Number One of the Outer Sect

Rumble!

The deafening boom of fists and palms colliding reverberated throughout the entire martial arena.

Violent shockwaves swept outward. Dust billowed across the arena, while shattered stones flew in every direction.

Zhao Kun unleashed the Mountain-Splitting Palm with all his strength, pouring forth the immense power of the Body Tempering Ninth Stage. He had thought this strike would crush Shen Yuan outright.

But at the instant the palm force was about to strike Shen Yuan's body, the edge of Shen Yuan's True Subduing Tiger Fist abruptly shifted. Rather than meeting the palm force head-on, he followed along its flank and gave it a deft pull!

It was precisely the flaw he had caught during his earlier deduction—the sluggish blockage in the shoulder and arm meridians.

As Zhao Kun threw out his full-force palm strike, his old force had already been completely spent, while his new force had yet to follow. For an instant, a brief gap appeared in his shoulder meridians.

"What?!" Zhao Kun's pupils contracted sharply, and shock surged through his heart.

He had never imagined that Shen Yuan would actually catch the flaw in his technique.

Using that deft force to guide him, Shen Yuan pressed close to Zhao Kun's front, then drove his elbow heavily into the vulnerable spot beneath Zhao Kun's ribs!

Bang!!

A dull thud rang out!

"Urgh!" Zhao Kun let out a muffled groan as his huge body staggered backward again and again from the blow.

Agonizing pain shot through his ribs, and his blood and qi fell into instant turmoil.

The entire audience erupted in uproar, everyone abruptly rising to their feet.

"What happened? Zhao Kun was forced back?"

"Shen Yuan is three layers below him—how could he force back Zhao Kun at the Body Tempering Ninth Stage?!"

The stands were in an uproar.

Wang Dong was so excited he nearly jumped onto the railing of the stands.

Zhao Kun steadied himself, pain burning beneath his ribs as his face turned ashen. He had held himself in high regard, believing he could crush Shen Yuan with ease. Yet Shen Yuan had caught his flaw and injured him.

"Good. Very good." Zhao Kun's gaze turned utterly cold. "I underestimated you. Since that is the case, I will no longer hold back."

He no longer sought a swift victory. His Mountain-Splitting Palm became steadier, balancing offense and defense without exposing any obvious flaws.

The fierce battle erupted once more atop the arena.

Shen Yuan's blood and qi were being consumed at an enormous rate, and blood continued to seep from the wounds on his body. Every time he took the other man's palm wind head-on, his internal organs were jolted.

He could only rely on the endlessly changing variations of the True Subduing Tiger Fist to keep circling, searching for an opportunity.

Time passed little by little.

More than a hundred exchanges went by.

Zhao Kun was, after all, at the Body Tempering Ninth Stage, with deep reserves. Shen Yuan's blood and qi were nearly depleted; his breathing had grown heavy, and his movements had begun to slow.

"Shen Yuan, your blood and qi are nearly exhausted. You can't hold on any longer!" Zhao Kun's palm techniques grew increasingly vicious as he pressed forward step by step.

Shen Yuan rapidly recalled the countless simulated battles in the Martial Arts Simulation Space. When fighting an enemy above one's own realm, victory depended on seizing a fleeting instant.

He could not drag this out any longer.

Shen Yuan clenched his teeth and burned a portion of his body's blood and qi, explosively drawing out strength for a brief moment.

The True Subduing Tiger Fist—its momentum surged!

A fist intent like the roar of a fierce tiger blanketed the arena.

Abandoning defense, Shen Yuan traded wound for wound and charged forward in a desperate assault.

"Madman!" Zhao Kun's heart jolted, and he hastily raised both palms to protect his vital points.

Bang bang bang bang!

Fists and palms collided madly.

Shen Yuan took two Mountain-Splitting Palm strikes head-on. His chest erupted with pain, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. Yet at the same time, his fist smashed viciously into Zhao Kun's chest.

"Puh!"

Zhao Kun also spat out a mouthful of blood, his body retreating wildly backward.

Both men were wounded at once.

The entire arena fell deathly silent.

Everyone stared blankly at the two bloodied figures on the arena.

Shen Yuan swayed as though he might collapse, his entire body covered in blood. Zhao Kun's chest had likewise been injured, his white robes stained red.

"This... this is trading injury for injury!" an elder on the high platform exclaimed.

Zhao Kun steadied his footing, blood and qi churning in his chest as shock and fury filled him. He was at the Body Tempering Ninth Stage, yet a Body Tempering Sixth Layer servant had forced him into such a state.

"I refuse to accept this!!"

With an enraged roar, Zhao Kun disregarded everything and mobilized all his remaining blood and qi. The ultimate move of the Mountain-Splitting Palm crashed forth, its palm shadows bearing down on Shen Yuan like mountains.

This was a life-or-death strike!

Only the ever-approaching palm shadows remained in Shen Yuan's eyes. In his mind, the trajectories of every move they had exchanged replayed at lightning speed.

"Right here!"

Shen Yuan summoned every last trace of blood and qi within him, gathering all the power of the True Subduing Tiger Fist into one punch.

Rumble!!

The two killing moves collided explosively!

The tremendous blast left everyone's ears buzzing.

Dust and smoke filled the sky.

The dust and smoke slowly dispersed.

On the arena, Zhao Kun knelt on one knee upon the bluestone floor, one hand braced against the ground as he gasped for breath. A clear fist mark stood on his chest, and his blood and qi had completely collapsed.

Shen Yuan, meanwhile, was likewise drenched in blood and swaying unsteadily, yet he still stood firmly atop the arena.

The outcome had been decided.

Beneath the arena, there was a silence as still as death.

A moment later, cheers erupted like mountains roaring and seas crashing!

"He won! Shen Yuan defeated Zhao Kun!!"

"Servant Shen Yuan takes first place in the Outer Sect Assessment!!"

The cheers shook the heavens.

Below the stands, Wang Dong was so excited that tears nearly streamed from his eyes.

On the ceremonial platform, the elders all rose to their feet, their faces full of shock.

Elder Zhang stroked his beard and slowly let out a long breath. "I never expected this boy to truly do it."

On the arena, Zhao Kun slowly raised his head. His face was filled with humiliation and unwillingness as he stared fixedly at Shen Yuan standing opposite him.