Chen Xu could not possibly spare Yu Yanran, not only because she had incited that old fellow to kill him, but also because he did not want to cross paths with a prince of Great Abyss at his current level of strength.
A Martial Artist might be powerful compared to an individual, but before Great Abyss's endless stream of technological weapons, they still seemed rather fragile. The only difference from ordinary people was that they could drag a few others down with them.
Once he reached a deserted place, Chen Xu finished off the still-unconscious Yu Yanran.
Just as when he had dealt with Xu Lie, firelight illuminated Chen Xu's face.
With trembling hands, Chen Xu took out a crystal-clear little bottle and could not help swallowing.
Around a hundred points of Psychic Energy was undoubtedly a massive fortune.
Summoning Tianwu, Chen Xu checked which martial arts were worth upgrading.
Strength: 20.1
Constitution: 25.6
Agility: 19.4
Energy: 16.0 (Blood-Qi Force)
Psychic Energy: 103.16
Martial Path: Martial Form (Armored Blood Tiger)
Martial Arts: Tiger Howl Fist Transformation (MAX, can be fused), Bronze Body Technique Transformation (MAX
, can be fused), Great Stone-Stele Smash (not initiated), Great Strength Eagle Claw Technique (not initiated), Nine-Step Body-Leaping Technique Transformation (MAX, can be fused), Shadow-Following Leg (not initiated), Incomplete Life-Nourishing Breakthrough Method (not initiated), Blood Surge Through the Nine Apertures (MAX, can be fused)
Special Effects: Level 2 Great Strength, Level 20 Tiger Might, Level 4 Blood-Copper Martial Body, Level 11 Aerial Leap
With plenty of Psychic Energy, Chen Xu could afford to be extravagant. In one go, he raised the three uninitiated martial arts to the tenth level, causing fusion options to appear.
The incomplete Life-Nourishing Breakthrough Method was likewise raised to the highest level currently attainable. What made Chen Xu uncomfortable was that he happened to lack the most crucial breakthrough portion.
Glancing at his remaining Psychic Energy, Chen Xu tried focusing his gaze on fusion.
In his design, fused martial arts had no restrictions. In theory, as long as they were martial arts of the same type, they could be fused. However, there was one prerequisite: one martial art had to be chosen as the core of the fusion.
After a brief hesitation, Chen Xu chose [Bronze Body Technique] as the core, fusing [Tiger Howl Fist], [Great Stone-Stele Smash], [Great Strength Eagle Claw Technique], and [Shadow-Following Leg].
The Nine-Step Body-Leaping Technique belonged to movement techniques, while the other two were breakthrough methods, so neither could be fused into it.
Perhaps once he obtained higher-grade martial arts in the future, he would be able to contain them all.
His reason for choosing [Bronze Body Technique] as the core was simple. It was the only martial art that could cover his entire body. Compared with strengthening just one aspect, Chen Xu felt that all-around enhancement was more reliable.
At the very least, it would not leave any obvious weaknesses, would it?
The small text on the panel blurred, and the five martial arts vanished from it.
About five minutes later, the panel became clear once more, displaying the words [Myriad Beasts Bronze Statue Art, Third Level].
The five martial arts had become one, yet Chen Xu not only did not feel his strength had declined, it had even risen considerably.
A total of 95 points of Psychic Energy had been consumed, raising his strength to an extremely formidable level.
Strength: 23.9
Constitution: 30.2
Agility: 20.5
Energy: 16.0 (Blood-Qi Force)
Psychic Energy: 5.16
Martial Path: Martial Form (Beast Bronze Statue)
Martial Arts: Myriad Beasts Bronze Statue Art (Third Level), Incomplete Life-Nourishing Breakthrough Method (Ninth Level), Blood Surge Through the Nine Apertures (MAX, can be fused)
Special Effects: Level 2 Beast's Will, Level 5 Colossal Beast Battle Body, Level 11 Aerial Leap.
Chen Xu reckoned that if he fought Crane Elder again with his current strength, he could settle him cleanly in just a few punches.
The Psychic Energy he had just acquired had not even had time to grow warm in his hands before it was all poured into the panel. Chen Xu's thirst for Psychic Energy flared up once again.
When it came to Psychic Energy, one could truly never have too much.
With the upgrades complete, the flames had nearly burned out as well. Chen Xu carefully inspected the area before returning to Chen Martial Arts Academy.
The next day, at the Martial Hall Exchange Tournament venue.
Aside from a handful of people, absolutely no one cared about the "missing" Yu Yanran. Chen Xu had covered his tracks very cleanly. If nothing unexpected happened, her strange disappearance would become one of Jinning Commandery's many unsolved cases.
"The preliminary results are out—the new top hundred martial halls of Jinning Commandery."
Upon hearing this, everyone craned their necks toward the massive screen inside the tournament venue.
"The previous top ten are still steady. Most of them advanced with ten wins."
"Huh? Great Abyss Women's Martial Arts Academy only has nine wins? They lost one match?"
"Five martial halls with ten wins have risen up this year. This is going to be worth watching."
"A martial arts studio owner can squeeze into the top hundred too? There isn't some shady deal going on, is there?"
The venue buzzed with noise as groups of three or five gathered to discuss it.
About ten minutes later, the staff's voices came through the loudspeakers around the venue.
"To ensure fairness and impartiality, owners of the top hundred martial halls, please proceed to the drawing area to draw your preliminary opponents."
The announcement repeated three times in succession, and the crowd began moving toward the drawing area.
There were ten staff members at the drawing area. Six were responsible for maintaining order, while the other four stood at the four corners of a square table, guarding the opaque box containing the lottery tubes and monitoring the hall owners who came to draw.
Seeing that no one stepped forward, a bearded hall owner strode out. "Since no one's going, I'll be the first to eat the crab!"
He walked forward and reached inside.
Unfolding the slip, he saw the number 20.
Stepping aside, the bearded hall owner watched the others come up to draw.
There were fifty numbers in total. The two martial halls that drew the same number would become each other's preliminary opponents.
The martial hall owners gradually finished drawing. Chen Xu glanced at the number 11 in his hand and casually tossed the slip into his pocket.
He did not care who his opponent was. He only knew that none of them could possibly be his match.
No one would likely dare believe that the tall youth standing beside them was a powerful Martial Artist capable of sweeping through the entire venue by himself.
No, to be precise, they did not even have the concept of a Martial Artist in their hearts. They only knew that the owners of Jinning's top three martial halls were all ninth-level experts, the highest rank among martial practitioners.
Relying on their own strength, Martial Artists could contend with certain modern technologies. Even some firearms with low power and slow firing rates found it difficult to pose much threat to them.
Only modern military squads of sufficient numbers could intimidate Martial Artists who were gradually transforming into something beyond human.
After the drawing ended and the opponents appeared on the large screen, the bearded hall owner's expression changed from calm to astonishment, then gloom, and finally into a despairing smile.
"Nine Heavens Martial Arts School, Ring Two."
He had struggled to earn eight victories, intending to bring his martial hall into the top twenty in this Martial Hall Exchange Tournament. Who could have expected him to run straight into Jinning's number one martial hall—the Nine Heavens Martial Arts School?
In the tenth year after its establishment, the Nine Heavens Martial Arts School had begun occupying the number one position among Jinning's martial halls year after year. Even in its most declining days, it had never fallen from the top three. It was the uncrowned king of Jinning's martial hall world.
During its most glorious era, some of its members had even fought their way into major competitions at the capital level.
Many people of Jinning believed that even if the Nine Heavens Martial Arts School went to the strongest provincial city in Heavenly Stems Province, it could still secure a place for itself.
"Tyrant Blade Martial Arts Academy," Chen Xu murmured. This was his preliminary opponent.
The previous owner's memories contained no mention of that name. It was probably not some famous major martial hall.
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