His Martial Skills Were All at Perfection

Different martial skills had different effects on one's basic attributes.

Even among low-grade martial skills, there were significant differences.

For example, Monument-Splitting Palm and Iron Wire Fist mainly enhanced strength, while Nine-Shadow Step mainly enhanced movement speed, and Cloud Piercing Finger focused on penetrating power.

Moreover, the same martial skill could provide different degrees of enhancement depending on the practitioner's mastery.

If two skills were of the same type and their levels of mastery were comparable, the degree of enhancement depended on the grade of the skills themselves.

In such cases, a mid-grade martial skill provided at least twice the enhancement of a low-grade one, often more, and its techniques were more refined.

Lu Chong had mastered Wind Splitting Leg, a mid-grade martial skill. Comparing it with Heart-Piercing Kick, which he had also mastered, he estimated that Wind Splitting Leg was at least three times as powerful.

However, when faced with Zhao Longfei, who had just used a Body-Refining Martial Art, Lu Chong didn't rush to use Wind Splitting Leg, even though it was also a mid-grade skill.

"With such a good target, I might as well try out the power of my different martial skills."

Lu Chong used Nine-Shadow Step with all his might, circling Zhao Longfei and leaving a trail of afterimages.

Nine afterimages appeared and disappeared in quick succession, making it impossible to find his true form.

This was what Nine-Shadow Step looked like at true perfection: when used at full power, it left behind nine afterimages.

Faced with movement technique of this level, Zhao Longfei had no other option. He could only use his Scale Armor Body and wait for a chance to counterattack, meeting change with stillness.

Bang!

One of the afterimages suddenly became solid and lunged forward, striking Zhao Longfei in the back with a palm.

Zhao Longfei spun around to counterattack, but Lu Chong had already struck and retreated, giving him no chance to land a blow.

The palm strike hadn't hurt Zhao Longfei through his Scale Armor Body, but it had dealt a major blow to his pride.

Lu Chong also felt again just how formidable that Body-Refining Martial Art was. His full-strength palm strike hadn't even budged Zhao Longfei.

Still, he wasn't discouraged. He circled even faster, turning his palm into a claw. In one surprise attack, he tore off one of Zhao Longfei's sleeves.

Before Zhao Longfei could counterattack, Lu Chong had already moved to the other side and used Eagle Claw Technique to tear off his other sleeve.

Eagle Claw Technique wasn't meant for ripping clothes, of course, but Lu Chong had no choice. Zhao Longfei's arm felt so slippery under his grip that it was hard to even break the skin.

Lu Chong had also trained in a Body-Refining Martial Art, one even stronger than Zhao Longfei's. So he understood that Zhao Longfei's body was simply too well-defended.

"Lu Chong, that's enough! If you've got the guts, fight me head-on. What kind of move is it to tear my clothes?" Zhao Longfei couldn't reach Lu Chong, and he cursed furiously.

Lu Chong struck with another claw, ripping the back of Zhao Longfei's shirt and leaving a scratch on his skin.

Bang!

Lu Chong suddenly leaped into the air and kicked Zhao Longfei in the back with Heart-Piercing Kick. He left a footprint and sent Zhao Longfei stumbling several meters forward.

Zhao Longfei roared in anger. Although his Body-Refining Martial Art had protected him from serious injury, being forced to take blow after blow was humiliating and infuriating.

When he recovered, he saw that Lu Chong had stopped and wasn't pursuing him. He was simply watching him with a smile.

Only then did Zhao Longfei realize that Lu Chong had been deliberately humiliating him.

"You can't beat me. If you keep this up, you'll run out of stamina. Then you'll be dead," Zhao Longfei insisted stubbornly.

"Is that so?" Lu Chong grinned. "I've had my fun. Now let's see how many moves you can take."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Chong left another afterimage in his wake. The brick ground beneath his feet shattered.

He was even faster than before. As he neared Zhao Longfei, he leaped into the air and swept out one leg with a mighty rush of wind.

Zhao Longfei was delighted rather than alarmed. This time, Lu Chong wasn't using his movement technique to toy with him. He was going to face him head-on.

With his Body-Refining Martial Art, Zhao Longfei feared nothing more than a head-on clash. He didn't need to worry about getting hit; he only had to focus on attacking Lu Chong's vital points.

With that in mind, Zhao Longfei ignored Lu Chong's leg sweeping toward his neck and focused all his strength on punching Lu Chong in the chest.

Abandoning defense and focusing entirely on attack was Zhao Longfei's greatest advantage.

But when Lu Chong's kick struck Zhao Longfei's neck first, Zhao Longfei realized just how badly he had misjudged the situation.

The force was nothing like before. Zhao Longfei felt as if a heavy ax had struck his head, leaving him dazed.

His full-strength punch never even came close to touching Lu Chong. He had already lost his balance and been sent flying.

He spun through the air before crashing headfirst to the ground five meters away.

This kick from Lu Chong wasn't Heart-Piercing Kick. It was Wind Splitting Leg, several times more powerful and a mid-grade martial skill mastered to perfection.

Against a careless Zhao Longfei who hadn't bothered to defend himself, even his mid-grade Scale Armor Body, mastered to the Microscopic level, couldn't withstand it.

"Wh... How could this be?" Zhao Longfei's head spun as he tried to force himself upright.

But Lu Chong wasn't about to give him the chance. He covered the distance in a few strides and kicked Zhao Longfei again, sending him flying several meters and landing beside his Class 1 classmates. He passed out.

And now, with his clothes in tatters, Zhao Longfei looked far more wretched than his classmates.

With the fight over, Lu Chong paid Zhao Longfei no further attention and turned to leave.

The emergency responders would arrive soon to take them away. Zhao Longfei wouldn't be able to interfere with Lu Chong's score over the next few days, either.

After a brief silence in the Monitoring Hall, the crowd burst into noisy discussion.

"Student Lu Chong broke through the Zhao Family's Scale Armor Body. He didn't use one of the school's leg techniques, but a mid-grade martial skill."

"That's right, it was Wind Splitting Leg, and he's mastered it to perfection, too."

"It's hard to imagine. Student Lu Chong has mastered Monument-Splitting Palm, Nine-Shadow Step, Eagle Claw Technique, and Heart-Piercing Kick. And now he's completely mastered a mid-grade martial skill as well."

"How many years has it been since any of the high schools in Guanyun City produced talent and insight like this?"

Li Chengjun glanced with some reproach at Wang Tong, whose expression was not very pleasant. He knew that Old Squad Leader must have passed this mid-grade martial skill on to Lu Chong.

"What are you looking at?" Wang Tong said irritably. "If your student hadn't pushed him into it, Lu Chong wouldn't have needed to reveal Wind Splitting Leg during the Mock Exam."

"Now that he's revealed it, his advantage in the College Entrance Exam will be greatly reduced."

Li Chengjun quickly turned away, not daring to argue.

Principal Fang, seated in the middle of the front row, sighed. "Old Wei, actually, passing Tiger Roar Skill on to this kid would've been a pretty good choice, too."

"To have taught a student like this, I, Old Fang, am satisfied."

Principal Wei glanced sidelong at him, too lazy to expose Principal Fang's little scheme.

The old fellow had clearly seen Lu Chong's immense potential, and was just hoping to claim the title of his teacher.

But whatever happened, Lu Chong had come from First High School and would always represent its glory.

As for how many mentors Lu Chong might have in the future, that was beyond his control.