End

Zhao Wei had completely passed out, his arms twisted into corkscrew shapes as he lay on the plaza, covered in blood.

On the platform, Huang Hua sneered at the surrounding disciples of Tiger-Subduing Martial Hall.

Seeing this, Cheng Heng hurried to Zhao Wei's side, picked up the unconscious Zhao Wei, and rushed toward the outskirts.

"Make way!"

Cheng Heng bellowed, and the crowd immediately parted to open a path.

His master, Wu Zhong, had also arrived. With a grave expression, he took Zhao Wei from Cheng Heng's arms.

"Continue with the Martial Examination. I'll take Zhao Wei to have his injuries treated!"

"And be careful of the opponents from Prosperity Martial Academy."

Wu Zhong gave Cheng Heng a solemn warning, then turned and sprinted toward the Inner City.

Fortunately, only his arms had been injured. If his tendons, bones, or spine had been seriously damaged, Zhao Wei's martial cultivation might have been crippled for good!

Cheng Heng watched Wu Zhong leave, then turned his gaze toward Huang Hua on the platform, a glint of coldness flashing through his eyes.

This was merely a Martial Examination spar, yet this man had struck so viciously—and against Senior Brother Zhao Wei, who had always treated him so well.

"Huang Hua from Prosperity Martial Academy is truly ruthless!"

"Prosperity Martial Academy and Tiger-Subduing Martial Hall have held grudges for a long time. Now that they've met, how could they possibly hold back?"

"Tiger-Subduing Martial Hall has suffered a huge loss this time!"

Cheng Heng silently committed Huang Hua to memory. Then he heard the examiner loudly call his name.

Several more bouts followed, and Cheng Heng won every one of them.

As long as I win one more match, a place in the top ten will be in the bag!

After two straight days of assessments, Cheng Heng had gained a general understanding of Gaoyang County's talented young fighters.

He had also roughly gauged their strength. Winning a place in the top ten this time would not be a problem!

"Fifth match: Tiger-Subduing Martial Hall versus Huang Hua of Prosperity Martial Academy!"

Hearing the shout, Cheng Heng was slightly stunned. He had not expected that in the final match, he would truly encounter Huang Hua of Prosperity Martial Academy.

Cheng Heng stepped onto the platform and calmly looked at Huang Hua across from him.

Huang Hua wore a black fitted martial outfit and looked at Cheng Heng with utter disdain.

"Prosperity Martial Academy, Huang Hua!"

"Tiger-Subduing Martial Hall, Cheng Heng!"

"I see Tiger-Subduing Martial Hall truly has no one left. By seniority, you're the youngest junior brother, aren't you?"

The corners of Huang Hua's lips curled up slightly, his eyes full of provocation.

"You are no match for me!"

In the face of Huang Hua's taunt, Cheng Heng's expression was like an ancient well, utterly still.

"Come quickly, come quickly! The Martial Examination is almost over—this is the final match!"

"Oh? Prosperity Martial Academy against Tiger-Subduing Martial Hall?"

"Enemies never meet without cause. This match will be worth watching!"

By then, the final round of practical sparring had gradually concluded. Thus, Cheng Heng and Huang Hua's match drew the attention of many spectators.

A trace of contempt flashed through Huang Hua's eyes. "Such wild boasting. Today, I'll let you, a mud-legged peasant from the Outer City, see just how high the heavens are and how deep the earth is."

As soon as he finished speaking, Huang Hua shot forward like an arrow released from the bowstring.

He pushed the Air-Splitting Palm to its limit. His palms were like unsheathed blades, carrying howling gusts as they chopped straight toward Cheng Heng's chest.

The Air-Splitting Palm was Prosperity Martial Academy's hall-defending martial art, ranked among mid-grade martial arts, and its power was far from ordinary.

Judging from Huang Hua's mastery, he had already brought it to a state of consummate perfection.

Today, Huang Hua intended to defeat Cheng Heng cleanly and decisively before everyone's eyes.

That would both fulfill his master's instructions and allow him to step on Cheng Heng's shoulders to seize a top-ten place in the Martial Examination!

Facing the terrifying Air-Splitting Palm, Cheng Heng's eyes turned ice-cold.

He circulated the Vajra Art to its limit, planted his feet like roots, and unleashed Arhat Subdues Tiger.

"You're courting death!"

Huang Hua secretly rejoiced, mocking Cheng Heng for being so overconfident. He immediately unleashed all the Hidden Force in his body to its utmost limit.

Boom!

Their fist and palms collided violently!

The scene Huang Hua had expected did not occur. Cheng Heng's seemingly ordinary punch contained Hidden Force several degrees stronger than his own.

Huang Hua felt as though he had slammed headfirst into a wall of bronze and iron.

The impact numbed his palm at once, while a bone-eroding Hidden Force traveled from his hand into his entire body!

Hard met hard. His proud Air-Splitting Palm was utterly useless against Cheng Heng.

Instead, Cheng Heng had gained the upper hand.

A cold gleam flashed in Cheng Heng's eyes. Seizing the moment when Huang Hua was caught off guard, he extended both hands and firmly locked Huang Hua's palms in place.

"Crack!"

With a crisp sound of bones breaking, Cheng Heng effortlessly snapped Huang Hua's palms.

"Aaaah!!!"

A deafening scream resounded across the entire platform.

With both palms ruined, eighty percent of Huang Hua's martial skill had been crippled!

"Not good, stop!"

Beneath the platform, Wu Yong, the master of Prosperity Martial Academy, roared as he tried to stop Cheng Heng.

Cheng Heng glanced sideways, a flash of cold light passing through his eyes.

Then he darted in front of Huang Hua. His fists gathered soft, sinister Hidden Force before smashing fiercely into Huang Hua's chest.

Black Tiger Rips Out Heart!

If Huang Hua had been able to gather Hidden Force to defend himself, this move would likely have caused only minor injuries.

But at this moment, Huang Hua had no strength left to resist. With the bones in both palms broken by Cheng Heng, he could only take Cheng Heng's Thousand-Pound punch head-on!

"Boom!"

The fist struck Huang Hua's chest without resistance. It was as though his chest had been hit by a meteorite, caving inward completely!

"Pfft!!!"

Huang Hua sprayed out a mouthful of heart's blood and fell from the platform like drifting willow catkins.

The hearts of all the onlookers turned cold!

That punch had been aimed at taking Huang Hua's life.

Everyone present was so shocked by the sight before them that they could not speak.

They had exchanged no more than three moves, yet Huang Hua, who had reached Hidden Force Great Completion, had been effortlessly defeated by Cheng Heng and reduced to a dead dog.

Wu Yong's face instantly turned livid. He stared fixedly at Cheng Heng on the platform as if he wanted to tear him into pieces.

He had never imagined that Cheng Heng would be so vicious and ruthless.

Cheng Heng remained calm. He casually adjusted his clothes, his face like an ancient well without a ripple.

Then he swept his gaze over Wu Yong's livid face below the platform and said evenly, "Thank you for yielding."

Wu Yong looked at Huang Hua, who lay on the plaza like a corpse, then hurriedly waved for the nearby disciples to carry Huang Hua away for treatment.

Discussion erupted below.

"Huang Hua is probably finished. His heart meridians have been shattered. Even if he survives, he'll likely spend the rest of his life bedridden!"

"Prosperity Martial Academy and Tiger-Subduing Martial Hall are locked in a fight to the death now!"

Meanwhile, the many disciples of Tiger-Subduing Martial Hall below the platform looked excitedly at Cheng Heng.

Wu Zhong stroked his beard and nodded at Cheng Heng with delight on his face.

"Good! Good! Good! What a Tiger-Subduing Martial Hall! What a Cheng Heng!"

Wu Yong's expression had returned to normal by then, but his eyes remained fixed on Cheng Heng atop the platform like those of a venomous snake!

"Hmph!"

After glaring at Cheng Heng for a moment, Wu Yong finally flicked his sleeve and left!

The enmity had been forged!

Cheng Heng thought, I need to speed up my breakthrough into Skill-Transforming Force. Having a Skill-Transforming Force expert watching me at all times is no good thing!