A-Rank Evaluation

"Honghe No. 1 High School, Xu Wuyi."

His name came over the broadcast, and at once, quite a few gazes gathered on him.

This dark horse, whose life energy level had soared at incredible speed and who ranked fourth, was finally about to take the stage.

Xu Wuyi stood up, patted down his martial arts uniform, and strode onto the central arena.

His opponent was a veteran martial artist from United High School, surnamed Wu. His aura was deep and steady, his gaze sharp as lightning.

"Begin when you're ready," Teacher Wu said curtly, looking at Xu Wuyi with great interest.

They were both in Honghe City, so he had long since heard of Xu Wuyi's reputation and had also been paying attention to Honghe No. 1 High School's situation.

He knew that this newly risen student before him was Honghe No. 1 High School's undisputed number one.

Xu Wuyi cupped his fists in salute, then raised both fists before him and assumed the opening form of the Wind-Settling Spear, the [Army-Settling Stance]. The aura around him instantly turned calm and weighty, as though it had fused with the arena beneath his feet.

After cultivating his Wind-Settling Spear to the minor mastery realm, he could already integrate it easily into any kind of martial art.

Whether fists, palms, sabers, or swords—even leg techniques—as long as Xu Wuyi wanted to, he could still unleash a "spear thrust."

"Please instruct me, teacher."

The moment his words fell, his qi and blood surged through his body. [Cloud-Parting Force] activated instantly, and a swift, fierce [Cloud-Piercing Thrust] shot out from his right fist, stabbing straight toward Teacher Wu's centerline!

"Hm?"

Teacher Wu let out a soft sound of surprise, seemingly not expecting Xu Wuyi's attack to be so swift and sharp.

He turned his palm into a slap, sending a soft force against the side of the spear shaft and knocking the fist aside.

But the condensed force contained in Xu Wuyi's thrust still made his palm go slightly numb.

What refined explosive power!

Teacher Wu praised him inwardly, and his offensive immediately quickened.

He held back no longer. Fists, palms, fingers, and legs poured down like a violent storm, testing Xu Wuyi's defense from every angle.

Xu Wuyi focused his mind to the limit and pushed the defensive techniques of the Wind-Settling Spear to their utmost. His arms extended, and [Wind-Returning Sweep] spun like a wheel, keeping most of the attacks outside.

His defense was no longer simple brute endurance. Instead, he incorporated [Silk-Winding Force] into it, and with every block, a thread of force was transmitted over.

On the arena, Teacher Wu's figure shifted rapidly, his offensive unbroken, yet he never gave Xu Wuyi enough room to get close.

Because he had already discovered that Xu Wuyi's explosive power was extremely strong, and avoiding a direct clash was the correct approach.

In essence, this was exactly the same core idea as the guided battle with Teacher Wang Wenhai.

If he had not experienced that fight, then even if Xu Wuyi could keep his composure and avoid panicking, he would not have found a way to break through for a while.

But now, he had some confidence. He merely continued to silently strengthen his use of [Silk-Winding Force].

Time passed second by second, and in the blink of an eye, more than two minutes had gone by.

His defense is indeed outstanding, but if this is all he has, it still won't be enough for an A grade.

As the thought flashed through Teacher Wu's mind, the rhythm of his attacks suddenly changed again. He became faster, his power more concentrated, specifically targeting the tiny gaps between Xu Wuyi's fist technique transitions.

The pressure spiked!

Xu Wuyi immediately found it somewhat strenuous. Several times, danger brushed past him, and he only barely dodged with his exceptional reactions.

But he still did not rush. With astonishing patience, he waited for an opportunity to appear.

After probing several times with [Silk-Winding Force], he had already gained some confidence.

The next moment, Teacher Wu sent a sharp finger wind stabbing toward his Jianjing acupoint, but a bright glint flashed in Xu Wuyi's eyes.

His wrist gave an almost imperceptible tremor, and the [Wind-Returning Sweep] originally used for blocking suddenly changed!

Just as his arm and Teacher Wu's fingers were about to touch, a hidden force, soft and dark as silk, erupted all at once.

Teacher Wu only felt as though his fingertip had touched countless fine threads. A strange trembling sensation instantly spread up along the meridians of his arm.

His qi and blood stagnated slightly, and his originally smooth offensive also developed a faint sluggishness.

Teacher Wu could not help showing astonishment. Of course, he had long since noticed that Xu Wuyi had been trying to use hidden force, but its intensity had always been very low before and had almost no effect on him, so he had paid it no mind.

He had not expected that this time, Xu Wuyi would be able to unleash it to such a degree.

But Xu Wuyi's eyes blazed with light.

Now!

This was the opportunity he had been waiting for!

He stomped forward fiercely, and his long-suppressed qi and blood erupted with a boom. The three layers of [Cloud-Parting Force] poured into his arm, and a completely unadorned [Cloud-Piercing Thrust] stabbed straight out!

His left fist tore through the air, letting out a piercing shriek!

Teacher Wu was experienced after all. Though surprised, he did not panic. Forcing his qi and blood up, he twisted aside at the critical instant and avoided the vital point, while at the same time slapping Xu Wuyi's arm with one palm.

Bang!

The forces collided, producing a muffled sound.

Xu Wuyi was shaken two steps sideways, but his fist still landed solidly on Teacher Wu's body!

Teacher Wu's figure swayed as well. With his strength, he was naturally unharmed, but when he looked at Xu Wuyi, undisguised admiration appeared on his face.

"Time's up!"

The system prompt sounded right on cue.

The entire venue fell silent for an instant, then erupted into thunderous applause and discussion.

"What happened just now? Teacher Wu's movement seemed to pause for a second?"

"It was Xu Wuyi's fist technique! Maybe it hides some kind of special force?"

"He actually forced Teacher Wu to take it head-on?"

"That timing on the counterattack... was too brilliant!"

Xu Wuyi stood after withdrawing his stance, calming his surging blood and qi as he looked at Teacher Wu.

Teacher Wu nodded to him.

A few seconds later, Xu Wuyi's rating result appeared strikingly on the central light screen—

Honghe No. 1 High School, Xu Wuyi, Rating: A

"Yeah!"

Honghe No. 1 High School's formation instantly boiled over.

Zhou Yun and Wang Wenhai exchanged a glance, both showing relieved smiles.

Another A-rank!

With United and Yingang already having taken three A-ranks, Xu Wuyi had finally won one back for Honghe No. 1 High School!

Xu Wuyi slowly stepped down from the arena, and Zeng Bonan had already come up to meet him.

"Well fought!" Zeng Bonan praised sincerely. "You didn't embarrass us Honghe people!"

Liu Jing also stood nearby, giving Xu Wuyi a shy smile.

Both of them had their rating battles in the morning, but unfortunately, they had only earned B-rank evaluations.

Hu Haobo, on the other side, also nodded at Xu Wuyi, though he would be going on stage soon and was currently making his final preparations.

Xu Wuyi smiled at the two of them, and in his heart he also breathed a sigh of relief, but he did not completely relax.

The rating battles were only the beginning. Tomorrow's student battles would be the true contest.

He raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the rankings on the light screen, lingering in particular on Li Mo's and Su Yueling's names for a moment.

As for Zhao Ding, who excelled at defense, he was somewhat confident he could handle him. Those two were the ones who would truly pose a threat to him.

The rating battles were already nearing their end, and there were probably only thirty or forty students left who had yet to take the stage.

Everyone had originally thought that things were about to settle and that no more surprises would appear, but even the teachers had not expected Honghe No. 1 High School to still have one more surprise.

Five minutes later, the smart computer's prompt appeared on the large screen.

Honghe No. 1 High School, Hu Haobo, Rating: A!