Unlimited Combat

Song Xi called out Jiang Yuan's name, and a circle immediately cleared around the central arena. More than a dozen communication terminals were raised in succession, all their cameras turning toward the two of them.

Li Qingshan did not announce the start right away. He walked to Song Xi's side, removed the protective cover from the power module, checked the energy ports and joint limiters, and verified each item against the classification standards.

"The equipment complies with the assessment rules. The central arena will remain closed until the inspection procedure is complete."

In front of the second-floor viewing platform, the principal connected the data recorder to the venue's mainframe, while the dean of studies pulled up the current senior-year rankings. Every result affected the resource allocations for the second half of the semester. Anyone who dropped from their original rank would have their potion supplies and gravity room time reduced.

"Arena One, Guo Hongtao accepts the challenge."

Guo Hongtao braced both hands on the railing and rolled his round body into the arena. His shoes made only a dull thud when they hit the ground, and his center of gravity did not sway in the slightest.

His opponent was from Class Seven. His tested punching force was four hundred and two kilograms, seven kilograms higher than Guo Hongtao's. The student tightened his arm guards, his gaze moving back and forth across Guo Hongtao's waist and abdomen. He was clearly preparing to tear through his defense head-on.

"Fatty, I know you're fast."

The Class Seven student lowered his stance, both feet pressing against the arena flooring.

"But this place is only so big. Let's see how long you can keep dodging."

Guo Hongtao patted his belly twice. A muffled slap sounded from beneath his training uniform.

"Catch me first. Don't wear yourself out and then complain that the arena's too wide."

The referee chopped his hand down. The Class Seven student kicked off the ground and charged forward, his right fist sweeping toward Guo Hongtao's shoulder and neck. The arm guard cut through the air with a brief whistle.

Guo Hongtao shifted sideways by half a step, twisting his waist and abdomen along the line of the punch and slipping out of range along the edge. His opponent pursued relentlessly. Before his fist had fully withdrawn, elbows and knees came one after another.

Several attacks only grazed Guo Hongtao's training uniform. He circled along the edge of the arena, changing direction by half a step whenever his toes neared the warning line. He never took a punch head-on.

Some students below the stage were already counting out routes on their fingers, while others shouted at the Class Seven student to seize the inner ring and stop circling after Guo Hongtao.

More than thirty seconds passed. The Class Seven student's chest began heaving rapidly, his breathing rhythm falling apart. After a heavy punch missed, the circulation of blood and qi through his waist and back lagged for a beat, and his left arm failed to protect the side of his neck in time.

At a speed of 21.6 meters per second, Guo Hongtao fully unleashed himself across the arena. He cut into his opponent's right side, swept behind him with a turn, and struck the neck guard with the edge of his joined palm.

The red light came on.

"Stop!"

The referee stepped between them and spread his arms to separate Guo Hongtao, then pointed toward the winner's area of Arena One.

"Arena One, Guo Hongtao wins."

Guo Hongtao stepped back twice and reached out to pull up his opponent, who was sitting on the ground.

"Your punches really are heavy. If you'd kept chasing for another ten seconds, I might've been the one on the floor."

"Cut the crap."

The Class Seven student slapped his hand away and pushed himself upright using his knees. His breath still rasped dryly in his throat.

"You nimble fat bastard, just wait."

The challenges on the arenas to either side did not stop. In less than twenty minutes, six people had already been pushed out of their original rankings. Some had their gravity room time cut in half on the spot, while others had their blood and qi potion quotas transferred to the victors ranked behind them.

The students who had been laughing and chatting around the arena gradually fell silent, each of them checking up on their opponents. Several people who had already submitted challenge applications against Jiang Yuan stared at their screens for a moment before withdrawing them.

In the waiting area, Jiang Yuan sat with his eyes closed, his back resting against the chair's cushion.

Nine Yang Inner Force flowed through his meridians, from his shoulders and back into his arms and legs, then gathering again in his abdomen. With every completed circulation, the soreness left behind by yesterday's intense training eased a little more.

The sounds of collisions from the arenas drifted through the crowd, sometimes near and sometimes far. He did not let them distract him. Only when the central arena's inspection-complete notification sounded did he alter his breathing rhythm and gather in the final circulation of inner force.

The signal light turned green.

Song Xi stepped into the central arena. Her black training uniform clung to her waist and back, while a silver exoskeleton clasped her limbs and spine. Its power nodes lit up one after another. As the leg supports rose, several metal components slid into working position along the joints.

She took a loudspeaker from the edge of the arena, looked over the surrounding crowd, and fixed her gaze directly on Jiang Yuan in the waiting area.

"Jiang Yuan, I'm applying for unrestricted combat."

"Both sides may use equipment and martial arts until one person concedes or loses the ability to fight. The referee may also forcibly stop the match."

After hearing the rules, several challengers still waiting for approval withdrew their applications one after another. The area around the central arena quickly cleared, and the conversations throughout the venue dropped in volume.

A faint mechanical sound came from the second floor. Three surveillance cameras rotated at once, aiming at the central arena.

"Once her exoskeleton is activated, her punching force reaches five hundred and three kilograms."

The dean of studies flipped through the test records, his fingertips stopping between two sets of figures.

"Jiang Yuan's current punching force is only four hundred and fifty kilograms. That gap of over fifty kilograms won't be easy to make up."

The principal pressed the data-record button.

"Let's watch the match first."

Jiang Yuan opened his eyes. The last thread of Nine Yang Inner Force completed its circulation and sank into his abdomen. He rose, passed through the crowd that had voluntarily made way for him, and vaulted onto the arena without reaching for a chest guard or arm guards.

Li Qingshan raised an arm to block his path.

"You're sure you won't wear protective gear?"

"I'm sure." Jiang Yuan sounded utterly confident.

On the other side, Song Xi raised her right arm. The silver frame gave a faint mechanical hum as it drove her elbow forward into a straight punch. The force-testing device beside the arena immediately displayed a figure.

Five hundred and three kilograms.

"I'll hold back."

She lowered her right arm and adjusted the position of her shoulder support.

"At most, you'll be bedridden for a few days. It won't delay your martial arts entrance exam."

Jiang Yuan walked half a circle around her, first inspecting the power module on her back, then following the glowing energy lines to examine the leg nodes.

This exoskeleton could enhance sprinting and joint support, while also increasing punching power. The metal components covering her body were enough to withstand direct blows.

There were still plenty of gaps between the components, however. The energy lines were only responsible for transmission and did not form a protective layer across the surface of her body.

The destructive range of Tyrant Blade was too great. If his training blade struck the exoskeleton, the Song family's equipment might not survive it. His degree of mastery over martial arts would also be exposed.

For this match, Nine Yang Inner Force was more suitable.

"How much longer are you going to inspect me?"

Song Xi retreated half a step, holding her fists one before the other to guard her torso.

"I'm done."

Li Qingshan read both their blood and qi values, then retreated to the edge of the arena. His right foot stepped on the forced-stop zone, and his outstretched arm lay between them. His gaze lingered on Jiang Yuan for two extra seconds.

"Combat begins!"

His arm dropped.

Song Xi pushed the exoskeleton's output to its limit. Two streams of white air burst from behind her leg armor, and her starting speed instantly surpassed twenty-two meters per second.

The silver frame streaked across the arena. She poured the momentum of her sprint into her shoulders and back, then drove out her right fist with mechanical power and her own blood and qi, aiming straight for Jiang Yuan's chest.