Martial Sage from the Vajra Skill

Sun Tao was also lucky. He drew a weaker opponent and won within twenty moves.

Lin Wei was less fortunate. She drew an evenly matched opponent and only secured a hard-fought victory after nearly a hundred moves.

After stepping off the stage, she didn’t even have the presence of mind to greet Sun Tao, instead rushing to the side to recover her True Qi.

Fang Xing and Xiong Kui had worse luck, drawing powerful opponents. However, they were quick to assess the situation. Realizing they were outmatched, they decisively conceded, giving them a chance to fight another match.

Then there was Jiang Ping. The guy had terrible luck, drawing Cao Rong. He forfeited without even taking the stage.

Zhang Yong barely defeated his opponent, suffering minor injuries in the process.

CRACK!

A sharp crack drew Xu Yang’s attention back to the C-class stage.

It was Zhang Hong’s turn on the stage, against an opponent of equal strength.

His opponent’s fist tore through his Protective True Qi and struck him, cracking a bone on impact. But this was an opening Zhang Hong had deliberately created.

"Die!"

Zhang Hong’s fist shot out like lightning, striking his opponent’s throat.

With another sharp CRACK, his opponent clutched his neck in agony and staggered backward, blood spilling from his mouth.

THUD!

After stumbling back four or five steps, the man toppled off the stage. Someone went forward to check on him and found his neck bones had been shattered. The man was dead.

The crowd erupted.

Although blows were indiscriminate in the Martial Arts Examination and deaths were common, this was the first fatality of this year’s event.

A few minor officials came forward to examine the body, then quickly carried it away.

’This guy is a ruthless character, too.’

Xu Yang never thought the once-smooth Zhang Hong would become such a ruthless character, trading a blow to himself for his opponent’s life.

He and Sun Tao went up to help Zhang Hong down. They found that in addition to the palm strike to his chest, Zhang Hong had also taken a blow to the ribs.

Now that his adrenaline faded, he began spitting up blood.

"How serious are your injuries?"

Ever the concerned senior brother, Sun Tao immediately asked about his injuries.

"A few broken bones, but my organs are fine. I’m afraid I won’t be able to fight in the next match, though."

His injuries weren’t considered severe; he would recover with ten to fifteen days of rest.

But fighting another match was practically impossible, let alone aiming for a Dragon Ascension slot, which required at least three more wins.

Zhang Hong looked at Xu Yang with a pained smile. "I’m afraid I can’t walk with you any further. I fought as hard as I could, but in the end, I still couldn’t keep up with you all."

As people who had been selected together from the Huang Family, they had their share of conflicts, but the bond between them was special.

Even Lu Ren, who had the earliest falling out with Xu Yang, still felt a peculiar connection to him. When he reached Qi Gathering Great Success, he invited Xu Yang not just to show off, but also because of that special bond.

"Heal up first. Maybe you’ll get lucky in the next match. Your opponent might be more injured than you, you never know. Win one more, and even if you don’t make Dragon Ascension, you can still earn the title of Martial Scholar. You can still participate in the Martial Examination in the future. There’s still hope."

It was all Xu Yang could do to comfort Zhang Hong.

’There were ten of us at the start, and now only four remain. It looks like Zhang Hong is about to be left behind.’

"You’re right. There’s still hope."

Zhang Hong roused himself, sat down to the side, and began circulating his True Qi to heal.

The first match of the round soon concluded. Winners advanced to rest, while the losers drew lots to fight again. A second loss meant direct elimination.

His True Qi already recovered, Xu Yang wandered around to watch the other matches.

Soon, the results of the repechage matches were in. Of Weiyuan Hall’s fourteen disciples, only Zhao Hui and Fang Xing, who had been seriously injured in their first matches, failed to advance.

’Lu Ren is really a jinx.’

Xu Yang noticed that none of Lu Ren’s lackeys seemed to come to a good end. Luo Dehu, Qian Jiaxing, and now Zhao Hui—all of them seemed to have been cursed with bad luck after getting involved with him.

"A-Ten!"

In the second round, he drew the lot for the tenth match on Stage A. His opponent, however, was yet to be determined.

"Haha... I drew a bye!"

A sudden burst of laughter drew everyone’s attention. Xu Yang turned in shock to see Zhang Hong laughing up at the heavens, waving a numbered stick in his hand.

’Talk about dumb luck.’

He had only been comforting Zhang Hong, assuming he would be eliminated in this round. He never expected that out of 123 people drawing lots, Zhang Hong would be the one to get the bye.

’Dragon Ascension was still up in the air, but the title of Martial Scholar was now a sure thing.’

With this bye, he would advance directly to the third round, qualifying him for the title of Martial Scholar. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

’Quite a few familiar faces!’

Xu Yang found Stage A and saw many familiar faces.

Lu Ren, Gu Fang, Xiong Kui, and Yang Lin had all drawn Stage A. In addition to them, he also saw Kong Yu and Zhu Yang from Gale Hall, both of whom were sneering coldly in his direction.

Suddenly, pupils constricted throughout the crowd. A burly figure strode toward Stage A, his powerful aura compelling everyone in his path to automatically step aside.

Yun Feng!

The favorite to win, the Bone Marrow Cleansing Master, Yun Feng.

Seeing that he too had drawn Stage A, everyone’s expression soured. Each of them worried they would be his opponent.

Yun Feng’s gaze swept over the crowd. "Who is A-Seven? You’d best forfeit at once. Don’t waste my time. Otherwise, don’t blame me for what happens."

Those who weren’t A-Seven breathed a collective sigh of relief. A man with a miserable look on his face stepped forward. "Rest assured, Young Master Yun. I will forfeit at once."

The second round started quickly, and it wasn’t long before it was Xiong Kui’s turn on stage.

He had fought twice just to advance from the last round, and this time he was once again faced with an expert. After just twenty moves, he conceded, pinning his hopes on the repechage match.

Then, in a dramatic turn of events, Lu Ren’s opponent was revealed to be Gu Fang.

Lu Ren immediately conceded, allowing Gu Fang to advance without a fight.

’It’s tough being a lapdog!’

If Lu Ren had fought Gu Fang, he might not have lost. But as a Tributor of the Gu Family, it was only natural for him to be the one to forfeit.

"A-Ten, to the stage!" the proctor finally called out Xu Yang’s number.

Speak of the devil.

After stepping onto the stage and presenting his token, Xu Yang saw his opponent: Zhu Yang, the very person who had provoked him repeatedly the day before.

"A disciple from Weiyuan Hall is facing off against one from Gale Hall."

Seeing this, the other contestants below the stage were instantly invigorated.

Everyone knew about the grudge between Gale Hall and Weiyuan Hall. Whenever their disciples met in the Martial Arts Examination, it was inevitably a duel to the death.

For a moment, even contestants from the surrounding stages were drawn over to watch.

"Xu Yang’s in trouble. Zhu Yang also scored Middle C-class yesterday, but he’s been recruited by the Fuwei Escort Agency and learned their Heart Shattering Palm."

Gu Fang smirked with schadenfreude. "That Heart Shattering Palm is incredibly vicious. While not as profound as the Wind and Thunder Strength, it achieves a similar result. If it hits you in the chest or back, your heart will be severely damaged, no matter how powerful your True Qi is."

"A pity I haven’t had a proper match against him yet..." Lu Ren’s voice was tinged with regret.

On the main examiners’ platform, Ji Yun looked at Lin Cheng and smiled. "Let’s see just how good this secretly trained disciple of yours really is."

He had already issued an order to the Gale Hall disciples: if they encountered Xu Yang, they were to kill him.

Lin Cheng glanced at him coolly and said, "I’m sure he won’t disappoint you."

’In truth, Lin Cheng wasn’t entirely confident either. Although Xu Yang has grasped the Wind and Thunder Strength, he’s never been in a true life-or-death battle. In a duel between Martial Artists, technique is important, but courage and spirit are equally crucial.’

"I can’t believe I actually ran into you. I don’t know if this is your misfortune or my good fortune."

While the proctor was checking their tokens, Zhu Yang made a casual throat-slitting gesture at Xu Yang.

Xu Yang remained calm. "Perhaps it’s your misfortune," he said.

"Senior Brother Zhu Yang, don’t give him a chance to forfeit!" Kong Yu shouted from below the stage.

Once a contestant forfeited, all attacks had to cease immediately.

Hearing this, Zhu Yang nodded firmly.

"Begin!"

The proctor, for his part, cared little for any grudge between Xu Yang and Zhu Yang. After shouting "Begin," he simply retreated to the side.

Zhu Yang might have verbally disdained Xu Yang, but the moment the match began, the mocking smile on his face vanished, replaced by a grave expression.

He released a powerful aura, his surging True Qi erupting to shield his body. Pushing off the balls of his feet, he shot forward, closing the distance to Xu Yang in a single stride.

"Let me show you the true Shocking Wind Palm! A worthless fool like Yang Jun has no idea of its true essence."

His palm struck out, wreathed in a fierce wind. His True Qi was contained but not released, yet the surrounding air vibrated, coalescing into a gale that rushed toward Xu Yang and sent his robes flapping wildly.