27: A quick victory in the first battle

“Is he Chen Qing?”

“An S-rank doesn’t look that special. I thought S-ranks would have a different aura than us.” A girl said.

“Who said there’s nothing special? An S-rank entering school as a non-Martial Artist—isn’t that special enough?”

...“It seems we came at just the right time. This Chen Qing really became the target of everyone as soon as he arrived. The person who ranked this freshman list seems intent on causing trouble! Two S-ranks, one first on the freshman list, one last on the freshman list, hehe.” Zhao Yuanyue tilted her head, watching Chen Qing jump onto the arena, chuckling.

Tang Wu also sat next to Fu Mingyu, smiling, “How about it? Do you have faith in this brother you just met?”

Fu Mingyu pouted, not very willing to talk to these two.

“He can fight however he wants. Can a brother recognized by Fu Mingyu be bad?”

“Oh, so confident? Have you seen him make a move? Or has he had a Breakthrough to a Martial Artist?” Zhao Yuanyue became interested and asked.

Fu Mingyu was a bit embarrassed. Although they had known each other for a week, he really didn't know Chen Qing's current situation.

“Why so much nonsense? Watch carefully, and learn well!”

————

On the arena.

Chen Qing and Xia Xuan did not greet or provoke each other, nor did they exchange pleasantries. As soon as Chen Qing took his stance, Xia Xuan took a step and charged forward.

Martial Artists don’t need these things; no one will engage in verbal sparring with you on the battlefield.

Once in the arena, there can only be one goal: to defeat the opponent.

Xia Xuan’s steps were very fast. As he moved, his right arm was held level, his fist tightly clenched. Without any fancy moves, he lunged straight towards Chen Qing’s chest.

“Earth Shattering Fist, a D-rank Martial Skill. It should have reached the proficient level, but it doesn’t seem particularly skilled. His footwork isn’t a Martial Skill, and it doesn’t coordinate well with the Earth Shattering Fist,” Tang Wu commented.

“Not only that, but looking at his fist, it’s covered with a layer of light blue ice crystals. This Xia Xuan should have a B-rank Ice-type ability.” Fu Mingyu’s combat keenness was still very high, and he quickly noticed the details: “Heh heh, I reckon he’s trying to test the waters with this punch. Even if it doesn’t succeed, he can use the ice-attribute Qi to interfere with Chen Qing’s subsequent actions, but...”

It seems many people don't know Chen Qing's ability attribute.

A B-rank Ice-type trying to affect an S-rank Ice-type?

He can only pray for good fortune.

Chen Qing naturally saw Xia Xuan’s intention. That familiar ice-attribute Qi, he detected it the moment Xia Xuan’s hand was covered.

Since this Xia Xuan was an Ice-type, he was most likely from the Ice Department. Plus, he also Cultivated the Earth Shattering Fist, which was quite a coincidence.

As the punch descended, Chen Qing neither dodged nor avoided. He simply raised his right arm and lightly slapped out with his palm, striking Xia Xuan’s arm like a gentle breeze, deflecting his fist.

At the same time, Chen Qing crouched slightly, his left arm clenched into a fist, and he slammed a punch towards Xia Xuan’s chest, who had rushed close.

It was also the Earth Shattering Fist!

This punch was simple and unadorned, but compared to Xia Xuan’s punch, it was much faster.

With a “bang!”, Xia Xuan flew backward at a faster speed than he had come, falling heavily off the arena!

10 seconds! At most 10 seconds!

From the moment Xia Xuan started, to him flying off the arena, the display above the arena showed Chen Qing as the winner. At most, only 10 seconds had passed.

Everyone was still expecting an evenly matched duel to see the strength of this newly promoted S-rank, but it ended so quickly.

For a moment, no one in the audience spoke.

“It’s over?” Finally, someone couldn’t help but speak.

“It seems so! I saw that Xia Xuan just flew backward on his own. That punch just now didn’t seem very strong?”

“What do you know! The vitality strength unleashed by that punch just now was at least close to 1! Damn it, this guy is definitely not a non-Martial Artist. Who said he was a non-Martial Artist just now? Damn, I lost 10 credits because of it!” The speaker was clearly not a freshman, and at this moment, he was gritting his teeth. He had bet 10 credits on Xia Xuan, and he couldn’t even take one punch from the other person.

“But, the Martial Dao list shows that he is a non-Martial Artist. Who knew he had a Breakthrough.”

“But even if he just had a Breakthrough, he shouldn’t be this strong, right? Xia Xuan is also a first-stage Martial Artist. How could there be such a big difference?”

————

“His explosive power is close to 1. The Earth Shattering Fist should not just be proficient, but Great Master-level! His lower body is stable, and he responds freely. Perhaps he also Cultivated some footwork. His moves are also very systematic, and he hasn’t even used his S-rank ability. One punch sent that Xia Xuan flying off the arena.”

Tang Wu stroked his chin and glanced at Fu Mingyu next to him, only to see him with his mouth wide open, looking incredulous.

“Hey, you surnamed Fu, what are you surprised about? Isn’t this your brother?” Zhao Yuanyue frowned.

Fu Mingyu swallowed, realizing there were others nearby, and quickly composed himself: “What are you looking at? Can’t you stand that I found a powerful brother? You two be careful, you might not be his match either!”

“What do you mean by that? If we can’t beat him, do you think you can? The school ranked you second, and you really think you’re second?” Zhao Yuanyue pouted, a bit disdainfully.

Fu Mingyu ignored him, just looking at Chen Qing on the stage, his mind in shock.

This guy is lying to me, right? Is this Chen Qing? Didn't he say he's been busy Cultivating recently and just had a Breakthrough to a Martial Artist?

Now you're telling me that in one week, not only did you complete a Breakthrough, but you also Cultivated the Earth Shattering Fist to the Great Master level?

Although the Earth Shattering Fist is a D-rank Martial Skill and not very difficult to Cultivate, it's impossible to master it in a week, right?

And that explosive power close to 1, even if you just had a Breakthrough, even if your talent is great and your vitality has leaped, it wouldn't exceed 1.2 at most, right?

To unleash vitality strength close to 1, your power control must be 80%!

How long did it take me to reach the 80% watershed in power control when I was Cultivating the Earth Shattering Fist to improve it?

One year? Or how long?

Moreover, as vitality gets higher and strength increases, control will decrease, requiring further deepening of Martial Skill proficiency.

How long did Chen Qing take? One week?

Don't joke around! Cultivate to this level in one week?

The more Fu Mingyu thought about it, the more he felt that Chen Qing was devious and definitely lying to him. He must have had a Breakthrough to a Martial Artist long ago and started Cultivating Martial Skills long ago.

Does he have an Old Ancestor in his family? He must!

Fu Mingyu nodded firmly.

————

Chen Qing didn’t know Fu Mingyu’s thought process. If he knew what he was thinking, he would definitely treat him to a pound of punches.

He withdrew his hand, looked at Xia Xuan, who was silently getting up below the stage, and was quite satisfied.

Xia Xuan rubbed his chest, got up, and cupped his hands to Chen Qing: “Thank you, student Chen.”

He was the one who took that punch head-on, so he naturally knew that Chen Qing had deliberately held back at the last moment and hadn’t unleashed that punch with full force, only controlling the power to ensure he would fly off the arena.

The Martial Dao path is long, but the initial stage is also very precious. If he had been seriously injured or even mortally wounded here today, he might have wasted a long period of golden improvement time.

So, Xia Xuan felt that this thanks was deserved.

Chen Qing nodded to him and said, “Brother Xia is too polite. You can come to my dorm later. I plan to establish a force and would like to invite Brother Xia. Please do me the honor of visiting my humble abode for a chat.”

Xia Xuan was a bit puzzled. Although Chen Qing was strong, he still lacked a lot to be the leader of a force.

Strength was secondary; the main thing was the lack of certain prestige and rallying power.

However, at this moment, he smiled and agreed, accepting the invitation.