Chapter 14

Shang Xia felt that he had only made a casual joke, which did not even count as a real joke, but in fact, quite a few people gave him face.

This made him suddenly realize that the students of the Imperial Guard Academy in front of him were probably not as united as a single block.

This suppressed laughter not only made Guo You lose face but also left Shang Xia momentarily stunned, almost forgetting what he was going to say.

"Zhang Wei is usually a man of few words. If not for Brother Guo's instigation, where would he get the nerve to speak out against the senior students of the inner dormitory?"

Shang Xia quickly regained his composure and said seriously, "Moreover, I can clearly see that every time the senior students spoke sarcastically, it was always Brother Guo who spoke first, leading the way."

Guo You, with a dark face, said, "Nonsense! Hazing new students is a tradition of the Imperial Guard Academy. Why would I need to instigate it?"

"Why is it only you, Brother Guo, who stands out now?"

Shang Xia's gaze was filled with mockery.

"It's because they are considering your status!"

Under Shang Xia's playful gaze, Guo You almost blurted out this sentence.

Fortunately, he still had his wits about him and managed to hold back.

Otherwise, if he really said it for the sake of a moment's pleasure, wouldn't he be pointing at the noses of the other inner dormitory students and calling them cowards?

Although, fundamentally, they might indeed be cowards!

Guo You did not have the courage to put himself in such an isolated position.

"Is Brother Guo trying to say they are considering my status?"

Shang Xia seemed to be able to guess Guo You's thoughts but then changed his tone, "Or is it that Brother Guo is not considering it?"

Before Guo You could speak, Shang Xia continued, "Brother Guo wouldn't say he is just stubborn... oh... upright, right?"

"Would anyone believe you if you said that?"

Looking at Shang Xia's mocking gaze, Guo You wanted to say he was indeed righteous.

But his intuition told him that doing so would only invite ridicule from his classmates who knew his true character.

Shang Xia glanced at Zhang Wei, who was trying to move to the back of the crowd, and said, "Brother Guo naturally doesn't want to offend me, otherwise, he wouldn't have forced this poor fellow to provoke me."

"Brother Guo wants to use others to do his dirty work while hiding behind the scenes, but unfortunately, he borrowed a blunt knife. In the end, he still had to step in himself. I imagine Brother Guo must be feeling quite frustrated and helpless now, right?"

"What I'm curious about is, if Brother Guo is targeting me so much, then who are you working for?"

Guo You's face was now a mix of light and dark, perhaps because Shang Xia's words had hit home.

"Brother Guo will naturally deny being used by others, so next, will Brother Guo, out of anger and embarrassment, personally step in to teach this talkative junior a lesson?"

Shang Xia smiled, as if he were talking about something completely unrelated.

"Indeed, as the rumors say, Junior Brother Shang is arrogant and sharp-tongued!"

Guo You's gaze slowly lifted, his expression dark.

Shang Xia looked as if he had expected this, and his smile was extremely provoking.

However, a serious look appeared on Guo You's dark face, and he said, "As Junior Brother Shang predicted, Guo will indeed teach you a lesson, not for any other reason, but to uphold the tradition that new students of the Imperial Guard Academy must bear the brunt!"

"If Junior Brother Shang breaks this tradition today, doesn't it mean that we, the previous 'new students' who followed this tradition, were all too incompetent!"

After Guo You finished speaking, the inner dormitory students who had been watching from the carriage behind him became less playful and more serious.

As Guo You said, the previous new students of the Imperial Guard Academy, whether willingly or unwillingly, had all followed this tradition. Therefore, for any reason, they had no right to let the new students be an exception.

"In the end, it will come down to a test of strength!"

Shang Xia adopted a "I knew it" attitude and said with a lack of enthusiasm, "If I had known this would happen, why would I have bothered with that clumsy routine earlier?"

Guo You's eyelids twitched. He was surprised that he had managed to suppress his urge to attack. When had he become so patient?

"However, I do indeed want to challenge the senior students of the inner dormitory. I've never had the chance before, and now my wish has come true!"

With that, Shang Xia snapped his fan shut, and his playful demeanor instantly turned serious. He bowed and said, "Please teach me!"

As soon as Shang Xia finished speaking, the atmosphere on the scene changed.

The sixteen students in front of the warehouse began to whisper among themselves.

"The top student is actually challenging the senior students of the inner dormitory!"

"Didn't you hear? The other side had a plan, but the top student saw through it!"

"Can the top student win?"

"It's uncertain! This is a senior student of the inner dormitory!"

"Didn't Zhu Ying, who reached the peak of martial arts, also lose to the top student's martial arts prowess?"

"How can they be compared? Zhu Ying rushed to advance, while this Brother Guo has been at the peak of martial arts for a long time and has mastered more than one martial technique."

"Regardless, the top student is also standing up for us. Why do you have such a pessimistic attitude?"

"I also hope the top student can embarrass the senior students of the inner dormitory, but the gap in strength cannot be changed by our wishes..."

Compared to the slightly excited discussions of the outer dormitory students, the inner dormitory students behind Guo You were much quieter.

However, these inner dormitory students were also interested in Shang Xia, the top student of the outer dormitory who had mastered martial arts prowess.

Their exchanges were more secretive and restrained compared to the outer dormitory students.

"Will Guo You win?"

"Of course! Guo Tao advanced to the peak of martial arts six months ago, his cultivation is stable, and he has practiced martial techniques. You don't think that just mastering a martial arts prowess means he has the strength to challenge a higher level, do you?"

"Ha, of course not. I'm just wondering how long it will take for Guo You to win."

"Guo You is a pity. With his strength, he could have entered the upper dormitory this year."

"Was he replaced?"

"Not exactly. The other candidate for the upper dormitory had more connections in the academy, which made Guo You even more resentful and more hateful towards students with backgrounds."

"Ha, so that's the reason. No wonder this guy is crazy..."

"The two are about to start..."

Although Guo You had been embarrassed several times by Shang Xia, he still tried to maintain his dignity as a senior student of the inner dormitory. He gestured and said, "Junior Brother Shang, please make the first move!"

"Sure!"

Shang Xia showed no courtesy, acting as if it was his right.

Guo You was only being polite.

In his view, a student from a noble family like Shang Xia should have his own pride and dignity.

In fact, if it were in the past, Shang Xia would indeed have been like that.

But he was now facing a more pragmatic Shang Xia.

Despite feeling uncomfortable, Guo You forced a smile, got into a defensive stance, and indicated that Shang Xia could start.

But soon his face changed dramatically.

A bolt of lightning shot through the air, and all he saw was a blinding white light.

"I... you..."

Guo You didn't even have time to speak or maintain his dignity.

He rolled away from his original position and tumbled for several yards.

As he bounced up from the ground, his face still showed a lingering fear.

At this moment, the spectators began to exclaim in surprise.

"Damn, that's too underhanded!"

"No probing, just a big move right away!"

"Who does that? This guy must have been preparing for a long time!"

"..."

It turned out that when Guo You let Shang Xia make the first move, Shang Xia didn't hesitate. Without any probing, he immediately gathered his internal energy and launched a "Primordial Thunder Hand"!

The twisted lightning bolts exploded and scattered where he had been standing, covering several yards.

Even though Guo You, showing the level of a near-upper dormitory student, managed to avoid the core impact of the martial arts prowess, he was still hit by the residual lightning, leaving half of his body slightly numb.

At this moment, Guo You's face was filled with anger. He never expected that someone of Shang Xia's status would fight in such a despicable way.

Before he could say anything, Shang Xia, taking advantage of the momentum of the martial arts prowess, struck with a palm, enveloping all possible escape routes with a powerful force.

The first move of the Primordial Palm: Indistinguishable Heaven and Earth!

Guo You, who had been about to speak, had to suppress his words. Despite feeling extremely uncomfortable, he had to focus on defending against Shang Xia's powerful palm.

A dull sound echoed as both combatants grunted. Shang Xia's upper body swayed, while Guo You only took half a step back.

The residual energy scattered from the cobblestone ground, forming a ring that spread out over ten yards, eventually creating a honeycomb-like pattern of small holes on the walls of the surrounding warehouses.

"Is it possible that Guo You is at a disadvantage?"

"Hmph, isn't it just like an ambush?"

"The Primordial Palm is powerful, and the Primordial Thunder Hand is an explosive technique. Shang Xia had the first move advantage. Given all these factors, it's remarkable that Guo You only took half a step back!"

"Indeed, martial arts prowess cannot be frequently used. Guo You is now in the upper hand!"

"Guo You must have advanced to the second level of the peak of martial arts, right?"

"The threshold for the upper dormitory is getting higher and higher!"

Shang Xia always knew that martial arts prowess could not replace the gap in cultivation levels.

Guo You, who could be used as a pawn to face him, was not like Zhu Ying, who had rushed to advance to the peak of martial arts.

Shang Xia had already overestimated his opponent's strength and even relied on various factors to gain a slight advantage at the beginning of the fight.

However, as time passed, Shang Xia did not use this slight advantage to gain more momentum. Instead, he was gradually losing his advantage and being suppressed by his opponent.

After advancing to the peak of martial arts, the internal energy of extraordinary martial artists undergoes a qualitative change.

Although Shang Xia's foundation in extraordinary martial arts was solid, Guo You's internal energy, both in quality and quantity, was clearly superior.

In addition, Guo You had practiced more martial techniques, and his mastery of each was quite high.

Whether it was the speed of the Thunder Palm or the power of the Primordial Palm, Shang Xia had pushed the characteristics of the two martial techniques he had practiced to the extreme, but he was still calmly countered by Guo You and gradually overpowered.

"How could such a person be rejected from the upper dormitory and become a repeat student in the inner dormitory?"

Shang Xia cursed in his heart, and his rare emotional fluctuation was quickly detected by his opponent.

"Ha, the top student of the outer dormitory is nothing special!"

Guo You, now fully suppressing his opponent, turned his frustration into satisfaction, which showed on his face.

"If you admit defeat now, we can stop, right?"

Guo You, confident of his victory, did not forget to maintain the posture of a victor.

——

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