You Misjudged Him!

You Misjudged Him! Silence!!!

The martial arts arena fell deathly silent in an instant; a pin drop could be heard!

Everyone stared at Chen An, who still stood where he was with a calm expression, his robes unmoved and not even a single strand of hair out of place, as though he had never moved from beginning to end. His figure stood tall and straight.

Then their gazes fell upon Liu Qingyun, who lay motionless at the edge of the arena like a dead dog. Their minds went blank, and for a moment, they could not process what had happened.

Had Liu Qingyun not just been shouting that he would beat Chen An to death?

They could still vividly recall the terrifying pressure of the ninth level of Qi Condensation, and the lingering fear had yet to fade.

How had he become a dead dog sprawled on the ground in the blink of an eye?!

What had just happened?!

In the crowd, Shen Qinglan's foot, which had been about to step forward, abruptly halted. The frost on her pretty face instantly turned to astonishment as she stared blankly at the figure on the arena.

On the high platform, the Xiantian true qi within county academy instructor Fan Suiyun suddenly stalled, and a trace of surprise flashed through his eyes.

Beside him, County Magistrate Zhang Xuanming narrowed his eyes slightly as his gaze settled on Chen An. The corners of his lips lifted faintly, and a flicker of appreciation flashed through his eyes.

Meanwhile, Zhou Tong, seated in the corner of the high platform, had the mocking smile at the corner of his lips suddenly freeze. His expression then darkened.

His gaze remained fixed on Liu Qingyun, who lay motionless at the edge of the arena, before shifting to the calm and composed Chen An. A shadow of gloom and anger surfaced in his eyes.

"Damn! What just happened?!"

"How did Liu Qingyun suddenly get sent flying? Even my eyes couldn't keep up!"

"He was clearly the one who launched the fierce attack first. How did he get sent flying himself in the blink of an eye?"

"That's it?!"

"What the hell! Wasn't Chen An only at the sixth level of Qi Condensation? Why was Liu Qingyun the one who went down?!"

Only then did the students come back to their senses. Looking at the change on the arena, every one of them wore an expression of utter disbelief, unable to make head or tail of it.

They had no idea what had happened on the arena in that instant.

Only Shen Qinglan, who was above the Houtian Realm, the county academy instructors, and the martial arts powerhouses on the high platform could see what had happened in that instant!

"What formidable movement and palm techniques. His timing in evasion was impeccable, and his palm strike was swift as lightning. His control of force was flawless. Truly, the younger generation is to be feared!"

In the corner of the high platform, Elder Wei Linyuan, who oversaw the academy, looked at Chen An standing on the arena with his hands behind his back and an unhurried bearing, and could not help but praise him softly.

The memory was still fresh in his mind. Just one day ago, on the previous morning, it had been this very youth, Chen An, who had personally handed him the evidence of Liu Zhixing coercing students into abandoning the examination and forcing them to work as guards for a trading firm. Only then had he been able to uproot the long-entrenched poison within the county academy.

At first, Chen An had seemed to him to be no more than an ordinary student with decent courage, not someone worth paying much attention to.

He had never expected that he had misjudged him!

Based on that hairbreadth evasion and the lightning-fast palm strike that turned the tables, Wei Linyuan was already certain that with the true strength Chen An had displayed, even against a martial artist at the pinnacle of the Qi Condensation Realm, he might not necessarily fall into a disadvantage.

"What a vicious boy. He actually struck such a cruel blow against a fellow student!"

Zhou Tong narrowed his murky eyes slightly, his cold gaze locking onto Chen An on the arena. His expression was indifferent, yet carried a hint of chill as he slowly said, "That palm strike just now came from a tricky angle and directly shook his dantian. That boy called Liu Qingyun probably has already had his dantian shattered."

His tone was flat, yet it carried a thread of sinister coldness. "Once the dantian is broken, one's cultivation is completely ruined. From this day onward, he will be a thoroughly crippled martial artist, with no possibility of ever setting foot upon the path of cultivation again."

Hearing Zhou Tong's deliberately pointed words, County Magistrate Zhang Xuanming's lips curved faintly. With an indifferent expression, he said,

"If you think this book is good, please remember to add it to your bookshelf so you won't lose it next time."

"Senior Zhou exaggerates!"

"The county examination is a martial arts competition held to select talent for the imperial dynasty and choose martial arts prodigies for the human race."

"Once one steps onto the arena, there are only opponents. What fellow-student sentiment is there to speak of?"

"Moreover, Liu Qingyun had mocked and provoked him repeatedly before this from below the arena. When he struck just now, every move was ruthless and aimed at vital points. Had Chen An's evasion been even half a step slower, the one lying defeated and gravely injured—or even dead—would have been Chen An himself."

"The County Magistrate is absolutely right!"

Fan Suiyun also nodded and interjected, "The rules of the imperial martial examination state that on the arena, life and death are not to be pursued!"

"Even if one dies, one can only blame one's own poor fate. It has nothing to do with anyone else!"

"Liu Qingyun harbored killing intent first, and his attacks were ruthless. That student named Chen An merely counterattacked along with the momentum to protect himself. In this instructor's view, such conduct cannot be called heartless or vicious!"

Hmph!"

Hearing Zhang Xuanming and Fan Suiyun echo each other as they both defended and excused Chen An, Zhou Tong's expression grew increasingly grim. He let out an extremely heavy snort through his nostrils, but in the end, constrained by his status and the occasion, he grudgingly shut his mouth.

Seeing that Zhou Tong no longer spoke, Zhang Xuanming and Fan Suiyun exchanged a glance. A subtle smile flickered in both their eyes.

Zhou Tong had always relied on his age and seniority, as well as his profound late-Xiantian Realm cultivation. In Wurong County, he had always lorded his strength over others, arrogant and overbearing. Whenever matters arose, he loved to play the elder, and even toward the county academy instructor and the County Magistrate, he often spoke in a needling, sarcastic manner.

This time, being able to use the county examination to make him suffer a setback—and even make him lose an Earth-rank Realm-Breaking Pill—had made him bleed heavily. It would be enough to make his heart ache for a long time.

On the arena!

Chen An glanced at Liu Qingyun, who lay on the ground already unconscious. His expression remained calm, without the slightest satisfaction at having severely injured the man who had insulted and provoked him.

In his eyes, Liu Qingyun, who had been hopping about before him, acting arrogant and domineering, and spouting wild words, was merely a mosquito buzzing around in front of him, noisy and irritating.

Why would a person get angry at a mosquito that did not know whether it lived or died?!

All it took was one palm to swat it dead!

"Instructor, does this match still need to continue?!"

Looking at the referee standing off to the side, who seemed not to have recovered yet, Chen An frowned slightly.

This referee seemed rather unqualified!

Only after hearing Chen An's words did the instructor acting as referee come back to his senses.

In truth, this was not the instructor's fault.

After all, what had happened just now had been far too fast.

Originally, this instructor had thought the match would surely be extremely exciting—or else Liu Qingyun would simply slaughter Chen An one-sidedly.

But who could have expected that in no more than a single breath, the match would be over, and the one lying on the ground would be Liu Qingyun, whom he had favored?

"Cough, wait a moment!"

A trace of embarrassment flashed across the instructor's face. He then hurried over to Liu Qingyun and glanced at him, already sunk into a baby-like sleep. The corner of the instructor's eye could not help twitching slightly.

Only then did the instructor rise, face the crowd below, circulate his true qi, and project his voice throughout the entire martial arts arena.

"The victor of this examination!"

"Chen An!!!"