Exam

"Not good!"

Feng Xinglie's eyelids twitched. The moment the Great Strength Vajra Bear appeared, he felt as if the Magikarp he had been pressing down under his palm had suddenly transformed into a Rayquaza. Even with the support of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, even with Aikido being a potent poison specifically designed to counter such brute-force enemies, and even with his internal soul power circulating frantically, he simply could not suppress it.

"Are you not going to help yet!"

A roar awakened the Protagonist Group, who had been stunned into silence. Everyone finally snapped out of the shock of seeing Feng Xinglie suppressing Zhao Wuji all by himself and rushed toward Zhao Wuji.

Unfortunately, it was already too late.

"Second Soul Skill: Great Strength Vajra Palm!"

Golden light erupted from Zhao Wuji's right hand, and a massive surge of soul power, carried by the force of his palm, struck toward Feng Xinglie. However, the moment Zhao Wuji began to mobilize his soul power, Feng Xinglie had already been storing strength in his arms. Seeing the attack right before his eyes, he pushed off with his Collapsing Ape Giant Arm and both feet simultaneously, retreating backward like an arrow released from a bow. The ground where he had just been standing was left riddled with cracks.

Good grief, starting off with a zero-frame Second Soul Skill? This old guy Zhao Wuji is trying to take my life...

A bead of cold sweat rolled down Feng Xinglie's forehead. If that palm had landed solidly, he would have been bedridden for months, if not dead. This left him deeply puzzled; in the original plot, Zhao Wuji clearly knew how to pull his punches, so why was he being so ruthless with him?

"Hmph, quick reflexes, dodging even that move. Whatever other little tricks you have, bring them all out!"

Zhao Wuji flipped to his feet and beckoned to Feng Xinglie with his finger.

"First Soul Skill: Blue Silver Entanglement!"

"First Soul Skill: Waist Bow!"

Before Feng Xinglie could make a move, Tang San and Xiao Wu had already launched a joint attack. Layer upon layer of Blue Silver Grass wrapped around Zhao Wuji's body, while one strand coiled around Xiao Wu, swinging her like a meteor hammer to smash into him. Unfortunately, Zhao Wuji had already summoned his Martial Soul; even though Xiao Wu's feet kicked his chest hard, he didn't retreat even half a step. Seeing the first strike fail, Xiao Wu's legs wrapped around Zhao Wuji's neck, her supple waist bending to its limit as she attempted to hoist him up.

"Heh, is that all the strength you have? Little girl, you're still far from enough."

Without making a single move, Zhao Wuji stood there, completely unaffected by the efforts of Tang San and Xiao Wu.

"Second Soul Skill: Hell Hundred Claws!"

Suddenly, Zhu Zhuqing appeared silently behind Zhao Wuji. As her claws danced, hundreds of afterimages landed squarely on the back of his neck. Unfortunately, the clanging sound of metal striking metal made it clear that Zhu Zhuqing's attack had also failed to take effect.

"Heh, I almost forgot there was a little kitten..."

Zhao Wuji turned his head, smiling at Zhu Zhuqing, who was essentially just scratching his back. It was in this moment of distraction that Feng Xinglie seized the opportunity to strike:

"Second Soul Skill: Falling Leaf Crazy Foot.

First Soul Skill: Collapsing Ape Giant Arm.

Rigid Body Technique!"

Executing his soul skills in rapid succession, he first used his strengthened legs to leap forward, then unleashed the Rigid Body Technique with his massive fists in mid-air, aiming a fierce strike at one of the human body's weak points: the ribs. Caught off guard, Zhao Wuji actually lost his footing against the heavy blow to his side, stumbling back half a step.

"Good chance!"

The moment Zhao Wuji lifted one foot, Feng Xinglie, Tang San, and Xiao Wu exerted force simultaneously. One used Aikido to control his body and kicked hard at the supporting leg. Another used the Tang Sect's unique skill: Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, while simultaneously activating his Second Soul Skill: Parasitic, commanding all the Parasitic Spores to detonate, with countless Blue Silver Grass vines wrapping around Zhao Wuji to pull him upward. Through their combined efforts, Xiao Wu's Waist Bow finally threw Zhao Wuji into mid-air.

"You want to try that a second time? First Soul Skill: Immovable Wisdom King Body!"

Floating in the air again, Zhao Wuji grew cautious. Before anyone could act, he immediately activated his first soul skill. In an instant, a wave of earthy-yellow energy swept outward, not only shattering all of Tang San's Blue Silver Grass but also sending Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing flying several meters away.

"Xiao Wu!"

Tang San naturally rushed toward Xiao Wu, using Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to catch her in a few swift movements. Dai Mubai also intended to take advantage of the situation to get close to the injured Zhu Zhuqing. Unfortunately, before he could act, Feng Xinglie had already caught Zhu Zhuqing, pulling her out of Zhao Wuji's attack range.

"Damn it, that bastard!"

Watching his chance to earn favor vanish, Dai Mubai glared at Feng Xinglie with bloodshot eyes, praying in his heart that Zhao Wuji would be even more ruthless later to vent his frustration.

"Your injuries haven't healed yet, don't push yourself."

Seeing Zhu Zhuqing's face turn pale, Feng Xinglie quickly pressed his hand against her back, channeling soul power to calm her surging blood, then pushed her into the arms of Ning Rongrong, who was also a girl, ignoring her protests.

"Please take care of her."

Faced with this gentlemanly behavior from Feng Xinglie, Ning Rongrong blinked her large eyes in surprise and nodded in agreement. On the other side, Tang San had also settled Xiao Wu down, looked up, and shouted:

"Teacher Zhao, this round doesn't count. Let's go again, one-on-one!"

"Nonsense!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Feng Xinglie scolded him back with an even louder voice:

"Tang San, I know it's hard for you to accept that Xiao Wu is hurt, but the incense is already more than halfway burned. This situation was achieved through everyone's hard work. Don't forget that we are a team now; you cannot act on your own whims!"

These words changed the way the students looked at Tang San. That's right, they had struggled so hard to get this far, and now he wanted a redo because of one sentence? Was he joking?

Realizing he had become the target of public criticism, Tang San gritted his teeth and glared fiercely at Feng Xinglie. He then hugged Xiao Wu tightly, showing no intention of helping, seemingly prepared to let Zhao Wuji teach the man who dared to defy him a lesson.

"One-on-one? Fine, I can hold out for this much time."

Looking around and confirming that no one else would be helping, Feng Xinglie stood alone before Zhao Wuji.

"One-quarter of the incense remains..."

Scanning the area with his peripheral vision, Feng Xinglie made up his mind and charged forward once more.

"Little guy, using the same routine over and over again is getting boring."

Zhao Wuji chuckled at the sight and threw a punch. However, instead of retreating, Feng Xinglie moved forward, tilted his head to dodge, and struck toward the Immovable Wisdom King's body, which stood over two and a half meters tall. Fists rained down like raindrops, landing on his chest, throat, and abdomen. Feeling almost zero damage, Zhao Wuji laughed:

"Heh, Soul Sage strength, kid! Since you like to box, I'll play along."

Zhao Wuji also swung his fist, which was the size of a sand pot, to counterattack. But after a few punches, he realized something was wrong. Fists needed room to swing to generate enough lethality. Feng Xinglie was fighting him in close quarters, relying on his smaller frame to maneuver, with every punch being a full-force swing against his body. Conversely, Zhao Wuji had a massive frame and long reach; in actual combat, he could maintain a huge advantage as long as he controlled the distance. But facing this enemy pressed against his chest, he couldn't swing his fists at all. It wasn't just his power that was restricted, but his speed and even the angle of his strikes. Moreover, his pride as a Soul Sage made it impossible for him to retreat and open up distance during an entrance exam, even though a single step back would have easily ended the fight.

This isn't working, I can't move him at all.

Squeezing his numb fists, Feng Xinglie hesitated. If he couldn't win on raw stats, he would have to rely on mechanics.