Three Moves to End the Fight
Outside the glass wall, the entire crowd erupted.
"He turned defense into offense! He actually drove back the Wind-Rending Swift Leopard with Mountain-Breaking Thrust Punch?"
"Mountain-Subduing Basic Fist can be used like that? I've practiced it for sixteen years! How did I never know Mountain-Breaking Thrust Punch could intercept a demonic beast's leverage point in midair?"
"No wonder! No wonder he could kill two Mimic Spiders single-handedly! With that understanding of combat, never mind a one-star middle stage demonic beast-even a one-star high stage one might not be his match!"
"I thought he was too arrogant before. Only now do I realize he really has the ability to back it up. He's earned the right to be arrogant!"
"..."
Standing at the very front, Zhou Lie watched Lin Hao in the arena, his whole body trembling slightly despite himself.
He had taught Mountain-Subduing Basic Fist for over a decade and could perform the entire routine with his eyes closed, but he had never imagined this most basic introductory fist art could be used to such a degree.
Earlier, he had even boasted shamelessly that he would guide Lin Hao in actual combat.
Thinking back now, it was an absolute joke.
The Wind-Rending Swift Leopard struggled to rise from the ground, but staggered as soon as it pushed itself halfway up.
Lin Hao gave it no further chance to counterattack.
He slid forward, rapidly closing the distance.
Seeing this, the Wind-Rending Swift Leopard opened its mouth like a mad beast and spat a condensed wind blade straight at Lin Hao's face. At the same time, both its forepaws slashed viciously at his arms, trying to trade injury for injury.
But Lin Hao's body seemed to have anticipated its every move.
He turned sideways to evade the wind blade, deflected both its forepaws with his left arm using Blocking Hand Form, then carried his momentum forward, driving his shoulder and back against its lower jaw with the basic fist art's body-checking force.
At the same time, his right fist drew back to his waist. Short-range power erupted, and his punch struck precisely at the vital point where the Wind-Rending Swift Leopard's skull joined its spine.
There was no deafening boom, only the faint, crisp crack of breaking bone.
The Wind-Rending Swift Leopard's body instantly stiffened. Its ice-blue vertical pupils abruptly dilated, and all its movements froze.
A few seconds later, its massive body crashed heavily to the ground, utterly lifeless.
Dead silence gripped the crowd!
A falling pin could have been heard!
Everyone outside the glass wall seemed to have been struck by an immobilization spell. They stared wide-eyed at Lin Hao in the arena and the lifeless Wind-Rending Swift Leopard, their minds completely blank.
An unknown amount of time passed before someone broke the silence with a trembling voice. "Three moves... He killed the Wind-Rending Swift Leopard in just three moves?"
"Am I dreaming? Pinch me! That was a Wind-Rending Swift Leopard! And it was finished in three moves?"
"Holy shit! I watched the whole thing! From start to finish, he used nothing but Mountain-Subduing Basic Fist! Not a single flashy move!"
"How is that a high school student? Isn't that a veteran who's crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood on the border?"
"..."
Jiang Baichuan went weak all over and only stayed upright by bracing himself against the glass wall. He gulped down air, the back of his uniform so drenched it could have been wrung out.
He watched Lin Hao in the arena as though he himself had just fought a great battle, his face filled with the relief of having survived a disaster.
Looking at the Wind-Rending Swift Leopard's corpse on the ground, Zhou Lie felt that all his years of teaching basic fist arts had amounted to nothing but leading his students astray.
Only today had he learned that this fist art's ceiling could be so high.
Chen Jing let out a long breath and praised him. "This young man's future is boundless."
Wei Kun reached for the phone in his pocket, excitement filling his eyes. "How did I forget to report this? I have to report it to the General Administration immediately!"
Just as he was about to unlock the screen, he suddenly paused and turned toward Zhao Man, who stood beside him with a complicated expression. "Captain Zhao, Captain Lin Qing should still be on duty at the branch bureau. Let her know about this too."
Zhao Man froze for a moment, then understood Wei Kun's intention.
He was offering her a way down, letting her use this opportunity to repair her relationship with Lin Qing and Lin Hao as much as possible.
She looked at Lin Hao, who had withdrawn his fists and stood still in the arena, then at the Wind-Rending Swift Leopard beside him.
The last trace of resentment in her heart vanished like smoke and clouds.
Even if she really secured the deputy director's position, having offended a genius like this, she would surely meet a miserable end in the future.
She took a deep breath and nodded to Wei Kun, a measure of gratitude in her voice. "All right. I'll call Lin Qing now."
At the same time, the combat platform's heavy tempered-glass door opened, and Lin Hao walked out.
Chen Jing strode forward, his face excited, and said solemnly, "Student Lin Hao, the Discipline Bureau's earlier investigation wasn't thorough enough, and we caused you considerable offense. I apologize to you here.
"I'll personally write an account of the situation and submit it to the Jiang City Martial Arts General Bureau to completely clear Captain Lin Qing of any suspicion of violating regulations.
"Not only that, I'll also recommend that the Martial Arts General Bureau award you an individual third-class merit. By killing those two Mimic Spiders earlier, you indirectly saved the lives of several Jiang City residents."
Wei Kun followed close behind, all smiles. "Your Lin family certainly produces geniuses. An eighteen-year-old one-star martial artist-there probably won't be many of those in this year's Martial Artist Examination across the entire Dragon Nation.
"As for your cousin's matter, I'll definitely handle it properly once I return and give Lin Qing a satisfactory answer."
Lin Hao nodded to them both. "Sorry for the trouble, Lead Investigator Chen, Director Wei."
He knew very well that if he had not become a one-star martial artist, there was no way killing two Mimic Spiders would have earned him an individual third-class merit.
And without his strength, Wei Kun would never have offered his cousin Lin Qing any satisfactory answer either.
Of course, since these two were willing to do this, he was naturally happy to see it happen.
At that moment, Zhao Man, who had been lingering at the back, also approached. Her lips moved, and she squeezed out a word. "Congratulations."
Lin Hao glanced at her and said nothing.
Just then, the watching examinees all surged forward and immediately surrounded Lin Hao.
"Young Lin! I run a martial arts school in the south of the city, and I'd like to invite you to be our honorary head instructor! No regular hours-you only need to come offer guidance twice a month! An annual salary of five hundred thousand!"
"Student Lin! My daughter's in the second-year martial arts class at Jiang City No. 3 High School! Could I get your contact information? So she can occasionally ask you for advice!"
"Nephew! It's your Uncle Wang! Your father and I worked at the same mine back then! I even had meals with him!"
"..."
The voices clamoring over one another gave Lin Hao a headache.
He sighed inwardly. Once someone succeeded, everyone around them really did seem to become a "good person," as though all the bad people had disappeared. Even relatives and friends they had never met would suddenly spring up.
"Make way! Everyone, make way!" Jiang Baichuan squeezed through with several assessment center staff members.
He called loudly to the people around them, "Examinees, the assessment is still ongoing! Please return to Assessment Hall One! Don't disrupt the proceedings!"
The staff hurried forward to maintain order, gradually persuading the surrounding examinees to disperse.
Jiang Baichuan wiped the sweat from his forehead and gave Lin Hao a fawning smile. "Student Lin Hao, I'm terribly sorry you were disturbed."
"It's fine." Lin Hao shook his head.
Jiang Baichuan rubbed his hands together and chose his words carefully. "Here's the situation. According to regulations, after successfully being certified as a one-star martial artist, everyone undergoes meridian aptitude testing to help determine which meridians to focus on cultivating and their future career direction.
"You're a genius certified through an exceptional procedure, so the assessment center has decided to give you a full meridian aptitude test free of charge. It's worth three hundred thousand, and the center will cover all the costs."
At those words, Lin Hao's expression froze.
Meridian aptitude.
Just ten days ago, he had still been a good-for-nothing in everyone else's eyes, with only 0.3 vitality.
Even without testing his meridian aptitude, he could guess that it most likely wasn't very good.