Sparring! First Bout!

Sparring! First Bout!

Blue-Wave Martial Academy.

The hour of the dragon.

The sky stretched blue for ten thousand miles, without a cloud.

The blazing sun had already risen, and the courtyard was sweltering.

"Junior Brother Jiang, how about we spar?" Cheng Ran suddenly said, his eyes blazing as he looked at Jiang Ning.

Ever since Jiang Ning had lent him a hand two days ago and he had felt the explosive force in Jiang Ning's arms, Cheng Ran had been unable to calm his heart.

From that moment on, he had been deeply curious—curious just how strong Jiang Ning truly was now.

Back then, he had suggested that they spar at some point in the future.

His purpose in proposing the spar had only been to satisfy his inner curiosity—his curiosity about Jiang Ning's true strength.

It was not, as he had claimed before, for the two of them to exchange moves and gain combat experience.

In his view, true combat experience could only be gained from opponents of nearly equal strength, not from a spar where the gap was as vast as heaven and earth.

His qi and blood had reached perfection and coursed through his entire body. The force in one arm had long surpassed five hundred jin—more than twice the strength he had felt from Jiang Ning then.

Such an enormous disparity in strength was, in a head-on fight, the difference between an adult and a child. They were not opponents on the same level at all.

With such a colossal gap in strength, how could it possibly build any combat experience in his eyes?

The proposal to spar was merely to satisfy his own curiosity.

His curiosity about Jiang Ning's strength, and the realm of his fist techniques.

In the courtyard.

Faced with Cheng Ran's proposal, Jiang Ning only considered it briefly before nodding in agreement.

"Alright!"

His reason for agreeing to Cheng Ran's proposal was simple.

Xu Yunfeng's qi and blood had reached perfection and coursed through his entire body.

He was the person who currently posed the most direct threat to Jiang Ning, and also the one most likely to make a move against him.

Cheng Ran's qi and blood had likewise reached perfection and coursed through his entire body.

In Jiang Ning's eyes, their theoretical strength was evenly matched.

By sparring with Cheng Ran, he could roughly gauge Xu Yunfeng's true strength.

As for the information that might be exposed during their exchange—

Jiang Ning did not care about it in the slightest.

Concealing his brilliance and biding his time was not what he needed to do now.

What did this world have to do with "this child's talent is so terrifying that he must not be allowed to live"?

Showing his talent appropriately brought far more benefits than drawbacks.

As long as it did not exceed what people could understand and make him seem like a demon or monster.

A moment later.

Crack, crack—

Cheng Ran stretched his entire body, loosening his muscles and bones.

"Junior Brother Jiang—"

Crack, crack—

He stretched his muscles and bones again.

"Junior Brother Jiang, you make the first move! I'll control my strength," Cheng Ran said, mindful of his status.

"Then Senior Brother Cheng, be careful," Jiang Ning said.

The next moment.

His body moved, erupting forward in an instant. Qi and blood surged within him and coursed through his right arm, transforming him in a flash into a fierce tiger descending the mountain.

The distance between them was less than two zhang. In just a few strides, he had already closed it.

"Good!" Seeing Jiang Ning's spread fingers reaching toward him like a tiger's paw, Cheng Ran's gaze sharpened.

He immediately shifted his right foot and lowered his stance.

Facing Jiang Ning's palm strike, he had no intention of dodging.

In his eyes, there was no need—and he could not afford to lose that face.

Cheng Ran clenched his hand into a fist and directly unleashed half his strength.

Bang—

Fist and palm collided with a muffled impact.

The explosive force made Cheng Ran take half a step back. Then, despite still holding strength in reserve, he instantly steadied himself in place.

Such terrifying explosive power!!!

Cheng Ran was filled with shock, and the way he looked at Jiang Ning changed abruptly.

Only after exchanging blows and personally experiencing Jiang Ning's force could he truly confirm Jiang Ning's strength.

His Tiger Form Fist had clearly reached minor mastery!

"With that palm, Junior Brother Jiang borrowed the momentum of a tiger descending the mountain and unleashed a thousand jin of force."

"I had underestimated him before!"

A sourness rose in Cheng Ran's heart. He had never heard of, nor seen, such talent in fist techniques.

Had he not witnessed it with his own eyes, he would never have dared believe it.

A newcomer to the martial academy who had practiced fist techniques for barely more than ten days, cultivating all five forms of the Five Animals Fist at once, had already reached minor mastery.

That was what he envied most—and what shocked him most deeply.

Such talent in fist techniques left him utterly awestruck.

How wonderful it would be if I had such talent in fist techniques!

Having recognized Jiang Ning's talent, he could not help but feel a thousand emotions well up within him.

"No wonder Master has taken such special care of Junior Brother Jiang these past few days."

"Not only has he allowed him to live at the martial academy long-term, he has even granted him some of the treatment reserved for true disciples—three bowls of medicinal soup every day."

"With talent like Junior Brother Jiang's, who wouldn't be tempted to take him as a disciple?"

Cheng Ran also understood that Jiang Ning's rapid progress and current achievements must have had something to do with Wang Jin giving him extra instruction.

Yet even knowing this, he did not feel the slightest sense of unfairness.

Because in his view, this was perfectly normal. Not to mention Wang Jin—even he himself would have done the same.

A good teacher was hard to find, but a disciple with the talent and character to inherit one's mantle was even harder to find.

Now that he completely understood Jiang Ning's achievements in martial arts, only one thought remained in his heart.

He could only be made a friend, never an enemy!

Even if Jiang Ning had no chance of joining the Inspection Office, Cheng Ran had no idea how far he might go in the future.

But he knew that with Jiang Ning's talent, even if his origins were poor, anything was possible in the future.

Perhaps one day, he might even become renowned throughout Guangning Prefecture.

Then, a sincere smile appeared on Cheng Ran's face.

"To erupt with a thousand jin of force in an instant—what talent, Junior Brother Jiang!"

Jiang Ning stopped his retreating body and shook out his hand. Even with qi and blood erupting through it, such a fierce collision had left his right palm faintly aching.

Yet that pain did not make him fear battle. Instead, it made his blood boil.

"Senior Brother Cheng, again!" Fire burned in Jiang Ning's eyes.

"Alright!" Cheng Ran answered readily.

The next moment.

The two moved.

In an instant, they had entered within an arm's reach of each other.

Bang—

Bang—

Bang—

Their fists collided again and again, every blow landing solidly on flesh as they unleashed the most primal of battles.

"This is a fight between men!" As they separated, Cheng Ran grinned.

Jiang Ning was smiling as well. In his field of vision, a prompt that only he could see appeared.

[Five Animals Fist experience +1]

So fighting can also increase fist technique experience.

At that moment, Jiang Ning understood.

Then, his gaze toward Cheng Ran became even more filled with fighting spirit.

"Again!!"

With a sharp shout, Jiang Ning moved like a white ape pouncing on its prey.

"Good!" Cheng Ran replied.

Facing Jiang Ning charging straight at him, he directly unleashed fifty percent of his strength.

With his five fingers spread, he struck out like a tiger's paw.

The next moment.

Cheng Ran's expression changed.

Because Jiang Ning's body instantly shifted from extreme speed to extreme slowness, then, agile as an ape, slapped at the opening in his defense.

Thud, thud, thud—

Cheng Ran staggered back three steps, his face flushed faintly red from holding it in.

After one breath, he spoke. "Was that the principle of movement and change in the Deer Form Fist?"

"Yes! I ask Senior Brother Cheng to enlighten me!" Jiang Ning said.

"Again!" After calming his breath, Cheng Ran's fighting spirit surged high in his eyes. He refused to accept it.

(End of chapter)