Who Is Number One?

On the day of the finals, the vast martial hall stands were already packed with people.

Whoever was the number one of Yunlin County's younger generation of martial artists would soon be decided.

The disciples of Soaring Cloud Martial Hall all wore expressions of certain victory.

Long Qian and Song He were among them. Likewise, they could already see the scene of Zhang Chong claiming the championship.

"Tell me, how many moves can that Lucky King last against Senior Brother Zhang?"

"He should hold on for a while, right? After all, Senior Brother Song couldn't beat him."

"Whatever. Senior Brother Zhang is definitely going to win."

"Exactly. No one can rely on luck all the way to the end."

No one knew who had leaked Wan Ting's "Lucky King" remark, but everyone now called Zhou Muyun that.

He had made it all the way to the finals without encountering the likes of Shui Yunyue or Xiang Yang. If he was not the Lucky King, what was he?

They all agreed with that view in their hearts.

Over at Greenwood Martial Hall, everyone had come as well.

"Go, Junior Brother Zhou!"

Mo Qi clenched his fists, his gaze blazing.

The other disciples likewise looked at Zhou Muyun with anticipation written across their faces.

Leng Ni had come too. Looking at Zhou Muyun on the arena, she murmured softly, "Can he create a miracle?"

As Zhou Muyun's sponsor, she had always felt that she could not see through him.

Only Bai Yu dismissed it all with disdain. It was a match destined to be lost; he had no idea what the brothers in the hall were even looking forward to.

If I were the one up there, your expectations would make sense. Zhou Muyun? Just luck.

"Zhang Chong is going to take the championship!"

"So the Lucky King is finally about to be brought to an end!"

"What a pity this final is."

The other stands all favored Zhang Chong as well. Zhou Muyun seemed hardly worth mentioning.

On the arena, Zhou Muyun and Zhang Chong stood thirty feet apart, their gazes locked.

"Soaring Cloud Martial Hall, Zhang Chong."

"Zhou Muyun. Please enlighten me, Senior Brother Zhang."

"Clang—"

The bronze gong rang, and the entire venue fell silent.

The autumn wind swept past, rolling up fallen leaves and fluttering the hems of their robes.

When warm golden sunlight fell upon the arena, the two moved.

Zhang Chong would not lower his guard because of some so-called Lucky King.

Borrowing force from the ground, he shot upward like an arrow loosed from a bow. One leg came down like an axe splitting wood—Cloud Dragon's Claw.

As the strongest person in Soaring Cloud Martial Hall, this kick was many times faster than Long Qian's or Song He's.

Watching the incoming move, Zhou Muyun could not help but complain. Why was this move always the opening stance for this martial hall?

Yet his body did not lag in the slightest. Windblown Catkin Dance was unleashed instantly.

For a moment, his body seemed to lose all weight. Like a wisp of soft catkin, he drifted away.

The wind from the kick grazed his robes and smashed into the arena, leaving behind a deep groove.

"What terrifying force!"

Zhou Muyun's pupils contracted as he marveled inwardly.

If that kick had landed on him, how could he have possibly endured it?

The instant Zhang Chong landed, he sprang forward again. His second kick followed close behind as Nine-Link Cloud-Climbing burst forth.

Long Qian's Nine-Link Cloud-Climbing still had gaps between its attacks, but Zhang Chong's leg techniques flowed like drifting clouds and running water. One kick followed another, each leg heavier than the last.

In an instant, leg shadows filled the air. Even the air itself exploded with sharp booms as the attacks swept toward Zhou Muyun.

"So strong!"

Zhou Muyun's gaze tightened. His Flurry Fist had already reached major mastery, so he did not fear this move.

Dry-Clothes Touch emerged as naturally as breathing. His arms seemed soft and powerless, yet they precisely found the weak points in Zhang Chong's force, guiding and deflecting every blow.

On the arena, one was like a mad dragon emerging from the sea, while the other resembled a frail willow swaying in the wind.

Gasps rose from the spectators in waves, followed by a storm of discussion.

"Zhou Muyun has achieved major mastery in martial arts too!"

"My heavens, he actually held back Zhang Chong's offensive!"

"Could he really be Greenwood Martial Hall's other hidden trump card?"

"..."

Zhou Muyun had never revealed that he had achieved major mastery in martial arts. The instant he displayed it, everyone was shocked.

On the arena, Zhang Chong's eyes also flashed with surprise. Clearly, he had not expected this either.

And in that split second of distraction, his right leg slowed by half a beat.

The flaw was exposed in an instant. Zhou Muyun seized it decisively. After catching the kick, he fiercely unleashed Spring Wind Through the Crevice.

His fist struck toward Zhang Chong's chest like a ghost.

Zhang Chong had no time to dodge.

"Bang!"

The punch landed solidly, yet Zhou Muyun's heart abruptly sank.

This sensation? Something was wrong!

His fist felt as though it had struck a huge drum covered in thick cowhide.

A considerable portion of his fist force had been neutralized without a trace.

It was precisely Feng Tengyun's exclusive internal strengthening art—Python Force.

It was this technique that had secured his position as the foremost expert among the ten great martial halls.

Clearly, he had already passed Python Force down to Zhang Chong.

Python Force drew breath in through the mouth and nose into the abdomen, cultivating a mouthful of python breath.

When the python breath sank and circulated throughout the body, it not only made one's organs and skin as tough as cowhide, but could also dissolve forty percent of an opponent's force.

Alarm bells blared in Zhou Muyun's heart, and he immediately withdrew and retreated.

But he was still too late.

Borrowing the force of that punch, Zhang Chong spun with the momentum. A roundhouse kick lashed out like the barbed tail of a scorpion.

Zhou Muyun had no choice but to circulate the Seven-Colored Glazed Body and cross his arms to block.

He only felt an immense force surge toward him. He was kicked back again and again, and could only stomp fiercely on the ground to halt his decline.

"Cough, cough!"

Zhou Muyun slowly exhaled a breath of foul air.

That was close! Without a body-tempering technique, he would already have lost.

He was certain that his opponent likely possessed some kind of secret technique as well.

"Senior Brother Zhang, well done!"

"Yes, that's it! Defeat him!"

"I told you, how could Zhou Muyun possibly be Senior Brother Zhang's match?"

From the stands, the disciples of Soaring Cloud Martial Hall erupted in earth-shaking cheers.

Yet Zhang Chong frowned slightly. That kick just now had contained his full strength, with force exceeding a thousand pounds.

How could his opponent have merely coughed twice? Could it be that he had also cultivated that body-tempering technique to a profound level?

He naturally knew that Zhou Muyun practiced a body-tempering technique.

That was why he had attacked without holding anything back, yet Zhou Muyun had still exceeded his expectations.

What he could not see was that beneath the skin where Zhou Muyun's arms had been struck, faint silver light was circulating.

This was the hallmark of the Silver Blood Realm: blood carrying silver, endlessly renewing itself.

It was enough to withstand his attacks.

The two faced each other once more.

Both sides had gained a deeper understanding of the other.

Very soon, Zhou Muyun moved.

He took the initiative. His body drifted like fluttering willow catkins, his fists dancing as he combined them with his body-tempering strength. Every punch gave rise to a piercing howl, and in an instant, layers of fist shadows sealed off all of Zhang Chong's paths of retreat.

Zhang Chong's expression turned grave. Python Force flowed through his entire body as he fully unleashed Cloud-Climbing Leg, meeting Zhou Muyun head-on.

On the arena, fists and legs collided, explosions ringing out without pause.

The two figures tangled together in an exceptionally fierce battle.

"Gasp...! How could Zhou Muyun be this formidable?"

"He's actually not at a disadvantage in a direct clash with Zhang Chong!"

"Zhang Chong, show your true strength!"

The stands were filled with shocked cries. Was Zhou Muyun really the Lucky King?

"This kid hid himself so deeply?" Li Qingliang looked astonished as he asked the same question.

Meanwhile, Wan Ting was gritting his teeth so hard they nearly shattered. If you had this kind of strength, why hide it? If you had shown it earlier, what would I have gambled for?

Feng Tengyun still wore a calm, breezy expression, as though he did not care about the match at all. Yet his eyes, fixed tightly on the arena, betrayed him.

The fierce battle had already lasted the time it took to burn an incense stick.

The two men's stamina was draining rapidly.

Zhang Chong's breathing became hurried. Although Python Force could dissolve part of the force, that did not mean he could not be injured.

Zhou Muyun was the same. While the Silver Blood Realm could speed up his recovery, the injuries on his body were also accumulating.

"I can't drag this out any longer!" Zhang Chong had already made his decision.

He suddenly changed moves. Dropping into a crouch, he swept his right leg like a venomous snake toward Zhou Muyun's lower body. It was Dragon's Tail Lash.

Caught off guard, Zhou Muyun was struck in the ankle, losing his balance.

Seizing that instant, Zhang Chong sprang up like a cannonball, his knee crashing fiercely toward Zhou Muyun's chest.

If this knee struck solidly, Zhou Muyun would likely be in dire straits.

Was he about to lose?

Everyone in the stands wondered the same thing.

At that moment, Zhou Muyun made a movement that defied all common sense.

His upper body bent backward like a willow branch snapped by the wind.

Zhang Chong's knee swept past the tip of his nose.

Bracing his left hand against the ground, he used the force to spin. His right fist struck upward from below, directly at the inside of Zhang Chong's thigh.

The angle of this punch was just as vicious. Zhang Chong had no time to react before being hit. He let out a muffled groan and landed on the ground.

The stands erupted in uproar. How had the tide suddenly turned?

"Zhang Chong isn't going to lose, is he?"

Someone voiced the speculation in their heart.

After this exchange, the two had returned to the same starting line once more.

When his right foot touched the ground, it had already gone weak. Zhang Chong decided to settle the outcome in one strike.

"Junior Brother Zhou, if you can receive this move of mine, then you win."

Zhang Chong took a deep breath and drove Python Force to its limit. His chest even produced a low sound like the hiss of a snake.

His figure shot skyward again, rising several yards higher than before. His left leg lifted high and fell like an axe, his entire body plunging down like a meteor.

This kick gathered all his strength. It was so fast and so powerful that it could not be evaded.

Zhou Muyun knew that retreat was no longer possible.

Then let me see who is truly stronger!

He stood where he was, his feet rooted like an ancient tree. He activated the Seven-Colored Glazed Body with all his strength. His arm drew back like a great bow, then snapped out in an instant, his right fist blasting forward like a cannonball.

Fist and leg collided once more, their power driven to the utmost as they crashed together.

"Bang!"

A blast of air swept across the arena.

Zhang Chong flew off the arena like a kite with its string cut, crashing heavily to the ground.

Struggling to prop himself up, sweetness rose in his throat. He spat out a mouthful of blood, then fell back down weakly.

His eyes looked toward the arena above.

Zhou Muyun was still holding his punching stance. Yet the arena beneath his feet had shattered into several pieces.

Even his feet had sunk in by several inches, but like a willow hanging in the wind, he still stood straight and upright.

He had won by a narrow margin!

Now, who was number one had been decided!