Top Scholar

Chapter 378 Martial Arts Scholar

The two men's moves quickly lost all order, leaving only the ferocity of cornered beasts fighting desperately—like two wild animals driven to the brink of despair, roaring and tearing at each other, frantically slapping and smashing with one gun after another!
Their hands were already torn open, blood gushing out, the pain excruciating, yet neither of them let go...

With a snap, Ma Qianli's shoulder was struck again by his opponent's spear!
That was the sound of bones breaking, and everyone's heart skipped a beat.

The opponent also relaxed, thinking that they had finally won this hard-fought battle...

To everyone's surprise, Ma Qianli's eyes were bloodshot and his expression was ferocious. He continued his attack as if nothing had happened!
His opponent was completely overwhelmed by his reckless and frenzied momentum, and could only parry and stagger backward step by step.

Finally, Ma Qianli cornered his opponent at the edge of the white circle, leaving him with nowhere to retreat!

He stomped on the ground, sending yellow earth flying! With this desperate, all-or-nothing momentum, he charged straight out, still clutching the gun barrel—not a precise thrust, but a desperate, all-out upward charge!

The spear tip slammed into the opponent's chest with such force that the opponent groaned, staggered back several steps, and crashed backward out of the white circle.

He lost his balance and collapsed to the ground.

Ma Qianli's chest heaved violently, a metallic taste rising in his throat, yet he gritted his teeth, supporting himself on one hand. His bloodshot eyes were fixed on the examiner, filled with a wild, unyielding obsession, like an invincible beast!
The examiner was stunned by that look for a long time before he came to his senses amidst the clamor of the scholars and officials and said, "You win."

Upon hearing this, Ma Qianli's tense expression suddenly relaxed, and he fainted as everything went black...

"Headmaster!" His classmates rushed over and carefully turned him over so the doctor could examine him.

"Don't worry, you're just exhausted..." the doctor said after the examination.

The classmates breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly carried Ma Qianli out of the training ground.

The other four matches had already ended, and there should have been a ranking battle, but Ma Qianli couldn't participate in any of them.

It doesn't matter anymore, getting last place is already a great success.

~~
While the losers were vying for the last five spots, the winners were also fighting fiercely for the title of Martial Arts Champion!

After rounds of fierce fighting, only Su Tai of Yongning Guard and Zou Qing of Maozhou Guard remained standing in the white circle!

Zou Qing was also tall and strong, with superb marksmanship and agility. He was already famous in Sichuan before the provincial examination and was a recognized favorite to become the top martial arts candidate.

At this moment, the setting sun was like blood. Su Tai and Zou Qing's long silhouettes faced each other in the center of the final circle, their white guns pointing diagonally at the ground, the tips of which held half of the setting sun!

The two had been locked in a battle all afternoon, their black cotton armor soaked with sweat and covered with a layer of white salt frost from their body heat.

Their muscles ached so badly they were almost cramping, but their eyes remained sharp and their breathing remained steady.

After a brief standoff, Zou Qing launched the first attack—he stomped his left foot, his body moving with his gun, the tip of the gun transforming into a bolt of lightning, piercing straight for Su Tai's throat!

Exhaustion did not diminish the ferocity of the shot; on the contrary, the marksmanship improved as the battle dragged on.

A sharp gust of wind rushed towards him, but Su Tai didn't even blink. He lowered his waist, braced himself, and blocked the attack with his spear!
With a muffled thud, Zou Qing felt a tremendous force surge up the gun barrel, and a piercing tearing sensation shot through his hand, indicating that he had been shaken open.

Zou Qing, however, remained completely unaffected. He twisted his waist sharply, his muscles bursting with astonishing resilience. The spear tip suddenly flew, attacking Su Tai's vital points like a rain of pear blossoms... face, chest, abdomen, groin! The afterimages of the spear tip wove an impenetrable killing net in the rosy light, each move so fast it left no room to breathe!

The onlookers were all utterly shocked. Was this even human? They were fighting until almost dark, and he could still unleash such terrifying combat power?

The defeated onlookers were even more impressed, realizing they hadn't forced the opponent to reveal their true abilities at all...

On the other side, Su Tai was not to be outdone. He remained as steady as a mountain, neither dodging nor avoiding, and wielded his spear with impenetrable speed, drawing a continuous circle in front of him!
'Crack crack crack crack...' The crisp sound of gun barrels colliding was as dense as popping beans, without the slightest gap.

Sutai's defense was rock solid, managing to withstand all of the opponent's rapid and relentless attacks!

Because no matter what situation he was in, his peripheral vision was always fixed on Zou Qing's shoulder, accurately predicting every change in his opponent's moves...

~~
Back when Su Tai sparred with Qian Ning at the Luzhou Martial Arts Academy, he suffered greatly. Qian Ning's spear technique was fast and unpredictable, with each move seamlessly connected. Su Tai could only passively parry and counter each move; just as he parried one spear strike, the next one was already upon him.

After several defeats, he finally understood—in a duel between masters, one cannot simply parry each move; that will only make one more passive. One must anticipate the opponent's moves first…

These four words are easier said than done. Su Tai tried staring at the tip of his opponent's spear, but there was simply no time to react; he tried to predict the moves, but Chinese martial arts are profound and complex, with unpredictable spear techniques emerging one after another, and guessing wrong meant defeat...

It wasn't until he listened to lectures by Yangming and Su Lu in Longchang that the principles of "investigating things to acquire knowledge and observing the subtle to know the obvious" in the methodology of Taoism were like a thunderbolt to him—all things in the world are interconnected, the big picture is hidden in the details, and one can know the autumn by seeing a single leaf!

Once you understand this, and then recall your opponent's moves, you'll discover some subtle movements that you previously overlooked. These are not insignificant; they are like the first falling leaf in autumn, the starting point of your opponent's attack!
He finally understood that anticipating the enemy's moves meant observing subtle signs such as the opponent's shoulder and elbow rotations, footwork, and breath fluctuations, and then, by following the connections between joints and muscles, determining the direction of the opponent's force and subsequent moves in advance.

The "investigation of things" in martial arts, when applied to spear techniques, means "observing the opponent's moves and understanding the principles of attack!"
After returning from Longchang, his martial arts skills reached a new level. In subsequent encounters, he would often anticipate his opponent's moves and devise a counter-strategy the moment they showed any signs of exerting force!

Others only see his immense strength, as if he could overcome any opponent with sheer force, winning effortlessly every time. Little do they know that his greatest strength lies in his prediction—he can always anticipate his opponent's moves, allowing him to perfectly counter them and secure victory each time!
For example, before Zou Qing thrusts his spear, his shoulder would always dip slightly; when he changes his stance and uses a counter-attack, his toes would unconsciously screech to the ground...

Therefore, his defense, though seemingly passive, was actually like a tightening net, becoming heavier and more ruthless with each block, striking Zou Qing in the most uncomfortable position, making Zou Qing's arm even more sore and numb.

After a prolonged battle, Zou Qing's moves gradually slowed down, no longer possessing the unstoppable force they once had...

He thrust his spear straight at Su Tai's face, but Su Tai dodged to the side and, in doing so, grabbed the spear shaft tightly with his other hand!

Zou Qing, as expected of a top-tier expert, instantly abandoned his own spear butt in the sudden turn of events, freeing his right hand to grip Su Tai's spear shaft. He then lowered his shoulders and hunched his back, using his armpits like iron clamps to grip the middle of Su Tai's spear shaft—

In the blink of an eye, the onlookers were surprised to find that the two had gone from an offensive and defensive duel to a close-quarters struggle for a gun!

Under the setting sun, the two men gripped each other's gun barrels, straining their waists and backs and arms as they pulled and tugged at each other like madmen.

"Hey!" the two roared simultaneously, their shouts drowning out the frenzied cheers.

Su Tai gripped the butt of the gun tightly with both hands, trying to pull the barrel back from under Zou Qing's armpits; Zou Qing, on the other hand, locked his armpits and pressed down with both hands, trying his best to take the gun from Su Tai.

The two white-shafted spears were bent like bows by the immense strength of the two men, creaking under the strain! Sweat streamed down their arms, dripping onto the intertwined shafts, instantly vaporizing from the force of the blows…

The struggle for the gun lasted for a full three breaths, and everyone was breathless. The training ground was so quiet that you could hear the two men's heavy breathing and the mournful clang of the gun barrel!

Suddenly, the two of them unleashed their final fierce strength simultaneously—Zou Qing gritted his teeth, his armpit muscles bulged, and he squeezed tightly with all his might; Su Tai twisted his waist, using his waist and abdomen to drive his arms, and grabbed Zou Qing's gun barrel and snapped it hard!
"Crack!"

"Crack!"

Two sharp, piercing sounds shattered the silence of the training ground, almost overlapping each other!
Su Tai's white-shafted spear was snapped in two by the immense force under Zou Qing's armpit, and Zou Qing's spear shaft was also forcibly broken by Su Tai. Wood chips flew everywhere, scattering like starlight mixed with the golden-red glow of the sunset.

Zou Qing inwardly screamed in alarm, for the two men's positions put him at a disadvantage—he was holding the gun barrel, while Su Tai was gripping it!
Moreover, due to the force he exerted without reservation, his body suddenly leaned forward, making it impossible for him to change direction for a moment...

Su Tai had been waiting for this moment. Without the slightest hesitation, he lowered his waist and pushed off the ground, using the momentum from grabbing the gun to thrust the broken gun head forward fiercely!
The movement was so fast that it left only a blur, and it stabbed with perfect precision into Zou Qingzhong's wide-open chest.

'My life is over...' Zou Qing threw down his spear in despair. With his opponent's strength, which was no less than his own, and in a bloodthirsty state, even the wooden spearhead could pierce his heart...

To his surprise, the expected excruciating pain did not come. Zou Qing looked down blankly and saw the tip of the spear pressed against his chest, but the force had been reduced by ninety-nine percent...

While relieved, Zou Qing was more shocked—this could only mean one thing: his opponent didn't react to his moves as he did, but rather had a plan in mind before even making a move.

What's even more infuriating is that in the blink of an eye, the opponent has absolutely no time to think things through! So much earlier, I had already fallen into the opponent's trap—after the opponent grabbed my gun, it wasn't that I just happened to catch the opponent's gun, but rather that the opponent deliberately let me catch it.

It was the difference between grabbing and clamping that determined the final result.

This big guy is truly wise; he has no reason to lose...

"I'm convinced!" Zou Qing knelt on one knee, clasped his hands in a gesture of respect to Su Tai, and said, "From now on, you're my elder brother!"

"Su Tai, the top scholar in the Dingmao Martial Arts Examination!" At this moment, the chief examiner Liu Bing solemnly announced.

"Awooo!" Cheers resounded through the sky as his friends rushed forward, trying to toss Su Tai high into the air.

However, the actual conditions didn't allow it; the weak scholars simply couldn't lift the towering man, so they had to resort to piling him on the ground like a human pyramid...

Su Tai smiled innocently, letting them ravage him.

P.S. I'm posting this first and revising it later. After getting into the swing of things with the first two chapters, I'm very satisfied with this one. Can I ask for a monthly vote for Su Tai now?

We're all top scholars in the imperial examinations, so we shouldn't favor one over the other...

(End of this chapter)