Chapter 19

"Nine-nine names?"

Zhao Feng's lips curled into a faint smile: "I really look forward to this family martial arts assembly..."

To be listed among the top hundred of the clan's young generation was already considered outstanding.

After all, there were over a thousand clan members between the ages of twelve and eighteen, and at least four or five hundred had registered to participate.

In the past, Zhao Feng was at the bottom, and it was virtually impossible for him to break into the top hundred.

"The family martial arts assembly is in twenty days. I need to make the most of the remaining time..."

After registering, Zhao Feng immediately returned home and prepared with all his might.

As the time for the family martial arts assembly drew near, the entire "Zhao Clan" was enveloped in a heavy atmosphere of cultivation.

Many clan members made breakthroughs and progress under this pressure...

And this was exactly what the clan's higher-ups wanted.

After returning, Zhao Feng, besides consolidating his martial arts internal energy, did not neglect the cultivation of the "Angry Dragon Fist."

So far, the "Angry Dragon Fist" was Zhao Feng's most powerful offensive martial art.

More than half a month ago, Zhao Feng had already cultivated the "Angry Dragon Fist" to its advanced stage.

Now, he had unknowingly brought this set of boxing techniques to the peak stage!

The peak stage represented over 90% proficiency, and its power was more than half as strong as the advanced stage.

So far, Zhao Feng had not heard of any outer clan member cultivating intermediate martial arts to the peak stage.

At this point, there were still fifteen days until the family martial arts assembly.

With less and less time remaining, Zhao Feng devoted more energy to cultivation, focusing mainly on the "Lingdu Qi诀" and the cultivation of martial arts internal energy.

To consolidate his martial arts internal energy, Zhao Feng even consumed the most precious three-hundred-year-old blood ginseng he had.

Due to the early formation of martial arts internal energy, Zhao Feng's cultivation progress was extremely fast, and his physical strength and qi were honed faster than others.

Three days before the family martial arts assembly, Zhao Feng broke through to the peak of the third level of martial arts, just a half-step away from the critical point of the third level.

Zhao Feng exhaled deeply.

At this moment, he had enhanced all aspects of his body to the current extreme.

"Only three days left. I wonder if I can break through to the fourth level of martial arts."

Zhao Feng muttered to himself.

Zhao Linlong, the first-ranked outer clan member, was said to have broken through to the fourth level of martial arts two years ago, becoming a true martial artist.

In the following two days, Zhao Feng attempted to break through to the fourth level of martial arts but failed each time.

This was within his expectations.

"My martial arts internal energy is slightly lacking compared to the fourth level, and my physical condition is also a bit short."

Zhao Feng quickly found the reason.

The first three levels of martial arts were the foundation of cultivation. If the foundation was unstable, it would affect subsequent levels.

In the past two months, Zhao Feng had broken through continuously, and his foundation was still unstable.

Considering this, Zhao Feng did not force it and focused on cultivation to improve his state.

Time flew by.

The day before the family martial arts assembly.

"The family martial arts assembly starts tomorrow!"

Zhao Feng took a deep breath, slowly opened his palm, and a pale green aura gently hummed and roared, like a sharp wind.

With martial arts internal energy, his full-strength palm could instantly kill an average third-level martial artist.

Now, he was no longer a quasi-martial artist but a half-step martial artist!

A quasi-martial artist's strength could easily defeat an ordinary third-level martial artist in one or two moves and even pose a certain threat to fierce beasts like the Green-Headed Tiger King.

However, if one reached the "half-step martial artist" stage, it was like having one foot in the door of a martial artist, with even greater strength.

With Zhao Feng's current strength, he could even face off against the Green-Headed Tiger King.

The biggest difference between him and a martial artist was not the martial arts internal energy but some deficiencies in physical condition.

That night, deep into the night.

In a pavilion courtyard of the Zhao Clan.

Clang!

A cold sword light burst out of the scabbard, transforming into icy streams in the air, making the surrounding air piercingly cold.

The owner of the sword light was a purple-clothed youth with a sword-like brow, and the power of his sword techniques was terrifying.

His casual slash could match Xin Fei's Wind-Cleaving Slash, easily cutting through a tree that two people could barely encircle, and an ordinary third-level martial artist could not withstand a single slash.

"Jian'er, very good! You have cultivated the advanced martial art 'Cold Stream Sword' to its advanced stage. Among the outer clan members, no one else can achieve this."

A middle-aged martial artist smiled.

The purple-clothed youth practicing the sword was "Zhao Yijian," one of the top three outer clan members.

"The top position in the outer clan will change. As for that 'clown' Zhao Feng, I will make him lose face!"

Zhao Yijian's eyes were cold and sharp like a sword.

Especially when mentioning "Zhao Feng," his precious sword instantly slashed out four or five icy streams, a power that would even make a true martial artist take notice.

"Jian'er, don't limit your vision to the outer clan. Your true opponents are the inner clan members! With your current strength, making it to the top twenty in the final competition is not a problem. If you can make it to the top ten, it will truly make your father proud."

The middle-aged martial artist shook his head.

"Yes, Father! I have at least a seventy percent chance of making it to the top ten in the final competition."

Zhao Yijian's fighting spirit was resolute and confident.

...

In another exquisite pavilion of the Zhao Clan, the light flickered.

"Yufei, the preliminary competition of the family martial arts assembly starts tomorrow. How confident are you?"

An old man with a severed arm smiled.

"Grandfather, don't worry. Yufei is absolutely confident. No one in the outer clan is my match."

Zhao Yufei's elegant and beautiful face glowed with a warm red in the light, beautiful to the point of being breathtaking.

"Your only concern in the outer clan is 'Zhao Yijian.' As for Zhao Yue, his strength lies in defense and should not pose a threat to you."

The old man with the severed arm analyzed.

"Zhao Yijian? Perhaps."

Zhao Yufei was somewhat indifferent.

As a genius, no one in the outer clan could catch her eye.

But for some reason, the image of a calm and composed youth appeared in her mind.

That person, even among the outer clan members, did not rank in the top ten...

"Also, if you make it to the final competition and encounter the top-ranked 'Zhao Linlong,' don't be too stubborn. He is indeed the best among the young generation of the Zhao Clan."

The old man with the severed arm reminded her.

...

At the same time.

In a luxurious and tall pavilion courtyard.

"Qian'er, Kun'er, you must both perform well in this family martial arts assembly. Especially Qian'er, your strength has reached the quasi-martial artist level. You must strive to make it to the top ten in the martial arts assembly."

A domineering and powerful voice sounded.

"Yes, Father! With my current strength, even the top-ranked 'Zhao Yue' in the outer clan is no match for me."

Zhao Qian's expression was calm and indifferent.

Zhao Kun, standing beside him, gritted his teeth and thought, "Zhao Feng! Now that I have broken through to the third level of martial arts and cultivated the 'Thirteen Changes of the Poisonous Snake' to the sixth change, I will not let you off easily in the family martial arts assembly!"

The upcoming "family martial arts assembly" was shaking the entire Zhao Clan.

Even some of the clan's higher-ups and elders were secretly looking forward to it.

On the eve of the martial arts assembly, countless clan members were rubbing their hands in anticipation.

Everyone was waiting for the next day, for that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

...

The next morning.

The sky was just beginning to turn light.

At the clan's important venue, the "Heavenly Martial Field," crowds gradually gathered, mostly clan members and some higher-ups.

The top three outer clan members, Zhao Yue, Zhao Yijian, and Zhao Yufei, all arrived.

Zhao Feng was among them.

This was his first time entering the clan's internal "Heavenly Martial Field."

Zhao Feng glanced around. The Heavenly Martial Field had ten arenas, each with a diameter of a hundred meters, built from extremely hard granite.

As time passed, more and more clan members gathered, mostly outer clan members, numbering in the hundreds.

As for the inner clan members, only a few had arrived.

Zhao Feng was not surprised, as the family martial arts assembly would first have a "preliminary competition."

The "preliminary competition" was a qualifying round, where the outer clan members would compete to select fifty spots for the final competition, which would then be contested against fifty inner clan members.

The purpose was to eliminate weaker outer clan members and select the elite.

Inner clan members had participated in the family martial arts assembly in previous years and were listed in the top fifty, with fifty spots reserved for them.

Therefore, inner clan members did not need to participate in the preliminary competition and only needed to wait for the final competition in half a month.

After a long wait, some inner clan members began to appear, about twenty of them.

These inner clan members looked at the outer clan members in the Heavenly Martial Field with interest.

"Tsk, this year, there are a few notable figures among the outer clan members. I wonder how many of the previous inner clan members they can eliminate."

"I think only the top three have a chance."

Dozens of inner clan members whispered.

"Look! The fourth-ranked inner clan member, 'Zhao Qin,' has arrived."

The crowd buzzed and then fell silent.

The focus of the inner clan members was a graceful and elegant young woman with a beautiful and quiet appearance.

She was Zhao Qin, the fourth-ranked inner clan member.

Zhao Feng activated his left eye and sensed a martial arts internal energy from her, slightly stronger than his own, and far more in quantity.

"Martial artist realm... This Zhao Qin's cultivation is actually the fourth level of martial arts!"

Zhao Feng drew a sharp breath.

He had expected that the inner clan's talented members would have extremely high cultivation, but today's encounter was even more terrifying than he had anticipated.

If the fourth-ranked Zhao Qin was this powerful, how terrifying would the top-ranked Zhao Linlong be?

"I heard that 'Zhao Qin's' strength is second only to 'Zhao Linlong' in the clan, ranking alongside Zhao Han and Zhao Feng as the first tier below the four great geniuses of Yuyang City."

"The top-ranked Zhao Linlong, second-ranked Zhao Feng, and third-ranked Zhao Han... have not arrived!"

Zhao Yue, the top-ranked outer clan member, looked serious and somewhat uneasy.

Clearly, the top three inner clan members did not consider the outer clan members' competition worth their attention.

Their strength and ranking were already at an unshakable level.

Perhaps only in the final competition would their figures be seen.

Half an hour later.

A loud voice echoed throughout the venue: "The family martial arts assembly is about to begin! Today's event is the 'preliminary competition,' which is only for the outer clan members, selecting the top fifty from five hundred and twenty-two participants."