45: Chapter 45 One Palm!

In front of the stone steps of Ring A!

Shen Qinglan, completely disregarding the order of the examination grounds, came to his side. Her tone was urgent and carried a hint of worry as she said:

"Chen An!"

"Admit defeat!"

"Look at the way Liu Qingyun is looking at you; he will definitely try to kill you!"

Looking at Shen Qinglan's worried eyes, a warmth rose in Chen An's heart. He then smiled slightly, his expression confident as he said, "Trust me!"

After speaking, Chen An did not say anything else and strode toward the ring.

Below the ring, watching that tall, upright figure stride resolutely upward, Shen Qinglan subconsciously reached out, wanting to grab him, make him stop, and just admit defeat.

However, her fingertips barely lifted before they ultimately froze in mid-air; she did not directly reach out to grab him.

At this moment, a scene suddenly appeared in Shen Qinglan's mind:

It was the year she was seven, when she had taken Chen An, who was a year younger than her, to sneak out of the house to play on the streets.

Because she was carrying quite a bit of money, they were soon spotted by street thugs and abducted.

In that moment of crisis, it was Chen An, one year her junior, who stepped forward. Using his thin, frail little body, he tried his hardest to stand in front of her, biting the thug who wanted to break her leg with a club, which allowed them to hold out until their father found them.

That figure from back then seemed to gradually overlap with this figure now!

Taking a deep breath and glancing at Chen An, who was walking onto the ring, Shen Qinglan turned her head to look at Liu Qingyun, who was walking up from the steps on the other side of the ring. The worry in her eyes instantly turned into a cold chill.

"Liu Qingyun, you had better not hurt him, otherwise..."

Shen Qinglan murmured to herself, a flicker of Killing Intent flashing in her eyes.

...

Chen An climbed the steps, walking onto the ring step by step.

Raising his eyes, he saw that Liu Qingyun was already standing on the other side of the ring, arms crossed, a cold sneer hanging from the corner of his mouth. His eyes were full of mockery and ferocious Killing Intent as he wantonly sized him up.

"Chen An, it seems you have guts!"

Liu Qingyun scoffed, his face showing undisguised contempt as he said, "I thought you would just admit defeat!"

"However, in a moment, you will definitely regret the decision you just made!"

"Rest assured, I won't kill you!"

"Because, in a moment, I will first break your hands, then break your feet. After that, I will cripple your cultivation, and finally, I will smash your bones one by one, making you wish you were dead!"

Facing Liu Qingyun's extremely vicious words, Chen An's expression did not change in the slightest. Instead, he turned around and looked at the Instructor standing nearby.

"Instructor, have you heard enough?!"

"We can begin!"

Hearing Chen An's words, the Instructor officiating this match could not help but be slightly stunned.

He had assumed that upon hearing such harsh words from Liu Qingyun, even if Chen An didn't feel fear, his expression should have changed, or he should have retorted.

He hadn't expected Chen An to be so calm and composed, or even to completely ignore the other party, which made the Instructor secretly surprised.

He didn't know where Chen An, a student of Geng Class with Condensing Qi Stage 6 cultivation, found the confidence to ignore Liu Qingyun, a student of Class Jia at the Ninth Stage of Condensing Qi.

"Good, good, good!!!"

"Chen An, today you are dead!"

"If I don't kill you, I, Liu Qingyun, swear I am not human!!!"

Seeing himself ignored by Chen An once again, Liu Qingyun immediately gnashed his teeth in hatred, his eyes bloodshot, staring fixedly at Chen An as if he wanted to swallow him alive.

"Ahem!!!"

Seeing Liu Qingyun's towering baleful energy and surging anger, the Instructor presiding over the match finally spoke in a deep voice.

He frowned slightly, swept a glance at the murderous Liu Qingyun, and with a solemn expression, announced loudly:

"I will reiterate the rules of the ring; both of you listen carefully!"

"For this Martial Examination duel, it is strictly forbidden to use weapons, hidden weapons, poisons, or other underhanded and sinister means!"

"Other than that, there are no other restrictions!"

"The match ends only when one side voluntarily admits defeat or falls to the ground and loses the ability to counterattack!"

"Have you both understood?!"

"Understood, Instructor, let's start quickly!" Liu Qingyun stared fixedly at Chen An, his True Qi surging, ready to strike at any moment.

As for Chen An, he also nodded indifferently and said, "Understood!"

"Good, then..."

Seeing that both had heard clearly, the Instructor then raised his hand high.

Crack!!!~~~

A faint cracking sound suddenly spread from under Liu Qingyun's feet.

The floor of the ring, made of black iron stone that was as hard as refined iron, actually had several spiderweb-like cracks spread instantly under the pressure of his violently surging True Qi.

At the same time, a tyrannical and majestic Aura erupted from Liu Qingyun's body. His True Qi rolled and churned around him, his clothes billowed loudly, and his long hair flew without wind.

A terrifying sense of oppression swept in all directions. The many students watching below the ring suddenly had their breath hitched, their spirits shaken, and they subconsciously took several steps back in unison.

"So strong! This Aura is too terrifying!"

"As expected of the top-tier cultivation of the Ninth Stage of Condensing Qi; it truly lives up to its reputation!"

"It's over. Chen An is only at Condensing Qi Stage 6, a full three minor Realms difference. I'm afraid he's truly in grave danger this time!"

The students below the ring felt the majestic True Qi that Liu Qingyun had suddenly erupted with, and immediately there was an uproar again.

Almost no one favored Chen An; they all felt that he would undoubtedly lose this time.

In the crowd, Shen Qinglan's pretty face suddenly turned pale. She then secretly circulated her True Qi, her gaze fixed unwaveringly on the ring, intending that if Chen An was truly no match for Liu Qingyun, she would rush onto the ring to save him, even if it meant disrupting the order of the County Exam.

High on the platform, Ancestor Zhou Tong saw this scene, and a smile could not help but rise in his eyes.

"Begin!!!"

On the ring, the Instructor's hand swung down violently!

Boom!!!~~~

As soon as the Instructor's hand fell, a roar exploded from under Liu Qingyun's feet.

The originally flat ring floor was actually crushed down by an inch by the True Qi erupting from Liu Qingyun, and the ground instantly exploded with dense, spiderweb-like cracks.

Liu Qingyun's eyes revealed fierce light, his True Qi surging violently around him. His figure was like a sharp arrow, carrying an indomitable and fierce Aura, as he suddenly shot toward Chen An.

In the blink of an eye, Liu Qingyun crossed the distance of over ten meters and appeared in front of Chen An.

"Go to hell!!!"

Liu Qingyun's face was ferocious, roaring in a sharp voice, as his right fist, wrapped in all his True Qi, slammed out.

His originally ordinary fist was instantly covered with a layer of dark, pitch-black radiance. Thick and tyrannical True Qi condensed without dissipating, the fist wind whistling and tearing through the air, carrying the terrifying power to crush metal and split rocks, striking straight at Chen An's face!

Facing that fist which seemed capable of crushing metal and splitting rocks, Chen An seemed as if he had been frightened silly, letting the fist strike right up to his face.

"Oh no!"

Shen Qinglan, below the ring, saw this scene, and her heart nearly stopped. True Qi surged in her legs as she prepared to go onto the ring to save him.

Instructor Fan Suiyun, on the high platform, saw this scene, and the Innate True Qi in his body also surged secretly, planning to intervene to save Chen An's life.

The students below the ring seemed to have already seen the scene of Chen An being hit by this punch, his head exploding, and for a moment, the students could not help but scream out.

However, just when that fist was twenty centimeters from Chen An's face, Chen An moved!

Without any unnecessary movements, he just tilted his head slightly to the side, dodging Liu Qingyun's fist, which seemed capable of crushing metal and splitting rocks, by a hair's breadth.

Immediately afterward, his right hand, which had been hanging by his side, moved, and a palm as fast as lightning slapped onto Liu Qingyun's lower abdomen.

Bang!!~

With a muffled sound, Liu Qingyun, who had been grinning ferociously, stiffened, his pupils shrinking violently. Immediately after, his entire body flew backward as if hit by a cannonball.

While in the air, with a *puchi* sound, a large mouthful of blood sprayed out like a fountain, staining the ground red.

Only then did he land heavily on the ground, rolling a few times before finally coming to a stop at the edge of the ring.

For a moment, the entire venue was silent!!!