"The first contestants to appear are Ke Zi'an against Long Ren. Let's give them a warm welcome to the stage."
Gu Yuan watched as a refined young man beside him, along with Long Ren, who was ranked seventh, stood up and headed towards the arena.
As the two figures disappeared, Gu Yuan fell into thought, his mind replaying the information he had gathered.
Seventh rank, Long Ren, from Zhongzhou Second Middle School, undefeated thus far, skilled with a Dragon Head Spear.
Tenth rank, Ke Zi'an, from Bianjing City Experimental Middle School, specializes in physical burst, with an extremely fierce fighting style.
The remaining contestants are:
First rank, Yang Tiankui, from Zhongzhou City Experimental Middle School, strength unknown, martial prowess unknown.
Second rank, Ren Tiandu, from Zhongzhou City First High School. Gu Yuan had seen this person in the national genius rankings. According to past matches, he hasn't gone all out, and his weapon is unknown.
Third rank, Yun Yuqin, from Luodushi First Middle School, known for her exceptionally graceful fighting style.
Fourth rank, Tuoba Jun, from the Stargazer Legion. Wields a Blood Battle Saber, his attacks are fierce and direct, aimed at vital points, embodying the essence of military martial arts.
Fifth rank, Xiao Yixian, from Lao Jun Temple.
Sixth rank, Monk Miaozhen, from Vajra Temple.
Eighth rank, Shu Fei, from Zhongzhou City Experimental Middle School, her fighting style is bizarre and unpredictable, making her difficult to fathom.
Gu Yuan reviewed the information on each contestant. As he came back to his senses, Long Ren and Ke Zi'an had already reached the arena.
A flash appeared in Long Ren's hand, revealing a Dragon Beast Spear. The spear was a zhang long, cast entirely from black metal, its tip emanating a cold gleam.
"This is the Dragon family's Dragon Beast Spear. I wonder how much of its essence this young man has mastered," the prominent figures in the stands began to discuss the contestants' actions.
Long Ren, holding the Dragon Head Spear, gave it a slight flick. The spear emitted a humming sound, akin to a dragon's roar.
The two men clasped their fists in greeting, distanced themselves, and at the referee's command, charged at each other.
Ke Zi'an's figure suddenly began to swell, his entire body enveloped in rolling black malevolent energy, his skin turning a mottled black and red.
Gangsha Demonic Body!
With a ferocious countenance and blood-red eyes, Ke Zi'an stomped forward and lunged at Long Ren.
"I didn't expect Ke Zi'an to have cultivated the Gangsha Demonic Body. He truly has perseverance," a high-ranking official from the education bureau nodded in praise.
The Gangsha Demonic Body is an extremely painful body-tempering technique that uses malevolent energy to refine the physique. Those who manage to cultivate it are almost always individuals with strong willpower.
"Well met," Long Ren growled, his Dragon Head Spear humming, seemingly eager for battle.
A point of cold light tore through the air. The spear, like a dragon, ripped through the atmosphere, emitting a piercing shriek.
Aggression like Fire!
Long Ren's figure, like a swimming dragon, thrust his spear directly at Ke Zi'an.
Seeing this, Ke Zi'an's fists became enveloped in dense, bloody malevolent energy, forming an excellent defense.
*Screech!*
Sparks flew as Long Ren's Dragon Head Spear was directly caught by Ke Zi'an's clasped palms, the spear tip stopping just centimeters from his chest.
The sharp edge pierced through Ke Zi'an's bloody malevolent energy, revealing his chest.
"What?" Long Ren was incredulous, not expecting Ke Zi'an to be able to catch his spear tip barehanded.
Ke Zi'an gripped the spear tip with his palms, his right arm bulging with muscle as he exerted force, pulling backward with such power that Long Ren almost lost his grip on the spear.
Ke Zi'an twisted his body, unleashing a whip-like kick that tore through the air like a battle axe, smashing down at Long Ren.
Long Ren’s expression remained calm. He twisted the Dragon Head Spear in his hands, forcing Ke Zi'an to release the tip.
The spear immediately returned to block Ke Zi'an's whip kick.
Ke Zi'an changed his move mid-air, forcefully stopping his momentum, and slammed his left leg down.
Then, he delivered a straight punch, imbued with fierce and powerful force, directly towards Long Ren's chest.
*Bang!*
Long Ren, unable to recover his spear in time, had to take Ke Zi'an's straight punch head-on. His body reeled backward from the impact.
The powerful force surged into his body, and his throat suddenly felt sweet. Long Ren forcefully swallowed, exhaling a cloud of bloody, turbid air.
From the stands, Gu Yuan watched as Ke Zi'an grabbed Long Ren's spear and yanked it back. A sense of familiarity washed over him. Wasn't this the same move he used when he fought?
This scene made the high-ranking officials and recruitment teachers in the stands' eyes light up. They hadn't expected Ke Zi'an, ranked tenth, to display such a brilliant fighting style.
Some recruitment teachers began contemplating how to secure this student.
Long Ren adjusted his stance, raised his spear, and charged at Ke Zi'an again.
The two continued their battle on the arena.
This time, Long Ren had learned his lesson. He no longer approached Ke Zi'an, maintaining a safe distance and continuously harassing him with his spear.
For a time, the arena was filled with a blur of spear shadows, resembling a torrential rain of pear blossoms, forcing Ke Zi'an to constantly parry Long Ren's attacks.
The Dragon Head Spear was wielded flawlessly, preventing Ke Zi'an from closing the distance.
This was unavoidable. A longer weapon held a significant advantage that the Body Tempering realm couldn't easily overcome. Not everyone possessed Gu Yuan's archery skills, allowing for ranged attacks.
Seeing that his prolonged assault was unsuccessful, Ke Zi'an became anxious.
With a fierce determination, he charged directly into Long Ren's spear.
*Squelch.*
The sound of the spear tip piercing flesh was heard. Ke Zi'an's slightly frenzied expression met Long Ren's somewhat startled gaze.
With a hint of a mad grin on his blood-red cheeks, he used his body's muscles to clamp down tightly on Long Ren's spear.
"Whoa, this kid's got guts! We in the Demon Extermination Army are taking him," a burly man in military uniform exclaimed excitedly.
"Your Demon Extermination Army is nothing. We in Stargazer are taking him," a handsome young man in different military attire sneered.
"What did you say?" The burly man's eyes widened, and he began to exude a dense malevolent energy, as if containing the corpses of countless ferocious beasts.
"What, you got a problem?" The handsome youth retorted, showing no signs of backing down.
"Alright, the match is still ongoing, what are you two arguing about!" a middle-aged man seated at the very front turned his head, his gaze chillingly fixed on the two confronting each other.
Upon seeing the elder speak, the two grunted at each other and turned back to watch the match.
Ke Zi'an's eyes gleamed with madness as he forcefully gripped Long Ren's Dragon Head Spear with both hands, engaging in a test of strength.
Long Ren was in a predicament. He couldn't abandon his weapon; without his spear, he would lose a significant portion of his combat effectiveness.
However, his strength was still no match for Ke Zi'an, who had activated the Gangsha Demonic Body.
With the spear wrested from him, Long Ren looked at Ke Zi'an with anger. For a spearman, having their weapon taken was an extreme humiliation.
Ke Zi'an pulled out the spear, drawing a gush of blood, and with a powerful throw, the spear spun through the air and embedded itself at the edge of the arena.
Long Ren considered rushing forward to retrieve his spear, but Ke Zi'an's gaze was locked onto him. If he made a move to reclaim it, he would undoubtedly be at a disadvantage.
He tensed his muscles, compressing the wound tightly to stop the bleeding.
Ke Zi'an grinned, "Now it's fair and square!"
He took a sudden step forward, exploding with immense speed, charging directly at Long Ren.