Chapter 132: Xuan List Martial Artist Level Strength
Zhang Ruochen felt considerable pressure from Sikong Shu's presence. Smiling bitterly to himself, he had originally wanted to keep a low profile and pick a weaker opponent to challenge.
Unexpectedly, he had chosen a top-tier expert even stronger than Ju Hailan.
Of course, since he had stepped onto the challenge platform, no matter how strong the opponent, he had to give it his all.
"Junior Brother, first, receive your senior brother's staff."
Sikong Shu let out a loud roar, his voice like a great bell, deafening and resounding, surging toward Zhang Ruochen like a swift wind. His feet pushed off the ground, his speed as fast as a giant ape, and in an instant, he charged before Zhang Ruochen.
Raising the staff with both hands, he swung it down.
A wave of cold air rushed toward Zhang Ruochen. Looking up, he saw a massive staff shadow pressing down, as if an entire ice peak were collapsing upon him.
One must know that iron staff weighed a full one thousand six hundred and eight jin. If struck by it, even a ten-thousand-jin boulder would be smashed into stone powder.
Zhang Ruochen did not clash head-on with him. Bending his legs slightly and lowering his body, he executed the Wind-Riding Flying Dragon Shadow, moving as if riding the wind, and flew behind Sikong Shu.
Taking the initiative to attack, he swung his sword in a slash.
"Haha!"
Sikong Shu's staff struck empty air. Laughing heartily, he immediately twisted his waist and swung the staff backward toward his rear.
He was not only tall and mighty with astonishing strength but also possessed extremely fast reaction speed, giving Zhang Ruochen no opportunity at all.
If Zi Qian had dared to challenge Sikong Shu, she would not have had the slightest chance of victory and would likely have been severely injured by Sikong Shu in a single move.
Facing the incoming Tungsten Star Cold Iron Staff, Zhang Ruochen had no room to retreat and could only fight head-on. Gripping his sword with both hands, he mobilized all the true qi in his body and struck upward to meet it.
"Bang!"
The force of the Tungsten Star Cold Iron Staff was astonishingly great. The moment they collided, Zhang Ruochen felt a surging, mountain-toppling force transmitted through his battle sword, sending him flying backward.
Fortunately, he had cultivated the Wind-Riding Flying Dragon Shadow. Just as he was about to fall off the challenge platform, he kicked off in midair, steadied his body, and landed firmly on the edge of the platform.
"What immense strength." Zhang Ruochen felt pain in his five fingers, and his arms felt as if they were about to break.
Only after circulating the Jade Purification True Qi through his entire body for one full cycle did the pain in his arms ease somewhat.
Seeing that Zhang Ruochen had actually withstood his staff strike, a look of excitement appeared in Sikong Shu's eyes. He laughed, "Junior Brother truly has impressive skills, earning your senior brother's admiration. If I let you cultivate for another half year or so, I would surely lose badly. But with your current cultivation level, you are definitely no match for your senior brother."
After experiencing Sikong Shu's formidable strength, Zhang Ruochen no longer fought him head-on. Slowly, he released his Time and Space Domain, covering the entire challenge platform.
"Eighteen Staff Breaks the Sky!"
Sikong Shu wanted to defeat Zhang Ruochen in one go, so he executed a spirit-grade, lower-rank staff technique.
Lifting the staff with both hands, he swung it horizontally toward Zhang Ruochen with the momentum of sweeping away a thousand armies.
Sikong Shu's mastery of staff techniques had reached the level of heart-following mid-rank. Wielding the one-thousand-six-hundred-eight-jin iron staff as if it were a wooden stick, he moved with lightness and ease, making large, sweeping motions, flowing like clouds and water.
The eighteen staff moves came wave after wave, growing stronger, completely sealing off the space around Zhang Ruochen in all directions.
The powerful wind force produced cracking sounds of explosion.
The students below the platform all broke out in a cold sweat for Zhang Ruochen. If struck by that one-thousand-six-hundred-eight-jin iron staff, his bones would likely turn to powder.
"Zhang Ruochen has no way out now. Within ten moves, he will definitely lose." Yuchi Tiancong sneered.
"Even if he loses, it's still quite impressive. Other top-ten students, like Xue Qingchuan or Cai Chen, probably couldn't withstand so many moves from Sikong Shu. Zhang Ruochen has the strength to enter the Western Academy's top ten."
Just as everyone thought Zhang Ruochen was certain to lose, suddenly, exclamations arose from the surrounding students.
Everyone looked toward the challenge platform and saw Zhang Ruochen leap three zhang into the air, escaping from Sikong Shu's combat circle.
"Junior Brother, you can't escape."
Sikong Shu laughed loudly, his body suddenly leaping upward seven zhang, soaring above Zhang Ruochen's head. Lifting the staff with both hands, he swung it down.
All martial artists knew that when flying in midair, with nowhere to borrow force, once attacked, there was no way to dodge.
"Whoosh!"
At that moment, Zhang Ruochen's body paused slightly at three zhang above the ground. Miraculously, he took a second step, kicking upward another three zhang, reaching six zhang above the ground.
It wasn't over yet. His body leaped upward again, reaching nine zhang above the ground.
Three leaps were completed in the blink of an eye, drawing cries of surprise from the students below.
"What... what martial technique is this?"
"Without borrowing any force, he can actually leap twice in midair."
An elder said, "It's not that he borrowed no force; he borrowed the wind. He probably hasn't mastered this martial technique to perfection yet. Otherwise, he could definitely ride the wind and leap to the clouds."
The elder was right. Zhang Ruochen had only cultivated the Wind-Riding Flying Dragon Shadow to minor success, allowing him to leap upward twice in midair at most.
If he cultivated it to great success, he could leap nine times in midair, indeed having the chance to jump to the clouds.
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen stood nine zhang above the ground, two zhang higher than Sikong Shu.
Gripping his sword with both hands, a strange smile appeared on his face: "Senior Brother, you receive a sword strike from me too."
"Heart Tides Stirring the Waves."
In midair, the sound of surging tides arose. Sword qi, like layers of waves, surged downward.
Zhang Ruochen used "Heart Tides Stirring the Waves" instead of other sword techniques because he wanted to borrow momentum.
What momentum?
Sikong Shu was now suspended seven zhang above the ground and was about to fall rapidly. With his cultivation, even falling from seven zhang in midair would not injure him.
But Zhang Ruochen executed "Heart Tides Stirring the Waves," slashing sword qi downward wave after wave, precisely to force Sikong Shu to accelerate his fall.
Moments later.
"Boom!"
Sikong Shu's feet landed, stomping the ground with a loud crash. The powerful impact made his legs bend slightly, almost causing him to lose his balance and sit down.
"Crack, crack!"
All of Sikong Shu's bones rattled. Fortunately, he reacted quickly. Before landing, he withdrew the true qi from the Tungsten Star Cold Iron Staff, reducing its weight to only one hundred and eight jin.
Otherwise, he would not have been able to withstand that violent downward force.
"Heart Tides Full Moon!"
Seizing the opportunity, before even landing on the ground, Zhang Ruochen slashed his sword out, aiming for Sikong Shu's neck.
In haste, Sikong Shu stepped back and swung the Tungsten Star Cold Iron Staff to block.
How could the Tungsten Star Cold Iron Staff, without its inscriptions activated, block Zhang Ruochen?
"Bang!"
The Tungsten Star Cold Iron Staff flew out of Sikong Shu's hands and fell off the challenge platform.
Gaining the upper hand, Zhang Ruochen pressed forward relentlessly, giving Sikong Shu no chance to counterattack.
Sikong Shu was forced to retreat continuously, with over a dozen sword cuts appearing on his robe. Eventually, he was pushed to the edge of the challenge platform.
"Blood Qi Condenses the Spirit!"
A thick blood qi emanated from within Sikong Shu's body. A blood formation five meters in diameter formed beneath his feet, and behind him appeared the shadow of a huge barbaric lion and the silhouette of a staff-shaped blood weapon.
Only those who had reached the Great Perfection of the Mysterious Extreme Realm could combine blood beasts, blood weapons, and blood formations into a single blood qi phenomenon, known as "Blood Qi Condenses the Spirit."
By activating his bloodline power, Sikong Shu's combat strength surged significantly. Swinging his arm, he punched out.
With Sikong Shu's fist, the massive barbaric lion shadow and the staff-shaped blood weapon both flew toward Zhang Ruochen.
"Blood Qi Condenses the Beast!"
Zhang Ruochen also activated his bloodline power, forming dragon and elephant shadows behind him.
Stabbing his sword forward, the dragon and elephant shadows surged along with it, colliding with Sikong Shu.
A shocking scene appeared. The dragon and elephant shadows tore apart Sikong Shu's blood qi phenomenon and, with overwhelming momentum, knocked Sikong Shu flying off the challenge platform.
"A Blood Qi Condenses the Beast at the Small Perfection of the Mysterious Extreme Realm actually broke the Blood Qi Condenses the Spirit at the Great Perfection of the Mysterious Extreme Realm. How can Zhang Ruochen's bloodline power be so strong?"
In the distance, the three vice deans and the Western Academy dean were all shocked.
The Western Academy dean exclaimed in a lost voice, "Dragon-Elephant Bloodline. He has actually awakened the Dragon-Elephant Bloodline."
"Indeed, it is the Dragon-Elephant Bloodline. Sikong Shu's loss to him is not unjust at all." The Southern Academy dean said.
The Northern Academy vice dean laughed, "Congratulations, Dean. The Western Academy has gained another Xuan List martial artist-level expert. This youth has the potential to break into the top ten of the Xuan List."
The other students did not understand the significance of the Dragon-Elephant Bloodline. But they saw clearly that Zhang Ruochen had condensed a blood dragon and a blood elephant. Just that martial arts aura alone could suffocate martial artists of the same realm.
The elder overseeing the challenge platform was also slightly surprised, then announced loudly, "Zhang Ruochen wins the challenge and ranks seventh in the Western Academy."
Although it was only seventh, everyone knew that Zhang Ruochen's true strength could probably place him in the Western Academy's top five.
Zhang Ruochen walked off the challenge platform, and other students stepped up.
Some students ranked below seventh in the Western Academy also took the initiative to challenge Zhang Ruochen, but they were all defeated by him. Gradually, Zhang Ruochen's strength gained recognition, and fewer and fewer students dared to challenge him.
As the sky darkened and night fell.
In the Western Academy martial grounds, twelve fireballs lit up, illuminating the night sky.
On the ten challenge platforms, brutal battles continued. Some succeeded in their challenges, while others failed.
After consecutively defeating eight challengers, no one dared to challenge Zhang Ruochen anymore.
"Zhang Ruochen!"
Duanmu Xingling stood at the edge of the Western Academy martial grounds, mysteriously waving at Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen walked over and asked, "Senior Sister Duanmu, what is it?"
"Shh! Keep your voice down. Don't let anyone find out."
Duanmu Xingling placed her finger on her lips, making a silencing gesture.
"Follow me. Don't make a sound."
Duanmu Xingling was very cautious, like a thief, looking left and right. Seeing that no one had noticed, she led Zhang Ruochen into the night.
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