I will eventually become a divine being through accumulating constantly

Zhuang Qiu lay nearly naked on the ground, starting from the palm of his hand that had just shaken hands with Xue Jing, his skin displaying a kind of spiral pattern that made one's scalp tingle.

The people on the scene, including the members of Zhige Base who were spectating from the side, all wore peculiar expressions on their faces.

There was a bit of amusement, a bit of second-hand embarrassment for the Vice Captain, and also admiration for the youth before them.

The result of this Qi Force showdown was an undoubted overpowering.

There were no signs of an evenly matched contest; this was the kind of outcome that only occurs when there's an absolute gap in strength.

Although it was merely a competition of Qi Force… Qi Force itself is a very important part of martial arts strength.

With such a huge gap in the most fundamental 'hard strength,' no one would believe Zhuang Qiu stood a chance in a real fight against Xue Jing.

Not to mention, everyone present was a profound expert in martial arts with exceptional Eye Power, and the exquisite control of Compressed Strength that Xue Jing showed when he twisted his wrist instantly turned Zhuang Qiu around like a spinning top, clearly indicating he was skilled not only in strength but in other aspects too.

"...Impressive."

Yang Yingyu watched Xue Jing, his eyes narrowing uncontrollably.

As a Limit-Breaking Grandmaster, he was the only person among those present who could almost see through the intricacies of Xue Jing's move.
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In terms of pure foundational Qi Force, Zhuang Qiu, who had practiced New Martial Arts Forbidden Skills and mutated his body, should have been above this youth.

However, on the level of Channeling Energy, the youth displayed an irrationality that he couldn't understand.

Amplifying force by compressing strength was not an unusual technique; any high-level expert with an understanding of Channeling Energy could manage it to varying degrees of proficiency.

But no matter how well-versed they were, they still had to follow the basic principles.

The human body has its limits, and even when extremely skilled at Channeling Energy, risky operations like compressing strength also have to consider the physical body's capacity to endure.

But this youth... was strange.

For an average person with his physical strength, if the theoretical maximum level of strength compression is 1, this youth could achieve at least 3...

Far exceeding the theoretical limits of a normal human body.

If it weren't for the records glaringly indicating he practiced Old Martial Arts and had a Physical Mutation Rate below 1%, Yang Yingyu would have thought he was practicing some kind of aberrant New Martial Arts Forbidden Skills.

'However, I heard he is also a Divine Chosen... There must be reasons for that.'

After pondering for a while and roughly finding a rational explanation from the irrational, Yang Yingyu shook his head and kicked Zhuang Qiu, who still lay on the ground motionless.

"What are you pretending for? Get up."

Yang Yingyu spoke indifferently.

At his words, everyone's gaze converged on Zhuang Qiu.

"..."

After several seconds, Zhuang Qiu's fingers twitched slightly, and then he groaned, slowly pushing himself up to sit with a posture as if he had just regained consciousness, covering his head with his palm.

"Ah... my head is spinning."

"Slap—"

Yang Yingyu slapped him on the head, making Zhuang Qiu stumble:

"Stop faking it. Losing is losing, shame is shame, none of these matter; what's important is facing your own humiliation when you are shamed. That's how a man from the Seventh Metropolitan Circle should be."

Zhuang Qiu's mouth twitched: "I just needed a moment."

Saying so, he stood up and hobbled over to Xue Jing, hissing with every step from the pain: "Ssss... it really hurts."

His skin all over burned and tightened as if countless pincers were biting and twisting forcefully...

Zhuang Qiu raised a trembling thumb up to Xue Jing.

"This level... is more than enough; I acknowledge you!"

Xue Jing looked at him: "I don't really need your acknowledgment... Vice Captain Zhuang, is there anything else you wish to instruct?"

Zhuang Qiu, who was also quite laid-back, seemed to have brushed off the shame once he spoke out, standing there bare-bodied, with his hands on his hips, nonchalantly saying:

"What advice? Here in the Seventh Metropolitan Circle, we respect the strong and have no other useless rules. You're stronger than Laozi... stronger than me, so now it's my turn to ask for your guidance."

Xue Jing nodded and smiled: "That's nice; I like this too... I feel like I'll fit in well here."

…

Afterward, Xue Jing interacted with the members of the Zhige Base for a good while and found that the people from the Seventh Metropolitan Circle were the sort with straightforward minds.

What they thought in their hearts, they spoke with their mouths without any pretense, not out of foolishness, but due to a mindset shaped by the overall atmosphere.

This way of thinking led them to be generally exclusive, holding in contempt those outsiders who always like to speak and act in roundabout ways with many rules… Of course, the main reason was the overwhelming superiority in Combat Power.

The Seventh Metropolitan Circle was an extremely insular and heavily inscribed environment, almost having no interaction with the external martial arts world, lofty above all.

Honor acquired from outside meant little here, even if it was the great title of U19 history's strongest champion like Xue Jing's; when the people of the Seventh Metropolitan Circle heard of it, there was an instinctive disdain.

It was nothing more than being the king of the mountain in a place with no tigers, hardly worth noting.

It was for this reason that Zhuang Qiu provoked Xue Jing—a minor from outside the circle who dared to come to the Seventh Metropolitan Circle to serve as an examiner for the Martial Arts Examination; who could tolerate it.

However, the stereotypical image the people of the Seventh Metropolitan Circle had of outsiders was built upon the overpowering Combat Power.