5: Defeat the enemy in one move!

The next day.

Tiansheng Academy, Ten Saints Plaza.

As the morning light broke, the enormous plaza was already bustling with people.

Thousands of Utility Disciples gathered there, each looking nervous yet with a hint of anticipation.

Today was the moment that would decide their fate: the entrance examination for Utility Disciples.

The plaza was incredibly vast, with ten colossal statues standing majestically around it, like ancient guardians of the academy.

These were the Ten Saints Statues, Tiansheng Academy's pride, said to be the ten sages who founded the academy.

Legend had it that if any disciple could resonate with one of these statues and gain the recognition of the sage's lingering will, they would obtain the formidable power left within the statue by the sage.

Though a distant legend, it drew countless people to pilgrimage here.

"Look, that's the Confucian Sage statue! If you join the Mingde Courtyard, your righteous aura will endure forever, and your future will be boundless!"

"While Mingde Courtyard is good, you must condense scholarly qi and gain the sage's recognition to enter. Don't even think about it if you don't have enough knowledge."

"If you ask me, the best place to go is, of course, Jade Balance Hall! Its Hall Master, Hall Master Pei Qingying, is a Female Sword Immortal renowned throughout the Eastern Region!"

"They say her beauty is unparalleled. If I could get even a little guidance from her, I'd be willing to shorten my life by ten years!"

"Hehe, in my opinion, Dean Su of Hundred Herbs Courtyard is the true beauty!"

Mentioning Hundred Herbs Courtyard made many disciples' eyes light up, because everyone knew that Su Muxue was not only a Grade Three Alchemist but also... a widow.

"Dean Su's looks and figure are truly breathtakingly beautiful. I heard her husband passed away early, and she's still single..."

"What a pity, Hundred Herbs Courtyard's standards for recruiting Utility Disciples are extremely high, and they also look at alchemy talent."

"No matter how difficult, I must try! For Dean Su... oh no, for the Dao!"

In the crowd, Zhang Sanma and Li Ergou were also gathered, but their conversation was entirely different from the others.

Zhang Sanma's eyes were sinister, occasionally glancing towards the plaza entrance.

"Elder Wang ordered that Chu Feng must not leave alive today."

Li Ergou's wrist was heavily bandaged, and his face was still pale.

"Help me cripple his hands and feet first, to avenge my broken hand!"

No sooner had he spoken than Chu Feng, in a white robe, walked into the plaza.

The moment he entered, he immediately attracted many gazes.

"Is this the Utility Disciple who married the Su Family's discarded Saintess?"

"I heard his name is Chu Feng, and he's quite handsome."

"It's just a pity that he offended the Saint Son; he's destined not to live past today."

Many who knew the inside story looked at Chu Feng as if he were a dead man, including Wang Fugui.

The Saint Son had given him a death order: Chu Feng must die today!

He cleared his throat, channeling a trace of Foundation Establishment Realm spiritual power, and his voice immediately rolled across the entire plaza like muffled thunder, silencing all the noisy discussions.

"Silence!"

The plaza instantly fell silent, all the Utility Disciples holding their breath and looking towards the high platform.

Wang Fugui was very satisfied with the feeling of controlling the entire scene. He raised his head slightly, his tone carrying a hint of authority.

"Today is the grand ceremony of Tiansheng Academy's Utility Disciple assessment, and it is also the key to deciding your future!"

He paused, then slowly extended his first finger.

"The assessment consists of three rounds. The first round is a drawing of lots for combat!"

He waved his hand, and two outer disciples carried a huge black wooden box onto the high platform. The opening of the box was covered by a hazy light screen, blocking divine sense probing.

"This is the Profound Mechanism Box, containing the number plates of all disciples participating in the assessment. You will come forward in order to draw your number. Those with the same number will be opponents.

This round of combat will continue until the final ranking is determined. Disciples ranked after the one-thousandth place will have their Utility Disciple status immediately revoked and be expelled from Tiansheng Academy!

Fists and feet have no eyes; you are responsible for your own life and death during the combat!"

As soon as these words were spoken, a collective gasp of cold air immediately rose from the plaza.

Those ranked after one thousand would be directly eliminated, meaning nearly a third of the people would leave today.

However, Wang Fugui's words were not over.

He changed his tone, a hint of temptation entering his voice.

"Of course, those who can make it into the top one hundred will qualify to participate in the second round of assessment!

And the second round of assessment will determine whether you have the chance to shed your Utility Disciple status and be promoted to an outer disciple of Tiansheng Academy, joining one of the Ten Courtyards!"

Whoosh—

A burst of exclamations instantly erupted below the stage. Joining one of the Ten Courtyards was something all Utility Disciples dreamed of.

Wang Fugui took in everyone's reactions: "Begin drawing lots!"

When it was Chu Feng's turn to draw, he let out a low, cold laugh.

"Chu Feng, today is your death day."

No sooner had he spoken than Chu Feng drew lot number thirty-six.

When he looked back, he saw a cold smile on Zhang Sanma's lips, who simultaneously raised his number lot, which was also thirty-six.

He could even make out what Zhang Sanma was saying from his lip movements: I will beat you to death!

Heh—

Chu Feng smiled. To remove him, this stumbling block, these people had truly gone to great lengths, even tampering with the lot drawing.

Otherwise, how could he have coincidentally drawn Zhang Sanma?

However, this no longer mattered.

Let alone Zhang Sanma, even if Wang Fugui personally stepped into the arena, he had the strength to contend.

Wang Fugui did not know what he was thinking, but immediately announced Chu Feng's death countdown.

"Lot number thirty-six, proceed to Arena Seven of the 'C' character stage!"

Immediately, everyone's gaze focused on Chu Feng and Zhang Sanma.

Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that this first round of assessment was tailor-made for Chu Feng.

Because in previous years, there were only two rounds of assessment: the first was collecting spirit medicine in the Spirit Medicine Secret Realm, and the second was comprehending the Dao in the plaza.

Now, an extra combat round had been added, purely for this specific purpose.

Xie Wuwang stood on the spectator platform, already envisioning himself embracing Su Qingqiu.

His only regret was that Su Qingqiu had not come to watch, so she wouldn't be able to witness Chu Feng kneeling and begging for mercy with her own eyes.

"Chu Feng, blame it on you for touching the woman this Saint Son fancies."

Zhang Sanma leaped onto the stage, his Level 4 Qi Refining spiritual pressure unreservedly released.

"Chu Feng, it seems your luck isn't so good. Will you kneel and beg for mercy yourself, letting me give you a quick death, or will I slowly crush your bones one by one?"

Not far away, Li Ergou excitedly roared: "Brother Mazi, cripple him!"

Chu Feng stood calmly on one side of the stage, his expression unperturbed.

"Noisy."

"You're courting death!"

Zhang Sanma roared furiously, his earthy-yellow spiritual power erupting from his body, and he charged towards Chu Feng like a wild ox.

"Heavenly Gang Fist!"

The fist wind howled, carrying enough force to split stone tablets, directly smashing towards Chu Feng's face.

If this punch landed, Chu Feng, being at Level 1 Qi Refining, would undoubtedly have his head burst open.

Many female disciples below the stage even instinctively closed their eyes, unable to bear seeing that handsome face smashed beyond recognition.

The rest of the crowd not only stared intently at the two people in the arena but also started placing bets.

"How long do you think Chu Feng can last against Mazi?"

"I guess at most three moves."

"You think too highly of him. If he can survive one move, I'll eat shit while standing on my head!"

To everyone's surprise, Chu Feng did not dodge at all, but instead met the attack with a punch of his own.

Seeing this, Wang Fugui on the platform curled his lips into a cold smile.

"Idiot, daring to directly take Zhang Sanma's Heavenly Gang Fist, courting death!"

Seeing Chu Feng not dodge or evade, Zhang Sanma's face showed a triumphant smile.

Taking this blow head-on, this kid was surely dead.

However, at the moment their fists collided, an unexpected change occurred.

Crack! Cr-cr-crack!

A series of incredibly clear bone-shattering sounds, like popping beans, rang out.

Zhang Sanma's ferocious grin instantly froze, turning into an expression of disbelieving horror.

He felt a terrifying, destructive force surge from Chu Feng's fist.

Zhang Sanma's right sleeve was instantly torn to shreds by an invisible force, revealing the skin of his arm beneath, where bones were breaking segment by segment.

Under everyone's horrified gaze, Zhang Sanma charged forward, then flew back.