Chapter 373

"Then Brother Huang, be careful!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Hanzhou's gaze gradually turned sharp.

Today he had taken first place on the Ten Prodigies list without having to make a move, and many were curious about his true strength.

The energy auras on both men began to soar simultaneously, their surging internal energy bursting forth and causing the arena to rumble.

"Clang..."

With a crisp sound like the roar of a dragon, Zhang Hanzhou was the first to strike.

A silver blade-light shot out like a bolt of silk; Zhang Hanzhou's surging internal energy rapidly constricted, gathering upon his short blade.

With a single wave of his hand, he slashed out a crimson blade-aura that was nearly solidified, tearing through the air with a shrill whistle.

The blade-aura was like a burning flame, radiating intense heat; wherever it passed, the air seemed to distort, and waves of heat rolled outward.

This strike possessed the momentum to split mountains and sever cliffs, the sharp blade-aura resembling a blood-red moon.

Golden light erupted from Huang Xiao's eyes, his energy aura surging.

Facing the strike from Zhang Hanzhou, the number one of the Ten Prodigies of the Purple Sun Sect, he did not avoid the edge; his robust internal energy transformed into a fist-aura, and he stepped forward to throw a punch.

"Boom!"

The air let out a dull roar, and his fist tore through the air, creating visible ripples; this punch was earth-shattering, and its overbearing momentum made even Zhang Hanzhou change his expression.

"Bang!"

Huang Xiao's fist, weighing more than ten thousand jun, collided instantly with the blade-aura Zhang Hanzhou had slashed out; amidst the roar, spiderweb-like cracks rapidly covered the blade-aura.

Immediately after, to the shock of everyone, the blade-aura shattered and exploded, turning into pure internal energy that flooded the entire arena.

"The sword of the Purple Sun Sect, the fist of the Yellow Maple Valley!"

Someone whispered, their face full of horror.

The blade-aura that Zhang Hanzhou had slashed out with a semi-spiritual treasure blade had actually been shattered by Huang Xiao with his bare hands; this meant Huang Xiao's body tempering had definitely reached minor completion, otherwise, it would be impossible to resist a blade-aura from a semi-spiritual weapon barehanded.

"Good fist technique, Brother Huang, be careful!" Zhang Hanzhou let out a long shout.

After a simple probe, he began to get serious.

Holding the short blade in one hand, his figure suddenly vanished from where he stood, and a sea of blade-light surged toward Huang Xiao, accompanied by continuous shrill whistles.

"Well come!"

Huang Xiao let out a low shout, took a large step forward, and smashed out with a pair of fists that seemed capable of crushing all things; wherever they passed, the blade-aura and blade-light were all blasted apart, producing a clanging sound.

His fists were heavy and hard, peerlessly fierce and powerful, and Zhang Hanzhou's swift blade was actually suppressed to the point where he could only defend himself.

"Bang! Bang! Bang..."

On the arena, the sounds were like a continuous string of firecrackers. Blade light and human figures intertwined, with waves of force surging.

"What an overbearing fist!" Everyone watched Huang Xiao in shock.

Zhang Hanzhou's blade technique was sharp and fast as a thunderbolt, the blade light shrouding all directions, but it was of little use. No matter what methods he employed, Huang Xiao shattered them with a single punch.

Even when struck by the body of a semi-spirit weapon, Huang Xiao resisted it bare-handed, sending sparks flying everywhere.

"His physical body is nearly perfected." Xu Yang watched Huang Xiao's body, his eyes flickering.

Of course, nearly perfected is not the same as perfected.

Without comprehending a martial intent, even if one cultivated for another hundred years, it would only be "nearly perfected." The gap between perfected and nearly perfected is, if not a chasm, then close to it.

What he truly cared about was Huang Xiao's fist technique; it was definitely a top-tier style, and its power was terrifying.

"This is one of the unique skills of the Yellow Maple Valley, called the White Tiger Gold-Shattering Fist. It is already approaching the realm of comprehending martial intent."

Seeing Xu Yang's burning gaze, Jiang Fan, knowing he wasn't very familiar with the Yellow Maple Valley, immediately explained.

The White Tiger Gold-Shattering Fist is one of the supreme fist techniques of the Yellow Maple Valley, and only those of the Valley Master's lineage with the surname Huang can cultivate it.

The inheritance of the Yellow Maple Valley is different from that of the Purple Sun Gate. The inheritance of the Purple Sun Gate's Sect Master and Peak Masters is restricted to father-to-son, son-to-grandson.

For example, the current Sect Master, Zhang Jingyuan—even if his son were a genius, he could not be his disciple, nor could he join the Heavenly Authority Peak.

The Yellow Maple Valley is different. The lineage of the Yellow Maple Valley's Sect Master dictates that only members of the Huang family can succeed, and many unique skills can only be cultivated by those with Huang blood.

Compared to the Purple Sun Gate, the Yellow Maple Valley is more like a family inheritance.

The White Tiger Gold-Shattering Fist is a top-tier fist technique that possesses martial intent. Although the Mountain-Bearing Bear King Palm is also a palm technique with martial intent, it is simply not in the same league as the White Tiger Gold-Shattering Fist.

It is not about the magnitude of power, but mainly the difficulty of comprehending the martial intent.

The Mountain-Bearing Bear King Palm requires alignment with the Mountain-Bearing Bear Scripture to have any possibility of comprehending martial intent.

This White Tiger Gold-Shattering Fist, however, has a complete method for comprehending martial intent. It is said that out of ten people who cultivate it, two or three can comprehend the martial intent.

Whereas for the Mountain-Bearing Bear King Palm, even if a hundred people cultivate it, one might not necessarily comprehend the martial intent.

Of course, the power of the White Tiger Gold-Shattering Fist is also terrifying, combining offense and defense. Zhang Hanzhou's blade could not even break through Huang Xiao's fists.

On the arena, Zhang Hanzhou struck with his blade like lightning, while Huang Xiao simply threw punch after punch. His heavy, powerful fists caused Zhang Hanzhou's blade to tremble and roar with every impact.

After dozens of exchanges, Zhang Hanzhou's arm began to tremble, and cracks appeared in the web of his hand.

"Clang!"

Huang Xiao threw another heavy punch. The fist force, which seemed capable of shattering all things, caused the air to roar. Following a crisp sound like metal striking metal, Zhang Hanzhou's blade aura exploded, and the short blade in his hand was knocked away by the punch.

Violent force swept across, engulfing the arena.

A look of pain appeared on Zhang Hanzhou's face. His protective aura cracked, his face flushed, and his body could not stop retreating.

Huang Xiao withdrew his fist and stepped back, laughing, "I concede the advantage!"

The short blade fell onto the arena with a clatter. Zhang Hanzhou looked bitter, raised his cracked and bloodied hand, and cupped his fist, saying, "Brother Huang's fist technique is rigid, fierce, and overbearing. I admire it."

He had no choice but to admire it!

He had used a semi-spirit weapon, yet his weapon was still knocked away by Huang Xiao's bare hands. If he hadn't had the semi-spirit weapon, he feared he would have lost even faster. He felt that even if Yan Guiyun were still here, he probably wouldn't be Huang Xiao's match either.

Looking across the Purple Sun Gate, only Xu Yang, Li Chuyang, and Jiang Fan, who had reached the perfection of Marrow Cleansing, could possibly suppress this Huang Xiao.

"Zhang Hanzhou actually lost!"

"Are the disciples of the Yellow Maple Valley all this strong?"

Seeing Zhang Hanzhou, the first of the Ten Heroes, have his weapon knocked away after dozens of exchanges, his hand cracked and bleeding, the Purple Sun Gate was in an uproar.

This was not a friendly sparring match between internal disciples where winning or losing didn't matter.

This was a match against disciples of another sect; the outcome concerned the sect's reputation. Never mind these disciples, even the Elders on the high platform had ugly expressions.

"Brother Huang, this disciple of yours is not bad. He has hopes of ascending the dragon a second time in the future," Zhang Jingyuan said with a smile, looking at the Yellow Maple Valley Master.

Someone of his level naturally wouldn't show his emotions on his face, nor would he show displeasure just because a disciple under his sect had lost a match.

The Yellow Maple Valley Master laughed, "This Zhang Hanzhou is not bad either; it's just that his physical tempering is a bit weak. If his body were stronger, it would have been my disciple who lost."

Zhang Hanzhou's blade technique was at a very high level, but his strength was a bit weak, failing to break through Huang Xiao's defense. This was the fundamental reason for his defeat.

"Is there any other brother willing to offer me some pointers?" Huang Xiao cupped his fists, his face full of smiles.

"Senior brother, you've already played one round. How about letting me play one too?"

Just before the Purple Sun Gate disciples could react, another voice rang out. It was another man among the three Yellow Maple Valley disciples.

Hearing him refer to the sparring with the Purple Sun Gate disciples as "playing," many people's eyes began to spit fire.

"Good!" Huang Xiao jumped straight off the arena, and the youth jumped up to replace him.

This person had sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes, a heroic face, and still carried a hint of youthfulness.

Like Huang Xiao, he didn't carry any weapons and jumped onto the arena empty-handed.

Looking closely, his fists were thick like hammers, looking somewhat disproportionate to his youthful body.

"I am Lin Jingyu. I wonder which senior brother is willing to offer some pointers?"

Lin Jingyu cupped his fists, his gaze landing on Xu Yang.

He wanted to fight Xu Yang because he had seen from afar the scene of Xu Yang knocking Li Chuyang away with a single punch, and he was very curious about Xu Yang's strength and golden aura.

"I am Qi Xuancheng. Let me exchange a few moves with Brother Lin!"

Xu Yang didn't react, but the second-ranked Qi Xuancheng, under the instruction of the Medicine King Peak Master's gaze, leaped into the air and onto the arena, a strong fighting spirit surging from his body.

The Purple Sun Gate had already lost one match; if he won this one, he would be the hero who turned the tide.

"Please!" Lin Jingyu's eyes lit up.

It is said that the Purple Sun Gate has the best swords, and the Yellow Maple Valley has the best fists. The weapon at Qi Xuancheng's waist happened to be a sword.

Qi Xuancheng didn't say more. With a shake of his aura, the long sword at his waist shot out like a silver beam, emitting the fluctuations of a semi-spirit weapon. Immediately after, Qi Xuancheng took a large step forward, grabbed the hilt, and in an instant, a sheet of sword light covered Lin Jingyu.

Many people frowned. Qi Xuancheng was still showing off his skills at a time like this; it would be fine if he won, but if he lost, he would likely be drowned in spit.

Lin Jingyu stood unmoved. A vigorous aura surged out, and his pair of fists emitted a red glow, looking like two red-hot iron hammers, appearing extremely strange.