Mastery

At the instant that gray-white palm print was about to hit him, Xu Wuyi's body, which had remained as steady as a mountain, moved!

His movement was no longer the defensive counterattack of the Basic Body Tempering Method, but carried an unprecedented sharpness and... sense of penetration.

His left foot stamped half a step forward, and his center of gravity pressed ahead in an instant.

His entire posture actually faintly resembled the stance he used when practicing the Wind-Settling Spear, except there was no spear in his hand.

At the same time, the right fist he had been priming did not choose to block or clash head-on. Instead, like a spear thrust, it followed an extremely tricky, straight line, striking later but arriving first as it stabbed out!

This punch did not have the heavy, fierce force of the Mountain Crushing Fist, but it carried the intent of the Cloud-Piercing Thrust from the Wind-Settling Spear.

It gathered the strength of his entire body into a single point, pursuing the utmost speed and penetration.

Where the edge of his fist passed, the air seemed to be pierced through, giving off a faint yet sharp tearing sound.

He was trying to merge the force technique and intent of the Wind-Settling Spear into his fist art!

"What?!"

Hu Haobo's pupils suddenly contracted. He had never expected Xu Wuyi to throw such a strange and ferocious punch.

The angle and speed of this punch had completely exceeded his understanding of basic fist arts!

In his haste, he could only barely turn the palm he had struck out, trying to intercept it.

But it was too late!

Xu Wuyi's "fist-thrust" was like a spearhead tearing through cotton silk. By a hair's breadth, it seized the first move, pierced through the edge of his palm force, and landed with flawless precision on the joint at the inside of his wrist!

"Pfft!"

A dull, strange sound rang out.

Hu Haobo only felt a heart-piercing pain shoot through his wrist. The palm force he had gathered instantly collapsed, and that sure-kill Stone-Splitting Collapse was actually interrupted directly by this seemingly casual "thrust"!

His move was broken, and his center was wide open!

Hu Haobo's face was filled with disbelief. Because his exertion had been cut off, his body stiffened for an instant.

But Xu Wuyi did not pause at all.

After landing that hit, he seemed to have found that feeling of fusing everything together.

His waist and hips twisted with the momentum, and after the edge of his fist, which contained the intent of the Cloud-Piercing Thrust, broke through the opponent's palm force, its momentum still did not stop.

Like a spear withdrawn and then shooting out once more, it turned into an even faster afterimage, driving straight ahead into Hu Haobo's chest!

This time, it was no longer imitation, but true adaptation!

The fist was the spear, and the spear was the fist!

Hu Haobo simply had no time to make any effective defense.

"Boom!"

The punch, which had gathered the strength of Xu Wuyi's entire body and contained the essence of the Cloud-Piercing Thrust, landed solidly on his chest.

Berserk force instantly drove through his body.

Hu Haobo's body was like it had been struck by a train traveling at high speed. It jerked violently, and his eyes instantly lost focus.

His virtual body flew backward uncontrollably off the ground, tracing a parabola through the air before smashing heavily onto the edge of the arena seven or eight meters away, stirring up a ripple of energy.

He struggled, trying to prop himself up, but in the end he collapsed powerlessly, and his virtual image rapidly grew blurry.

Winner: Xu Wuyi!

The cold system notification echoed clearly through the silent arena space.

The area around the entire arena was utterly silent.

Everyone had been stunned by this sudden punch.

They might have guessed Xu Wuyi would win, but they had not expected that even against someone as powerful as Hu Haobo, he would still defeat him in one move!

And what kind of move was that? It did not look like a fist art at all!

Zeng Bonan drew in a cold breath. He suddenly realized that Xu Wuyi was actually not the same as him.

Even though they were both skilled in the Basic Body Tempering Method, Xu Wuyi actually possessed terrifying destructive power. It was just that he did not strike easily.

And every time he did strike, he was certain to hit the enemy's vital point!

Beside him, Liu Jing's face had gone even paler as she watched. She had also realized that the gap between her and Xu Wuyi was far greater than she had imagined.

At the very least, when she fought Hu Haobo head-on, she usually lost more than she won. Against Xu Wuyi, she had even less chance of winning.

Wang Wenhai and Zhou Yun exchanged a glance, both seeing the surprise in each other's eyes.

"That was the Wind-Settling Spear?" Zhou Yun recognized the move Xu Wuyi had used and looked curiously at Wang Wenhai.

"That's right." Wang Wenhai looked gratified. "It's only been a few days, yet he can already merge spear techniques into his fist momentum."

"His Wind-Settling Spear has already reached the beginner level... This kid's comprehension really is astonishing!"

Zhou Yun pursed her lips and smiled. "Some geniuses are just like that. Once something clicks, their martial arts improve by leaps and bounds!"

In reality, No. 1 Training Hall.

Hu Haobo suddenly sat up from the access pod, his face shifting between green and white, as if the phantom pain of being pierced through by that "punch" still lingered in his chest.

He gasped for breath, his eyes filled with confusion.

He had lost.

At the same level, the offense he had been so proud of had not only failed to break through his opponent's defense, but had instead gotten him killed in a single strike.

He also realized the same thing: Xu Wuyi was fundamentally not the same kind of opponent as Zeng Bonan.

They were both good at defense, but Zeng Bonan was merely hiding under a turtle shell, only occasionally able to poke his head out and bite you.

Xu Wuyi, however, was a mountain. You could not break it, and you could not move it. When that mountain came crashing toward you, it could smash you to pieces in an instant!

Xu Wuyi also slowly sat up and rubbed his slightly swollen temples.

That final punch just now had looked simple, but in truth, adapting and applying it had drained a great deal of his focus, taking no small toll on his mind.

Yet bright light flickered in his eyes.

He had succeeded!

He had preliminarily integrated the essence of the Wind-Settling Spear into his fist technique, and the results achieved in actual combat were far more profound than practicing alone.

Martial arts really did have to improve through real combat.

Hu Haobo silently climbed down from the access pod and came before Xu Wuyi.

"I lost." Hu Haobo's voice was a little hoarse, but very straightforward. "I'm convinced."

He paused, then continued, "That final punch of yours... that wasn't Mountain Crushing Fist."

"Mm." Xu Wuyi did not hide it. "That was a power-generation method from the Wind-Settling Spear."

Hu Haobo understood at once, then revealed a faint, bitter smile. "So that's it... After reaching level 11, you've already started learning weapon martial arts."

"Integrating weapon martial arts into fist techniques... Xu Wuyi, you've got even more guts than me!"

Hu Haobo's eyes grew brighter and brighter. "I'll push to level 11 as soon as possible and learn a weapon martial art too. If there's a chance, let's fight again!"

"Sure." Xu Wuyi smiled and said, "Like I said, you're welcome to spar with me anytime."

The Sprint Class's second resource allocation was settled. Xu Wuyi's ranking stabilized firmly in second place, and no one raised any further objections.

With his newly allocated resource quota, Xu Wuyi wasted no time at all and immediately threw himself into a new round of training.

Having just finished a real fight, he felt that his understanding of the Wind-Settling Spear had advanced again, and he could hardly wait to begin cultivating.