Chapter 1270: Zhang Xuan’s Secret Technique (Part 2)

Zhao Xingmo was filled with displeasure. Though angered, he had no choice at the moment but to sway his body and dodge to the side. Regardless of his opponent’s strength or whether he could withstand it, he couldn't easily risk taking the blow directly. It wasn't that he feared being crippled; it was that he couldn't afford to lose face.

Whoosh!

No sooner had he moved aside than he saw two of his opponent's fingers darting towards his armpit. The fierce attack aimed at his groin earlier had been a feint; the true target was here!

"Attacking the groin, predicting I would dodge, knowing my armpit would be exposed when I moved..." Zhao Xingmo's pupils contracted in disbelief.

The spot his opponent's fingers aimed for was precisely his vital point, the most vulnerable area in his cultivation technique. If hit, his entire body would instantly become numb, rendering him unable to fight! In a fight, such a precise hit couldn't be a coincidence; the opponent must have anticipated this in advance. A single attack had thrown him into his opponent's rhythm and exploited a flaw in his technique... Such an understanding of combat was truly terrifying!

"What a cunning fellow. He used psychological warfare on me right from the start..." As a renowned master above Saint 6-dan, his mind was meticulous. Recognizing the opponent's moves, he instantly understood everything that had transpired. Hall Master Wu had run over and deliberately claimed that Master Song had been crippled, planting a subconscious idea in his mind. Then, as soon as Zhang Jiuxiao arrived, he attacked the corresponding position. Zhao Xingmo naturally assumed he would have to block, not realizing it was merely a feint. He had fallen for his opponent's psychological tactic before the fight even truly began. Impressive!

"A normal Primordial Spirit realm cultivator, caught off guard like this, would find it hard to recover within ten moves. But I'm different!" Zhao Xingmo raised an eyebrow, spun his body again, evaded the attack, and then, flipping his palm mid-air, launched his own strike. Finger-to-finger, he intended to use his martial skill and strength to break his opponent's attack, turning the defensive into an offensive. His power was ferocious. Despite being at the same cultivation level, his finger strength was far more potent than Zhang Jiuxiao's. Even before it reached, a whistling sound, like wind and thunder, emanated from it, as if tearing the very air.

Witnessing the power of this strike, Zhang Jiuxiao seemed startled. Knowing he couldn't take it head-on, he quickly retracted his finger. Due to his extreme nervousness, his body swayed, leaving him undefended, and his head inadvertently moved towards the attacking finger. Zhao Xingmo frowned. With his finger strength, if it landed on his opponent's head, the head would undoubtedly explode instantly. In other words... it would be a certain death! Attacking a junior was already frowned upon, but killing an examinee... he wouldn't be able to continue as the welcoming envoy.

"Hmph!" The surging True Qi flowed backward, making him groan involuntarily, his face flushing slightly. Without suppressing his cultivation, this minor backlash of power would have been nothing. But now, only at the mid-stage Primordial Spirit realm and having used his full strength, he was injured with just one strike.

Whoosh! He retracted his finger, unwilling to kill his opponent, only to see that Zhang Jiuxiao had already anticipated his reaction. Unbeknownst to him, Zhang Jiuxiao was already in front of him, his shoulder slamming into Zhao Xingmo's chest. This attack was powerful; if it connected, even if he wasn't injured, he certainly wouldn't feel good. Filled with vexation, Zhao Xingmo flipped his palm and brought it down through the air. Fighting at a suppressed cultivation level and then retreating again? Where would his dignity be after that? His palm descended like the setting sun, carrying an unavoidable force. By his calculation, Zhang Jiuxiao would be struck and severely injured before he could even reach him.

"Sorry..." Just as he was guessing what move his opponent would use to dodge and what tactic he should employ to gain an advantage, a faint voice sounded. Immediately, his armpit went numb. Zhang Jiuxiao's finger had, at some point, landed on his vital point.

Whoosh! His entire body's strength instantly receded like a tide, becoming soft and powerless in the blink of an eye.

"You..." Having succeeded with one move, Zhang Jiuxiao didn't continue his attack. Instead, he quickly retreated a step, his face full of apology: "Thanks to Teacher Zhao's mercy, three moves have passed..."

"Hmph!" His True Qi circulated, and he recovered, but Zhao Xingmo was filled with vexation and couldn't utter a word. If his opponent had squeezed his vital point and seized the opportunity to attack, he would have been severely beaten. If that happened, he would have been utterly disgraced.

"If Teacher Zhao had truly wanted to kill me, I would have died on the second move. Actually, I used a rogue tactic..." Seeing his displeasure, Zhang Jiuxiao continued to apologize. On the second move, if the opponent's finger had continued forward, his head would have exploded before he even got close. Zhao Xingmo had forcibly withdrawn his power, suffering an injury in the process, which allowed Zhang Jiuxiao to successfully launch a sneak attack. One could say he exploited the other party's compassion; otherwise, even with psychological warfare, he wouldn't have survived the second move.

"A win is a win, no excuses!" Expressionless, Zhao Xingmo waved his hand. "I can give your Qingyuan Empire two spots. However, this is just the preliminary test. For the re-test, I hope you can keep this spot; otherwise, it will still be useless!" Although the opponent used tactics, the final outcome was... not only did he last three moves, but he also subdued Zhao Xingmo. Based solely on this, it was a genuine victory, without any pretense. Given that, granting an extra spot was no big deal. However... whether they could secure that spot would depend on their performance in Qianchong Empire.

"Are these all the experiences you taught him?" No longer dwelling on the matter, he turned to look at Zhang Xuan, who was not far away. Given Zhang Jiuxiao's True Qi strength and reaction speed, he certainly couldn't have achieved this on his own. The only possibility was that the young man before him had given him last-minute guidance.

"I just casually thought of three moves. My apologies for making Teacher Zhao laugh..." Knowing he couldn't hide it from the other party, and having nothing to conceal, Zhang Xuan clasped his fists.

"Casually?" Zhao Xingmo sneered, "You 'casually thought' and deduced my movement technique, that I would use the Delayed Leaf Step, that its flaw was in the armpit, and even predicted that I wouldn't kill, that I would withdraw my strength, take half a step back, and then let Zhang Jiuxiao hit my vital point... And your calculations were flawless?" There was no luck in battle. Zhang Jiuxiao's three moves earlier: the first used psychological warfare, the second risked his life, and the third was a clever trick... To achieve this, one must have meticulously refined their tactics and understood them inside out to create such a design. To say he could do this just by "casually thinking"—what kind of joke was that?

"Perhaps I just got lucky!" Zhang Xuan nodded. He had deliberately allowed the Golden Origin Cauldron to sneak attack Teacher Zhao earlier, with the aim of making him display his martial techniques so that a book would form in his mind. With the book, the opponent's ultimate moves and flaws were clear. Designing counter-moves based on these naturally became simple. However, he couldn't elaborate on the Library of Heaven's Path, so he could only play dumb.

"Luck?" Knowing that Teacher Zhang didn't want to say more, Zhao Xingmo didn't bother to press further. He lifted his eyelids and looked over: "Casual guidance allowed Zhang Jiuxiao to defeat me within three moves... In that case, I'll still suppress my cultivation. Do you dare to fight me?"

"Fight you? You'd still suppress your cultivation to mid-stage Primordial Spirit realm?" Zhang Xuan was startled.

"That's right!" Zhao Xingmo nodded. He had developed a great interest in the young man before him. Within three moves, he severely injured two auditing students from the Saint Child Hall... then casually guided someone to make Zhao Xingmo suffer a loss... How strong would he be if he truly unleashed his full power against him?

"Uh... let's not. I'm afraid I won't be able to hold back my strength, and there might be injuries!" Zhang Xuan shook his head.

"Don't worry. As soon as I feel you might get hurt, I'll immediately release my seal and ensure your safety!" Hearing that the other party seemed hesitant, Zhao Xingmo said. It was true that cultivators of similar strength could easily get injured because they couldn't precisely control their power. But he was a powerful expert above Saint 6-dan. If there was real danger, he could easily unseal his cultivation and control his strength.

"It's not that I'm afraid of getting hurt... I'm afraid you won't be able to withstand it..." Seeing the misunderstanding, Zhang Xuan felt a little awkward.

"You..." Zhao Xingmo almost died of anger. An envoy from the Saint Child Hall wanted to spar with him, and not only was he not afraid or panicked, but he was actually worried about injuring Zhao Xingmo... This was simply intolerable. "Don't worry about me getting hurt. With my strength, it's very difficult for me to get injured!" He gritted his teeth, his face darkened, and he couldn't help but snort.

"This..." Zhang Xuan hesitated.

"Just attack without reservation! Even if your strength is not weak and your talent is impressive, in the eyes of true experts from the Saint Child Hall, it's nothing..." With his hands clasped behind his back, Zhao Xingmo exuded the unique aura of a true master. The Saint Child Hall, the highest academy in the entire Master Teacher Continent, where even saint clans send their descendants to study... Its foundation was evident. How could a little fellow from the countryside claim to defeat it just like that? He had been caught off guard earlier because he hadn't been vigilant. Now, fully prepared, it wouldn't be so easy to defeat him again!

"In that case... I'll give it a try!" Seeing the other party's confidence, Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up. Having just broken through, he also wanted to test his strength. Since the other party was so confident, he naturally had to give it a try.

"Begin!" Taking a deep breath, Zhao Xingmo clenched his palm, channeling power throughout his body. In his opinion, the other party's talent was good, but he was also a bit too arrogant. This was a good opportunity to humble him and let him know that there were always stronger people and higher realms.

"Alright, I'm starting..." Zhang Xuan nodded, giving the other party a reminder.

"Hmm!" With a cold snort, Zhao Xingmo's body shot forward. Just as he was about to make his move, he saw a palm print descend straight down. It was like the collapse of heaven and earth, a torrent reversing its flow. All his moves were immediately suppressed. Before he could even take a breath, he was struck in the chest, sent flying backward instantly, and a mouthful of fresh blood spurted out.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! He circulated his True Qi, intending to dissipate the force, when his pupils contracted again. Immediately, countless palms descended once more. The opponent's attack wasn't a single palm strike, but thousands!

Rumble! His back slammed into the hall's wall, creating a massive hole.

Phew! Unable to endure it any longer, he hurriedly unsealed his cultivation. He finally managed to block the attack and, just as he stopped and breathed a sigh of relief, he heard Zhang Xuan's voice from in front of him, filled with a sense of profound loneliness.

"I thought he was really strong... he flew away with less than a fifth of my power... What was he boasting about?"