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Chapter 232 The Duel of Spear and Axe (Two-in-One, 4.3K)

Beast Hunting Trial, Eighth Battlefield.

A flash of white light, and Chen Mochuan's figure reappeared on the wasteland.

This was already the umpteenth time he had faced that Bone-Cracking Mastiff.

At first, he could barely hold his own for a few minutes, but later he gradually found opportunities to counterattack in the fierce onslaught, and now he can leave some considerable wounds on the Bone-Splitting Mastiff.

Although in the end he was crushed to death by that mastiff with absolute strength, he could feel that he was constantly improving.

This progress is achieved through every offensive and defensive transition under high pressure, and is integrated into every dodge, every punch, and every counterattack.

Even in every instance of suffering harm.

"roar!"

A familiar roar rang out, and the massive figure of the Bone-Splitting Mastiff came galloping from afar at an astonishing speed.

Having anticipated this, Chen Mochuan unleashed the full power of his Wind Tiger Stance, instantly shifting his body to the right to avoid the opponent's first attack.

Instead of choosing to defend passively, he took the initiative to meet the attack head-on.

A punch landed squarely on the chest of the Bone-Splitting Mastiff.

The Bone-Splitting Mastiff reacted quickly, making a swift half-turn and swinging its thick front paws to not only deflect the punch but also strike Chen Mochuan's arm.

Encountering this extremely powerful claw, Chen Mochuan's body swayed almost imperceptibly. He skillfully neutralized most of the force, then pushed off with his feet. His punching momentum did not stop there; instead, he changed his move, launching a cunning punch like a serpent at the mastiff's forelimb joint.

"laugh!"

The rivets on the boxing gloves left shallow bloodstains on the tough fur of the Mastiff.

The Bone-Splitting Mastiff, in pain and enraged, unleashed a fierce claw strike aimed at Chen Mochuan's head.

Chen Mochuan quickly ducked to avoid it, and at the same time, he kicked the mastiff's other front leg with a side kick, using the force to push back a distance.

The mastiff, which had been kicked and stumbled, quickly regained its balance and pounced on Chen Mochuan again, giving him no chance to catch his breath.

They fought back and forth, locked in a fierce battle.

Chen Mochuan brought his agility, fist techniques, and external strength to their fullest potential, fighting the second-tier mastiff to a standstill.

Despite being at a clear disadvantage and suffering new wounds, his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

The battle lasted for nearly four minutes.

With the accumulation of injuries, Chen Mochuan's condition deteriorated significantly, especially with a deep wound on his left leg that exposed bone. Even when he tried to control his muscle contractions, he couldn't stop the gushing blood, which greatly affected his agility.

Soon, the Bone-Splitting Mastiff seized the opportunity, and after taking a fierce punch from Chen Mochuan, it smashed his head with a claw.

A sharp pain shot through me, and everything went black.

In the next instant, Chen Mochuan had returned to the initial area of ​​the Beast Hunting Trial.

Chen Mochuan raised his hand and rubbed his temples, feeling a throbbing and stinging sensation in his head.

He glanced at the time displayed on his personal terminal; it was nearly midnight.

Before he knew it, he had been immersed in the Beast Hunting Trial since noon, and had challenged the eighth level countless times.

Although the pain of death under the protection mechanism of the trial system is far less intense and realistic than that of the mental martial arts, greatly reducing the degree of mental trauma, the accumulated fatigue is very real.

Even with his innate spiritual power and extraordinary regenerative abilities enhanced by the Sun and Moon Imprint, Chen Mochuan could not withstand being repeatedly "killed" and resurrected.

He exhaled a breath of stale air, summoned a golden light screen, and began to examine the results of this series of battles.

【Mental Power: 86.51】

【Hundred Beasts Fist Technique: Mastery (7%)】

【Wind Tiger Journey: Great Success (6%)】

Apart from the first battle where the improvement was most significant, the improvement in each subsequent battle was negligible, requiring multiple accumulations before it would be reflected on the screen.

In the end, after twenty or thirty consecutive battles, no new improvement messages appeared on the screen.

Chen Mochuan understood that he had reached the "threshold" that could be obtained through the beast hunting trial.

After all, the trial system is ultimately virtual, and it lacks a certain realism compared to a true life-or-death struggle.

If he could capture the spirit of a second-tier ferocious beast within his training space and hone his skills through mental training, the results would undoubtedly be drastically different.

Of course, that method also involves greater suffering.

"However, until then, let's spar with this guy every day."

Chen Mochuan made a decision in his heart.

After all, being able to understand the strength of a second-tier ferocious beast so intuitively and fight against it is itself a valuable experience.

Even though the feedback from the golden light screen is unlikely to reappear, Chen Mochuan believes that doing so is of great benefit to himself.

Emerging from the holographic virtual reality pod, Chen Mochuan, now completely relaxed, felt an empty stomach and was extremely hungry.

He had his smart assistant, Xiaoyun, arrange some food. While waiting, he sat on the sofa, relaxing his tense mind and mentally reviewing the battle with the Bone-Splitting Mastiff.

His strength still has a lot of room for improvement in the Transcendent Realm.

Currently, his blood transfusion is only about 80% complete, and there is still a long way to go before it is fully completed.

The Transcendent Realm requires the condensation of thirty acupoints, and he has only just begun condensing the eleventh.

Currently, only seven spiritual veins are fully formed, still some distance from the ideal nine.

"If I could cultivate all of these to the pinnacle of the Transcendent Realm—"

A hint of anticipation flashed in Chen Mochuan's eyes.

At that time, when facing this Mastiff again, the outcome will still be uncertain.

"Ding!" Xiaoyun's voice rang in his ears, interrupting his thoughts, "Your meal is ready, please go to the dining room."

Chen Mochuan stood up, stretched his stiff shoulders and neck, and walked towards the restaurant.

At this moment, the clock hanging on the wall has just crossed midnight, and it's a new day.

For the next few days, Chen Mochuan continued his cultivation as usual.

His life, so focused on spiritual practice, seemed monotonous to others, but he found it incredibly fulfilling.

His rapid progress often amazed Li Cheng and Zhong Xu, who usually practiced with him.

"Brother Chen, isn't your blood transfusion progress a bit exaggerated?" During a break in sparring, Li Cheng wiped the sweat from his forehead, looking at Chen Mochuan with disbelief. "It took me almost five months to increase my blood transfusion progress from 80% to 90%, and you've completed it in just over two months?"

Chen Mochuan smiled and did not deny it.

With the blessing of the Spirit Gathering Essence given by his master, and with the help of "Spirit Devouring", his cultivation efficiency was indeed extremely fast.

Even in the late stage of the Transcendental Realm, where every bit of progress requires painstaking effort, his blood transfusion progress was still increasing at a speed that was difficult for ordinary people to comprehend.

Not only did he undergo a blood transfusion, but his improvement in other aspects also far surpassed that of his peers.

"Don't compare yourself to him," Zhong Xu said, unusually, his tone calm but incisive. "Comparing yourself to him will only make you lose your composure."

Despite this, the two were not discouraged.

As top geniuses, their foundations are equally solid. Although their progress is not as astonishing as Chen Mochuan's, it is still enough to leave other freshmen far behind.

Therefore, they can still keep up with Chen Mochuan's pace for the time being, and are not completely left behind.

This healthy competition allowed the three to grow together by encouraging and challenging each other.

One day in mid-December, the weather had already turned cool, but the campus of Yunhan Wuhan University was still full of life.

Having just finished a public lecture on "In-depth Analysis of Visualization," Chen Mochuan and Li Biao walked together along the tree-lined path on campus toward Chenxing District.

Even now that he has secured his position as the top student in the North Academy, Chen Mochuan has never neglected his best friend Li Biao because his strength far surpasses Li Biao's.

The friendship between the two has lasted since junior high school and has long surpassed the simple relationship between classmates.

Whenever there was an open class at school, the two would always go together; in their spare time, Chen Mochuan would also spar with Li Biao from time to time and give him pointers on his cultivation.

"Ah Biao, you should be almost done with the third level of the Beast Hunting Trial by now, right?" Chen Mochuan asked as soon as he returned to Chenxing No. 1.

Upon hearing this, Li Biao immediately looked distressed.

"Brother Chuan, the guardian beast on the third level is at the late stage of the first tier. I'm only at the mid-stage of the Transcendent Realm, how can I pass it so easily?" He complained while changing his shoes. "Not everyone is a genius like you—if you don't believe me, ask Lao Jiang and Zhi Ning, their progress is a bit behind mine."

Li Biao's words were not meant to be modest.

His father had been doing business in Antu City for many years, and his family was well-off. Even if they couldn't compare to those wealthy families, they were much better off than ordinary people.

His family provided considerable support for his spiritual practice. Occasionally, Li's father would even be able to obtain precious medicines and rare herbs through special channels to aid his cultivation.

In addition, Li Biao's spiritual talent is related to "eating" and has the characteristic of being able to absorb energy efficiently, which makes him far more efficient in resource utilization than ordinary people.

Therefore, even though he started from a low point, his progress was still quite remarkable, and he has already been able to rank in the middle among the freshmen of Yunhan Martial Arts University.

"You should pay attention, there's only a month and a half until the end of the semester, don't fail the assessment then," Chen Mochuan reminded him.

While Yunhan Martial Arts University leans towards a more free approach to the cultivation management of its students, it does not completely abandon assessments.

The Beast Hunting Trial begins in early October and will continue until the end of the first year of university.

Freshmen must pass the third level in the first semester of their freshman year and the fifth level in the second semester of their freshman year.

If the relevant standards are not met, the school will not provide additional resources for a period of time.

Li Biao immediately patted his chest and confidently said, "Don't worry, I won't have to wait until the end of the semester; I'll definitely be able to get the third floor within ten days."

Seeing his best friend's confident expression, Chen Mochuan didn't say anything more.

Given Li Biao's personality and abilities, the fact that he dared to make such a bold statement suggests that he must already be confident.

Upon entering the villa, Li Biao was completely at ease, as if he were back in his own home.

He deftly rummaged through the refrigerator for a bottle of energy drink, then plopped down on the sofa, picked up the remote, turned on the huge projector TV in the living room, and quickly tuned it to a channel.

The screen lit up, and a huge arena appeared on the screen.

At opposite ends of the arena stood two young men with strikingly different personalities.

The names and nationalities of the two fighters were clearly displayed on the huge screen above the ring.

The man on the left, with a buzz cut, a rugged face, and a calm demeanor, is Chu Huaishan from China. He holds a silver-white spear pointing diagonally at the ground, the tip of which gleams coldly under the lamplight.

The man on the right, with blond hair, blue eyes, and a towering physique, is Nolan Bach of America. He wields two bronze-colored short axes and exudes a fierce aura.

This is clearly a contest that has not yet begun and is in the preparation stage.

"The timing is perfect, we won't miss this showdown." Li Biao excitedly patted the sofa and called out, "Brother Chuan, want to come and watch? Chu Huaishan from China and Nolan Bach from America are both favorites to win this year's Qianlong Tournament. I didn't expect them to meet so early. It seems like neither of them has a very good draw."

Upon hearing this, Chen Mochuan also went to the living room.

He certainly knew what the "Hidden Dragon Tournament" that Li Biao mentioned was. Its full name was the "Global Hidden Dragon Martial Arts Tournament," which covered more than fifty surviving countries on Earth after the great catastrophe six hundred years ago.

This is a grand gathering of martial arts students from various countries, with extremely high standards and specifications. The most outstanding young people on the entire planet will gather here to compete for the honor of "the world's strongest rising star".

Therefore, the influence of the Qianlong Tournament extends all over the world, and the viewership of each match is guaranteed to a considerable extent.

Chu Huaishan and Nolan Bach are both third-year university students, and both are consistently ranked among the top three in their respective countries among the contestants in this year's competition.

The two favorites to win the championship met early in the round of 32, and thanks to the event organizers' promotion, the match attracted a lot of attention.

Chen Mochuan was no exception.

He was very interested in the abilities of these two top geniuses worldwide.

However, despite his curiosity, he did not have the habit of neglecting his cultivation.

He set up the Ling Shu Hun Yuan Zhuang stance directly in the living room, and while practicing the stance to temper his body, he kept his eyes on the screen.

Seeing Chen Mochuan's appearance, Li Biao, sitting on the sofa, couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "No wonder he's a cultivation maniac—"

But despite his feelings, he didn't stay seated any longer. He finished his drink in one gulp and immediately stood up, imitating the others, and began to stand in the stance as well.

On the screen, after the host's warm-up and introduction of the contestants, the highly anticipated showdown finally officially began.

The moment the word "Start" was uttered, the two people on the stage moved simultaneously!

Chu Huaishan flicked his spear, the tip of which emitted flickering, shimmering white light. He moved like a silver lightning bolt, thrusting straight at Nolan Bach's center.

Nolan Bach was not to be outdone. He clashed his two axes together, producing a dull metallic clang. A pale yellow glow suddenly appeared on the axe surfaces, and he delivered a fierce slash to meet the spearhead.

The spearhead and the axe blade clashed violently in the center of the arena!

"clang!"

A piercing metallic clang rang out, sparks flying everywhere.

Both of them swayed slightly, then simultaneously lunged forward and engaged in a fierce battle.

"So fast!"

Li Biao exclaimed in surprise.

On the screen, Chu Huaishan and Nolan Bach's figures had become two blurry phantoms in his eyes, and he could only see their general movement trajectories and actions.

However, the dense sounds of weapons clashing were clearly audible, like popping beans in a continuous stream.

However, Li Biao was not worried about this.

The broadcast of the Qianlong tournament is always professional, and there will definitely be slow-motion replays and professional commentators breaking down and analyzing the key details later.

It's okay if you can't see it clearly now; you can watch the replay later.

Chen Mochuan didn't speak, but just stared intently at the screen.

Unlike Li Biao, his eyesight was extremely sharp thanks to the spiritual power of the Innate Realm. Although the two on the arena were fast...

The speed was astonishing, but he could still clearly see the movements of both sides.