Li Yuan, Take Action!

In the eyes of many, today's match didn't hold much to look forward to anymore.

Gu Yu had admitted himself inferior to Jin Fan, yet the strength he displayed still exceeded expectations.

With Li Yuan trying to settle a win-loss against him, the situation would only be one-sided.

In their view, even the gap between Li Yuan and Yin Yi was considerable—how could he possibly contend with Gu Yu?

As this match concluded, Yin Yi walked out from the center of the training ground.

When he reached Li Yuan's side, he stopped.

"Teacher Li Yuan, whether I took your chance or not, you should know the truth by now.

Those opportunities before—even if they were given to you, you couldn't grasp them.

I hope after this is over, you'll let it go.

If you come blaming me again, don't blame me for speaking harshly or cursing you out."

Having said that, ignoring whatever reaction Li Yuan might have, he held his head high and strode into the crowd.

Among the onlookers, quite a few were ready to leave, feeling the rest wouldn't be interesting.

The watching students from First High felt embarrassed for Li Yuan.

In the students' eyes, what awaited Li Yuan next was humiliation, disgrace...

As the one involved, Li Yuan was even more composed than Gu Yu.

Others watching that previous match only saw Yin Yi's considerable skill and Gu Yu's even greater prowess.

But Li Yuan saw their strength clearly.

Having thoroughly mastered the Zhou Tian Dao Yin Technique, Li Yuan's martial foundation had now reached the peak of Fourth Grade.

The martial techniques he used, whether in power or speed, were no less than Gu Yu's.

Not to mention the Cloud Extreme Fist, which he had already fully grasped—aside from being difficult, it had nothing but advantages.

In actual combat, its frequent shifts made it even harder for opponents to handle.

Compared to Gu Quan's fist techniques, its refinement was even greater.

What made Li Yuan confident wasn't just his advantage in fist techniques.

Watching the two of them fight just now, Li Yuan noticed clear flaws when Yin Yi used the Cloud Treading Step.

This Movement Art, the Cloud Treading Step, when used, made one feel as if treading on clouds, the body light and agile.

The core of this Movement Art lay in its coordination with other martial techniques.

It made the body light and swift, thereby enhancing the power and speed of techniques.

But Yin Yi, like the vast majority, only used the Cloud Treading Step as a means of evasion.

Mastering and applying this Movement Art to that level was indeed difficult.

It was normal for Yin Yi to only reach this stage.

Without further hesitation, Li Yuan stepped to the center of the training ground.

The real main event of the day had finally arrived.

Seeing Li Yuan's steady state, a flicker of doubt crossed Gu Yu's face, but it vanished in just a few breaths.

Replacing it was a faint smile.

"I heard a long time ago that as a teacher, you must never show weakness.

When faced with something you don't understand, you still have to put on a confident front."

Gu Yu teased a couple of lines, and seeing that Li Yuan didn't respond, he shifted the topic.

His tone turned serious as he made a final confirmation.

"Does Teacher Li Yuan have any other requests? If so, please raise them before we start.

Bringing them up after the match might cause you to lose face.

Also, I know you're only at Fourth Grade in martial arts, so I'll suppress my realm and fight at Fourth Grade strength."

A martial artist of a higher realm, even when suppressing their level to fight, still held an advantage.

After all, basic conditions like physique were at Fifth Grade intensity, and those couldn't be suppressed.

"I have no other requests. After we decide the winner, let each of us keep our promises."

Hearing Li Yuan say this, Gu Yu was quite surprised.

He had expected Li Yuan to try every trick to close the gap between them.

The match just now with Yin Yi had cost Gu Yu almost no energy.

If the fight started immediately, Li Yuan wouldn't gain much advantage.

But since Li Yuan wasn't going to argue, Gu Yu certainly wouldn't make trouble for himself.

The match for the Youth Martial Tournament qualification had officially begun.

Gu Yu was just over twenty, quite a bit younger than Li Yuan.

But judging by his composed demeanor, he looked more like the senior disciple who had victory firmly in hand.

Gu Yu didn't strike first. He was giving Li Yuan a chance, letting him try to win.

His confidence allowed him to do this.

Li Yuan had no interest in guessing what Gu Yu was thinking. In an instant, his fist shot forward!

Collapse Extreme Fist gathered momentum as it struck, force and speed continuously rising with the punch.

Compared to how others used martial techniques, Li Yuan's attack was very different.

Most people started with a fierce opening, but as their fists and palms extended, that initial strength steadily diminished.

Li Yuan's fist momentum, however, kept escalating after release.

At first, Gu Yu was quite disappointed. He carried himself casually, not even bothering to dodge.

But as the fist momentum suddenly closed in, he snapped to attention, sensing something was wrong.

His figure flickered as he dodged with a hint of panic.

This punch had made Gu Yu sense danger.

Evading at the last moment, this Grandmaster's disciple showed embarrassment in front of others for the first time.

When he had fought Yin Yi, he paid attention to his performance with every move.

Not only had he defeated Yin Yi, but Gu Yu had also maintained the elegant bearing of a gentleman.

After just one exchange with Li Yuan, he was already scrambling to respond.

All around the training ground, the onlookers wore expressions of surprise.

Some who fancied themselves sharp-eyed hesitated for a moment, then began explaining Gu Yu's performance to those nearby.

"Deliberately giving him a taste, just toying with him."

In their eyes, Gu Yu's earlier fluster was an act.

At the same time, Gu Yu's face showed a bitter, self-reproachful smile.

He blamed himself for being careless. If he had taken that punch, it would have looked even uglier.

Focusing a little, Gu Yu reined in his earlier casualness.

So this middle school teacher who was competing with his senior brother Jin Fan for qualifications did have a bit of skill after all.

At least he should bring the same energy he used against Yin Yi to deal with Li Yuan.

Gu Yu thought to himself, preparing to reveal some of his strength in this second exchange.

Getting caught off guard again wouldn't look good.

In that instant, Li Yuan pulled back his momentum.

The core mystery of Collapse Extreme Fist, its greatest strength, was the pause at the point of withdrawal.

This amplified the power of the next punch, breaking through the fist's momentum limit!

Everyone could see it. They knew the martial technique Li Yuan was using was Collapse Extreme Fist.

In their understanding, this fist technique simply displayed a martial artist's force and speed through a straight punch.

At best, it was "overwhelming all methods with raw power."

At worst, it was just an ordinary punch with nothing else to it.

As a Grandmaster's disciple, Gu Yu held the same view.

But before he could figure it out, Li Yuan's second punch arrived!

This strike was even more ferocious than the last.

A surging fist momentum suddenly crashed in, as if it needed no preparation at all.

Gu Yu had thought that after reining in his casualness, the next exchange would carry a hint of mockery.

But Li Yuan could actually unleash such terrifying fist momentum consecutively, with force and speed even surpassing Yin Yi's.

"Foolish. Collapse Extreme Fist has so many flaws. Using it once to gain an advantage is fine.

But using it a second time? Isn't that just showing off those weaknesses again?"

Among the crowd, quite a few martial artists began to comment.

They belittled Li Yuan's judgment and looked down on his strength.

Gu Yu's expression, however, grew increasingly serious...