Chapter 320: Chapter 160: The High Mountain of Martial Dao

"Go, Captain Zhao!"

The junior sister’s fair face, now back to normal, was alight with excitement as she shouted toward the arena.

The crowd finally remembered. Guo Wenru had suffered a backlash from forcefully practicing a strange Martial Art, and it was Zhao Rui who had saved her.

Afterward, Captain Zhao had even personally helped her open her Acupoints and guide her True Qi, allowing her to successfully master the technique.

’Could this be that Burning Fire Technique?’

But watching Zhao Rui execute this Palm Technique now, the difference between his and Guo Wenru’s was like night and day!

’Is this a Fire Technique at the Great Success stage?’

’Captain Zhao is incredible!’

The comparison was brutal.

The spectators looked toward the center of the fight, their expressions growing serious. The initial mood of watching a fun spectacle had completely vanished.

"Zhao Rui, I never said I would fight you!"

Cai Zhengyang panicked, his courage failing him at the critical moment.

His figure flickered as he dodged aside, already trying to back down with his words.

"Whether we fight or not isn’t up to you!"

Zhao Rui closed the distance, instantly pulling Cai Zhengyang into the fight as well.

"You’re forcing me to do this!"

Cai Zhengyang’s words were weak, completely lacking the tone of someone about to launch a fierce counterattack.

"That’s right, I am!"

"..."

With a pained expression, Cai Zhengyang had no choice but to use every trick up his sleeve and join the battle.

His Profound Yin Sword Pointing was also a High-tier Sword Point Martial Arts. Even at the Martial Artist stage, he could already unleash Lingkong Finger Force with immense power.

Now that he had advanced to the Grandmaster Level, coupled with the ongoing Spiritual Qi Revival,

the power of his Sword Pointing was on a completely different level than before.

Streams of True Qi shot out like flak from an anti-aircraft cannon, blanketing the area.

"Decent speed, but a little lacking in power!"

Zhao Rui’s figure swayed. Using the Star Stepping Extreme Flash, he moved like a slippery fish, weaving in and out of the dense net of True Qi.

He easily avoided every attack.

"Get in close!"

Seeing that both his and Cai Zhengyang’s ranged Palm Force attacks were ineffective against Zhao Rui, Wang Dalong roared and pushed off the ground, closing the distance.

"You don’t have to tell me, I know!"

Cai Zhengyang retorted with dissatisfaction, pressing forward as well.

The three of them clashed in the air above the Martial Arts Arena. The continuous sound of their fists and feet connecting was like muffled thunder.

Even the Martial Arts Academy students outside Mingcan Courtyard could hear the commotion.

"Is someone in Mingcan Courtyard getting married? Or having a baby? What’s with all the racket?"

"Are you an idiot? That’s clearly the sound of True Qi clashing!"

The student who spoke’s eyes went wide. He suddenly broke into a sprint toward Mingcan Courtyard.

His sprint made the others realize what was happening.

’Something big is happening!’

Word spread, and students began rushing toward Mingcan Courtyard from all directions.

Unfortunately, before they could even reach the gates of Mingcan Courtyard, five or six instructors descended from the sky with a SWOOSH, landing in front of them.

"There’s a sparring match going on inside. All of you, head back. Don’t cause a disturbance."

The lead instructor waved his hand, shooing the crowd away.

"Instructor, who’s sparring in there? Can’t we just take a peek?"

"Yeah, we could learn from it."

The instructor’s face was cold as he shook his head. "Everyone, go back. What’s with this disorderly mob!"

"Such a buzzkill!"

A Martial Dao instructor’s authority was far greater than that of other teachers. Since the instructor had forbidden it, they had no choice but to trudge back the way they came, dejected.

"Hey, you think it could be those two Grandmasters from the Martial Arts Team challenging Captain Zhao?"

"Holy crap, that’s actually possible!"

The students walking back exclaimed in shock, every one of them turning their heads to look back at Mingcan Courtyard.

Their eyes twinkled with the light of juicy gossip.

While the students were gathering outside Mingcan Courtyard, the battle inside the Martial Arts Arena had reached a fever pitch.

"Copying Twenty-Eight Dragon Subduing Palms... 80% complete..."

"Copying Twenty-Eight Dragon Subduing Palms... 81% complete..."

Zhao Rui’s movements grew faster and faster, until onlookers could only see his afterimages.

Wang Dalong was struggling to keep up, his Dragon Subduing Palm strikes becoming increasingly rapid.

But this Palm Technique was known for being incomparably fierce and powerful; it was not a style meant for rapid exchanges.

The proper way to counter Zhao Rui would have been to use his formidable True Qi to power the Dragon Subduing Palm, unleashing unparalleled Palm Force to restrict his opponent’s movements and attacks.

But now, he had been completely led astray by Zhao Rui’s tempo.

As for the other participant, Cai Zhengyang, he wasn’t faring much better.

Although Zhao Rui was focusing most of his attacks on Wang Dalong to speed up the copying process,

the portion of his attention diverted to Cai Zhengyang was more than enough to handle him.

After all, Zhao Rui’s Profound Yin Sword Pointing had already reached the Great Success stage. In a direct contest of Sword Pointing techniques, Cai Zhengyang looked even more pathetic than Wang Dalong.

At this point, the two could only parry. The outcome of the fight was already clear.

"Copying Twenty-Eight Dragon Subduing Palms... 95% complete..."

"Copying... 96% complete."

Just as the progress bar was about to fill, Wang Dalong seemed to make a decision. He suddenly yelled, "Zhengyang, hold him off for two seconds!"

As he spoke, he abruptly retreated, his hands moving in a frantic blur.

"Shit!"

Cai Zhengyang didn’t even have a moment to process the situation or curse; he had to use every ounce of his strength to intercept Zhao Rui.

Zhao Rui’s eyes narrowed.

He suddenly struck at Cai Zhengyang, unleashing the Fiery Heart-Pushing Palm with his left hand and Ice Palm Force with his right.

Cai Zhengyang gritted his teeth and met the attack. In just a few exchanges, he was thrown into a world of exquisite misery.

A strike from the left palm sent a searing Palm Force invading his body. He had just started to circulate his True Qi to counter it,

when a strike from the right palm delivered an Ice Palm Force, instantly making him shiver from the freezing cold.

The moment he adjusted, the fiery Palm Force returned, scalding him until he grimaced in pain.

In just two short seconds and a dozen palm strikes, he had a profound experience of alternating between ice and fire.

"Are you done yet?!"

Cai Zhengyang shrieked.

"Get clear!"

The moment Cai Zhengyang heard that, he scrambled to dodge away at top speed.

But before he could even regain his footing, Zhao Rui was on him again, stuck to his back like a stubborn shadow.

’I’ll dodge!’ 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

’I’ll dodge again!’

’And again!’

"Wang Dalong, just kill me already!"

Cai Zhengyang suddenly stopped moving and flopped onto the ground, his face a mask of despair.

"Couldn’t you have held out for a second longer!"

Zhao Rui hadn’t expected him to be such a shameless quitter. Annoyed, he sent him sprawling with a kick.

Then he leaped lightly into the air and said to Wang Dalong with a smile, "Charging your Big Move for that long, and now your ally has already kicked the bucket!"

Wang Dalong panted heavily, speechless. The ultimate move he had painstakingly charged was completely ruined by Cai Zhengyang and Zhao Rui’s game of cat and mouse.

"Let’s go again!"

Zhao Rui hadn’t finished his copying yet, so there was no way he’d let Wang Dalong rest. He pressed forward and resumed his assault.

Wang Dalong was also unwilling to concede defeat. He was, after all, different from Cai Zhengyang.

The two of them immediately fell into another fierce exchange.

In a one-on-one fight, Wang Dalong’s combat prowess was already unparalleled within the True Essence Realm.

But unfortunately for him, Zhao Rui had already broken through to the Divine Soul Realm, and his combat power was so great he could defeat opponents of an even higher cultivation level.

The result was obvious.

"Copy of Twenty-Eight Dragon Subduing Palms complete. Reward: +1 Advancement Point!"

As the notification sound echoed in his mind,

Zhao Rui seized Wang Dalong’s wrist in a single move, released a slight burst of Force, and threw him directly to the ground.

He landed with a loud THUD.

The team members watching from the sidelines stared, dumbfounded, at Zhao Rui, who stood hovering in the air.

For a moment, no one dared to make a single sound.

It wasn’t until Wang Dalong struggled back to his feet and shouted at Zhao Rui, "That move I was charging... you might not have been able to take it! I wouldn’t have lost so pathetically!"

Zhao Rui let out an exasperated laugh. Then, his hands suddenly began to move, weaving in front of him like a series of phantoms.

Then, twenty-eight phantasmal dragons, each with a ferocious expression, abruptly materialized around him.

Some of the dragons soared through the air, others coiled and spiraled, and some roared toward the heavens. Their movements were all different, but each one was vivid and otherworldly.

"This..."

Wang Dalong’s face went pale with astonishment.

"The Twenty-Eight Dragon Subduing Palms, Twenty-Eighth Stance: Myriad Dragons Face the Heavens!"

Zhao Rui calmly announced the name of the technique, then thrust a palm forcefully toward the sky above the Martial Arts Arena.

Instantly, the twenty-eight dragons roared and soared toward the sky in a thunderous rush.

Under the sunlight, the massive phantoms of the Divine Dragons shimmered with a majestic light, making it impossible to tell for a moment if they were real or illusory.

The moment the Divine Dragons appeared, a dead silence fell over everything!

It wasn’t just the team members in the Martial Arts Arena; even the Martial Arts Academy students waiting outside for the results stood frozen on the spot.

Speechless.

The twenty-eight Divine Dragons soared a hundred meters into the sky before they finally exploded into motes of spiritual light and vanished.

After a long moment,

the entire Martial Arts Arena erupted into a thunderous, insane, and unending round of applause.

"Captain, you’re magnificent!"

"The Captain is incredible!"

Wave after wave of cheers echoed throughout all of Mingcan Courtyard.

Cai Zhengyang watched Zhao Rui slowly descend, his mind filled with a single thought: ’If only that were me.’

Wang Dalong collapsed onto the ground, utterly defeated.

He shook his head and muttered, "How can your Dragon Subduing Palm be so much stronger than mine?!"

Zhao Rui walked over to him, patted his shoulder, and said, "There are no limits to martial arts. There is always a higher mountain. The joy of the Martial Dao lies in climbing one mountain, only to find another."

"If all the mountains were the same height, what would be the point of looking out and cultivating the Martial Dao?"

With that, Zhao Rui turned and walked toward the crowd outside the Martial Arts Arena.

"Hey, I lost too! Aren’t you going to say a few encouraging words to me?"

Cai Zhengyang looked completely bewildered.

"Are you itching for another beating?"

"..."