Chapter 30: Palm Strength Competition and Dao Heart Examination

Mastering the Little Celestial Star Palm, Zhang Yu didn't rely on any specific forms or stances. It was a pure exertion of mana, transforming it into a chilling, Yin-imbued palm force.

At that moment, He Dayou, unleashing the Little Celestial Star Palm, was confident he could severely injure Zhang Yu with its frigid power, freezing his internal organs.

He believed that given Zhang Yu's financial straits, he certainly wouldn't have the money for hospital treatment, leaving him to endure the pain.

"You poor wretch, this will keep you out of school for at least a week!"

*Boom!*

With a resounding clash of palms, their mana collided, echoing like an explosion within their bodies.

Although He Dayou's Little Celestial Star Palm possessed formidable power, he had only recently mastered it.

Zhang Yu's martial art, while being the common and unremarkable Scattered Hand, had been honed to Level 3, enabling it to unleash a substantial palm force as well.

As their palm forces met, mana surged, and He Dayou realized his advantage wasn't as overwhelming as he'd anticipated. The Little Celestial Star Palm's power could only gradually push back his opponent's palm force, slowly invading his body.

What surprised him even more was that Zhang Yu was like an unyielding tumbler. Each time the Little Celestial Star Palm's force managed to penetrate a little, it was quickly repelled. Despite being at a disadvantage, Zhang Yu stubbornly held his ground, refusing to be defeated.

Simultaneously, Zhang Yu's internal mana circulation continued uninterrupted, constantly replenishing his own mana, allowing him to withstand He Dayou's Little Celestial Star Palm again and again.

The assistant instructor, witnessing this scene, was suddenly startled. "They're clashing mana?"

Seeing the grave expressions on their faces, the assistant instructor feared something might happen to them. If something did, his year-end performance would be ruined. Especially considering one of them was the son of a school trustee, he couldn't afford any mishaps.

So he hurriedly reminded them, "Both of you, if either of you can't hold on, concede immediately, and the other must immediately withdraw their mana."

"Don't let a monthly exam leave you seriously injured, hindering your future prospects."

Neither of them spoke. He Dayou stared intently at Zhang Yu, frantically channeling his mana, transforming it into waves of Little Celestial Star Palm force, relentlessly assaulting him.

Zhang Yu, however, remained calm and composed, actively using the Celestial Qi Gathering Technique, simultaneously replenishing his mana and resisting He Dayou's Little Celestial Star Palm.

In the blink of an eye, both of their foreheads were covered in sweat, and their bodies radiated heat, like two giant furnaces.

But Zhang Yu's complexion was rosy, and he appeared increasingly relaxed.

He Dayou, on the other hand, now had a deathly pale face, gradually showing signs of weakening.

He could no longer control his emotions, looking at Zhang Yu with a mixture of shock and anger.

The assistant coach glanced at the time. Their mana clash had been going on for over a minute. Seeing He Dayou's condition, he had to remind them again, "Both of you, if you can't hold on, concede immediately."

"This is just a monthly exam."

He Dayou struggled to open his mouth several times, looking at Zhang Yu, who was becoming increasingly relaxed. Finally, he managed to force a few words through gritted teeth, "I..."

"I concede."

As they slowly withdrew their respective mana, He Dayou collapsed to the ground.

At that moment, his face was as white as paper, and the mana in his dantian was almost completely depleted.

He looked at Zhang Yu with resentment and asked, "How much mana do you have left?"

Looking at the weak, half-dead state of his opponent, Zhang Yu immediately said modestly, "Just one or two tenths, maybe."

He Dayou snorted coldly. He could tell that the other's condition was definitely not just one or two tenths.

He slowly stood up, giving Zhang Yu a deep look. "You are good."

"We'll spar again next time."

With that, He Dayou turned and left.

As he walked away, he reflected on the battle today, and he couldn't help but admit something to himself.

"Zhang Yu... is strong."

"But... unfortunately, as a poor person, he is destined to become our dog."

"I hope you can hold on until I legitimately defeat you next time, don't leave me with any regrets."

On the other side, watching He Dayou's staggering figure as he left, Zhang Yu thought to himself, "Spar again next time?"

"Don't even think about it, classmate... this is as close as your strength will ever be to mine, it's your best memory. If we fight again next time, I'm afraid Zhang Yu will let you down because you couldn't make me use my full strength, ah."

Zhang Yu walked towards the exam room. As he walked out of the door, he saw Bai Zhenzhen leaning against the wall.

"Yo, Zhen, that was quick."

"Yeah, finished it in a few moves." Bai Zhenzhen glanced at him, curiously asking, "Who did you draw?"

Zhang Yu: "He Dayou."

"Damn!" Bai Zhenzhen stomped her foot in anger, "He already showed off in the Daoist arts exam, and now you've been humiliated by him again. This guy's having a blast today."

"But don't worry, I'll challenge him in the next practical class and humiliate him for you."

Zhang Yu looked at Bai Zhenzhen speechlessly: "I won."

Sensing Bai Zhenzhen's surprised gaze, Zhang Yu simply made a move.

He threw a punch, which Bai Zhenzhen immediately blocked with a palm.

Their fists and palms collided continuously, their four arms turning into afterimages in the air, making muffled sounds like heavy hammers striking.

*Bang!*

After exchanging several moves, they suddenly separated.

Bai Zhenzhen: "Your Scattered Hand is at Level 3?"

Zhang Yu: "Your Scattered Hand is at Level 3?"

Bai Zhenzhen said in shock: "You were only at Level 1 before, how did you suddenly get to Level 3? Could it be that you had already trained the Scattered Hand to Level 3 a long time ago, and you were just waiting for an opportunity like today's battle with He Dayou to put on a big show? You kid... you've been reading too many power fantasy novels, haven't you?"

Zhang Yu looked at Bai Zhenzhen with similar suspicion: "Zhen, you're just saying what you were thinking, aren't you? You said you were at Level 2 of Scattered Hand, but you're going to any lengths to show off, aren't you?"

Bai Zhenzhen's face turned red, and she explained, "I'm not doing it to show off."

"Having a high Scattered Hand level doesn't add to the score."

"Instead, hiding your strength during the practical exam is more likely to catch your opponent off guard and get a high score."

"Didn't the teacher tell you? Information warfare is also part of the practical exam."

Zhang Yu suddenly thought of He Dayou, who he had fought today.

The unexpected chilling palm technique that the other party had suddenly unleashed had almost gotten him.

Listening to Bai Zhenzhen's words, Zhang Yu immediately agreed. He thought, "I really need to keep a few tricks up my sleeve, and I can't reveal all my cards."

After Zhou Tianyi also finished the exam, the three of them went to the cafeteria for dinner together, and then went home or to tutoring.

Tomorrow would be the examination of Dao-Heart, Mana, and Physical Strength.

After returning home today, Zhang Yu came to the unfinished building again.

The 24-hour cooldown for Switching Disciplines wasn't over yet.

Since Zhang Yu was still proficient in Scattered Hand, he decided to just continue practicing Scattered Hand and raise the level of this martial art.

"Heh, although I revealed my Level 3 Scattered Hand to Zhen, as long as I train this martial art to Level 5 or 6 today, then I'll have new tricks up my sleeve."

Thinking of how shocked Bai Zhenzhen would be next time, Zhang Yu felt that his punches were even more powerful.

So Zhang Yu practiced Scattered Hand seriously, resting when he was tired, and continuing to practice Scattered Hand after his stamina was restored. In the blink of an eye, a night had passed.

The next morning, as the sunlight slowly shone on Zhang Yu's body through the empty windows of the unfinished building, he slowly opened his eyes while sitting cross-legged on the ground.

After this night of hard work, his Scattered Hand reached Level 5 (3/50), and his understanding of this basic martial art became more profound.

And his mana also increased from 11.7 to 11.8.

Zhang Yu sighed in his heart: "With the passive recuperation effect of the Celestial Qi Gathering Technique, even if I only recuperate during rest these days, the increase in mana every day is still a lot."

Feeling the constant increase in mana in his body, Zhang Yu felt a lot better.

This also made him look forward to the effect of upgrading the Celestial Qi Gathering Technique to Level 10 after the cooldown time for Switching Disciplines had passed.

...

Along the way, he squeezed onto the bus and walked into the school.

Songyang High School was still in a low-pressure state today.

Many students had visibly ugly faces, apparently because they had bad luck in the exam yesterday.

After Zhang Yu had breakfast, he came to the examination room for today's first exam, the Dao-Heart exam.

With white walls, rows of neatly arranged beds, this examination room looked like a hospital ward.

However, instead of oxygen machines, there was something like a mask connected to the back of the beds.

Zhang Yu had just arrived at his bed and sat down when he heard the countdown in his mind again.

He curled his lips and simply meditated cross-legged.

While Zhang Yu was meditating, candidates kept walking in, and unknowingly, the beds in the entire examination room were filled with people.

As the bell rang, the expressions of many students froze, knowing that the exam was about to begin.

At the same time, a piece of light music came from the broadcast.

When the music was over, a female voice came from the broadcast.

"This is the Unified Monthly Dao-Heart Examination for all high schools in Songyang City. The examination will last for 60 minutes."

Hearing the voice from the broadcast, Zhang Yu was not surprised at all.

After all, his memories already contained the experience of the past few monthly exams.

Different from yesterday's General Knowledge Exam, Martial Arts Exam, and Daoist Arts Exam.

Each monthly Dao-Heart examination is a unified examination for all high schools in Songyang City.

This is closely related to the particularity of Dao-Heart and the Dao-Heart examination itself.

At the same time, the female voice continued from the broadcast.

"Attention, throughout the examination, please wear the Spirit Realm Mask correctly on your face."

"It is now time for equipment inspection and wearing."

All the students present immediately picked up the masks on the beds and inspected them.

Zhang Yu did the same. First, he confirmed that the connection cable behind the mask was plugged into the socket, and then he turned on the power to confirm that the mask was not damaged...

After confirming that there was no problem after inspection, Zhang Yu put the mask on his face.

He felt the mask deform for a while, and it had perfectly covered his face, as if his face had an extra layer of skin.

However, because his eyes were covered by the mask, Zhang Yu could only see a piece of darkness in front of him at this moment.

After a while, the female voice from the broadcast rang again.

"The equipment inspection and wearing is over."

"The Dao-Heart examination officially begins."

The darkness in front of Zhang Yu suddenly vibrated. With the emergence of pieces of light particles, he had already arrived in another world in the next moment.