The next day, the sun blazed brilliantly.
Twelve temporary rings had already been set up on the sports ground of First High School. All the senior students had gathered on the grounds. Even those not taking the martial arts examinations wore expressions of eager excitement.
At Ring 9, the students of Class 9 had already assembled. A total of seven students from their class had signed up for the martial arts examinations. Aside from Su Yang and Zhang Tai, Han Jing and Liu Xiaoxiao had also registered. Their blood-vitality levels both exceeded ninety-five, and with a hard push, they still had hope of being accepted into an ordinary Martial Academy.
"He's here."
Someone called out.
Everyone looked up to see a group of youths in training uniforms walking slowly toward them. Leading the way was a deadpan teenager in a white shirt, with a cold expression and fluttering long hair. Coupled with the chilling gleam of the long spear in his hand, he exuded an intense sense of oppression.
"Liu Chaofeng is so handsome! What should I do, I'm falling in love?"
"Liu Chaofeng, I want to bear your children!"
...
Liu Chaofeng seemed accustomed to such adulation. He looked straight ahead without a glance to either side, walked up to Ring 1, and came to a halt. Then, with a swift movement of his feet, he leapt gracefully onto the stage.
This display of lightness skill immediately drew a chorus of cheers.
Meanwhile, Li Tianpao, walking at the back of the group, was grinning broadly. Yet his gaze swept repeatedly toward the area where Class 9 stood. When he caught sight of Su Yang, the corners of his mouth twitched into a cruel smile.
...
Over at Class 9's spot, Liu Xiaoxiao also noticed Li Tianpao's expression. She nudged Han Jing.
"Jingjing, did you see that? Li Tianpao is definitely going to vent your anger for you."
"He's just teaching Su Yang to know his place; it has nothing to do with me."
"Right, right. Oh, by the way, Jingjing, Li Tianpao said he's taking us outside the city for a trial this weekend."
Hearing this, Han Jing felt a slight stir of interest.
"Outside the city?"
Her blood-vitality level was only ninety-five, and she wasn't even a Quasi-Martial Artist yet. If someone led the way, a trial outside the city would provide her with tremendous help.
"Let's go, Jingjing. I've never killed a monster beast before."
Seeing Han Jing hesitate, Liu Xiaoxiao grabbed her arm and wheedled playfully.
"We'll talk about it when the time comes."
"All right! Jingjing is the best."
Liu Xiaoxiao knew Han Jing's mind well enough; saying that basically meant she had agreed. Mid-sentence, she suddenly pulled at Han Jing's sleeve.
"Look! Li Tianpao is getting on the ring."
...
On Ring 9, Li Tianpao stood towering like a mountain, upright and imposing.
"Who's going up first?"
As the class monitor, Zhang Tai immediately assumed a commanding posture, his gaze sweeping over the others. It lingered for a fraction of a second on Liu Xiaoxiao's face, and she caught on instantly.
"Su Yang, your chance to shine has arrived. If you perform well, maybe our Jingjing will spare you another glance."
The others immediately nodded in agreement at these words. In this setup, whoever went up first would have to face Li Tianpao at full health. Wasn't that practically volunteering to be a human punching bag? If someone went ahead of them, Li Tianpao would at least expend some stamina before his fists landed on them, making the blows presumably less painful.
"You're quite clever, aren't you? True to your two wagging tongues, you certainly know how to talk."
Su Yang didn't bother being polite with Liu Xiaoxiao.
As soon as these words left his mouth, Liu Xiaoxiao froze for a moment. When she finally processed them, her entire face turned beet red. Anger, embarrassment, and various other emotions piled up together, causing her to burst into tears with a wail.
"Su Yang, you jerk..."
Han Jing's face also flushed crimson. After spitting out those words, she seemed too embarrassed to say anything more and hurriedly turned to comfort Liu Xiaoxiao.
"Su Yang, are you even a man? You only know how to bully girls. Why don't you go up yourself..."
Seeing this, Zhang Tai stopped asking for Su Yang's opinion, walked straight up to the ring, and handed in the name list for the matches.
On the stage, the referee glanced at the list and said in a flat tone, "First contestant, Su Yang."
Hearing this, Su Yang didn't say anything further. The sooner it started, the sooner it would end. Once on the stage, he gave a slight nod to the referee by way of greeting. Su Yang recognized the teacher; she was the instructor who usually trained them in martial skills. Her surname was Cang, she was a woman, and she was a Tier 2 Yuan-Gathering Realm practitioner.
Based on Su Yang's understanding, a martial artist's realms could be roughly divided into Qi-Gathering Realm, Yuan-Gathering Realm, Transcendence Realm, Void Realm, Shanhai Realm...
In their school, the Yuan-Gathering Realm was already considered top-tier combat power. Their principal, the highest-ranked martial artist in Suicheng, was only at the Tier 3 Transcendence Realm.
Li Tianpao stood on the ring, looking at Su Yang with undisguised disdain.
"Kid, don't cry later."
"Stay away from Jingjing from now on, and I can spare you a bit of suffering."
Su Yang looked at him impatiently. He had noticed that villains were invariably long-winded.
"Is all you know how to do is run your mouth?"
Li Tianpao was stunned, seemingly caught off guard by Su Yang's audacity. Regaining his composure, he pointed a finger at Su Yang while a cruel smile pulled at the corners of his mouth.
...
Off the stage:
"Monitor, how many minutes do you think Su Yang can last?"
"Minutes? Su Yang's blood-vitality is 81, while Brother Pao is rumored to have reached 109. How many minutes do you think?"
Zhang Tai let out a cold snort. Minutes? You guys are giving Su Yang way too much credit. An expression of contempt crossed his face as he held up a single finger. Brother Pao never timed his beatings. He counted them in punches.
"One minute?"
Someone ventured. One minute wasn't bad either; if they went up themselves, they probably wouldn't even last a single minute.
Zhang Tai sneered. "No. One punch."
...
On the stage, Li Tianpao finally lost his patience. He wound up his fist and hurled it toward Su Yang. He had figured out that he was no match for Su Yang in a verbal sparring match. That being the case, he would dispense with talking and use his strength to prove a point: a hard head gets a hard beating.
Li Tianpao's punch carried no fancy tricks—just a simple, straightforward direct punch. He was confident that against a weakling like Su Yang, a single punch would be more than enough.
Watching Li Tianpao's earth-shattering fist, Zhang Tai and Liu Xiaoxiao's eyes lit up with excitement. With a punch like that, let alone Su Yang, even the geniuses from the school team wouldn't dare take it head-on.
Yet, the very next second, their eyes widened in shock.
They saw that Su Yang likewise made no fancy moves, simply meeting the blow with a punch of his own...
The next instant, Li Tianpao's massive frame was sent flying directly through the air, crashing heavily near the edge of the ring. If the referee hadn't blocked his trajectory, Li Tianpao would likely have tumbled straight off the stage.
This...
At this sight, every student watching the match froze in place.
What the hell, seriously?
What just happened?
After a brief, stunned silence, the entire arena erupted.
"Holy crap, are you kidding me? Su Yang won?"
"And he beat Li Tianpao at his own specialty?"
Zhang Tai and Liu Xiaoxiao were left staring in blank astonishment. The scene they had imagined—of Su Yang getting beaten until his face was bruised and swollen—never materialized. Instead, Su Yang had defeated Li Tianpao with a single punch.
Lying on the ring, Li Tianpao experienced a momentary short-circuit in his brain.
What just happened?
Had he just been sent flying by a single punch?