sharpened by the pressure.

"Left shoulder turns back, three inches below the left ribcage, the old force is spent and the new force has yet to be generated... that's the spot!"

The opportunity was fleeting! Chen Mochuan held his breath and focused his Spirit Gate, stomping his right foot hard against the ground, twisting his waist and hips to channel his entire body's strength into his right fist.

"Ha!" With a thunderous shout, he ignored the heavy blow that might follow from the examiner and decisively threw his punch.

First punch!

Chen Mochuan's right fist shot out like a cannonball, aiming straight for the opening in the examiner's left ribs, Clear Force erupting!

The examiner reacted with incredible speed, forcibly interrupting his follow-up move to hastily press his palms down in a block.

"Bang!"

As fist met palm, the examiner's figure swayed, his palms violently knocked aside, leaving his defenses completely exposed!

Second punch!

Chen Mochuan stepped forward half a pace, his waist and legs exerting force once more, his fist following immediately after, targeting the same left ribs!

This punch was faster! Fiercer! With the Clear Force layered on, the edge of his fist even whistled with the force of the wind.

The examiner's arms were too slow to return to a defensive position, leaving him no choice but to desperately tighten his rib muscles to take the hit head-on.

"Crack!"

With a teeth-grinding snap, the examiner's left ribs visibly deformed, his body trembling violently as he staggered backward, his movements suffering a fatal moment of rigidity.

Third punch!

Chen Mochuan pressed his advantage without mercy, his forward momentum unchecked. His right fist, infused with the very last of his Qi Gate strength, struck like the final pounce of a tiger descending the mountain, landing solidly upon the examiner's already shattered left ribs!

"BOOM!!!"

The examiner was sent flying as if struck by a speeding car, his body arching into a "C" shape before instantly dissolving into a flash of white light and vanishing!