Chapter 22: Training Ends
Su Ke threw a punch at Lin Ning. Lin Ning kicked it aside with a left whip kick, then used the momentum to spin her body and strike Su Ke's right shoulder.
The force of the blow was immense, causing Su Ke to lose his balance and stagger several steps to the left. A dull ache lingered in his right shoulder.
Su Ke focused completely, watching her intently and resolving not to give her any chance for a sneak attack. Lin Ning charged forward, leaped high, landed on Su Ke's neck, and clamped down with a scissor leg lock.
With a twist of her body, the force sent Su Ke directly into a front flip, much like how Black Widow took down Happy. After hitting the ground, Su Ke reacted quickly, braced his hands against the floor, and performed a Thomas flare on the spot.
Lin Ning rolled forward to evade. The two stood up at the same time, reassumed their combat stances, and stared at each other.
Su Ke struck first, curving his fingers into claws and lunging toward Lin Ning's face. Lin Ning's eyes widened, her expression filled with disbelief, as if asking how this kid had become so ruthless.
There was no time for her to dwell on it. She blocked with her left hand and immediately kicked toward his vitals.
Su Ke bent down to dodge, seized her shoulder with his other hand, and executed a powerful shoulder throw. Lin Ning tried to rise, but Su Ke's large hand pressed against her face, pinning her firmly to the ground.
She attempted to use a scissor leg lock again, but Su Ke gave her no chance. Grabbing her head with both hands, he spun twice and flung her out of the ring.
Lin Ning stood up unsteadily and said, "You really didn't hold back. My neck almost snapped." Su Ke replied, "You were the one who told me not to hold back."
It was true that real friends should be considerate of each other, but it depended on the situation. In circumstances like this, holding back would only harm the other person; giving it your all was the true mark of respect.
Lin Ning understood this as well. She only sighed over losing the match and said nothing more.
Wang Zhong's opponent was the former Feng Wei. Although both were in the Combat Class and their Supernatural Abilities were related to the Physical Body, Wang Zhong's Realm was higher and his fighting techniques more refined, so he won quickly.
After the second round, five people remained. In the next draw, Su Ke was lucky and received a bye.
By the time the third and fourth rounds ended, Wang Zhong had unquestionably emerged as the strongest. The final round was a duel between Su Ke and Wang Zhong.
Both were at the first order, sixth stage. However, although Su Ke possessed many Alien Heroes similar to Physical Body Spirit Energy Users, his Supernatural Ability was ultimately a Manifestation-type because the Omnitrix was a manifested object.
As a result, his physical attribute gains were not as great as Wang Zhong's. Even so, Su Ke refused to admit defeat easily and wanted to see how large the gap was between them without using his Supernatural Ability.
Su Ke attacked first with a kick to Wang Zhong's body, but Wang Zhong stood as motionless as an iron tower. Instead, a jolt of pain shot through Su Ke's leg.
The corner of Wang Zhong's mouth curled up as he said mockingly, "Heh heh, Old Ke, is that all you've got?" Su Ke was furious, thinking, how dare he say I can't.
He launched a kick straight toward Wang Zhong's groin. Wang Zhong casually caught his leg.
Su Ke felt as if his leg were clamped in iron pliers. He struggled to break free, but it was useless.
Realizing this, he stopped struggling and used the point of capture as a fulcrum, leaping upward as if stepping on an invisible platform. This brought Su Ke's head level with Wang Zhong's, as there was no other way given the opponent's height.
He formed his right hand into a palm and thrust it toward Wang Zhong's eyes. Wang Zhong tried to block with his other hand, but Su Ke had anticipated this.
The palm strike dipped mid-motion and slammed into Wang Zhong's neck. The front of the neck housed the windpipe, and even a light touch could cause discomfort, let alone such a heavy blow.
The strike momentarily cut off his breathing. In pain, Wang Zhong released Su Ke's ankle and clutched his neck with both hands, overwhelmed by suffocation and violent coughing.
However, Su Ke had held back. If he had used his full strength, Wang Zhong's windpipe might have snapped, killing him on the spot.
After about 10 seconds, the coughing gradually subsided. Seeing this, Su Ke pressed the advantage and delivered a sweeping kick while Wang Zhong had yet to fully recover.
Wang Zhong fell to the ground. Seizing the opportunity, Su Ke grabbed his leg, intending to throw him out just as he had done to Lin Ning.
But he had underestimated Wang Zhong's weight. Even with his first order, sixth stage physique, lifting Wang Zhong felt like trying to move a massive boulder, and he could not hoist him at all.
That mistake cost him his only chance. Wang Zhong had already recovered and sprang up with a slap of his hands.
Before Su Ke could react, he was pulled into a crushing bear hug. Wang Zhong tightened his grip, the pressure increasing steadily.
"I give up! I give up! I give up!" Su Ke shouted. Zhao Gang immediately called out, "Stop!"
Wang Zhong released him, and Su Ke collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. For a moment, he felt as though he had just seen his ancestors.
Zhao Gang announced, "I declare Wang Zhong the winner of this mock exam!" The students responded with thunderous applause.
Wang Zhong pulled Su Ke to his feet and said smugly, "Well? Your bro is pretty awesome, right?" Su Ke narrowed his eyes and replied menacingly, "Just you wait. Next time I'll transform into Diamondhead and crush you."
Wang Zhong recalled some unpleasant memories and instantly lost his smug expression. Zhao Gang then addressed the class, saying that the assessment had shown everyone the gap between themselves and others.
He noted that two of them had trained before and set them aside for now, but Su Ke had trained alongside everyone else and yet possessed a deeper understanding of combat techniques. This, he explained, was the result of effort, and with the same dedication, the others might not necessarily be inferior.
He ended by telling everyone to take advantage of the remaining time and practice the fist technique once more. The students responded loudly and enthusiastically.
Having just applied their techniques in real combat, everyone trained with renewed passion. Over the next week, their progress was visibly apparent.
Under this high-intensity training, Su Ke successfully broke through to the seventh stage without consuming any potions. During the half-month period, he also stabilized his Foundation, as his recent rapid breakthroughs had caused some instability.
Although the issue was not obvious now, it could become fatal at higher Realms if left unaddressed. Wang Zhong and Lin Ning also naturally achieved breakthroughs.
On the final day, the half-month training officially ended, and everyone faced the last assessment. To everyone's confusion, Su Ke, Wang Zhong, and Lin Ning did not appear.
Some students remarked that Wang Zhong and Lin Ning came from wealthy families, so their absence made sense, but questioned why Su Ke did not show up. Others noted that Su Ke's parents also had decent jobs and enough savings, so he should still be able to afford potions.
Many felt relieved, believing that if those three had participated, they would have swept all the rewards. With them gone, the others finally had a chance.
The discussion grew lively, with some boasting about their recent hard work and others mocking their laziness. Zhao Gang cut them off, announcing that the three had voluntarily withdrawn and ordering everyone else to line up for the draw.
Excited shouts rang out as the students prepared, each convinced that victory would be theirs this time.
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