The Power of Silk-Winding Force

Xu Wuyi and Zhao Ding stood in the center of the arena and gave each other a martial salute.

In two corners of the arena stood two proctoring teachers, and Zhou Yun was one of them.

Once a examinee was in danger, possibly of serious injury or even death, they would step in and end the match. This was also an established rule of combat exams.

"Begin!"

The instant the AI system's voice rang out, Zhao Ding let out a low roar and attacked first.

He stepped forward in a charge, his footfalls heavy, stirring up a gust of wind as he threw a straight punch at Xu Wuyi's face with imposing force.

Xu Wuyi's eyes narrowed slightly. His feet seemed to take root beneath him, and he neither dodged nor retreated, raising his left arm to block.

Bang!

Fist and arm collided with a dull thud.

Xu Wuyi's body swayed slightly, and he dispersed the force. A clear recoil sensation ran through his arm. His opponent's strength was decent, but it was far from comparable to a monster like Li Mo.

Almost at the same time as he blocked, Xu Wuyi snapped out a swift jab with his right fist, landing it precisely on Zhao Ding's abdomen.

Zhao Ding merely paused for the slightest moment. His abs tensed, and he took the blow head-on, without so much as a change in expression, as though he had only been bitten by a mosquito.

As expected... Xu Wuyi understood.

Zhao Ding's defensive power was astonishing. With the Iron Wall Art in circulation, his skin, muscles, tendons, and bones seemed to condense into one, his vitality like a solid iron plate.

Unless one attacked absolute vital points like his eyes, throat, or groin, ordinary punches and kicks would have very little effect.

"Didn't eat?"

Zhao Ding grinned, a hint of mockery in his expression, and his fists came crashing in again like heavy hammers amid a raging storm.

His fighting style was simple: relying on his superhuman defense, he kept applying pressure, forcing his opponent into a head-on clash and wearing down their vitality and stamina.

This was somewhat similar to Li Mo's style, except Li Mo relied on his life energy level and held an all-around advantage, while Zhao Ding only had exceptionally strong defense.

Xu Wuyi settled his mind and brought the defensive stance of the Basic Body Tempering Method to its limit.

His footwork shifted nimbly, and his arms either parried or blocked, either guided or redirected, dissolving Zhao Ding's heavy, powerful attacks one by one.

A peculiar scene appeared on the arena.

Zhao Ding was absolutely the attacker, his fists howling through the air, his moves wide and forceful. Xu Wuyi, meanwhile, kept his head down in defense. His occasional counterattacks landed on Zhao Ding's body, but they were like clay oxen sinking into the sea, seemingly unable to pose any real threat.

"Xu Wuyi is in trouble."

In the stands, a man from the Martial Arts Association frowned slightly and said to the person beside him, "Zhao Ding's Iron Wall Art lives up to its reputation. Xu Wuyi's strength can't break through his defense."

"No defense can hold forever. Once he shows an opening, he'll lose."

The person beside him kept his eyes fixed on the arena and nodded. "Mm. Zhao Ding's style may be clumsy, but it's effective. Now it depends on whether Xu Wuyi has any other tricks."

On the other side, the leading teacher from United High School wore a relaxed smile and said to the person next to him, "That kid Zhao Ding doesn't have many strengths, except that he can take a beating."

"This Xu Wuyi from Honghe doesn't have enough explosive power. If he can't break the defense, no matter how exquisite his technique is, it's useless."

In the spectator seats, many students also began discussing.

"Xu Wuyi's being beaten to the point he can only defend!"

"Zhao Ding's defense is way too freakish. He can't be moved at all!"

"Yeah, you couldn't tell when he fought the instructor before, but once he's up against students, Zhao Ding's advantage is huge."

"I think only Li Mo could do it. His life energy level is high enough."

"I think Hu Haobo could too. His Stone-Splitting Palm is at the minor mastery level!"

"..."

Zeng Bonan, Hu Haobo, and the others also looked grave. They could tell Xu Wuyi's defense was still steady, but he had no way to break the situation. Defeat seemed only a matter of time.

On the arena, Zhao Ding grew more and more confident as he fought. His offensive grew fiercer, and he said, "Is blocking all you know how to do? Like a turtle!"

Xu Wuyi turned a deaf ear to his words, his gaze still calm.

Trash talk was also a kind of tactic, and it was not forbidden in the arena. If one's mentality could be thrown off balance by verbal taunts, then once they went onto the battlefield in the future, they would only fare even worse.

Besides, Xu Wuyi had expected the current situation long ago, and he also had a way to deal with it.

To outsiders, he seemed to be defending in vain, but only he himself knew that every time he made physical contact with Zhao Ding, he sent a strand of Silk-Winding Force into Zhao Ding's body.

Like invisible mercury, it silently passed through Zhao Ding's surface defense and slowly seeped into his meridians and internal organs.

The Iron Wall Art mainly cultivated external strength, concentrating vitality on the surface of the body to form a sturdy barrier, but its protection of the internal organs was relatively weak.

The characteristic of Silk-Winding Force just so happened to let it bypass this outer layer of defense and strike directly inside.

And Zhao Ding's martial skill level was roughly around fifty percent into beginner level. Among ordinary high school students, that was certainly not bad, but against Xu Wuyi, it was completely insufficient.

This meant Xu Wuyi could easily catch his openings and frequently attack with hidden force.

Zhao Ding had no awareness of it at all. He only felt that Xu Wuyi's attacks posed no threat, and he was certain victory was within reach.

Time passed second by second, and the intense exchange of offense and defense continued for nearly three minutes.

Zhao Ding threw another heavy punch, but for some inexplicable reason, his movement dragged by half a beat, and his fist slowed as well.

He himself did not notice it right away, only thinking it might be normal fatigue from his relentless assault.

But Xu Wuyi saw it perfectly clearly, and a hint of a smile flashed through his eyes.

He knew the buildup was starting to take effect.

Silk-Winding Force was like countless tiny chains, beginning to coil around Zhao Ding's internal organs before spreading into his meridians and disrupting the circulation of his qi and blood.

Qi and blood were the source of strength. Once their circulation became obstructed, the chain reaction it caused was enormous.

In Zhao Ding's next several attacks, his strength was clearly weakened, and his footwork was no longer as steady and forceful as before.

Cold sweat began to seep from his forehead, his breathing grew slightly ragged, and an unprecedented sense of weakness started spreading from deep within his body.

"What's going on?" A trace of unease rose in Zhao Ding's heart. My qi and blood...

Just then, Xu Wuyi moved!

He no longer defended passively. With a stamp of his foot, his body shot forward like a leopard that had been gathering strength for a long time. The arm he had been using to block gave a clever flick, knocking aside Zhao Ding's now-powerless straight punch.

His centerline was wide open!

A sharp gleam flashed in Xu Wuyi's eyes, and his right fist shot out like a cannonball, striking straight at the Tanzhong acupoint on Zhao Ding's chest!

This time, qi and blood gathered along the edge of his fist. It no longer had that "weak" feeling from before, but carried an incomparably sharp, penetrating intent.

Under the enhancement of Cloud-Parting Force, Cloud-Piercing Thrust was applied through his fist. The edge of his fist was like a spearpoint, making Zhao Ding feel as if needles were pricking his back.

Zhao Ding's expression changed drastically. In his haste, he could only barely gather his remaining qi and blood in front of his chest and cross his arms to block.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three layers of force erupted at the point of contact like a surging tide!

Zhao Ding only felt an indescribably sharp force pierce into his body. His internal organs seemed to shift out of place in an instant, and the intense pain made his vision go black. His qi and blood collapsed completely; he could not even let out a scream as his body flew backward beyond his control.

Xu Wuyi's expression was cold. With the advantage in hand, he showed no mercy and followed without hesitation, bringing down another punch that erupted with three layers of force.

He knew the first punch would at most injure Zhao Ding. It was still nowhere near enough to seriously wound him, let alone kill him.

The arena battle was not over yet. His goal, at the very least, was to beat his opponent until he no longer had the strength to fight back!

"Stop!"