Chapter Twenty-Two: Sect Assessment (Part Two)

The second round featured Chen Mu against a disciple surnamed Hu. The outer disciple, Hu, shouted, “Chen Mu, I advise you to forfeit the duel. You’ve made it this far by sheer luck, but with me, there’s no such thing as chance. My twin hammers don’t discriminate, and it won’t be just a scratch or a bruise.”

“Are you done with your nonsense?” Chen Mu replied with a yawn.

“Fine, since you insist, I’ll teach you a lesson and show you the power of my iron hammers.” With that, Hu charged at Chen Mu.

Chen Mu continued his evasive strategy. He didn’t even employ Meteor Step; a simple shift was enough to dodge the hammer strike.

Hu shouted, “Stop running!”

He relentlessly pursued but still couldn’t land a hit, and then he tried long-range spells, but they proved useless.

As his combined magical and martial assaults failed, Hu cursed, “Are you just a coward who only knows how to hide? If you have guts, take a hit from me!”

“Do you think I’m stupid? Why wouldn’t I dodge if I can? Not everyone is as brainless as you, willing to take a hammer to the head. Were you raised on beatings?” Chen Mu mocked.

“You… Watch me hammer you to death!”

Back and forth they went, dozens of exchanges, with Hu growing breathless and exhausted. Eventually, he collapsed, and thus the second group ended in a farcical manner.

Next was the duel between the fifth and sixth disciples, Lu Shi. At the start, Lu Shi used long-range spells to block his opponent’s path; two energy blasts left pits in the ground, and a