Chapter 56: A Thousand Variations Finally Take Form, the Wheel of Feng Shui Turns and Empties the Momentum

At this stage of the competition, the outcome between the two schools was already crystal clear.

Dean Zhang leaned sideways and asked Wang Zhanshan, who was standing beside him, "How many team members do we have left? What is their strength like?"

Wang Zhanshan hesitated for a moment before replying, "There's still one freshman left. His strength..."

He paused slightly, his expression somewhat unsightly, not knowing what to say for a moment. Although Zhao Rui had never been tested in actual combat, whether looking at his martial realm or talent assessment, he didn't seem like someone to look forward to.

Seeing his expression, Dean Zhang instantly lost all expectations. He smiled apathetically and said, "Then let him compete!"

Anyway, they had already lost beyond the point of no return. Consider it as giving the freshman a bit of actual combat experience.

"Next match, Zhao Rui from Dongqi University versus Fu Shaohu from Dongyi Institute of Physical Education."

Hearing the referee's announcement, the members of the Dongyi team all turned to look at Zhao Rui, who was sitting in the front row waiting for his turn.

"Is he going to be okay?"

"Whether he's okay or not, it's a loss anyway!"

"That's true. Sigh, if we knew it would come to this, we should have recruited this kid together with those monstrous freshmen when he first joined the team."

"Alright, stop thinking about that. A loss is a loss. We'll win it back next time."

"He probably hasn't even mastered the Prajna Palm yet, has he? It's only been a few days. Sending him up there is just making a fool of himself."

"Regardless of his skill level, classifying him as a sophomore would actually be quite fitting, huh?"

The juniors and seniors whispering under the steps weren't even looking down on Zhao Rui; rather, they simply didn't take the final match seriously at all.

How could a freshman who had just joined the team and was still a complete newbie possibly defeat a sophomore from the opposing side?

There was no telling what the leadership was thinking.

While some looked down on him, others naturally offered cheers and encouragement. Qin Rong had already strained her throat, casting aside her modesty to cheer loudly.

"Zhao Rui, you can do it!"

She often sparred with Zhao Rui. Although she didn't know his true level, his mastery of the Prajna Palm was definitely higher than her own. If he could take advantage of the opponent's complacency, it wasn't impossible to turn the tables.

"Good luck, and watch out for the opponent hiding his strength."

Cao Guannan, who had lost his match, barely managed to summon his spirits and offered a word of caution.

Zhao Rui gave a hum of acknowledgment, smiled at the group, and leaped onto the arena stage.

"Please!"

He cupped his fists in a polite salute, his demeanor gentle and reminiscent of an ancient swordsman.

Surprisingly, the opponent's appearance bore little resemblance to his fierce-sounding name. Far from having an aggressive aura, he had handsome features and a tall stature, resembling a modest and refined gentleman.

"Please!"

The two locked eyes, each assuming an opening stance and stepping lightly to probe for the other's flaws.

Zhao Rui's eyes flashed, his palms crossing like overlapping mountain peaks to dazzle the opponent's vision. Before the other could react, he executed the Seven-Star Root-Locking Footwork, turning his palms into claws to grip the opponent's Jingjing acupuncture point.

This was none other than the Taihang Thirteen Palms he had learned from his high school classmate Cui Jian back in high school.

"A Thousand Ravines Listening to Pines?"

Fu Shaohu, the opponent from Dongyi, smiled slightly at the corner of his mouth, unhurriedly blocking with a slanted palm. At the same time, his palm movement curved like a dragon returning to a deep pool, counter-striking diagonally toward Zhao Rui's chest.

"Returning Dragon Bending the Ravine?"

Zhao Rui was momentarily stunned, not expecting his opponent to also know the Taihang Thirteen Palms.

However, after a brief moment of contemplation, it made sense. After all, the Taihang Thirteen Palms was not an advanced martial art; plenty of people practiced this technique out in the world.

"The precipice hangs nine zhang deep, its vital breath subdued; the palms harness mist and haze to bind the dragon! I wonder what realm you have reached?"

Fu Shaohu smiled faintly, his movements as majestic as towering mountains yet ethereal like drifting clouds, engaging Zhao Rui in combat.

Zhao Rui smiled calmly without answering, his hand movements shifting as he executed the techniques of the Taihang Thirteen Palms one after another.

With identical moves and matching composure, the two of them sparred almost as if they were martial brothers practicing routine drills.

No, to be precise, it was exactly like martial brothers sparring together.

Every single one of Fu Shaohu's attacks was intercepted by Zhao Rui, who then seamlessly led into the next move, making even Fu Shaohu feel that fighting this way was extremely comfortable.

"Shaohu, what are you doing?"

Seeing the two of them playing house without any real intent to fight, the Dongyi coach down below grew extremely anxious and shouted a reprimand.

Only then did Fu Shaohu snap out of it, hurriedly changing his hand techniques and ceasing to clash with Zhao Rui using the Taihang Thirteen Palms.

Seeing the opponent change his technique, Zhao Rui slanted his steps into the Soaring Dragon Footwork to dodge the onslaught, then spun around to execute the Prajna Palm, suppressing the opponent's surging energy.

The so-called clarity of mind and perception of self, leaving all material things behind to observe all phenomena, allows one to behold their true self.

Seventy percent of the full power in Zhao Rui's Prajna Palm was defensive, guarding both his body and his mind, seeking not to achieve merits but to avoid mistakes.

This set of palm techniques was slick, lazy, and steady as a rock!

"Zhao Rui's Prajna Palm seems to have entered the inner chamber!"

Wang Zhanshan, watching from below, was slightly stunned as he looked incredulously at Zhao Rui fighting on the stage.

He stood up from the spectator seats, walked over to his team's side, leaned toward Zeng Hongyi, and asked, "Old Zeng, what about this kid's Prajna Palm?"

"It's all right. Though his innate talent is ordinary, his comprehension is good, and he's quite sensitive to stances. I was actually planning to talk to you about this earlier!"

"Oh!"

Wang Zhanshan finally dawned on the realization, then shook his head and said, "If his innate talent isn't up to par, his cultivation level naturally won't keep up. The further along he goes, the wider the gap will become. How can technique ever make up for that?"

"What a pity!"

Just as he was speaking, the situation on the arena changed once more.

To everyone's surprise, Fu Shaohu actually abandoned his palm techniques and unleashed an exceptionally exquisite set of legwork.

"Not good!"

Wang Zhanshan's expression darkened, his eyes narrowing slightly as he muttered, "Dongyi has sent up the member with the most eclectic martial arts."

"The most eclectic?"

"They don't know Zhao Rui's background, so they chose a guy proficient in both fists and legs to play it safe. These guys really aren't leaving us an ounce of face!"

Hearing Wang Zhanshan's words, Zeng Hongyi immediately understood and let out a bitter laugh, "Who told you guys to win too ruthlessly a few years ago! The wheel of fortune turns, I suppose!"

At these words, Wang Zhanshan's old face darkened, and for a moment, he didn't know how to respond.

Back in the day, how glorious the Dongqi University Martial Arts Team had been! Which exchange with Dongyi didn't leave the opponents weeping tears of frustration?

Sigh!

While he was sighing, on the arena stage, Zhao Rui dodged a few of his sidekicks, leaped backward, and suddenly stood on one leg with his right high up, adopting a leg-fighting posture as well.

"What is this?"

Cao Guannan's eyes widened in sheer disbelief.

"The Mighty Vajra Leg!"

That was his signature skill!

Not only was Cao Guannan astonished, but Fu Shaohu on the stage was also dumbfounded.

"Real or fake?"

He couldn't be bothered to guess; true or false, he would find out once they traded blows.

He immediately executed the Tiger-Tail Kick he had learned, fiercely lashing out at his opponent.

Zhao Rui neither dodged nor evaded, countering with a kick of his own. The edges of their boots collided, and an instantaneous burst of inner force exploded between them.

This clash of kinetic energy resulted in Zhao Rui staggering and retreating several steps straight back.

Through the addition of breakthrough points over this period, his internal cultivation had already reached the level of eighteen years.

However, that barely scratched the level of a Tier 7 martial artist, and a certain gap still existed compared to Fu Shaohu's mid-to-late Tier 7 strength.

During this period, he had accumulated a total of six breakthrough points, using five of them—three on internal energy and two on unblocking acupuncture points.

The remaining one was left in reserve.

"Let's go again!"

Seeing an opportunity, Fu Shaohu instantly stepped forward, his legwork fierce as the wind, giving Zhao Rui no breathing room whatsoever.

Zhao Rui employed the Soaring Dragon Footwork while executing the Mighty Vajra Leg, parrying or retreating to neutralize the opponent's moves.

"The Soaring Dragon Footwork?"

Cao Guannan's face darkened even further. Well, well, Zhao Rui, you really went and learned every trick I had!

Before his face could darken completely, however, he saw Zhao Rui stumble, his breathing clearly unstable, nearly getting clipped by the opponent's Tiger-Tail Kick.

That breathing pattern seemed different from the mental cultivation method?

Moreover, when executing the final strike, the force generation clearly didn't match the method of the Mighty Vajra Leg.

Cao Guannan furrowed his brows. He had noticed several times during Zhao Rui's evasive maneuvers that his breathing rhythm distinctly failed to align with his techniques.

Besides, the Mighty Vajra Leg was inherently powerful and heavy. If the mental method was applied properly, a slight gap in internal energy between peers could be fully compensated for.

Yet Zhao Rui clearly failed to achieve this.

"An empty facade?"

"Doesn't look like it! He truly has the capability to fight!"

Just as Cao Guannan was utterly baffled, Zhao Rui changed his moves once again, shifting to Qin Rong's Flower-Plucking Finger technique.

Since frontal combat wasn't working, he might as well break through the defense at a single point and attack where the opponent least expected.

"Fingering techniques? This is getting more and more interesting!"

Fu Shaohu didn't hold back either. He halted his steps and instantly unleashed a set of As-You-Wish Three Absolute Fingers.

Zhao Rui was taken aback as well. Good grief, this kid was a mobile arsenal; he knew every martial art under the sun!

Furthermore, every single martial art he practiced reached the stage of proficiency, and some branch techniques were merely separated from mastery by a transparent layer of paper.

"Copy, copy, copy!"

Regardless of whether he would ever see them again, he would copy them first.

Adhering to the philosophy of a thief never leaving empty-handed, Zhao Rui decisively included all the martial arts displayed by Fu Shaohu into his copy range.

Their ongoing battle followed the exact same pattern as before: their moves remained nearly identical, yet the gap in their internal energy was vast.

Many of Zhao Rui's attacks lacked sufficient force by the time they reached his opponent, looking nothing like someone who possessed complete mental manuals and incantations.

Yet other moves were fiercely powerful and hit precisely at the right moment, preventing Fu Shaohu from lowering his guard.

"Beep!"

As the halftime whistle blew, the two of them could be considered the only competitors in this exchange meeting to reach the second half.

"Relax. The opponent has formidable internal energy; as long as you can hold on, that's victory. If you find yourself lacking strength later, just surrender. You've already done well!"

Zeng Hongyi leaped onto the stage, checked Zhao Rui's physical condition, and offered words of instruction.

Zhao Rui nodded and replied, "I understand, Coach!"

Meanwhile, down below, Dean Sun was discussing the match on stage with Dean Zhang.

"I heard this student from your esteemed school is only a freshman? Could it be that eight-tier martial artist from your current cohort?"

"Of course not. If he were an eight-tier martial artist, how could they have traded blows in a stalemate for so long?"

"..."

Give you an inch and you take a mile.

"Eight-tier? Heh!"

Dean Sun smiled meaningfully, offering no further comment.

Instead, he turned his gaze back to the arena stage.

By this point, the second-half match had already begun.

Instead of reusing the fingering techniques from earlier, Fu Shaohu channeled energy into both palms and unleashed a set of palm techniques he hadn't yet demonstrated.

The startup animation for this palm technique was somewhat lengthy, boasting numerous fake moves before any real attack.

Had his lightweight footwork not been peerless, he would have long since been seized of the opportunity by Zhao Rui and knocked flat with a single palm strike.

How could any martial art with such a lengthy startup time be mediocre?

True to expectation, the moment Fu Shaohu completed his startup phase, his entire presence shifted instantly. Qi surged around his body, and his momentum became vast and deep like an abyss.

"The Wild Bull Blood-Burning Art!"

What kind of martial art was this?

Zhao Rui cast a quick glance at the prompt on his system interface, his mind trembling slightly.

Could this be the legendary martial art capable of instantaneously boosting internal cultivation?

Damn it, why did this kid have so many good things?

Zhao Rui couldn't help feeling envious.

He had originally thought he was picking the easiest opponent, only to realize he had been left with the most formidable one.

This aura was unquestionably that of an eight-tier martial artist, and not just someone who had newly stepped into the eighth tier, but someone whose power had been forcibly elevated by a whole major realm.

"Is this really necessary for you?!"

Zhao Rui smiled bitterly. Wasn't this just a friendly match? Was it worth using such a heaven-defying technique?

Unfortunately, his thoughts couldn't stop Fu Shaohu's resolute ultimate killing move.

"How much longer are you going to hide? Let's have a proper, untrammeled fight!"

With every step Fu Shaohu took, his aura surged, pointing straight toward the level of a ninth-tier martial artist.

"Fight your sister!"

Zhao Rui cleanly and decisively surrendered!

The members of the Dongyi team, who had been expecting a good show, momentarily froze in their tracks.

After all that impressive posturing, he gave up without even trading a single proper blow?

"Sigh, I thought he was an expert, but it turns out he was just all show and no substance."

"Still, this kid knows a lot of tricks. Being able to trade blows with Fu Shaohu using all sorts of styles makes him quite impressive."

"Mastering too many things leads to mediocrity; not everyone can be Junior Brother Fu."

"I was wondering if Dongqi University had a simulated martial art called Shape-Mimicry Boxing? Could it be..."

"Impossible. I know Shape-Mimicry Boxing; it's just an empty shell with form but no substance."

"True..."

With the match concluded, Zhao Rui briskly jumped down from the stage.

He shrugged with a hint of regret and said to the group, "I really couldn't beat him!"

Qin Rong smiled upon hearing this and said, "None of us could beat him! You were already amazing!"

"You stole my martial art!"

Before Zhao Rui could reply, Cao Guannan walked over with a dark expression, looking at him with unkind eyes.

Other martial arts didn't matter much. After all, ever since the imperial court promulgated martial arts to the populace, anyone could practice them, and certain arts on the promulgated lists were not restricted from circulation.

The Mighty Vajra Leg was different, however.

It was taught to him by his master. Thinking of this, his gaze involuntarily shifted toward the Dongyi team.

His chilling gaze carried deep frost!

That figure became increasingly clear in his mind.

If you had no intention of keeping it, why take it in the first place?

...

"Senior Brother, to be honest with you, this is Shape-Mimicry Boxing!"

Zhao Rui tilted his head slightly and said in a low voice.

"Shape-Mimicry Boxing? Impossible! Where did you get the internal energy?"

"I just practiced it the way Group Leader He taught..."

Before Zhao Rui could finish, Zeng Hongyi interrupted them both, saying, "Talk about it back at base. Let's finish up the exchange meeting first."

"Yes!"

Hearing the coach's instructions, the group hurriedly put on straight faces and sat back down in their seats.

Given such a poor outcome for this competition, it was better to keep a low profile.

As all the competitors finished their matches, the final results of this exchange meeting were finally released.

The Dongqi University Martial Arts Team cleanly and utterly lost the exchange meeting with a glorious record of 1 win and 5 losses.

Moreover, their single victory was hardly honorable, essentially secured through a deceptive trick.

During the concluding remarks, Dean Zhang's face was so dark it could have played Judge Bao; he hurriedly mumbled a few officialities and stepped down from the platform.