Chapter 57: Did It Succeed?

"Clang, clang, clang..."

The crisp, low ringing of metal on metal echoed continuously.

On the sparring grounds, the tall figure of Zhang Zhiwei held Lu Ci by the throat, hoisting him up as effortlessly as if he were a little chick. With his other hand, maneuvering his Qi with casual ease, he effortlessly blocked the successive onslaughts of the Lu family's twin gems.

...

Meanwhile, the onlookers around the sparring grounds erupted into a sudden uproar.

"What is going on? How is this possible? This..."

"Good heavens, this is terrifying! In the blink of an eye, just a mere blink of an eye, Lu Ci was taken down. This... this is completely not a match on the same level!"

"What just happened? I had both eyes wide open, so why couldn't I make sense of it? I only saw the Lu family's twin gems strike one after another, with Ruyi Qi scattering in all directions, but how come in the blink of an eye Lu Ci is being held by the neck? When did Senior Brother Zhang make his move? I couldn't see his movements at all!"

"I didn't see it clearly either. Not only could I not see this match clearly, but I couldn't see Senior Brother Zhang's match against Lu Jin earlier either. Senior Brother Zhang is just too fast. Did he paste Divine Mobility talismans on his legs or something?"

"I think that's very likely. After all, Mount Longhu is the School of Talismans; using talismans during combat is a completely normal thing!"

"No, I am from the School of Talismans myself, and I saw it very clearly. In both matches, Senior Brother Zhang didn't use talismans at all!"

The younger generation wore expressions of shock as they engaged in a flurry of heated discussions.

The older generation, however, fell into an uncanny silence, simply watching the spectacle on the sparring grounds—let us call it a battle for lack of a better word—as they measured it against themselves.

Some projected themselves into Zhang Zhiwei's role, wondering if they were in his place, whether they could so easily dismantle the onslaught of the Lu family's twin gems, take down Lu Ci, and then, while holding Lu Ci with one hand, nonchalantly parry Lu Ren's attacks.

Others projected themselves into the roles of the Lu family's twin gems, pondering how they would respond if they were the ones on the field, facing this junior named Zhang Zhiwei as he charged straight at them ferociously with the Golden Light Spell activated and his giant palm raised. They wondered how they would deal with his palm strike to the throat, and whether they could shatter that seemingly overly dense Golden Light Spell.

After such projection and careful deliberation, many practitioners of the older generation fell silent.

Placing themselves in Zhang Zhiwei's shoes felt slightly more manageable. Faced with the fierce initial assault of the Lu family's twin gems, they might not be able to act like Zhang Zhiwei, who kept his Golden Light Spell active, ignored all attacks, and marched straight up to grab someone by the neck. Still, they had numerous ways to respond. It might take some effort, but subduing the Lu family's twin gems would not be a major problem.

Placing themselves in the shoes of the Lu family's twin gems, however, felt extremely difficult—not just difficult, but frankly thorny. To their dismay, they suddenly realized they seemed to have no good way of dealing with him.

After all, simple assaults usually could only be met with straightforward responses.

To deal with this junior named Zhang Zhiwei, the best approach was to go head-to-head relying on profound cultivation. Yet, judging by the strength, speed, and even defensive prowess Zhang Zhiwei had displayed, the profound cultivation of these older generations suddenly didn't seem so profound anymore.

"Celestial Master, exactly how old is your boy?" Elder Lu couldn't help asking.

Actually, he had already asked this once before, and the answer he got was that Zhang Zhiwei was about three years older than Lu Jin. Since his own grandson was not yet fifteen, being three years older meant he had barely reached adulthood, right? But this level of cultivation simply didn't look like it!

Elder Lu suspected that age was catching up to him and he had misheard, so he asked again.

Zhang Jingqing pondered for a moment and deliberately exaggerated: "Well... he's pushing twenty-one or twenty-two!"

Zhang Jingqing felt a mild headache coming on. After today, there was no telling how the pugilistic world would spread rumors about this wayward disciple of his!

"Nearing twenty-two? That is extraordinary indeed. The Celestial Master's Mansion has produced a true dragon!" Elder Lu sighed with emotion, subconsciously ignoring the "pushing" prefix the Celestial Master had used.

At that moment, on the sparring grounds.

Zhang Zhiwei was enveloped in golden light from head to toe, holding the relentlessly struggling Lu Ci in one hand while tilting his head to look at Lu Ren opposite him.

The Lu family's twin gems had lost one of their pair at a single encounter.

Seeing his younger brother being hoisted up like a helpless chick, Lu Ren was burning with genuine fury. Unleashing all his techniques, the Ruyi Qi rotated alternately on his left and right sides like two ribbons measuring over ten feet long.

"Ah!"

Lu Ren let out a furious roar, unleashing a palm strike. The two ribbon-like streams of Ruyi Qi intertwined and surged outward, whipping up howling gales of vital energy before crashing head-on into Zhang Zhiwei's golden light.

Simultaneously, behind Zhang Zhiwei's back, currents of air rippled from time to time, spitting out one or two exceptionally thin and tiny strands of Ruyi Qi that struck the back of his head, his armpits, his ribs, his crotch... targeting whichever spot was most insidious and vicious.

"A diversion? Making a feint on one front while scattering Ruyi Qi into the wind, only to suddenly condense it for a sneak attack once close to the target? With a trick like this, even the Jinhoo Sect would call you an expert!"

Although Zhang Zhiwei's words sounded like a compliment, his tone was laden with utter disdain. Failing to properly train one's Qi and instead resorting to devious tricks—these were nothing more than petty, unrefined cleverness.

To say nothing of this insidious Ruyi Qi hidden in the wind, even the secret arts of the Jinhoo Sect couldn't pierce his Golden Light Spell.

Observing the way Lu Ren utilized his Ruyi Qi, and connecting it with his eventual fate, Zhang Zhiwei roughly understood why he would end up falling victim to the little Japanese devils.

Since you are looking for guidance, I will make sure you learn a lesson you won't forget!

Carrying Lu Ci in one hand and braving Lu Ren's onslaught, Zhang Zhiwei slowly walked toward Lu Ren, his demeanor carrying a rather leisurely stroll-like grace.

In the past, Zhang Zhiwei had never understood why the invincible martial artists in television shows, whose strength far surpassed their opponents, always loved standing still and letting others beat them, laughing while taking hits, only to eventually die to the protagonist's ultimate killing blow. Clearly, a slight dodge followed by a proactive counterattack would allow them to easily defeat their foes.

But now, he just wanted to say that this feeling was truly exhilarating.

Watching Zhang Zhiwei slowly approach, Lu Ren's eyes split open in fury.

When he stepped onto the arena, he had anticipated that this match would be difficult, but he never imagined it would be *this* difficult.

Was this really a peer?

Was this really a peer of roughly the same age as him?

Why was he so impossibly difficult to deal with?!

This... this sense of oppression was even purer than his father's!

Lu Ren glared fiercely, staring intently at Zhang Zhiwei, trying to see through his every move. However, the golden light blanketing Zhang Zhiwei's entire body acted like a light-absorbing void, swallowing up all his curiosity, probing, and longing, refusing to spit back even a shred of merciful pity.

He recalled the evaluation his younger brother had given earlier: he was monstrously strong.

Whether he looked like a monster or not, Lu Ren couldn't be sure, but he certainly didn't look human.

Should he just forfeit? There was simply no fighting this!

That was what Lu Ren thought in his heart, but when he saw his younger brother—still trapped by the neck, refusing to give up, and desperately struggling to unleash yet another wave of Ruyi Qi—Lu Ren gritted his teeth. *Fight on, keep fighting!*

"Take this! The Ruyi Qi secret technique: Universe Flowing Torrent!"

With a furious roar, Lu Ren poured out his utmost potential, mobilizing all the Qi within his body in a desperate, all-or-nothing gamble to unleash the greatest killing technique he had mastered thus far.

Energy surged throughout his entire body as the Ruyi Qi condensed into a purple, torrent-like stream. In an instant, it soared skyward like a reverse-flowing ribbon, swirling and maneuvering to engulf Zhang Zhiwei within it before collapsing into a sphere that spun frantically.

"Clang-clang-clang-clang..."

The rapid, low ringing of metal on metal played out frantically. The violently spinning Ruyi Qi tore up dirt and stones across the sparring grounds, whipping up a gale and forming a miniature tempest.

"Did... did it work?"

Lu Ren's eyes widened.