Chapter 58 Guidance from the Pinnacle

"Is this... did he... did he succeed?!"

Among the younger generation, someone muttered under their breath.

At the very beginning of the spar, they had been chatting and cheering for both sides, with some hoping Zhang Zhiwei would win and others rooting for the twin prodigies of the Lu family.

But now, without exception, they all wanted the Lu twin prodigies to win.

"He should have succeeded, right? The Golden Light Spell is merely the introductory technique of the Heavenly Master's Mansion. I've sparred with people who use the Golden Light Spell before. Although it combines offense and defense and is quite a handful, it's not unbreakable. The elder Lu brother's all-around, dead-angle-free attack should be able to pierce through the Golden Light Spell!"

"Then if it was broken, why hasn't that sound like blacksmithing ever stopped?"

"This... this is unclear!"

In the seats reserved for the elders.

The Head of the Lu family closed his eyes, unable to bear watching any longer. He already knew the outcome.

"Brother Lu, he is, after all, the top disciple of the Heavenly Master. Losing to him is no disgrace. Isn't my Jin'er in the exact same boat?"

Lu Xuan offered a word of comfort. He understood the Lu family head's current mood all too well.

The Head of the Wang family remained silently quiet. Among the four major families, the proud talents of two had already stepped up; he certainly didn't want his own child going up there.

It wasn't that he feared failure. If his own child were also a genius, what harm would it be to go up and suffer a defeat? But...

The Wang family head glanced sideways at his pampered, precious little darling. Not looking would have been fine, but one look almost made him die of anger.

The younger generation present were all watching the commotion on the martial arts arena with rapt attention, yet this foolish thing was actually peering sideways with sneaky, darting eyes at the little chubby girl from the Northeast Ma family.

A fool, an idiot, a piece of rotten wood that cannot be carved!

The Wang family head's mood plummeted to rock bottom, even worse than his two miserable companions, the Lu family head and Lu Xuan.

At that moment, new developments unfolded on the martial arts arena.

Brilliant golden light burst through the purple vortex of Ruyi Qi, and Zhang Zhiwei stepped out from it with a composed expression, holding a flailing, wriggling Lu Ci by the scruff of the neck.

"This move is somewhat interesting, far more interesting than those third-rate parlor tricks of yours where you hid Qi in the wind. But unfortunately, your Qi is too scattered and its intensity is too low; it's all for show and lacks any real power!"

"Since you asked me for guidance and even told me not to hold back, don't blame me for speaking bluntly. Frankly, I don't understand—with such soft and feeble energy, instead of trying to condense it, you actually scatter it even more, dissolving the Qi into the wind and the ground... hoping to launch a sneak attack from an unexpected angle?"

"Have you ever considered adding a bit of Qi poison to the Ruyi Qi to make it more useful? Hehe, I'm just saying; adding it or not makes no difference. In the end, it's just a petty, underhanded trick that can only deal with third-rate trash!"

Hearing this, Lu Ren flew into a rage. This Ruyi Qi was practiced generation after generation by his Lu family; how could he allow an outsider to belittle it?

"Shut up!"

Draining every last drop of Qi in his body and gathering it in his hands, he gritted his teeth and charged forward.

Zhang Zhiwei raised a hand while speaking, "Weak and powerless. If your opponent were someone decisive..."

Gritting his teeth, Lu Ren lunged toward Zhang Zhiwei, only to see a palm rapidly expanding before his eyes.

"Bang!"

A broad-jointed, golden-shining palm forcefully drove Lu Ren's head straight into the ground.

Lu Ren's protective Ruyi Qi was as fragile as paper, shattering at the slightest touch and offering zero defensive effect.

"...a single strike would shatter that soft, defensive Qi armor of yours and leave you headless!"

Having finished what he didn't get to say earlier, Zhang Zhiwei turned his head to look at the ferocious-looking Lu Ci.

Choked by the throat, Lu Ci could only make "gurgling" sounds and was unable to speak, though judging by the look in his eyes, he was undoubtedly furious.

Meanwhile, outside the martial arts arena, an uproar broke out. Things seemed to have gone a bit too far for a mere sparring match.

Some people looked toward Heavenly Master Zhang Jingqing.

Others looked toward the Head of the Lu family.

They wanted to know what these two heavyweights would do—would they call a halt to this sparring match that had lost all its meaning?

Heavenly Master Zhang Jingqing wore a dark expression as he observed the scene in the arena, yet he did not utter a word of reprimand.

He understood his disciple's temperament; doing this must have had his reasons.

No matter how he might lecture him in private, in front of outsiders, the Heavenly Master stood by his disciple—this was also the traditional protectiveness of the Heavenly Master's Mansion.

As for the Lu family head, his complexion turned alternating shades of blue and red, but unexpectedly, he remained silent as well.

"Brother Lu, this is going a bit too far. Shall we call a halt?" Lu Xuan asked in a low voice.

"No, these two foolish sons of mine overestimated themselves by stepping up to ask for guidance, and they even told the other party not to hold back. Now isn't this fulfilling their wish? If I call a halt, wouldn't it make it look like my Lu family can't afford to lose? Besides, they went to ask for guidance, and now that they're just getting a beating, the guidance is happening right now. If I call a halt, wouldn't the beating have been for nothing?"

A person capable of becoming a family head was naturally no brute, but rather deeply astute. The Lu family head could catch the underlying meaning of Zhang Zhiwei's previous words.

Sure enough, a moment later, he heard Zhang Zhiwei say to Lu Ci:

"You realized the vast gap in our strength, yet you still stepped onto the stage to ask for guidance. Surely you didn't come purely to be tortured, so let me offer you two some serious guidance. These are just my personal thoughts; whether you take them to heart is entirely up to you."

"In my view, the direction you two took in cultivating Ruyi Qi is flawed. Ruyi Qi—it's called Ruyi Qi, which means you must first possess genuine power (*Qi*) before you can pursue versatility (*Ruyi*). If you don't even have power, what is the point of playing all these fancy tricks?"

"Just like right now, both of you have beaten your hands to the point of numbness, yet you still couldn't crack my golden light!"

"As I see it, martial arts boil down to two strokes: horizontal and vertical. If you're right, you stand; if you're wrong, you fall. The principle is just that simple."

"The Great Dao is simple. Instead of scattering your power, it's better to twist every ounce of striking force into a single rope and continuously compress it to enhance its quality. Although this reduces versatility by a lot, both your lethality and destructive power will increase exponentially. Of course, with the Qi condensed like this, you won't be able to pull off sneak attacks anymore."

"But sneak attacks are fundamentally the mindset of the weak; better to abandon them. Instead of trying to alter the form to ambush others, you should try to infuse your own Dao into your Qi."

"If it were me, I would incorporate vibrations and collapses similar to the Bajiquan into the versatile nature of Ruyi Qi, simulating natural disasters—simulating one of the most violent forces in this world."

"Once you achieve even a sliver of success in that state, with your Qi condensed and solid, a single punch thrown out would cause the surrounding energy to vibrate, shaking all directions and proving unstoppable. No matter how thick the opponent's protective Qi armor is, or how strong their physical conditioning, they would all be smashed to pieces."

"Isn't that far better than dispersing your power, hiding it in the air, and burying it in the dirt to launch sneak attacks... Hehehe..."

Zhang Zhiwei chuckled and looked down at Lu Ci in his hand. The boy was no longer struggling, and his ferocious expression had vanished, replaced by a dazed look as if he had been struck by lightning.

"They say tiger-hunting takes brothers, and going into battle takes a father and son. Since your brother's head is buried in the dirt, you go down there and sober up too!"

With that, he pressed down with one hand. With a booming sound, he shoved Lu Ci's head directly into the ground.

An old Taoist priest was not someone whose title you could just bark casually.

At the same time, Lu Jin, having changed his clothes, tidied his appearance, and with tear-reddened eyes, came running in small steps from the front courtyard back to the arena in the back.

As soon as he arrived, he saw Zhang Zhiwei standing with his arms folded, his entire body enveloped in golden light, radiating an inviolable aura.

And right at his feet lay two... headless corpses?