“Zhou Yuan, you are courting death!”
A howl of rage emerged from Qi Yue's mouth as chilling killing intent exploded from his body. Veins crawled up in his eyes, making him appear exceptionally sinister.
He had originally believed that it would be an easy fight for him. After all, his seven channel strength was enough to crush any student of the institute.
Yet, who could have that he would not only be unable to achieve a clean victory against a mere five channel Zhou Yuan, but to even be pushed this far.
To Qi Yue, this outcome was undoubtedly akin to losing all face.
“Exactly who is courting death has not been decided!” Zhou Yuan's voice was calm, but murder also blossomed in his eyes.
Qi Yue's bloodshot eyes glared at Zhou Yuan. A brief moment later, the twisted expression on his face slowly disappeared, replaced by calmness. However, his voice grew increasingly eerie as he said, “Zhou Yuan, I have to admit that you coming this far has already surpassed my expectations.”
“However, do you believe that this will be enough to beat me?”
Upon seeing Qi Yue's eerie expression, Zhou Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly as his expression became a little more serious. He knew that Qi Yue had definitely made certain preparations for this class ranking exam.
Qi Yue deeply breathed in as a ruthless look flitted across his eyes. In the next instant, his body violently shook as a howl rang out.
“Channel Breaker Art!”
Buzz!
One could only watch as Genesis Qi suddenly surged over from the surroundings and poured into Qi Yue's body. Everyone quickly sensed Qi Yue's aura begin to climb.
Zhou Yuan's expression finally changed at this moment as he slowly said, “To think that you would use the Channel Breaker Art. That's some real determination indeed.”
This Channel Breaker Art was a type of Gensis technique that could temporarily force open another meridian channel. Since Qi Yue was already a seven channel practitioner, breaking open one more channel would allow him to reach the eight channel state.
However, the technique would harm one's body and greatly prolong the time it subsequently took to open the eighth channel.
Genesis Qi light swirled around Qi Yue's body as his clothes flapped. His five fingers clenched into a fist, releasing cracking noises as he felt the overwhelming power in his body.
“For the sake of obtaining the Great Zhou Institute, this small price is really nothing.” Qi Yue's tone was apathetic as he continued, “Moreover, Qi Manor has already prepared mystical treasures to aid in my quick recovery.”
“However, before that, I feel that you will be the one who is going to pay!”
Bang!
His body shot forward the moment the final word left his mouth.
“Such speed!” Zhou Yuan was a little startled. Qi Yue's strength has risen to a whole new level after forcibly opening his eighth channel.
“Dragon Step!”
Zhou Yuan wasted no time as his body stepped out at an angle.
Boom.
A fist surrounded by swirling Genesis Qi light viciously thrust towards him from behind, brushing past his chest.
However, the moment the attack missed, Qi Yue's fist suddenly transformed into a palm and slapped downwards. Genesis Qi blasted apart the air, the powerful force caused pockets of air to explode, hitting Zhou Yuan in the chest.
Thud thud!
Zhou Yuan's figure rapidly retreated as he felt waves of pain from his chest. Although he had only been hit by the explosion of air from Qi Yue's previous blow, it had been more than enough to cause damage.
It was clear that Qi Yue had grown even more powerful after forcing open his eighth channel.
“Let's see how long you can continue to dodge!” Cold light was revealed in Qi Yue's eyes as his figure shot forth once again. A flurry of swift attacks enveloped Zhou Yuan in waves.
In response to the now extremely formidable Qi Yue, Zhou Yuan could only retreat, retreat and retreat.
Zhou Yuan instantly fell into a disadvantageous position.
On the field, countless cries were heard due to the sudden change in the situation. Anyone could tell that Qi Yue had gained complete dominance in the fight. If Zhou Yuan did not have anything else up his sleeve, the pace of the match would fall into Qi Yue's control.
On the A class side, graveness and worry filled the face of every student. Su Youwei's hands were tightly clenched, while her pretty face was somewhat anxious. The current Qi Yue was really too powerful.
On the tall viewing platform, Zhou Qing's expression was also grim. In contrast, a pleased smile emerged on Qi Yuan's face.
Rumble!
Two figures continued their chase across the stone stage. Qi Yue's attacks were relentless, wave after wave of deadliness forcing Zhou Yuan to continuously duck and dodge.
However, under Qi Yue's pressure, the amount of space Zhou Yuan had to dodge grew tinier and tinier.
Until a certain point in time when his foot arrived at the edge of the stone stage. It was then that Qi Yue's face filled with a twisted smile as fist-wind suddenly slashed downwards, causing cracks to grow on the ground below.
This palm strike was enough to sweep Zhou Yuan off the stage and decide the victor.
Hence, cries of alarm rose and fell across the field.
“Time for you to get off the stage. Did you really believe that you could change anything?!” Qi Yue's evil chuckle rang out at this moment.
Palm-winds struck Zhou Yuan in the face as he suddenly lifted his head. Not even a single trace of panic could be seen, instead, there was only a chillingly icy smile.
“I've said it before. Losing yourself to joy is not good at all!”
Boom!
A strange sound suddenly emerged from Zhou Yuan's body as the surrounding Genesis Qi flooded towards him, causing his Genesis Qi undulations to soar.
Zhou Yuan's change naturally drew the attention of countless people as shouts filled with disbelief sounded one after another, “Prince Zhou Yuan has also unblocked his sixth meridian channel?!”
“Did he also use the Channel Breaker Art?”
“It's not the Channel Breaker Art. The Genesis Qi in prince Zhou Yuan's body is still as vigorous as before and shows no signs of disorder, a sigh of practiced control. Thus, it cannot be the Channel Breaker Art.”
“This can only be achieved if he has truly unblocked his sixth meridian channel.”
“Which is to say that prince Zhou Yuan's sixth channel has been unblocked long ago and he was concealing his strength!”
“Such cunning. To think that he purposely acted weak to give Qi Yue the impression that victory was in his grasp, giving rise to carelessness!”
“……”
Countless voices could be heard. Everyone was shocked by Zhou Yuan's sudden explosion of power.
“How is this possible?!” Qi Yue's pupils also shrank at this moment. He had originally believed that he had forced Zhou Yuan to the end of the rope. Who could have expected the latter to suddenly bare his fangs a split second later?
“Do you really believe that I only unblocked my fifth channel after two months of training in the Black Forest Mountain Range?!” Zhou Yuan let out a chilling chuckle. He had spent all day and all night fighting Genesis Beasts in the Black Forest Mountain Range, plus he had Yaoyao help him inscribe the Thirty Six Beast Channel Opening Rune. It could be said that he had underwent every kind of suffering. Therefore, it was only natural that he had unblocked his sixth meridian channel five days before leaving the mountains.
However, he had concealed this fact all along and only showed the strength of five channels.
“Dragon Tablet Hand, split the earth!”
Zhou Yuan's counter-attack was exceptionally swift and ferocious. His palm swept out horizontally, Genesis Qi surging along as the air continuously exploded in its wake. Its momentum was practically unstoppable.
Zhou Yuan's counter-attack made all the airs on Qi Yue's body stand as a feeling of danger washed over him. He had no time to think and could only desperately squeeze out as much Genesis Qi as he could.
“Galloping Thunder Fist!”
In his haste, Qi Yue threw a punch which smashed into Zhou Yuan's palm a split second later.
Bang!
A muffled sound echoed. The stone floor beneath both their feet cracked even further as a shockwave unfurled, sweeping up the shattered stone.
As pieces of the floor danced in the air, everyone saw Qi Yue's body jerk back as it was sent sliding backwards on the ground. When he finally came to a stop, a groan was released as blood emerged from the corner of his mouth.
In contrast, Zhou Yuan had only been pushed half a step back due to his fierce counter-attack.
*Uproar*!
The entire field exploded once again as countless people secretly cheered. Zhou Yuan's tactic of displaying weakness to the opponent had undoubtedly achieved pretty good results.
“Pretty good and shrewd battle senses.” Several of the sharper individuals present nodded to themselves. Although Qi Yue might seem stronger on paper, he was lacking in battle sense when compared to Zhou Yuan.
Moreover, Zhou Yuan's fierce attacks were akin to those of a seasoned fighter. Each explosion of power was sure to be effective.
On the stone stage, Qi Yue slowly wiped away the blood at the corner of his mouth as his face faintly twitched. In the end, he breathed in deeply, firmly suppressing the violent rage that was about to overwhelm his rationality.
Qi Yue frostily remarked, “I never imagined that you had already opened your sixth meridian channel!”
Zhou Yuan replied with a faint smile, “Well, I've got to keep something up my sleeve, no?”
If he used all of his trump cards from the beginning, he would not have been able to catch Qi Yue off guard. At the very least, Qi Yue had now been injured due to his carelessness.
A pair of cold and dark eyes stared at Zhou Yuan as Qi Yue slowly replied, “Indeed. You have taught me a valuable lesson.”
He closed his eyes and nodded as he continued in a detached voice, “That is why in order to thank you, I will use my greatest power to defeat you. I will rip apart every single one of the trump cards you are so proud of and allow you to have a taste of true despair.”
As his voice faded, Qi Yue slowly lifted his hand, allowing everyone to see the faint green glow that had emerged on it. Light fluctuated indeterminately as it gave off an aura of sharpness that changed one's expression.
Even the air itself was being ripped to shreds by the green aura.
The expression of some of the more knowledgeable experts present changed as voices of shock rang out, “That is… one of Qi Manor's top tier Genesis techniques, the Auraflare technique?!”
“Qi Yue has mastered the Auraflare technique?!”
“Not good, things are going to get dangerous for prince Zhou Yuan. Although the Auraflare technique is said to be a low grade Black tier Genesis technique, its power surpasses several mid grade Black tier Genesis techniques!”
“With this technique, Qi Yue is practically invincible amongst those below the Qi Nourishing stage!”