Chapter 174: The Final Showdown!

Chapter 174: The Final Showdown!

On the arena.

Feng Jiuge's expression had just calmed down when she quickly regained her composure, her face returning to its usual state.

"I concede defeat!" She spoke up.

Then, grabbing her long spear, she was about to jump off the arena.

"Wait!"

Jiang Ning quickly spoke up.

Feng Jiuge paused at his words, turning back to look at Jiang Ning!

"Miss Feng, I have something to ask you later, but I'm not sure if you'll be available," he said.

Feng Jiuge sized up Jiang Ning, pausing for a moment on his face.

Then she said, "I'm free during the day, but not at night!"

Jiang Ning: "..."

What kind of thought process is that?

Jiang Ning silently mocked in his mind.

Then he said, "How about this afternoon, Miss Feng?"

"Sure!" Feng Jiuge nodded. "Come find me at Moonstay Residence this afternoon. I'll be waiting!"

With these words, Feng Jiuge grabbed her long spear and leaped off the arena, disappearing into the crowd in the blink of an eye.

"Brother Jiang Ning, a fellow martial arts enthusiast!" Just as Jiang Ning returned to the side of the arena, Qin Xuan smiled slightly and spoke to him.

Hearing the voice beside him, Jiang Ning was surprised and turned to look at Qin Xuan.

This was the first time Qin Xuan had spoken to him since arriving here.

He was also the first disciple from the Wu Yuan Academy to initiate a conversation with him.

In an instant, Jiang Ning's thoughts shifted, and he understood.

His recent performance had earned Qin Xuan's approval, so Qin Xuan took the initiative to chat with him and express goodwill.

After understanding the reason, Jiang Ning smiled slightly, "Don't slander me, it was purely accidental just now."

"I understand!" Qin Xuan smiled, "In this regard, I have some insights. Girls dislike having a clear purpose, so to win a girl's heart, you need such unexpected coincidences."

"You're experienced!" Jiang Ning praised.

Qin Xuan smiled and bowed, "I'm Qin Xuan."

"I'm Jiang Ning!" Jiang Ning also bowed.

Seeing this, the two men acknowledged each other.

Since Qin Xuan had taken the initiative, Jiang Ning naturally had no reason to refuse.

As the saying goes, when you're away from home, rely on friends. Having one more friend is always better than having one more enemy.

The more friends you have, the more convenient it is to act.

Especially someone like Qin Xuan, who held an extraordinary status.

And at this moment.

While the two men were talking, the remaining two on the arena had already started their battle.

This fight was a contest between fist and foot.

One excelled in fist techniques, while the other was skilled in footwork.

Their combat was filled with the romance of clashing fists and feet.

As they fought, continuous booming sounds echoed.

"Brother Jiang, who do you think will win?" Qin Xuan asked.

"I don't know!" Jiang Ning shook his head.

Qin Xuan asked again, "What did you think of Feng Jiuge just now?"

"She's quite impressive. Her spear skills are the best I've seen so far. Her spear techniques are like fire, filled with strong aggression and offense!" Jiang Ning replied after a moment's thought.

Qin Xuan: "..."

His face showed a hint of speechlessness.

Then he said, "I was asking if you think Feng Jiuge is quite beautiful?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ning recalled Feng Jiuge's appearance.

Her eyes were like phoenix feathers, her teeth like white jade, and her brows and eyes were like a painting. Her tall and slender figure exuded a unique personal charm.

Hearing Jiang Ning's words, Qin Xuan's response.

If he wasn't moved by her, why would he remember Feng Jiuge so clearly?

"It seems you have feelings for Feng Jiuge! No wonder you said you had something to ask her!" Qin Xuan said with a slight smile.

"I do have something to ask Feng Jiuge!" Jiang Ning continued, "As for romance, we're still young, and our martial arts are not yet accomplished. I don't have such thoughts for now!"

"Impressive!" Qin Xuan said.

As the two men talked, their gazes remained on the arena, observing the ongoing fist and foot combat.

Because next, one of these two would be their opponent.

Naturally, they had to observe carefully at this stage, as the three of them competed for the final deputy commander position. No one could afford to be careless.

A moment later.

The outcome was decided.

The person with the wasp waist and monkey arms emerged as the winner.

From their observations, Jiang Ning and Qin Xuan knew that the winner was Yuan Fei, a master of the White Ape Backfist Fist.

White Ape Backfist Fist was an intermediate-level martial art.

Thirteen sounds in one punch meant perfection in the fist technique.

Such a punch, when executed perfectly, would produce thirteen distinct sounds.

This fist technique also tempered the body's major tendons, enhancing physical defense.

Yuan Fei's strongest punch, as observed by Jiang Ning, produced two distinct sounds.

This indicated that Yuan Fei's White Ape Backfist Fist had already reached an advanced level.

As it turns out, Yuan Fei, who appears to be around twenty-six or twenty-seven years old, may only be a step away from the Seventh Rank Martial Artist.

And this is the root of Yuan Fei's victory.

When the gap between them is not significant, and both have mastered Intermediate Level Martial Arts, the advantage of leading in Martial Dao realm will eventually become the key to determining victory.

On the arena.

With Yuan Fei's battle coming to an end, the vast arena now only has Jiang Ning, Qin Xuan, and Yuan Fei left.

"There are three of you, how do you want to arrange the order?" the man in charge of the examination asked.

"It's all up to you, sir!" Yuan Fei cupped his hands, expressing his agreement first.

Jiang Ning also said, "We'll follow your arrangement, sir!"

Qin Xuan also expressed his agreement.

"Good!" The man in charge of the examination nodded, "Since all three of you say so, then I'll make the arrangements!"

"As you command, sir!" Yuan Fei said.

The man in charge of the examination looked at the three of them, thought for a moment, and then said, "How about this! The youngest among you three can wait on the side, and the two older ones will fight first!"

"I'm twenty-four years old!" Qin Xuan glanced at the other two and spoke first.

Yuan Fei's face darkened, "Twenty-seven!"

"Eighteen!" Jiang Ning spoke decisively.

Upon hearing this, the three of them were instantly surprised and looked at Jiang Ning in astonishment.

Although Jiang Ning's age wasn't a well-kept secret, many people knew how old he was, but this didn't include these three individuals.

Because before this day, Jiang Ning didn't exist in their eyes.

Not to mention investigating Jiang Ning's information.

Based solely on appearance, they could only guess his approximate age and couldn't pinpoint his exact youth.

So, before this, they had no idea that Jiang Ning was only eighteen years old.

"Brother Jiang is so young?" Qin Xuan's face showed a look of surprise.

Yuan Fei's gaze towards Jiang Ning suddenly froze.

After learning Jiang Ning's age, he was shocked beyond words.

He was well aware of how difficult it had been for him to reach this point.

The path of Martial Dao, for them, was not challenging to enter the Ninth Rank. From the day they started practicing martial arts, it could be as quick as a year and a half, or as slow as one or two years to reach this rank.

It wasn't difficult to reach the stage of having skin as hard as copper and being fearless of blades and spears at the Ninth Rank.

With his aptitude, it had taken him two years.

But by the time he reached this stage, he was already eighteen years old.

Advancing from the Ninth Rank to the Eighth Rank wasn't difficult either. Refining one's body and increasing strength by five hundred jin was enough to enter the Eighth Rank Martial Artist. If relying on external means, it could be achieved in just a few days.

However, relying on external means wasn't very meaningful.

It could only enhance strength ahead of time.

At the Eighth Rank, the most challenging part was refining any corner of the body's muscles.

Such a meticulous step couldn't be aided by external means.

It required an extremely high level of control over force and an equally high level of control over the physical body.

This step required a painstaking effort.

It took him three months to reach the Ninth Stage Proficient and then enter the Eighth Rank Martial Artist.

At the Eighth Rank, he spent a full five years to truly refine his entire body's muscles to perfection.

A stage where there was no further progress to be made.

As far as he knew, there weren't many ways to achieve this, except through painstaking effort.

Unless one had exceptional innate talent, their efficiency in refining their body's muscles would be higher, allowing them to refine their entire body's muscles at an extraordinary speed, thus saving time.

Another way was to have exceptional mental power, reaching the level of inner vision of the entire body.

With exceptional mental power, the higher the control over the physical body, especially with the ability to see within, one could pinpoint any muscle in the body that hadn't been refined yet.

This would naturally increase the efficiency of refining those muscles with precise force manipulation.

But Yuan Fei knew he didn't possess either of these qualities.

Yuan Fei was also aware of his own innate talent.

It could only be considered as above average.

Above-average talent, if placed in a small town, would be considered Heaven's Pride.

But in the Martial Arts Academy, it was nothing special.

The reason he had made it this far wasn't because of his exceptional innate talent but rather his family background and resources.

As well as his decent comprehension ability.

Being able to master Intermediate Level Martial Arts was enough to prove his comprehension.

Precisely because of his past experiences, Yuan Fei was well aware that for an eighteen-year-old like Jiang Ning to possess such a level of strength, it indicated an incredibly rare innate talent.

Once in a century! Yuan Fei's mind suddenly blurted out these four words.

The 'once in a century' in his mind referred not to Luoshui County but to the Martial Arts Academy of Dongling Prefecture.

Because, as far as he knew, in the past few decades, no one in the Academy had been able to reach the Eighth Rank Proficient at the age of eighteen.

Over a hundred years ago in Dongling County's Martial Arts Academy, there was a Heaven's Pride, an eighteen-year-old Seventh Rank Martial Artist.

This person later entered the Master Realm, causing a sensation.

Thinking of all this, Yuan Fei's gaze towards Jiang Ning became even more solemn.

Just at this moment.

The man overseeing the examination glanced at Jiang Ning and nodded slightly, "Eighteen years old? Not bad! Not bad at all!"

Then he asked, "Do you have any objections to my decision?"

Upon hearing this, Qin Xuan immediately shook his head, "I have no objections!"

Qin Xuan continued, "Youth represents inexperience in battle and a lack of rich combat experience, but it also signifies greater innate potential, which naturally deserves special treatment!"

As his words fell.

Qin Xuan stepped forward and came to the center of the arena.

Holding a sharp sword, he pointed it diagonally at the ground, "Brother Yuan Fei, do you choose hand-to-hand combat or weapon combat?"

Qin Xuan appeared calm and composed, as if he had everything under control.

Yuan Fei's gaze shifted slightly, landing on the tip of Qin Xuan's sword.

"I've heard of your extraordinary sword skills, and you're not skilled in hand-to-hand combat. I, Yuan Fei, won't take advantage of you! Let's compete with weapons!" Yuan Fei said with a calm expression.

Upon hearing these words, a faint smile unconsciously appeared on Qin Xuan's lips.

At this moment, Yuan Fei turned to the man overseeing the examination and said, "Please, sir, give me a steel staff!"

"Coming!" The examiner immediately retrieved a staff from the weapon rack beside the arena and tossed it towards Yuan Fei.

Yuan Fei leaped, catching the steel staff with one hand.

Boom—

In the instant he landed.

Dust flew, and a dull sound came from between his feet and the ground.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

Yuan Fei effortlessly wielded the staff, and as he swung it, the wind howled, and the dust on the arena dispersed towards the surroundings.

Seeing this, Qin Xuan's eyes suddenly focused.

He realized that he might have underestimated Yuan Fei.

Yuan Fei's arms were like an ape's, naturally hanging low enough to reach his knees; this was a natural ape-like physique, and such a person would undoubtedly possess incredibly high innate talent for fist techniques.

But as Yuan Fei gripped the steel staff, Qin Xuan suddenly noticed a sudden change in Yuan Fei's demeanor, and he became even more confident!

"Qin Xuan, are you ready?" Yuan Fei grinned, revealing his white teeth.

"Come on!" Qin Xuan replied indifferently.

The next moment.

Boom—

Yuan Fei stomped his right foot on the ground, and the powerful recoil propelled him towards Qin Xuan at an astonishing speed.

A moment later.

Whoosh—

The staff descended, and the wind howled.

Clang—

Qin Xuan used the leverage technique to block with his sword, but when the two weapons collided, his expression suddenly changed.

The next moment.

The staff that Yuan Fei had just swung down seemed to bounce back as if repelled.

As the staff was raised three feet high, it descended again at an even faster speed.

At this time.

Jiang Ning saw Qin Xuan in a situation similar to when he was pressured by Feng Jiuge, his figure repeatedly retreating, and the situation was clearly under Yuan Fei's control.

As time slowly passed.

Yuan Fei's offensive became more and more fierce, not giving Qin Xuan any chance to catch his breath.

One staff strike after another, each one relentless.

Yuan Fei wielded the staff in the air, creating dozens of afterimages, enveloping Qin Xuan completely.

Accompanied by the clanging of the steel staffs colliding, amidst the sparks flying, Qin Xuan couldn't help but retreat again and again.

During this process, through the layers of staff shadows, Jiang Ning could clearly see that Qin Xuan's face had turned red, and he couldn't seem to catch his breath.

"It seems Yuan Fei is about to win!" Jiang Ning thought to himself.

After only a short while.

Qin Xuan also found himself in the same situation as Jiang Ning had been.

Half a zhang behind him was the edge of the arena.

Heavy staff shadows surrounded Qin Xuan from above, below, and all sides.

Just at this moment.

As Yuan Fei struck with his staff, Qin Xuan lightly touched it with the tip of his sword, and following the force of the staff's momentum, his body seemed weightless, floating like a water lily towards the edge of the arena.

"Brother Yuan is truly formidable; I admire you!" Qin Xuan landed on the edge of the arena, holding his sword and bowing respectfully.

Even in defeat, he maintained his composure, still a graceful and refined young master.

As Qin Xuan's words fell, he quietly exhaled a sigh of relief.

On the arena, he couldn't catch his breath, and if he lost his composure, Yuan Fei's steel staff would break through his defenses.

Being pushed to this point by Yuan Fei was something he had never expected.

When he couldn't see any chance of victory and was about to lose face, he had no choice but to concede with a fist salute.

Being swept off the arena by Yuan Fei's staff was something he could never accept!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end