Chapter 963: We Are the Xuanxuan Society

Martial arts challenges were common at the Master Academy, where masters often challenged those with strong combat abilities to verify their own grasp of battle.

Seeing this Zhou Ye speak directly, the young man named Ruohuan across from him was momentarily stunned, then smiled lightly: "Of course!"

"Then let's begin!"

Nodding, Zhou Ye took a deep breath, suppressing his inner power layer by layer until it matched the other's, both at the Bridge Heaven realm.

"I saw you using palm techniques earlier; I won't use weapons either. Let's start!"

With a smile, Zhou Ye twisted his wrist and shot forward rapidly.

His figure was ghostly and elusive; though using the power of the Bridge Heaven realm, he moved like a specter, making it hard to discern his exact attack direction.

"Not bad!"

Ruohuan's eyes lit up. Without moving his body, he suddenly flipped his palm and struck straight ahead.

Dean Zhang had once said that if one panicked at such a move and followed it, they would fall into the trap, be led by the opponent's rhythm, and find it difficult to win.

Therefore, against attacks with many feints, one must see through the phenomenon to the essence. No matter how the opponent sways... to attack, there are only a few fixed positions. Use stillness to respond to all changes.

"Well struck!"

Seeing him unmoving, striking forward, Zhou Ye's eyes brightened.

As the other had thought, his move aimed to provoke an attack, which would create an opening.

Arriving at the opponent's side, he flipped his palm and pressed down.

He expected that with this strike, the opponent would be injured and concede. But before his palm's power landed, he felt a tightness in his chest.

His pupils contracted as he realized the other had already detected his true position and had another palm waiting there!

In other words, the earlier forward strike was a feint to lure him in. Once he committed to an attack, the other hand followed up.

Bang!

Now it was too late to dodge. With a stifled chest, Zhou Ye flew straight off the training ground and crashed onto the path.

"He defeated Zhou Ye in one move?"

"Could this be the one being assessed?"

"Very likely. How could he have such formidable combat power?"

The War Masters in the hall were all startled.

Liao Song also raised an eyebrow.

From the fight, he could easily see that this Ruohuan was inferior to Zhou Ye in true qi power and reaction speed, yet he won, indicating a high talent for understanding martial techniques and combat.

He was probably the cultivation genius Zhuo Qingfeng had mentioned.

Otherwise, how could he be so strong?

"Hu Chen, you go try!"

Raising an eyebrow, Liao Song waved his hand.

Of course, whether it was true or not needed further testing.

"Alright!"

The young man named Hu Chen nodded, leaped, and jumped onto the training ground.

"Seeing your exquisite techniques, I'd like to try too..."

With that, he suppressed his cultivation.

"Sure!"

Ruohuan nodded and was about to act when a young man beside him stepped out: "Ruohuan, give me this chance to fight such a weakling. Look, I'm the worst learner; I still haven't grasped the dean's explanations. Let me try!"

"Alright!"

Seeing his friend like this, Ruohuan smiled wryly and had to nod.

This friend indeed had a weaker understanding of martial techniques. Fighting with them was hard to practice, but against this unknown weakling, he might gain great insights.

This Ruohuan was none other than Young Master Ruohuan, who had come with Zhang Xuan from the Ten Thousand Kingdoms Alliance. After intense training, he had reached the Bridge Heaven realm.

Having been with Zhang Xuan since the Ten Thousand Kingdoms Alliance, his understanding of martial techniques was naturally deeper. As one of the founders of the Xuanxuan Society, he had put great effort into cultivation, and his insight and strength were vastly different from before.

In his view, these two sudden arrivals, though not weak in combat and with novel techniques, still fell far short of the dean's explanations.

The dean explained the fundamentals, which remained constant despite changes. No matter how flashy or dazzling the martial techniques, their essence was to attack the opponent. Any attack had flaws that could be countered!

So letting his friend fight would be a good training opportunity.

"Weakling?" Hearing this, Hu Chen felt his true qi surge, nearly exploding on the spot.

Brother, open your eyes! I'm a War Master at the Silkworm Seal realm, suppressing my cultivation to fight you, and you call me a weakling...

Not just him; other War Masters hearing this almost spat blood. War Masters were superior wherever they went, with boundless combat power. This was the first time they had been so despised.

"Hu Chen, don't hold back..." A War Master couldn't help but transmit a message.

"I know!" Hu Chen's eyes flashed with ferocity.

Originally, he had thought to save face if the opponent couldn't handle it. Since they were so ungrateful, don't blame him for being ruthless.

"Let's begin!" Extending his hand, Hu Chen made an inviting gesture.

"Mm!"

The young man opposite nodded and approached.

"The dean explained combat techniques in detail, but I haven't mastered them well. If I accidentally hurt you... don't blame me..."

The young man said.

"Less talk, come on!" Unable to hold back, Hu Chen stomped the ground and charged straight over.

His attacks were grand and sweeping, true qi flowing in all directions, giving a sense of devouring everything.

Seeing his moves, the young man was not afraid but his eyes lit up, and he exclaimed: "Well struck!"

Having said that, ignoring the astonished gazes of the crowd, without any technique, he threw a punch to meet it.

Boom!

Fist and palm collided. Hu Chen felt his arm go limp as a fierce force rushed in. His face flushed red, and he was instantly sent flying backward.

Thud!

Like Zhou Ye before him, he flew out of the training ground and landed headfirst on the ground.

If he hadn't used all his strength just now, the backlash would have been less severe. But now, meeting force with force, his entire arm was immobile, and it would likely be impossible to recover within three to five days.

“This…”

“Meeting force with force, our war masters are no match?”

Many war masters were dumbfounded again.

Liao Song's mouth twitched.

He had just seen with his own eyes that Ruohuan's true qi and strength were far inferior to his subordinate's, yet this guy who was asking for advice had sent Hu Chen flying with a single punch… It was too incredible!

Just as he was looking bewildered, he heard Ruohuan on the platform, with a look of frustration, say to the young man not far away: “Didn't I tell you? Combat isn't just about brute force! It's about technique, technique… Why are you so stupid?”

Young Master Ruohuan was indeed very angry. This guy had only learned the true qi and strength taught by the dean, but his understanding of martial techniques was very poor. That's why he lost to them every time. This time, he specifically arranged for him to spar with someone who had a weak grasp of martial techniques… and yet, he still used brute force. How could he be so foolish?

“I…”

The young man scratched his head, looking embarrassed: “Seeing him come straight at me, I couldn't help it… How about this!”

He then looked at the crowd standing not far away: “Is there anyone else who wants to spar with me? This time, I promise not to use strength to overpower you…”

“You…”

Seeing his attitude, many war masters were about to go mad with anger.

This was the first time in history that someone, when facing war masters, said he wouldn't use strength to overpower them…

Too arrogant, too presumptuous!

“I'll go…”

Unable to hold back any longer, a war master rushed forward. He was the last one at the Cocoon Sealing Stage.

He also suppressed his cultivation level and beckoned with his hand: “Come on!”

“Alright!” The young man nodded and was about to make a move when a student on the side said unhappily: “Zhao Qing, what do you mean? Such a good opportunity for sparring, are you going to hog it all to yourself?”

“I…” The young man scratched his head.

“Alright, I think these friends aren't too weak in strength. Opportunities like this for practice are rare. Zhao Qing, let Song Ying take your place.”

Ruohuan said.

“Fine.”

The young man Zhao Qing nodded reluctantly.

“You all…”

The battle masters who came to the training ground were on the verge of tears.

Not too bad?

We're really strong, aren't we?

But... turning their heads to see two companions with their heads buried in the ground, they choked up and couldn't speak.

Defeated so easily... is this what you call strong?

In their eyes... perhaps it really was just 'not bad'!

"Less talk, come on!"

Gritting his teeth, the battle master looked over.

"Impatient and restless—how can you fight like this..."

Stepping forward, Song Ying shook his head.

"You..." Though angry, the battle master knew he was losing his composure. He took a deep breath, suppressed his frustration, and looked over again: "Let's begin!"

Seeing him calm his agitation so quickly, Song Ying showed a hint of surprise, then nodded: "Begin!"

With that, he flickered and dashed forward.

Bang bang bang bang!

The two immediately clashed.

After three moves, the battle master's face flushed red as his opponent seized an opening and kicked him flying, sending him crashing to the ground.

"This..."

Seeing three challengers in a row all defeated, the battle masters exchanged bewildered glances.

They had thought Zhuo Qingfeng was exaggerating, deliberately playing up the terror of Hongyuan Academy, but witnessing it firsthand, they realized it was truly formidable.

"Could you be... Zheng Yang, Liu Yang, and the others who are participating in the battle master selection this time?"

A battle master couldn't help but ask.

"Zheng Yang? Liu Yang?"

Hearing this, Ruohuan smiled bitterly and shook his head: "They are the dean's personal disciples, a hundred times stronger than us. How could we compare?"

"No? Then... are you three among the hundred who passed the battle master assessment this year?" Liao Song asked.

"A hundred?" Ruohuan shook his head again: "Our strength is too low; we're not qualified to participate in the battle master selection..."

Not qualified to participate in the selection?

Liao Song swayed, feeling a tightness in his chest: "Then who are you..."

"We are from the Xuanxuan Society... The academy still has over thirty thousand members with combat power similar to ours!"

Young Master Ruohuan looked over with a serious expression.

"With our level of strength, we're nothing in the society—there are plenty like us."