Qingshan No. 1 High School, the monitoring room.
Several school administrators accompanied the buzz-cut young man from the police department as they watched the students fight.
"What's wrong with the cameras in Building 1?"
The dean pointed at several dark patches on the screen and frowned.
A staff member replied, "There's a problem with the signal line. It might have been severed."
The dean turned to the buzz-cut young man. "Officer Zhou, should we pause the selection match and resume once the cameras are fixed?"
"No need!"
Zhou Wei swept his gaze across the screen and shook his head. "All ten spy devices are within camera range. There's no need to waste time."
The priority was to capture Zhao Weiping as soon as possible.
An Official Martial Artist roaming free was far too dangerous.
If a large number of civilians were killed, the people at the police department would surely take the blame.
Meanwhile.
"Wang Ping, you're only at Awakening Stage Five. Can you hold on to that spy device?!"
"Neither of us is at the high stages. How can you have the nerve to mock me?!"
"Haha, I, Li Yijian, will gladly take this spy device!"
Shouts rang out without end.
Students were fighting all over campus.
Those who had obtained spy devices gradually found themselves surrounded by waves of challengers. Even the students at Awakening Stage Nine faced fierce competition.
As time passed, the devices kept changing hands.
At 10:50.
Ten minutes remained before the selection match ended.
The chaotic fighting was drawing to a close. Only two or three spy devices were still being contested.
The rest had found their owners, and no one was trying to snatch them anymore.
There was nothing they could do.
Only a handful of students remained on the field, and nearly all of them were exhausted and unable to fight any longer.
In that classroom.
Zhang Wensi kept glancing at his watch, unable to hide the anxiety on his face.
Buzz!
Suddenly, his phone vibrated.
Zhang Wensi opened the message and glanced at it. He let out a long breath, his whole body relaxing.
Seeing this, Ning Chuan grew even more certain of his conjecture.
Sure enough, before long, a tall figure walked into the classroom.
It's him!
Ning Chuan recognized the newcomer.
Wei Bohu, at Awakening Stage Nine, had cultivated a B-rank fist technique to the mastery realm.
In terms of strength, he consistently ranked among the top three in his grade.
He was an absolute shoo-in for an elite university.
After a moment's thought, Ning Chuan took out his phone, started recording, and aimed the camera at the classroom.
Trading spy devices in private was hardly something to be proud of.
"Did you get the spy device?!"
Zhang Wensi strode toward Wei Bohu, eagerness on his face.
"Where's what I asked for?"
Wei Bohu took out a square black box the size of a Rubik's Cube and held it out.
"Right here, not a single vial missing!"
After taking the spy device, Zhang Wensi gave the test-tube rack in his hand a shake, showing it to Wei Bohu.
But he didn't hand it over to Wei Bohu.
"What, trying to go back on our deal?!"
A trace of disdain appeared in Wei Bohu's eyes as he sneered.
"I'll give it to you when the selection match is over."
Zhang Wensi shook his head and stuffed the test-tube rack into his pocket. "If I hand over the nutrient solution now and you snatch the spy device back, who am I supposed to complain to?!"
"You're certainly full of schemes!"
Wei Bohu scoffed, turned, and strode away.
"I figured you wouldn't dare cheat me!"
Zhang Wensi curled his lip and played with the spy device, without going out with Wei Bohu.
Given his strength, if someone spotted him, a fight over it would be hard to avoid.
Although the selection match was about to end and the students' fighting strength had dropped sharply, there was no need to take the risk.
Building 1 was just right for hiding.
"The mantis's cicada is in place. Time for the oriole to make its entrance!"
In the tree, Ning Chuan put away his phone. A trace of heat rose deep in his eyes as he watched Zhang Wensi, and he stamped down hard on the branch.
Bang!
Bark burst apart, propelling Ning Chuan forward like an arrow loosed from its bow.
Crash!
The window shattered with a crash. Ning Chuan burst into the classroom in a powerful display, and as he dropped toward Zhang Wensi, he clenched his five fingers into a fist and struck out fiercely!
White Bone Killing Fist!
The Thousand Bones Slaughter Art's strongest move for a direct assault.
Whoosh!
A mighty gust roared from his fist, carrying dozens of glass shards as it slammed toward the astonished Zhang Wensi like a torrential downpour.
"Who's ambushing me?!"
As someone at the High Awakening Stage, Zhang Wensi reacted quickly, striking out with a palm.
The wind from his strike was just as violent. His palm turned blood-red, veins bulging one by one, brimming with power!
Clearly, he had also used some kind of palm technique.
Bang!
Fist and palm collided.
A ring of turbulent air swept outward. Almost solid, it tore apart the glass shards in midair and sent them scattering in every direction.
Zhang Wensi's body shuddered violently, and he staggered backward.
With a bang, his back slammed hard into the wall, sending dust trickling down.
Only then did Zhang Wensi barely manage to stop himself.
On the other side, Ning Chuan also felt a powerful force strike him, sending him flying backward.
He tensed his waist and abdomen and did a backflip, dissipating most of the force before landing steadily on the windowsill. From his elevated position, he looked down at Zhang Wensi.
I used the momentum of my descent and my strongest punch against Zhang Wensi's hurried counterattack, and it only came out to a sixty-forty split.
Ning Chuan shook his head.
At the High Awakening Stage, strength surged like a spring.
They were indeed powerful.
After a brief thought, Ning Chuan deliberately shouted sternly, "Zhang Wensi, how dare you buy a spy device in private? You've been caught red-handed with the evidence. Surrender at once!"
Ning Chuan added another classic line.
"You have the right to remain silent, but everything you say will be used as evidence in court!"
Zhang Wensi trembled in fright.
But for some reason, he found the voice vaguely familiar.
He looked up instinctively. At first he froze, then he flew into a rage!
"Ning Chuan!"
Zhang Wensi roared, flames seemingly rising in his eyes.
"Why aren't you trembling anymore?!"
Ning Chuan chuckled and teased, "Hand over the spy device, and I'll let you leave!"
A mocking smile appeared on Zhang Wensi's face. "You're only at Awakening Stage Four, yet you dare talk so big!"
"In that case, you're refusing!"
Ning Chuan used Gale Step and shot forward with astonishing speed, cutting through the air.
"Also, I'm at Awakening Stage Five now!"
In the blink of an eye, Ning Chuan closed in. With his five fingers pressed together, he thrust at Zhang Wensi's vulnerable throat like a sharp sword.
Swish!
The air made a sound like silk being torn.
"Awakening Stage Five? That's your trump card? How impressive. You're just like I was in my first year of high school!"
Zhang Wensi's voice dripped with sarcasm.
But his movements were anything but careless.
He swung a hand blade with all his strength, heavy and swift as a thunderclap, chopping toward Ning Chuan's incoming wrist.
"Yin Snake Strike!"
Ning Chuan's gaze sharpened.
Just as Zhang Wensi was about to strike him, his extended arm bent at a bizarre angle, twisting like a snake's body to evade the blow and continue toward Zhang Wensi's throat.
After the Thousand Bones Slaughter Art reached the Proficiency Realm, he could use Yin Snake Strike with ease.
Zhang Wensi's expression changed slightly.
Even so, he didn't panic too much. His extensive combat experience allowed him to react immediately.
He couldn't dodge; he had to attack in place of defending!
Smack!
Zhang Wensi stepped swiftly forward, planting his foot firmly on the ground and shifting the point where Ning Chuan's thrust would land away from a vital spot like his throat.
At the same time, he clenched his chopping hand into a fist and punched with all his might.
Puff! Bang!
The two sounds rang out almost simultaneously.
The first, muffled sound came as Ning Chuan's fingers tore through Zhang Wensi's clothes and stabbed into his shoulder, drawing a few trickles of blood.
The second came as Zhang Wensi struck Ning Chuan.
The next moment.
Ning Chuan was sent flying, landing heavily on a desk. The solid wooden desktop snapped outright, and even the metal frame beneath it was somewhat twisted out of shape.
The force of the impact was plain to see.
Yet Ning Chuan sprang nimbly to his feet as though nothing had happened.
After Vajra Body advanced to the third level, he could not only undergo Golden Body Transformation, but his physical defense had also risen to a new level.
Zhang Wensi's punch had barely caused him any pain.
Without looking, Ning Chuan knew that the spot where he had been hit was, at most, slightly red.
"What martial art is that? Interesting."
Ning Chuan raised his right hand and looked at the traces of blood on his fingertips, one eyebrow lifting.
After he had pierced the skin just now, Zhang Wensi's muscles had suddenly hardened like steel, preventing him from going any deeper.
By his original estimate, given the power of that palm-sword strike, he should have been able to leave Zhang Wensi with one arm out of commission for the time being.
"Ning Chuan, I'm going to break every one of your fingers!"
The four bloody holes in his shoulder burned with pain. Zhang Wensi stared at Ning Chuan, his eyes so gloomy they seemed ready to drip water.
Whoosh!
He took great strides forward, his body stirring up a fierce wind as he pounced like a tiger.
"Heh!"
A cold smile touched Ning Chuan's lips. He flicked his five fingers, shaking off the blood, then used Gale Step and fearlessly charged to meet him.