Chapter 83: Promotion

"Brother Xu, watch out!"

He Dong still had some sense of martial honor; he warned Xu Yang, leaned his body slightly forward into a fierce tiger's pounce, stomped his right foot on the ground, and his figure suddenly transformed into a straight line as he lunged forward.

The martial arts foundation fist technique taught at the Tiger Roar Fist Hall was the Fierce Tiger Fist. Like the Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist, it followed a path of extreme hardness and ferocity, with a particular specialty in claw techniques.

Hong Feng, whom Xu Yang had killed while standing up for the Qiu family, and Bao Gang, who had been killed in return after attempting to rob him, had both come from the Tiger Roar Fist Hall. Thus, Xu Yang was quite familiar with the Fierce Tiger Fist, though he still had to be wary of whether He Dong had learned anything beyond what the Tiger Roar Fist Hall taught.

He Dong thrust both arms out. One hand had its five fingers curled like steel claws tearing through the air, emitting sharp whistles, while the other was clenched into a fist, striking the air with a booming sound.

As his hands danced, his true qi surged out. He had already switched techniques several times mid-way, intending to make it impossible for Xu Yang to discern where he would attack.

"Boom!"

Xu Yang’s figure moved suddenly, stepping sideways, rendering all of He Dong’s feints useless.

The next moment, he turned his body and swung his arm, his fist thrusting out like a great spear, bypassing He Dong’s fist and claw shadows to strike fiercely at He Dong’s armpit.

"Such fast reactions."

He Dong sighed inwardly, turning his claw into a fist and striking horizontally; in an instant, the roles of offense and defense shifted.

"Bang!"

Their arms collided, producing a dull thud, and the explosive force of their qi transformed into a wild gust of wind.

"Explosive Bear Strength, such a hard hand."

He Dong felt as if his hand were clashing against an iron pillar; his muscles spasmed, the pain reaching his marrow, and the extremely hard and fierce Explosive Bear Strength sent his arm recoiling.

Xu Yang’s fist, its momentum undiminished, continued to thrust toward his body.

Fortunately, his other hand arrived just in time, clamping onto Xu Yang’s arm like five iron pincers.

If Xu Yang did not withdraw his hand, even if he could injure He Dong, He Dong was confident his steel claws could tear the flesh and blood from Xu Yang’s arm.

"I cannot win too quickly!"

Xu Yang sighed inwardly. His current physique was not afraid of He Dong’s tiger claw grapple, but he would rather not expose his Vajra Skill if he could avoid it; the bounty on the Jade Butterfly in Qingyuan County was still active.

As he thought this, his waist twisted like a great python, and his arm extended, rotating and sweeping out.

This move was called the Bear Arm Sweep, the most rigid and fierce of them all.

With a boom, the air was blasted apart by his arm, creating a dull, thunderous sound as his arm struck He Dong’s chest like an iron pillar.

Having missed with his five claws, He Dong knew things were going poorly. Seeing the terrifying momentum of this move, he could no longer worry about attacking and hurriedly crossed his arms in front of his chest to block.

"Bang!"

He felt as if his arms had been struck by an iron rod. The moment the intense pain arrived, he felt as if he had been struck by lightning; his protective true qi was shattered instantly by the irresistible force, and he could not help but retreat.

Xu Yang pressed his advantage, his fists falling like raindrops, beginning to take the upper hand.

After taking seven or eight of Xu Yang’s punches, He Dong’s arms were nearly numb, the pain causing cold sweat to bead on his forehead.

Most importantly, he had retreated again and again until he reached the edge of the ring; two or three more steps and he would fall off.

"I concede!" He Dong shouted.

He knew the situation was lost; continuing to fight would certainly not lead to victory against Xu Yang. It was better to preserve his strength and strive to advance in the next round.

If he stubbornly held on without knowing when to stop and truly angered Xu Yang into delivering a heavy blow, he wouldn't even have the chance to fight the second round.

"I accept your concession!"

Xu Yang withdrew his fists and stepped aside, cupping his hands in a salute. He knew that based on the strength he had displayed, He Dong could actually have struggled for a while longer.

But fighting until both were injured would benefit no one, so it was better to concede and fight the second round.

"Brother Xu’s physique is formidable, and your Explosive Bear Power is peerlessly fierce. I am impressed."

He Dong cupped his fists and spoke these polite formalities, then turned and leaped off the ring to rest, conserving his energy for the second round.

"C-18, advances!"

The proctor shouted, and the people below the stage recorded it.

Xu Yang cupped his fists toward the proctor and also turned to jump off the ring.

"Junior Brother Xu, congratulations on advancing."

Sun Tao, Zhang Hong, and Lin Wei came over with smiles to offer their congratulations.

Being able to advance to the next round unscathed was definitely something worth celebrating; on the neighboring ring, there had already been cases of broken hands and feet.

"Just luck!" Xu Yang laughed.

It was indeed luck; his opponent was not only weaker than him but also knew how to weigh the pros and cons, choosing not to fight to the death.

Not far away, Liu Qian nodded slightly, and Xu Yang cupped his fists in response.

The two could not be said to have a close friendship, but during their year at the Liu estate, they had spent time together on a few occasions, so they were not strangers.

"You really got lucky!" Jiang Yi said from the side, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

Xu Yang’s opponent hadn't been strong, and he had won very easily, which made Jiang Yi intensely jealous.

"Where is that dog barking? It’s so noisy."

Xu Yang looked at him coldly: "Do you know what to do when you encounter a dog? You beat it to death with a stick."

Jiang Yi’s face darkened: "You had better hope you don't run into a disciple of my Fierce Wind Hall, otherwise, you’ll wish you were dead."

"Idiot, if you have the ability, do it now. Otherwise, keep your dog mouth shut. Always 'don't run into someone from Fierce Wind Hall'—is everyone from Fierce Wind Hall your father?"

Jiang Yi’s eyes spat fire, but he dared not actually make a move off the ring.

"Junior Brother Xu, go quickly and recover your true qi. Don't lower yourself to the level of a dog. If you meet on the ring, we’ll see who has the real skills; empty threats are useless."

Sun Tao knew Jiang Yi was deliberately trying to provoke Xu Yang to delay his recovery and affect his state of mind, so he immediately pushed Xu Yang away.

Although his consumption was not great, he still retreated to the side and assumed the Turtle-Snake Great Stance, while simultaneously observing the battles on the rings.

One by one, familiar faces began to take the stage. Lu Ren defeated his opponent within ten moves, looking radiant.

Kong Yu’s moves were fierce, and he defeated his mid-stage Qi Gathering Great Perfection opponent in three moves.

He also saw Lu Ren’s lackey, Zhao Hui, bleeding on the ring, being blasted off the stage in five moves.

Sun Tao’s luck was also quite good; he drew an opponent weaker than himself and won after twenty moves.

Lin Wei’s luck was worse; she drew an evenly matched opponent and only won with difficulty after nearly a hundred moves.

After stepping off the ring, she didn't even have the heart to greet Sun Tao and hurriedly ran to the side to recover her true qi.

Fang Xing and Xiong Kui had worse luck, drawing strong opponents, but the two of them were quick-witted; realizing they were outmatched, they decisively conceded, still having the chance to fight another match.

Then there was Jiang Ping; this guy had bad luck and actually drew Cao Rong, conceding before even getting on the stage.

Zhang Yong barely won against his opponent but suffered minor injuries.

"Crack!"

A crisp sound reached his ears, drawing Xu Yang’s attention back to the C-category ring.

It was Zhang Hong’s turn to take the stage, and his opponent was evenly matched with him.

The opponent’s fist tore through his protective true qi and landed on his body, his bones cracking in response, but this was merely a flaw he had deliberately exposed to his opponent.

"Die!"

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

With a crisp "crack," his opponent clutched his neck in pain and retreated, blood flowing from his mouth.

"Bang!"

After staggering back four or five steps, the man fell off the ring. Someone went up to check and found his neck bone had been shattered; the man was already dead.

The entire arena was in an uproar.

Although fists and feet have no eyes in the martial arts examinations and deaths were common, this was the first death in this year’s examination.

Several minor officials went up to inspect the body and quickly carried it away.

"This guy is also a ruthless character."

Xu Yang hadn't expected that the once smooth-talking Zhang Hong had also become a ruthless character, trading the cost of one palm strike for his opponent’s life.

He and Sun Tao went up to help Zhang Hong down and discovered that besides the palm strike to his chest, Zhang Hong had also taken a palm strike to his ribs.

Now that his adrenaline had faded, he was also spitting blood.

"Are your injuries serious?"

As a qualified senior brother, Sun Tao immediately asked about the injuries.

"A few bones are broken, and my internal organs are fine, but I’m afraid I won't be able to continue to the next round."

His injuries weren't considered heavy; he could recover in ten days or half a month.

But to fight another match was basically impossible, let alone wanting to obtain a Dragon-Ascension spot; he would need to fight at least three more matches.

Zhang Hong looked at Xu Yang with a miserable smile: "I’m afraid I can't continue to walk with you anymore. I walked with all my might, but in the end, I still couldn't keep up with your pace."

As people selected together from the Huang family, they had had their conflicts, but the feelings between them were special.

Even though Lu Ren and Xu Yang had broken ties early on, he still held a special affection for Xu Yang; when he reached Qi Gathering Great Perfection, inviting Xu Yang was not just to show off, but also because of that special bond.

"Heal your injuries first. Perhaps your luck will be good in the next round, and your opponent might be more heavily injured than you. If you win one more match, even if you can't ascend the dragon, you can still obtain the title of Martial Licentiate and have hope when you participate in the Martial Examination in the future."

Xu Yang could only comfort Zhang Hong like this.

There had been ten people originally, and now only four remained; it seemed Zhang Hong was going to fall behind.

"You’re right, there is still hope."

Zhang Hong cheered up and sat to the side to circulate his true qi and heal.

The first round ended quickly; the winners advanced to rest, and the losers drew lots to fight again. If they lost this time, they would be directly eliminated.

Xu Yang’s true qi had recovered, and he watched the battles everywhere.

Soon the results of the second round came out; of the fourteen disciples of the Weiyuan Hall, only Zhao Hui and Fang Xing, who had been heavily injured in the first round, did not advance.

"Lu Ren is truly a jinx."

Xu Yang noticed that every one of Lu Ren’s lackeys had a bad ending; Luo Dehu, Qian Jiaxing, and even Zhao Hui now—they all seemed to have bad luck after following him.

"A-10!"

In the second round, he drew the tenth candidate to take the stage on the A-category ring; as for who the opponent was, it was currently unknown.

"Haha... I drew a bye."

Suddenly, a loud laugh attracted everyone’s attention. Xu Yang turned his head in shock to see Zhang Hong laughing up at the sky, waving a numbered slip.

"He really got lucky."

He had originally only been comforting Zhang Hong, and everyone thought Zhang Hong would be eliminated in this round; he hadn't expected that out of one hundred and twenty-three people drawing lots, Zhang Hong would draw the bye.

Dragon-Ascension might be uncertain, but the title of Martial Licentiate should be secure.

By having a bye in this round, he directly advanced to the third round, qualifying him for the title of Martial Licentiate.

"Quite a few acquaintances!"

Xu Yang found the A-category ring and saw many familiar faces.

Lu Ren, Gu Fang, Xiong Kui, and Yang Lin had all drawn the A-category ring. Besides the four, he also saw Kong Yu and Zhu Yang from the Fierce Wind Hall; both were looking at Xu Yang with cold sneers.

Suddenly, everyone’s pupils constricted as they saw a burly figure stride toward the A-category ring, his powerful aura causing those along the way to automatically retreat.

Yun Feng!

A favorite for the top spot, the Marrow-Cleansing expert Yun Feng.

Seeing that he had also drawn the A-category ring, no one’s expression remained unchanged, all worrying that their opponent would be him.

Yun Feng’s gaze swept over everyone: "Who is A-7? In a moment, you had better concede directly, don't waste my time, otherwise don't blame me for being ruthless."

Those who were not A-7 breathed a sigh of relief, and a man stood out with a miserable expression: "Young Master Yun, rest assured, I will concede directly in a moment."

The second round began quickly, and before long it was Xiong Kui’s turn to take the stage.

He had fought two matches before advancing, and this time he encountered an expert again; after less than twenty moves, he took the initiative to concede, planning to place his hopes on the next match.

Then, the dramatic part came: Lu Ren’s opponent was actually Gu Fang.

Lu Ren took the initiative to concede, allowing Gu Fang to advance smoothly.

"It’s not easy being a dog either!"

If Lu Ren had fought Gu Fang, he might not have lost, but because he was a retainer of the Gu family, naturally, he was the one to concede.

"A-10, take the stage!" The proctor finally called out Xu Yang’s number.

As the saying goes, what you think about constantly will eventually have an echo.