Chapter 51: Chapter 39: Aren’t They All Our Students?

So, in just a few moments, the five students found themselves in a perilous situation. Forget fighting back; they could barely muster the strength to resist.

As one student was thrown to the ground, the others quickly followed suit with a series of thuds.

“Sigh, they lost so fast!”

The students in the crowd were naturally on their peers’ side, and seeing this, they let out sighs of disappointment.

One round ended and another began. Out of the six rounds fought by the student teams, only two skilled students managed to last more than two minutes, but they were ultimately knocked to the ground as well.

This result immediately drew a wave of disappointed groans from the student spectators.

“This is just bullying! If you’re so tough, why don’t you wait for the students from our Martial Arts Academy to show up and compete then? What’s so great about beating up on us weaklings?”

“Yeah, that’s right! If you’re so great, let’s compete in academics! We’d crush ten of you!”

The duality of conflict and unity always becomes most apparent when one’s own interests and allegiances are on the line.

The students, who had just been a bustling crowd enjoying the show, were now unexpectedly united by a common sense of indignation in the face of defeat.

“Their morale is commendable. We can increase the difficulty later and really put them through their paces!”

On the viewing stand, the Battalion Commander smiled and remarked to the school official beside him.

“They’re all young people. If they don’t have this much fire in them, how can they become the pillars of our nation? Whether they’re students or young soldiers, they are all the hope for our future!”

The school official replied with a calm smile.

But inwardly, he was cursing up a storm. ’This is clearly a jab at us intellectuals.’

’A bunch of grunts. What’s there to be so damn arrogant about!’

“Haha, Principal Zhang is right. They’re all the hope for our future!”

The Battalion Commander chuckled and turned his gaze back to the Martial Arts Arena below.

With the students being defeated so quickly, it was soon time for the last three groups.

Among the last fighters were the Third-level Martial Artist and Zhao Rui.

The Third-level Martial Artist went up first. His strength was decent, and he exchanged several blows with his opponent. But unfortunately, due to a long period without training and his lack of combat experience, he only lasted two minutes before his opponent seized an opportunity and threw him to the ground.

He had disappointingly lost the match.

Seeing that even the Third-level Martial Artist had been defeated, the university students let out another collective groan of disappointment.

After all, Zhao Rui was a Level 3 at best. What kind of Level 4 wouldn’t enroll in a Martial Arts Academy?

Nevertheless, when it was Zhao Rui’s turn, the crowd still erupted in enthusiastic cheers.

In the Martial Arts Arena, Zhao Rui adjusted his protective gear and walked clankily to the center of the field. He looked at the soldier opposite him, then politely cupped his fist in a salute.

Seeing Zhao Rui’s tall and well-proportioned build, his opponent grinned. “How many minutes do you think you can last?”

“Three minutes, I suppose. Any longer would be unseemly!”

Zhao Rui chuckled. ’It’s all in good fun anyway.’

“Heh, kid. You talk big!”

The soldier sneered. He had only meant to tease the kid, but he hadn’t expected him to be so brazen.

He’d always looked down on these university students, who were so weak they couldn’t even truss a chicken and spent all day messing around with girls.

Enjoying their cushy campus lives.

Meanwhile, soldiers like him suffered through grueling training day in and day out, and when it came to finding a girlfriend, they had to settle for the students’ leftovers.

He was already resentful, and now he was even more determined to knock these college kids down a peg.

The moment the whistle blew for the match to start, the soldier didn’t waste a word. Force erupted from his feet, his speed surged, and he threw a sudden punch at Zhao Rui.

Zhao Rui swung his arm, blocking the blow with ease. His feet moved in the pattern of the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams, his form steady as he skillfully used his opponent’s momentum to shift his position.

No matter how his opponent’s attacks rained down like a furious storm, he remained unhurried, calmly side-stepping each blow.

At this point, anyone with a discerning eye could tell something was amiss.

The Battalion Commander on the viewing stand had a sharp eye. He immediately turned to the school official and said, “You have a high-level Martial Dao student hiding in your regular classes.”

The school official didn’t understand Martial Arts, but he wasn’t a fool. Seeing that Zhao Rui was the only one handling his opponent with ease, he chuckled. “Students these days have a strong sense of individuality. Besides, our school emphasizes a well-rounded education in morals, intellect, and physical fitness!”

“Could he be a student from the Martial Arts Academy who snuck over?”

“What does it matter? He’s still one of our school’s students.”

The school official gave a noncommittal chuckle.

The Battalion Commander nodded, then beckoned an orderly over. After whispering a few words of instruction, he resumed watching the match with a smile.

On the Martial Arts Arena!

Zhao Rui calmly watched his opponent’s fierce assault. In his mind, he silently accessed his system panel, located a newly appeared Martial Art—Hundred Battles Fierce Cloud Fist—and mentally clicked ’copy’.

It was a basic military combat technique, considered one of the Low-End Martial Arts, but hey, better than nothing.

’Besides, learning it will still give me Advancement Points.’

The three minutes passed quickly. Despite his opponent’s relentless attacks, Zhao Rui remained as steady as a rock in the center of the arena.

When time was up, he was the only university student left standing in the vast Martial Arts Arena, instantly becoming the focus of everyone’s attention.

“You…”

The soldier who had fought him now knew he was no match for Zhao Rui. He spat on the ground resentfully and stalked off the stage in frustration.

“Holy shit, he won! That’s a fucking morale boost!”

“Yeah! He’s in my class! Awesome, right?”

“Zhao Rui is so dreamy.”

“So his name is Zhao Rui? Is he in the accounting department? I’d love to get his number!”

“Zhao Rui, I want to marry you and have your babies!”

This last one was shouted by a shameless guy in the crowd.

Zhao Rui raised a hand and grinned at the crowd. ’A little flair is a must when you’re young!’

’I’m not trying to be arrogant, but I should at least show off a little.’

Seeing Zhao Rui’s response, the guy who’d yelled about marrying him went absolutely wild, hiking up his military training shirt and starting to dance suggestively.

The atmosphere grew even more feverish, almost like being at a concert.

The military had intended to use this martial arts drill to knock the arrogant university students down a peg, but they hadn’t expected an outlier to appear and score a decisive victory.

“Should we send in someone else?”

An NCO suggested.

“Switch with who? Continue!”

The Company Commander organizing the event shot the NCO a glare. A cold glint flashed in his eyes, as sharp as a clap of thunder.

“If you all lose, I’ll go up myself!”

Hearing their company commander’s words, the soldiers’ eyes all took on a menacing glint. They looked like a pack of hunting wolves, ready to tear someone apart.

The competition quickly moved to its second phase: a final duel between the winners.

Since Zhao Rui was the only one left on the student team, the second phase was simplified to a match between him and the top winner from the soldiers’ group.

The soldiers sparred with each other often enough that they didn’t need another elimination round. They simply put forward their best: a Fourth-level Martial Artist.

“Come on, kid. I’ll show you what a real man is!”

The soldier stripped off his tank top, revealing an upper body packed with sinewy muscle and covered in numerous old scars.

He had clearly seen his fair share of battle.

“It’s just a friendly match.”

Zhao Rui smiled and waited calmly for his opponent to make the first move.

This soldier was used to charging forward bravely in a fight. But now, seeing Zhao Rui stand there so casually, seemingly without a single opening, he instantly knew he was facing a master of Inner Strength.

He quickly dropped low, scraping his foot against the ground. With a sweeping kick, he sent a cloud of dust from the Martial Arts Arena floor flying into the air, creating a swirling yellow screen.

Using the dust cloud as cover, his body coiled and then exploded with force, spinning like a top as he charged straight at Zhao Rui.

Zhao Rui leaped high into the air, avoiding the brunt of the attack, and with a wave of his sleeve, scattered the dust cloud.

He then caught the opponent’s incoming fist, struck a vital point on the back of the man’s hand, and simultaneously twisted his grip downward.

With a clean, decisive motion, he pulled his opponent off-balance and threw him to the ground.

“I was fortunate.”

Zhao Rui floated back a step and cupped his fist in salute. If not for the cumbersome protective gear, he would have looked the very picture of grace and style.

“I admit defeat!”

The soldier was a good sport. He got to his feet, frankly admitted his loss, and stepped aside.

“My turn!”

Just then, the company commander, who had been observing from the sidelines, could no longer restrain himself and strode forward.

Zhao Rui glanced at the man’s restrained Evil Qi and took a step back. “Sir,” he said, “I don’t believe you’re one of the competitors.”

At these words, the company commander, who had been striding forward menacingly, froze in place. His expression twisted into an ugly knot of frustration.

He was, in fact, not a competitor.

Just as he was caught in this dilemma, the Battalion Commander on the main platform tapped the microphone and spoke in a clear voice, “Young man, you’ve won the competition. However, all your opponents were of a lower Level than you. So, how about this: if you can defeat our Comrade Company Commander here, I’ll personally authorize a two-hour break for all you students!”

As soon as he said this, every eye in the entire military camp instantly locked onto Zhao Rui!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep