"Next, it's my turn~"
Ji Boxiao was determined to make Su Wuming pay for his arrogance today, even if victory meant fighting unfairly.
As his words fell, the two training dummies on the Martial Arena rose straight from the ground and smashed toward Su Wuming.
This was Ji Boxiao's ability: he could control all metal. Similar to telekinesis, but limited to metal.
As the dummies neared Su Wuming, their surfaces became coated in a phantom layer of Golden Armor, identical to the Golden Armor that had covered Ji Boxiao's body when he defended against Su Wuming earlier.
Knowing how tough that golden armor was, Su Wuming chose not to meet it head-on. He pushed off with his feet and easily dodged aside.
After roughly estimating it, he realized the dummies' flying speed was something he could easily evade.
"Dragging around two dummies that big and you're not tired? At this speed, I can keep this up with you all day."
Su Wuming did not forget to throw out a taunt. Ji Boxiao clearly had little combat experience; such a great talent ability was going to waste on him.
If it were Su Wuming, he would have simply made two swords. That would improve both speed and power, and it would look cooler too.
"Is that so? Then I'd like to see how you plan to keep this up with me all day."
Ji Boxiao was completely unfazed by the taunt. Li Yanan, standing at the front of Class Three, chuckled softly and muttered, "How ignorant. How could a Grade-A talent ability be limited to just this~"
The students immediately shot her questioning looks. Li Yanan pointed toward the arena and said softly, "Watch. Ji Boxiao is about to go all out."
As soon as she spoke, huge cracks suddenly appeared across the surfaces of the two dummies chasing Su Wuming on the stage.
The next moment, with a crack, the dummies exploded, scattering a small cloud of metal dust through the air.
Ji Boxiao then clenched his right hand, and the scattered metal dust instantly gathered together, forming two short swords. They were covered in a layer of Golden Armor and looked incomparably sharp.
Su Wuming immediately realized he had spoken too soon. That slap in the face had come fast.
Ji Boxiao then controlled the two short swords and sent them stabbing toward Su Wuming. This time, their speed surged dramatically.
Two streaks of golden light flashed past in an instant. The next moment, they had appeared right before Su Wuming's chest.
Damn, going for the kill, huh?!
"Ha! Iron Body!"
Su Wuming blurted out some nonsense. Armament Haki instantly covered his chest, hardening his skin as he took one sword head-on. He barely twisted his head aside to evade the other.
The short sword that struck his chest scraped out a shower of sparks before flying off to the side.
The sight made everyone's hearts clench. In that instant, they had truly thought Su Wuming was done for, even believing that he had shouted "Iron Body" out of panic to bolster his courage.
At the same time, they wondered why Instructor Mo Lan, acting as the referee, had not intervened.
Only when they saw that Su Wuming was unharmed did they finally let out the breath they had been holding.
Lin Pangpang especially had been terrified. In that instant, he had practically planned out the dishes for Su Wuming's funeral banquet.
Now, it seemed that the battle on the arena could only be described as a head-on clash between two stubborn fools.
Most of the spectators felt that neither side could do anything to the other for the time being.
A small number of people understood that if this continued, Su Wuming's defeat was only a matter of time.
Su Wuming himself understood this clearly as well. His opponent was Bronze; Ji Boxiao's total spiritual power was nowhere near comparable to Su Wuming's meager amount of Armament Haki.
Sooner or later, he would be the one to run out of Haki first. Once that happened, he would not be able to defend against those flying swords.
After several more exchanges, Su Wuming relied on his grasp of the short swords' flight paths and wrapped both hands in Armament Haki, forcefully knocking the swords away.
The instant his fists rubbed against the short swords, showers of sparks burst out. His knuckles faintly began to redden.
An idea immediately struck Su Wuming. While his opponent could not control the short swords for the moment, he crossed his arms before him and directed Armament Haki toward his head.
"Open!"
That was right. He directly activated the Opening Gate.
During this time, Su Wuming remained standing still. As the Opening Gate activated, the limits on his brain were once again released. A surge of presence radiated from him, sending the surrounding snowflakes into a wild swirl.
Mo Lan, who had been watching the two of them closely, had a gleam flash through her eyes, and joy rose in her heart.
Good kid, he had actually been hiding another trump card. So this must have been the state in which he killed those Nunu Beasts last night.
As a Mind Master, she had clearly perceived Su Wuming's every move just now.
Just as most of the spectators were wondering why Su Wuming had stood still instead of taking the chance to attack Ji Boxiao—
The short swords he had knocked away returned to Ji Boxiao's control and stabbed straight at Su Wuming's vital points.
It's over!
He's going to lose!
Those were the thoughts that sprang into most people's minds.
Yet the next moment, another change occurred. Su Wuming's figure suddenly vanished from where he stood, and the two incoming short swords collided directly with each other.
As everyone stared in confusion, Su Wuming's voice came from midair.
"Too slow!"
In an instant, the crowd erupted. Even the principal, the instructors, and the homeroom teachers were startled by his suddenly explosive speed.
This was no longer speed that someone at the Black Iron rank could possess. Even lightning- and wind-type Spirit Martial Practitioners of the same rank would find it difficult to achieve.
Zhao Qiansun, a wind-type assassin, inexplicably felt discouraged. With disbelief written all over his face, he asked Qin Ming beside him:
"Boss, how did he do that?"
"That's way too fast! Could he be hiding his true strength too?" Li Wencai added.
"Impossible. He's an orphan. He doesn't have a powerful clan like the Ji Clan supporting him," Qin Ming said with certainty.
Before the three could continue, the offense and defense on the arena instantly switched.
Su Wuming went from dodging to taking the offensive.
With the speed and power brought by the Opening Gate, along with his figure flashing repeatedly through the gaps, he launched attack after attack at Ji Boxiao.
Punch after punch flew out. Left with no choice, Ji Boxiao abandoned his pursuit with the short swords and focused entirely on defense.
Su Wuming's fists swept past his sides each time, scraping up showers of sparks. With the boost from the Opening Gate, Ji Boxiao was struck so hard several times that he could barely keep his footing.
As Su Wuming's punches grew faster and faster, his pitch-black fists began to turn an intense red, resembling two branding irons heated in a furnace.
That had been the flash of inspiration Su Wuming got when his fists struck the short swords earlier.
He used friction to generate heat and warm his fists, though even so, it still could not reach the standard of [Fire Fist Pistol].
But it was more than enough to deal with Ji Boxiao's defense.
Even Instructor Mo Lan could not help but praise him. "Smart."
Making reasonable use of every available element and turning it into a means of attack—that was the true essence of martial arts.
"They say true gold fears no fire. Let me see whether your gold is real or fake." Seeing that the time was right, Su Wuming prepared to deliver a full-force strike.
His arms rapidly stretched backward, then twisted together like a rope.
[Rubber Spiral Bullet]!!!
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