Chapter 29
Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW
You can buy coins here to unlock advanced chapters: https://gravitytales.com/coins-purchase-page/
Chapter 29: Combat Exam
In the vast training ground, students participating in the exam stood in neat rows, their gazes fixed on the proctor at the front.
The burly, middle-aged man with a scar across his face and a menacing aura was none other than Lei Jun, their Martial Arts teacher.
Among the five core subjects of the high school immortal cultivation if Dao Heart, Magic Power, and Physical Education were considered foundational, then Martial Dao and Dao Arts were the methods for the practical application techniques of immortal cultivation.
Cultivators held differing views on whether Martial Arts or Dao Arts were superior or more practical.
Zhang Yu still remembered the controversial statement Teacher Lei Jun had made during their first class.
“Martial Arts are vital in this world, while Dao Arts are useless.”
“Learning Dao Arts only makes you poorer. The more you practice, the less money you have, until the Company has earned it all and everyone become paupers.”
“Martial Arts, on the other hand, cost less and are very effective. That is why only by practicing affordable Martial Arts can you build wealth and get richer the more you train.”
This was Lei Jun’s Martial Dao philosophy.
As today’s examiner, Lei Jun also refrained from using any Dao Art powers.
His usual arrangement for the monthly exam was to have students with similar scores from the previous month draw lots for one-on-one combat.
Each pair would fight three rounds, and each round would last for three minutes. A round ended if a student was knocked down or forced out of bounds within the time limit.
After all three rounds were complete, the teachers would score each student based on their performance in the fights.
This format was actually very similar to the Martial Arts Combat portion of the National College Entrance Examination, except that during the national exam, students fought against Yellow Turban Warriors instead of each other.
However, this was just a monthly exam, so it was not feasible to adhere strictly to the national exam standards. Besides, forgoing the Yellow Turban Warriors also saved the school a sum of money.
Thus, after Lei Jun finished explaining the rules for the Martial Arts Combat exam, the large screen above them flickered. Names began to appear as the lottery started.
Once the lottery concluded, the results were sent to each student’s phone with instructions to proceed to their designated locations and begin the combat exam.
The entire training ground had been marked with white lines, creating small squares that were each over ten square meters in size. Every square served as an arena.
Zhang Yu followed the instructions from the drawing and walked to Square 12, where he found He Dayou already waiting.
Seeing He Dayou nod and smile at him politely, Zhang Yu returned the gesture with a nod of his own.
“You’re finally here,” He Dayou thought, suppressing the violent rage in his heart as he slowly walked into the square.
To ensure he could legitimately teach Zhang Yu a lesson, He Dayou had slightly abused his privilege as the school board director’s son. He had arranged for Zhang Yu, who had ranked tenth in the previous month’s exam, to be drawn as his opponent, even though He Dayou himself had placed third.
Of course, according to the drawing rules, their total scores from the last monthly exam were close enough that it was unlikely anyone would question the pairing.
Still, in the past month, his progress in all subjects except the magic power class has fallen behind, right? His true ranking should be somewhere between 20th and 30th.
He Dayou not only considered himself to be among the top three students overall, but his Freehand Combat had also advanced to Level 2 half a month prior. He had even recently mastered a new martial art at a cram school.
But I won’t need to use the new martial art. Level 2 Freehand Combat is more than enough to deal with this poor kid.
The real question now is… should I cripple his hand? Or his leg?
While he was lost in thought, He Dayou and Zhang Yu had already walked to the center of the square, where they stood a little over a meter apart.
He Dayou’s gaze began to roam over Zhang Yu’s body as he considered how to strike him viciously.
Outside the square, an assistant teacher took out their phone and began to record a video of the match.
After the exam, Lei Jun and the other Martial Arts Class teachers for the first-year grade would review all the combat videos and assign scores.
“Are you two ready?”
At the assistant teacher’s question, Zhang Yu and He Dayou both nodded.
“Demonstration Class students Zhang Yu and He Dayou, your first combat match…”
“3, 2, 1… Begin!”
At the assistant teacher’s command, He Dayou struck out instantly. His right arm blurred into an almost invisible afterimage as he aimed a palm chop at Zhang Yu’s neck.
Simultaneously, his mind had already raced through all of Zhang Yu’s likely counterattacks.
As a second-generation rich kid, He Dayou had ample time and money to hire people for daily martial arts combat training. He had experienced, trained for, and countered every possible response an opponent might make after this palm chop. This was the advantage of real-world combat experience.
With level 2 Freehand Combat skills and extensive combat experience, He Dayou was absolutely confident he would defeat his opponent.
“Alright then… a hand strike it is.”
Magic Power surged from He Dayou’s core and flooded into his palm.
THUD!
A loud impact erupted from He Dayou’s abdomen.
He then felt his vision shake wildly, the hard ground beneath him, and pain rack his entire body.
Several seconds passed before He Dayou gradually regained his senses.
He had been sent flying by a single move from Zhang Yu and now lay sprawled on the ground.
“I was one-shotted?”
He Dayou’s face flushed crimson.“How is that possible?!”
Seeing his agitation, the assistant teacher wanted to avoid further trouble and immediately played the recording of their fight right in front of him and Zhang Yu.
The video showed He Dayou launching his palm strike. Zhang Yu, however, reacted after him but moved faster. He ducked the blow and simultaneously slammed his entire body into He Dayou, tackling him and sending him tumbling out of the designated area.
The entire sequence took less than a second. It looked as if He Dayou had deliberately cooperated with Zhang Yu and let himself be thrown.
Watching this, He Dayou’s resentment grew. He had not even used his full strength. He still had new martial arts techniques he had not even tried. All it took was a single moment of carelessness.
I underestimated this Zhang Yu. To think I was distracted during the fight…
The more he thought about it, the more bitter he felt.
But he knew that whether it was due to his own carelessness or negligence, making any further excuses would only make him look more foolish.
He took a deep breath and nodded to Zhang Yu. “Well fought. Let’s continue.”
The assistant teacher asked He Dayou about his physical condition. After confirming he was fine, the teacher had them both step back into the square.
The two students stood facing each other again, separated by a meter.
Zhang Yu smiled at He Dayou and thought to himself, My practical combat score should be pretty high this time.
The effects of Level 3 Freehand Combat were even better than he had anticipated.
While Zhang Yu estimated his practical combat experience probably could not compare to that of a wealthy second-generation heir like He Dayou, his Level 3 Freehand Combat had made him intimately familiar with all fifteen of its moves.
In their previous match, the instant He Dayou attacked, Zhang Yu had already known what he was going to do and exactly where the openings in his form would appear.
The moment the idea formed in his mind, his body was already moving. He surged forward with magic power coursing through his arms and took advantage of the momentum to throw his opponent.
In a First-Year Freehand Combat match, as long as my opponent’s skill is below Level 3, their reaction time will probably be a step slower than mine.
Plus, my physical strength is quite high now. In a First-Year Freehand Combat match against any student in the entire school… I doubt I’d lose.
Meanwhile, He Dayou’s expression was grim, a stark contrast to his previous casual demeanor.
He was determined to give this second match his full attention and unleash his full power to crush Zhang Yu utterly.
This time, he would not give his opponent the slightest chance.
“Zhang Yu versus He Dayou, second match.”
“3, 2, 1… Begin!”
The assistant teacher’s words had barely faded when He Dayou instantly unleashed his full power. His right fist, imbued with surging magic power, hurtled toward Zhang Yu’s face.
THUD!
Another loud sound echoed out.
Again, there was the familiar sensation of his vision shaking, the hard, cold ground, and the pain all over his body.
He Dayou clambered to his feet, dazed.
Had he been instantly defeated… again?
He once again watched the video recorded by the assistant teacher.
The footage showed him throwing a punch, but at the same time, Zhang Yu had already kicked him squarely in the chest, sending him flying backward.
Because both of them moved with such blinding speed, it looked as though He Dayou had deliberately slammed his own chest into Zhang Yu’s outstretched foot.
The third match began.
This time, He Dayou did not rush to attack with his full force. Instead, he adopted a defensive stance and cautiously observed Zhang Yu.
Zhang Yu thought to himself, He’s finally being careful after being instantly defeated twice in a row?
The reason he had been able to instantly defeat his opponent was that his familiarity with Freehand Combat allowed him to anticipate his opponent’s movements and trajectory the moment an attack began. He would then proactively meet the attack along its path, striking at the opening in his opponent’s full-power assault.
One could say Zhang Yu had taken advantage of their combined speed to defeat He Dayou before he could even react.
But once He Dayou became cautious and stopped attacking with full force from the start, Zhang Yu could not replicate his previous two instant kills.
However, Zhang Yu had prepared his own tactics for this situation.
With his Magic Power and Physical Strength advancing by leaps and bounds, Zhang Yu was confident that his current power was comparable to He Dayou, the third-ranked student in their year.
In terms of raw physical power, his opponent had also developed in a balanced way, rather than focusing on brute strength.
Since his opponent was unwilling to attack first, Zhang Yu decided to take the initiative.
He channeled his magic power and struck He Dayou’s chest with a palm strike.
“Here it comes!” He Dayou’s eyes flashed with a sharp glint. He countered with a punch, blocking the attack.
Then he saw Zhang Yu strike again with the same palm strike.
“The same move? What is he trying to do?”
After taking three of Zhang Yu’s palm strikes in a row, He Dayou’s arm were sore and numb, and the magic power inside him was thrown into turmoil.
Zhang Yu’s Magic Power was far more profound and his physical strength far more formidable than He Dayou had expected.
And Zhang Yu’s tactics were incredibly simple. He was just going to clash with He Dayou head-on.
Zhang Yu’s Level 3 Freehand Combat training had not only made him more familiar with the techniques but also allowed him to unleash greater physical strength and more potent Magic Power into each move.
This gave him a significant advantage in direct confrontations.
He Dayou quickly realized this, and a faint smile played on his lips.
“You want to go blow for blow with me?”
“Fine. Let’s clash and see who’s really tougher.”
He channeled his newly mastered martial art, the Minor Heavenly Star Palm. In an instant, the magic power in his dantian transformed into a chilling palm strike, surging from his palm toward Zhang Yu with devastating force.
