Chapter 174: The Final Showdown!

Chapter 174: The Final Showdown!

On the arena.

After a brief moment of panic, Feng Jiuge quickly regained her composure, her expression returning to normal.

"I concede defeat!" she declared.

Then, she grabbed her spear and was about to jump off the stage.

"Wait!"

Jiang Ning hastily spoke up.

Feng Jiuge paused and turned to look at Jiang Ning.

"Miss Feng, I have something to ask you later. Would you have time later?"

Feng Jiuge gave Jiang Ning an appraising look, her gaze lingering on his face for a moment.

"I'm free during the day, but not at night!" she replied.

Jiang Ning: "..."

What was he thinking?

Jiang Ning silently mocked him in his mind.

"How about this afternoon, Miss Feng?" he suggested.

"Sure!" Feng Jiuge nodded. "Just come to Qiyue Residence this afternoon, I'll be there waiting for you!"

With that, Feng Jiuge, holding her spear, leaped off the stage and disappeared into the crowd in the blink of an eye.

"Brother Jiang Ning, a fellow martial arts enthusiast!" Qin Xuan, who had just returned to the side of the stage, smiled and greeted Jiang Ning.

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

In the time they had been here, this was the first time Qin Xuan had spoken to him.

He was also the first among the Martial Academy students to initiate a conversation with him.

Jiang Ning's thoughts turned, and he immediately understood.

Qin Xuan's friendly gesture indicated that he had acknowledged Jiang Ning's skills, which was why he was reaching out to him.

Realizing the reason behind Qin Xuan's approach, Jiang Ning smiled slightly. "Don't misjudge me, it was just an accident."

"I understand!" Qin Xuan smiled warmly. "I have some insights in this area. Girls dislike it when intentions are too obvious, so to win a girl's heart, one must create such unexpected coincidences."

"You're experienced!" Jiang Ning praised.

Qin Xuan smiled and bowed slightly. "I am Qin Xuan."

"I am Jiang Ning," Jiang Ning returned the bow.

The two men shared a smile, acknowledging their mutual respect.

Qin Xuan's intention to befriend Jiang Ning was clear, and Jiang Ning naturally responded with goodwill.

"I have something to ask you later, Feng Jiuge. I didn't expect you to be so impressive!" Jiang Ning continued.

Feng Jiuge appraised Jiang Ning, her gaze lingering on his face for a moment.

"You're quite impressive yourself! Your eyes are like the moon, and your teeth like jade. You have a unique and captivating aura that sets you apart from others," Feng Jiuge complimented.

Hearing this, Qin Xuan understood. If he hadn't been moved by Feng Jiuge's appearance, he wouldn't have remembered her so vividly.

"It seems you're quite taken with Feng Jiuge. No wonder you wanted to talk to her!" Qin Xuan said with a hint of a smile.

"I do have something to discuss with Feng Jiuge. As for love, we're still young, and our martial arts journey is not yet complete. I don't have such thoughts for now!" Jiang Ning replied.

"Impressive!" Qin Xuan exclaimed.

Feng Jiuge's cheeks flushed slightly, and she lowered her gaze. "It's... it's because of you, Qin Xuan. My heart is... is stirred."

Hearing this, Qin Xuan's expression softened. He now understood why Feng Jiuge had made such an impression on him.

"It seems you've taken a liking to Feng Jiuge. No wonder you wanted to speak with her. I... I understand now." Qin Xuan said, his smile fading.

As they spoke, their eyes remained fixed on the arena, observing the ongoing battle.

The next opponent would be one of them, and at this stage, none could afford to underestimate the other.

After a moment, the match concluded.

The winner was the one with the wasp-like waist and ape-like arms, known as Yuan Fei, a master of the White Ape Backfist, a middle-rank martial art.

With each punch, thirteen sounds resonated, a technique that could shatter boulders.

This fist technique also had the effect of tempering the body's large tendons.

Yuan Fei's strongest punch, as observed by Jiang Ning, produced a resounding double sound.

From this, it was clear that Yuan Fei had already attained mastery of the White Ape Backfist.

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 Stage of the Martial Way.

This is the root of Yuan Fei's victory.

When the gap between two combatants is not significant, and both have mastered mid-rank martial arts, the advantage of leading in Martial Way cultivation becomes the decisive factor in determining the outcome.

On the arena stage.

With Yuan Fei's battle concluded, the vast arena now only has three remaining participants: Jiang Ning, Qin Xuan, and Yuan Fei.

"You three, how do you want to arrange the order?" the exam proctor asked.

"We'll follow your arrangement, sir," Yuan Fei said, cupping his hands in agreement.

Jiang Ning also spoke up, "We'll go with your arrangement!"

Qin Xuan expressed his agreement as well.

"Good!" The proctor nodded. "Since you all say so, I'll make the arrangements!"

"We await your instructions, sir," Yuan Fei said.

The proctor looked at the three of them, thought for a moment, and then said, "Alright! The youngest among you three can wait on the side, and the two older ones will fight first!"

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

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

"Eighteen!" Jiang Ning declared without hesitation.

Upon hearing this, the other two were astonished, their eyes fixed on Jiang Ning.

Although Jiang Ning's age was not a well-kept secret, and many knew it, these three were not among them.

Before today, they had no idea that someone like Jiang Ning even existed.

They certainly hadn't bothered to investigate Jiang Ning's background.

Based solely on his appearance, they could only guess his approximate age, not his specific youth.

So, until now, they had no idea that Jiang Ning was only eighteen years old.

"Brother Jiang, you're so young?" Qin Xuan's face showed his surprise.

Yuan Fei's gaze at Jiang Ning suddenly intensified.

Knowing Jiang Ning's age, Yuan Fei was shocked beyond words.

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

For them, entering the Ninth Stage of the Martial Way was not difficult. From the day they started practicing martial arts, it took as little as a year and a half or as long as two years to achieve this.

Reaching the stage where one's skin is as tough as copper and impervious to blades and guns was not a significant challenge either.

With his talents, it had taken him two years.

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

Advancing from the Ninth Stage to the Eighth Stage was not difficult either. Tempering one's muscles and increasing strength by five hundred jin was considered entering the Eighth Stage. If one relied on external objects, it could be achieved in just a few days.

However, relying on external objects didn't hold much significance.

It merely allowed for a temporary boost in strength.

The most challenging part of the Eighth Stage was tempering every muscle in the body.

Such a meticulous process could not be aided by external objects.

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

This step demanded a patient and meticulous approach.

It took him three months to advance from the Ninth Stage to the Eighth Stage.

And at the Eighth Stage, he spent a full five years to truly temper every muscle in his body.

A stage where there was no further advancement.

As far as he knew, aside from relying on one's own meticulous training, there were not many other methods.

Unless one had exceptionally high natural talent and innate potential, the higher the talent and potential, the more efficient the muscle tempering process, allowing one to save time by tempering muscles at an extraordinary speed.

Another type was those with exceptional mental strength, capable of achieving inner vision of their entire body.

With exceptional mental strength, the control over the physical body was also higher, especially with the ability to see inside the body and identify any muscles that still needed tempering.

This precision allowed for efficient circulation of essence power to temper those specific muscles, naturally increasing the overall efficiency.

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

He was also well aware of his own innate potential.

It could only be considered as slightly above average.

Slightly above-average potential might be considered exceptional in a small town, but in the Martial Academy, it was nothing special.

The reason he had reached this stage was not due to exceptional talent or potential but rather his family's resources and his decent comprehension ability.

It was because of his past experiences that Yuan Fei clearly understood how extraordinary it was for an eighteen-year-old like Jiang Ning to possess such strength and cultivation. It indicated an incredibly rare talent and potential.

Once in a century! Yuan Fei thought to himself.

In his mind, this phrase referred not to Luoshui County but to the Martial Academy in Dongling Prefecture.

As far as he knew, no one in the Academy had achieved the Eighth Stage of Muscle Tempering at the age of eighteen in the past few decades.

Over a hundred years ago in Dongling Prefecture's Martial Academy, there was a Celestial Prodigy who, at the age of eighteen, had reached the seventh stage of the Martial Way.

This person later entered the realm of a Grandmaster, causing a sensation in their time.

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

Just at that moment, the man overseeing the assessment nodded slightly at Jiang Ning, "Eighteen years old? Excellent! Excellent!"

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

Upon hearing this, Qin Xuan 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 higher innate potential. It's only natural to offer some preferential treatment!"

As his words fell, Qin Xuan stepped forward and stood in the center of the arena.

Holding a sword, he pointed it diagonally at the ground, "Brother Yuan Fei, do you choose to fight with fists and feet or weapons?"

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, but you're not adept at fist and foot combat. I, Yuan Fei, won't take advantage of you! Let's compete with weapons!" Yuan Fei said with a steady expression.

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

At that moment, Yuan Fei turned to the man overseeing the assessment and said, "Please, sir, give me a Steel Long Staff!"

"Here!" The man immediately retrieved a long staff from the weapon rack beside the arena and tossed it to Yuan Fei.

Yuan Fei leaped and caught the Steel Long Staff with one hand.

Boom!

In the instant he landed, dust flew, and a dull sound reverberated between his feet and the ground.

Whoosh!

Yuan Fei effortlessly swung the long staff in his hand, and as he did, the staff's shadow danced in the air. With each swing, the wind howled, and the dust on the arena began to spread in all directions.

Seeing this, Qin Xuan's eyes narrowed.

He realized that he might have underestimated Yuan Fei.

Yuan Fei's arms were naturally long, reaching down to his knees, a sign of innate ape-like arms. Such a person would undoubtedly have an extremely high innate talent for fist combat.

However, as Yuan Fei gripped the Steel Long Staff, Qin Xuan noticed a sudden change in Yuan Fei's demeanor. He seemed to become even more confident and different!

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

"Come!" Qin Xuan replied calmly.

The next moment, Yuan Fei's right leg pushed off the ground, and the powerful reaction force propelled him forward like an arrow released from a bow, rapidly closing in on Qin Xuan.

In the next breath, Yuan Fei's staff descended, accompanied by a whistling wind.

Clang!

Qin Xuan used the force of four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds, parrying with his sword, but the instant their weapons collided, his expression changed slightly.

In the next instant, the long staff Yuan Fei had just swung down seemed to bounce back as if repelled by a rebounding force.

As the staff was raised three feet high, it descended again, even faster this time.

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

As time passed, Yuan Fei's offensive became increasingly fierce, not giving Qin Xuan any chance to catch his breath.

One staff strike after another, without pause.

Yuan Fei's swings created dozens of afterimages in the air, completely enveloping Qin Xuan in a sea of staff shadows.

Amid the clanging sounds of the Steel Long Staffs colliding, amidst the splashing sparks, Qin Xuan couldn't help but retreat again and again.

During this process, Jiang Ning's gaze penetrated the numerous staff shadows, clearly seeing Qin Xuan's face turning red, his breath visibly labored.

Moreover, beads of sweat were already forming on Qin Xuan's forehead.

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

After only a brief moment, Qin Xuan found himself in the same situation Jiang Ning had just been in.

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

All around Qin Xuan were dense staff shadows.

Just then, Yuan Fei struck with his staff, and Qin Xuan lightly tapped with his sword tip, using the force of the staff's momentum to float down from the arena like a weightless water lily.

"Brother Yuan is indeed formidable. I admire you!" Qin Xuan said, standing below the arena, holding his sword and bowing respectfully.

Even in defeat, he maintained his composure and the demeanor of a graceful young master.

As Qin Xuan finished speaking, he quietly exhaled a sigh of relief.

On the arena, he had been struggling to catch his breath, and if he had lost control and exhaled, Yuan Fei's Steel Long Staff would have broken through his defenses.

To be pushed to this point by Yuan Fei was something he had never imagined.

Facing a situation where he saw no chance of victory and was about to lose face, he had no choice but to concede with a bow.

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

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end