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

Zheng Yuan landed in the valley, looking down at the valley below, a faint, disdainful smile on his lips.

He stood with his hands behind his back, exuding an arrogant air that pierced the hearts of Chu Hong and Zhou Mingrui.

His gaze swept over the two badly injured and disheveled men, but there was not a trace of pity in his eyes.

"That saved me a lot of trouble."

"Zheng Yuan, what do you want to do?!"

Chu Hong endured the pain, glaring angrily, his face full of 'resentment'.

Zhou Mingrui, supporting his swaying body, looked coldly at Zheng Yuan, his murderous aura rising again.

But without Zheng Yuan noticing, the two figures were slowly moving closer.

Zheng Yuan ignored the two of them, not even bothering to glance at them.

His gaze fell on the luggage beside him.

I stepped forward and came to my luggage.

However, he was meticulous and had anticipated that Chu Hong would make a backup plan, so he did not rashly grab the luggage.

He simply raised his hand and waved it, the wind from his palm sweeping across, blowing away all the powder and dust on the surface of the bags. After confirming that nothing was left behind, he bent down and picked up the two bags.

He lifted the bag in his hands, feeling its weight, and a satisfied and proud smile appeared on his face.

"Chu Hong, Zhou Mingrui, thank you so much!"

With these credentials, he has more than enough to take the top spot.

This is the first top spot after the martial arts examination reform, and it is bound to become famous far and wide, just like the top spots in previous martial arts examination reforms.

Moreover, this would allow one to establish a connection with Master Xiong, learn his martial arts, join the Azure Dragon Sect, and rise to prominence in one step.

But after he picked up his luggage, Chu Hong and Zhou Mingrui's expressions changed from shock and anger to calm and composure.

It seems that what he is holding is not an identity token.

He immediately sensed something was wrong, and then he heard Chu Hong grin and say:

"Brother Zheng, if you want the specialties of Canglang Mountain, just say so. Why wait until we are both exhausted before showing up to rob us?"

"Just take it, we'll give it to you."

Zhou Mingrui also smiled and said, "That's right, Brother Zheng, what you're doing is a bit unethical."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Yuan felt a sudden panic.

His right eye was twitching wildly, and he had a feeling that something bad was about to happen.

He immediately untied his bag and looked down.

The dust and ash scattered around, and after he frantically brushed it aside, all he could see were pebbles of varying sizes; there was no trace of the identification tag.

Unconvinced, he opened another bag and found the same thing.

He immediately realized that he had been tricked by the two of them.

His expression instantly turned extremely gloomy, his gaze as cold as ice, staring intently at Chu Hong and his companion, his tone unfriendly:

"Where are you hiding your ID cards? Tell me honestly, and I might let you off this time."

"Otherwise, I'll make sure you don't get away with this!"

As he spoke, he took out a stone and suddenly smashed it to pieces with a punch, using it as a threat.

Chu Hong and Zhou Mingrui leaned on each other to support themselves, looking very weak and disheveled, but their tone was extremely calm:

"Why should we tell you? Even if we don't tell you, what can you do about it?"

It turns out that the two had been secretly observing each other on the road since they realized that someone was following them.

Then, taking advantage of being at the front of the line, he hid his identity tag under a rock and filled his bag with stones as a precaution.

The two did not expect that this operation would just happen to avoid the monitoring range of the external light screen, so that the outside world would not know that the identity card had been switched.

Right now, Zheng Yuan rushed out full of enthusiasm, but naturally gained nothing.

His face looked extremely pale.

Judging from the number of identity tokens alone, he is not far behind Chu Hong.

Although he could suppress the two of them and prevent them from obtaining any official rank or title.

But he also knew that the fourth and fifth ranked candidates were close behind, and the gap was not large.

With the martial arts exams drawing to a close, if they achieve further success while he fails to replenish their resources, his position at the top of the list may be precarious.

All plans will be in vain.

With that in mind, he had no desire to get entangled with the two of them anymore.

He immediately stepped forward, his body close to the two, his eyes bloodshot, and his murderous aura surging:

"Since you don't know what's good for you, don't blame me for being impolite!"

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

Outside the mountain training ground, everyone's eyes were fixed on the light screen.

Seeing Chu Hong and Zhou Mingrui both severely injured, and Zheng Yuan appearing to take advantage of the situation, he was both excited and worried.

The fierce and brutal fight just now had already impressed everyone, and no one wanted them to suffer such a crushing defeat.

What they firmly believe in is winning medals through hard-fought battles, not through underhanded and cunning schemes like those employed by Zheng Yuan.

Even the martial artists who had previously sided with Zheng Yuan were now thinking the same thing, hoping that Zheng Yuan could defeat the two of them fairly and squarely.

"Alas, given this situation, even the 'Martial Arts Duo' have no choice but to be eliminated." Many people expressed similar sentiments, filled with resentment.

"Brother Zheng... Zheng Yuan's actions were too underhanded. Even if he really wins first place, I still look down on him."

"That's right. He clearly has the strength, but he has to scheme like this. He has no martial arts demeanor at all. He is a disgrace to martial arts."

In this situation, everyone forgot about Chu Hong's methods of drugging, and only focused on refuting Zheng Yuan.

In their minds, Chu Hong's previous methods were already considered courageous and resourceful, and they recognized them.

When they saw that Zheng Yuan opened his bag and found it full of stones, everyone held their breath, and a glimmer of hope rekindled in their eyes.

They secretly hoped that Chu Hong and the other person could keep the secret and not expose it.

As long as they outlast Zheng Yuan, they can retrieve their identity tokens, and their positions of honor will not fall into other hands.

On the high platform, Xiong Zhen's gaze narrowed slightly, a hint of approval flickering in his eyes.

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

The atmosphere in the valley was oppressive.

Chu Hong and Zhou Mingrui were breathing heavily, their bodies ached, and they looked extremely weak.

The two of them swayed precariously, as if a gust of wind could blow them over.

But the two of them forced themselves to stand tall and face Zheng Yuan directly, showing no fear whatsoever.

Meanwhile, the two exchanged glances from time to time.

Without needing many words or gestures, the two had already understood each other's thoughts.

Their fight was indeed fierce and brutal, but they had all held back some of their strength.

Firstly, the two really needed to determine a winner; secondly, if the fight wasn't realistic, they wouldn't be able to lure out someone like Zheng Yuan who coveted the prize.

Their feigned weakness was partly genuine and partly feigned.

But now that their target has been identified, they must take advantage of the target's carelessness and launch a fierce attack to decide the fate of the world in one fell swoop.

The next moment, Chu Hong suddenly moved.

He suddenly exerted his strength, grabbed Zhou Mingrui's arm, and pushed him towards Zheng Yuan.

Feigning panic, he shouted:

"Brother Zhou, I'm leaving you with this. I'll be going now!"

Despite this, he did not run away. Instead, he staggered backward using the reaction force, using Zhou Mingrui's body to cover himself.

Using this thrust, Zhou Mingrui sped along the ground like an arrow.

Although his right arm was injured and he had difficulty moving, his left hand was already closed and aimed directly at Zheng Yuan's vital point in his dantian.

Seeing Zhou Mingrui's slow movements, Zheng Yuan's eyes flashed with disdain, thinking that Zhou Mingrui was fighting like a cornered beast.

He shifted his feet slightly and leaned to the side, easily avoiding vital points. At the same time, he extended his steel claws and precisely gripped Zhou Mingrui's left wrist, locking it instantly with force from his fingertips.

Zhou Mingrui was gripped by this claw, and the pain was excruciating, but there was no fear in his eyes. Instead, a hint of mockery flashed across them.

He grabbed Zheng Yuan with his backhand, and suddenly squatted down, exposing most of the airspace outside.

Upon seeing this, Zheng Yuan felt a chill run down his spine.

"Oh no, I was careless!"