107: Chapter 107 The Wheel, 'Snake Bone'
Soon, the top eight were decided, and among the eight eliminated Martial Scholars, the ninth and tenth places were quickly determined to be Ye Feixu and Autumn Leaf from the Hundred Leaves Martial Arts Hall.
Zhou Yi also turned his grief into joy, saying, "Not bad. Making it to the top ten means there's a chance to obtain a Sharp Weapon and Treasure Fish."
For these Martial Artists, finding a satisfactory weapon was no easy task.
After all, with the enhancement of their inner force, their fists themselves were Sharp Weapons.
If a weapon wasn't suitable, it would actually hinder their performance.
Take the iron gloves on Ye Feixu's hands, for example; after just a few battles, they were already riddled with holes.
This pair of iron gloves had been custom-made by a skilled craftsman he knew, costing nearly a hundred taels of silver and a great deal of effort.
Yet they still turned out to be so fragile.
Ye Feixu also smiled and said, "Next, it's up to you three Junior Brothers and Junior Sister."
In the Liuhe Martial Arts Hall, three of the Disciples who advanced to the top eight were from the Liuhe Martial Arts Hall, which was a rare sight.
The first group was Bai He against Shang Yuan from the Shuangyue Martial Arts Hall.
She was a woman with masculine features, and her weapon was not two scimitars like the previous Liu Yue, but a white Chakram, which was quite strange.
However, the weirder the weapon, the faster the enemy's defeat.
Every time this Chakram twisted, it often disarmed the opponent's weapon or fractured their arm; it was quite brutal.
This made Li Qing inexplicably think of a term: first-encounter kill.
Actually, in his view, although the weapon was strange, as long as one defended properly and was careful not to be confused by its erratic trajectory—moving up, down, left, and right—one could still contend with it.
This time, Bai He was no longer as calm and composed as before, clearly acknowledging the opponent's strength.
The outer edge of the white Chakram was extremely sharp; Shang Yuan held its inner edge, hiding her body behind the wheel.
A sharp light flashed in Bai He's eyes.
"No matter how many tricks you have, I will break them with sheer force!"
Bai He shifted his footwork, abruptly changing from the footwork of the Liuhe Fist to an unknown footwork.
If the previous footwork was broad and grand, the current footwork was like a dragonfly skimming the water, and its speed far surpassed that of a dragonfly.
Shua!
He instantly closed in on the white Chakram, and Shang Yuan's expression changed.
Footwork at the Mastery Realm!
Bai He actually knew a footwork technique at the Mastery Realm as well.
In fact, if Shang Yuan's weapon hadn't been so rare, Bai He wouldn't have decisively revealed his new footwork just to be safe and save his strength.
Clang— Hum—
The sound of clashing metal rang out, followed by the vibration of the Chakram.
The Mingjin and An Jin force wrapped around Bai He's fist, combined with the vibration of the 'Second Vibration,' almost made Shang Yuan lose control of the Chakram.
'How can he be so powerful?!' Shang Yuan was somewhat unwilling.
Before participating in the Martial Arts Imperial Examination, her goal was to reach the top three!
If she lost, wouldn't she miss out on the eight treasures pill?
Thinking of this, her expression turned fierce, and she used the Chakram to perform an upward slash, forcing Bai He back.
Bai He stood firm, ignoring the slight numbness in his fist. "What a pity."
He was just a bit away from instantly defeating Shang Yuan.
Shua!
Shang Yuan began to spin the Chakram in her hand.
Whoosh— Whoosh— Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Faster and faster, faster and faster.
Reaching a certain limit, she took out a silver metal clip and attached it to the inner edge of the Chakram.
It turned out that there were grooves on both sides of the inner edge of the Chakram, which were not only good for her grip but also allowed her to use this metal clip to hold the grooves during high-speed rotation, keeping the Chakram spinning while her hand remained still.
Whoosh—
Shang Yuan lowered her stance; the high-speed spinning Chakram constantly tried to break free from her hand, and it took a lot of effort just for her to hold onto it.
'I must end this quickly!'
She no longer hesitated and charged straight at Bai He.
This time, under Shang Yuan's offensive, it was Bai He who was on the defensive.
Bai He constantly dodged under Shang Yuan's attacks.
Cling!
A downward slash from the white Chakram missed, cutting directly into the bluestone bricks.
Bai He threw a Piercing Kick kick at Shang Yuan, but was forced back by her Chakram which she brought back to defend in time, forcing him to stop his attack.
He sighed,
'If I were to use my full strength...'
There was no other way; it was impossible. He could only keep dodging. At this moment, the advantage of footwork at the Mastery Realm became apparent.
Even if Shang Yuan's attack power was extremely formidable, it was useless if it couldn't hit.
Not to mention, Shang Yuan had already expended a considerable amount of energy just holding the spinning Chakram.
Feeling her physical strength draining rapidly, Shang Yuan decided to make one last gamble.
She held the Chakram with one hand and her body began to spin.
Faster and faster, then she suddenly stopped and threw the Chakram directly at Bai He, slashing toward his chest and abdomen.
If this hit landed, Bai He would probably be split in two.
Bai He's pupils constricted, and he immediately leaned back, his back almost lower than his waist, narrowly avoiding the Chakram.
The Chakram flew straight toward the Deacon. The Deacon snorted coldly, took out an iron ruler, and inserted it into the inner edge of the Chakram at just the right moment, stopping it.
Shang Yuan gave a bitter smile. "I admit defeat."
Shang Yuan could be said to be the person who used the most dangerous weapon in this Martial Arts Imperial Examination, yet she stopped at the top eight.
The Deacon commented, "Its power even surpasses that move of Li Qing's. Very good."
"Second group, Fang Lingling against Zhang Tu."
Zhang Tu came from the Tiexian Martial Arts Hall, which was a rival to the Liuhe Martial Arts Hall.
Neither of them held anything back from the start.
Unfortunately, in the face of absolute strength, he was easily defeated by Fang Lingling in just over ten moves, ending with his left femur being broken.
"Ah!"
Zhang Tu wailed as he was carried away for medical treatment.
'Third group, Li Qing against Jia Long.'
Jia Long came from the Huishan Martial Arts Hall. His Huishan Fist was eerie and ever-changing, yet did not lack fierceness, and could be described as 'one punch turning into a hundred.'
Moreover, this person possessed the 'Snake Bone' Physique, and his appearance looked very strange.
A long neck, long arms and legs; he looked like a person made of noodles.
Li Qing recalled information about this person in his mind.
"'Snake Bone' Physique makes a person's body as soft as if they have no bones, while also possessing extremely high Toughness. It complements the complex and ever-changing Huishan Fist perfectly."
Li Qing's face was pale, as if the depletion caused by that move earlier had not yet recovered.
He threw a palm strike at Jia Long's neck, but Jia Long's neck bent at an angle of nearly sixty degrees, dodging it.
"Hehe!" Jia Long chuckled and threw a crooked punch at Li Qing.
Li Qing seemed unable to react and was hit.
However, to his surprise, Jia Long's punch was soft and weak, feeling like nothing when it hit his body.
Just then, Jia Long suddenly stepped forward, pressing against Li Qing. Then, the arm he had used to punch actually folded against Li Qing's chest like a noodle.
Then, it snapped like a spring, followed by a massive amount of An Jin force pouring into Li Qing's body.
'I see, his arm is like a spring, sending the force directly into my body.'
This force was first diluted by the surface of Li Qing's body, which was enhanced by Toughness, and then easily crushed by the 'Second Vibration.'
Li Qing's face suddenly turned pale, and he abruptly spat out a mouthful of blood, finally being 'just coincidentally' bounced out of the competition area.
Jia Long: ?
Was he really that strong?