The others only saw the surface. Catching a glimpse of the shadow of the Collapse Extreme Fist, their judgments were replaced by their preconceived notions.
Gu Yu might have been somewhat arrogant, but his actual combat ability was indeed far stronger. He saw that something was off.
Though both were using the Collapse Extreme Fist, Li Yuan's two consecutive moves were fundamentally different from everyone else's.
Leaving aside the force behind his punches and the momentum they carried.
The greater difference was that Li Yuan's Collapse Extreme Fist could adapt to opportunities as they arose.
The Collapse Extreme Fist was supposed to have obvious flaws.
With every punch thrown, if its overwhelming momentum failed to suppress the opponent, it would expose one's own openings right before their eyes.
But Li Yuan seemed able to withdraw his momentum and change course at any moment.
A fist technique that pursued the ultimate extreme could actually be displayed through an unbroken offensive barrage.
Without the slightest trace of carelessness, Gu Yu began to take him seriously.
He searched for an opening, then charged at Li Yuan from a tricky angle.
Gu Yu's fundamentals were extremely solid. As a Grandmaster's disciple, he would not falter over such basics.
The combination of his fist technique and Movement Art posed an immense threat.
To others, a fist technique like the Collapse Extreme Fist could only overwhelm an enemy through sheer momentum.
It was the quintessential martial skill of using offense as defense.
If its offensive momentum could not suppress the opponent, then the opponent would have plenty of methods at their disposal.
Just like now, Gu Yu moved like a fish through water and instantly leaped to Li Yuan's rear right.
Power suddenly gathered in his fist, and then the force of his punch surged toward Li Yuan.
"At least he's giving him some face. Gu Yu isn't toying with him anymore.
"This punch is more refined than the one he used when fighting me just now!"
Within the crowd, Yin Yi was explaining things to the people beside him.
He assumed Gu Yu was being so serious out of respect, because he did not want to toy with Li Yuan.
The real reason was that Gu Yu had sensed a threat. He knew he could not be as casual as before.
This Li Yuan had some real skill.
"The match is about to end. Now we'll see whether this punch lands on Li Yuan's face or stops in front of his eyes."
Yin Yi smiled as he made his prediction, watching the outcome of the match together with the others.
The next instant, Li Yuan's figure flashed as well.
The fierce momentum of the Collapse Extreme Fist shifted once more and collided with Gu Yu's punch.
Their fist forces collided, and both men dodged away at the same time.
Both of them wanted to use this opportunity to follow up with another move, leaving the other no chance to catch his breath.
Realizing they shared the same intent, they stayed wary and immediately separated again.
After only three exchanges, Gu Yu felt that something was even more wrong.
This high school teacher in front of him was unexpectedly difficult to deal with.
Combining martial skills with a Movement Art sounded easy, but ordinary high school teachers could not master it.
Take Yin Yi just now. Lingnan No.1 High School valued him quite highly.
Yet his Movement Art blended terribly with his own martial skills.
He was nowhere near as practiced or at ease as Li Yuan.
Seeing Li Yuan receive that move without falling into a disadvantage, the people around them were surprised as well.
Yin Yi, who had been commenting so much just moments ago, looked rather unpleasant.
Li Yuan's performance seemed to be better than his...
At the same time, Gu Yu's mind raced as he assessed Li Yuan's strength.
As he thought, a smile suddenly appeared on Gu Yu's face.
He understood. He understood the martial skill Li Yuan was using.
After witnessing the subtleties of those few moves of the Collapse Extreme Fist, he felt he had seen through Li Yuan and come up with a way to deal with him!
The next instant, Gu Yu initiated his Movement Art and sprang forward.
He no longer gave Li Yuan the chance to attack as casually as before.
The fierce momentum of the Collapse Extreme Fist always carried a measure of danger.
What he wanted was to force Li Yuan into exhausting himself merely responding to his moves, unable to launch an attack of his own.
But during those three exchanges just now, Li Yuan had clearly figured out his approach.
Even Gu Yu's response had been calculated.
When every step was calculated against you, you naturally lost the initiative and began the fight at a disadvantage.
This time, he would not leave that initiative to Li Yuan.
Instead, Li Yuan would soon be worn down by the relentless offensive, and the slightest lapse in his defense would expose a huge opening...
The training field was extremely quiet at this moment.
Though so many people were watching, no one shouted or discussed anything.
All of them were absorbed by the situation before them, their eyes locked firmly on Li Yuan and Gu Yu.
The match had only just begun, yet what it had revealed had already exceeded everyone's expectations.
Li Yuan had not humiliatingly lost his Youth Martial Tournament qualification as they had expected.
Li Yuan's performance had far exceeded expectations.
The fist momentum drew near again, and Gu Yu waited for Li Yuan's response.
Would he meet it with the Collapse Extreme Fist, or evade with the Cloud Treading Step?
In his view, Li Yuan had only those two choices, and perhaps he could only choose to evade.
Once the Collapse Extreme Fist lost its momentum, Gu Yu believed it would be difficult for that move to deal with the punch he had thrown.
In an instant, the Cloud Extreme Fist emerged.
Cloud Gathering Form, Extreme Guard!
The names Three Transformations, Nine Extremes, Cloud Extreme Fist, and Collapse Extreme Fist differed by only one word, yet their profundities were worlds apart.
The Cloud Extreme Fist's nine transformation forms allowed Li Yuan to handle every situation with this fist technique.
His hands formed a circle as though gathering clouds, and all the force around his body converged into his arms.
With a single Cloud Gathering Form, he directly blocked Gu Yu's punch.
The spectators around them had already been astonished, but now they were utterly shocked.
Quite a few stood there with their mouths hanging open, smacking their lips without managing to say a word.
They truly had not expected Li Yuan to be able to counterattack.
As the Cloud Gathering Form blocked the attack, the next punch was already on its way.
Flowing Cloud Form, Extreme Speed!
As the punch flew out, his arm moved like drifting clouds winding around a mountain, yet the fist was so swift that its path could not be tracked.
Gu Yu had never expected Li Yuan to strike back like this. He instinctively tried to dodge, only to discover that the punch was unimaginably fast.
He condensed his qi, exhausting more stamina, and barely avoided it.
He should have had victory in hand, yet it seemed he had fallen into a disadvantage again.
He had not left Li Yuan room to catch his breath, and Li Yuan would leave him even less.
Flowing Cloud Form, Extreme Force!
Before Gu Yu could regain his footing, that fierce fist momentum had already come crashing toward him.
The Cloud Extreme Fist was like that. Other than being difficult, it had nothing but advantages.
At this moment, Gu Yu could feel the Cloud Extreme Fist's strengths with perfect clarity.
Three Transformations, Nine Extremes—whether in power or speed, it could reach the pinnacle among fist-based martial skills.
Moreover, the Cloud Extreme Fist's moves were inherently full of variation.
Even without an especially deep level of mastery, it could still show some usefulness in actual combat.
Not to mention someone like Li Yuan, who had completely mastered the Cloud Extreme Fist and, with the [Enlightenment to Perfection] talent, understood its deepest mysteries.
For Gu Yu, he had truly run into trouble.
As a Grandmaster's disciple and the most outstanding top scorer of the college entrance exams in fifty years,
he was naturally accomplished in martial arts and possessed a fairly deep understanding of most cultivation methods and martial skills.
But Gu Yu had never encountered the Cloud Extreme Fist in actual combat.
He had practiced it before, but his proficiency was insufficient, and it often failed him in actual combat.
Without sufficient mastery of the Cloud Extreme Fist, its effectiveness would be extremely poor.
It could even expose more openings than the Collapse Extreme Fist.
When Gu Yu saw Li Yuan use the Cloud Extreme Fist, he had secretly been delighted.
Mocking words had already risen to his lips.
Yet he had never expected Li Yuan to truly have mastered the Cloud Extreme Fist, revealing not the slightest flaw in actual combat.
Gu Yu's expression turned solemn. He was no longer merely taking Li Yuan seriously.
He was going to use his true strength!
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