Three days later.
"Lowering your body to dodge, that is the usual technique of restraining against a flying fist. When your enemy comes and attacks you, quickly squat down and at the same time do a counterattack, striking his crotch and abdomen. Do not be afraid of a swinging fist. Usually those who come up and start swinging their fists at the first moment are people who have no brains and are impulsive and rash."
On the martial arts field, the academy's martial arts instructor spoke while he performed actions to demonstrate. A wooden puppet's right first swept over, and the martial arts instructor quickly squatted down, dodging the incoming attack. Then he threw a punch at the puppet's abdomen, knocking it down with a few punches.
The students were looking at the demonstration in a circle, but most of them were lacking in spirit, showing very little interest.
Fang Yuan watched quietly among the crowd, shaking his head.
The instructor had no discipline in his teaching; he taught completely by interest, and just taught whatever he thought of. Therefore the things he taught came out in a mess and there was a lot of complicated info. In the beginning many students listened seriously, but gradually they lost interest and diverted their attention to other aspects.
Fang Yuan lightly glanced around at his peers, a faint sneer somehow forming on his lips.
The basic martial arts class was finally over. After a short rest, the student's eyes were filled with anticipation; the academy elder was late. He waved his big hand, pointing at the row of grass puppets in front of the bamboo wall. He went straight to the subject and said, "Alright, today is the day to check the results. I want five people in a group coming up in proper sequence, using the moonblade to attack three times."
Swoosh.
The first group of students went up, and the moonblade danced in the air. After three rounds, only nine moonblades hit on the grass puppets.
The academy elder shook his head a little, feeling slightly displeased. This hit rate was too low, the key being that among these five only two managed to successfully throw out two moonblades.
"You all better practice properly after this, especially you, and you." The elder reprimanded in a short sentence, then he waved his big hand and said, "Next group."
The two that were reprimanded dropped their heads and left the field in dismay. One of them was a girl, her eyes a little red and her heart grieving.
"Anyway I don't have the slightest chance of getting number one. I might as well give up and save on primeval stones, that is better for me." As she muttered this, her heart became calm once more.
Fang Yuan watched, secretly shaking his head. "These people are really pitiful and sad. Just for a small amount of primeval stones, they gave up their own chance to make progress. Primeval stones are meant to be used; if you want to become a miser and accumulate primeval stones, then what did you become a Gu Master for?"
"It's finally my turn." At this moment, Gu Yue Mo Bei's horse face lit up in a confident smile all over, and he walked up to the field. His stature was stout and gave out a fierce and strong aura. After standing still he raised his hand and threw three moonblades – all three of them hit. Among the blades, two of them hit on the puppet's chest, while the other blade hit the puppet's left arm, shaving away a few green grass.
This result naturally caused the young teens to burst with admiration.
"Well done." The elder's brow slightly smoothed out.
The next group came up, Gu Yue Chi Cheng standing among them. He had a small and short body, his face full of pockmarks, his expression bringing a slight nervousness.
He sent out three moonblades continuously and all three hit on the puppet's chest, cutting out three intertwined scars. The scars went from deep to shallow and restored back to its original appearance after a few breaths, due to the puppet's self-healing ability.
However this outcome was already tied to Gu Yue Mo Bei's result, and also received the elder's praise. Chi Cheng held his head high as he walked out of the field, looking at Mo Bei defiantly in the eye on the way.
In the last few groups, Gu Yue Fang Zheng finally came up to the stage.
Fang Zheng could feel the pressure among the gazes shot at him, and this made him feel even more nervous. Standing on the stage, his fingers were trembling slightly.
He threw out his first moonblade, originally intending to aim at the grass puppet's chest. But because he was tense, he missed – in the end the moonblade imprinted onto the grass puppet's neck area.
"How dangerous!" Looking at the moonblade, Fang Zheng exclaimed in his heart while secretly feeling lucky. He took in a few deep breaths, trying his best to calm down. Then he threw out two blades. This time he did not make any mistakes, and the two blades hit accurately on the grass puppet's chest.
This result made the academy elder nod his head, and Mo Bei and Chi Cheng calmed down as well. Fang Zheng's result was different from theirs, so it would all come down to how the academy elder decided to grade them.
The next few groups were not interesting either. No one was able to perform better than Mo Bei, Chi Cheng and Fang Zheng.
Right when it was the last group, Fang Yuan finally went up stage.
"Big brother…, I have surpassed you." Among the crowd, Gu Yue Fang Zheng held his head high, throwing a mocking look at Fang Yuan.
Many gazes were gathered on Fang Yuan, and the academy elder's sight was fixed on him as well. But, Fang Yuan made no emotion; his expression was cold and detached.
He stood motionless, his primeval essence flowing into the Moonlight Gu at the center of his palm. With a swift motion, he sliced the air, unleashing the first moonblade.
A sharp, tearing sound echoed as the watery blue light surrounding his palm shot forward, forming into a curved moonblade that sped toward the grass puppet.
Before the first blade even reached its target, Fang Yuan's right palm glowed again with a faint blue light. He struck once more, releasing the second moonblade.
As the second blade sliced through the air, Fang Yuan's palm glowed yet again, and in an instant, the third moonblade was launched.
The first and third moonblades flowed together like water, a seamless combination of precision and speed.
The two blades shot out in quick succession, the distance between them barely half a meter. Under the astonished gazes of the crowd, they struck the grass puppet's neck with perfect accuracy.
Meanwhile, the second moonblade found its mark on the puppet's chest.
"This…" Fang Zheng's pupils shrank, a bad feeling emerging from his heart. In the next moment, the students slowly opened their mouths wide as they wore astonished expressions.
They saw that the grass puppet's head slowly tilted to one side, then it fell off the neck and dropped onto the ground. With a bounce, it rolled two to three meters away.
Fang Yuan had beheaded the puppet!
This outcome had gone beyond the expectations of everyone on field.
"Is this luck or skill?" The academy elder frowned. This doubt hovered in the hearts of the rest of the students. For a time, the entire training ground lapsed into silence.
Fang Yuan narrowed his eyes, acting as if he was oblivious to the gazes that fell onto him from the crowd.