Chapter 87: Sparring, Strength Assessment

Lu Qingluo went to tidy up the room, Huang Qingzhou, somewhat interested, observed Fang Xu and said: 'I see your qi and blood are abundant; although you are only at Martial Apprentice Fifth Level, your true strength probably isn't weak, right?'

Fang Xu slightly bowed his hands: 'Senior Brother, you overpraise me; this little strength of mine is insignificant before you.'

Huang Qingzhou shook his head with a smile and said: 'Everyone in the Ascension Immortal Assembly knows that my master's disciples have the worst combat ability.'

'Come, let's exchange a couple of moves to try.'

Fang Xu heard this, his expression slightly moved; since breaking through to Martial Apprentice Fourth Level, he truly hadn't made a move, and now being at Martial Apprentice Fifth Level cultivation, he really wanted to test his current limits.

From the recent conversation between Huang Qingzhou and Su Cheng, he knew that Huang Qingzhou's strength should be that of a Martial Master Ninth Level; with him giving him pointers, he could certainly test his own strength.

'In that case, junior, I will obey rather than show respect; Senior Brother, please.'

He greeted Huang Qingzhou and they went to the Martial Training Field; Chu Mu also moved his wheelchair to the side, preparing to be a spectator.

After the two entered the Martial Training Field, Huang Qingzhou opened his mouth and said: 'What weapon are you skilled in?'

Fang Xu thought for a moment and said: 'Staff.'

Saying that, he selected a brow-length short staff from the weapon rack beside the Martial Training Field and gripped it in his hand.

Huang Qingzhou also untied the sword at his waist, picked an ordinary long sword from the weapon rack beside, weighed it a few times in his hand, and said: 'Since this is a sparring match, I won't take advantage of you; I'll just use this sword.'

The long sword made a flourish in his hand; Huang Qingzhou stood tall arrogantly, with no intention of striking first.

Seeing this, Fang Xu slightly rotated the long staff in his hand half a circle and immediately charged toward Huang Qingzhou!

Clang!

Facing Fang Xu's direct thrust, Huang Qingzhou easily blocked it with his long sword and then said: 'No need to test; just go all out.'

Fang Xu nodded slightly, raised his long staff, and directly smashed it toward Huang Qingzhou!

Using the staff as his weapon, he held the advantage of length; his staff technique was wide and open, and gusts of wind echoed in the field!

But an inch longer, an inch shorter; compared to the staff's wide and open technique, Huang Qingzhou's sword technique was graceful and agile; whenever the staff approached, he would block, lift, or dodge, easily neutralizing Fang Xu's attacks.

After a blink of an eye, over ten exchanges, Fang Xu also gradually let loose and immediately displayed the Nine Monkey Staff Technique he had cultivated for many days!

The Nine Monkey Staff is an eighth-grade staff martial technique, renowned for being crisp, concise, and agile.

His technique style suddenly changed, from the previous wide and open to now being intricate and variable, causing the slight ease on Huang Qingzhou's face to gradually disappear.

He originally had suppressed his cultivation to Martial Apprentice Perfection to deal with Fang Xu's attacks, but gradually discovered that, as a Martial Master Perfection, he could not withstand Fang Xu's staff strike after strike of violent force!

In Huang Qingzhou's eyes, the Nine Monkey Staff is clearly a staff martial technique focused on intricacy and agility; why, when wielded by Fang Xu, does each move carry a headache‑inducing force, shaking his sword‑holding hand to the point of slight numbness?

'Your strength is great.' While dodging, Huang Qingzhou frowned and spoke.

Fang Xu, however, said nothing.

His strength being great is certain; on the panel, his added strength attribute has already exceeded five hundred points, and with the attribute bonus, his strength absolutely far surpasses that of an ordinary Martial Apprentice.

After blocking Fang Xu's successive critical strikes, Huang Qingzhou finally launched a counterattack.

Gradually releasing the strength of a Martial Master Initial Level, his speed was very fast; the long sword in his hand was like a ghost, striking Fang Xu and leaving him flustered.

He must pull back the distance!

After a brief entanglement, Fang Xu deeply understood that the advantage of staff technique lies in not letting the enemy get close; otherwise, his long staff would instantly become a shackle binding himself.

After blocking Huang Qingzhou's sword with a horizontal staff, Fang Xu borrowed the force to retreat two zhang, then suddenly raised his long staff, like a spinning bamboo dragonfly, sweeping toward Huang Qingzhou!

Clang!

Clang!

……

Huang Qingzhou blocked with his sword, and the field burst with repeated dull sounds!

Seeing that he still handled things with ease, Fang Xu immediately changed his technique!

He grabbed the end of the long staff with his right hand, rotated his body three hundred sixty degrees, adding his rotational force and waist strength to the staff, and directly smashed it toward Huang Qingzhou!

The force of this staff strike was extremely terrifying; Huang Qingzhou dared not block it head‑on and could only dodge by sidestepping!

Boom!

The staff fiercely swept across the bluish stone ground where Huang Qingzhou had been standing, directly shattering that hard bluish stone to pieces!

Fang Xu's body continued to rotate, one staff strike after another smashing toward Huang Qingzhou; the entire Martial Training Field's bluish stone ground suffered damage, and soon Fang Xu smashed it into a rubble field!

'Stop! Stop!'

Huang Qingzhou flicked his body, directly striking Fang Xu's wrist with the sword hilt, knocking his staff away and shouting.

The staff flew from his hand and straightly nailed into the ren stone not far ahead!

Huang Qingzhou turned his head to look at the staff that had sunk two cun into the ren stone, looked at Fang Xu with some astonishment, and said: 'You really are a monster.'

'With the cultivation of a Martial Apprentice Fifth Level, he unleashed the force of a Martial Master Second Level, even Third Level.'

'If you underestimate your enemy, they will probably be severely injured by your strength in an instant.'

Fang Xu gave a hehe laugh and scratched his head.

This actually isn't his full strength; at least, if he equips the strange wooden staff given by Lu Zhiyuan from the Aperture Secret Trove, his force could still increase somewhat.

More importantly, compared to staff technique, he still prefers fists and palms.

'However, you also shouldn't be arrogant.' Seeing Fang Xu laugh, Huang Qingzhou lightly said: 'Your monstrous strength, when unexpected, can severely injure or even kill a Martial Master Second Level practitioner.'

'But if the first move fails and the enemy discovers your strength, a Martial Master level practitioner can completely rely on speed and external release of qi to wear you to death.'

'After all, after opening the Divine Bridge, the power of the two aperture secret troves connects, and the resulting change is not as simple as you think.'

After hearing this, Fang Xu's expression became solemn, he bowed his hands and said: 'Senior Brother's teachings, I will remember.'

For a Martial Apprentice to break through to Martial Master, one needs to open the Divine Bridge between the apertures, penetrate one's own apertures, and fuse the power of the two apertures into one.

Such fusion is absolutely not as simple as '1+1=2'.

After giving Fang Xu some advice, Huang Qingzhou pondered for a moment and said: 'With your current strength, passing the Ascension Immortal Assembly's examination is not difficult.'

'I suggest that after you pass the Ascension Immortal Assembly's examination, you must carefully consider and choose a master more suitable for yourself.'

Hearing these words, Fang Xu's mind stirred, he bowed his hands toward Huang Qingzhou and asked: 'Can one choose one's own master in the Ascension Immortal Assembly?'

Huang Qingzhou nodded: "Those who pass the assessment will first become outer sect disciples."

"Outer sect disciples are uniformly guided by outer sect instructors in your daily cultivation; during this period, the instructors will arrange three assessments based on your own strength."

"This kind of assessment is called the extreme assessment; each one, in terms of your own strength, is very difficult to complete."

"After three extreme assessments, you may go choose your own master."

"Of course, you have the right to choose a master, and naturally the master also has the right to choose a disciple; generally, each master will devise additional assessment content for their disciples, and only by passing their assessment can you successfully become their disciple."

"At that point, you will become an inner sect disciple like me."

Huang Qingzhou then gave him a detailed account of what happened after joining the Ascending Immortal Sect.

Hearing these words, Fang Xu couldn't help but feel a faint yearning for the Ascending Immortal Sect.

The officers of the Ascending Immortal Association are enough to intimidate both the Yun family, lords of Huang Prefecture, and the royal household of the Yu Kingdom; then what strength do the elders of the Ascending Immortal Association, those above them, and even that mysterious leader of the association actually possess?

(End of Chapter)