Chapter 184

Zhang Xiaohua and Zhang Xiaohu discussed the serious issue of character as they walked back slowly.

Since he knew that he would be able to enter the fourth round safely and easily without having to do anything himself, why wouldn't he do it?

Zhang Xiaohua was in an incomparably relaxed mood. It was rare for him to hum a country tune.

Zhang Xiaohu listened carefully. "Sister, you sit at the bow of the boat. Brother will walk on the shore!"

He couldn't help but be stunned and thought to himself, "Since when did Guozhuang House have such a song?

Why haven't I heard of it before? "

When the two of them returned to their original spot, the third round of the competition was nearing its end. Many disciples were hiding at the side to adjust their breathing.

Zhang Xiaohu was envious and said softly, "Xiaohua, look at how good they are. They are so young and yet they have the opportunity to practice the profound inner force mantras and exquisite fist techniques. When we were so young, we were still busy helping Father and Mother in the fields."

Zhang Xiaohua didn't think much of it and shook her head slightly. "Second Brother, everyone has their own path and it's not the same. They may have a glimpse of the mysteries of martial arts, but they also lost the opportunity to enjoy the happiness of being with their family. As the ancients said, 'Between gains and losses, who knows if it's a blessing or a curse?'"

She then comforted Zhang Xiaohu and said, "Now, Second Brother, look, you have your Hero Wen to teach you martial arts. As for me, I have my own Fist of the North Star and Ethereal Steps. Yes, there's also the 'Reckless Bull Force' that you gave me. Compared to when we first came to Ping Yang City, it's a world of difference.

As a person, one must be content with what one has. "

Zhang Xiaohu nodded and said, "Yes, no matter what, we are bumpkins from the countryside. It's not easy for us to come this far. It's better to have a grateful heart."

Zhang Xiaohua turned to look at Zhang Xiaohu and said, "It seems that Second Brother understands."

"That's right." Zhang Xiaohu let out a long sigh and said, "Whether I want to or not is not a problem. Whether I can think through it or not is a very realistic problem.

Since Master accepted me as his disciple, he naturally taught me martial arts. Otherwise, he wouldn't have stood up in front of so many people. There must be a reason for this period of neglect. I'll just be myself. Who cares about the vicissitudes of life in this world? "

"Good job, Second Brother." Zhang Xiaohua clapped her hands and praised, "Then, do you still want to close the door to your courtyard?"

Zhang Xiaohu's face was calm as he said, "Closed is open, open is closed, why bother about it?"

"What?" Zhang Xiaohua was puzzled. "If it's closed, then it's closed. If it's open, then it's open. How is it as contradictory as you say?"

Zhang Xiaohu also explained in a low voice, "You will naturally understand in the future."

While the two brothers were talking, they heard another round of numbers being called out in the field. The last round of the second round of the Martial Arts Exhibition had finally begun.

Zhang Xiaohu patted Zhang Xiaohua's shoulder and encouraged her, "Xiaohua, this is already the last round. Do your best. Whether you win or lose, you have left a solid footprint in the Martial Arts Exhibition."

Zhang Xiaohua patted the dust off her butt and grinned, "Second Brother, just watch me."

Before the two of them reached the field, they heard a drawn-out voice from inside, "Number 705, where are you?

Come quickly. "

Zhang Xiaohua and Zhang Xiaohu looked at each other and quickly ran inside.

Now that the Martial Arts Exhibition had entered the last round of the second round, there were only 87 disciples in the entire Kitty Hawk Hall who had advanced. The last round of the competition started at the same time and there were only 61 matches. In other words, there were only 61 matches in the arena. Naturally, these arenas were all concentrated in the center.

At this time, there were already a lot of people gathered around these 61 arenas and they were all looking forward to the exciting matches.

Zhang Xiaohua responded as she ran towards the arenas inside.

Zhang Xiaohu also followed behind, but when he passed by the arena where the previous match had taken place, he was still very careful. He ran over and carried the escalator on his back.

What a joke, this was a necessity for Zhang Xiaohua to enter the arena. As her second brother, if he didn't worry about it, who else could he count on?

Although Zhang Xiaohua didn't learn Qinggong, this guy's running speed wasn't slower than others. When Zhang Xiaohu turned around again, he had already disappeared.

Fortunately, the square was filled with little radishes. With Zhang Xiaohu's height, he wasn't afraid that he couldn't find Zhang Xiaohua's figure.

Of course, look over there, isn't that Zhang Xiaohua?

She stood anxiously under the arena, looking left and right, waiting for the magic weapon to enter the arena.

Zhang Xiaohu hurriedly pushed aside the disciples who were watching the fun. Under everyone's surprised eyes, he placed the escalator on the arena. Seeing this situation, a burst of whispers burst out. Needless to say, they were all talking about the function of the escalator. Zhang Xiaohua's face had never been as red as it was today. She secretly made up her mind that the first thing she would do when she returned to Huanxi Mountain Villa was to quickly master this Qinggong. Otherwise, she couldn't afford to lose face when she went out.

Under everyone's gaze, Zhang Xiaohua walked up the escalator to the arena.

Zhang Xiaohua's opponent for the last round had already been waiting on the arena.

This was a young man who looked very simple and honest. His body was muscular and he was also very tall. He was even taller than Zhang Xiaohua by a head. If Zhang Xiaohua didn't know that only he, Shangguan Yun, and Yu Deyi were wild cards, she would have already gone forward to ask about the origin of the opponent.

When Zhang Xiaohua stood on the arena, the leader under the arena shouted, "You can start."

So the disciple opposite Zhang Xiaohua cupped his hands and saluted, and said in a low muffled voice, "I'm Tang Shi, a disciple of Young Eagle Hall. Please take care of me, Senior Martial Brother."

Zhang Xiaohua naturally also cupped his hands and saluted.

Then the two of them made a fighting pose. When Tang Shi saw that Zhang Xiaohua was ready, he said, "Senior Martial Brother Zhang, I'm a little strong. Please be careful."

After saying that, he raised his big fist and smashed it towards Zhang Xiaohua.

When Zhang Xiaohua heard this, she laughed in her heart and thought, "This Tang Shi seems to be the same as Shi Niu. They both practice external martial arts. Looking at his personality, he must be a straightforward man like Shi Niu."

During Zhang Xiaohua's martial arts practice journey in the Misty School, all the opponents she met were all inner disciples who were good at internal martial arts. Zhang Xiaohua thought that external martial arts had withered away in the Misty School and it was difficult to find outstanding disciples. Unexpectedly, she met one in the last round. She didn't need to think to know that the opponent in front of her must be extremely outstanding. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to enter the last round of the second round with just external martial arts!

However, Zhang Xiaohua was also very proud of her strength. Seeing the opponent's fist approaching, she didn't dodge. She also leaned forward and clenched her fist to meet it.

That Tang Shi's fist was actually bigger than Zhang Xiaohua's fist by a size.

With a "peng" sound, the two fists collided. A huge force came through and Zhang Xiaohua's body was unsteady. She took four steps back before she could steady herself. Slightly shaking her sore arm and wrist, Zhang Xiaohua looked at the opponent in front of her again.

That Tang Shi was also surprised. His previous opponents were all senior and junior brothers who he was familiar with. Almost all of them dared to exchange blows with him. Even those disciples who had profound internal martial arts were the same. The unfamiliar disciple in front of him looked very weak and actually dared to exchange blows with him. To be honest, he was afraid that he would injure his opponent and had already reduced his strength. However, Zhang Xiaohua wasn't injured and only took a few steps back. As for himself, he also took two steps back. The key point was that Zhang Xiaohua only shook her hand, but Tang Shi felt that his wrist and fist were already somewhat numb.

Tang Shi also raised his head and looked at the unremarkable opponent in front of him again.

The two people's gazes met on the stage and sparks flew between them.

Seeing the surprise, respect, and dissatisfaction in each other's eyes, the two people suddenly felt that heroes cherished heroes. Shortly after, the two people slightly narrowed their eyes and shouted at the same time. Both of them quickly stepped forward and their fists collided.

The crowd below the stage heard nearly ten consecutive "peng peng peng" sounds on the stage. When they looked again, the two people on the stage had already pulled apart a certain distance. Both of them were using their left hand to continuously massage their right hand. Their mouths were breathing in cold air with a "hehe" sound. Presumably, both of their right hands were in pain.

Seeing such a situation, the crowd below the stage couldn't help but be surprised. The sound of discussion once again rose.

What kind of person was Tang Shi? How good was his martial arts? The disciples below the stage and the leader had a thunderous reputation. Not to mention his martial arts, there were very few disciples in the Young Eagle Hall who could compare to him in terms of the strength of his hands. Today, a thin and ordinary youth had actually used his fists to collide with him more than ten times and was actually not at a disadvantage. This was really beyond everyone's expectations.

As for the other disciples who had seen Zhang Xiaohua compete, or had competed with Zhang Xiaohua before, they had looked down on Zhang Xiaohua before. The result of nine fights and nine draws in the first round was really not convincing. In the eyes of the disciples in the second round, all of the previous matches had relied on tricks to win and had a very unfair taste to them.

In this exchange of fists with Tang Shi, Zhang Xiaohua's strength was iron-clad. Just the strength of his arms was enough to make people have a whole new level of respect for him.

However, this strength didn't represent martial arts. Zhang Xiaohua was very clear on this point. To be honest, in the exchange of fists just now, he was really half a notch inferior. Zhang Xiaohua also had a trace of understanding. No wonder the strength of his arms couldn't enter the eyes of the Misty School. Just a ten-year-old disciple from the Young Eagle Hall had strength that was not below his, not to mention those disciples who were already at the same level. His strength was really nothing in the eyes of the Misty School!

On the opposite side, Tang Shi saw that pure strength wasn't enough to truly subdue Zhang Xiaohua. He stood up again, his left hand formed a palm and his right hand clenched into a fist. He attacked with the Mighty King Kong Hand.

Seeing this, Zhang Xiaohua was overjoyed. He also raised his fist to meet the attack, using the Big Dipper Magical Fist to fight the enemy.

The two of them fought for a while, but there was still no clear victor. The incense stick was already half burnt.

With Zhang Xiaohua's limited fighting experience, he had used his strength and fists to force the opponent to run for his life in the previous few rounds. However, this time, the opponent was using this method to force him to the point where he couldn't gain the upper hand. Hence, Zhang Xiaohua's eyes turned and he withdrew the Big Dipper Magical Fist. His footsteps suddenly became graceful and his body became light. He used the Ethereal Steps and followed Tang Shi's moves, evading them in an incomparably elegant manner.

Zhang Xiaohua's switch from offense to defense didn't cause any reaction from the disciples below the stage who hadn't fought with him. Those disciples who had suffered under his Ethereal Steps had faces full of grief and indignation. They all said, "This bastard is at it again. It's that despicable and shameless footwork again!"

And the disciple who had fought with him in the second round was also present. He was in even more pain as he shouted loudly, "Plagiarism, plagiarism, plagiarism again!"

Roaming defensive tactics were indeed not uncommon in the Martial Arts Exhibition. However, this was only limited to the first round. The second round didn't have a draw. If one was always at a disadvantage, even if it was a draw in the end, it would still be considered a failure. And the disciples who had entered the second round were all outstanding disciples. Their martial arts standards weren't too far off. Most of the disciples were willing to face their opponents head-on and very few of them would use Qing Gong to roam. Last time, Zhang Xiaohua's opponent had used the roaming tactic so easily that he was considered a failure. Now that Zhang Xiaohua had used it, many people couldn't understand.

However, Zhang Xiaohua's roaming technique was different from others. The Misty School's disciples who used roaming techniques to avoid their opponents' attacks all used Qing Gong. Qing Gong consumed internal energy, but it was less than the opponent's blindly attacking.

Zhang Xiaohua didn't know any internal energy. What he used was the Ethereal Steps. It was just a type of Qing Gong technique and pure footwork. It didn't consume any internal energy at all.

The reason why Zhang Xiaohua picked up the Ethereal Steps again wasn't because his Big Dipper Fist was inferior to the Mighty King Kong Palm. It was because he thought that in the four rounds of the second round, he had just taken a bye. He heard from Steward Xu that he also had a bye in the second round. Tang Shi's character wasn't good enough to take a bye in the second round. Therefore, Tang Shi should have already gone through three rounds of fierce battles. Tang Shi was using an external cultivation technique and wasn't able to regulate his breathing and recover his physical strength. Presumably, he wouldn't be able to recover through punching like himself. Therefore, Zhang Xiaohua was certain that Tang Shi's physical strength had been greatly depleted. If he were to go head to head with him, due to his strength and fist techniques, he might be at a disadvantage. Since that was the case, he might as well show weakness now and use guerrilla tactics to deplete his physical strength once again. He would then save up enough energy to give him a head-on blow at the second incense stick's time. He believed that it would have a miraculous effect.

Zhang Xiaohua's thoughts weren't wrong. Tang Shi attacked for a while and didn't manage to touch a single hair on Zhang Xiaohua's body. He couldn't help but feel dejected. His footsteps became heavy and the wind from his punches also weakened. Seeing this, Zhang Xiaohua immediately gave up on the Ethereal Steps and raised his fist to attack. Tang Shi was shocked and hurriedly withdrew his mind and strengthened his attacks. When Zhang Xiaohua saw that Tang Shi's moves were fierce, he immediately executed the Ethereal Steps. After a few rounds, Tang Shi was exhausted. This exhaustion wasn't just physical strength, it was also mental strength.

As for Tang Shi, after the previous three matches, he had exhausted all his strength. He didn't have the method to recover his strength easily like Zhang Xiaohua. In this last match, he was strong on the outside but weak on the inside. Especially in the first few exchanges of punches, his strength had been greatly depleted. In fact, his calculations were also very good. He wanted to concentrate his strength and knock his opponent off the stage in the early stages.

But as it happened, Zhang Xiaohua actually used guerrilla tactics when he gathered his strength and prepared to fight head on. When the enemy was tired, she would disturb him. When the enemy advanced, she would retreat. This made Tang Shi's heart burn with anger. He gradually felt that the strength in his body was slowly draining away. He was really tired and wanted to end the battle with a punch. However, he was facing Zhang Xiaohua who was as slippery as a loach. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't land a punch on her body.

Very quickly, the incense stick burned out. The other incense stick was also burning halfway. Zhang Xiaohua and Tang Shi glanced at the incense stick at the same time. The two of them had two different thoughts at the same time. Tang Shi was delighted. Ever since he entered the stage, he had always been in an advantageous position. Even if Zhang Xiaohua increased her attacks in the last half an incense stick's time, as long as he could withstand it and achieve a draw, this match would be considered his victory. Needless to say, if that was really the case, this match would be a replica of Zhang Xiaohua's previous victory.

Zhang Xiaohua saw that there was still half an incense stick's time left. She was also delighted. Tang Shi's strength was almost depleted while she still had a large portion of her strength. With this difference, she already had the advantage. If she didn't attack now, when would she?

As a result, Zhang Xiaohua stopped using the Ethereal Steps and waved her fist. Although Tang Shi was tall and strong, he wasn't a brainless person. He immediately dodged. However, his light body technique wasn't strong and he didn't have the Ethereal Steps technique. With just a few steps on the stage, where could he dodge to?

In just a few moves, he was immediately forced to a corner of the stage by Zhang Xiaohua. If he didn't exchange blows, he would be forced out of the stage. As a result, Tang Shi could only grit his teeth and risk his life to compete with Zhang Xiaohua. Tang Shi was indeed a genius. At the final juncture, the strength of his fist and the momentum of his moves didn't lose out to Zhang Xiaohua at all. In just a few moves, he forced Zhang Xiaohua to retreat a few steps.

However, with the feeling of exchanging blows with Tang Shi earlier, Zhang Xiaohua already knew that Tang Shi was already at the stage of a thief fleeing the building. As long as she put in a little more effort, she would be able to defeat him.

Zhang Xiaohua's spirit rose. Her fists were like raindrops hitting banana leaves. Tang Shi could only parry and had no strength to fight back. But even in this storm-like attack, Tang Shi was still tenacious. No matter how much strength Zhang Xiaohua exerted or how she attacked, he only focused on parrying and quietly waited for the final moment to arrive.

Tang Shi wasn't in a hurry, but Zhang Xiaohua was naturally anxious. He didn't want to repeat the same mistake and be eliminated with a draw. So he took a deep breath and attacked even harder. His fists hit the places where Tang Shi had to parry. Step by step, he forced him to the edge of the stage. Tang Shi's back was facing the stage. Although he couldn't see the scene behind him, he had retreated a lot and had a rough idea. Moreover, there were many Tang Shi's fellow apprentices below the stage. From time to time, someone would remind him, "You can't push anymore. You will be forced out in four or five steps."

Tang Shi might dodge, but Zhang Xiaohua was determined this time. He didn't give him any chance to dodge, and he didn't have any more strength in his body. It was already very strenuous to parry Zhang Xiaohua's fists, let alone force him to retreat.

Seeing that he was at the edge of the stage, Zhang Xiaohua was secretly happy. He gathered all the strength in his body and shouted, "You can go down now!"

As he spoke, he used all the strength in his body to punch Tang Shi's chest.

(Please vote for me!!!

Please collect, thank you!)