The young man carrying the heavy hammer was over 1.9 meters tall, with a hefty physique. After jumping onto the platform, he looked at Chen Chu and exclaimed, "Class Nineteen, Li Meng."
"Class Three, Chen Chu," Chen Chu reported his name as well.
Li Meng then said, "Brother, I cultivate an advanced art called the Primordial Might Hammer. If you feel that you can't keep up, just concede before getting hurt."
Saying this, Li Meng put the heavy hammer behind him. The handle was about two meters long, as thick as an arm, and the hammerhead was the size of a washbasin, with blunt edges all over its surface.
"Thanks for the advice." Chen Chu nodded solemnly. Even ignoring the advanced art, just the fact that the opponent wielded such a heavy weapon meant he wasn't weak.
With a clanging sound, Chen Chu drew his two-meter-long straight saber.
The highest strength of the First Heavenly Realm only gave him a slight advantage. In combat, however, it wasn't just about strength; it also involved combat awareness and the support of martial arts.
Li Meng's sturdy vitality burst forth, and he charged at Chen Chu like a giant enraged bear. The massive hammer, when swung, produced a piercing roar, creating an imposing aura.
Chen Chu took a deep breath, and his Dragon Elephant Art activated. In an instant, his entire body's muscles swelled, emitting a violent aura. Instead of retreating, he shot forward in a faster burst, engaging in a head-on attack. Both hands gripped the saber as he struck down.
The weapons clashed in mid-air, sending sparks flying and creating an ear-piercing, echoing impact. Immediately, a powerful rebound force erupted, causing Chen Chu's entire mouth to ache.
On the other side, Li Meng wasn't faring much better. Like Chen Chu, he was pushed back a step by the rebound. Looking at this single strike, the two seemed evenly matched, but Li Meng, who had initially been confident, turned serious.
Heavy weapons inherently held a strength advantage; coupled with the inertia of swinging and the kinetic energy of his charge, it could unleash an impact far exceeding his own limits. So in this situation, the fact that the opponent could counter him using only a saber was already remarkable. Purely in terms of strength, Chen Chu was already superior to him.
But didn’t that make this even better?
Li Meng's blood boiled, and he exclaimed, "Such formidable strength, continue!"
As he spoke, the art within him activated, and an even more potent force gathered in his arms. Swinging the heavy hammer, which came in at over a hundred kilograms, he pivoted around his waist and unleashed another mighty strike.
With the force of inertia, this strike not only possessed greater power but also higher speed. It produced a sharp howl, and afterimages appeared instantly above Chen Chu's head.
This time, Chen Chu didn't confront it head on. Instead, he disappeared from his original position with a slight flicker.
The heavy hammer, carrying a force exceeding a thousand kilograms, smashed onto the platform. The hardened stone surface instantly shattered into pieces, and countless fragments splintered in all directions.
Chen Chu reappeared at Li Meng's side and slashed horizontally with his saber. Li Meng promptly blocked it with the handle of his hammer.
His expression changed when he noticed Chen Chu suddenly sliding the blade along the handle towards Li Meng's palm. Reacting swiftly to the sudden change, Li Meng quickly released his grip. As he retreated to avoid the saber attack, Chen Chu spun around and kicked the middle of the hammer handle.
Under his powerful force, the released handle swept horizontally. Li Meng tried to retake the initiative and force Chen Chu back, but Chen Chu directly countered with a powerful slash.
Sparks flew, and Chen Chu’s lips curled slightly.
Staring at the blade in front of his chest, Li Meng seemed shocked.
Chen Chu slowly retracted his saber, smiling. "Thank you for the match."
"Amazing." Li Meng slowly exhaled, then conceded without any fuss, picking up his hammer and jumping off the platform.
"Platform Forty-Nine, Chen Chu wins. Do you need a break?"
This time, Chen Chu chose not to continue with consecutive matches. After sheathing his saber, he stood still, calming the boiling vitality within him and reflecting on the gains from the battle just now.
Li Meng was actually very strong. To wield that heavy of a weapon, his burst strength was no weaker than Chen Chu's.
It was just unfortunate that his first match was against Chen Chu, who had faster reactions and an overall superior strength. As soon as he made a move, Chen Chu had forcefully interrupted his rhythm. Otherwise, if he was able to swing that heavy hammer and leverage inertia with his hammer art, it would have taken Chen Chu at least ten moves to defeat him.
After a short break, Chen Chu began his third fight.
His opponent was a young man with glasses, but his strength was instantly overwhelmed by a single saber attack, prompting him to shout surrender.
In the fourth match, his opponent was a cute girl with beautiful hair accessories. With three lightning-fast strikes, the girl was quickly defeated by Chen Chu's fierce aggression, ending in her tearful surrender.
"I give up," the girl whimpered, throwing her sword and jumping off the platform. Chen Chu felt a bit embarrassed, wondering if he had gone too far.
Moving on to the fifth match, his opponent appeared to be a student who had just finished Foundation Building after a month, and had barely reached the First Heavenly Realm. Chen Chu sent both the student and his weapon flying several meters away in one swift strike, and the boy promptly surrendered.
It wasn’t until the sixth match that Chen Chu encountered a slightly stronger opponent. A girl stepped onto the stage with arrogance on her face, wielding a weapon similar to Chen Chu's.
Without any unnecessary words, the girl, seemingly too proud to disclose her name, flashed forward, appearing at Chen Chu’s side with afterimages.
So fast! Such speed was superior to the First Heavenly Realm, surprising even Chen Chu.
Chen Chu blocked a strike from the left, and sparks flew as the two weapons collided.
The girl's face quickly changed, however, as the fierce force from Chen Chu's blade pushed her back.
For the First Heavenly Realm, cultivating true martial arts characteristically focused on improving one’s best attributes. If possessing average speed and agility, overwhelming strength was the main path to victory.
With arts that focused on agility, the user would have an explosive speed that surpassed those at the same level. But their strength would fall short to the power-type cultivators.
For individuals like Lin Xue, who specialized in sword arts, their moves were sharp and powerful, and their arts were delicate and precise. Their power and speed, however, were mediocre in comparison.
Overall, each cultivation path had its strengths. The girl facing Chen Chu appeared to be cultivating a martial art that emphasized agility and movement arts, exhibiting astonishing speed.
After a moment, she retreated, and her afterimage moved elusively, appearing ghost-like on Chen Chu's right side. Once again, she slashed toward his lower body.
Chen Chu stood unwavering, his eyes sharp. He precisely blocked the surrounding afterimages and the swift blade strikes, sparks flying with each one.
After just over ten moves, however, the girl's figure suddenly burst out and retreated to a distance of five meters. The hand gripping the hilt of her long saber trembled incessantly, and blood flowed from her grip.
Although she had great explosive speed and ghostly techniques, she was far weaker than Chen Chu strength wise.
Each time their blades clashed, she had felt a domineering force slamming against her, making her arm numb and her palm ache. In just ten exchanges, she was injured.
Chen Chu exhaled, with a faint smile on his face. "Thank you for the match."
The girl glared deeply at Chen Chu and snorted coldly before turning to jump down from the stage.
"Platform Forty-Nine, Chen Chu is the victor. You have completed your required number of matches. Please step down and wait for the final results."
Knowing that he was certain to advance, Chen Chu descended from the stage with a smile, sheathing his saber.
After defeating six opponents in a row, with each victory clean and decisive, Chen Chu's performance had attracted the attention of some of the teachers on the main stage. Even Pang Long let out a light exclamation.
He recalled that this student seemed to have finished Foundation Building within half a month. Currently, he was cultivating the unique Dragon Elephant Art, which emphasized explosive strength, and the Insightful Blade, a special saber art.
The strength he displayed today seemed to be quite formidable, even surpassing two geniuses who were cultivating high-level arts.