Liu Zhengye took a step forward. His step was firm and strong this time, which was not jumpy at all.

He had figured that Ou Yangming managed to cause the previous situation because of his agility, as well as his astuteness in finding opportunities in a battle, which was a skill unreachable by many people. That said, in terms of cultivation base, Ou Yangming was inferior to Liu Zhengye.

Therefore, Liu Zhengye was certain that he could teach the young fellow an unforgettable lesson by fighting steadily.

Chen Yifan watched silently, and seemed to be using the opportunity to observe Ou Yangming's true strength.

The Ni family from the prefecture was not a small family. It was a well-known fact that martial artists from the Ni family were famous for battle skills, and were often defeating people who were superior to them.

Since Ou Yangming had defeated Ni Yunhong, Chen Yifan was eager to see what his limit was.

"Swoosh—"

Another punch was made, this time, the fist carried an enormous force, as though a real master was going to crush his opponent to death using absolute strength.

Ou Yangming swayed his body once more. His eyes were glowing, and his consciousness rose into the sky to observe Liu Zhengye's every move. Under his watch, Liu Zhengye's movements were plainly visible to him, even the slightest change could not escape his eyes.

If there was a huge difference between their strengths, and the punch made by one party carried an overwhelming power, the other party would not be able to resist it, even with exquisite skills. However, if their strengths were not Heaven and Earth apart, having top-notch skills would be extremely advantageous.

Ou Yangming swung his fist as well, but did not aim to resist Liu Zhengye's punch. Instead, he shifted sideways to punch Liu Zhengye's arm in an incredibly strange way.

Liu Zhengye's face changed as, no matter what he did, he could not punch Ou Yangming.

Meanwhile, Ou Yangming landed a perfect punch. While there was indeed more than a boundary's gap between their strengths, and their powers and speed were incomparable, Ou Yangming somehow hit Liu Zhengye's weakest spot. Although Liu Zhengye's essential Qi was circulating endlessly inside his body, the circulation was cut off after he was punched.

It would not be surprising if Chen Yifan was the one who had caused it, but the fact that Ou Yangming had done it was truly shocking.

Chen Yifan's face twitched as he wondered, 'How did that fella do it? Can he see through Zhengye's essential Qi circulation? But how is that possible?'

Liu Zhengye took half a step back to recollect himself, but before he could take a breather from the previous attack, Ou Yangming had approached him again with a fist wind.

Upon seeing this, Liu Zhengye was furious because the young fellow only had the cultivation base of Force Grade Class Four. Though Ou Yangming's techniques were odd, he actually had the guts to actively attack Liu Zhengye, a martial artist at the peak of Yin Grade, which was the same as slapping him in the face.

Liu Zhengye roared and forced himself to stop, and was ready to counterattack with his strength. Even though Liu Zhengye knew that the method employed would cause disruption in his Qi and blood, he believed that he could take down Ou Yangming with the power.

He made half a turn and swung his fist at Ou Yangming's chest.

Nonetheless, it was then that Liu Zhengye suddenly realized that Ou Yangming seemed to have perceived his move in advance. Ou Yangming slipped away like a fish, and actually disappeared right in front of his eyes. Following that, Liu Zhengye's right arm vibrated. His essential Qi seemed to have been cut by a saber, which completely cut off the circulation.

Liu Zhengye was appalled, and a fearful thought crossed his mind.

'If Ou Yangming used a weapon instead of his fists earlier, what would've happened?'

Liu Zhengye exerted force through his legs to fly backward, where he zoomed out of the battle zone like a whirlwind. Next, he charged in again at Ou Yangming.

It had only been a brief moment, but Liu Zhengye, who got rid of Ou Yangming earlier, had recovered his essential Qi circulation and moved on from the embarrassment.

Liu Zhengye was breaking out of the situation with force. By relying on the fact that he had a stronger essential Qi cultivation base, more formidable power, and faster speed, he escaped the battle zone in a split second, then charged back when his body recovered.

It seemed like an unprincipled move, but it was unquestionably the best method to use against Ou Yangming.

Ou Yangming raised his eyebrows. When Liu Zhengye fled with all his might, he did not have a way to obstruct him. Nevertheless, Ou Yangming was not anxious at all because he was confident about defeating Liu Zhengye again and again since he had already done it once.

As expected, Ou Yangming enveloped Liu Zhengye again in a flash with his tyrannical fist art. Liu Zhengye, who was forced into a helpless position, roared. He charged forward regardless of the situation to escape the battle zone once more, and returned after regaining his aura.

Although Liu Zhengye had gotten away again, he clearly felt that Ou Yangming's fist art was becoming more dangerous. It was like a huge spider web that became larger each time Liu Zhengye broke free, which in turn helped the web to become more perfect.

Liu Zhengye was frightened deep down.

'Am I really going to be defeated by a martial artist whose cultivation base is only at Force Grade?'

"Stop!"

Chen Yifan suddenly gave a timely order.

Liu Zhengye immediately retreated and sighed a breath of relief.

Ou Yangming stopped as well. While it seemed like his body was swaying and jumpy, Chen Yifan and Liu Zhengye could tell that it was extremely stable. It was as though there were countless roots beneath his feet, which allowed him to connect with the earth closely.

"Good fella, I really underestimated you!" Chen Yifan studied Ou Yangming closely as he remarked, then laughed after a short pause. "Guards!"

A soldier quickly ran in and bowed at him. "General, what's the order?"

Chen Yifan instructed, "Bring Master Ou to the Middle Camp, General Deng's waiting for him."

"Yes!" The soldier answered.

Ou Yangming was stunned. "General Chen, what's this about?"

Chen Yifan waved his hand. "Don't overthink this, General Deng only wants to meet the new favorite in the camp, and to ask you about the challenge. Hehe, I initially summoned you to persuade you to withdraw from the challenge, but it looks like I no longer have to worry."

Ou Yangming felt relieved. He left with the soldier after bidding the general farewell.

Chen Yifan spoke only after Ou Yangming had gone far away, "Zhengye, what do you think about his performance?"

Liu Zhengye blushed as he replied, "General, his skills are great. If the battle went on, I might not have been able to defeat him."

"You don't have to belittle yourself like that. His physical power is more inferior to yours, after all, so it's hard to tell who the winner and loser would have been." Chen Yifan chuckled.

Liu Zhengye lowered his head as he was upset. He could tell that the general did not have high hopes for him, and was only hoping that he could take Ou Yangming down with his abundant essential Qi and mighty physical power.

That being said, Liu Zhengye quickly curbed his thoughts. "General, martial arts cultivation base and the smithing of equipment are two different things. Ou Yangming has only acquired the Military Fire for a short period of time, I'm afraid that it'll be difficult for him to defeat Master Ni in terms of smithing skills!"

Though he sounded polite, he made it very clear.

Ou Yangming did not stand a chance to win because smithing art was indeed a skill that was perfected through practice. As brilliant as Ou Yangming was, Ni Yunhong was not an easy match. Why would Ni Yunhong make such a big deal out of the challenge if he was not confident about winning?

Chen Yinfan pondered for a while and questioned, "Before you exchanged blows with him, did you ever think that you'd be defeated?"

Liu Zhengye was startled, and he shook his head with a bitter smile. "No, it never crossed my mind."

Indeed, if Liu Zhengye had not experienced it personally, he would never have thought that he could not defeat a Force Grade martial artist.

"I've experienced being unexpectedly defeated by someone." Chen Yifan laughed and continued after pausing for a while, "From then on, I learned something—nothing is impossible. Some people are especially good at creating miracles, but before it's done, nobody will ever believe them."

Liu Zhengye was dumbfounded. "General, do you think that highly of him?"

"It's not that I think highly of him, but he displayed sufficient power," Chen Yifan shook his head and answered, then asked seriously, "Was there a special feeling that you felt when you fought him?"

Liu Zhengye was deep in thoughts for some time. Perhaps he would be too embarrassed to tell the truth if someone else had asked, but he would not hide anything from the general.

"That fella's techniques are extremely strange. He was always able to spot my weakness, and could always dodge before I attack, so I always ended up achieving nothing." Liu Zhengye frowned as he described, "It was a feeling of powerlessness, like, like…"

He pulled a long face, but could not find the right words to describe it.

Chen Yifan's eyes lit up, and he blurted, "Like you're exchanging blows with a non-existent ball of air, and the more you fight, the more despairing it feels."

"Yes, that's how I felt." Liu Zhengye suddenly looked up and slapped his thigh. He hesitated for a while before asking Chen Yifan as he was surprised, "General, how did you know?"

Chen Yifan smiled bitterly. It was a meaningful and complicated smile.

"That's because I've experienced it before…" Chen Yifan asked slowly, "Do you know what people describe it as?"

Liu Zhengye's face took on a ghastly expression. He vaguely felt that he had encountered something that was beyond his reach at the moment.

"General, what is it?"

"They describe it as… The integration of Heaven and man!"