Martial Ascent to Divinity

An Huangui raised his head proudly and said, "Zhou Leng, there's a vast difference between the Middle Period and Early Period of Blood Transport. I advise you to concede."

Zhou Leng replied, "Words are useless. I'm in a hurry to go to the Moonlight Shadow Wall for cultivation."

An Huangui smiled slightly and said, "Ordinary skill duels are boring. If we're going to play, let's make it interesting. How about this: for the first skill duel, I'll choose 'Two-Finger Handstand, One-Hand Target Strike.'

The crowd present were either puzzled, excited, or calling their friends over.

More and more people gathered around. Even people from other countries and the Alien Race climbed trees to watch from afar.

Even some Demons approached to watch.

Zhou Leng knew about this skill duel from videos he had seen but had never participated himself.

Wei Hong remarked, "Why did this An Huangui choose such an unconventional skill duel? Balancing on two fingers on one hand while attacking the opponent's target with the other is extremely difficult. Can he even do it?"

Rao Mingxian said, "Don't underestimate the senior masters of the Martial Arts Academy; they're standout figures in the Top Ten Martial Arts. They generally come from good families and have even received Innate teachings, mastering countless skills from a young age. Except for their Martial Arts Will being weaker, they outshine ordinary talents in every other aspect."

"That Zhou Leng is in some danger. He's definitely never practiced something so obscure."

Zhou Leng calmly said, "Since you've chosen this skill duel, I naturally agree. However, I've never participated in such a duel before. Can I practice for ten minutes?"

"Even the martial exams allow practice for proficiency. Our friendly skill duel can as well. However, it might breach Celestial Ladder rules, so let's head to the edge of the aperture. Please."

"Please."

The two headed to the edge of the aperture, and the crowd followed along.

The outside Demons, seeing the two right by the edge of the aperture, ignored them.

Stepping out of the aperture, Zhou Leng recalled the scenes he had seen in the video.

First, he bent over, using his right thumb and middle finger to press against the ground. With a forceful push from his waist, he flipped backward, raising his body, and stretched his legs towards the sky.

His body wobbled intensely a few times before quickly stabilizing, achieving a successful handstand.

An Huangui saw Zhou Leng's maneuver and chuckled coldly in his heart.

What a first from Ruda, two-finger handstands seem simple, but one usually starts with both hands and gradually switches to one hand.

A direct two-finger single-hand flip handstand can't be achieved without long-term practice.

This Zhou Leng is clearly using mind games, displaying this technique to unsettle others.

This person is indeed as Chang Luan described—seemingly friendly on the outside, but extremely sinister at his core, even forcing the class president to transfer to compete for the leading senior position.

Zhou Leng acted casually, not knowing the standard posture due to lack of practice.

Subsequently, Zhou Leng's two fingers acted like legs on the ground, moving slowly in all directions.

Many people tried imitating Zhou Leng's posture, attempting to handstand and walk on two fingers, but most failed.

Wei Hong flipped and fell to the ground, his face flushed, shaking his head, "I can't do it. It's not just about testing strength; it's also about balance and testing the visual and sensory aspects of walking on hands. Without long-term cultivation, targeting is impossible."

"Zhou Leng is in danger; this An Huangui has some skills," Xu Kang'an said.

"This particular skill duel is too niche. No one I know has practiced it," Rao Mingxian also frowned.

Ji Changnian watched with a smile, as if enjoying a play, remaining indifferent.

The top-ranked students from each school saw Zhou Leng's skill and nodded slightly.

Then An Huangui also began to handstand, but he sought stability by first doing a two-hand handstand before switching to a single hand with two fingers.

His heart skipped a beat.

Not good.

He had previously handstanded on flat, hard ground every time.

But this was grass, all soil.

The difficulty level had more than doubled.

However, thinking Zhou Leng probably hadn't experienced this either, he felt at ease and slowly adapted to the grass.

Both practiced for ten minutes before flipping back to the ground.

Then An Huangui explained the specific rules, and Zhou Leng listened quietly.

Finally, they saluted with clenched fists.

"Until the point."

"Until the point."

This time, Zhou Leng imitated An Huangui by first doing a two-hand handstand, then placing four fingers from each hand on the ground, finally raising his left hand slowly—a process that was very smooth.

An Huangui, catching a glimpse of Zhou Leng's actions, became even more convinced that Zhou Leng had been pretending.

The two stood three meters apart, manipulating their Qi through their bodies, and moved forward with two fingers like legs.

They faced each other and slowly approached.

This duel's rules forbade using legs or feet; one could only use the other hand, and no Qi could be externally emitted. Scoring points required hitting the opponent.

As they neared, An Huangui's left hand struck, aiming straight for Zhou Leng's eyes.

Zhou Leng immediately raised his left hand to block.

Following that, An Huangui consistently took the initiative in attacking, while Zhou Leng passively defended.

Everyone could see the huge gap in experience between the two.

An Huangui initially suspected Zhou Leng of deliberately pretending, but as the fight continued, it became clear that Zhou Leng truly hadn't mastered the basic techniques of handstand striking.

An Huangui cast aside distracting thoughts and continued to seize the offensive.

Zhou Leng maintained a calm defense, slowly moving on two fingers without pushing himself.

One's attacks were fierce, the other's defenses were smooth; after three minutes passed, neither had hit the other.

The score remained 0-0.

Amateurs enjoyed the spectacle, while experts recognized the skill.

Top students from each school immediately realized that Zhou Leng was stronger than expected.

For someone in the mere Early Period of Blood Transport to defend so impenetrably against an experienced Middle Period opponent was impressive.

Gradually, An Huangui started feeling fatigued.

Even with Qi manipulation, supporting such a heavy body while continuously moving with two fingers was hard to sustain for long.

Without options, he could only intensify his attacks.

He used an old tactic again, pretending to strike Zhou Leng's eyes to confuse his vision, then...

Bang!

Zhou Leng's left hand abruptly struck down, driving An Huangui's hand into the ground. Before he could react, Zhou Leng's left hand touched the center of his chest.

Point scored.

1-0.

An Huangui, already flushed from the handstand, felt a rush of hot blood.

"Again!" Unconvinced, An Huangui attacked once more.

In the afternoon sunlight, thousands formed a massive circle.

On the grass, Zhou Leng and An Huangui moved one hand, continually attacking and blocking with the other, the fight became increasingly exciting.

Suddenly, Tian Chengchang sighed, "He's using his fingers to walk the Eight Trigrams Step."

Many eyes focused intently on Zhou Leng, and indeed, Zhou Leng's two fingers moved subtly like two feet.

It seemed ordinary, yet it managed to influence the distance of the other hand, thereby creating an opportunity.

"Pa!"

Zhou Leng scored a second time.

The two sides went back and forth, and finally, the score stopped at 11 to 5.

"The match is over!" Rao Mingxian shouted.

"Thank you for the match." Zhou Leng said while doing a handstand, pressing slightly with two fingers, then bending his knees and springing upwards, like a spring shooting out. His body leaped backward, tracing a graceful arc before landing steadily on the ground with both feet.

Everyone's eyes widened.

The muscle power of this body was astonishing.

An Huangui was stunned for a moment, then could only place his left hand on the ground, pushing up with both hands, and slowly stood up as his feet touched down.

"For the first round, I lost!" An Huangui's face turned slightly pale.

Zhou Leng said, "Let's rest for ten minutes. After ten minutes, we'll proceed with the 'Qi Manipulation Water Ball'."

"Alright!"

The two returned inside the aperture, sat cross-legged on the ground, and regulated their breathing and Qi.

The crowd was buzzing with discussion.

"That last move was really impressive."

"Clearly fighting in a handstand for so long, and then he could still perform a reverse leap like a carp, are his core muscles made of springs?"

"The second round's skillful duel isn't unheard of, but it's not common either."

"To experts, Qi Manipulation Water Ball is common, but to us, it's rare."

"Indeed, even in the Late Stage of Blood Transport, one might not be adept at Qi Manipulation Water Ball."

"It's usually achievable by the fourth year."

After resting, the two each took a bottle of the same brand of mineral water, compared the water levels to ensure consistency.

"Just to the point."

"Just to the point."

Both held the mineral water bottles high in their right hands and tilted them downward.

Their left hands were positioned 30 centimeters below the bottle opening, filled with True Qi.

As the water fell, both of their left hands started making circles in mid-air, catching the stream, not only keeping the water flow on their hands but also ensuring no splashing.

The crowd moved their gazes back and forth between the two left hands.

An Huangui's left hand was very steady and skillful, showing nearly no flaws.

However, there were still slight splashes, landing on grass blades, forming dewdrops.

Or splashing onto his clothes, leaving water stains.

As for Zhou Leng, the crowd had a peculiar feeling.

Zhou Leng's hand didn't seem like a hand, it seemed like a bowl.

Zhou Leng's movements looked similar to An Huangui's, with no ingenious touch visible.

But just with a gentle rotation, all the water landed in his hand, slowly forming a sphere.

Not a single drop splashed, not a single drop was out of place.

Before long, a bottle of water was poured out completely.

The two threw away the bottles, with both hands filled with True Qi, surrounding the water ball, as if kneading dough.

The water ball kept spinning in their hands.

Upon close comparison, the water ball in Zhou Leng's hand was noticeably larger.

Then, the two slowly walked towards each other, adjusting their hand positions upon approaching.

They ensured their hands didn't touch each other while slowly bringing the two water balls closer.

Gradually, their hands moved faster and faster.

The water balls spun increasingly faster.

In the end, both no longer touched the water balls, supporting them with their external True Qi.

When the two water balls were just a centimeter apart, they suddenly quivered gently.

Then, a thin stream divided from each ball, flowing towards the other.

The upper stream flowed towards Zhou Leng's water ball, the lower stream flowed towards An Huangui's water ball.

Both of their True Qi was surging, making the crystalline water balls rotate and flow.

Both turned their hands into afterimages, with True Qi surging, controlling the water balls.

Slowly, the water ball in front of Zhou Leng grew larger and larger, while An Huangui's water ball grew smaller.

Soon, Zhou Leng's water ball expanded to twice the size of An Huangui's.

An Huangui became increasingly anxious, suddenly circulating all his True Qi, making the water ball spin rapidly.

Just as it seemed he would attract more water, a loud bang was heard.

His True Qi went out of control, causing the water ball in front of him to explode.

Water droplets scattered in all directions.

In the next moment, everyone opened their eyes wide.

Zhou Leng supported his water ball with his left hand, while his right hand quickly drew a circle around the scattered water.

It was like time had reversed, most of the water reversed course.

The water, like a flow of a watery towel, merged into the large water ball.

Zhou Leng's left palm stayed still, supporting the water ball.

The water ball continued its relentless rotation, shimmering under the afternoon sun.

It lit up the eyes of the thousands in the arena.

"Amazing!" Wei Hong couldn't help but shout.

"Impressive!"

"One hand catching water mid-air, the other hand steadying the flowing water, truly masterful."

Praise filled the venue.

"In the second round, I lost."

When An Huangui lost the first round, his face was pale, but after losing this round, his expression was much more relaxed.

Others could not feel the intense thrill of the entire process at the scene.

He, however, understood best how terrifying the pressure from Zhou Leng was.

Losing to such an opponent, it's really not a shame.

Zhou Leng gently tossed the water ball, letting it fall into the grass, silently merging.

No splash at all.