Chapter 30: A Contest of Palm Force and the Dao Heart Examination
The Lesser Heavenly Star Palm was not a martial art with any specific stances. Rather, it was a pure application of magic power, channeling it into a frigid, yin-natured palm force.
As He Dayou unleashed the force of his Lesser Heavenly Star Palm, he was confident that its frigid power would heavily injure Zhang Yu, freezing his internal organs.
He also believed that, given Zhang Yu’s financial situation, he certainly wouldn’t have the money for hospital treatment and would be forced to just endure the injury.
Poor bastard, this will keep you out of school for at least a week.
Boom!
As their palms slammed together, their magic power collided with a force that seemed to detonate within their bodies.
Although He Dayou’s Lesser Heavenly Star Palm was formidable, he had, after all, only just recently mastered it.
And while the technique Zhang Yu employed was the exceptionally common Freehand Combat, he had already trained it to level three and could unleash a respectable palm force of his own.
As their palm forces met and their magic power surged, He Dayou discovered his advantage was not as great as he had imagined. His Lesser Heavenly Star Palm could only force back his opponent’s power bit by bit, slowly invading his body.
What surprised him even more was that Zhang Yu was like a roly-poly toy. Each time a bit of the Lesser Heavenly Star Palm’s force invaded, he would quickly push it back, holding on and refusing to be defeated despite his clear disadvantage.
Meanwhile, the circulation of magic power within Zhang Yu’s body continued unabated, endlessly restoring his reserves and allowing him to withstand He Dayou’s Lesser Heavenly Star Palm again and again.
The assistant teacher watching from the side was startled by the scene.
“They’re competing with magic power?”
Seeing their solemn expressions, the assistant teacher feared an accident would occur, which would ruin his performance review for the year. The thought that one of them was the son of a school director made the possibility of an incident even more terrifying.
He quickly interjected with a reminder, “Students, if either of you can’t hold on, concede immediately. The other party must then withdraw their magic power at once.”
“Don’t let a monthly exam lead to serious injury and jeopardize your future.”
Neither of them spoke. He Dayou stared intently at Zhang Yu, frantically channeling his magic power and unleashing wave after wave of Lesser Heavenly Star Palm force.
Zhang Yu, however, remained calm and composed, actively employing the Celestial Cycle Qi-Gathering Method to recover his magic power while simultaneously resisting He Dayou’s assault.
In the blink of an eye, both of their foreheads were beaded with sweat, and steam rose from their bodies as if they were two great furnaces.
But Zhang Yu’s complexion was rosy, and he appeared increasingly at ease.
In contrast, He Dayou’s face was now ashen, and he was gradually showing signs of faltering.
He could no longer control his emotions, his gaze a mixture of shock and anger as he stared at Zhang Yu.
The assistant teacher checked the time; their contest of magic power had already lasted for over a minute. Seeing He Dayou’s condition, he had no choice but to remind them again, “Students, if you can’t hold on, concede immediately.”
“This is just a monthly exam.”
He Dayou struggled to open his mouth several times, his eyes fixed on the increasingly relaxed Zhang Yu, and finally forced a few words through his clenched teeth.
“I…”
“I surrender.”
As they both slowly withdrew their magic power, He Dayou collapsed onto the floor.
His face was ashen, and the magic power within his dantian was almost completely depleted.
He looked at Zhang Yu with resentment and asked, “How much magic power do you have left?”
Seeing his opponent’s deathly pallor and weakened state, Zhang Yu answered humbly, “Only about ten or twenty percent.”
He Dayou snorted; he could tell from Zhang Yu’s appearance that it was far more than that.
He slowly rose to his feet and gave Zhang Yu a long, hard look.
“You’re good.”
“We’ll have a rematch next time.”
With that, He Dayou turned and left.
As he walked away, he replayed the battle in his mind and was forced to admit something to himself.
Zhang Yu… is strong.
But… it’s a pity. As a poor commoner, he’s destined to become our dog.
I hope you can hold on until I can defeat you fair and square. Don’t leave me with any regrets.
On the other side, watching He Dayou’s unsteady retreat, Zhang Yu thought to himself, A rematch?
You’d better not think about it, classmate… This was the closest you’ll ever get to my level of strength, your fondest memory. If we fight again, I’m afraid you’ll be saying, “My apologies, Lord Zhang Yu, for not making you use your full strength.”
Zhang Yu headed out of the examination hall and immediately saw Bai Zhenzhen leaning against the wall.
“Hey, Zhen, that was fast.”
“Yeah, it was over in a few moves.” Bai Zhenzhen glanced at him. “Who did you get?”
Zhang Yu replied, “He Dayou.”
“Damn it!” Bai Zhenzhen stamped her foot in anger. “He just got to show off in the Daoist arts exam, and now he gets to humiliate you? That guy must be on cloud nine today.”
“But don’t worry, I’ll challenge him during the next practical combat class and humiliate him for you.”
Zhang Yu looked at Bai Zhenzhen, speechless. “I won.”
Sensing Bai Zhenzhen’s astonishment, Zhang Yu decided to act directly.
He threw a punch, which Bai Zhenzhen immediately blocked with a palm.
Their fists and palms collided in rapid succession, their four arms blurring into afterimages that filled the air with the muffled thuds of heavy hammer blows.
Thump!
After exchanging several moves, the two abruptly broke apart.
“Your Freehand Combat is at level three?” Bai Zhenzhen asked.
“Your Freehand Combat is at level three?” Zhang Yu echoed.
Bai Zhenzhen said in shock, “Weren’t you only at level one before? How are you suddenly at level three? Don’t tell me you reached level three a long time ago and were just waiting for a chance like today’s fight with He Dayou to make a big show of it. You… you’ve been reading too many of those power-fantasy novels, haven’t you?”
Zhang Yu looked back at her with equal suspicion.
“Zhen, are you projecting your own thoughts onto me? You’re the one who claimed to be at level two. You’ll really do anything for the spotlight, won’t you?”
Bai Zhenzhen blushed and explained, “I wasn’t trying to show off.”
“Having a high Freehand Combat level doesn’t get you extra points.”
“On the contrary, holding something back in a real fight allows you to catch your opponent by surprise and get a higher score on the practical exam.”
“Haven’t you heard the teachers say that intelligence warfare is a part of combat?”
Zhang Yu suddenly thought of his fight with He Dayou.
That frigid palm technique his opponent had suddenly used had almost caught him off guard.
Hearing Bai Zhenzhen’s words now, Zhang Yu found himself in complete agreement.
I really should hold something back, he thought. I can’t just reveal all my trump cards.
After Zhou Tianyi finished his exam, the three of them went to the cafeteria for dinner, after which they went their separate ways, either heading home or to tutoring sessions.
The next day would be the examinations for Dao heart, magic power, and physical strength.
But after returning home, Zhang Yu once again made his way to the abandoned building.
The twenty-four-hour cooldown for the Feather Book’s specialization switch had not yet ended.
Since his specialization was still in Freehand Combat, Zhang Yu decided to continue practicing it and raise its level even further.
Heh, even though I revealed my level-three Freehand Combat to Zhen, as long as I can train it to level five or six tonight, I’ll have a new trump card.
The thought of Bai Zhenzhen’s shocked expression next time made Zhang Yu feel as if his punches already carried more power.
So Zhang Yu practiced his Freehand Combat in earnest, resting with breathing exercises when he grew tired and resuming his training once his stamina recovered, and in this way, the night passed in a flash.
The next morning, as sunlight slowly filtered through the empty window frames of the abandoned building and fell upon his body, Zhang Yu, who was seated cross-legged on the floor, slowly opened his eyes.
After a night of ascetic training, his Freehand Combat had reached level five (3/50), and his understanding of the basic martial art had deepened considerably.
His magic power also increased, rising from 11.7 to 11.8.
Zhang Yu marveled inwardly, With the passive effect of the Celestial Cycle Qi-Gathering Method, my magic power grows by a good amount each day even if I only do breathing exercises when I rest.
Feeling the constant growth of magic power within him, Zhang Yu’s mood improved considerably.
This made him look forward even more to raising the Celestial Cycle Qi-Gathering Method to level ten once the specialization cooldown was over.
…
He squeezed his way onto the bus and rode to school.
A gloomy atmosphere still hung over Songyang City.
The grim expressions on many students’ faces were a clear sign that their exams the previous day had not gone well.
After breakfast, Zhang Yu made his way to the examination hall for the first test of the day: the Dao heart examination.
With its white walls and neat rows of beds, the examination hall resembled a hospital ward.
The only difference was that instead of an oxygen machine, a mask-like device was connected to the head of each bed.
Zhang Yu had barely settled onto his assigned bed when he heard the countdown begin in his mind again.
He pursed his lips and simply sat down cross-legged to begin his breathing exercises.
While Zhang Yu was performing his breathing exercises, other examinees continued to file in, and soon all the beds in the hall were occupied.
A bell chimed, and the students’ expressions tensed in unison, knowing the exam was about to begin.
At the same time, a strain of light music began to play over the broadcast system.
When the music ended, a woman’s voice came over the speakers.
“This is the unified monthly Dao heart examination for all high schools in Songyang City. The examination will last for sixty minutes.”
Hearing the voice on the broadcast, Zhang Yu was not surprised in the slightest.
After all, he had memories of taking this monthly exam on several past occasions.
Unlike the previous day’s general knowledge, martial arts, and Daoist arts exams, the Dao heart portion of the monthly exam was always a unified test for all high schools across Songyang City.
This was intrinsically linked to the special nature of the Dao heart itself and its examination.
The woman’s voice continued over the broadcast.
“Attention. Please ensure the spiritual interface mask is worn correctly over your face for the entire duration of the examination.”
“You may now inspect and don your equipment.”
All the students immediately picked up the masks from their beds to inspect them.
Zhang Yu did the same, first checking that the cable at the back of the mask was plugged into the socket, then turning on the power to ensure the device was not damaged.
After confirming everything was in order, Zhang Yu fitted the mask over his face.
He felt the mask shift and mold itself to his features until it fit perfectly, like a second skin.
But with his eyes covered by the mask, all Zhang Yu could see was darkness.
A moment later, the woman’s voice sounded from the broadcast again.
“The time for equipment inspection and preparation has ended.”
“The Dao heart examination will now begin.”
The darkness before Zhang Yu’s eyes suddenly trembled, and as particles of light began to appear, he found himself transported to another world.