Lin Yue rose to his feet with an extremely steady motion, his shoulders slightly lowered, his arms hanging naturally at his sides.

His gaze fell upon the person opposite him, his brow furrowing slightly. In that instant, all the information he had on Li Mengchao flashed through his mind.

A direct descendant of the Li Family, one of the six great families of Yuhe County. From a young age, he had cultivated his family’s ultimate technique, the Vajra Hand Seal, and was said to have reached an extremely profound level. The force from his palms could shatter stone and splinter wood.

The man had a perverse personality and held a high position within his family. Ordinary Martial Artists were beneath his notice.

More importantly, the Vajra Hand Seal was an extremely hard and ferocious external art. It was a direct clash of styles with his own specialty, the Mountain-Shattering Fist. This duel was bound to create some sparks.

On the other side, Li Mengchao stood up. He had fair skin and a tall, slender build, looking somewhat thin overall. But when he rose, an invisible aura seemed to emanate from him, and the surrounding discussions unconsciously quieted.

He wore a brocade martial uniform of exquisite material, the cuffs embroidered with dark gold cloud patterns. Even standing in a crowd, he exuded an innate air of nobility.

Li Mengchao’s gaze swept over Lin Yue, and his brow twitched slightly. He began to study him more carefully, his expression tinged with an indescribable strangeness.

His eyes held no contempt, nor any vigilance. It was more like he was examining an object that was related to him in some inexplicable way, making one’s heart tighten.

One after the other, the two walked toward the fighting ring.

All eyes on the training grounds were fixed on them.

Some people were studying Li Mengchao’s hands. They were fair and slender, no different from those of an ordinary young master from a wealthy family. Who would have thought those hands could unleash a Palm Force capable of piercing gold and shattering stone?

"Lin Yue is exceptionally talented and a strong fighter. His Mountain-Shattering Fist is incomparably fierce. The Li Family’s Vajra Hand Seal is famous throughout Yuhe, and Li Mengchao is the most outstanding of his generation. This is going to be a spectacular fight."

"I heard the Li Family’s Vajra Hand Seal is of extremely high quality. A major figure from a Prefecture City sect once came specifically for it. At the same cultivation realm, few Martial Artists can withstand a Li Family expert."

"Let’s just watch. No one who’s made it this far in the training ground trials is a simple character."

The buzz of discussion washed over them like a tide, yet it didn’t affect the two on the ring in the slightest.

Lin Yue took his position on one side of the ring, his feet shoulder-width apart. He sank his waist and dropped his shoulders, assuming the opening stance of the Mountain-Shattering Fist. The muscles in his arms bulged, like a tiger poised to strike.

Li Mengchao stood about twenty feet away, his hands clasped behind his back. He maintained his indifferent expression, but his fingers, hanging at his sides, were slightly curled. A faint golden stream of energy seemed to flow between them.

’Arrogant.’ Lin Yue’s expression soured, and he snorted coldly.

The air seemed to freeze in that moment. Even the wind died down, leaving only the silent standoff between the two.

The banners at the edge of the training grounds hung limp. Sunlight pierced through the clouds and fell upon the ring, stretching their shadows long. The shadows overlapped on the wooden platform like a silent wrestling match.

...

In the spectators’ stands, the wind carried a slight, dry heat. Qi Yun brushed back a stray lock of hair at her temple, her gaze locked on Lin Yue. Her fingertips pressed together unconsciously, the pads turning white.

She had received some news from her elder brother before.

Lin Yue had grown too close to the Xiao Family. There were even rumors that the Xiao Family intended to marry one of their young ladies to him, making him a son-in-law of the family.

If that happened, the relationship between the Xiao Family and Lin Yue would be far more than a simple matter of sponsorship.

Lin Yue would become a bona fide member of the Xiao Family.

With Lin Yue’s innate talent and the Xiao Family’s resources, he had a great chance of breaking through to the Transformation Realm.

This was something the Li and Ye Families absolutely did not want to see, especially the Li Family. For over a hundred years in Yuhe County, they had been in constant conflict with the Xiao Family, to the point of being sworn enemies.

Qi Yun remembered her elder brother’s grave expression as he warned her to stay away from Lin Yue from now on, lest she get dragged into the conflict.

From that point on, she no longer deliberately tried to get close to and win over Lin Yue as she had before.

But now, seeing Lin Yue facing off against a direct-line expert from the Li Family, Qi Yun still felt a faint sense of unease.

She had previously considered whether the Li and Ye Families would make a move against Lin Yue during the training ground trials.

But after some thought, she decided she was probably overthinking it.

Just yesterday afternoon, Lin Yue had defeated Ye Canglan of the Ye Family on the ring.

Although Lin Yue hadn’t won that match easily—even getting a cut on his arm—he had won nonetheless. The people from the Ye Family looked displeased, but they hadn’t acted out on the spot.

Yet now, as she watched Lin Yue face off against Li Mengchao, that inexplicable unease surged within her again.

Li Mengchao was arguably the most outstanding disciple of his generation in the Li Family. He seemed cold and distant, but his methods were ruthless. Qi Yun herself knew of two incidents.

One was from two years ago. A minor family, who didn’t know their place, had offended the Li Family. It was Li Mengchao who dealt with them, and his methods were so clean that not a single trace was left behind.

The other was when a group of Water Bandits on the Yuhe River hijacked the Li Family’s goods. Li Mengchao single-handedly slaughtered his way through them. Except for a handful who escaped, the entire bandit camp was wiped out by him.

"It shouldn’t happen..." Qi Yun muttered, as if trying to convince herself. "This is the training grounds. With so many people watching, the Li Family has to save some face. They can’t pull any dirty tricks in public, right?"

She took a deep breath, trying to suppress her unease.

In the row in front of Qi Yun, Sun Yong sat upright in the central, large chair.

He stared at the upright figure on the ring, his brows knitted into a knot.

Of the eight winners from this year’s training ground trials, the one who unsettled him the most was Li Mengchao.

The Li Family’s Vajra Hand Seal was a martial art whose power surpassed that of the Mountain-Shattering Fist.

Moreover, Li Mengchao of the Li Family had already cultivated it to the Peak of Dark Energy, while Lin Yue was still a hair’s breadth away from that level.

...

On the ring, Lin Yue had already assumed his stance. His back was ramrod straight, his jawline tense, and his gaze was as sharp as a blade. It was clear he was giving this his full concentration.

Li Mengchao, however, still looked as calm as ever, but the aura around him grew heavier and heavier. It was as if the very air was being squeezed tight by his invisible hands.

The discussions in the stands gradually died down, everyone’s attention drawn to the two figures on the ring.

"Begin!" Before the Silver Armor Captain’s voice had even faded, the two on the ring shot forward like arrows loosed from a bowstring.

Lin Yue’s foot stomped down, shattering half a floorboard beneath him, and he used the rebound force to surge forward.

His right fist, wrapped in the fierce Inner Strength of the Mountain-Shattering Fist, whistled through the air with a WHOOSH as it flew straight for Li Mengchao’s face.

Before the fist even arrived, the wind it generated blew the hair on Li Mengchao’s forehead upright. The energy condensed in the fist was turbulent and powerful.

He attacked without mercy from the very start, putting his full power into it, intending to seize the initiative.

Li Mengchao’s gaze lifted slightly. He slowly raised his seemingly slender hands. His five fingers spread open and then abruptly closed, and a faint golden halo actually appeared in his palms.

He didn’t dodge. He pushed his right palm out horizontally. The movement looked slow, but it perfectly met the edge of Lin Yue’s fist.

BANG!

The moment fist and palm collided, a muffled explosion erupted across the training grounds. A shockwave swept outwards, causing their robes to flutter wildly.

Lin Yue felt an incomparably fierce force surge from the other’s palm. It was far heavier and more powerful than it looked, as if he had slammed into a red-hot wall of refined iron. The impact numbed his right arm, and his fist had been stopped cold.

’Such powerful Palm Force!’

Lin Yue’s heart shuddered. He used the rebound force to quickly retreat half a step, his left fist immediately following up. The momentum of this punch was even more urgent as it aimed straight for Li Mengchao’s ribs.

His Mountain-Shattering Fist focused on continuous attacks. If one fist missed, the second followed like a shadow. The force of his punches layered one upon another, like furious waves crashing against the shore.

Li Mengchao shifted his body slightly to the side, dodging the vital point at his ribs. He struck out with his left palm, and the afterimage of his palm crossed with the afterimage of Lin Yue’s fist in mid-air.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

A series of collisions rang out.

This pale, slender son of the Li Family possessed such a fierce and domineering palm technique.

Every time he struck with his Vajra Hand Seal, it carried an immense, heavy power. When the wind from his palm swept past the wooden railings of the ring, it left deep finger marks. His Palm Force had actually been trained to a realm where hardness and softness were perfectly blended.

In the space of just a few breaths, the two had already exchanged more than ten blows.

Li Mengchao, relying solely on his bare hands, had blocked all of Lin Yue’s continuous punches. His palm strikes looked ordinary, but they always managed to shut down Lin Yue’s attacks by a hair’s breadth. He was gradually gaining the upper hand.