In truth, the Thousand Bones Slaughter Art at the Proficiency Realm alone wasn't enough to let Ning Chuan cross two major realms and contend with Zhang Wensi at Awakening Eighth Stage.
However, Ning Chuan had other martial arts.
The fourth layer of Vajra Body.
Gale Step at the Perfect Realm.
In their fight, Ning Chuan not only held his own, but also had a slight advantage.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Ning Chuan kept using the Thousand Bones Slaughter Art, his attacks vicious and ruthless, brimming with oppressive force. They made the sword tremble, sending sparks flying one after another.
This martial art consisted of five forms.
The first form, Yin Snake Strike!
It was known for its strangeness, its trajectory unpredictable.
The second form, Departing Lightning Fist!
Its defining feature was speed. Its punches struck like lightning, shooting out like arrows!
The third form, White Bone Killing Fist.
The most powerful move, used for frontal assaults.
The fourth form, Body-Breaking Python Strike!
A grappling killing move. The arm became like a giant python, capable of crushing an enemy's bones.
The fifth form, Thousand Bones Force.
This attack had no fixed form. It could be unleashed with a fist, foot, elbow, or knee.
At its core, it was a vicious hidden force, or rather, a penetrating force. It was extremely hard to defend against, capable of piercing into a person's body even through a shield and shattering their bones into countless fragments.
Naturally, Thousand Bones Force was extremely difficult.
Only at the Minute Subtlety Realm could one begin to use it.
Ning Chuan was still a long way off.
"Departing Lightning Fist!"
Ning Chuan's gaze sharpened. He used the second form of the Thousand Bones Slaughter Art, gathering his strength and releasing it in an instant as he threw a punch.
Crack!
A crisp sound burst from the bones in his arm.
His fist moved with astonishing speed, stirring the air like an arrow streaking through the sky.
Zhang Wensi's expression shifted slightly, and he hurriedly pulled his sword back to block.
But the hasty block lacked strength. With a bang, the fist drove the sword hard into his chest, and he stumbled back more than ten steps.
A stream of blood ran from the corner of his mouth.
Fortunately, he had used the flat of the blade to block the punch.
If he had used the sharp edge, his body would have been cut in two by now.
"He can drive back someone at Awakening Eighth Stage barehanded, and with a weapon, his combat strength would rival Awakening Stage Nine. And Zhao Weiping, who fought him until they were covered in blood, only had the strength of Awakening Stage Seven left?"
A spectator spoke coldly.
At the Awakening Stage, weapons played a major role because fighters had no Force, significantly boosting their combat strength.
"Obviously, someone's maliciously targeting him and trying to ruin this young man!"
"Anyone who framed a hero who killed a Heavenly Martial spy is either bad or stupid!"
"I believed those rumors and even mocked him myself. I'm ashamed!"
Many people realized the truth, and the crowd erupted in indignation.
The paid plants hidden in the crowd looked at one another, not daring to make a sound.
On the arena stage.
"To be honest, you really did surprise me!"
Zhang Wensi stared fixedly at Ning Chuan and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. "I was going to save this trump card for my push into the top ten," he said coldly. "But now I'll let you see it first!"
As soon as he finished speaking,
Zhang Wensi charged forward, gripping his sword in both hands and raising it high.
Long River Great Waves Thirteen Swords!
This was a C-rank martial art.
Unlike a martial art such as Flash Thunder Slash, which had only one move, Long River Great Waves Thirteen Swords consisted of thirteen sword strikes, as its name suggested.
Each strike could borrow some strength from the one before it.
Like great waves pushing one another along a long river, each strike was fiercer than the last.
The final thirteenth strike was especially formidable.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
Zhang Wensi unleashed six strikes in succession, each faster than the last!
Ning Chuan used Gale Step, moving nimbly back and forth to evade every one.
Whoosh!
The seventh strike slashed down with tremendous speed.
Ning Chuan's eyes flickered, and he decided to stop dodging.
It wasn't that he couldn't dodge it.
Gale Step at the Perfect Realm was as nimble as the wind. Even Zhao Weiping hadn't been able to hit him that day, much less Zhang Wensi, who only had the strength of Awakening Eighth Stage.
He was simply worried about frightening Wei Bohu.
Bang!
Turning half sideways, Ning Chuan struck out forcefully with his palm, hitting the flat of the sword from the side. With a thunderous crash, he knocked it off course.
But at the same time, the sword's formidable force sent him flying.
He landed heavily seven or eight meters away.
"You can't dodge anymore, can you?"
Seeing this, Zhang Wensi sneered.
He had cultivated Long River Great Waves Thirteen Swords to the third realm, Mastery. Each strike was roughly ten percent stronger than the last.
It didn't seem like much, but the accumulated increase was terrifying.
The seventh strike was twice as powerful as the first.
The final strike reached more than four times its power!
Whoosh!
Without breaking stride, Zhang Wensi followed close behind. His eighth strike crashed down, the air surging like a mighty wave, fierce and powerful.
Bang!
Ning Chuan smashed his fist against the flat of the sword at an angle.
As the sword changed course, Ning Chuan was sent flying once again.
However, thanks to the fourth layer of Vajra Body, he wasn't injured.
"A C-rank martial art at the Mastery Realm. With the college entrance exam approaching, the big fish really are surfacing one after another!"
A teacher watching the fight sighed.
"Didn't Ning Chuan have a B-rank saber art at the Minute Subtlety Realm? Why isn't he drawing his saber?"
"Because he can't. Once Long River Great Waves Thirteen Swords begins, its attacks come one after another like wind-whipped waves in a river. The enemy can hardly catch a breath, let alone draw a saber!"
"That's a shame."
Many people voiced their opinions.
As they spoke, they kept their eyes on the stage, afraid of missing an important moment.
Boom!
The tenth strike fell. Ning Chuan used Golden Body Transformation on his elbow and met the blow sideways. With a thunderous crash, he was sent flying diagonally for more than ten meters, nearly falling off the stage.
Long River Great Waves Thirteen Swords is quite impressive, borrowing strength continuously like that. If I get the chance, I could learn a similar saber art. Combined with Flash Thunder Slash, it should get twice the result with half the effort!
Ning Chuan thought casually.
He seemed to be on the defensive, suppressed by Zhang Wensi's attacks, but in fact he was under no pressure at all.
Winning would be easy.
The hard part was winning the match while still leaving Wei Bohu confident he could beat him.
Three strikes left. I'll take them with Golden Body Transformation, then find a chance to defeat Zhang Wensi.
Ning Chuan thought to himself.
No matter how sturdy Golden Body Transformation was, it only offered strong defense.
It was a passive measure.
Gale Step was different.
Its nimble movement could be combined with attacks, making them impossible for an opponent to guard against.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Zhang Wensi swung his final three strikes, each carrying immense weight and force, as though a giant wave were hidden in the blade, ferocious beyond measure.
Amid the thunderous crashes, Ning Chuan was sent flying three times.
Yet under Golden Body Transformation's powerful defense, he remained completely unharmed, with only some kicked-up dust on his school uniform.
The watching crowd immediately erupted in an uproar.
"It's confirmed! That golden light is the sign of Golden Body Transformation. Ning Chuan cultivated Vajra Body!"
"An external body-tempering martial art. Ning Chuan has tremendous willpower!"
"The fourth layer? How did he do it? Even if he'd started cultivating in the womb, there wouldn't have been enough time!"
Many people were utterly shocked.
Zhang Wensi was just as stunned, staring dumbfounded, unable to understand why Ning Chuan was so strong.
During the selection tournament, he had clearly seemed to lack the combat strength of Awakening Eighth Stage!
For a moment, Zhang Wensi even forgot to steady his heavy breathing.
A martial art like Long River Great Waves Thirteen Swords consumed a great deal of stamina.
Even at the High Awakening Stage, it wasn't easy to use and required time to regulate one's breathing.
Naturally, Ning Chuan wouldn't give Zhang Wensi that chance. He pushed off with his foot, closed the distance in a single step, and swung his clenched fist.
Whoosh!
His fist cut through the air, swift and fierce as a dragon.
Zhang Wensi tried to dodge, but he had expended so much stamina that he couldn't muster the speed. With a bang, a heavy punch struck his abdomen, sending him staggering backward.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Ning Chuan kept punching, his fists raining down on Zhang Wensi and even knocking the sword from his hand.
Without his weapon, Zhang Wensi was even less of a match.
"Ah!"
A punch struck Zhang Wensi's right eye, which quickly darkened, and he couldn't help crying out in pain.
The familiar pain reminded him of the selection tournament, when Ning Chuan had pinned him to the ground and rubbed his face in it.
Fear welled up in his heart.
"I surrender!"
Zhang Wensi hurriedly covered his uninjured left eye as he spoke in a panic.
One black eye was better than a pair of panda eyes.