Chen Chu and Xia Youhui once again launched a full-force attack. Their fists and palms collided, producing a dull explosion. Both sides were pushed back several steps by the powerful rebounding force.
"Stop, no more fighting." Drenched in sweat, Xia Youhui panted heavily, taking in deep breaths. He waved his hand, signaling an end to the spar.
Chen Chu paused, and released a long exhale. Both of them were soaked in sweat, their skin taking on a reddish hue. A pervasive warmth emanated from their entire bodies, a clear sign of their vitality reaching a boiling point.
Once he regained his breath, Xia Youhui voiced his complaint, "Ah Chu, we were just sparring. Did you really have to go all out like that?"
Initially, both had exhibited restraint, showing moderation in their strikes. However, with the escalating combat atmosphere and boiling blood, Chen Chu's attacks had grown progressively more forceful.
Xia Youhui naturally hadn't held back either. Subsequently, the two of them had exchanged blows with increasing intensity.
Chen Chu touched his slightly swollen left cheek and chuckled, "Aren't we worthy opponents? I just got carried away, and besides, I took ten extra punches. I'm the one at a disadvantage, you know."
"Can we really tally it up like that? Just look at my face," Xia Youhui retorted, pointing at his two swollen eye sockets in frustration.
Even though Chen Chu had taken far more blows, those punches had landed mostly on his back or shoulders. He had only received a single blow to his face, which was much better off compared to Xia Youhui.
Luo Fei and the others were also surprised by how intense the sparring session had become. She approached Chen Chu, examining his cheek with curiosity. "Chen Chu, does it hurt?"
"What do you think? Want to touch it?" Chen Chu replied, his gaze falling onto her innocent face with a hint of playful eagerness. Punching this beautiful face would probably result in a long bout of tears.
Luo Fei quickly shook her head. "Nope."
"Hehe, Xia Youhui, your arm is swollen." Li Wenwen poked Xia Youhui's left arm with her finger, causing him to grimace in pain and quickly dodge away.
"Don't touch, it hurts," Xia Youhui exclaimed.
Lin Xue walked over and took out a small bottle. "I have some special medicinal wine here. It can reduce swelling quickly and promote blood circulation. Both of you can apply it to the affected areas."
"Thanks, Class Monitor." Xia Youhui didn't hesitate as he took the medicine and headed to the changing room with Chen Chu to apply it.
Watching the two of them leave, Li Wenwen stuck out her tongue and said, "I didn't expect that Chen Chu to be so wild in a fight. He looks so gentle."
Lu Haitao, who had been silent all along, nodded. "Yeah, Xia Youhui had it pretty tough."
Even though it was clear that Chen Chu had been at a disadvantage, getting hit more times, for some reason, everyone felt that Xia Youhui had it worse.
Lu Haitao suddenly felt somewhat fortunate that he had chosen to stop after the one punch in his spar with Chen Chu a few days ago. Otherwise, he might have ended up like Xia Youhui. He wondered how his classmates would have gossiped about him then.
Suddenly, Lin Xue asked, "What do you think? If I invite Chen Chu to join our club, will he refuse again?"
Li Wenwen blinked her eyes in curiosity and asked, "Why do you still want to invite him?"
The other two were also a bit surprised. In high school, one's image was pretty much everything among peers. After getting rejected once, trying to ask Chen Chu to join again wouldn't make them look good at all.
Lin Xue said slowly, "Because he's very courageous, and his combat instincts are strong. If he joins our club, he would be a great teammate."
While the others only saw the intensity of the fight, she saw Chen Chu's fearless attitude in the face of adversity, his calm yet ferocious counterattacks, and the intuition to exchange blows without targeting vital areas during the fight.
People like him were born warriors, with unwavering determination.
Luo Fei spoke softly, "I have a feeling he might still refuse."
"Okay, forget I said anything, then."
"Ow! Ah Chu, be gentle, be gentle."
Chen Chu was applying medicine to Xia Youhui's shoulder. With even the tiniest bit of pressure, Xia Youhui would let out a pig-like squeal, leaving Chen Chu utterly baffled.
"Why is a big man like you so afraid of pain? Look at me, I'm not scared at all," Chen Chu said, casually applying the medicine to his own chest as if it were nothing.
"Nonsense, I chose the Black Tortoise Earthly Art precisely because I'm afraid of pain," Xia Youhui retorted as he rolled his eyes. "And don't lie to me. You're being much gentler on yourself than you were with me."
"How is that possible? Do you really think I would do that?" Chen Chu chuckled, putting down the empty medicine bottle with a sly smile.
After applying the ointment, the two of them moved their bodies again. Their vitality circulation had already improved significantly, and the bruising on their bodies was rapidly diminishing.
Chen Chu asked, "Old Xia, what's your arm strength now?"
Knowing what he was asking, Xia Youhui didn't hide anything. "190 kilograms. The first stage of the Black Tortoise Earthly Art enhances my punches by 1.5 times."
"As expected." Chen Chu nodded.
His current arm strength was only a little over 150 kilograms; coupled with the gap in their arts, it was natural for Xia Youhui to have had complete dominance.
By this calculation, it seems that others who are practicing high-level arts may have a similar level of strength to Xia Youhui. It seems like it's going to be quite challenging to defeat them.
In the end, exchanging blow for blow was ultimately a suboptimal strategy, especially if the opponent was more powerful. Engaging in a brutal exchange like that would surely lead to defeat, especially if the opponent was ruthless enough.
"Today was painful, but it was pretty exciting, especially you. I didn't expect you to progress so much. We actually had quite an exchange," Xia Youhui said, rubbing his eyes.
"Come on, Old Xia, you're still more formidable," Chen Chu responded modestly as they exchanged mutual praise.
Xia Youhui was taken aback. "If I were more formidable, I wouldn't have gotten beaten by you so badly."
"Didn't you let me do it?" Chen Chu chuckled.
"Do you think I believe that myself?" Xia Youhui rolled his eyes.
Suddenly changing topics, Chen Chu asked, "Old Xia, do you know what's happened these past few days? I've been noticing police officers everywhere on the streets."
Chen Chu was a bit puzzled by this activity, which had been going on both yesterday and today. With how well informed Xia Youhui was, it made sense to ask him.
"Not much, just heard that two cultists from that Demon Cult have shown up. They've been trying to track them down these past few days."
"Cultists, like the ones who are causing chaos in Kyrola?" Chen Chu's expression tightened.
Noticing his seriousness, Xia Youhui casually said, "Don't worry, Ah Chu. Our place isn't like Kyrola. Any of those cultists who come here won't stand a chance. We've got a lot of martial arts experts in our city, including our teachers. Just because they're not obvious doesn't mean they're not there. Though, it could get a bit more dangerous, so for now, try not to wander around at night if you can."
At five in the afternoon, after the swelling on his face had subsided, Chen Chu left the school. On his way, he took out his phone and searched for information about Kyrola.
After half a month, the situation there had become even more critical. Almost half of the country was occupied by a rebel force consisting of practitioners and, to a lesser extent, cultists.
The so-called Demon Cult was a group of dangerous individuals that had emerged in recent years, often appearing in the smaller, less developed countries of the Southern Region and causing frequent disturbances. It was no surprise, then, that local authorities would move quickly to eliminate them every time they reared their heads.