Chapter 69

"Now, please have the first students from each first-year class come forward to draw lots for the competition!" Deputy Dean Xiong Chu stood up on the stage and said.

Huang Xiaolong, Lu Kai, and the other fourteen students stepped forward to draw lots as instructed.

Huang Xiaolong drew number four.

Number four meant that Huang Xiaolong's opponent was the first student from class four, a young man named Yang Mingwei. This Yang Mingwei was already seventeen years old, having entered the academy eight years earlier than Huang Xiaolong, and had already reached the late sixth stage.

Late sixth stage!

When Li Lu saw that Huang Xiaolong had drawn number four, her face changed.

"Xiaolong, wait, maybe you should...?" Li Lu looked worried, unsure how to phrase it.

"It's fine!" Huang Xiaolong smiled, knowing what Li Lu was trying to say.

After saying this, Huang Xiaolong gave Li Lu a reassuring look and then slowly walked up to the stage with Yang Mingwei.

Once on the stage, Huang Xiaolong and Yang Mingwei stood facing each other.

Yang Mingwei had very fair skin and a rather handsome appearance. Looking at Huang Xiaolong, he smiled and said, "Huang Xiaolong, right? I didn't expect my first opponent to be you. I heard that yesterday, you almost crippled Jiang Teng, who had just broken through to the fifth stage! But you're not my match yet. You should just admit defeat."

"Is that so," Huang Xiaolong replied calmly. However, he could tell that Yang Mingwei wasn't being sarcastic; he was genuinely trying to be kind by advising him to admit defeat.

"Go ahead and make your move," Huang Xiaolong said, focusing on his opponent.

Yang Mingwei was taken aback, then shook his head. "Since you're still not giving up, fine, I'll make my move. Be careful!" With that, he released his full martial qi, and in a flash, he was in front of Huang Xiaolong, punching at his chest.

Seeing this, Huang Xiaolong raised his hand and countered with a Luohan Fist.

With a loud "Boom!" Yang Mingwei's body shook, and he staggered back several steps before stabilizing.

Everyone was stunned.

"You, sixth stage? How is that possible?!" Yang Mingwei looked at Huang Xiaolong in disbelief, loosening his right arm, which was tingling and slightly trembling.

After the initial shock, everyone gasped and erupted into a frenzy of excitement.

"This Huang Xiaolong, he's actually reached the sixth stage! How old is he?!"

"Even Yang Mingwei was pushed back by him!"

"This is too monstrous, too terrifying!"

Even on the stage, King Lu Zhe, Sun Zhang, Xiong Chu, and the others were shocked, unable to believe what they were seeing. Especially Sun Zhang and Xiong Chu, their eyes wide open, mouths agape, their expressions exaggerated to the extreme.

Yesterday, when Huang Xiaolong defeated Jiang Teng in the square, it had already shocked Sun Zhang and Xiong Chu to the extreme. In their eyes, Huang Xiaolong was only at the late fifth stage, the peak of the late stage. Now, he had even pushed back this late sixth stage Yang Mingwei with a single punch!

What did this mean?!

After the shock, Sun Zhang and Xiong Chu's bodies trembled with excitement, and they felt an urge to rush to Huang Xiaolong and embrace him.

As everyone was still in shock, Huang Xiaolong looked at Yang Mingwei and said, "You should use your full strength." Huang Xiaolong could tell that Yang Mingwei hadn't used his full strength earlier; otherwise, he wouldn't have been so easily pushed back.

Yang Mingwei stared at Huang Xiaolong, all traces of his earlier arrogance gone, replaced by a serious expression. The previous blow had made him realize that Huang Xiaolong was a worthy opponent.

"Fine, I take back my earlier words," Yang Mingwei said. "You have the right to be my opponent. Huang Xiaolong, I will use my full strength in this fight, and I hope you do the same!"

With that, Yang Mingwei's body glowed, and behind him, a figure appeared—a giant in crimson-gold armor, sitting cross-legged.

This was Yang Mingwei's martial soul!

A person!

To be precise, an ancient race!

Yang Mingwei's martial soul was that of an ancient race called the Acala Vajra, one of the races abandoned by the divine race in ancient times.

Martial souls of ancient races were a type of martial soul, and generally, they were high-level martial souls.

Yang Mingwei's Acala Vajra was a top-tier tenth-level martial soul.

Of course, the first students from each of the fourteen first-year classes generally possessed tenth-level martial souls of the first-class or higher. Without such talent, it would have been impossible for them to become the top students in their classes.

With his martial soul Acala Vajra summoned, a golden circle appeared behind Yang Mingwei. In a flash, he launched a powerful punch at Huang Xiaolong.

Huang Xiaolong dodged and countered with a punch, and the two collided.

Martial qi surged, and the air swirled.

This time, Yang Mingwei was still pushed back several steps by Huang Xiaolong.

Seeing this, everyone was shocked again.

A person with the Acala Vajra martial soul, when summoning Acala Vajra, had physical strength and defense that were half a level stronger than those of peers. Yet, Huang Xiaolong could still push him back, indicating that Huang Xiaolong's physical strength was even stronger than Yang Mingwei's! Moreover, Huang Xiaolong hadn't even summoned his martial soul yet.

After pushing Yang Mingwei back again with a punch, Huang Xiaolong flashed forward and struck a palm at Yang Mingwei's chest.

"Acala Vajra Golden Circle!" As Huang Xiaolong's palm was about to hit Yang Mingwei's chest, a golden light flashed in Yang Mingwei's eyes. The golden circle behind him suddenly glowed, rotating around his body to form a defensive barrier. Huang Xiaolong's palm hit the golden circle, as if striking an impenetrable wall.

"You can't break through my defense!" Yang Mingwei said, looking at Huang Xiaolong. "Only a seventh-stage martial artist can break through my Acala Vajra Golden Circle!"

Acala Vajra Golden Circle!

This was Yang Mingwei's innate soul technique after his martial soul had evolved.

When Yang Mingwei used the Acala Vajra Golden Circle in combat, only a seventh-stage martial artist could break through his defense with his current strength.

"Can't break through?" Huang Xiaolong's expression was calm. "Not necessarily!" With that, the palm on Yang Mingwei's chest suddenly pressed forward, and a terrifying, soft force penetrated the Acala Vajra Golden Circle, surging into Yang Mingwei's body.

Yang Mingwei's eyes widened, his body shook, and he staggered back, only stabilizing at the edge of the stage, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

Seeing this, everyone on the stage was in an uproar.

"You, what kind of martial technique is this, that can break through my Acala Vajra Golden Circle?!" Yang Mingwei said, unable to believe it.

This was the terrifying aspect of the Soft Palm technique. Even through two walls, the force of the Soft Palm could knock an opponent flying without damaging the walls.

Huang Xiaolong didn't respond, flashing forward again and striking another palm. Yang Mingwei was startled and tried to dodge, but Huang Xiaolong's palm hit him, sending him flying off the stage.

Yang Mingwei lost!

Everyone stared at Yang Mingwei, who had fallen off the stage, unable to react for a moment. After a while, the crowd erupted into a frenzy. Yang Mingwei had actually lost! And Huang Xiaolong had won so easily, without even summoning his martial soul.