Chapter 71: Chapter 67: The Younger Generation

“Liu Nianbo truly is worthy of the B List of the Martial Arts Examination.”

“Brother Sun didn’t even last twenty moves before he was defeated.”

…..

The watching disciples of the Zhou Institute, such as Zhengzi Bridge and Luo Qian, looked on at Liu Nianbo’s almost crushing power, their eyes filled with a complex mixture of envy, disappointment, and gravity.

Liu Nianbo’s posture was humble, without a hint of arrogance, but his gaze drifted toward Zhou Yu, a flicker of barely perceptible triumph in his eyes.

Liu Ze nodded slightly, a look of satisfaction in his eyes.

Zhou Liang sighed inwardly, but his face showed nothing. “Nianbo’s Dark Force is nearing Perfection. He can’t be far from breaking through to Transmutation Force, can he?”

Liu Ze stroked his beard and said, “Indeed. I just don’t know if he will succeed this time.”

A hint of apprehension was audible in his tone.

The final of the three trials was the most difficult. Countless so-called geniuses had stumbled at this hurdle.

Liu Nianbo cupped his fist and scanned the crowd. “Are there any other brothers here who wish to step forward and offer some pointers?”

The Zhou Institute disciples looked at each other, but no one answered.

Bai Rui suddenly spoke up, “Brother Chen Qing, why don’t you go up and give it a try?”

The crowd parted, and only then did everyone notice that Chen Qing had quietly arrived.

Among the current disciples of the Zhou Institute, though his prestige might not equal that of Sun Shun or Zhou Yu, his strength was subtly superior.

Many people were curious about a clash between these two rising stars of the Martial Arts Examination: Liu Nianbo from the B List and Chen Qing from the C List.

Hearing this, Liu Nianbo’s gaze shifted over.

“Forget it.”

Chen Qing waved his hand, rejecting the suggestion.

’Liu Nianbo clearly wants to show off and impress Zhou Yu. If I spar with him, winning brings no benefits and will only earn his displeasure.’

The Zhou Institute disciples couldn’t hide the disappointment on their faces.

With Sun Shun’s prior defeat, it was understandable that Brother Chen Qing didn’t dare to step forward.

Even though it was a sparring match, losing was still a loss of face. What martial artist didn’t have a competitive spirit?

In contrast to the dejection of the Zhou Institute disciples, the Liu Institute disciples held their heads high, their expressions quite smug.

Liu Nianbo knew there was no point in holding the stage any longer, so he turned and walked down.

“Something’s not right with this kid!”

A short distance away, just as Liu Ze was about to pick up his teacup, a sharp glint suddenly appeared in his eyes.

Zhou Liang sensed the fluctuation in Chen Qing’s qi and blood, his pupils contracting violently.

They were both masters who had been at the Transmutation Force realm for many years and were extremely sensitive to fluctuations in qi and blood.

The two exchanged a look of tacit understanding.

Just as the echo of Chen Qing’s refusal to spar was still reverberating through the courtyard, while all eyes were fixed on him in disappointment…

“Good kid!”

A bellow like a sudden clap of thunder abruptly shattered the courtyard’s tranquility!

Liu Ze, who had been sitting beside Zhou Liang, exploded into motion without any warning, his body moving so fast it left a blurry afterimage.

There was no sign of him gathering power; one moment he was sitting and sipping tea, the next he was like an arrow loosed from a bow, hurtling toward Chen Qing with a suffocating pressure.

His five fingers came together like a blade, his arm resembling the forelimb of a preying mantis, tearing through the air with a harsh RIIIP.

It was not killing intent that gathered at his fingertips, but a sharp, probing force that sought to pierce through everything, aimed straight for the vital point of Chen Qing’s throat.

Its speed and cunning angle far surpassed any move Liu Nianbo had just displayed.

This was a thunderous strike from a Transmutation Force master.

A powerful wind blasted forth, its sharp aura bone-chilling!

The entire Zhou Institute fell into a dead silence. The expressions on every disciple’s face froze, turning into pure shock.

Zhou Yu’s beautiful face lost all color. Sun Shun subconsciously took a step forward, only to freeze in place. Liu Nianbo was even more shaken, watching his father’s earth-shattering move in disbelief.

Only Zhou Liang’s eyes burned like fire.

At the center of the attack, Chen Qing’s pupils contracted sharply.

But he didn’t panic, nor did he even move to retreat or dodge.

Facing a surprise attack that could have instantly and severely injured someone at the Great Success in Dark Force, the qi and blood in his body instantly began to boil.

Just as Liu Ze’s fingertips were an inch from Chen Qing’s throat.

At the critical moment!

Chen Qing’s body seemed to lose its substance, becoming incredibly flexible and elusive.

His upper body swayed and yielded at an impossibly slight, yet utterly natural angle. His movement was as fluid as a stream flowing around a Pan Stone, as elusive and untraceable as a phantom.

HUMMM!

An invisible yet resilient field of force rippled out from Chen Qing like a wave in water.

Time itself seemed to stretch in that moment.

Liu Ze’s lightning-fast fingertips, carrying an incomparably fierce wind, grazed perilously past the skin on the side of Chen Qing’s neck.

The immense Power contained in his fingertips didn’t erupt to cause injury. Instead, like a clay ox entering the sea, it was cleverly deflected and dissipated into nothingness by that formless, flowing ’aura’.

Then, an even more shocking scene unfolded!

A dry leaf, caught in the roiling Strong Qi from the two combatants, spiraled down and happened to drift toward Chen Qing’s shoulder.

It was not flicked away by the colliding air currents as one would expect, nor did it fall under its own weight.

The dry leaf just hung there eerily, suspended in the air about half an inch from Chen Qing’s shoulder.

It seemed to be held up by an intangible yet incredibly tough field of energy, trembling slightly, unable to move up or down.

Not even a fly could land! Not a single feather could be added!

“Good! What a kid!”

The blue brick under Liu Ze’s foot shattered with a CRACK! Like a powerful bow drawn to its limit, he abruptly pushed off!

His figure pounced toward Chen Qing once again.

Mantis Fist! Double Blade Mountain Breaker!

Liu Ze roared like thunder as the muscles in his arms instantly bulged and knotted, the blue veins slithering like living snakes beneath his skin.

He clenched his fists, not into ordinary shapes, but into the unique ’Sickle Hand’ of Mantis Fist.

That pair of fists seemed to transform into two invisible, giant sickles capable of splitting mountains and cracking stone!

Left fist forward, right fist back, they didn’t strike separately. Instead, they closed in along a profound trajectory, like the deadly bladed arms of a giant mantis snapping shut on its prey. Carrying a terrifying and unstoppable Power, they smashed brazenly toward Chen Qing’s center.

Wherever the Fist Edges passed, the air was compressed to an extreme, letting out a piercing sonic boom and forming a visible white shockwave that seemed to want to utterly pulverize everything in its path.

This strike condensed decades of Liu Ze’s mastery of Mantis Fist.

Fierce and domineering, cunning and ruthless, the flexibility and Penetration Power of Transmutation Force were perfectly fused within it. It was impossible to evade; the only option was to meet it head-on.

“A good strike!”

Chen Qing sank his waist and planted his stance. His spine straightened like a great dragon raising its head, letting out a rapid series of pops like beans crackling in a hot pan.

He took a deep breath, his chest and abdomen suddenly collapsing inward as all the qi and blood in his body were instantly mobilized to their peak.

A perfect blend of hard and soft, the Power of Qian Jun!

His feet took root, drawing power up from the earth. With a twist of his waist and hips, the force shot through his spine!

The muscles on his right arm swelled, veins popping, as he met the attack head-on with a vicious ’Mountain-Breaking Technique’ from the Long Arm Fist.

BANG!

The instant of impact, a turbulent and surging Strong Qi erupted, making one’s qi and blood tremble and sending a chill down the spine.

The dust and shredded leaves on the ground were violently swept up, forming clouds of dust that made the surrounding disciples’ clothes flap loudly in the wind.

Liu Ze’s body shook violently. His feet plowed two deep furrows into the shattered blue bricks as he was forced back three steps with a STOMP, STOMP, STOMP.

Chen Qing fared no better. The massive recoil sent his qi and blood into turmoil. With a CRACK, the blue bricks beneath his feet were completely pulverized.

The immense force pushed him back, sliding him nearly ten feet. His feet scraped two clear marks into the ground before he finally stabilized himself.

Liu Ze slowly retracted his fists. He looked at his slightly numb knuckles, then at the young figure opposite him, the shock in his eyes gradually turning into deep admiration and awe.

He took a deep breath to suppress his roiling qi and blood and said to Zhou Liang:

“The younger generation is to be feared! Old Zhou, congratulations! The Zhou Institute… has a successor!”

….

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep