Chapter 345: 约战

"Zhao Ya, that girl may not have a good character, but her strength is considerable. You need to be careful!"

The tension between them was palpable. Zheng Yang also came closer and lowered his voice. "Yes, don't worry!" Zhao Ya replied.

The day before yesterday, after receiving guidance from Teacher Zhang, Zhao Ya had opened up ten more meridians. Even if the girl opposite her was strong, their strength was almost equal. In a real fight, it was uncertain who would win.

With a leap, Zhao Ya landed lightly on the combat stage. She raised her graceful hand, her dark, beautiful eyes fixed on Mu Xueqing, who was opposite her. "Let's begin!"

"Hmph!" Mu Xueqing was not to be outdone. She leaped onto the stage, and a tremor ran through her body, revealing her recently advanced cultivation. Her power surged like a torrent.

"It's starting!""Two beauties fighting..."Seeing the two girls immediately jump onto the stage without a word, the surroundings fell silent, as if afraid to disturb them.

"I'll make you apologize!" With a clear cry, Zhao Ya's delicate body pushed off the ground, charging straight forward. At the same time, she flipped her hand, and a whistling surge of energy shot out like a sword gleam.

"You're the one who needs to apologize!" Not yielding an inch, Mu Xueqing also met her charge.

*Bang, bang, bang, bang!*Soon, the two exchanged a series of blows. Both were in the Aperture Acupoint realm, and their clashing forces created a series of powerful sonic booms.

"Incredible! Where did this girl come from? She's so young, yet she's fighting Mu Xueqing to a standstill!" Among the crowd, a young man watched the fight with a look of surprise. It was Zhao Wuxing, who ranked first in the student grand competition.

"I don't know either. It seems she just appeared today!" Another person next to him also looked at the stage with confusion. If Mu Xueqing had seen this person, she would have recognized him as Liu Changyan, who ranked second in the Tianwu Academy student grand competition.

Zhao Wuxing and Liu Changyan, the two most famous students in the academy, had both come to watch their match.

"Who do you think will win?" After watching for a while longer, Liu Changyan chuckled.

"Mu Xueqing, in just a few days, her cultivation has not only increased, but her previous inhibited fighting style has also disappeared, significantly boosting her combat power. The girl opposite her, although using martial arts that aren't particularly advanced, possesses immense strength, and her moves carry an intimidating chill that makes them hard to counter... To say who will win, even I can't be certain!" Zhao Wuxing hesitated before speaking.

Although he was the top student and possessed astonishing discernment, the two girls fighting on stage were nearly equal in both cultivation and strength. Even he couldn't definitively say who would win.

Liu Changyan nodded, his brows furrowed. "This girl who suddenly appeared has such solid cultivation, so why are her martial arts so inferior? She's using techniques that are almost all common-tier mid-grade. If her martial arts were more advanced, she might have already won!"

"Indeed!" Zhao Wuxing also looked puzzled.

This unbelievably beautiful girl, having reached the Aperture Acupoint realm, could easily find common-tier high-grade, or even peak-grade, cultivation techniques in the academy if she wished. To only use mid-grade techniques seemed too weak. If it weren't for the extremely powerful yin-cold energy within her, which prevented Mu Xueqing from getting close, she would probably have lost already.

"This isn't good!" Zheng Yang and the others also noticed the problem at this point.

Zhao Ya's Pure Yin Physique should, in theory, be extremely powerful, making it easy for her to defeat opponents. However, the martial arts she practiced were clearly only at the Tianxuan Kingdom level, which was a significant gap compared to her opponent. What's more, Zhao Ya had progressed from the first level of warrior cultivation, the Qi Gathering realm, to the Aperture Acupoint realm in just two short months. Her power had increased too quickly, and she lacked practical combat experience.

Mu Xueqing, on the other hand, was quite the opposite. Her reputation as the "Little Demoness" at Tianwu Academy indicated that she had undoubtedly experienced countless battles.

With weak martial arts and limited practical experience, if it weren't for her powerful physique and the surging true qi within her like a dragon, she would probably have been defeated long ago.

"Don't worry. Although Zhao Ya has little combat experience, it won't be easy for her opponent to win!" Liu Yang said.

Zhao Ya's physique had even suppressed Teacher Lu Xun back then. No matter how strong this girl was, could she be stronger than Lu Xun?

"Rest assured, once she adapts, defeating her opponent will only be a matter of time!" Zhao Ya's disadvantage lay in her lack of practical combat experience. As time passed, she would gradually adapt to the fighting style, and defeating her opponent would not be difficult.

"Damn it!" The spectators below realized this, and Mu Xueqing also became aware of it, her face turning ashen.

Although she wasn't the strongest female student in Tianwu Kingdom, she was close. She had expected to easily teach a lesson to a girl younger than herself, but she never dreamed her opponent would be so formidable! When did such a powerful new student appear at Tianwu Academy?

"If this drags on, her true qi is more abundant than mine, and I'll definitely lose. I have no choice but to use *that* move!" Gritting her teeth, a fierce look appeared in Mu Xueqing's eyes.

At first, her opponent was at a disadvantage, but as time passed, Mu Xueqing was already struggling. Her cultivation, boosted by elixirs, was still somewhat superficial upon closer inspection.

"Hmph!" With a soft snort, Mu Xueqing's eyebrows arched, and her aura suddenly surged. Immediately, she threw a punch.

"That's Master Mu Dan's famous Falling Flowers Fist!" Zhao Wuxing's expression tightened.

"Falling Flowers Fist?" Liu Changyan looked over.

"That's right, it's a Ghost-tier High-grade martial art. It's said that Master Mu Dan created this fist art, consisting of three moves with immense power, when he reached the Grandmaster realm and was thinking of his deceased wife. Even Mo Hongyi praised it endlessly!" Zhao Wuxing's eyes were fixed on the girl on stage. "I didn't expect Master Mu Dan to pass on this fist art, and she has already mastered the first move!"

"A Ghost-tier High-grade martial art? That's top-tier even in the capital city, isn't it? The girl opposite her is in trouble!" Liu Changyan's face was filled with surprise, and he nodded.

Ghost-tier High-grade martial arts were considered exceptional even throughout the entire Tianwu Kingdom. Since the opponent's martial arts were already weaker, with Mu Xueqing employing this technique, Zhao Ya would surely find it difficult to resist.

Indeed, as their words fell, Zhao Ya's expression changed, feeling the surging, violent pressure from her opponent.

"I'll risk it all!" Gritting her teeth, knowing that continuing with ordinary moves would lead to defeat, Zhao Ya let out a soft cry. Her entire body's power surged wildly through her meridians. It was an all-out effort.

The Falling Flowers Fist collided with her palm.

*Thud, thud, thud, thud!*Both of them flushed simultaneously, each retreating seven or eight steps, spitting out blood.A draw!

"Zhao Ya!""Senior Sister!"Zheng Yang, Meng Tao, and others rushed forward.

"I underestimated you. Since today is a draw, do you dare to have another match with me in three days?" With a shake of her arms, pushing away Meng Tao and the others, Mu Xueqing looked over coldly.

"Three days it is. If you lose then, you must apologize!" Zhao Ya's eyes were fixed on her.

"Apologize? I merely said that Teacher Zhang isn't good at teaching students. What does that have to do with you?" As she spoke, Mu Xueqing suddenly reacted and froze. "Don't tell me... you're Teacher Zhang's students?"

"That's right. He is our teacher. Insulting him is insulting us!" Zhao Ya said.

"So that's it!" Finally understanding why the other party was so furious and wanted to duel her, Mu Xueqing shook her head. "I also greatly admire Teacher Zhang, but... I was just stating facts, not speaking carelessly. When it comes to teaching, I can guarantee that our Teacher Liu is definitely superior to your Teacher Zhang!"

"Teacher Liu? Never heard of him!" Zhao Ya shook her head, a proud expression on her face. "Our Teacher Zhang is absolutely the best at teaching, nobody can compare!"

"You..." Mu Xueqing gritted her teeth. "Since neither of us will yield, let's settle it with our fists! We drew today, so let's fight again in three days. Whoever loses will admit that their teacher is inferior to the other's. Do you dare to agree?"

"Why wouldn't I dare!" Zhao Ya nodded.

"Alright then, it's a deal. Let's go!" Seeing her agree, Mu Xueqing flung her arm and turned to leave.

Although she had only known Teacher Liu for a short time, he had immediately resolved her hidden issues and helped her improve her cultivation. She was deeply grateful. Now that she was challenged by Teacher Zhang's students, she naturally had to uphold Teacher Liu's reputation! She wanted people to know that even if Teacher Liu wasn't a master teacher, he was no worse than one.

"Let's go!" Zhao Ya also turned and left with Wang Ying and the others.

"These people are actually Teacher Zhang's students?""This is getting serious...""I've heard of Teacher Zhang. He broke countless records set by Mo Hongyi, the genius, and became number one. No wonder this girl is so formidable; she's his student!"

The crowd watching below erupted in an uproar upon learning that Zhao Ya and the others were Teacher Zhang's students. Some students who had initially admired Zhao Ya's beauty and considered pursuing her no longer dared to harbor such thoughts. If anyone had a strong reputation recently, it was undoubtedly Master Teacher Zhang Xuan. Wouldn't trying to pursue his students be courting death?

"Wait, isn't Mu Xueqing Teacher Bai Fang's student? Who is Teacher Liu?""You don't know yet, do you? Teacher Bai Fang left the academy a while ago. This Teacher Liu, apparently, was just recently hired!"

"Just hired?""Yes, when they were recruiting teachers, I was in charge of reception. I saw it with my own eyes; this Teacher Liu is definitely a talent..."An insider then recounted the scene of the teacher recruitment assessment.

"He cured a student's aversion to studying with just one sentence, and then cured a student's desire to drop out with a beating?""Are you kidding me? Does anyone in the world have such abilities?"

After hearing this, everyone was dumbfounded, wondering if they were listening to a fictional story.

"It's true!" The insider swore. "If it wasn't true, you all know Mu Xueqing's personality. How could she be willing to duel someone for this teacher after only a brief encounter with him?"

"Well...""Now that you mention it, I remember seeing people from their class this morning. Their cultivation levels weren't that high. How did almost everyone's cultivation improve after just half a day?""You're right...""Could it be... all thanks to this Teacher Liu? Just who is this Teacher Liu?"

The more they discussed, the stranger it seemed, and everyone became increasingly curious about Mu Xueqing's new teacher.

"Achoo!"Leaving the classroom and walking along the road, Zhang Xuan rubbed his nose, a puzzled expression on his face. What was wrong? Was he catching a cold?