Chapter 27

Guo Tao is merely a lowly illegitimate son of the Guo family. By chance, he condensed a second-rank totem and barely earned the opportunity to train at the Battle Academy. However, this guy is quite adept at socializing, ingratiating himself with the elite martial artists in the family, and obtaining the Guo family's body-strengthening boxing techniques. In the ordinary hall where one cannot cultivate the Primordial Decision, he naturally dominated, defeating many people.

He naturally knew about Guo Feng being defeated by Hu Gao. However, he believed his strength far surpassed Guo Feng's. If he could defeat Hu Gao this time, it would not only enhance his status in the family but also bring him wealth, truly a win-win situation. Initially, seeing so many challengers, he thought he might not get a chance, but who knew Hu Gao would specifically choose him, almost making him cry with joy.

Such a good opportunity, Guo Tao naturally dared not be careless. He immediately displayed his most skilled Guo family boxing techniques, preparing to defeat Hu Gao in one move. However, when he was less than a meter away from Hu Gao and saw the latter's eyes bright as stars, he instantly felt a strong sense of foreboding.

"Roar! Die!" After thinking about the opponent's weakness and his own strength, Guo Tao gritted his teeth, suppressing the urge to retreat at the first moment. He roared and attacked Hu Gao's chest.

According to Hu Gao's understanding, the Guo family's boxing techniques actually incorporate many feints. For ordinary hall martial artists who have not yet cultivated the Primordial Decision, when everyone is competing in Primordial Energy strength, these dazzling and unexpected feints can indeed be very effective. However, these were completely useless against Hu Gao.

Guo Tao's seemingly fierce punch to the chest was actually a feint. Seeing Hu Gao remain completely still, he himself became a bit panicked and had to adjust all his prepared follow-up moves!

As the saying goes, "feints and realities," Guo Tao had studied the Guo family's boxing techniques extensively. A series of changes in moves were immediately executed, each targeting Hu Gao's vital points.

Immovable as a mountain, swift as a meteor. After continuously seeing through Guo Tao's feints, Hu Gao suddenly moved his body at high speed when Guo Tao was gathering strength for his big move, circling around to Guo Tao's back.

Guo Tao's vision went dark. Speed was not his advantage, so he quickly summoned his second-rank totem, the Little Rascal Bear, to block the attack from behind.

Hu Gao was also surprised. He didn't expect Guo Tao to be so desperate, daring to summon a totem in the Shadow Condensation Realm to fight for his life. He hurriedly activated a secret technique, infusing Primordial Energy into his fist, and clashed with the Little Rascal Bear's palm.

The collision of fist and palm produced a loud sound. Hu Gao retreated three steps before stabilizing his stance, feeling a surge of dizziness in his chest and a sweet taste in his throat, his lips full of blood.

Guo Tao turned around, seeing Hu Gao's miserable state, and displayed a look of having survived a great ordeal. He had long heard of the ferocity of Hu Gao's fists. He was really afraid that his totem couldn't withstand the attack. If the totem was injured, his chances of advancing to the later stages of the Shadow Condensation Realm would greatly diminish, which would be a huge loss for him.

All the martial artists in the audience gasped in shock. No one expected Guo Tao to summon a totem in that rapid series of moves, and even more surprising was that Hu Gao actually withstood the totem's attack. This battle was truly exhilarating.

Hu Gao swallowed the blood in his mouth, shook his hand. The totem's attack had made his entire arm numb. He was surprised by the power of a second-rank totem's physical attack.

The jade pendant on his chest suddenly emitted a cool sensation, instantly calming the surging blood and qi in Hu Gao's body. The healing effect kicked in again, increasing his confidence. In any game, a passive healing ability is considered a bug-level existence.

"Again!" Hu Gao shook off his fatigue, re-infused Primordial Energy into his fist, and swiftly attacked Guo Tao's totem.

Guo Tao's face changed, and he hurriedly urged the Little Rascal Bear to attack. However, this time the power was much weaker. As a mid-stage Shadow Condensation Realm martial artist, his Primordial Energy was limited. Summoning a totem for an attack consumes a lot of mental and Primordial Energy, making it difficult to launch multiple attacks.

"Bang!" Another loud sound echoed on the martial arts platform. Hu Gao was pushed back two steps, but this time his body did not suffer a backlash.

This kind of pure strength attack was truly devoid of any artistic sense!

Hu Gao had lost interest in this battle. He saw that Guo Tao was at the end of his strength. Without saying more, he launched the third strike of the Northern Dipper Divine Fist.

"Stop, I surrender!" Guo Tao, a man who knew when to yield, seeing that Hu Gao still had strength, quickly recalled his totem. If the fight continued, he would not only lose the money but also affect his future cultivation path.

Hu Gao had no interest in killing. Since his opponent was so straightforward, he didn't bother to act. He walked forward, took a stack of gold bills from Guo Tao, and without counting, just by feeling them, he knew there were at least forty, each worth a hundred gold coins, totaling over four thousand gold coins.

"This is quite a profit. I can view over forty sets of middle-grade human-level Primordial Decisions. If they are all low-grade human-level Primordial Decisions, that would be over four hundred sets."

Hu Gao's eyes gleamed as he looked at the other two people in the audience, as if they were lambs waiting to be slaughtered. "You two, who's next?"

"Hu Gao, you are indeed formidable. Next, I, Zhu Lin, will challenge you. Be careful."

A lean figure flew up, holding a three-foot-long sword, staring at Hu Gao.

It turned out to be a swordsman, but his aura was far inferior to Bai Xiao's. However, sword cultivators do have an advantage in the Shadow Condensation Realm. When everyone cannot use Primordial Decisions, they can infuse Primordial Energy into their swords and release it, increasing their attack range infinitely.

As the saying goes, "an inch longer, an inch stronger." Hu Gao dared not be careless this time and had to be cautious.

"Whoosh!" Zhu Lin smiled playfully, without any extra words, and his sword instantly unsheathed, the sword qi sweeping across the sky, stirring the air. In the flash of sword light, he was already approaching Hu Gao.

"So fast!" Hu Gao was startled, never expecting Zhu Lin to be so quick. The sword qi was so dense that it left no room for escape, let alone finding any flaws in his moves.

Zhu Lin's attack was flawless. The only way to counter it was to be even faster.

Hu Gao clearly didn't have that speed. He couldn't find a way to counter the move and could only retreat, his face serious.

Having imprinted dozens of Primordial Decisions in his mind was useless. Knowing the Primordial Decisions was one thing, but he couldn't unleash their full power.

This was the difference between a genius and a powerhouse. No matter how talented a genius is, without sufficient strength, they are still weak in front of a powerhouse.

"What should I do?"

Hu Gao's brows furrowed tightly.

"Hu Gao, catch the sword."

At this moment, a call from behind Hu Gao and a whistling sound came. Hu Gao quickly turned around and saw a sharp sword flying toward him. He was delighted and immediately grabbed the hilt, drawing the sword in a practiced manner.

"Clang, clang..."

The sound of metal clashing spread, and Hu Gao's body retreated. His sleeves were already shredded by the sword qi, but fortunately, he retreated quickly and was not injured.

"Again!"

Zhu Lin smiled faintly and thrust his sword again, the dense sword qi instantly enveloping Hu Gao.

Hu Gao was in a bind, his mind flashing with one Primordial Decision move after another, using sword techniques to counter Zhu Lin's attacks.

Fortunately, he had memorized enough Primordial Decisions and had strong adaptability. Although Zhu Lin's attacks were fierce and ruthless, he managed to barely block each one.

Moreover, Hu Gao's application of Primordial Decision moves became increasingly proficient. At first, they were awkward and stiff, but later, each move was executed with skill, the power just right, perfectly countering Zhu Lin's attacks.

This scene made the audience on the martial arts platform gasp in shock, their faces filled with disbelief.

"What realm is Hu Gao in? Why did his sword moves just now seem like Primordial Decisions?"

Everyone had this strange thought. Many of the moves Hu Gao used were familiar, as if from a certain Primordial Decision, but when connected together, they didn't seem to form a complete set.

"Brother Hu Gao, I really can't see through you anymore." Ji Le watched Hu Gao use various Primordial Decision moves, his eyes filled with admiration. He knew Hu Gao had entered the library to study Primordial Decisions, and he didn't expect that in such a short time, he could actually master and use them. He was truly a genius among geniuses!

Zhu Lin took a few steps back, his eyes gradually turning hostile. If Hu Gao was relying on his own strength to fight, he might just defeat him. But Hu Gao had cultivated Primordial Decisions, which made him very unhappy.

"Next, I will use my strongest trump card. If you can withstand it, you win, and these five thousand gold coins are yours. If you lose, the gold coins are still yours, but you must publicly admit that you are not worthy of Wushuang."

"Whoosh!"

Zhu Lin was not asking for Hu Gao's opinion but giving an order. After his words, a circle of fierce sword qi erupted from his body, like a terrifying storm swirling around his sword, sweeping toward Hu Gao like chasing the stars and the moon.

Under the sweep of his sword qi, the air produced a sonic boom, clearly indicating the immense power of this move. The students below all became serious, even Wu Yun, standing in the crowd, had a serious expression. Even he would find it difficult to withstand Zhu Lin's move, and the outcome would depend on fate.

Can Hu Gao withstand it?

Everyone's eyes were on Hu Gao, watching to see if this young man, who was the focus of thousands, could withstand Zhu Lin's strongest attack.

"So powerful, there's no way to dodge or withstand it."

Hu Gao looked at the sword qi storm rushing toward him, his lips twitching. Zhu Lin was too ruthless, directly using a killing move. He hadn't stolen his wife or raped his sister, so why was he so harsh?

"Standing here to withstand it is one outcome, but if I don't withstand it... I won't die anyway. If you use such ruthless moves on me, don't blame me for being ruthless."

A fierce look flashed in Hu Gao's eyes, and he actually charged toward the sword qi storm, his speed even faster than the storm itself.