Chapter 934: Chen Zhu

Chu Jian never imagined he could defeat his opponent.

Everyone had seen this guy's strength—his sword aura swept across, his techniques were exquisite. Even three of him combined wouldn't be a match. He had lacked the confidence to fight at first, only hastily responding after recalling the dean's explanation.

The dean had lectured on how to fight someone nearly perfect in physique, swordsmanship, reflexes... He thought he'd never encounter such a person, so he didn't take it seriously. Never in his dreams did he expect that attacking according to the lecture would have such miraculous effect!

A single finger strike knocked him down... Really? Was it really that easy?

Was this guy really the super-strong powerhouse who couldn't last three moves against Zhao Zhongchuan earlier?

"What happened? What's going on?"

"I don't know either. It seems Battle Master Xu Tai was defeated..."

"None of us could withstand three moves from him, and this guy defeated him?"

"Weren't Hongyuan Academy students supposed to be weak? What's... going on?"

He stood on the stage in a daze, somewhat bewildered, while the audience below had gone wild.

One by one, they stared wide-eyed, as if they had seen a ghost.

Yunxu Academy, Luoqing Academy, and Qingzhu Academy had all demonstrated their skills upon arrival, so everyone had a certain understanding of each other's strength.

This Chu Jian wasn't even in the top 50 out of 80, yet after stepping onto the stage, he knocked Xu Tai down with one finger... The gap was just too big!

"You cheated!"

After spitting out a few mouthfuls of blood, Xu Tai finally caught his breath. He stood up and stared coldly at the young man before him, like a wild beast.

A dignified Battle Master, knocked down by a finger from someone inferior in true qi, strength, reaction speed... The anger in his heart was understandable.

"I..." Chu Jian was stunned. He wanted to say something but couldn't get the words out.

He hadn't cheated, but he really didn't understand how he had defeated his opponent.

If he said he cheated, they had fought fairly on the stage, and the opponent had used a long sword. By that logic, it was definitely a solid victory...

"Do you dare to have a rematch with me?"

Xu Tai gritted his teeth.

"Fine, why not!"

After a moment's hesitation, Chu Jian nodded.

In fact, not only Xu Tai thought so, but many in the audience did too. If they declared him the loser now, he certainly wouldn't admit it, and winning wouldn't be honorable.

"Let's start. This time, I won't go easy on you..."

Hearing the agreement, Xu Tai let out a long roar. His body swayed, and his long sword transformed into a dragon, shooting straight forward.

This time, he used his strongest power from the start, even more terrifying than before. Before the sword even arrived, the sword aura tore apart the stage floor.

"Same situation as before... The dean also explained this kind of attack..."

Watching the opponent's overwhelmingly powerful sword strike, Chu Jian's mind drifted into memories, recalling the dean's lecture again.

He gently turned his body, formed his fingers into a sword, and pointed in a certain direction.

Puchi!

His fingertip pierced flesh, true qi like a dagger.

The next moment, the fierce Xu Tai lay on the ground again, pale-faced, spitting mouthfuls of blood.

His condition was even worse than before.

It seemed he had endless blood to spit out.

"Defeated again?"

"He used his full power this time, and was still defeated with one finger. Could this Chu Jian have been hiding his cultivation?"

"I don't understand either. His techniques are too profound..."

The audience fell into dead silence, everyone speechless.

The top students from the three academies exchanged glances, cold sweat dripping from their foreheads.

Earlier, they had completely disregarded Hongyuan Academy, thinking that even the top 20 might not include a single one of them. Never in their dreams did they expect that this guy, not even highly ranked, would easily defeat a Battle Master from the Battle Master Hall.

"You... you..."

Struggling to stand up, Xu Tai gritted his teeth.

To be honest, he himself didn't know how he lost!

A dignified He Ling realm cultivator, nearly invincible, was defeated without knowing how—it drove him crazy.

"Alright, Xu Tai, haven't you embarrassed yourself enough?"

Seeing his defiance, Zhuo Qingfeng snorted coldly.

"Captain, I..."

Xu Tai quickly turned around.

"This young brother's true qi and strength are indeed inferior to yours, but his understanding of martial techniques and grasp of combat timing far surpass yours. That finger strike just now seemed simple, but it required a thorough understanding of your swordsmanship and true qi circulation to execute!"

Zhuo Qingfeng had sharp eyes and saw the crux of the matter, explaining: "Using fingers as a sword, luring you into exposing a flaw, then attacking... Such insight is enough to qualify as a Battle Master."

"Yes..."

Hearing the captain's words, Xu Tai dared not say more and could only nod and step back.

"I... passed?"

Having thought there was no hope, Chu Jian was full of disbelief upon hearing he had passed the selection.

"Our assessment is that anyone who can withstand three moves passes. You defeated our Battle Master. If that doesn't count as passing, who can?"

Zhuo Qingfeng smiled.

"Yes!"

Chu Jian nodded and jumped down from the high platform.

"Alright, Xu Tai, take a rest. Chen Zhu, continue the assessment!"

Although Battle Masters were powerful, they weren't truly invincible. At least when he was at the same level, this Xu Tai wouldn't have been his match.

Therefore, it wasn't a big surprise that a genius occasionally appeared among the four academies and defeated him. Zhuo Qingfeng wasn't too shocked and let the assessment proceed.

"Yes!"

Chen Zhu nodded, jumped up, and cast his gaze down: "Is anyone willing to fight me? Same rule... if you can withstand three moves, you become a Battle Master!"

He wielded a long blade, its edge sharp. Combined with his true qi and aura, it sent chills down one's spine even before the fight began.

This guy seemed even more terrifying than Xu Tai, and even stronger!

"If I'd known he was stronger, I should have gone up earlier..."

"Going up wouldn't have helped. Even Zhao Zhongchuan couldn't withstand Xu Tai's three moves. Even if you went up, it would be futile."

"Yeah, I wonder who can last three moves against him this time..."

...

Seeing Chen Zhu release his overwhelming power, everyone's faces showed worry again.

Xu Tai was already hard to deal with, let alone this man.

"I'll go!"

A young man jumped up.

"It's Zhang Qingshan, the top student of Luoqing Academy!"

"He's very strong. Maybe he can withstand three moves..."

Seeing this person, the audience focused their attention.

Zhang Qingshan, the strongest first-year student of Luoqing Academy. The earlier Zhao Zhongchuan couldn't even last two moves against him.

With him stepping up, success was certain.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Amid the murmurs, the fight on stage had already begun. Zhang Qingshan spread his five fingers, true qi flowing like a great river tide, surging endlessly.

Anyone else would have been torn apart by such狂暴 true qi in one move, but the opponent, Chen Zhu, was like a small boat in the waves, drifting with the current no matter how great the storm, never sinking.

In the blink of an eye, two moves passed. The two were evenly matched, neither giving way.

"You think passing three moves is that easy?"

Seeing no result after two moves, Chen Zhu narrowed his eyes, snorted coldly, and suddenly released his long blade. It turned into a bolt of lightning, slashing straight down.

Crash!

Too fast; the air split instantly. Before Zhang Qingshan could react, he felt a scorching wave of heat rushing at him, as if it would cleave him in two.

"Damn..."

His pupils contracted, and he involuntarily stepped back, raising his weapon to meet the attack.

Bang!

The long blade clashed with his weapon. The powerful force shattered a large area of the stage floor around them. Zhang Qingshan's face flushed red, blood spurted from his mouth, and he flew backward, landing off the stage.

"Lost? How could I lose?"

Lying on the ground, Zhang Qingshan's face was as pale as paper. He couldn't believe it.

He was the top student of Luoqing Academy, with such formidable strength, yet he couldn't even withstand three moves... Failing the Battle Master assessment brought a strong sense of frustration that he found hard to accept.

"What did I tell you before we came? No forbidden techniques allowed! Chen Zhu, what are you doing?"

Just as he was feeling dejected, he heard Zhuo Qingfeng's face darken as he scolded loudly.

If it had been three normal moves, this Zhang Qingshan would have easily won. Unexpectedly, his subordinate had used a forbidden technique at a critical moment, violating the rules.

"I..." Chen Zhu's face reddened.

Having witnessed Xu Tai's defeat, his mind was unsettled, and in his urgency, he used the forbidden technique.

"Apologies, Dean Shen. My subordinate used the wrong technique. Although your student Zhang Qingshan lost, he still qualifies to become a Battle Master!"

After scolding his subordinate, Zhuo Qingfeng turned to Shen Pingchao.

"Thank you for your trouble, Battle Master Zhuo!"

Hearing that his student still had a chance to become a Battle Master, Shen Pingchao sighed in relief and couldn't help cupping his hands.

The other party was doing him a favor, and he couldn't refuse it.

"Continue, then."

After handling Zhang Qingshan's matter, Zhuo Qingfeng continued.

Chen Zhu looked around with arrogance: "Who wants to come up?"

The earlier slash that sent Zhang Qingshan flying was too imposing. Those who had thought they had a chance now shrank back.

They didn't have Zhang Qingshan's reaction speed or strength. If the other party unleashed such a狂暴 blade technique, they probably wouldn't even have time to react before being severely injured or even... cleaved to death on the spot!

"What? No one else coming up? If I'm not mistaken, Hongyuan Academy has only sent one person so far. Is there anyone else daring to fight me?"

Focusing his gaze, Chen Zhu said coldly.

His friend Xu Tai had been severely injured by a Hongyuan Academy student, so he intended to retaliate and give them a warning, making them understand the true strength of a Battle Master. Even with just three moves, they were no match for these rabble.

"This..."

Hearing him openly challenge the students of Hongyuan Academy, everyone hesitated.

After a moment, a young man gritted his teeth and stood up.

"I'll go!"

With that, he was about to jump onto the high platform.

"Zhu Xi... You're last in the selection rankings. Going up like that, are you asking for death?"

Someone in the crowd shouted.