Xiao Yang, who had just been posturing moments before, was now lying on the ground. The whole exchange hadn’t even taken three seconds. Nobody saw it coming. He was defeated so cleanly and decisively that he never even had a chance to fight back.

"I..."

Huang Zhongfei was still fantasizing. ’Just wait until Chen Che loses, then I’ll make my grand entrance!’

Lin Yi froze for a second, then turned and smacked Qi Fengzhu on the back of the head. "Where’s the calculator?"

Chen Che stood there, his expression unchanged.

He had just been testing Xiao Yang’s Combat Instinct.

He was a little disappointed by the result.

If this were in Yunzhou, any Cultivator in that situation would have broken their own finger without a second thought to immediately counterattack.

’His awareness is low, he completely underestimated his opponent, and he’s not nearly as decisive as I thought he’d be!’ he analyzed internally.

"Hey, what happened? Wasn’t he supposed to give him a three-move handicap? Why’d he suddenly fall over? Does this mean we win?"

Li Xiaoshuang pointed at Xiao Yang on the ground, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

"Despicable! Shameless!"

Ye Chao snapped back to reality and rushed over to check on Xiao Yang. Seeing that he wasn’t seriously hurt, he fed him a Pill and then couldn’t stop himself from stomping his foot and shouting angrily:

"Li Xiaoshuang, is this the kind of student you raise? What kind of character is that? What kind of integrity? My student wasn’t even ready! How could he just attack like that?"

"A real battlefield is unpredictable. Do you really think an enemy is going to wait for you to get ready before they strike? The battle started the moment my student said ’I’m ready when you are.’ It’s your student who was foolish enough to actually give a three-move handicap!"

"Who else was going to lose if not him?"

Li Xiaoshuang added with a sneer:

"If the Calamity of Heaven’s Fall were to happen again, do you think the Evil Cultivators from beyond the barrier would give you a three-move handicap?"

As soon as he said this, many in the crowd who had felt Chen Che’s victory was dishonorable couldn’t help but agree.

That’s how a battlefield is.

Your enemy isn’t a training dummy, just standing there to let you hit them.

Strictly speaking, Chen Che had actually gone easy on him.

However, quite a few people still thought Chen Che had fought dirty, though most of them were students from Seventh Middle School.

"Facts aside, that surprise attack was just wrong!"

"Yeah! First wrenching his finger, then punching his nose, and then kicking him in the crotch... they don’t teach us any of that in school!"

"His Cultivation is low, so he has to rely on cheap tricks to win!"

Chen Che didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when he heard them.

’Amateurs just enjoy the show. They have no idea that in a real fight to the death, there are no morals. Anything and everything goes.’

’I didn’t even have to use pocket sand!’

Ye Chao nearly ground his teeth to dust. Of course, he knew this as well, but he couldn’t accept losing like that.

"Do you dare to fight me again, fair and square!"

Xiao Yang, having recovered a bit, demanded, his face full of indignation.

Li Xiaoshuang didn’t answer, but looked at Chen Che, "What do you think?"

"Alright."

Chen Che nodded.

He had attacked so suddenly before that his opponent hadn’t gotten to show his true strength at all.

"Then get serious this time. Make him accept his defeat, no questions asked."

Li Xiaoshuang said pointedly, then stomped his foot.

The sand at Chen Che’s feet rose up, and a longsword slowly emerged.

This Sandsword was formed entirely from the immense True Essence of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. When Chen Che held it and tapped it lightly with his finger, it let out a series of clear, ringing hums.

"Got it."

Chen Che nodded slightly.

’Make him accept defeat? As if he has what it takes,’

Ye Chao didn’t believe it for a second. He was convinced Xiao Yang had just been careless. In another round, Xiao Yang had nothing to fear from Chen Che.

Following suit, he created a sword for Xiao Yang as well.

Then, he took out a coin from his pocket:

"Look at this coin in my hand. You are only allowed to make a move the moment it lands. No one breaks this rule!"

He said this, however, while looking pointedly at Chen Che.

"Understood!" Chen Che nodded.

This time, Xiao Yang learned his lesson.

He had been defeated without even a chance to react; it was impossible for that not to leave him shaken.

Facing Chen Che again, he immediately backed up a dozen paces to guard against another surprise attack.

"Ready!"

Ye Chao flicked the coin with his thumb. With a crisp sound, it shot spinning into the air.

Huang Zhongfei stared intently at the coin, muttering, "Teacher Li, if Chen Che loses, I’ll take his place! Xiao Yang’s only so-so. I reached the Qi Refining Fifth Layer before Chen Che did. If I fought Xiao Yang, I wouldn’t necessarily lose!"

Chen Che’s takedown of Xiao Yang had given him the distinct illusion that ’I could do that, too.’

Li Xiaoshuang glanced at Huang Zhongfei and didn’t speak.

The coin glinted in the sunlight, and at the very instant it reached the apex of its arc...

BOOM!

The two of them stepped forward almost simultaneously.

Before the shocked eyes of the crowd, the two shot forward like furious dragons bursting from the sea, carving two wakes of golden sand across the wide beach. An instant later, they collided with a thunderous crash.

CLANG!

The sound was as loud as a great bell.

The entire beach trembled violently as the immense Strong Qi generated by the clash of True Essence radiated outward.

Those standing close couldn’t withstand the deafening sound and retreated, covering their ears. Li Xiaoshuang and Yan Jun released their True Essence to shield the students behind them. On the other side, Ye Chao quickly did the same for the students of Seventh Middle School.

In an instant, the two touched and separated, recoiling backward. They seemed to be evenly matched.

’Huh? His Qi and Blood is so strong!’

Xiao Yang was completely shocked. The longsword in his hand was humming, nearly shaken from his grasp by the immense force behind Chen Che’s strike. ’Even though my True Essence is stronger than his, his Qi and Blood is boundless! I didn’t gain any advantage in that exchange at all.’

’What did he eat growing up to have such terrifying strength...?’

Xiao Yang found it unbelievable.

But he had no more time to think, because Chen Che was already charging him again.

’Cultivation isn’t just about brute force! There’s also Magic!’

Xiao Yang decided not to clash head-on with Chen Che again. He slashed his sword downward. Sword Qi swept out, causing the sand to explode. Countless grains flew into the air, instantly forming a giant wave several meters high that surged toward Chen Che.

"Break!"

Chen Che slashed out. His Sword Momentum was simple and unadorned, with no wasted motion,

A flash of Sword Aura split the sand wave right down the middle, carving a line in the sand that extended several meters from Chen Che’s feet.

’He saw the weak point of the Gale Sword in an instant!’

Ye Chao’s expression shifted.

SWOOSH!

And just like that, Xiao Yang’s second attack was upon him.

He waved his hand, and the swirling sand, guided by his True Essence, formed dozens of longswords that shot forward. This was the Sword Control Technique, something taught in class. Mastered to its peak, it wasn’t limited to just Flying Swords—anything could become a sword!

Immediately after, he clenched his fist, and the sand responded, gathering into a giant hand that reached for Chen Che.

Then, pointing his sword, he unleashed another Palm Thunder.

At this moment, Xiao Yang was using everything he had learned in high school to its absolute limit.

But by the time Chen Che had finished his first slash, he had already turned his blade, weaving a net of sword light that shattered the volley of sand swords. He then threw a palm strike, blasting apart the giant hand made of True Essence. Finally, with another swing of his sword, he dispersed the Palm Thunder.

No matter how Xiao Yang tried to stop him, he couldn’t prevent Chen Che from closing the distance.

BANG!

In a flash, Chen Che was right in front of Xiao Yang again.

The beach was suddenly filled with the sound of explosions as sand and dust flew everywhere, and countless streams of Strong Qi danced in the air.

"So this is all there is to a ’seed’ from the Four Greats!" one student remarked.

Before this, everyone had assumed that every seed from the Four Greats would be like a protagonist from a novel, capable of sweeping aside all their peers. But looking at it now, he didn’t seem all that special.

"What do you know?"

His teacher frowned. "That student, Chen Che, is always one step ahead, able to perceive his opponent’s moves before they happen. I’m afraid he has already condensed his Divine Sense."

"Divine Sense?"

The student was flabbergasted.

"Old Chen’s gonna win!" Lin Yi shouted excitedly.

"Old Chen is a beast!"

Qi Fengzhu furiously mashed the buttons on his calculator.

"I could’ve done that too. Too bad I won’t get a chance to go up," Huang Zhongfei said, crossing his arms.

Everyone could see clearly that while the two appeared evenly matched, with Xiao Yang doing most of the attacking...

...Xiao Yang’s attacks had no effect on Chen Che and were always easily neutralized. In contrast, every one of Chen Che’s counterattacks sent Xiao Yang scrambling.

’This student is something else...’

Ye Chao’s eyelid twitched uncontrollably.

On the beach, the other students from Seventh Middle School stared intently at the two combatants.

They were all hoping Xiao Yang could win; otherwise, it would be a major embarrassment for their school.

"It’s over."

A calm voice drifted over as a sword suddenly shot forward in a simple, unadorned thrust.

But the might of this one thrust was like a torrential flood, instantly tearing through the swirling dust.

"Not good!"

Xiao Yang’s face fell, and he quickly pulled his sword back to defend.

CLANG!

A sharp ringing sound echoed.

The force was so immense that Xiao Yang couldn’t hold on. With a HUM, the longsword was knocked from his hand.

Without losing any momentum, the sword then struck Xiao Yang’s Protective True Essence.

The Protective True Essence of a Qi Refining Sixth Layer Cultivator was strong enough to stop a pistol round, but it couldn’t block Chen Che’s sword. With a POP, it shattered on the spot, dissipating into a cloud of scattered energy.

In this moment of life and death.

Xiao Yang was frozen with fear, completely forgetting to dodge.

"Spare him!"

Ye Chao’s face changed as he shouted out in alarm.

He was even about to intervene and stop Chen Che himself.

SMACK!

Before everyone’s disbelieving eyes, Chen Che suddenly pulled his sword back and punched Xiao Yang right in the nose. Then, he lifted his foot and kicked him squarely in the crotch. With a wretched howl, Xiao Yang collapsed to the ground, curling into a ball.

Chen Che slowly sheathed his sword, cupped his fists, and said once more:

"You let me win."