My martial arts have no bottlenecks.

Chapter 16 An Eye for an Eye

On the arena.

Liang Cheng and Wu Xiao were three zhang apart.

"Liang Cheng?" Wu Xiao shook the blood off his hands—it was Zhao Yuan's blood. "Never heard of that name. Has old man Yang Wei run out of people to use?"

Liang Cheng remained silent, slowly assuming the starting stance of the Hunyuan stance, his feet slightly apart, his waist and back relaxed, and his breath instantly sinking into his dantian.

The eyes of the surrounding museum owners and the city lord's envoy narrowed. This kind of meaning could only be obtained by those who had mastered the stance training. Could it be that old man Yang Wei had released a smokescreen before, and this was his trump card?

What a cunning scheme!

"Pretending!" Wu Xiao's eyes flashed, and he moved again, still using the Eagle Claw Heart-Piercing move, but faster and with sharper claw wind!

He tore through the air with his five fingers, aiming straight for Liang Cheng's throat. He wanted to kill his enemy in one move and completely crush the backbone of Yangwei Martial Arts School!

A gasp rang out from the sidelines, but Liang Cheng neither dodged nor avoided, meeting the attack head-on with both fists without the slightest hesitation.

The instant Wu Xiao's claw reached for his heart, he immediately lowered his waist and hips, his right fist exploding from his waist. The perfected Hunyuan Stance, combined with the perfected Mangniu Strength, unleashed a torrent of hidden energy through his fist, striking Wu Xiao's left shoulder directly.

This punch was devoid of any fancy moves; it was all about speed, power, and accuracy.

Wu Xiao immediately realized what was happening and tried to retreat, but Liang Cheng's footsteps followed him like a shadow, always blocking his retreat and forcing him to take the hit head-on.

"Bang!!!"

The two collided directly, with a dull, drum-like thud. Taking advantage of the situation, Liang Cheng landed a punch on Wu Xiao's left shoulder, instantly shattering his clothes into pieces, and his shoulder blade made a teeth-grinding "crack" sound.

Immediately afterwards, Wu Xiao was blasted off the ground and flew backward, but Liang Cheng's left hand shot out like lightning and grabbed Wu Xiao's right wrist, which had not yet been retracted.

He grabbed Wu Xiao's right arm and pulled him back in front of him, then thrust his left knee upwards like a heavy hammer!

"puff--!"

The knee strike landed precisely on Wu Xiao's abdomen, in the same spot where he had just severely injured Zhao Yuan, and with even greater force.

"Wow!"

Wu Xiao's eyes bulged out, and a sharp pain made him unable to scream. A mouthful of filth mixed with stomach acid and blood clots spurted out of his mouth.

Liang Cheng then released his grip, and Wu Xiao collapsed to his knees like a limp rag doll, his left hand hanging limply, his shoulder bone shattered, and his internal organs injured. He was no longer able to fight.

The entire room fell into a deathly silence.

From Wu Xiao's sudden and fierce attack to Liang Cheng's counterattack, and now to Wu Xiao kneeling and vomiting blood, only thirty breaths have passed.

The situation reversed far too suddenly and too violently.

"You..." Wu Xiao struggled to lift his head, his eyes bloodshot and filled with resentment, "How dare you hurt me..."

"In a friendly spar, it's easy to lose control." Liang Cheng looked down at him and returned Wu Xiao's words verbatim. "Senior Brother Wu, please forgive me."

After saying that, he turned around and tried to leave the ring.

"You little bastard! Die!!!"

Just then, a thunderous roar erupted, and from the seats of the Zhennan Martial Arts Hall, a burly black figure burst forth like a tiger from its cage, rushing straight towards the arena!

Before the man even arrived, a fierce and powerful fist wind pressed down on Liang Cheng's back, causing his robes to stick tightly to his body—it was a furious strike from the peak of internal strength!

He is Zheng Biao, the top disciple of Zhennan Martial Arts School!

"Zheng Biao, how dare you?!" Yang Wei roared and stood up, but it was too late to stop him.

Just as that punch, powerful enough to shatter stone tablets, was about to strike Liang Cheng's back, a green shadow, like a ghost, suddenly appeared and blocked Liang Cheng's path.

Zhou Hu had somehow appeared behind Liang Cheng. His expression was calm, and his right fist was clenched, directly meeting Zheng Biao's incoming punch.

Fist to fist!

"Buzz—"

With a thunderous roar, Zheng Biao's ferocious fist force vanished like mud into the sea, and both men took a step back.

"Your hidden strength combines softness and hardness, penetrating the body like a needle. You've also reached the threshold of the Transformation Realm?!" Zheng Biao looked at Zhou Hu with a solemn expression.

Zhou Hu withdrew his fist and stood with his hands behind his back: "Senior Brother Zheng, this is merely a sparring match between juniors. It's inappropriate for us to interfere, isn't it?"

Zheng Biao's face was ashen as he stared intently at Zhou Hu. He then glanced at Wu Xiao, who was kneeling on the stage vomiting blood. Finally, he gritted his teeth and remained silent. He picked up the nearly unconscious Wu Xiao and jumped off the stage.

Below the ring, Yang Wei and Wu Tianxiong stared at each other, the atmosphere tense.

At that moment, the sidelines erupted in chaos.

"They won?! Liang Cheng from Yangwei Martial Arts School actually won?!"

"Dacheng stance training combined with Dacheng brute force—where did this genius come from?"

"And that final knee strike was clearly deliberate revenge, an eye for an eye. He's ruthless!"

The atmosphere among the merchants was even more lively.

The portly merchant suddenly stood up, his eyes gleaming: "Mastering stance training and cultivating internal strength, at only sixteen or seventeen years old, this young man has great potential!"

Someone nearby immediately scoffed and undermined him: "Fatty Wang, didn't you just say you wanted to focus on getting close to Wu Xiao?"

"What do you know! Wu Xiao's is ruthless, Liang Cheng's is calm and measured! No, I have to strike first..."

Not only him, but representatives from three or four other powerful merchants whispered instructions to their trusted confidants behind them, who then quickly walked toward the Yangwei Martial Arts Hall's seating area.

On the high platform, the special envoy of the city lord's mansion stroked his beard and smiled, whispering to the clerk beside him: "Record it, Liang Cheng of Yangwei Martial Arts School has mastered the stance training, and can be ranked as a second-class observer."

"Yes."

On the ring, the referee finally snapped out of his daze and announced loudly, "Liang Chengsheng of Yangwei Martial Arts School advances to the next round!"

Referee Liang Chengchao nodded slightly and slowly walked off the stage.

The disciples of Yangwei Martial Arts School were already in an uproar. Li Cheng and the others were so excited that their faces turned red. However, Liang Cheng's expression remained normal, except that his breathing was slightly heavy and there were several tears on the front of his blue robe.

"Junior Brother Liang, are you alright?" Zhou Hu greeted him and asked in a low voice.

"It's nothing serious, just a shock to your qi and blood. You'll be fine after a short while of rest," Liang Cheng shook his head.

Yang Wei looked at Liang Cheng with a complicated expression, but in the end he simply patted him heavily on the shoulder: "Okay! We'll talk about it when we get back."

Liang Cheng nodded and returned to his seat to meditate and regulate his breathing.

He could feel countless eyes focused on him.

In this battle, he was no longer an unknown.

The mayfly flaps its wings, eventually revealing its brilliance.

In the distance, seats at the Zhennan Martial Arts School.

Wu Tianxiong's face was so gloomy it could drip water. He looked at Wu Xiao, who was being carried back by Zheng Biao, and then glanced in the direction of Yangwei Martial Arts Hall, his eyes flashing with cold light.

"Xiao'er's injuries are the same as Zhao Yuan's, but more severe," Zheng Biao said in a low voice. "His left scapula is completely shattered, and his abdomen is damaged. Without six months of medicinal treatment, he may suffer from hidden injuries."

"We'll talk about it when we get back," Wu Tianxiong spat out a single word through gritted teeth. "How confident are you in facing Zhou Hu?"

Zheng Biao's heart skipped a beat: "Master, I can't guarantee it. He's also touched the threshold of the Transformation Realm, so it's probably a 50/50 chance..."

"It's alright. Next, we'll go on stage in the order of the draw. You'll probably have to wait until tomorrow," Wu Tianxiong sneered. "I have my own methods."

"Yes."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Biao looked up abruptly, his face filled with surprise.

As soon as Liang Cheng stood still, a merchant's trusted confidant rushed over, handed him a note, and without exchanging words, simply showed his face to leave an impression.

Of course, the note contained some of their master's sincerity, but how to proceed with the discussion would have to wait until after the arena match.

Liang Cheng silently accepted the note without reading its contents, then turned to look at the wealthy businessman, who immediately smiled and befriended him.

If it weren't for the city lord's special envoy still being there, we would never have let such a talented person go!