Chapter 29: Practical Exam

Inside the enormous training ground, students participating in the exam were standing in lines, looking up at the invigilating teacher in front of them.

This middle-aged strong man, with a scar on his face and an intimidating aura, was none other than Lei Jun, Zhang Yu's martial arts teacher.

Among the five major Immortal Dao subjects in high school, if Dao Heart, Magic Power, and Physical Education are considered foundational, then Martial Arts and Daoist Arts primarily focus on the practical application of Immortal Dao techniques.

Regarding which is stronger or more useful, martial arts or Daoist arts, cultivators hold differing views.

Zhang Yu still remembered his martial arts teacher, Lei Jun, making a controversial statement during their first lesson.

"Martial arts are extremely useful in this world; Daoist arts are useless."

"For every Daoist art you train in, you get poorer. The more you practice, the poorer you become. Ultimately, all your money goes to the companies, and you end up as paupers."

"Martial arts, on the other hand, are less expensive and cheaper, yet they are very effective. Therefore, only by practicing inexpensive martial arts can you get rich and become wealthier the more you train."

This was Lei Jun's martial arts philosophy.

And as today's invigilator, Lei Jun also did not rely on any Daoist art powers.

His arrangement for the monthly exam had always been for students with similar scores from the previous month's exam to draw lots and then engage in one-on-one combat.

The two sides would fight three consecutive rounds. Each round of combat would last 3 minutes, and if someone was knocked down or went out of bounds within that time, the round would end.

After all three rounds were complete, the teacher would grade them based on their performance in these three combat sessions.

This was actually very similar to the martial arts combat exam for the college entrance examination, except that in the college entrance exam, students fought against Yellow Turban Strongmen and candidates were not allowed to fight each other.

But since it was only a monthly exam, it was impossible to genuinely adopt the college entrance exam standards, especially since not hiring Yellow Turban Strongmen saved the school money.

So, after Lei Jun finished explaining the rules for the martial arts combat exam, the large screen above flickered, and with the appearance of names, the drawing of lots began.

With the conclusion of the draw, the results were sent to each student's phone, instructing them to proceed to their designated locations to begin the combat exam.

The entire training ground was currently divided by white lines into small squares, each about ten square meters in size. Each small square served as a ring.

Following the draw results, Zhang Yu walked into square number 12, where he saw He Dayou already waiting.

Seeing He Dayou politely smile and nod at him, Zhang Yu nodded back.

"Finally, you're here." He Dayou suppressed the violent emotions in his heart, slowly walking into the square.

In order to legitimately teach Zhang Yu a lesson, He Dayou subtly used his privilege as the school board director's son, arranging for Zhang Yu, who ranked 10th in the previous month's exam, to be drawn as his opponent, as he himself had ranked 3rd.

Of course, according to the drawing rules, they could reasonably be considered to have had similar overall scores in the last monthly exam, so few would question it.

"But over the past month, aside from his Magic Power class, his progress in other subjects must have fallen behind, right? His true ranking should be somewhere between 20th and 30th."

He Dayou believed that he not only maintained his top-three overall score, but his Sanshou had also advanced to Level 2 half a month ago, and he had recently mastered a new martial art in his cram school.

"However, I won't need my new martial art. Level 2 Sanshou is more than enough to deal with this pauper."

"Now the question is... should I injure his hand? Or his leg?"

While pondering, He Dayou and Zhang Yu had already walked to the center of the square, standing about a meter apart.

He Dayou's gaze began to wander over Zhang Yu's body, contemplating how to strike a painful blow shortly.

Outside the square, an assistant teacher took out his phone and began recording video.

After the exam, Lei Jun and several other martial arts teachers from the first year of high school would successively watch all the combat videos and assign scores.

"Are both of you ready?"

Hearing the assistant teacher's question, Zhang Yu and He Dayou both nodded.

"Alright, Zhang Yu and He Dayou from the demonstration class, first round of combat..."

"3, 2, 1, begin!"

As soon as the assistant teacher gave the command, He Dayou suddenly struck. His right arm blurred into a streak, almost imperceptible to the naked eye, as he aimed a palm strike at Zhang Yu's neck.

At the same time, he had already anticipated Zhang Yu's possible counter-moves.

After all, as a second-generation rich kid, he had enough time and money to hire people for daily combat training.

For every possible reaction an opponent might make after this palm strike, he had already experienced them, trained for them, and developed ways to counter them.

This was the effect of practical combat experience.

Level 2 Sanshou, combined with more extensive combat experience, gave He Dayou absolute confidence in defeating his opponent.

"Alright then... I'll go for his hand."

The magic power in He Dayou's body surged wildly towards his palm...

A loud thud came from He Dayou's abdomen.

Then he felt his vision wildly shake, the hard ground, and pain all over his body.

It took several seconds for He Dayou to gradually come to his senses.

He had been sent flying by a single move from Zhang Yu and was lying on the ground.

"I was instantly defeated?"

He Dayou's face instantly turned crimson. "How could this be?"

Seeing He Dayou's agitated state, the assistant teacher, to avoid trouble, immediately played the recently recorded combat footage in front of him and Zhang Yu.

In the video, just as He Dayou struck with his palm, Zhang Yu, moving later but arriving first, ducked to avoid the strike while simultaneously slamming his entire body into He Dayou, grappling him and throwing him out of bounds.

The entire process took less than a second, looking as if He Dayou had deliberately cooperated with Zhang Yu to be thrown out.

He Dayou, watching this scene, felt increasingly resentful. He clearly hadn't used his full strength; he still had his newly learned martial art that he hadn't deployed. It was just one moment of carelessness and...

"I underestimated Zhang Yu too much. I was distracted by other thoughts while fighting him..."

Thinking this, He Dayou felt even more unwilling to accept it.

But he knew that whether it was due to carelessness or negligence, any further excuses now would only make him look worse.

So he took a deep breath and nodded at Zhang Yu: "Well played. Let's continue."

The assistant teacher beside them asked if He Dayou was alright, and after confirming he was fine, he had both of them step back into the square.

The two again stood facing each other, about a meter apart.

Zhang Yu smiled, looking at He Dayou, thinking to himself: "My combat score this time should be quite high."

The effects of Level 3 Sanshou were even better than he had anticipated.

Although Zhang Yu estimated his own combat experience was probably not as extensive as He Dayou's, a second-generation rich kid.

But Level 3 Sanshou made him incredibly familiar with all 15 moves of Sanshou.

In the previous round, almost the instant He Dayou made his move, Zhang Yu already knew what his opponent intended and where the flaws in his technique would appear.

And as soon as the thought emerged in his mind, his body moved, charging forward, channeling magic power into his arms, and throwing his opponent out in one smooth motion.

"In a Sanshou internal fight among first-year high school students, as long as the opponent's Sanshou level is below Level 3, their reaction speed in combat will likely be a step slower than mine."

"Plus, my physical strength is not low now. Among all first-year high school students in Sanshou internal fights, I don't think I'll lose any of them."

Meanwhile, He Dayou, on the other side, now had a solemn expression, completely losing his relaxed demeanor from the previous round.

He decided to fully concentrate in this second round and exert his full strength to decisively defeat Zhang Yu.

This time, he would not give his opponent even the slightest chance.

"Zhang Yu and He Dayou, second round."

"3, 2, 1, begin!"

As soon as the assistant teacher's words fell, He Dayou instantly unleashed his full power. His right fist surged with immense magic power, and he powerfully smashed it towards Zhang Yu's face.

Another loud thud sounded.

Again, the familiar shaking vision, the hard, cold ground, and pain all over his body.

He Dayou dazedly got up.

He was instantly defeated again?

He watched the video recorded by the assistant teacher again.

In the video, just as he threw a punch, Zhang Yu had already kicked him in the chest, sending him flying.

Because both their movements were so fast, it looked as if He Dayou had intentionally rammed his chest into Zhang Yu's outstretched foot.

The third round began.

This time, He Dayou did not rush to strike with full force; instead, he adopted a defensive stance, cautiously observing Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu thought to himself: "Instantly defeated twice in a row, so he's starting to be careful?"

The reason he was able to instantly defeat his opponent just now was because the moment his opponent made a move, relying on his familiarity with Sanshou, he anticipated the opponent's movements and trajectory, and then, on the path of the opponent's full-force attack, he actively met their weak point.

It could be said he exploited the combined speeds of both sides, causing He Dayou to lose before he could even react.

But once He Dayou became cautious and didn't immediately launch a full-force attack, Zhang Yu wouldn't be able to replicate the two instant defeats from before.

However, facing this situation, Zhang Yu also had his own tactical preparations.

Whether in terms of magic power or physical strength, Zhang Yu, whose power had rapidly increased, was confident that he was not far behind He Dayou, who ranked third in their grade.

Even from the perspective of physical strength, his opponent had developed a balanced physique just like him, not a brute-force approach.

Since his opponent was unwilling to attack first, Zhang Yu would take the initiative.

He channeled his magic power and struck He Dayou's chest with a palm.

"Here it comes!" A glint flashed in He Dayou's eyes, and he blocked the move with a punch of his own.

Then he saw Zhang Yu strike again with the same palm attack.

"The same move again? What's going on?"

After taking three consecutive palm strikes from Zhang Yu, He Dayou felt a tingling numbness in his arm, and his internal magic power surged repeatedly.

Zhang Yu's profound magic power and formidable physical strength were truly beyond his expectation.

And his opponent's tactic was very simple: to actively engage him in a head-on clash.

Zhang Yu's Level 3 Sanshou not only made him more familiar with the moves, but the same move in his hands could unleash greater physical strength and more profound magic power.

This gave him a significant advantage in a direct confrontation.

He Dayou quickly realized this, but a slight smile couldn't help but appear at the corner of his mouth.

"Want to clash head-on with me?"

"Then let's clash and see who is tougher."

He activated his newly mastered martial art, the Minor Celestial Star Palm. The magic power in his dantian instantly transformed into a chilling palm force, which he fiercely unleashed from his palm towards Zhang Yu.