With that, Zhang Teng blocked the exit of the Martial Arts Grounds and stared coldly at Zhang Yong.
"The Martial Arts Grounds aren't somewhere you can come and go as you please!"
Zhang Yong stared at Zhang Teng in astonishment...
"You really intend to fight me? You may have an indestructible golden body, and your talent for combat may be exceptional, but don't forget that your Dantian is destroyed... I'm in the martial dao true intent realm."
"You want to cross two major realms and several minor stages to fight me? You're not qualified. If you want to keep me here, have your master do it!"
With that said.
Zhang Yong glanced at Lin Bei. Seeing that Lin Bei seemed to have no intention of intervening, he inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
At that moment.
Not only did Zhang Teng remain unwavering, but his fighting spirit surged.
"Enough talk!"
"Let our fists decide!"
Zhang Teng took a deep breath and assumed a fighting stance.
"If you want to leave, you'll have to defeat me first."
Zhang Yong did not attack. Instead, he glanced at Lin Bei.
Seeing Lin Bei tacitly agree, he immediately snorted.
"Very well. Let me see what you've learned at these Martial Arts Grounds!"
The instant his words fell!
Zhang Yong vanished from where he stood.
A second later, he appeared right in front of Zhang Teng and drove a fist toward the side of his face.
In a flash, Zhang Teng spun three times in midair before landing.
As he landed, his left foot traced a wide circle, finally dispersing the force.
"He actually dodged it?"
Zhang Yong was somewhat stunned. His punch had appeared to land squarely, but it had actually only grazed Zhang Teng's chin.
Even so, the terrifying blast of wind from his fist had sent Zhang Teng spinning as he dodged through the air.
It had even scraped a bloody line across Zhang Teng's chin.
"How could he be so fast?!" Xiao Liuzi's eyes widened in disbelief.
During Zhang Teng's earlier fight with Zhang Tao, there had been a gap between them, but he had still been able to follow their movements.
This time, Zhang Yong's attack had been so fast that his eyes could barely keep up.
Tieniu stared fixedly at the fight.
"He used martial intent. Besides his own speed, his martial intent propelled him forward-that's why he was so fast! This is how martial intent is used at manifestation! He's so strong!"
"Can Senior Brother Zhang match him?"
Such an enormous, plainly visible gap filled Xiao Liuzi and the others with worry.
Tieniu declared firmly, "I believe in Senior Brother Zhang!"
At that moment.
Zhang Teng wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, glanced down at it, then gave a self-mocking smile.
He understood.
Had he not attained the strength of the fifth tempering, had he truly been only in the body-tempering realm...
That punch could have directly damaged his brain. At best, it would have left him mentally incapacitated; at worst, it would have paralyzed his entire body.
Zhang Yong's attack...
Had shown not the slightest mercy!
After the blood was wiped from Zhang Teng's chin, Lin Bei's gaze began to turn icy.
"Martial intent really is troublesome... Unfortunately, your surprise attack failed."
"You won't get another chance!"
As his words fell, Zhang Teng took the initiative and charged straight at Zhang Yong.
"You overestimate yourself! Your attacks are fiercer than those of an ordinary mid-elixir sea stage cultivator, but to me, they're still painfully slow!"
Zhang Yong said flatly, "You think you can beat me with this?"
After dodging two of Zhang Teng's attacks in succession, Zhang Yong drove a Zhang Ancestor Long Fist straight at Zhang Teng's heart.
He had assumed that, with martial intent boosting his speed, this strike would surely hit Zhang Teng...
Yet something unexpected happened.
As though he could foresee the future, Zhang Teng had already begun dodging the instant Zhang Yong exerted his strength.
Had that been all, it would have been tolerable.
What shocked him most was this: he had intended to use martial intent to propel his fist and accelerate it...
Yet the instant he activated his martial intent, he found he could not gather it?
It was exactly like when Lin Bei had broken his martial intent earlier.
Zhang Teng actually knew how to stop him from gathering martial intent too?
In that moment of astonishment.
Zhang Teng had already evaded his attack and seized the brief opening in his defenses.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Zhang Teng switched from palm strikes to finger strikes and hit Zhang Yong three times in succession.
Zhang Yong immediately steadied himself and forced Zhang Teng back with two punches.
At the sight, Xiao Liuzi's expression turned grim.
"He can't break through his defenses at all? Is this what an expert at the martial intent realm is like? He's far too strong! Senior Brother Zhang's attacks can split mountains and shatter stone!"
Tieniu suddenly laughed.
"Can't break through his defenses? That's only how it looks. Martial True Intent is indeed formidable—even stronger than protective true qi."
"But he didn't block Senior Brother Zhang's attacks!"
Xiao Liuzi hurriedly asked, "Why? Zhang Yong looks completely fine to me!"
"That's only on the surface. When Senior Brother Zhang attacked, he struck Zhang Yong's aperture points directly. Now Zhang Yong's true qi and Martial True Intent can no longer circulate smoothly! Look, he's slowing down."
Sure enough!
Just as Tieniu had said.
In their earlier exchanges, Zhang Yong's speed and strength had almost completely overwhelmed Zhang Teng.
But now?
The two were trading blows evenly. Zhang Yong clearly felt something was wrong, and his attacking rhythm had fallen into disarray.
After several exchanges, Zhang Teng seized another chance to counterattack.
In mere moments, Zhang Teng struck Zhang Yong at least seven times, while Zhang Yong failed to land even a single hit on him.
"Senior Brother Zhang is going to win!" Tieniu sounded rather excited.
This sight...
Left even Lin Bei dumbfounded!
The only reason he had dared challenge Zhang Yong was that his Dao Body had already reached the sixth tempering.
And he had run combat simulations well in advance.
Only after hundreds of simulations had he gradually mastered the method of sealing aperture points with force.
But Zhang Teng?
He had actually mastered the method after exchanging just a few blows!
Lin Bei even suspected that the kid had already devised a way to counter Zhang Yong's Martial True Intent before the fight began.
Lin Bei knew full well that even if someone at the Martial Arts Grounds cultivated to the fifth tempering, being able to fight a Dantian sea realm cultivator to a draw would already make them an expert.
Yet Zhang Teng could fight Zhang Yong, whose Martial True Intent had reached the manifestation realm.
After a brief disadvantage, he had even begun gradually turning the tide.
It was not that the fifth tempering was powerful.
It was that this kid, Zhang Teng, was simply beyond all reason.
At that moment, even Lin Bei could not help marveling inwardly.
Zhang Teng really is a monster!
At that moment.
Zhang Teng and Zhang Yong were still fighting, and almost everyone at the Martial Arts Grounds could see that Zhang Teng was beating Zhang Yong back!
"How did Senior Brother Zhang suddenly become so strong?"
Xiao Liuzi was stunned!
Tieniu, however, smiled.
"It isn't that Senior Brother Zhang got stronger, but that Zhang Yong got weaker. Senior Brother Zhang sealed his aperture points, disrupting his true qi and his ability to gather Martial True Intent. Now they're competing purely in physical strength and fighting technique."
"And clearly, Senior Brother Zhang has the edge!"
Sure enough!
As Tieniu's words fell.
Zhang Teng seized a huge opening in Zhang Yong's defenses and landed nine consecutive strikes with Tai Chi Eight Trigrams Palm.
The final palm strike landed directly over Zhang Yong's heart, sending him into a backward somersault before he crashed to the ground, unable to get up again.
Zhang Yong raised his head in disbelief.
At that very instant.
A palm hurtled straight toward his skull, growing larger and larger in his eyes!
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