Battle Against Liu Qing

The next day, Xiao Yan, Lin Xiuya, and Yan Hao, all refreshed and full of energy, headed to the testing grounds. Their End-of-Term Test was a practical combat exam. Qian Mo did not come with them; his test was to complete a mission.

After arriving, Xiao Yan let out a long breath. Compared to yesterday's overly enthusiastic students, things were much more normal here today. Most people only noticed their group because of Lin Xiuya's presence, which greatly relieved Xiao Yan.

"Silence!"

The previously noisy grounds suddenly fell silent. The one who had stopped the crowd was none other than Vice Principal Hu Gan, floating in midair.

No one had expected Vice Principal Hu Gan to fly into the arena!

Everyone looked up at Hu Gan, their eyes gleaming with fascination. It was not because of his position as vice principal, but because of the pair of golden wings behind him!

Dou Qi Wings!

A privilege belonging only to experts at the Dou King level and above! To soar through the skies, free from the restraints of the earth—those wings represented the realm most people on the Dou Qi Continent dreamed of reaching!

Aside from Lin Xiuya and a few others, everyone present was seeing real Dou Qi Wings for the first time. They were so excited they could not speak.

Even Xiao Yan was observing the patterns on those dou qi wings so closely for the first time. He had also seen Dou Emperor experts in the Black-Corner Region, but one had been surrounded by blood clouds while the other had been unfathomably mysterious. He had never had the chance to properly study them.

Unfortunately, before everyone could look any longer, Hu Gan quickly landed on the arena and dismissed his wings. Hearing the subdued sighs of disappointment, the old man, pleased with himself, began speaking.

"Your practical combat test will be overseen by me. I will call out pairs for one-on-one battles. The winner will naturally pass, while I will personally judge the loser's result based on their performance in battle. Do any of you have objections?"

The students nodded in agreement. The rules were reasonable. After all, if two people of similar strength fought, there had to be a winner and loser. It would be unfair to declare the loser failed simply because of that. Allowing those who performed well to pass made much more sense.

Seeing that no one objected, Hu Gan opened the record book in his hand and continued.

"Since there are no objections, we shall begin. The first pair is Liu Qing—"

"Bang!"

The man carrying a heavy spear leaped onto the arena in a single step. His silent, resolute eyes did not look at anyone else, but fixed on Lin Xiuya in the crowd.

Everyone also glanced at Lin Xiuya. After all, he was the only one capable of contending with Liu Qing. Only a battle between the two of them could fully bring out their strength and give both sides a chance to display themselves.

Lin Xiuya rubbed the hilt of the sword at his waist and prepared himself, but—

"Xiao Yan!"

Hu Gan's announcement abruptly stopped Lin Xiuya, who had nearly stepped onto the stage. Xiao Yan beside him reacted quickly and jumped onto the arena.

Whispers immediately spread among the students when they saw it was Xiao Yan.

"Is that Xiao Yan, the one who never attends class? How could he possibly be Liu Qing's opponent?"

"Exactly. Other than Lin Xiuya, who in our year can exchange blows with Liu Qing?"

Even Yan Hao could not help moving closer and quietly asking Lin Xiuya, who often sparred with Xiao Yan, "What do you think? Can Xiao Yan win?"

Having recovered from his surprise, Lin Xiuya silently shook his head. Clearly, he did not think much of Xiao Yan's chances...

Xiao Yan himself had not expected this either. He had also thought Hu Gan would arrange for Lin Xiuya to be Liu Qing's opponent.

Standing opposite Xiao Yan, Liu Qing looked at him with surprise, clearly somewhat puzzled by the academy's arrangement as well.

However, Hu Gan gave them no time to think further. With a casual, "Begin," he stepped off the arena.

Yet neither man immediately made a move. Instead, they carefully studied their opponent.

I can spar with Brother Lin without falling behind, but he has never used his trump-card Dou Technique. Liu Qing is evenly matched with Brother Lin, so he must have a similar ultimate move. I'm not his opponent.

If I can't win, then I can only display my strength as well as possible. That's the only way I can pass the test...

After observing him for a while, Liu Qing finally asked, "You don't use a weapon?"

Xiao Yan had been considering how to fight. He glanced at the empty-handed Liu Qing and replied casually, "I don't have a weapon. But what about you? Aren't you using your spear either?"

Liu Qing shook his head. "The Mountain-Splitting Spear is only used against opponents who require me to go all out."

"Go all out?" Sensing the trace of disdain in Liu Qing's tone, Xiao Yan felt a little anger rise in him. Then, a thought suddenly struck him.

"That's right. Why was I thinking that I could still pass even if I lost? If I go all out, I might not lose! If Liu Qing has some trump-card move, then I just need to play to my strengths and prevent him from using it!"

"As for my strengths..."

As Xiao Yan thought, a faint smile appeared on his lips. When he faced Liu Qing again, most of his earlier wariness had faded, replaced by confidence in his eyes. "In that case, forgive my offense!"

With that, he summoned his Dou Qi Veil. Liu Qing did exactly the same. Their brief exchange ended, and the battle was about to begin.

The two suddenly lunged at each other. The difference was that light flared from Xiao Yan's hands!

"He used a Dou Technique right away!" With the insight of Lin Xiuya and Yan Hao, they naturally saw what Xiao Yan had done.

"No probing first? Did he use a Dou Technique immediately to seize the initiative?" Yan Hao said uncertainly.

Lin Xiuya replied calmly, "The idea is fine, but..."

Light also flashed across Liu Qing's palm as he struck out and collided with Xiao Yan's fist. Both men took a small step back. Clearly, neither had suffered much damage from that exchange.

Just as Lin Xiuya had expected, Liu Qing quickly realized Xiao Yan had used a Dou Technique and immediately circulated one of his own to cancel out the blow's force.

But right afterward, Xiao Yan showed no intention of catching his breath. He used another Dou Technique and savagely attacked Liu Qing, who refused to be outdone and retaliated in kind.

Yet no one had expected Xiao Yan to truly refuse to yield even an inch. Every strike afterward was a collision of Dou Techniques!

Yan Hao stared at the pair in disbelief. "Using Mystic Tier Dou Techniques so frequently isn't surprising for Liu Qing, but Xiao Yan too..."

Lin Xiuya spoke calmly. "But using Dou Techniques continuously like this places a tremendous burden on their bodies. They're trading injuries for injuries now!"

After saying that, he glanced at the observing Hu Gan, then looked worriedly at the two men on the stage. He could not help giving a bitter smile. "I really never noticed before that this kid is so unwilling to admit defeat."

In the blink of an eye, Xiao Yan and Liu Qing had exchanged Dou Techniques five or six times. Moves meant to decide victory and defeat were being used like ordinary attacks. Now, they had no choice but to stop. Neither their dou qi nor their bodies allowed them to keep using Dou Techniques.

The force of their final clash sent both men stumbling back several steps, finally giving them time to catch their breath.

Liu Qing was secretly shocked. He had now put away his contempt and realized that his old rival's roommate was also a formidable opponent. Without arduous training, it would have been impossible to use so many Mystic Tier Dou Techniques in succession.

Having forcibly dragged Liu Qing into this situation, Liu Qing could not help wondering what would have happened if he had used the Mountain-Splitting Spear from the start and unleashed Great Rock Split rather than Great Coffin-Splitting Claw...

Liu Qing shook his head. He was not the type to dwell on what-ifs. Now that things had reached this point, there was no use thinking about it. Besides, Liu Qing still had confidence in his victory!

After catching their breath for a moment, the two crashed into each other once more. With Dou Techniques no longer usable, it was now a contest of pure physical combat!

Xiao Yan's grueling training began to show its rewards, but Liu Qing had clearly also put considerable effort into tempering his body.

Their bodies were already bruised and torn from their crisscrossing attacks, blood beginning to flow, but neither gave up. They continued to trade vicious blows without restraint!

"Damn, that's brutal!"

"I never thought Xiao Yan could fight Liu Qing to this extent..."

But neither was affected in the slightest by the words outside the arena. By now, real fury had risen between them. Their dou qi had been exhausted to the point that they could not even maintain their Dou Qi Veils, and their combat techniques were evenly matched. At this point, it was purely a contest of their bodies.

Xiao Yan was still young and had not yet reached the period of fastest physical growth. Against Liu Qing, who had also trained his body diligently, he gradually began to struggle.

He was not losing in talent or effort, but in time.

Finally, using his advantage in size and strength, Liu Qing knocked down Xiao Yan, who had used every method at his disposal. Yet Liu Qing himself was equally exhausted, already at the end of his strength.

Seeing that the fallen Xiao Yan no longer had the strength to move, Liu Qing spoke again, though his tone had become solemn.

"Xiao Yan, you're very strong. If you grow for a few more years, I probably won't be able to defeat you."

Even someone as strong as Liu Qing could not help being astonished by Xiao Yan's age. Xiao Yan was at least five years younger than him, yet their battle could only be described as evenly matched.

But Xiao Yan, lying on the ground and gasping for breath, smiled. "Liu Qing, you're wrong. I can defeat you today."

Liu Qing froze. Before he could think about why the already fallen Xiao Yan would say such a thing, his vision blurred the next second. He felt as if something heavy had smashed into him, and he fell straight backward, unconscious!