Fang Jie glanced sideways while constantly dodging and saw that even Zhang Kuang, who possessed at least a fourth-grade upper-level cultivation, had fallen. Of the dozen or so soldiers, only he remained unscathed by the strange finger technique. Fang Jie couldn't cultivate and couldn't sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, but he could feel that finger force constantly binding him; if he stopped, he might be hit immediately.
It felt like Fang Jie's fighter jet was being locked onto by an enemy missile.
He was somewhat annoyed and frustrated.
His opponent was clearly standing there motionless, yet he couldn't shake off that annoying finger force to engage in close combat. All of Fang Jie's fighting skills were for close combat, but at this distance, he could only passively dodge. Fighting against someone with profound cultivation, Fang Jie truly understood the benefits of being able to cultivate. What use was his own strong body? He couldn't even get close to his opponent's body and could only be forced to scramble and be overwhelmed by his opponent's skillful use of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
At this moment, Xie Fuyao seemed to have lost interest in quickly reaching the finish line and seizing a high score. He was completely focused on experiencing the thrill of the battle, and a fiery passion began to spread in his previously calm eyes. Men all have a fighting spirit, and once ignited, it's like an unstoppable waterfall.
Someone once said that there's a violent and savage element in every human being. No matter how refined and cultured a person is, at times they can't suppress this primal urge to fight. In fact, this applies to both men and women.
Fang Jie's body retreated, his feet sliding a considerable distance on the flat official road. He stopped, then slowly straightened up. He could feel the finger force also stopping a short distance ahead as he stopped moving, observing him as if it were alive.
Fang Jie's chest rose and fell slightly; the constant dodging had taken a toll on his stamina. A fine layer of sweat covered his forehead, reflecting a faint glow in the sunlight.
He took a deep breath, unwilling to give up, and tried once more to sense his dantian. Unsurprisingly, he found nothing; he didn't even feel disappointed. Staring at the young master from Jiangnan who was also watching him not far away, Fang Jie seemed to sense that the other was deliberately toying with him.
He stopped, and the finger strike stopped too.
He moved, and the finger strike became entangled and unresolved.
Countless thoughts flashed through his mind. How to get close was the problem Fang Jie had to solve. Without getting close, he could only be toyed with from a distance of only a stone's throw from the entrance of the martial arts arena. No man would feel comfortable being toyed with like that.
Even though Fang Jie had acknowledged from the beginning that he was in a weaker position.
Those who can cultivate can freely control the energy of heaven and earth, transforming it into their own internal energy to subdue and defeat their enemies. Fang Jie had seen many real duels, and on his way to Chang'an, he had killed many people with his horizontal sword. Even a fourth-rank expert from the Qingya Clan, caught off guard, was killed by him with a single strike. Fang Jie knew that if that expert had gone all out against him, he might not have stood a chance. The bloody battles of combat were vastly different from this kind of duel against a cultivator.
Today, he experienced that feeling of utter helplessness again.
"Don't underestimate yourself… You're no longer the nobody you were in the small town of Fan Gu. You can set your sights higher. The opponents you'll face in the Martial Arts Academy exam won't be unknown. The fact that you're considered a rival by those renowned young talents is a testament to your abilities. How many young people are considered rivals by Pei Chuxing of the Pei family, Yu Xiao of the Yu family, or Xie Fuyao of Jiangnan?"
These were the words Wu Yidao, the Marquis of Sanjin, had spoken to Fang Jie before the exam. For some reason, they suddenly echoed in Fang Jie's mind again. "When you truly understand your own strength, perhaps you won't fear those you perceive as strong. And when you become fearless, I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. If it's a bad thing… it will undoubtedly be utterly terrible, filling others with fear."
When Wu Yidao said this, Fang Jie thought he was just being polite. But thinking about it again, Fang Jie couldn't help but feel a stirring in his heart.
"When will I discover my own strength and stop fearing powerful opponents? But where does my strength lie, and how do I discover it?"
He asked himself, but couldn't find the answer for a moment.
Fang Jie turned to look around and realized that there were very few people left who could withstand Xie Fuyao's finger strikes. Although Cui Pingzhou of Boling looked somewhat disheveled, he was still unscathed by the finger strike. Pei Chuxing, whose fame rivaled Xie Fuyao's, displayed his dominance. He walked slowly, swaying his arm as if swatting away mosquitoes, repeatedly deflecting the finger strike. It seemed the finger strike had no effect on him.
Meanwhile, another highly favored young talent, Yu Xiao, the young master of the Yu family, stood by the roadside, coldly watching Xie Fuyao at the gate, his eyes devoid of emotion. He stood with his hands behind his back, seemingly unaffected by the finger strike. However, Fang Jie could sense that the seemingly unpredictable finger strike couldn't penetrate Yu Xiao's defenses. Yu Xiao appeared to be making no movement, but there was no doubt he had already deployed his internal energy around his body. Like an impenetrable wall, Xie Fuyao's Spring Breeze Finger Strikes couldn't pass through.
On the city wall, Mo Wanwu, the martial arts academy professor who had been drawn into the battle by Xie Fuyao's finger technique, looked rather grim. He constantly changed his finger techniques to counter Xie Fuyao's attacks, seemingly annoyed that his professorial status prevented him from using his full strength. But there was no doubt that Xie Fuyao's attacks on him were completely different from those on the other examinees. Xie Fuyao used the Spring Breeze technique on the examinees, gentle as a breeze, with relatively soft finger strikes. But against Mo Wuwan, she used the Summer Thunder technique, her finger strikes like a thunderbolt, with a faint rumbling sound.
Fang Jie's gaze then fell on the examinees subdued by Xie Fuyao, finding each of them lying on the ground, twitching slightly. They seemed to be trying to muster the strength to stand up again, but they had no strength left. Even someone with Zhang Kuang's cultivation was like a silkworm held down, utterly powerless to struggle.
They had lost their strength.
Fang Jie's eyes suddenly lit up as he thought of this.
They had lost their strength. When does a person become like this?
…
…
Fang Jie's suddenly bright eyes caught Xie Fuyao's attention. From the beginning, he had indeed not attacked Fang Jie with all his might. As he himself said, he wanted to see the limits of this young man whom His Majesty had personally lifted up yesterday. He didn't believe that someone who could attract His Majesty's attention would be powerless against his Spring Breeze Finger Technique. He subconsciously felt that someone like Fang Jie must have his own secrets and abilities that he would never easily reveal.
So he waited.
He already considered Fang Jie an opponent, and therefore hoped to understand his opponent better.
The omnipresent finger technique, like a spring breeze, used to subdue the enemy—this was the essence of the Wudang Mountain Four Symbols Finger Technique. The Four Symbols Finger Technique comprises four different finger techniques, infinitely varied, each with its own unique attack method. Wudang Mountain is known for three ultimate skills: Tai Chi, Yin and Yang, and the Four Symbols. Together with the Great and Small Heavenly Circuits of the Qingyue Mountain One Qi Temple, they are known as the Five Great Techniques of Taoism. Although the Four Symbols Finger Technique ranks last among the Five Great Techniques, its inclusion is certainly not without merit. He wanted to test Fang Jie's hidden strength, but Fang Jie looked so disheveled that he didn't seem to have any hidden power.
Just as he was beginning to despair, Fang Jie's bright eyes stirred something within him.
Is it coming?
Xie Fuyao's lips curled into a smile, and her left index finger twitched slightly. The finger energy lurking before Fang Jie suddenly moved, heading straight for Fang Jie's lower abdomen.
Fang Jie took a calm breath and didn't dodge. Instead, he took a step forward, calmly walking towards Xie Fuyao. The moment he took that step, he felt a chill in his lower abdomen. Then, a nimble, snake-like energy seemed eager to savor its meal, forcefully drilling into his lower abdomen. This feeling was somewhat nauseating; the more he felt the snake-like finger energy, the more nauseating it became.
But for some reason, when he felt the strange movement in his lower abdomen, Fang Jie not only didn't panic, but instead smiled.
This smile made Xie Fuyao's eyes widen instantly.
How…is this possible? He murmured something under his breath, his eyes filled with confusion and shock.
Although Fang Jie couldn't sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, he could clearly feel Xie Fuyao's finger energy entering his lower abdomen. The finger energy slithered rapidly through his abdomen like a snake, its movement seemingly aimless and aimless. It was as if it couldn't find its way home, darting back and forth within Fang Jie's abdomen.
Finally, the finger energy seemed to have discovered something. It swiftly pounced on Fang Jie's pitifully small number of open acupoints, then quickly formed a seal, attempting to seal Fang Jie's internal energy within them. When Fang Jie sensed all this, he couldn't help but laugh.
His laugh was exceptionally bright.
This method was indeed completely useless against him.
The finger energy, after entering his lower abdomen, began to wander aimlessly. It couldn't find Fang Jie's Qi Sea! Even after finally finding a few open acupoints and sealing them, it was still utterly meaningless. Because that acupoint was completely empty, devoid of any internal energy!
Since there was nothing there, what was there to fear?
Therefore, Fang Jie laughed, a happy laugh.
His steps paused slightly before he took another step, walking straight towards Xie Fuyao, who was growing increasingly shocked. Fang Jie's pace was not fast at all, yet each step seemed to strike at Xie Fuyao's heart. It made Xie Fuyao uncontrollably feel a slight tension, even a little fear.
For the first time, this was the first time he discovered that his Four Symbols Finger technique had no effect on a living person. When Zhang Zhenren of Wudang Mountain taught him on behalf of his master, he had been told that the Four Symbols Finger Spring Technique sealed a person's Qi Sea and acupoints, rendering anyone targeted by the middle finger powerless to resist. Even those with slightly higher cultivation levels than him, if accidentally bound by the Spring Technique, would find it difficult to draw upon their internal energy. Of course, if someone's cultivation level was far higher than his, or if their defenses were impenetrable, then this relatively gentle Spring Technique finger force would be completely ineffective.
Fang Jie walked step by step toward Xie Fuyao, his confident gaze growing increasingly captivating.
Yan Qing, the professor of the Martial Arts Academy standing on the city tower, shifted his gaze from Mo Wanwu and couldn't help but let out a low gasp when he saw Fang Jie.
"Huh? What's going on? It doesn't make sense, it makes absolutely no sense!"
Just as he was muttering in surprise, a chuckled voice came from behind him: "Not too obtuse, I thought he hadn't realized his advantage in this competition. This little fellow, doesn't he know he's an extraordinary treasure?"
Hearing this, Yan Qing immediately turned around and bowed: "Greetings, Dean."
Suddenly appearing behind Yan Qing was Zhou Banchuan, the Dean of the Martial Arts Academy. He stroked his beard and nodded. Walking slowly forward, he looked down at the strolling young man and said: "This year's Martial Arts Academy exams are truly satisfying. Normally, Xie Fuyao from Jiangnan, even if not overwhelmingly superior, wouldn't be far behind, but then we encountered this freak."
"Freak?"
Yan Qing didn't understand Dean Zhou's meaning. Zhou Banchuan nodded slightly and said, "Hmm, a freak, perhaps the biggest freak in the more than a hundred years since the founding of the Great Sui Dynasty. Even stranger than the Luo barbarians of Yongzhou…"
...
...
"Xia Fa, Thunderclap!"
Xie Fuyao's eyes sharpened suddenly. His finger, pointing at Fang Jie, bent slightly before quickly straightening. A burst of internal energy, completely different from the previous Spring Method finger strike, erupted forth. The energy was so swift that the air in front of his finger rippled, and the visible ripples were even audible.
The previous Spring Method finger strike was invisible, but his Summer Method Thunderclap was tangible.
It was a finger strike with a faint white, electric glow, much faster and sharper than the previous Spring Method finger strike. It reached Fang Jie's lower abdomen the moment it appeared. Fang Jie's body only paused slightly before the finger strike pierced his body like a knife.
In an instant, Fang Jie's lips twitched in pain. If the previous Spring Technique Finger Strike hadn't caused him any harm, then this Summer Technique Thunderclap was like a sharp knife, slicing through his lower abdomen. If it were anyone else, their Qi Sea would likely have ruptured under such a domineering attack, resulting in death.
But Fang Jie didn't.
Although he felt a stabbing pain in his lower abdomen, almost unbearable, he wouldn't die. Without a Qi Sea, how could he break through?
It was precisely because of the pain that Fang Jie's face began to contort and become ferocious, his eyes gradually turning crimson. He continued forward, step by step, towards Xie Fuyao. The latter was clearly growing increasingly terrified, flicking out finger after finger. The lightning-fast strike pierced Fang Jie's lower abdomen, finger after finger.
A trace of blood trickled from the corner of Fang Jie's mouth; at this moment, his eyes had completely turned crimson.
"You want to kill me?"
Fang Jie, his face contorted with rage, stepped in front of Xie Fuyao, his crimson eyes fixed on his opponent's, asking each word with chilling precision.
Under Xie Fuyao's barely concealed panic, the young man suddenly raised his hand and delivered a powerful punch to his jaw. The punch, delivered from below, was heavy and forceful. Though a fist, it was executed using the old cripple's signature sword technique.
With a resounding thud, the stunningly handsome young master Xie Fuyao of Jiangnan was sent flying like a cannonball by Fang Jie. He crashed heavily into the city wall of the martial arts arena, shattering several bricks and sending a cloud of dust flying.
A trail of blood splattered through the air.