Martial artists, martial techniques, and the pinnacle of martial arts!

On the sparring platform, Jun Wangchen froze at Yi Tianchou's shocked cry, baffled.

Late-Stage Human Rank?

Martial artist?

What were those?

Everyone else looked equally bewildered, unsure what Yi Tianchou meant.

"Martial artist?" Long Dongqiang started, then hurriedly turned to Guo Wu beside him. "Senior brother, aren't you a martial artist?"

Guo Wu nodded. "That's right, but I'm a rank below them."

"Senior brother, what's a martial artist?" the disciples of the Yang Family Martial Arts Academy asked curiously.

Guo Wu explained, "As living beings evolved, humans gradually split into two kinds. One consists of ordinary people, while the other consists of people who can cultivate using the Spiritual Power of heaven and earth."

"The latter possess strength, speed, reflexes, and other physical capabilities many times greater than the former. Abroad, they're called ability users. Here, we call them martial artists."

"There really are people in this world who can cultivate using the Spiritual Power of heaven and earth?" The disciples of the Yang Family Martial Arts Academy looked stunned. They had thought such people existed only in novels, never imagining that this special group existed in reality too.

"Senior brother, what does Late-Stage Human Rank mean, then?"

Guo Wu glanced at Jun Wangchen and Yi Tianchou on the platform and said gravely, "Apparently, the martial arts world currently divides martial artists into five ranks: heaven, earth, mystic, yellow, and human. Each rank has four stages: early, middle, late, and peak. The higher the rank and stage, the stronger the martial artist."

"So that's how it works." Only then did the disciples understand.

To think the young man they had mocked earlier was actually a Late-Stage Human Rank martial artist! They truly couldn't judge a book by its cover.

Long Dongqiang was also somewhat shocked. In particular, learning that Jun Wangchen was a martial artist stronger than Guo Wu actually stirred a sense of admiration in him.

Guo Wu and the disciples of the Yang Family Martial Arts Academy hadn't spoken loudly, but their conversation carried throughout the hall. Though the suddenly introduced terms "martial artist" and "Late-Stage Human Rank" were unfamiliar, everyone had roughly grasped that the two men fighting on the platform were far from ordinary.

So that's it. When the balding, burly man who kidnapped Zi Hanyan the night before last mentioned martial artists, he probably meant people like me who can cultivate using the Spiritual Power of heaven and earth. After hearing Guo Wu's explanation below the platform, Jun Wangchen finally understood.

However, judging by the effect of his earlier punch, a Cultivator at Late Qi Condensation was clearly stronger than a Late-Stage Human Rank martial artist, despite both being at a late stage. Otherwise, Yi Tianchou wouldn't have suffered such a substantial injury while blocking it.

It made sense. Earth's martial artists cultivated martial prowess, while Cultivators cultivated toward immortality. The two were fundamentally different.

Besides, he practiced the Mortal's Cultivation Art. The sword immortal Li Bai had once said that anyone who successfully cultivated this manual would possess Spiritual Power essentially unrivaled among those at the same cultivation stage. That readily explained the tremendous power of his punch.

Having thought it through, Jun Wangchen placed one hand behind his back and beckoned to Yi Tianchou with the other, seemingly inviting him to attack.

Previously, Guo Wu and the others might have scoffed at this gesture. Now, however, none of them considered it pretentious or affected in the slightest.

The strength Jun Wangchen had just displayed had already silenced every doubt.

Faced with that gesture, Yi Tianchou showed no anger at all. Instead, his expression turned grave, and he became extremely wary.

As fellow Late-Stage Human Rank martial artists, their strength should have been roughly equal. Yet Jun Wangchen's earlier punch had struck with the overwhelming might of thunder and lightning. Had Yi Tianchou not reacted swiftly and raised his hands to shield his chest, that punch would surely have sent him flying.

Clearly, he was no match for Jun Wangchen in terms of strength.

"Your strength may surpass mine, but with a martial technique, things will be different." Steadying his turbulent emotions, Yi Tianchou focused his gaze and brought his hands together, his fingers aligned.

Instantly, a heart-pounding surge pulsed from his hands, whipping fierce winds through the hall. His overwhelming aura seemed capable of shaking mountains and overturning seas.

"What a terrifying aura!" Below the platform, Guo Wu's pupils contracted. An invisible pressure bore down on him so heavily that he could barely breathe.

Only one minor stage separated his cultivation from Yi Tianchou's, yet the difference in their strength was tenfold. People said that every advance of a minor stage greatly increased a martial artist's existing strength. Seeing it now, he knew it was true.

Everyone instinctively retreated dozens of steps. Although they didn't know what martial move Yi Tianchou was preparing, it was clearly anything but ordinary.

"I never imagined he'd master Thunderbolt Force today when I only passed down our ancestral martial technique to him last night. A genius indeed! This academy challenge is as good as won!" Watching this unfold, Song Lin felt delight rather than alarm. His worried expression instantly gave way to complete confidence.

Thunderbolt Force responded to the moment, struck at the right opening, and descended with lightning speed, possessing immense destructive power. His ancestors had relied on it to survive the turbulent times of their day.

Now that Yi Tianchou had learned this martial technique, he would surely defeat Jun Wangchen with ease, since the latter had comparable strength but no martial technique.

On the platform, the fierce wind tousled Jun Wangchen's hair without obscuring his vision. Seeing the extraordinary disturbance Yi Tianchou's ultimate move had stirred in the surroundings, he couldn't help feeling a little surprised.

An ordinary martial arts move could never produce such an aura. Yi Tianchou had indeed kept something in reserve.

As the thought crossed his mind, Jun Wangchen secretly calculated on his fingers. After determining the best position to receive Yi Tianchou's attack, he quietly extended his hands and traced circles in the air, as though feeling an invisible ball. His movements seemed to blend with the wind, becoming soft and gentle, yet they gave the impression of boundless power concealed within, ready to burst forth at any moment.

The instant he raised his hands, Jun Wangchen's entire presence ascended to another level. One foot traced an elegant, ethereal arc across the floor. Though the movement looked light, anyone struck by it would surely take a heavy tumble.

At that moment, Jun Wangchen's hands and eyes moved in harmony. Pivoting at the waist, he stepped like a cat, his feints indistinguishable from his true movements. His form resembled a hawk pouncing on a rabbit, his spirit a cat hunting a mouse. He was still as a mountain and fluid as a river, gathering force like a drawn bow and releasing it like a loosed arrow.

To the onlookers, Jun Wangchen seemed like a god descending into the mortal world, graceful as a moon veiled by wispy clouds, drifting like snow swirled by the wind. From afar, he shone like the sun rising through rosy dawn clouds; up close, he glowed like a lotus emerging from clear water.

While Jun Wangchen prepared, Yi Tianchou had already spread his palms. Specks of white light surged and danced within them, like flames about to flare in gasoline.

Whoosh!

Once his charged attack was ready, Yi Tianchou fixed his gaze. Moving like a phantom, swift as wind and lightning, he suddenly closed in behind Jun Wangchen. The instant his toes touched the floor, he unleashed a devastating palm strike at Jun Wangchen's face.

"Watch out!" Guo Wu and the others blanched, their hearts leaping into their throats.

If such a terrifying palm strike hit Jun Wangchen's head, the result would be like a watermelon smashing against the ground or an egg striking a rock.

Jun Wangchen remained calm. With a backhand push, an invisible force rose like a barrier and blocked Yi Tianchou outright.

Yi Tianchou's pupils contracted. He shifted slightly, circled around to Jun Wangchen's front, and leaned into another palm strike.

In an instant, lightning surged.

Unhurried, Jun Wangchen lightly traced a circle on the floor with his foot. Tai Chi Fist's Receiving Force abruptly emerged, unraveling the force of Yi Tianchou's palm as softly as cotton.

"How is that possible?" Yi Tianchou was shocked again. Jun Wangchen had merely pulled with his hand without exerting any strength at all, yet the speed of his movement was inconceivable.

More terrifying still, Jun Wangchen could outright neutralize his palm's force. This was an immensely destructive martial technique. Even a Peak Human Tier martial artist would need considerable effort to withstand it head-on, yet Jun Wangchen looked utterly relaxed, as though the strike held no destructive power whatsoever.

Amid his shock, Yi Tianchou shook his arm. Azure light flashed, and a burst of force shot out like an azure sword toward Jun Wangchen's left shoulder.

Jun Wangchen tilted his body, slipping sideways past the attack, and sent a matching burst of force slicing toward Yi Tianchou's right side of the neck.

Startled, Yi Tianchou hurriedly retreated, but he was too slow. Though Jun Wangchen's strike missed the right side of his neck, it landed on his left shoulder and scraped away a small patch of skin.

"Damn it!" Yi Tianchou clearly hadn't expected Jun Wangchen to evade his attacks repeatedly, let alone counterattack.

Thinking of all the people watching, he flew into a rage and whipped a palm toward Jun Wangchen's chest, driving straight through the center to strike a vital point.

Jun Wangchen's expression remained calm. Shifting his feet in place, he had already evaded the attack. His body flashed aside as he thrust a finger toward the center of Yi Tianchou's back.

"How is he so fast?" Horrified, Yi Tianchou swung his left arm behind him, combining defense with offense.

However, Jun Wangchen's movement was simply too fast, and its force too sharp. Caught off balance, Yi Tianchou was still knocked several meters backward by the blow.

Below the platform, Song Lin grew inwardly anxious at the sight.

Just who was this Jun Wangchen? How could he be so powerful that even Yi Tianchou, armed with a martial technique, couldn't defeat him?

Master Yang and the others' eyes grew brighter and brighter. The better Jun Wangchen performed, the greater their chances of victory became.

"There's no point dragging this out. Show me your strongest move, or you won't be able to beat me." Looking at the disheveled Yi Tianchou, Jun Wangchen placed both hands behind his back and spoke indifferently.

He had expected Yi Tianchou's martial technique to raise his strength to another level. Now, however, he realized he seemed to have overestimated his opponent.

After all, he had only used Divine Calculations to determine the best place to dodge, then employed a little Tai Chi Fist. He had barely used any of his strength, and hadn't even brought out the Acupuncture Point-Pressing Technique.

Could Yi Tianchou be testing me rather than using his full strength?

What Jun Wangchen didn't realize was that he hadn't overestimated his opponent. His own abilities were simply too powerful.

Take Tai Chi Fist, for instance. The version he had learned had been personally taught by Zhang Sanfeng and had already reached the pinnacle of martial arts.

Yi Tianchou's Thunderbolt Force, on the other hand, was a move he had only just begun to learn. Neither his proficiency nor his application amounted to even one ten-thousandth of Jun Wangchen's.

By comparison, Yi Tianchou naturally failed to impress him, let alone defeat him with a martial technique.

"You forced me to do this!" Seeing Jun Wangchen treat him with such contempt, Yi Tianchou became furious, his teeth grinding audibly.

The next second, Yi Tianchou brought his hands together. A terrifying pulse capable of crushing mountains and rivers slowly spread from them, radiating white light like a chaotic multitude of stars. There seemed to be countless points at first glance, and even more upon closer inspection.

The white light reflected off Yi Tianchou's face, illuminating his savage expression.

Then Yi Tianchou leaped into the air, spun, and swept out a dazzling expanse of white light, like countless stars falling from the night sky.

Wherever the white light passed, rainbow brilliance scattered. The instant it approached Jun Wangchen, it became a deadly menace.

In a flash, blinding white radiance surged upward like a dazzling silver dragon and swallowed Jun Wangchen whole.

A bang rang out, and a blast like an exploding bomb erupted from the platform. The shock wave shook the entire sparring platform until it seemed on the verge of collapse. Below it, the onlookers staggered, nearly knocked to the ground by the blast.

Once they steadied themselves, everyone immediately turned their gaze toward the platform, eager to see what had happened.

The dust obscuring their view slowly dispersed, and a figure gradually emerged before them.

It was Yi Tianchou. He still held his palm-strike pose. Clearly, that strike had indeed landed squarely on Jun Wangchen's face.

"Jun Wangchen!" Seeing this, Zi Hanyan froze, then cried out and started toward the platform to check his injuries.

Yet once the remaining dust dispersed, she abruptly stopped, a strange expression appearing on her face.

In front of Yi Tianchou, a figure yawned.

How did he look even remotely injured?