High Martial Arts: Grinding for the Supreme Talent

Chapter 234: Chapter 234: Formidable Rival, Li Hanjiang

Li Hanjiang was a formidable opponent. That single thought surfaced in everyone’s mind.

They mentally compared the strength Lin Qi and Li Hanjiang had displayed, realizing with a start that the latter was terrifyingly strong—in no way inferior to Lin Qi.

Lin Qi had met his match.

The strongest contenders from the three top academies had all revealed their formidable power.

Lin Qi, Li Hanjiang, Liang Yuxin!

It wasn’t just the students from Azure Sky Sixth Institute; everyone else in the stands, regardless of their academy, had subconsciously placed the three of them in a league of their own.

"Li Hanjiang’s Talent is incredible. He’s a lot like Brother Qi, also from an ordinary family."

"It’s just that he was injured as a child while protecting his sister. He was laid up in the hospital for a full two years before he finally made a complete recovery."

"He had a meteoric rise during his second year of high school. Not only did he catch up on all his academics, but his Martial Arts Cultivation also advanced by leaps and bounds."

"He’s a very famous prodigy in North River Province."

"He practices the Snowflake Spear Technique. That technique, along with the Cold Wind Saber Technique that I practice and the Vortex Ice Swordsmanship, are considered the three great Secret Manuals of North River Province."

"More people in North River Province practice these three Secret Manuals than any others, and they were all created by Martial Artists from our province."

Guan Mountain explained Li Hanjiang’s background and the Spear Technique Secret Manual he was using.

Everyone was amazed. Li Hanjiang’s story was truly legendary. To make a comeback after being bedridden for two years... his Talent was simply too powerful.

Lin Qi nodded. It was no accident that Li Hanjiang had become Nether Sea’s number one.

He recalled Li Hanjiang’s earlier fight. He was certain that his opponent’s Spear Technique had also broken through to Tier Three, and it hadn’t been a recent development either.

Most importantly, his Qi and Blood Value was undoubtedly high.

It reminded him of how he’d felt about Huo Wanyang—Marquis Wen—a few months ago: peerless. Anyone who faced him was destined for a crushing defeat.

...

「In the leadership section of the stands.」

The deans of Nether Sea Martial Academy couldn’t help but smile in satisfaction after seeing Li Hanjiang’s easy victory.

"That Hanjiang is a truly fine young man!"

"How the tables have turned. I never expected our academy to recruit such a promising talent like Li Hanjiang," one of the deans remarked.

"It looks like this year’s championship might very well go to us at Nether Sea!"

They had pinned all their hopes of winning this year’s championship on Li Hanjiang.

In the neighboring section for Azure Sky Martial Arts Academy, the deans frowned upon seeing Li Hanjiang’s performance.

Wu Yueze, the Vice Dean of the First Institute, frowned.

"That Li Hanjiang is certainly impressive!"

Their displeasure grew when they overheard the confident remarks from the Nether Sea deans.

"The tournament’s just started and they’re already acting like they’ve won. Quite the confidence," the woman in purple from the Ninth Institute sneered.

The air began to crackle with invisible tension.

"We’ll know if we keep watching," Dean Liu said with a calm expression.

He had unwavering faith in Lin Qi. As for the championship, Azure Sky Martial Arts Academy was determined to claim it.

...

The fourth round continued.

"Is this what a seeded contestant is? They feel like they’re on a completely different level from everyone else!" The crowd buzzed with discussion, their minds blown.

As each seeded contestant took the stage, they demonstrated ever-increasing levels of combat prowess.

Even top-tier experts, who had seemed powerful just moments before, were being defeated with ease.

In addition to Lin Qi, Li Hanjiang, and Liang Yuxin, Huo Wanyang also demonstrated the ability to instantly defeat his opponent.

Huo Wanyang returned to the stands and clenched his fists. The power coursing through his body filled him with confidence.

This time, he would reclaim the number one spot, no matter what.

Everyone seemed to have forgotten that he was once the top-ranked graduating high school senior.

Ao Feng and Duan Chuchu also defeated their opponents within a few moves.

From the stands, Lin Qi also spotted Wei Peng—the top scorer of the national college entrance exam.

The same top scorer who had been featured on the national news after the exam results were announced.

Countless people across the country knew who he was.

Even Lin Qi himself had only appeared on Cang Province’s local news. Outside of Cang Province, virtually no one knew who he was, except for the students who had applied to Azure Sky Martial Arts Academy.

Wei Peng was incredibly burly. Standing over 2.2 meters tall, he looked like a wild bear from the forest. His muscles were so overdeveloped they seemed to be carved from solid rock.

His features were rugged, and his thick arms, which looked like they were hewn from stone, wielded a massive, sharp War Axe.

Just by standing there, he exuded an intense, oppressive aura. Perhaps he was even more deserving of the title ’Innate Divine Strength’ than Huo Wanyang; his powerful physique was plain to see.

His opponent was a man just over 1.9 meters tall who used a Long Spear.

He looked a full size smaller in front of Wei Peng!

The moment the fight began, the man swung his Big Gun, launching a fierce assault.

But upon seeing this, a terrifying aura erupted from Wei Peng, like the roar of a great bear.

The Silver Battleaxe in his hand descended like a colossal metal gate falling from the sky, smashing down and stirring up a gale.

The man’s eyes widened, and he instinctively raised his spear with both hands to parry.

BAM!!

AHHH!!

A terrifying force traveled down the shaft of his weapon. The man heard a sickening CRACK from within his own body.

The bones in his arms fractured. His Qi Blood roiled violently, and a sweet, metallic taste filled his throat.

He crumpled to his knees, letting out a pained scream.

’Such immense strength!’ The man’s eyes, now threaded with blood, widened in shock.

SHLICK!

The next instant, the sharp War Axe swept across, its edge glinting coldly.

A head flew through the air, and the moment it hit the ground, it dissipated into nothingness. The fight was over!

Wei Peng tossed his War Axe into the air. It spun once before landing perfectly back in his hand, and a confident smile spread across his face.

He then returned to the stands. His gaze locked onto Li Hanjiang as he thought:

’During the Freshmen Tournament, I was too careless. You defeated me, and I had no excuses.’

’But this National Freshmen Tournament is different. I’ll give it my all and defeat you.’

’And not just you. Lin Qi and Liang Yuxin, too.’

His expression was grim. This time, he would take the championship and prove that his title as the top national scorer was no fluke.

Meanwhile, the crowd in the stands was astonished by Wei Peng’s power.

"That Wei Peng’s strength is monstrous! He can take someone’s head off with a single swing of his axe!" someone exclaimed.

"That War Axe looks like it weighs one or two hundred kilograms. With that much force behind it, not many people could possibly block that," someone else explained.

Lin Qi frowned as he watched. Wei Peng’s strength was greater than he had expected.

He was the complete opposite of Huo Wanyang, having put all his points into muscle strength and defense.

His speed was noticeably slow.

Even so, it was more than enough to overwhelm the vast majority of the contestants.

’As for who’s stronger... I’ll have to fight him to find out.’

He mused, ’There really are a lot of experts here. If I could fight a round with each of them, it would be a huge boost to my Spear Technique.’

...

The fourth round consisted of 256 matches. Despite the large number, many of them were over in less than a minute, so things were moving along very quickly.

At the same time, in a corner of the stands, three figures—two men and a woman—were seated.

They were wearing the red and white uniforms of Azure Sky Martial Arts Academy.

"The National Freshmen Tournament... I guess we’re the only ones with enough free time to log on and watch."

"I have to admit, if I hadn’t Awakened my Special Ability, I’d just be an Ordinary person. I probably would’ve been eliminated in the first round, completely unable to compare to people like Lin Qi and Li Hanjiang."

"But I got lucky!" The speaker was a tall young man with gentle features and a mild, scholarly air.

"Ahe, are you thinking of joining the National Freshmen Tournament too?"

The pretty girl asked the second young man, an extremely burly boy with a round face.

The round-faced boy shook his head. "Me? Nah, forget it..."

Although he said no, he was clearly tempted by the suggestion.

...

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