The First Match, Zhao Ding!

Inside United High School's temporary training room.

The video clip playing on the huge light screen was from Hu Haobo's grading match just now.

His wild, ferocious palm technique was being broken down and shown in slow motion.

The teacher leading the team, Li Wu, was a steady-tempered middle-aged martial artist. He stood with his arms crossed, watching the screen expressionlessly.

Beside him stood the stocky Zhao Ding, as well as Su Yueling, who stayed quietly in the shadowed corner as if she did not belong in the light. Several other top students from United High School were also present.

"Teacher, Hu Haobo's palm technique really is powerful," one student could not help saying, a faint gravity in his tone. "This year, aside from Xu Wuyi, Honghe has gained another strong point."

Hearing this, Li Wu merely shook his head, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

He reached out and tapped the close-up on the light screen of the instructor's arm blocking Hu Haobo's attack, then analyzed in an even tone, "His palm force is fierce and carries penetrating tremors. That's the mark of minor mastery in Stone-Splitting Palm."

"Stone-Splitting Palm is a C-rank martial art, and he actually trained it to minor mastery? That's impressive!" a student beside him could not help exclaiming.

Li Wu, however, said, "Minor mastery in Stone-Splitting Palm is indeed not bad, but in a grading match, this kind of highly aggressive martial art makes it easier to show yourself off and earn a high score."

"Once it reaches the student combat stage, his flaws in other areas will be exposed."

He changed the subject and looked at Zhao Ding. "Ah Ding, if it were you, could that palm of his break through your Iron Wall Art?"

Zhao Ding looked calmly at the recording. Hearing the question, he answered steadily, almost without any hesitation. "Impossible!"

"His palm force is strong, but it focuses more on single-point penetration and vibration. My Iron Wall Art spreads qi and blood throughout the whole body, forming one complete whole. It's specifically meant to defend against this kind of breakthrough attack."

"Unless he can hit the same spot with dozens of palms in a row, he won't break through my defense."

His tone carried absolute confidence. This was the confidence built from bitterly cultivating a defensive martial art.

"Good." Li Wu nodded approvingly. "Hu Haobo's style excels at offense. Unfortunately, his own foundation isn't solid enough. As long as you draw the fight out against him, he'll show an opening sooner or later."

"In the grading match, the instructor wouldn't seize the initiative right away, because they had to let the examinee display their martial art. That was what allowed him to hide his own shortcomings."

Li Wu then swept his gaze over all the United students present, finally stopping on Su Yueling and Zhao Ding.

"This Hu Haobo from Honghe may have a fierce offensive, but in front of us, United, he still doesn't pose a real threat."

His finger slid through the air, and the image on the light screen switched to scenes from Xu Wuyi's and Li Mo's grading matches.

"The ones you truly need to pay attention to are these two."

"Li Mo from Yingang has the highest life energy level. He was born with divine strength and is a pure power-overwhelming type, one force breaking ten techniques. Against him, you absolutely cannot meet force with force. You can only avoid his edge."

"As for Xu Wuyi from Honghe..." Li Wu's expression turned a little more grave. "There's very little information on him. All we can see is that his foundation is solid, and his fist technique should be adapted from some kind of spear martial art."

"Also, his ability to seize battle opportunities is extremely strong. In front of him, any tiny opening could be fatal. You must be careful, then even more careful."

He looked at Zhao Ding and Su Yueling. "Ah Ding, your defense might be able to withstand him, but beating him won't be easy. Yueling, your movement technique and swordsmanship can counter him, but you also need to be careful. Don't let him drag you into his rhythm."

At this point, Li Wu could not help sighing. "It's a pity weapons can't be used in the college entrance exam. Otherwise, Yueling, your advantage would be even greater."

In the shadows, Su Yueling gently stroked the sword sheath resting on her knees. She remained silent, merely giving a slight nod to show she had heard.

Zhao Ding straightened his back and said in a deep voice, "Teacher, leave it to me. When we meet them, I'll let them know what true 'unmoving as a mountain' means."

Li Wu nodded in satisfaction. "Very good. Then keep that confidence. All of you, go back and rest. Conserve your energy and fight well tomorrow."

At the same time, inside the hotel room where the students from Yingang No. 1 High School were staying.

"Hu Haobo isn't worth worrying about." Li Shuang watched only a few moments of his recording before waving it away. "His foundation is too poor. He only benefited from the grading match format."

"In a real fight, he can't even beat Zhao Ding or Xu Wuyi. If he traded blows with you, it would only take a few punches."

Li Mo chuckled. "I could let him hit me with a few palms first too, see if he can hurt me."

"Don't be stupid." Li Shuang shot him a sidelong glare. "A minor-mastery Stone-Splitting Palm could affect your performance in the following matches if it injures your internal organs."

"The scoring standards for the joint exam are the same as the college entrance exam. In combat, you fight at most three matches, and the highest score among the three is counted."

"If your luck is bad and you run into Su Yueling in the first match, you can concede if you can't win."

"Huh?" Li Mo looked a little surprised. "Sis, is Su Yueling that strong? I originally thought only Xu Wuyi was my opponent."

Li Shuang shook her head slightly. "Third Uncle taught you Layered Wave Slash. If you apply it to fist techniques, breaking through his defense won't be hard. Your life energy level advantage is too great. If Xu Wuyi hasn't made any other progress, his chances of winning are very small."

"I like hearing that." Li Mo brightened up again. "But, Sis, what exactly is Shadow Sword Technique?"

He was clearly using a fist technique, yet he could produce sharp sword shadows. No matter how you looked at it, that was not normal.

"Strictly speaking, you still aren't suited to knowing this yet." Li Shuang thought for a moment, but still said, "That is the result of the mind interfering with reality. In other words—"

"Heart-Image Martial Art."

The next day, the Three-School Joint Examination officially began.

Honghe City Martial Arts Center was packed with noise and excitement.

The enormous circular arena was filled to capacity. Teachers and students from the three schools, parents, and martial arts enthusiasts who had come after hearing the news made the atmosphere incomparably fervent.

At the center of the venue, three huge electronic light screens stood side by side, displaying the list of all students after the first round of practical assessments, along with their corresponding grades.

Only five people had received an A-rank evaluation:

Honghe No. 1 High School: Xu Wuyi, Hu Haobo.

Yingang No. 1 High School: Li Mo.

United High School: Zhao Ding, Su Yueling.

The value of an A-rank was fully on display at this moment.

In the observer seats of the provincial Martial Arts Association, several middle-aged men with deep, restrained auras were conversing in low voices, their gazes sweeping from time to time over the A-rank students in the waiting area below.

Very soon, the match list locked into place.

When they saw the names for the first A-rank match, the entire venue first fell slightly silent, then erupted into a tremendous roar.

[First Match: Honghe No. 1 High School, Xu Wuyi VS United High School, Zhao Ding!]

It was actually the top defensive martial artists from these two schools running into each other in the very first match!

One of them excelled at defensive counterattacks, while the other cultivated the Iron Wall Art. Just whose defense was stronger?

Everyone's curiosity was instantly ignited.

Xu Wuyi looked at the name on the light screen, his gaze calm and unruffled.

On the other side, Zhao Ding slowly rose to his feet. No emotion could be seen on his bronze face, but the look he cast toward Xu Wuyi carried at least some wariness.