Chapter 86: Sparring, Strength Assessment

Chapter 86: Chapter 86: Sparring, Strength Assessment

While Lu Qingluo went to tidy up the room, Huang Qingzhou studied Fang Xu with a hint of interest. "I see your vitality is abundant. Although you’re only at the Fifth Realm of the Martial Disciple stage, your true strength shouldn’t be weak, right?"

Fang Xu gave a slight salute. "You flatter me. This little bit of strength I have is insignificant in front of you."

Huang Qingzhou shook his head and laughed. "The entire Ascension Association knows that the disciples under my master have the worst combat power.

"Come exchange a few moves with me and let’s test it out."

Fang Xu’s expression shifted slightly at these words. Ever since breaking through to the Fourth Realm of the Martial Disciple stage, he hadn’t actually fought anyone. Now that he had reached the Fifth Realm of the Martial Disciple stage, he genuinely wanted to test his current limits.

From the earlier conversation between Huang Qingzhou and Su Cheng, he knew Huang Qingzhou should be at the Ninth Realm of the Martial Master stage. With Huang Qingzhou acting as a sparring partner, he could definitely test his true capabilities.

"In that case, I will respectfully obey. After you."

Guiding Huang Qingzhou to the Martial Arts Arena, Chu Muyun also wheeled her chair over to the side, preparing to be a spectator.

After the two entered the Martial Arts Arena, Huang Qingzhou asked, "What weapon are you adept with?"

Fang Xu thought for a moment before answering, "The staff."

As he spoke, he selected an eyebrow-height short staff from the weapon rack beside the Martial Arts Arena and gripped it in his hand.

Huang Qingzhou untied the sword at his waist. He picked out an ordinary longsword from the weapon rack, weighed it in his hand a few times, and said, "Since this is just sparring, I can’t take advantage of you. I’ll just use this sword."

Spinning the longsword in a quick flourish, Huang Qingzhou stood proudly, showing absolutely no intention of making the first move.

Seeing this, Fang Xu gave his staff a half-twirl and immediately charged at Huang Qingzhou!

CLANG!

Facing Fang Xu’s direct, driving strike, Huang Qingzhou easily deflected it with his longsword and said, "There’s no need to test the waters. Just attack with your full strength."

Fang Xu gave a slight nod, swung his staff up, and smashed it directly toward Huang Qingzhou!

Using a staff as his weapon, he held the advantage of reach. His Staff Technique was sweeping and explosive, sending continuous whistling sounds echoing across the arena!

But while reach provided power, shortness allowed for agility. In contrast to the sweeping strikes of the staff, Huang Qingzhou’s Swordsmanship was graceful and nimble. Whenever the staff closed in, he would block, deflect, or simply dodge, easily nullifying Fang Xu’s attacks every time.

In the blink of an eye, over a dozen moves were exchanged. Fang Xu gradually loosened up, immediately unleashing the Nine Ape Staff Technique he had been practicing for days!

The Nine Ape Staff was an eighth-grade Staff Technique, a Martial Technique renowned for its crispness, brevity, and flexibility.

His stylistic approach shifted abruptly. The sweeping, explosive moves turned into tricky, unpredictable strikes, causing the faint trace of ease on Huang Qingzhou’s face to slowly vanish.

He had originally suppressed his cultivation to the peak of the Martial Disciple stage to handle Fang Xu’s attacks, but he gradually realized that at this suppressed level, he simply couldn’t block the berserk force behind each of Fang Xu’s relentless strikes!

In Huang Qingzhou’s eyes, the Nine Ape Staff was clearly a Staff Technique prioritizing trickiness and agility. So why was it that when executed by Fang Xu, every move carried such headache-inducing power, shocking his sword-gripping hand until it went slightly numb?

"You have tremendous strength," Huang Qingzhou said with a frown as he dodged and parried.

Fang Xu did not reply.

It was a given that his force was immense. On his status panel, his Additional Attributes for the Strength Attribute had already exceeded five hundred points. With the boost from his Additional Attributes, his strength vastly surpassed that of an ordinary Martial Disciple.

After enduring Fang Xu’s continuous barrage of heavy strikes, Huang Qingzhou finally launched a counterattack.

Gradually unsealing his strength to the Initial Realm of the Martial Master stage, his speed surged. The longsword in his hand moved like a phantom, catching Fang Xu completely off guard.

He had to open up some distance. After a brief melee, Fang Xu knew full well that the advantage of his Staff Technique required keeping the enemy at bay; otherwise, the long staff in his hands would instantly become a shackle.

Holding his staff horizontally to block one of Huang Qingzhou’s sword strikes, Fang Xu used the momentum to retreat twenty feet. He suddenly swung his staff up, spinning it like a bamboo dragonfly as he swept it furiously toward Huang Qingzhou!

CLANG!

CLANG!

Huang Qingzhou blocked with his sword, causing bursts of muffled, heavy clashes to erupt across the arena!

Seeing that his opponent was still handling the attacks with ease, Fang Xu immediately changed his moves again!

Gripping one end of the staff with his right hand, he spun his body a full three hundred and sixty degrees. Channeling the centrifugal force of his spin and the power of his waist into the long staff, he smashed it directly at Huang Qingzhou!

The force behind this strike was absolutely terrifying. Not daring to block it head-on, Huang Qingzhou had no choice but to dodge aside!

BOOM!

The long staff violently whipped into the bluestone pavement where Huang Qingzhou had just been standing, instantly smashing the hard stone to pieces!

Fang Xu’s body continued to spin, smashing his staff toward Huang Qingzhou strike after strike. The bluestone flooring of the entire Martial Arts Arena suffered the consequences, rapidly reduced to a field of shattered rubble by Fang Xu’s onslaught!

"Stop! Stop!" Huang Qingzhou shouted. His figure blurred as he struck the hilt of his sword directly against Fang Xu’s wrist, sending the long staff flying.

The staff slipped from Fang Xu’s grasp and nailed itself perfectly straight into the Renshi rock a short distance away!

Huang Qingzhou turned his head to look at the long staff, which was embedded a full two inches into the dense Renshi. He looked at Fang Xu with a hint of astonishment and said, "You really are a monster.

"With a cultivation base at the Fifth Realm of the Martial Disciple stage, you’ve unleashed force comparable to the Second Realm or even Third Realm of the Martial Master stage.

"Any enemy who underestimates you will likely be heavily injured by your strength in an instant."

Fang Xu chuckled and scratched his head.

This actually wasn’t his full strength. At the very least, if he switched to the peculiar wooden staff gifted by Lu Zhiyuan, which was currently stored in his Acupoint Secret Treasure, his force could be increased even further.

More importantly, compared to Staff Techniques, he still preferred fists and palms.

"But don’t get arrogant," Huang Qingzhou said calmly upon seeing Fang Xu laugh. "Your monstrous strength can catch opponents off guard, heavily injuring or even killing a Martial Artist at the Second Realm of the Martial Master stage.

"However, if your first strike fails and the enemy discovers your raw power, a Martial Artist at the Martial Master stage can simply rely on their superior speed and externalized Qi Force to slowly whittle you to death.

"After all, once the Divine Bridge is opened, the power of two Acupoint Secret Treasures connects. The resulting transformation is not as simple as you might think."

Hearing this, Fang Xu’s expression turned solemn. He gave a respectful salute and replied, "I will remember your teachings."

For a Martial Disciple to break through to become a Martial Master, one needed to open the Divine Bridge between their acupoints, linking them and fusing the power of two acupoints into one.

This fusion was absolutely not as simple as ’one plus one equals two.’

After counseling Fang Xu, Huang Qingzhou pondered for a moment before saying, "With your current strength, passing the Ascension Association’s assessment won’t be difficult.

"I suggest that once you pass the Ascension Association’s assessment, you must think carefully and choose a master who is truly suitable for you."

At these words, Fang Xu’s mind stirred. He cupped his hands toward Huang Qingzhou and asked, "Can we choose our own masters in the Ascension Association?"

Huang Qingzhou nodded. "Those of you who pass the assessment will first become Outer Disciples.

"Outer Disciples are uniformly guided in their daily cultivation by the Outer Disciple Instructors. During this period, the instructors will arrange three assessments based on your individual strengths.

"These assessments are known as Limit Assessments. Relative to your own strength, every single one of them will be extremely difficult to complete.

"After three Limit Assessments, you will be allowed to choose your own master.

"Of course, while you have the right to choose a master, the masters naturally have the right to choose their disciples. Generally, each master will establish additional assessment criteria for their prospective disciples. Only by passing their specific tests can you successfully enter their tutelage.

"At that point, you will become an Inner Sect Disciple, just like me."

Huang Qingzhou gave him a detailed account of what would happen after joining the Ascension Sect.

Hearing this, a thread of yearning for the Ascension Sect couldn’t help but rise in Fang Xu’s heart.

Even a Steward of the Ascension Association was enough to intimidate the Yun Family—the Lords of Huangzhou—and the Yu Kingdom Royal Family. So, what kind of strength did the elders of the Ascension Association possess? Or the entities above the elders? Or even that mysterious leader of the Ascension Association?