On the square, a crowd gathered.
In the center, there was a platform with two young men standing on it.
One had a serious expression, his eyes filled with anger, while the other had a smiling mouth and a calm demeanor.
"Han Pu, don't stare at me with that look. I'm also acting on someone's behalf," Lin Ge said with a faint smile.
Han Pu snorted angrily, "Don't get too pleased with yourself. Even if it's certain that I'll lose, I'll still take a piece of flesh from you to avenge Senior Brother Du!"
"Hehe, not a bad idea. Go ahead and give it a try," Lin Ge maintained his smile, his tone tinged with disdain.
Du Chaoping isn't even my match, let alone you?
!
Seeing the opponent's expression, Han Pu's anger flared up, and Dou Qi surged out of his body, forming a faint veil.
Just as Lin Ge was contemplating how to inflict serious harm on Han Pu, a voice suddenly came.
"Han Pu, Senior Brother, wait a moment!"
The crowd parted, and a man and a woman rushed to the edge of the platform.
"Junior Lin Xiu, why are you here?" Han Pu was initially puzzled, but when he saw Lin Xiu with Qin Zhi, he realized.
"Senior Brother, come down first. You are not his match," Lin Xiu gestured.
Han Pu nodded, "I know I'm not his match, but since he came to spar with me, I won't back down."
Losing is just a moment of pain for him; his hand has been broken twice, and he's accustomed to that kind of pain.
"Han Senior Brother, leave him to me, trust me," Lin Xiu said again.
"Alright." Faced with Lin Xiu's insistent gaze, Han Pu agreed. He looked at Lin Ge and said, "Let my junior fight you. Do you dare?"
"I never bully the weak, but if Junior Brother wants to seek guidance from me, that's also acceptable." Lin Ge was delighted in his heart, but his expression remained serious.
Resolving Lin Xiu sooner would also save him time.
I hope you can still smile later... Before stepping down from the platform, Han Pu glanced at Lin Ge, a hint of pity flashing in his eyes.
After the dinner that day, Du Chaoping had informed them about watching Lin Xiu and the Mentor spar.
Both of them knew Lin Xiu's strength well.
"Junior Lin Xiu, you haven't been at the academy for long, and you may not be familiar with the rules of the platform. Let me explain them to you first..." Lin Ge looked at Lin Xiu, who was walking up the steps.
"No need, I know the rules." Lin Xiu's idea was simple – to make Lin Ge step down just like Du Chaoping.
Since he already knows the outcome, why bother understanding the rules?
Interrupted while speaking, Lin Ge's expression on his face stiffened slightly, then quickly returned to normal, but a hint of coldness flashed in his eyes.
After all, he's a new student who hasn't experienced any setbacks yet, not even knowing how to talk to a Senior Brother.
Since that's the case, let this Senior Brother teach you today!
"Why is there a new student now?"
"What's going on with Han Pu? He let a new student go up?"
"Lin Ge is at least one of the top fifty contenders in the intra-academy selection this year. What's the point of challenging a new student on the platform?"
There was a noisy discussion among the crowd around the platform.
Hearing those remarks, Han Pu turned his head to glance at those people, sneered, "New student? Not interesting? You'll see in a moment."
"Junior, teach him a lesson and avenge Senior Brother Du!" Qin Zhi raised her right fist and waved.
Lin Xiu exchanged a glance with her and nodded earnestly.
"Teach me a lesson? Junior, I know you have some talent, but I'm not Wang Ming." Listening to Qin Zhi's voice, Lin Ge looked at Lin Xiu's serious expression and couldn't help but chuckle.
"Are we starting?" Ignoring Lin Ge's attitude, Lin Xiu asked impatiently.
When Lin Ge nodded.
Fury... Activate!
Lin Xiu formed hand seals, and Dou Qi surged within him, making a "whooshing" sound.
The sounds around the platform suddenly disappeared.
"A 2-Star Dou Master?"
Seeing Lin Xiu directly using Secret technique to enhance his strength, Lin Ge's expression became serious involuntarily. "No problem, I'm a 3-Star. I can suppress him by 1 Star. I've also studied with the Mentor for a year. I'll win steadily!"
He didn't know that Lin Xiu was using Secret technique just to conceal his true strength.
Boom!
Lin Xiu's foot slammed into the ground, and the force was so great that it cracked the bluestones of the platform into a spiderweb pattern.
He shot out like an arrow, rushing forward abruptly.
The distance between the two instantly closed.
"Thundering Palm!"
Lin Xiu's palm flickered with lightning, emitting a thunderous sound as he struck forward.
"Earthen Wall!"
Lin Ge's earthy yellow Dou Qi surged into the ground, creating a wall of soil over ten centimeters thick, rising up between him and Lin Xiu.
Boom!
The next second.
With a loud explosion, the earthen wall shattered, and amidst the flying dust, a figure burst out.
"No thunder, and you think I'll be afraid of you?"
Sensing the dissipation of the thunder in Lin Xiu's palm, Lin Ge coldly snorted in his heart, covering his right arm with a large amount of Dou Qi.
His right hand changed to an earthy yellow color, fingers clenched into a fist, forming a mud fist.
Yellow Stone Fist!
Lin Ge shouted inwardly.
Seeing this scene, water-like sounds emanated from Lin Xiu's right arm; it was caused by the surging Dou Qi.
A faint wind wrapped around his arm as Lin Xiu clenched his fist, and arcs of electricity danced on his arm.
"Deadly Strike!"
Boom!
Upon contact, Lin Ge's face changed abruptly. This kid is so strong? Doesn't my Yellow Stone Fist have an amplifying strength effect?
Realizing that Lin Xiu's Qi Strength was not low, he was about to retreat when suddenly he felt his arm being grabbed.
Looking up, Lin Ge met Lin Xiu's expressionless face and the cold gaze in his eyes.
Lin Xiu exerted force, pulling Lin Ge towards him. His empty left hand, with two fingers together, was surrounded by a faint green Dou Qi.
Wind Shadow Traceless Finger!
Several afterimages flashed by, and Lin Ge's chest and shoulder were quickly poked a few times. His body trembled, and the Dou Qi mobilized within him was directly crushed!
"Oh no..." Lin Ge's heart sank, quickly replenishing his Dou Qi.
"Thundering Palm!"
However, Lin Xiu had already clapped his palms together, heavily landing on Lin Ge's chest and sending him crashing to the ground.
!
Electric currents surged through Lin Ge's body; he trembled like a dehydrated fish, emitting intermittent screams from his mouth.
A deathly silence enveloped the platform.
Han Pu and Qin Zhi witnessed Lin Xiu's eruption for the first time, and the terrifying strength left them dumbfounded, their eyes filled with astonishment.
Lin Xiu remained silent, executing four consecutive kicks.
Crack—
The people around the platform heard clear sounds of bones breaking.
Without pausing, Lin Xiu landed two punches on Lin Ge's chest, shattering his ribs.
Afterward, as if depleted of strength, he retreated two steps, swaying, on the verge of collapsing at any moment.
Han Pu and Qin Zhi hurriedly rushed forward to support him.
"Is this a new student?"
Someone broke the silence with these words, and then a collective gasp followed, gazes astonished as they looked at the young man being assisted on the platform.
That day, news spread like wildfire that Lin Ge had been severely injured by a new student who had been at the academy for only three months.
News of the incident spread throughout the Outer Academy, reaching from the elders and the Mentors to the seniors and new students.
Bai Shan, as the instigator, didn't express anger but chose to leave the academy for further training.
Upon learning that Lin Xiu could now defeat a 3-Star Dou Master, Wu Hao voluntarily requested an increase in training intensity.
Later, it was said that Ge Mu locked himself in his room and smashed quite a few things.
On the second day after the platform duel, Huo Lan asked the elders to heal Du Chaoping and left the Academy with Lin Xiu.
"The next time Junior Lin Xiu returns, his strength will surely have advanced by leaps and bounds."
"We don't want to be left behind; we have to continue working hard!"
Han Pu and Qin Zhi stood side by side at the entrance of the Academy, watching as the three boarded a griffin.
"Han Senior Brother, Qin Senior Sister, can I join you too?"
Lin Dun, who had come to see them off, hoped to join them. Without Brother Xiu's talent and strength, he felt safer training with the Senior Brother and Senior Sister.
"Of course."
The two exchanged a glance, not rejecting.
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