Chapter 54: Chapter 54

Yan Liqiang easily won over the opponent and entered the top 50 of the county trial examination, steadily obtaining the chance to enter Pingxi Prefecture’s martial arts academy.

In the remaining hour, the remaining youths completed the competition one after another. The top fifty rankings of the Martial Arts County Trial Examination was finally released. Although Shen Teng who was ranked amongst the top three had come out last, he similarly beat his opponent without expending any effort, leading him to join the ranks of the top fifty strongest candidates without a single hitch.

It was already afternoon, and while the scorching sun blazed atop of their heads the martial arts examination still continued on. Regardless of whether they were both Shen Hongbing and Shi Changfeng seated in the audience stands or the youths participating in the examination, each and every single one of them would be watching the following match without drinking and eating.

In the so-called examination, other than testing the candidates on their martial skills, it also tested their individual willpower, stamina, as well as their spirit which were within the scope of the exam. Apart from being allowed to use the washroom, no one was allowed to eat or drink. Nobody would be exempted from this to receive a special treatment. Under the circumstances where everyone was being favorably treated equally, nobody voiced out any complaints.

Amongst those fifty candidates who could enter the martial arts academy in Pingxi Prefecture, although eight of them had won their previous matches, they were also considerably hurt which prevented them from continuing in the competition. These eight candidates were then withdrawn from the following matches. As for the remaining forty-two candidates, they would continue to draw lots in accordance to the previous rules to determine the matches and finally entering the most exciting—battle of honor.

In the battle of honor, every martial arts examination would determine the top ten candidates. These top ten candidates would then appear in the honor rankings posted on the announcement board of the martial arts academy after the conclusion of the exam. This honor roll would then be delivered to every town in the county afterwards. The top ten candidates in this register would then instantly be basked in the limelight in the wake of the county trial’s honor roll which would be widespread over the towns.

The rules of the last battle of honor were vastly different from the previous matches. It was no longer a one to one match and was instead the most intense form of chaotic warfare.

On the empty field in the heart of the training grounds, a circle with a radius of almost thousand square meters had already been drawn. The forty-two candidates who were going to enter the last battle of honor would all enter the circle. Those who were either knocked out of the circle or knocked down unable to clamber up in five seconds would be eliminated. The last remaining ten candidates in the circle would be chosen for the honor roll. Soon after, these ten candidates would still need to continue fighting each other in the ring. The remaining three who prevailed would be ranked amongst the top three of this martial arts examination. Following which, from the top three, they would determine the position in the ranking of each candidate in the country trial examination.

In the preliminary exam, in order to take precautions against people who were injured and unable to participate in the official examination, candidates who entered the top three didn’t have their ranking positions determined and were all collectively considered the top three. Yet, as the saying goes, ‘there is no first place in literacy and there is no second place in martial arts’, the rankings amongst the top three would be decided ultimately this time around in the official examination.

The academy bureaucrat of the martial arts academy used limestone to draw out forty-two standing positions within the large circle in the center of the training grounds as fast as he could. Then the forty-two candidates drew their numbers before taking their spots at the respective positions in the circle.

Due to the fact that their positionings were different, when the battle royale began later, the results would be different as well. For instance, those positioned closest to the edge of the region would be easier to knock out of the ring. Or for example, those who stood adjacent to the top three strongest candidates would similarly be the first to cross paths with the strongest opponents and be eliminated as a result. Thus, the choices in positionings would be determined by drawing lots. This helped to ensure that it was fair and wasn’t a result of being manipulated by others. As for the rest, it depended on the candidates’ luck.

Yan Liqiang drew number 31. This number’s positioning was situated in the area closest to the edge of the circle. In a brief moment of time, all the forty-two candidates had entered the large ring.

Shi Dafeng’s position was closer to the heart of the circle, while Shen Teng’s position was to the left of the opponent across him. He was slightly closer to the center. As for Qi Donglai, he was not far away from Yan Liqiang’s left side. Only four men were between the two of them, who were less than ten meters apart.

Qi Donglai was slightly anxious, occasionally sizing Yan Liqiang up and down secretly while on the other hand, Yan Liqiang’s gaze never landed on Qi Donglai from the start.

“START…”

In the wake of Shen Hongbing issuing the order in a low voice, the last tussle commenced. In a flash, changes began appearing inside the ring.

The candidates next to Yan Liqiang, Shen Teng, and Shi Dafeng quickly distanced themselves from the trio, not allowing them a single chance to take to strike out at them first on their own accord. This was also a kind of tactic. And so, the Full Arm Boxing technique’s Dharmic projection of a gibbon once again emerged from Shi Dafeng’s body. Without saying a word, he immediately pounced onto a candidate closest to him. The moment he made a move, another explosive noise erupted once more to his side.

Shen Teng also revealed his ability. What made him different from Shi Dafeng was that the technique’s Dharmic projection that emerged from Shen Teng was a red-crowned crane. Also, what Shen Teng exhibited was not a fist technique; it was instead a set of palm techniques called the Flying Crane Palm.

Shi Dafeng was similar to a berserk bulldozer and would strike out with his fist the moment he saw someone beside him. He didn’t care about the present situation and would strike them down first before saying anything. On the other hand, Shen Teng’s figure was elegant and agile, akin to a red-crowned crane fluttering its wings as it danced amongst the crowd. Even when he hit someone, an indescribable free and easy spirit emanated from his movements. Their movements were extremely fast. In a brief moment, the two had already respectively overthrown two candidates, causing a total of four candidates to be instantly ousted by the judge outside the ring.

The strength exerted by the duo at this time was two times stronger than the time they fought in the arena. Judging from the situation, it seemed that they didn’t exert their full strength during the arena matches.

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After Shi Dafeng struck down two candidates, there wasn’t anyone else near him anymore. He turned around and caught sight of Yan Liqiang who was still rooted in his original place. He was watching the battle royale unfolding before him in the ring. Currently, there was no one at Yan Liqiang’s side. There were supposed to be people near him in the beginning, but they had all run away immediately after.

“Damnit, Yan Liqiang! We’re working our asses off here and you’re lazing about on the sidelines. I’m sure you’ll be embarrassed to get into the top ten honor roll like this!” shouted Shi Dafeng loudly. But he didn’t charge towards Yan Liqiang. Instead, he once again darted towards another candidate next to him. Shi Dafeng also understood that Yan Liqiang was a formidable foe. Unless he was fighting for the top three rankings in the last moment, he would never duke it out with Yan Liqiang first to avoid others from taking advantage of it.

Shen Teng also glimpsed at Yan Liqiang but he didn’t say anything. His movements however, were slowed down in an instant.

When Yan Liqiang saw that, he realized what Shen Teng was thinking. Compared to Shi Dafeng’s outspoken character, Shen Teng was definitely more of a schemer. He actually believed that Yan Liqiang wanted to save his strength so he kept a contingency for himself too so that his stamina would not be consumed too fast. It was precisely at this moment that all three felt they would ultimately cross swords with each other.

Did he really need to save his strength? He was constantly brimming with energy for training the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing every day. In his opinion, the prior matches couldn’t even be considered as warm-up exercises.

Fine, he would start!

Yan Liqiang began to burst into laughter. In the midst of his laughter, his body acted out akin to a ferocious tiger, immediately charging towards two candidates who were caught in the midst of a duel not far from him.

The dueling candidates were plotting something so their fight wasn’t intense and was more reserved. Both of them seemed to intend on stalling time as they waited for others to fight it out and expend much of their energy so there was a chance for their rankings to rise further to the top.

Of course, it was evident that they weren’t the only candidates to harbor such intentions. In this final battle royale, every candidate’s martial skills were put to the test. At the same time, it also tested everyone’s capabilities in adapting to various changes as well as their mobility. Because on a real battleground, there was a possibility that whatever the candidates would face would be full of changes as what they were currently facing now.

Seeing that Yan Liqiang was rushing towards them, the two candidates were gobsmacked. Never in their dreams did they expect that Yan Liqiang would dare to make a move on the two of them at the same time.

Before the two candidates could react, a Dharmic projection of a ferocious South China tiger once again appeared from Yan Liqiang’s body, shocking the entire field to its core with a loud roar. Amidst the tiger roar, Yan Liqiang then shot out two fists with a move called the Tiger Pouncing Fist, assaulting the two candidates at the same time.

Since the two candidates were ranked amongst the top fifty, they would naturally be stronger than the average candidates. When Yan Liqiang struck out with his pair of fists, they used their palms to seal off Yan Liqiang’s attacks. Meanwhile, while they were exchanging glances with one another, they instantly were struck with the mutual understanding to target Yan Liqiang together.

If others were to come to attack these two candidates at the same time, the duo would definitely have the ability to seal their fist attacks. However, they never imagined that Yan Liqiang’s entire body strength would long exceed their expectations.

When Yan Liqiang attained the Horse Stance stage, he was enhanced with the strength of one horse. During the course of these few days, Yan Liqiang had been training relentlessly and diligently in the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing every day. Yan Liqiang already lost count of how much power he had amassed on his body. In any case, the strong bow of five piculs which he had difficulty in drawing before was becoming more and more effortless to use.

The sudden increase in his body strength made the formidable power of Yan Liqiang’s Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist technique increase by numerous folds without foundation. Even if Yan Liqiang’s Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist was only at the realm of the fourth layer, and this formidable force of the Tiger Roaring Consecutive Fist that only at the realm of the fourth layer had long surpassed those who had trained the fist technique to the realm of the fifth layer.

This was what was meant by ‘one man with extraordinary strength can beat ten different men who know martial arts’. Different realms of the cultivation technique when exerted by different people would cause the exertion of completely different formidable forces.

In the midst of crying out in surprise, the two candidates were hit by Yan Liqiang’s Tiger Pouncing Fist technique in one strike. Akin to colliding with a stampeding rhinodrake steed, their feet simultaneously left the ground as they were thrown seven to eight meters into the distance by the immense power of Yan Liqiang’s strong fists. They heavily collapsed outside the large circle, to the extent where they felt dizzy and lightheaded from the impact. They were instantly ousted from the match.

Every other candidate that was observing the ring on the outside were dumbstruck by Yan Liqiang’s attack.

“AOOO…..” With a strike of his fist, another tiger roar erupted in the air. Another candidate next to him was again sent flying with Yan Liqiang’s fist, falling to the ground within the ring. Since he didn’t clamber up on his feet for quite a while, the judge then eliminated him from the match.

As for the fourth candidate, instead of being sent flying by Yan Liqiang’s fist, Yan Liqiang grabbed hold of his belt when he rushed to his side. With a casual swing, the candidate was directly flung out of the ring amidst his cries and gesticulating hands and feet.

In the next second, Yan Liqiang immediately rushed towards the fiercest battle in the inner ring. With each tenacious roar of the tiger, a group of candidates in the inner ring was caught in a scene of turmoil in a flash. In short period of time, Yan Liqiang had already knocked down seven to eight of them.

Shen Hongbing and Shi Changfeng were stunned in the audience area. Both of them never imagined that Yan Liqiang was this strong. Under his strikes, those candidates who had made it to the top fifty had all simply collapsed in a single blow. Shi Changfeng’s eyes glimmered when he stared at Yan Liqiang as he mumbled irresolutely to himself, “Tiger among a flock of sheep, tiger among a flock of sheep. This is truly a real tiger among a flock of sheep.”