High Martial Arts: Enlightenment after Practices-Chapter 95: Ultimate Technique

Inside Combat Room 1 of Zone C, the air seemed to have frozen solid.

The Energy Shield emitted a soft glow, enveloping the arena.

At the examiners’ table, six teachers watched with solemn gazes fixed on the two young candidates in the center of the arena.

Xu Wuyi and Chu Shanhe stood ten meters apart, facing each other.

There was no immediate, explosive attack as one might expect. Both were exceptionally cautious.

Their auras locked onto each other, like two fully drawn bows, taut but unreleased, silently accumulating a heart-pounding power.

Xu Wuyi’s gaze was focused. In his perception, Chu Shanhe seemed to be a perfect, unified whole.

His stance, his breathing, the flow of his Qi and Blood, even the focal point of his gaze—everything was seamlessly integrated, leaving no discernible gap or opening.

This was the person who, since Xu Wuyi had begun his martial arts journey, best embodied the very definition of "flawless."

Chu Shanhe was observing him as well. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Xu Wuyi’s stance was very ordinary. It was the "Holding the Essence and Guarding the One" from the Basic Body Refining Technique—as simple as it could get.

But it was precisely this simplicity that made Chu Shanhe hesitant to act rashly.

It was like trying to paint on a blank canvas; with too many options, one hesitates.

After a stalemate of several seconds, Xu Wuyi moved first.

He took half a step forward with his left foot and shot his right fist out in a swift, straight jab, aiming for Chu Shanhe’s shoulder blade.

This was just a feint, intended to draw out a reaction.

Chu Shanhe shifted slightly to the side. His left hand moved to block and seal, gently connecting with and redirecting the attack. The motion was as smooth as flowing water, perfectly diverting Xu Wuyi’s Fist Force.

At the same time, his right hand formed a Finger Sword, silently stabbing toward the Quchi acupoint on Xu Wuyi’s arm. The counterattack was both fast and precise.

The muscles in Xu Wuyi’s arm tensed instantly. His Qi and Blood flared up naturally, allowing him to brute-force through the strike. Simultaneously, he dropped his shoulder and elbow, attempting to use his body’s strength to press in and constrict Chu Shanhe’s space.

However, the moment Xu Wuyi exerted his strength, Chu Shanhe moved as if he had foreseen it. His Finger Sword suddenly transformed.

He shifted from fingers to an open palm, which pulsed with contained Power. A resilient, pushing force surged forward—it was the Power from the C-level Palm Technique, Mianyun Palm.

The change was abrupt yet natural, executed with effortless grace.

Xu Wuyi slightly lowered his center of gravity, using the Iron Plate Bridge Pile Skills from the Basic Body Refining Technique to take the palm strike head-on.

But Chu Shanhe’s chain of moves wasn’t over yet!

Before his Palm Force had faded, his footwork shifted, and his body glided away like a nimble fish.

At some point, his left leg, which had been his support, had whipped out like a lash. It cut through the air with a sharp whistle as it swept toward Xu Wuyi’s lower body—a move from the C-level Leg Technique, Leaf-Sweeping Leg.

A feint, a block, a counter, a change in technique, and another change!

In a single, brief, probing exchange, the upper hand had already shifted several times. Chu Shanhe had used at least three different Martial Arts in succession to cleverly seize the initiative.

Xu Wuyi’s feet moved in a rapid, complex sequence. He unleashed his Instant Shadow Step within a hair’s breadth of space, narrowly avoiding the treacherous leg sweep.

His expression remained unchanged, but inwardly, he had become extremely serious.

Chu Shanhe’s transitions were too fast, too fluid. His timing was sublime, down to the finest detail. It was as if all the Martial Arts he had mastered had been melted down in a furnace, allowing him to conjure killing moves at will.

’He’s as strong as they say,’ Xu Wuyi thought.

He had already realized it would be difficult for him to win against Chu Shanhe in a contest of skill. In fact, among all the high school candidates in Dongjiang Province, there was likely no one who could.

But that wasn’t where his own advantage lay.

In that single exchange, Xu Wuyi had already been hit by Chu Shanhe three times, two of which he had taken directly. But the result was... his defense hadn’t been broken!

Xu Wuyi’s physical constitution was just too strong. Although their Life Energy Levels were only 0.1 apart, in an actual fight, it felt like there was a full level of difference between them.

What Xu Wuyi didn’t know was that Chu Shanhe was just as surprised.

That series of transformations he had just executed looked simple, but it actually contained the essence of three different C-level Martial Arts.

An ordinary opponent would have lost their balance at the first redirection, and the subsequent moves would have been impossible to defend against.

But Xu Wuyi was using the Basic Body Refining Technique, neutralizing it all in the simplest way possible.

Although he was still hit, he had managed to dissipate a significant amount of the force, to say nothing of being struck in a vital spot or having his Qi and Blood flow disrupted.

An attack like that wouldn’t cause serious injury even if it landed on a normal opponent of the Same Ability Level.

Let alone an opponent like Xu Wuyi.

Chu Shanhe could be called a Martial Arts Master, a monster who had trained thirty different Martial Arts to the Minor Achievement Level. His understanding of Martial Arts was on par with many Official Martial Artists, and even some Quasi-Martial Artists.

He determined almost instantly that Xu Wuyi’s proficiency with the Basic Body Refining Technique was extremely high. It had surpassed the ceiling for a Martial Disciple and was likely approaching Great Success.

It was only through this level of strength, and a reaction speed faster than the Minor Achievement Level, that he was able to neutralize his own attacks.

After all, the moves of the Basic Body Refining Technique were too simple. It wasn’t even designed for combat, but for the Refinement of Qi and Blood.

’I can’t give him a chance to breathe.’

’He rose through the ranks too quickly; he lacks sufficient combat experience. That’s his weakness.’

’Under high pressure, he’s bound to make a forced error!’

As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Chu Shanhe lunged forward again.

This time, he held nothing back, fully unleashing the foundation of the "Little Eight Extremes"!

His fists were like meteors, whistling through the air. The afterimages of his palms flew, blanketing Xu Wuyi’s upper body vitals. His legs lashed out like whips, sweeping at his opponent’s lower body...

Xu Wuyi was forced completely onto the defensive.

He sank his waist into a horse stance, pushing the defensive postures of the Basic Body Refining Technique to their absolute limit. His arms were like two iron floodgates, blocking Chu Shanhe’s storm-like assault, one attack after another.

In the span of a few breaths, they exchanged dozens of blows. Fists, palms, fingers, and legs appeared in a dazzling, alternating sequence.

Chu Shanhe summoned his Martial Arts at will, switching between them freely. The transitions between his techniques were seamless, as if a dozen different Martial Arts Masters were operating simultaneously within his body.

The examiners outside the arena watched in continuous amazement.

Li Liangcai couldn’t help but exclaim in a low voice, "His transitions are too fast! Chu Shanhe has trained so many Martial Arts that they’ve become instinct. He doesn’t even need to think to switch techniques in the middle of a fight."

Liu Hui added with a sigh, "What a terrifying amount of training that must have taken. This is a skill forged purely through sparring against others!"

Chen Mingyuan then said with a sigh, "I heard that since he started practicing Martial Arts, Chu Shanhe has sparred for a full fifteen hours every day. And that doesn’t even include the time he spends on Foundation Establishment and Body Refining."

While one side marveled at Chu Shanhe’s strength, the group of examiners on the other side was astonished by Xu Wuyi’s toughness.

The Innate Martial Artist team leader on the opposite side said, "Xu Wuyi’s defense is incredibly stable. He looks passive, but he’s busy without being flustered. His breathing is still steady."

"Chu Shanhe’s offense is fierce, but he can’t seem to inflict any substantial damage. It’s essentially a battle of attrition.

If it comes down to that, Chu Shanhe might not have the advantage."

Just as the team leader had said, the longer Chu Shanhe fought, the more alarmed he became.

From beginning to end, the core framework Xu Wuyi used was still the Basic Body Refining Technique.

The moves of this fundamental Martial Art were simple and lacked variation. In theory, it was riddled with openings.

But precisely because it was so simple and direct, those "openings" were ones that anyone could try to exploit, yet no one could use to achieve a decisive result.

He did make a few mistakes under pressure, but not many—far from enough for Chu Shanhe to gain an advantage.

Chu Shanhe knew very well that the strength and quality of Xu Wuyi’s Qi and Blood were far superior to his own.

This was the absolute advantage granted to him by a High-Tier Body Refining Technique like the Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace.

He also understood his own weakness. When it came to C-level Martial Arts and fighting at the Martial Disciple Level, he had already reached the pinnacle.

But as soon as an opponent surpassed that scope, he found himself falling short.

This was a battle between ultimate skill and ultimate strength!

The two figures blurred across the arena at high speed. The sounds of their collisions were incessant as the high-intensity exchange continued for a full three minutes.

Xu Wuyi’s breathing was long and even, his expression normal. The Qi and Blood within him surged like a great river, showing no signs of depletion.

Chu Shanhe, in contrast, already had sweat beading on his temples, and his breathing had become slightly ragged.

He felt like he was accumulating a minuscule advantage with every move, like water dripping on a stone.

But this "stone" named Xu Wuyi was too hard. The water droplets weren’t accumulating nearly fast enough.

If this continued, he would inevitably be the one to run out of stamina first.

’I’ve spent years painstakingly mastering dozens of Martial Arts, integrating them all, and this tiny advantage is all I can manage...’ Chu Shanhe’s eyes sharpened. ’If I keep fighting like this, I will lose for sure.’

’I have to keep changing my techniques!’