Starting from the pharmacy, he grew into a martial saint among men.

Chu Hong stood quietly in the woods, his gaze slightly narrowed.

Zheng Yuan topped the list with forty-three identity cards, which was somewhat beyond his expectations.

But he didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

Because he knew that Zheng Yuan was indeed very strong, and he had few rivals as he swept through the competition.

It's quite normal to have such a harvest.

He thought to himself that Zheng Yuan was too far away to consider for the time being.

Suddenly, Chu Hong recalled the scene last night when he was surrounded by several people and had no choice but to retreat.

An idea suddenly popped into my head.

If we could join forces with Zhou Mingrui to wipe out the candidates in the southwest, it would seem like a very good option.

The two are exceptionally skilled and powerful; if they were to attack together...

Even if the other side has a large number of people, they will inevitably have no choice but to hand over their identity cards.

This will significantly improve the efficiency of ID card collection.

Furthermore, when it came time to compete with Zhou Mingrui, there were no other candidates around to interfere or covet the opportunity, allowing him to act as he pleased.

It can be said to serve multiple purposes.

The thought had barely formed in his mind when Chu Hong heard a clear voice coming from the opposite mountain peak:

"Brother Chu, may I have a meeting with you? I have something to discuss with you!"

Chu Hong looked up and immediately saw a figure standing on the cliff, waving in all directions.

This invitation is not a challenge to a duel; there is something else going on.

Chu Hong understood Zhou Mingrui's thoughts almost instantly.

His thoughts must have coincided with my own!

Thinking of this, Chu Hong immediately responded with all his might:

"Brother Zhou, please wait a moment!"

The two responded to each other from afar, instantly drawing the attention of people both inside and outside the mountain.

The candidates even thought the duel between the two had been brought forward, and everyone stared intently at each other, with some even beginning to sneak towards the hill where Zhou Mingrui was.

However, some astute people, after a little thought, have already realized the truth.

Zhou Mingrui's invitation was not just a simple contest; there was probably a deeper scheme hidden within.

The thought of that unlikely guess sent a chill down their spines.

The more astute groups even set off immediately, preparing to leave this place of trouble.

On the training ground outside the mountain, Song Qingshan saw through Zhou Mingrui's thoughts at a glance and pondered:

"It seems like the two of them are planning to join forces."

The people around were immediately in an uproar, finding it hard to believe.

The two are true rivals, and rivals with a certain amount of history between them.

How could they suddenly put aside their grudges and join forces?

But upon closer examination of Zhou Mingrui and Chu Hong's reactions, they realized that it might not be impossible.

Hung Hing sat in his seat, feeling that he could no longer understand the disciples he had carefully cultivated.

On the high platform, Xiong Zhen looked at the light screen and nodded slightly.

He truly admired Chu Hong and Zhou Mingrui's ability to assess the situation, put aside their grudges, and join forces; their character and vision were truly admirable.

-----------------

Before long, Chu Hong swept across the mountains and arrived at the cliff where Zhou Mingrui was.

A day later, Zhou Mingrui's clothes were stained with a little dust and blood, clearly indicating that the fierce battles of the previous day had had some effect on him.

Chu Hong stood not far away, leaning against a large tree, and nodded to Zhou Mingrui:

"Brother Zhou, practicing your martial arts?"

Zhou Mingrui was practicing standing meditation when he saw Chu Hong arrive, and immediately stopped.

"Brother Chu, you are truly skilled. You have already collected thirty-seven identity tokens in just one day. You are truly admirable."

"Brother Zhou, you flatter me." Chu Hong said with a faint smile, "I only used some unorthodox techniques. In terms of direct confrontation, I am no match for you, Brother Zhou."

After exchanging pleasantries and compliments, the two finally got down to business.

Zhou Mingrui looked sincere and said bluntly, "Brother Chu, I'll be frank."

"After yesterday's battles, I realized that fighting alone is really time-consuming and laborious, and one could easily fall into danger if I'm not careful."

"Therefore, I plan to invite Brother Chu to join my team, and the two of us will clear the area together."

Chu Hong nodded slightly: "Even if Brother Zhou hadn't said anything, I was planning to invite him anyway."

Going it alone is indeed not easy.

Imagine last night, if it weren't for attracting the three-eyed cat demon, Chu Hong would never have been able to devour the group of examinees who ambushed him so quickly and easily.

That's why Chu Hong understood the importance of joining forces.

On this point, he had to admit that Qin Feng was right.

He believed that not only he and Zhou Mingrui, but other martial arts experts must have also discovered this weakness.

Who knows, they might even join forces today.

Zhou Mingrui felt relieved when he saw that Chu Hong agreed so readily.

"Great!" Zhou Mingrui clapped his hands, overjoyed.

He was also worried that Chu Hong might be unwilling to join forces because of their past 'grudges'.

After a moment's thought, he revealed the allocation method he had already devised:

"Brother Chu, now that we've joined forces, we need to clarify the ownership of the identity tokens. My suggestion is to work together to clear out the identity tokens we obtain, split the profits 50/50, and settle accounts daily."

"As for our duel, we'll hold it on the last day. How about that?"

"Okay!" Chu Hong agreed without hesitation.

Both of them are easygoing people, so there's no need for them to be so petty about this.

Right now, the priority is to work together to accumulate identity tokens.

"Great! Before the fight even begins, we're already allies."

The two hit it off immediately and began to discuss the route for the raid.

Before long, Chu Hong and Zhou Mingrui set off to clear out the scattered candidates in the southwest direction.

-----------------

"Run! The martial arts duo are here!"

As the sun began to set, a student darted through the woods, screaming as he fled, his voice echoing throughout the surrounding forest.

It's unclear who first coined the term "Martial Arts Duo."

Anyway, rumors started circulating after Chu Hong and Zhou Mingrui worked together to eliminate the two squads.

After that, whenever someone saw the two of them appear, they would shout to warn nearby examinees to be on alert and run away.

Chu Hong felt quite helpless about this.

He believed that the name was too ostentatious and that once it was announced, it would make the hunt much more difficult.

But he couldn't control what people said; even when the candidates were eliminated, he would loudly remind them along the way.

After several attempts, Chu Hong had no choice but to stop paying attention.

Ahead, a candidate was running with all his might when Chu Hong suddenly appeared and blocked his path.

He extended his right arm to stop the man and said calmly:

"Hand over your identity card."

The man refused to accept his fate. He shifted his feet slightly, intending to take the opportunity to retreat.

But then, footsteps sounded behind him, and a strong arm was placed on his shoulder.

"Still trying to run away?"

It turned out that Zhou Mingrui had already arrived behind him, holding two brand-new identity tokens in his hands.

There was no way forward or backward, and nowhere to retreat.

His own guards were dealt with by Zhou Mingrui.

Seeing this, the candidate had no choice but to give up completely, handing over his identity card with a dejected expression and accepting his elimination.

Zhou Mingrui glanced at the sky, tossed his identity token to the side, and said to Chu Hong:

"Brother Chu, it's getting late. Why don't we call it a day?"

"How about we split the bill first?"

Chu Hong laughed and said, "I couldn't be happier!"

"Splash!"

Zhou Mingrui emptied a large bag of identity tags from his backpack, which piled up on the ground like a small mountain.

"There are quite a few identity tokens today." Chu Hong nodded.

"That's for sure. If it were just me, I probably wouldn't even receive half of it."

Zhou Mingrui began counting the number of identity cards.

Chu Hong planned to go hunting to fill his stomach.

But as soon as he turned around, he saw three figures walking out of the woods.

"Hey, the two ruthless martial arts masters are tallying up their spoils. I wonder if we got a share?!"