Chapter 55: When did fists and kicks ever remember old affections? Every strike is cast solely to seal life and death!

Seeing that his unorthodox trick was effective, Senior Wang was overjoyed, and his moves became increasingly natural and fluid. Whatever crossed his mind, his fists executed instantly.

For a moment, this rendered the opponent from Eastern Arts overly cautious, not daring to strike.

After a dozen exchanges, the opponent finally figured out the pattern hidden within these chaotic moves: no matter how they shifted and changed, they still belonged to the system of the Prajna Palm.

A countermeasure was immediately found. After dodging a move of Buddha Rhythm Lotus from Senior Wang, the opponent unleashed a fierce, storm-like flurry of attacks, instantly shattering his natural fluidity.

This immediately sent Senior Wang into a flustered flurry, throwing him off balance mentally and physically.

With the situation developing thus, the outcome was already sealed. Within three to five moves, Senior Wang was once again knocked flat to the ground.

Seizing the opportunity, the opponent stepped forward, flicked a finger to strike his paralysis pressure point, and neatly and decisively ended the match.

"Sigh!"

A wave of mournful sighs naturally arose from the Dongqi University side.

"Useless trash!"

Gongye Lingchen arched his eyebrows and let out a cold, mocking laugh.

"Exactly. The sophomores of this year are way too incompetent. Once we leave the team, how are they supposed to shoulder the heavy responsibilities?"

"Indeed. In my opinion, we should just expel them all and start recruiting directly from the freshmen."

Gongye Lingchen's words instantly drew agreement from quite a few official team members.

"They lost, and you think that brings glory to your faces?"

Nearby, Ye Jingqiu swept a frosty gaze across the speakers, the chilling indifference in her eyes resembling a sudden cold wave in the depths of winter.

So terrifying was the look that the speakers trembled involuntarily and hurriedly lowered their heads, not daring to meet those undeniably beautiful eyes directly.

Upon hearing this, Gongye Lingchen's expression stiffened, and his resentment deepened. Though he remained silent, he took note of that sophomore on the stage and filed it away in his mind.

On the ring, the sparring continued. The one stepping up this stage now was Qin Rui.

The young girl was gentle, weak in appearance, and pleasing to the eye. As soon as she took the stage, she drew a chorus of cheers.

Regardless of victory or defeat, her looks alone were worth a round of applause.

However, as for the strength of the opponent sent by the other side, well... her looks were by no means inferior. Although she lacked Qin Rui's delicate and tender demeanor, she excelled in having a tall, gracefully sculpted figure.

Especially her martial arts uniform, which had obviously been tailored to highlight her curvaceous and captivating physique, making her look even more stunning and pleasing to the eye.

As soon as these two took the stage, they instantly pushed this exchange match to its climax.

Listening to the cheers of the boys ringing in their ears, the female team members sitting below rolled their eyes involuntarily.

Spitting out a quiet remark, she said, "Boring! So juvenile!"

"Senior sister, if you went up there, I guarantee the cheers would be even louder."

"Junior sister, there is only one person in my heart, and that's you."

"Who cares about that?"

The bustling and ambiguous "interactions" between the boys and girls did not affect the fierce intensity of the clash between the two women on stage in the slightest.

Perhaps sensing that the opponent possessed the very strengths she herself lacked, the two women launched into a rapid series of mutual attacks the moment they stepped forward.

Their graceful figures fluttered like colorful butterflies, and their fierce moves surged like angry ocean waves. For a moment, colliding streams of vital energy rippled outward, whipping their martial arts uniforms into a snapping frenzy.

Although Qin Rui appeared gentle and delicate, among the sophomores, she was the only member who could match Cao Guannan blow for blow.

Her mastery of the Plucking Flower Finger Technique blended gentleness with strength, combining hard and soft. This was not only a reflection of her personality, but also the essence of her martial arts.

She concealed a myriad of killing intents within her gentle, winding fingers. Where one saw a flower, one felt compassion, taking mercy as her intention; when she remained still, she was as calm as water, but once she moved, she was as fierce as a thunderbolt, radiating chilling lethal intent.

Flowers bloom and wither, all within the flick of a finger.

The opponent had not expected such a delicate girl to wield such fierce moves. After dozens of exchanges of mutual attacks, the two fought to a complete draw.

Beneath the stage, Dean Zhang nodded involuntarily, a smile blooming across his face.

The sophomores of this year were still quitepresentable after all.

"Dean Zhang, this female student from our school holds the nickname 'Pretty Asura' and has always been renowned for her swift and fierce moves. I didn't expect the young lady from your esteemed school to be equally extraordinary in strength."

A smile hung on the corner of Principal Sun's lips, seemingly praising Qin Rui's performance on the stage.

Yet, how could the perceptive Dean Zhang fail to grasp the underlying meaning of his words?

"Pretty Asura"—to earn such a moniker as a sophomore, how could she possibly have only this much skill?

His expression darkened instantly.

Sure enough, within a mere fraction of a second, the opposing female student suddenly unleashed several blasts of palm force through the air, forcing Qin Rui back.

Then, halting her momentum slightly, she smiled and said, "We've played around enough. Once you step down from the ring, don't forget to run into your boyfriend's arms and cry for a bit, oh."

Before the girl's voice had even faded, her figure suddenly turned erratic. In an instant, she seemed to multiply into countless swaying clones, blurring her true form into a streak of afterimages.

Before Qin Rui could react, a fierce gale surged straight toward her face.

Qin Rui hastily ducked to dodge, relying purely on instinct to barely evade two strikes, utterly failing to locate the opponent's whereabouts.

"The Phantom Step, derived from the Shifting Shadows Great Art, is a top-tier movement technique in the martial world. Qin Rui is going to lose this."

Beneath the ring, Zeng Hongyi explained with a slightly stiff expression, for he knew that Qin Rui had not learned any profound movement techniques capable of rivaling this, such as the Swimming Dragon Step.

Hearing this, Zhao Rui and the others instantly grew worried for Qin Rui on the stage.

Unfortunately, worry could not solve fundamental problems. In the time it took to blink, Qin Rui's tactical flaw was seized by the opponent, who used a grappling technique to pin her flat onto the ring.

Watching Qin Rui struggle desperately with futility written all over her, everyone's hearts sank.

Could it be that they were going to be completely wiped out?

Although they had anticipated it long ago, losing so easily still caught the sophomore students off guard.

"Cao Guannan, you must not underestimation the enemy, and absolutely do not engage in close-quarters wrestling with her. I estimate that Eastern Arts must have thoroughly studied all of you."

Zeng Hongyi now saw through the situation: Eastern Arts had indeed prepared well in advance, holding precise and detailed analyses of sophomores like Li Xiran and the others.

Even knowing their strength crushed the competition, they still meticulously prepared detailed, targeted countermeasures against each individual.

Just as Dongqi University had studied their official team members.

Cao Guannan nodded. The greatest strength of his martial arts lay in the combination of the Swimming Dragon Step and the Mighty Vajra Legs. When advancing, he could launch fierce attacks with the momentum of a ferocious tiger; when retreating, his footwork was nimble and his body moved like a swimming dragon.

If the opponent targeted him, would they fight fire with fire, or overcome hardness with softness?

Or would they simply crush him with overwhelming internal energy?

Cao Guannan fell into deep thought. If he too lost, then Dongqi University would truly be utterly defeated this time.

This caused him, normally so proud, to clench his palms tightly and his heart to race.

Time did not afford him much more consideration. Soon enough, the referee called his name.

Cao Guannan cast a sharp gaze toward the opponent who had already stepped onto the stage beforehand, then took a swift stride, stepped onto the pillar at the edge of the ring, and leaped upward smoothly onto the platform.

"Cao Guannan, with your level of strength, you wouldn't even make the martial arts team over at Eastern Arts."

A cold sneer hung on the corner of the opposing boy's mouth.

"Zhang Bin!"

Uttering only a single name, Cao Guannan delivered a powerful, sweeping kick laden with heavy momentum.

"Well-fought!"

Unfazed, the boy countered by meeting Cao Guannan's kick with a leg technique of his own.

As their legs collided, a series of dull, heavy thuds echoed through the air.

"Is this the Mighty Vajra Leg technique you've been practicing? It's as soft as cotton and lacks even an ounce of force!"

The person known as Zhang Bin parried Cao Guannan's ferocious legwork while hurling insults to mock him.

Cao Guannan remained silent, his expression gloomy. He swept his Mighty Vajra Legs around like a violent gale scattering fallen leaves, unleashing his full physical power in an instant.

Such a manic offensive far exceeded Cao Guannan's usual state in past sparring matches, and his gaze was chillingly terrifying.

Yet, despite the formidable and heavy nature of his Vajra Leg technique, it was effortlessly blocked by Zhang Bin.

For a moment, surges of vital energy rippled across the ring, accompanied by a continuous succession of dull thuds.

"Senior brother, don't fall for his provocation!"

Noticing that Cao Guannan was sinking into an inexplicable frenzy, Zhao Rui and the others beneath the stage realized something was wrong.

Clearly, this Zhang Bin had thrown Cao Guannan off balance mentally.

"You only learned half of the Vajra Leg technique. Would you like to learn the other half? What a pity that Master will never teach it to you!"

On the ring, Zhang Bin laughed aloud. Suddenly, he withdrew his right foot, balanced on a single leg like a praying mantis, shaped his hands into sickle-like hooks, and lunged straight toward Cao Guannan's oncoming Vajra Leg.

At that moment, Cao Guannan's previous momentum was spent while his new strength had yet to arise. Unable to retract his moves in time, he could only watch helplessly as the opponent transformed his hands into sharp blades and struck toward his right leg.

Fortunately, having practiced the Vajra Leg technique for many years, his reflexes had long since become ingrained in his bones. Since he could not dodge, he would replace defense with offense.

Twisting his torso, he used his extended right leg as an axis, levitating his body into the air and executing a mid-air flip, while his left leg viciously lashed out toward the opponent in a flying kick.

Zhang Bin hurriedly halted his offensive, keeping his hands shaped like sickles to take the brunt of Cao Guannan's left-leg strike head-on.

Without giving Cao Guannan a chance to retract his kicked left leg, Zhang Bin unexpectedly seized the momentum, closed the distance at lightning speed, and lunged forward.

Then, he drove a direct, powerful push straight into Cao Guannan's chest, sending him flying backward.

Suspended in mid-air and suddenly losing his footing, Cao Guannan attempted to twist his body and right himself, only to find that the opponent's push carried a lingering secondary force.

His already corrected posture was knocked off balance once more, and his entire body crashed to the ground like a sack of broken rags, skidding a full zhang across the floor.

"Referee, call it! I certainly don't want to beat my good junior brother too miserably!"

Zhang Bin looked down at Cao Guannan, who was struggling to rise, a sneer plastered across his face.

"Zhang Bin of Eastern Arts University wins!"

As the referee announced the match result, the complexion of Cao Guannan, who had just managed to climb back to his feet, turned instantly ashen.

He looked as though his soul had been ripped from his body.

"If you don't like the Vajra Leg, why did you learn it?"

"I simply didn't want you to learn it. In truth, this set of leg techniques is absolute trash, isn't it?"

Walking back toward his own side of the ring, Zhang Bin spoke with utter indifference.

Hearing these words, a miserable smile appeared on Cao Guannan's pale face. Then, supported by Zeng Hongyi who had rushed onto the stage, he stepped down from the platform.

"Master, is this the kind of person you choose?"

Before Cao Guannan's eyes flashed the image of that emaciated old man lying on a hospital bed, berating him and telling him to get lost.

"Senior brother, rest for a while!"

Zhao Rui took Cao Guannan's arm from Zeng Hongyi and helped him sit by the edge of the stands.

"I'm fine!"

Cao Guannan shook his head, his gaze already completely dull and devoid of light.

Meanwhile, the matches on stage continued.

The one stepping up now was Zhang Ke. Having learned from the cautionary tales of Cao Guannan and Qin Rui, Zhang Ke adopted a defensive posture using the Prajna Palm the moment he stepped up, avoiding close combat with the opponent as much as possible.

Unfortunately, what he encountered was a clean and decisive female student. After testing the waters with a few moves, she immediately launched into a storm-like assault.

Her pair of exceptionally long legs had been trained in some exquisite leg technique, exclusively targeting Zhang Ke's lower body.

Kicks, sweeps, jabs, and stomps—every single strike was swift to the extreme, halting right at the target and retracting upon contact, never giving Zhang Ke a chance to unleash his palm force.

"Damn it!"

Cold sweat beaded on Zhang Ke's forehead. This woman's long legs were truly, damn it, too good-looking—so good-looking that it made him want to throw up, dizzying his eyes to the point of nausea.

A sky-full of leg shadows descended upon him like an unfurled folding fan, tracing graceful arcs.

Only, this fan was not a delicate beauty's handheld screen, but a lethal instrument waiting to devour its prey!

After struggling through this for a short while, footprints naturally accumulated around Zhang Ke, and a dull pain flared within his chest.

It had already begun to slightly impede the circulation of his true qi.

"I can't go on like this, otherwise I'm bound to lose."

"Stop!"

Enduring two more kicks, Zhang Ke shouted loudly, leaped backward out of range, and raised a hand to halt the opponent's offensive.

"What, are you surrendering?"

The opposing female student paused, a faint smile flashing across her face. In that very split second, the previously flustered Zhang Ke suddenly squatted down, executed a rolling dive along the floor, and slid directly beneath her legs.

This sudden turn of events happened so abruptly that the girl failed to react in time.

Yet, in that flash of lightning, Zhang Ke had already extended his right hand and grabbed her ankle.

He then exerted force through his waist and back, inverting himself head-down and feet-up, wrapping around her slender yet sturdy legs like a python in a twisting bind.

He violently yanked her down to the ground, followed up with wrestling techniques—tugging at her arm joints and pressing down with a leg lock—pinning her tightly beneath his body.

What a method! What a posture!

"Holy cow!"

Silence gripped the area beneath the stage for a fraction of a second, immediately followed by an overwhelming uproar.

"Zhang Ke is too handsome!"

"Awesome, my brother Ke!"

"Zhang Ke, this brother is willing to call you a real man."

Those cheering were all from the Dongqi University side.

Conversely, the Eastern Arts side could no longer be described as merely stirred up; if not for the team coach holding them back, the group likely would have rushed up to beat him into a pulp long ago.

"I'm going to kill you!"

The girl's pretty face flushed crimson, filled not only with shyness but also with boundless fury.

"Do you surrender or not?!"

Zhang Ke had cast all caution to the wind. He was already planning to quit the martial arts team, so what else was there to fear? This would be his only and final glory within the martial team.

"I won't!"

The girl was equally stubborn. Even though her joint mobility was constrained, she still relied on her formidable internal energy to resist Zhang Ke's twisting leverage.

The two of them fell into a deadlock for a moment.

At this point, the coach was also caught in a dilemma. Stepping in to pull them apart was clearly extremely inappropriate and unfair to Zhang Ke; yet, leaving them tangled in such a posture was indeed somewhat unseemly.

"Do you surrender?!"

Gritting his teeth, Zhang Ke wrenched his body around with all his might, attempting to exploit torque to dislocate her joints.

While they were deadlocked, the girl suddenly arched her lower back backward. Utilizing the natural flexibility of her waist, she instantly carved out a split-second of breathing room.

Then, channeling her internal energy throughout her body, she wrenched one of her arms free just as Zhang Ke failed to react in time.

How could Zhang Ke possibly let go of this hard-earned opportunity? He instantly clamped down even harder to suppress her struggling limbs.

With most of her elbow now freed, the girl seized the moment, unleashed a burst of strength, and savagely smashed her elbow toward Zhang Ke's face.

Zhang Ke tilted his head aside, but after a couple of evasive movements, the sharp edge of her elbow still struck his cheek squarely, instantly causing blood to gush and drip down his neck onto the ground.

"Do you surrender?!"

Enduring the pain, Zhang Ke roared at the top of his lungs, pouring every ounce of his strength downward. Blood mingled with his shouts, staining his cheeks and making him look utterly ferocious.

"I surrender, I surrender!"

A single droplet of blood fell from Zhang Ke's cheek, landing at the corner of the girl's mouth with a salty taste.

Finally unable to hold out any longer, the girl uttered the words of surrender.

It seemed as though he had exhausted every ounce of his strength; Zhang Ke slumped his body, loosened his grip, and lay flat on his back on the ground.

The girl scrambled up from the floor in a panic, turning as if to kick Zhang Ke, but upon seeing his miserable state, she changed the kick into a hard stomp of her foot instead. Glaring at him furiously, she snapped, "You won without honor!"

Hearing this, Zhang Ke grinned broadly and chuckled, "A win is a win!"

The wound on his face from the elbow strike distorted hideously as he spoke, making him look somewhat terrifying.

"Dongqi University wins!"

The referee's cheek twitched slightly as he raised an arm to signal the end of the match.

Simultaneously, the coaches beneath the stage had already stepped onto the ring to lead their respective team members away.

"Well done, Zhang Ke!"

Zeng Hongyi patted Zhang Ke on the shoulder, leaving those exact words as all he had to say.

"Senior brother, are you alright?"

Zhao Rui looked at Zhang Ke, whose face was covered in blood, feeling deeply shocked. He had never imagined that this usually somewhat lazy senior brother possessed such a fierce, unyielding backbone.

"I'm fine! It just hurts like hell!"

Zhang Ke grinned slightly, immediately causing the facial muscles around his wound to twitch in agony.

The infirmary staff quickly rushed over to treat his wound, and then, much like Li Xiran earlier, they escorted him away from the martial arts arena.

"This... Dean Zhang, the match..."

Principal Sun also felt a bit guilty. Although they had come to flex their muscles and display dominance, he hadn't expected the bouts to turn out like this—one knocked unconscious, another bleeding from the head.

If word got out, outsiders might think the two schools were locked in a mortal blood feud!

"Martial arts sparring and competitions inevitably involve injuries. Even so, we must still remind the students to temper their hostility..."

Dean Zhang paused slightly before speaking in a calm tone.

Principal Sun nodded, then beckoned an aide over to pass the message down.