Celestial Human Diagram-Chapter 68 - 58: Group Attack (2)
Not far away, a burly student saw an opportunity and charged him. Before he even got close, he felt his chest and abdomen sink as a kick connected. A wave of Power surged through him. The student’s Power seemed formidable and his balance excellent; surprisingly, he didn’t fall. Instead, his eyes went wide as his feet dug into the floor. After sliding sideways for over a meter, he collapsed to the ground with a THUD, unable to get back up.
Although Chen Chuan had felled several opponents in a row, the brief delay cost him his forward momentum. More and more people swarmed in, compressing his room to maneuver.
If the upperclassmen had been holding back to save face before, they weren’t anymore. Seeing how skilled and tenacious he was, they all got serious.
Once they had him almost completely surrounded, one student sensed an opening and lunged. A sweep kick from Chen Chuan shattered the man’s balance, sending his feet flying and his body pitching forward to the ground.
But that man’s attack was a signal for more to charge. Chen Chuan spun, parrying an incoming fist, but a palm silently chopped at his neck from the right. He reacted instantly, raising his arm to slap it away. He sidestepped a kick from his rear flank, then, without looking back, reached down and shoved the head of the first man he’d felled back to the floor just as he was trying to lift it.
A tall figure charged him from the front, his hand a rigid blade chopping straight down. The strike made a WHOOSHING sound as it cut through the air—it was the Mountain-Splitting Hand from the Freestyle Martial Arts Department!
Chen Chuan neither dodged nor retreated. He met the strike head-on, raising one arm and unleashing the full force of his Shocking God Fist Power. Upon impact, the attacker’s entire body shuddered. The rebound force left him feeling weightless and momentarily drained of strength.
At such close range, his gaze met Chen Chuan’s—unflinching, utterly calm. The next instant, he felt his collar tighten and his vision blur. Chen Chuan had flung him sideways with a single hand, sending him bowling into several others and knocking them all to the ground.
The sound of heavy footsteps, THUMP-THUMP-THUMP, came from behind. Bi Yang from the Wrestling Takedown Department rushed in, trying to tackle him around the waist. Chen Chuan spun and lashed out with a blindingly fast kick. Even though Bi Yang had already suffused his body with Power in anticipation, the sheer force of the blow left him dazed. Still, he managed to reach out and desperately latch onto Chen Chuan’s leg.
Seeing an opening, someone nearby rammed into Chen Chuan’s shoulder. Unable to keep his balance on one leg, he was knocked backward. The attacker tried to lock his arms, but just as he got a grip, he felt a sudden force. He was involuntarily dragged forward and met with a headbutt to the forehead. With a muffled groan, his hands went limp, and he collapsed to his knees.
Someone scrambled up behind Chen Chuan, grabbed his shirt, and yanked. Thrown off balance, Chen Chuan fell into a half-seated position. He looked up to see a fist plummeting toward his face, while another student moved in to stomp on the leg Bi Yang still held!
A glint flashed in Chen Chuan’s eyes. He suddenly bent his knee, using the leverage from Bi Yang’s grip to pull himself forward half a foot. The punch grazed the back of his head and slammed into the floor, making it tremble like a wave. At the same time, his raised knee perfectly intercepted the stomping foot, sending that attacker staggering back.
Seeing more people closing in, he flexed his core and rolled forward sideways, right over Bi Yang’s back. The motion allowed him to wrench his leg free. Springing to his feet, he immediately dashed forward.
The students behind saw the unlocked main door and thought he was trying to escape, so they rushed after him. But when Chen Chuan reached the door, he planted one foot on it, then another, launching himself high into the air. He used the momentum to spin around with a sweep kick that connected with the head of a student who had been following him along the ceiling. The student immediately dropped from above, and the others scrambled to catch him.
After landing lightly, Chen Chuan was about to move when he sensed something above him. He ducked, and the student who specialized in cat-like movements reappeared, leaping nimbly over his back. This time, however, Chen Chuan instantly dropped into a low crouch, spun on the spot, and shot forward a step. His hand darted out, fingers clamping down like a vice on the scruff of the man’s neck.
The student’s face went pale with fright. He struggled, but his efforts were feeble. Chen Chuan hauled him back and tapped him lightly on the temple with a fist. The student’s limbs instantly went slack, and his body slumped.
Just then, he sensed something and turned to see a figure rapidly approaching from out of the crowd. Despite the many bodies littering the floor, this person weaved through them as if they weren’t there. Bursting free from the pack, he threw a punch backed by his full momentum!
Chen Chuan recognized the attacker as Lu Fang. Instead of dodging, he threw a punch to meet him. An alarm went off in Lu Fang’s mind; he aborted the head-on clash, instantly twisting his waist to spin out of the way. Using the momentum, he brought his elbow crashing down!
Chen Chuan saw the move clearly. He stepped forward, taking the elbow strike directly on his shoulder and completely ignoring the Power that surged into his body. With a sharp cry, he unleashed all his strength in a Grinding Push. As the floorboards beneath his feet CRACKED and buckled, Lu Fang was sent flying into the crowd. He crashed into several students, then rolled across the floor several times to disperse the force.
After dispelling the impact, Lu Fang pushed himself up from the floor. He stared at Chen Chuan with unconcealed astonishment. Chen Chuan was still standing firm, a lone figure facing them all.
The students around him were about to charge again, but Lu Fang shot them a look and held up a hand. "That’s enough," he said.
The Fenxin Society members followed his gaze and saw Assistant Qiu standing not far from Chen Chuan. When she had arrived, none of them knew. She was giving them a warning look. "Every one of you has been knocked down or brought down at least once," she announced. "He has passed the monthly exam. Any further action will be treated as a violation."
She turned to Chen Chuan. "Chen, you’ve passed. You can go." She studied him for a moment, marveling internally. ’To take down so many upperclassmen in such a short time... and he’s only been here a month.’ She was starting to understand why the members of the Fenxin Society had been so insistent.
Chen Chuan thanked her, then walked over to retrieve his clothes and put them back on. Unhurried, he began to fasten the buttons one by one.
Many of the students present were injured, some seriously enough that they needed help from their peers just to stand. They all watched him with complex emotions in their eyes.
So many of them, defeated by a single underclassman. The more exceptional Chen Chuan proved to be, the more it validated their original goal. But now, they were powerless to achieve it.
Once he had fastened the last button, Chen Chuan gave the crowd a nod and started for the door.
"Chen Chuan!"
Lu Fang shouted from behind. Taking two steps forward, he declared, "You need to understand something. Even though you beat us, you’re the one who truly lost!"
Chen Chuan had already reached the door. He paused at Lu Fang’s words, his back still turned. "No," he said. "Only you lost." He glanced slightly over his shoulder. "You said there are no exceptions..." He started walking away. "If there are no exceptions," he said as he left, "then I’ll just have to be the one."
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