Full-Time Martial Saint

Having made up her mind, Xu Baiwei immediately activated her communication bracelet and secretly sent a message to Chen Cong.

Zhou Hao's father was the commander of the Xiangcheng Garrison Army, and the Zhou family members were also spread throughout the military and political circles, making them a veritable local elite family in Xiangcheng.

Although some members of the Xu family hold positions at the Xiangcheng branch of the Martial Arts Hall, both the Green Mountain Martial Academy and the Martial Arts Hall have extremely strict internal requirements. They must abide by the laws of each country and cannot interfere in the local affairs of each country unless absolutely necessary.

The Zhou family is a powerful local force in Xiangcheng. Xu Baiwei is aware of her own position and naturally cannot risk offending the Zhou family by directly reminding Chen Cong.

After sending the message, Xu Baiwei kept her eyes fixed on Chen Cong, hoping he would see it in time.

But she didn't know that Chen Cong had a habit of temporarily turning off his communication bracelet when something important happened.

When Lin Xiao was asking Zhang Kui for advice on boxing techniques at Zhonghu Park, she couldn't get through to him on the phone because of this.

At the edge of the ring, all twenty students from Class 2 of Senior Three sat cross-legged on the ground, trying to recover their strength as quickly as possible, including Chen Cong.

"Look!"

"Didn't you receive it?"

Seeing that Chen Cong hadn't made a move at all, Xu Baiwei felt a little anxious and urged him silently.

"Time's up."

"The final match begins. Please have both contestants enter the arena."

The two-hour recovery period ended quickly. On the podium, Liu Bingran, the director of academic affairs, glanced at the time on her wristband and immediately spoke in a deep voice.

Upon hearing her voice, everyone in Class 2 of Senior Three slowly stood up and gathered with the eighty winners from the previous group, walking slowly toward the center of the arena.

On the other side, the hundred martial arts students from the top class also came to the arena with great momentum, standing opposite the students from the five classes of the winners.

"Phase One: The Challenge."

Seeing that both sides were ready, Liu Bingran spoke again: "Everyone in the winners' group can freely choose the opponent they want to challenge. If no one challenges, you can directly enter the second round and draw lots for the duel."

In the past, the monthly preliminary assessments, where the winners faced off against the top classes, meant that this first stage of the challenge was basically just a formality.

This situation does not mean that everyone in the regular class lacks the courage to challenge the top class.

There are also martial arts students with considerable strength in the regular classes, such as Luo Yunfeng, Lin Xiao, and Ning Yuhang, who are outstanding in the regular classes. Their chances of winning against the bottom students in the key classes are not low.

The reason they didn't choose to step forward and challenge in the first round was because even if they beat the bottom student in the top class, it wouldn't mean much; if they lost, it would be even more embarrassing.

Over time, this first stage basically became a formality. Usually, Liu Bingran would gloss over it and move directly to the second stage, the draw.

However, this time, no sooner had she finished speaking than a defiant voice suddenly rang out from the arena below.

"Director Liu, I want to take on the challenge."

It was Zhou Hao who spoke.

On the stage, the hundred students from the five classes in the winners' group were all stunned when they heard these words. Then, some of them who considered themselves to be quite strong suddenly changed their expressions.

In the crowd, Chen Cong looked at Zhou Hao, whose gaze was seemingly fixed on him, with some confusion. He turned slightly to Ning Yuhang beside him and asked, "Who is this person?"

"Zhou Hao, nicknamed Mad Dog Zhou." Ning Yuhang lowered his voice and said with a wry smile, "He is undoubtedly the number one martial arts student at Xiangcheng No. 1 High School. In the entire senior year, almost every student with a reputation has been forced to fight him and suffer his beatings. I am no exception."

Is he Zhou Hao?

Chen Cong suddenly understood upon hearing this.

Xu Baiwei had mentioned this person's name before, and also said that it was best not to let this guy know that his boxing skills had reached a certain level, otherwise it would be very troublesome.

Now that his minor mastery of boxing skills has been exposed, does that mean he... wants to challenge him?

As Chen Cong pondered this in his heart, Liu Bingran on the podium also frowned slightly.

Seeing this, Zhou Hao smiled faintly and asked, "Director Liu, since this is a challenge segment, shouldn't I also have the right to take on a challenge?"

Meeting his gaze, Liu Bingran thought for a moment and nodded, "Of course."

Who will Zhou Hao challenge?

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Zhou Hao's gaze swept across the hundred winners, quickly stopping at the location of Class 2, Grade 12. He slowly raised his hand and pointed at Chen Cong, saying, "I want to challenge him."

As soon as he pointed, everyone in the martial arts hall turned their gaze to Chen Cong.

Seeing this, the twenty students from Class 2 of Senior Three, including Ning Yuhang and Lin Xiao, who were standing next to Chen Cong, all turned pale instantly, their eyes filled with worry as they looked over.

However, Chen Cong's expression remained calm at this moment.

From the moment Zhou Hao stepped forward, he vaguely guessed that this guy's target was him.

"Chen Cong, the challenger has no right to refuse..."

Seeing that Chen Cong remained silent and made no move, Zhou Hao smiled knowingly and called out from afar.

Chen Cong snapped out of his daze, slowly stepped forward, and said in a deep voice, "I didn't intend to refuse either."

In the previous match against Class 10, he had never used the Spirit Ape Step.

Currently, in terms of overall strength, he has no chance of winning against Zhou Hao, but if he uses the Spirit Ape Step technique, he might have a chance to remain undefeated.

Although doing this would completely expose his only trump card, things had come to this point, and he could no longer hide his abilities.

On the platform, Liu Bingran frowned as she looked at the two on the ring. She wanted to say something, but then seemed to think it was inappropriate. In the end, she could only say helplessly, "Fists and feet have no eyes, but this is a friendly spar, not a life-or-death fight. You two should try to stop when you've made your move. If there is any intentional injury, the school will deal with it seriously!"

She was obviously saying this to Zhou Hao.

As the director of the academic affairs office of the martial arts academy, Liu Bingran knew Zhou Hao's character all too well.

On the stage, Zhou Hao naturally knew that Liu Bingran was targeting him, but he didn't care at all.

In his view, if someone is injured in a normal sparring match, they should receive medical treatment and compensation as appropriate. If everything is done according to the rules, no one else can say anything.

"Director Liu, may we begin?"

Zhou Hao slowly clenched his fist, his eyes burning with intense fighting spirit as he stared intently at Chen Cong.

"Everyone, step back beyond the yellow line."

As soon as Liu Bingran spoke, the students on both sides immediately followed her instructions and retreated to the edge of the arena, leaving space for the two of them.

"The challenge begins."

With Liu Bingran's command, Zhou Hao pushed off with both legs and shot forward.

The arena beneath his feet, made of composite materials, dented slightly due to his sudden outburst, demonstrating the terrifying power he possessed.

Having been at the martial arts academy for several days, Chen Cong has a general understanding that each martial arts student has a different focus in terms of overall physical qualities. Some have extremely strong explosive power, some have fast nerve reaction speed, and others have a high endurance limit.

Although both Zhou Hao and Xu Baiwei have an overall physical fitness level of 5.5, Zhou Hao seems to be better at explosive power.

Facing the rapidly charging opponent, Chen quickly formed a general analysis in his mind. He immediately moved his left foot back, turned his foot inward, and slightly turned his body to the side, starting with the mother move of the fist technique, Grasp the Sparrow's Tail, ready to deal with Zhou Hao's next move.

Xu Baiwei once said that Zhou Hao's previous martial arts skill score was 487 points, which means that his Bajiquan was very close to the minor mastery level.

To reach this level of skill in boxing, one must have mastered certain techniques for changing moves, so Chen Cong dared not be careless.

Sure enough, Zhou Hao seemed to rush forward recklessly, but when his fist was about to reach Chen Cong and he saw no panic in the other's eyes, his moves suddenly changed!

In a flash, he transformed his fist into a claw, attempting to use it to restrain Chen Cong's left arm.

"He actually vaguely grasped the essence of the 'entanglement' principle in Bajiquan..."

Chen Cong was slightly surprised to notice Zhou Hao's actions.

Entanglement and transformation are important signs of minor mastery in Bajiquan. Mastering the variations of moves and skillfully using entanglement techniques is the mark of minor mastery.

Chen Cong seriously suspected that this guy's boxing skills had very likely reached the minor mastery level!