The Sixth Round

The block was successful. Lin Ye did not pause for even a second, taking advantage of the momentum to step forward. His left fist followed like a shadow, instantly blasting out with that same steady, heavy intent, aiming straight for his opponent's center.

Mountain-Suppressing Fist: Mountain Collapse!

This punch appeared slow but was actually lightning-fast. Where the fist edge pointed, the air emitted a low, mournful wail.

"Oh no!"

The thin examinee was struck with terror, instantly gauging the power behind Lin Ye's strike.

If he wasn't careful, he could die.

He immediately abandoned his plan to continue the offensive, forcibly twisting his body to cross his twin daggers in front of his chest for a block.

"Thud!"

The muffled sound was like a heavy drum being struck. In that instant, he felt as if he had been hit by a giant hammer. His virtual form shook violently, unable to stabilize his stance any longer. He retreated seven or eight steps, "stomp, stomp, stomp," until he barely managed to stop at the edge of the arena. His face flushed a deep red, his internal energy roiling violently, and the look he gave Lin Ye was now filled with dread.

This guy had been so slippery during the chaotic brawl, yet now he was so steady and overbearing.

This contrast left him confused, his mind momentarily thrown into disarray.

But Lin Ye did not give him any time to recover; he understood the principle of striking while the iron is hot.

He executed Lost Track Steps, following like a shadow to the edge of the arena, and raised his hand to deliver another punch.

The fist edge descended from above, carving an arc as steady as a crushing mountain.

Mountain-Suppressing Fist: Stabilizing Mountains and Rivers!

As the punch was unleashed, the thin examinee felt the flow of his internal energy become sluggish. Mentally, he bore an invisible pressure, as if he were not facing a person, but a mountain slowly pressing down upon him.

This pressure again.

The thin examinee felt a sense of despair. At this moment, his fighting spirit had already been shattered by the momentum of Lin Ye's fist, significantly weakened.

Facing this move, he could only grit his teeth and take it head-on.

But this time, he had already retreated to the edge of the arena; where else could he go?

Just like that, he took the brunt of Lin Ye's strike once more. Under the tremors of the force, the thin examinee was knocked out of the arena, signaling the end.

[Fifth round, winner--Examinee 882]

[Advancing to the sixth round]

The referee's electronic voice rang out, declaring the match officially over. After a brief silence, the spectator stands erupted into an even greater roar.

"He won! The examinee on the right won. I really didn't expect that."

"Who would have? The examinee on the left looked so fierce earlier, but he went down in just a few moves."

"A total paper tiger."

"Come to think of it, did you guys see clearly what kind of fist technique that was? Is Rolling Stone Fist really that fierce?"

"It really is; the technique is similar to Rolling Stone Fist."

"I didn't see it clearly. It shouldn't be Rolling Stone Fist, right? Can Rolling Stone Fist be this powerful?"

In the stands, the audience who had watched Lin Ye's match discussed it one after another, all feeling that Lin Ye's technique resembled Rolling Stone Fist, yet it didn't feel like it when he fought.

"Interesting. A candidate has actually grasped a fist intent. No, it should be called the embryonic form of an intent; it's still quite far from a true fist intent."

In the stands, a virtual figure spoke in a low voice.

On the other side, after knocking the thin examinee off the arena, Lin Ye slowly retracted his fist, calming his internal energy. He had used his full strength for those few punches, combined with the true intent of the Mountain-Suppressing Fist. The consumption was not small, but the effect was significant; examinees of the same level were no match for him in a single exchange.

As for the clamor all around, he paid it no mind.

Whether it was praise or slander, neither could affect his state of mind.

A moment later, the teleportation light shone, carrying him away from the arena.

The teleportation light faded, and Lin Ye found himself standing on an arena similar to the previous one. The surrounding virtual spectator stands were even larger than before, and the roar of the crowd, processed by the system, turned into a low, oppressive background noise.

Those who could make it this far were the true elites among the Martial Dao examinees of Qingjiang Province this year, and every duel was highly anticipated.

His opponent solidified almost simultaneously. Lin Ye looked over; the man was of medium build, wearing a plain white Martial Dao uniform. His face was ordinary, but his eyes were exceptionally calm. His palms were slightly broader and thicker than an average person's, and they hung naturally at his sides.

"Holy crap, I know the examinee on the left."

"No kidding, who in Linhai City doesn't know him? That's Zhou Lang, the top student from our Second High School."

"I heard he has already practiced the C-grade martial art Nine-Layer Overlapping Wave Palm to the sixth layer. Is that for real?"

"I don't know. It's said that almost no one has forced him to use the sixth layer; he rarely even uses the fifth."

"By the way, who is that... on the other side? I've never seen him."

"I just looked him up. It seems he beat a pretty strong examinee earlier. His strength doesn't seem weak either."

"What are you afraid of? Zhou Lang's Nine-Layer Overlapping Wave Palm is nothing to sneeze at. I'm afraid the examinee on the right is in trouble."

In the stands, some recognized the examinee opposite Lin Ye and began to discuss.

Listening to the clamor of the audience's commentary, Lin Ye realized that his opponent this time was no simple matter. His gaze narrowed as he began to adjust his state.

Zhou Lang looked calmly at Lin Ye and gave a slight nod, acknowledging him.

Immediately, the countdown in mid-air came to an end.

Zhou Lang made the first move. He did not charge forward with explosive speed; instead, he slid his feet as if walking upon waves, closing the distance with light and swift movements before pushing his right palm forward—a motion that seemed slow but was actually incredibly fast.

This palm strike appeared plain and unremarkable, lacking even the sharp whistling of wind.

However, Lin Ye keenly sensed that the air where the palm edge passed seemed to grow heavy, the sense of oppression intensifying.

Lin Ye dared not be careless. He executed his Lost Track Steps, his figure drifting backward to the left in an attempt to evade the brunt of the attack and observe the style of the technique before responding.

Yet, Zhou Lang seemed to have anticipated this. His footsteps followed Lin Ye like a shadow, and his palm momentum spread and pursued him like the tide.

At the same time, the palm shadows split into two, sealing off Lin Ye's primary escape routes as the dense offensive descended like a giant net.

With nowhere left to dodge, he would have to meet force with force.

Seeing this, Lin Ye's eyes sharpened. He halted his retreat, lowered his center of gravity, and spiraled his right fist out from his waist. Carrying a steady, heavy sense of a mountain, he headed straight for the center of the seemingly illusory palm shadows.

"Oh!"

Noticing the abnormality in Lin Ye's fist technique, Zhou Lang let out a sound of surprise. His palms shifted from illusory to solid, one above and one below, as if sealing and closing, meeting Lin Ye's fist with precision.

"Thud!"

A muffled sound rang out—not earth-shattering, but exceptionally solid.

Lin Ye felt as if his fist had struck a mass of highly resilient deep-sea kelp. At the same time, a supple and lingering force surged from the opponent's palm, not only neutralizing nearly twenty percent of his fist power but also rebounding along his knuckles, forcing him to stagger back several steps.

Meanwhile, Zhou Lang felt a flicker of surprise in his heart.

The sense of "heaviness" and "suppression" coming from the opponent's fist was quite peculiar, actually causing his soft, flowing palm power to feel a hint of stagnation, as if the waves had encountered a reef in the sea, weakening the force of the wash significantly.

The two touched and separated, each retreating half a step, their gazes growing more solemn.

With that, the probing ended, and the true confrontation began.

In the time that followed, Zhou Lang's Layered Wave Palm Technique fully unfolded. The essence of the Nine-Layer Overlapping Wave Palm lay in the word "overlap."

Palm shadows fluttered; they did not appear fast, but they advanced in layers. Each strike contained multiple forces—sometimes hard, sometimes soft, sometimes overt, sometimes hidden—like ocean waves, one crest not yet settled before another rose, constantly battering and wearing down Lin Ye's Blood Qi Value.

Lin Ye pushed his Lost Track Steps and Mountain-Suppressing Fist to their current limits. While his footwork remained elusive, he tried to find gaps within the opponent's dense palm shadows, attempting to shatter the relentless offensive with his Mountain-Suppressing Fist.

The Mountain-Suppressing Fist was as steady as a mountain. With every punch, Lin Ye sought to break through the Layered Wave Palm with the most concentrated fist force possible.

Bang!

Thud!

The sounds of fists and palms clashing were continuous.

Regrettably, it was Lin Ye who was forced back more often.

Although his fist technique caused the opponent no small amount of trouble, Zhou Lang's Blood Qi Value was clearly a cut above his own; Lin Ye estimated the opponent's Blood Qi was at least 400+.

"A pity. If your Blood Qi were higher, the one who lost might have been me."

After sending Lin Ye reeling back once more with a single strike, Zhou Lang chuckled.

Seeing this, Lin Ye understood a little and couldn't help but offer a wry smile.

Zhou Lang no longer hid his Blood Qi, unleashing it fully. The palm shadows, previously dense and supple, suddenly took on a fierce and violent quality.

With a shift of his palms, his Blood Qi surged. With six layers of force stacked together, he executed Surging Waves Striking the Shore. His palms struck out in a continuous series, the shadows instantly becoming clear and swift. One layer after another, the force was far beyond what Lin Ye could withstand. After trying his best to block, Lin Ye's body damage rate began to skyrocket, and as another palm struck, his form began to collapse.