Another Slap

Hearing Zhang Zhiwei's explanation, Zhuge Yunhui felt as if he had been struck by a sudden blow to the head, his worldview completely overturned.

"It seemed like I pulled you into my Qimen formation, but in reality, I walked into your formation... So, 'using the innate to guide the celestial cycle, covering the changes of the celestial cycle, and transforming oneself as the king' means using the innate Qi to guide the celestial grid, covering the variables of the celestial cycle with the variables of the internal bodily grid, thereby taking control of everything."

Zhuge Yunhui lowered his head, mused for a moment, then suddenly looked up, staring at Zhang Zhiwei with fanatical eyes:

"Using oneself as the formation to stir up the heaven and earth Qimen grid—this is simply playing chess against the heavens, acting against the will of heaven, and winning half a move against the heavens! This is a lifelong wish that countless warlocks can never attain! Senior Brother Zhang, stop practicing the Internal Elixir technique, come practice warlock arts instead! You will definitely become the greatest warlock of this era!!"

Zhang Zhiwei: "............"

Why is he suddenly getting so dramatic?!
Let me tell you, I don't buy into flattery at all!

Zhang Zhiwei said in a deep voice, "How do you interpret this?"

Zhuge Yunhui hurriedly said, "Just as Senior Brother Zhang said earlier, the methods of us warlocks are about seeking fortune and avoiding misfortune, only going with the flow and never acting against the heavens. We simply do whatever hints the heaven and earth give us. Aren't we just like chess pieces?"

"Chess pieces are passive and lack the ability to resist. Therefore, even if we catch a glimpse of the secrets of heaven and earth, we can only keep them bottled up inside or speak in riddles. The slightest leakage brings severe illness, not to mention leaking the secrets of heaven and earth—how could anyone ever defy the rules of heaven and earth?"

"Senior Brother Zhang, yet you did it! You broke out of the category of a chess piece and became the chess player, artificially stirring up the predetermined variables of heaven and earth. Isn't this winning half a move against heaven and earth?"

Zhuge Yunhui looked at Zhang Zhiwei with burning eyes: "Senior Brother Zhang, why don't you join our Wuhou Sect? I have a hunch that you might even become a figure like my ancestor, Marquis Wuhou!"

Zhang Zhiwei: "............"

Is he trying to poach talent right to my face?

"Isn't your Wuhou Sect also called Zhuge Village? Your sect's ultimate techniques are only passed down to the Zhuge family, so I won't join in the fun."

Zhuge Yunhui quickly said, "That doesn't matter at all! Senior Brother Zhang, your Zhengyi Sect doesn't forbid marriage. I have many sisters; you can pick one you like, and then we'll be family, won't we?"

I thank you on behalf of your sisters...

Zhuge Yunhui's excessive enthusiasm made Zhang Zhiwei feel a bit uncomfortable, so he quickly waved his hand and said:

"Stop right there, stop right there. I'm doing quite well on Dragon Tiger Mountain, don't bring this up again!"

Seeing that Zhang Zhiwei's attitude was firm, Zhuge Yunhui calmed down for a moment, cupped his hands, and said with an apologetic expression:

"I'm sorry, Senior Brother Zhang. I was being impetuous just now. You are already an adopted-surname disciple on Dragon Tiger Mountain and have been taught the Five Thunders Righteous Method; your future is much brighter than it would be in the Wuhou Sect. Besides, your Dragon Tiger Mountain also has the heritage of warlock arts, so there is indeed no need to look far for what is close at hand!"

Zhang Zhiwei nodded: "Then do you have anything else to ask?"

"No more, Senior Brother Zhang. You explained it very clearly, and I understand it now. Now I have an idea: since practicing Qimen Dunjia and deducing the heaven and earth grid is meant to master the human body grid, why don't I directly deduce the human body grid? Just like you, starting from myself and then reflecting it onto the external grid?"

"Deducing the heaven and earth grid starts from the twenty-four solar terms. I can't feel the human body grid you mentioned, but since you said the twenty-four vertebrae of the human body correspond to the twenty-four solar terms, what if I use Qimen numerology to start deductions from the twenty-four vertebrae, generalizing from the specific and peeling back the layers? Wouldn't it..."

"Cultivation requires taking it one step at a time, this idea of yours won't do..."

Zhang Zhiwei was in the middle of giving advice when he noticed that Zhuge Yunhui had gone silent.

A strange silence swept across the martial arts arena.

Zhang Zhiwei looked at Zhuge Yunhui and saw his eyes closed with a peaceful expression on his face, completely ignoring what he was saying.

What a fool... As Lu Xun said, never argue with a foolish person.

"Great Supreme Platform Star, respond to changes without pause, drive away evil and bind demons, protect life and guard the body, keep wisdom bright and clear, bring peace to heart and mind, let the three souls remain forever, and prevent the seven physical souls from perishing!"

Zhang Zhiwei chanted the incantation, raised his hand, and slapped him across the face.

"Snap!"

A few blood-stained teeth flew out. Zhuge Yunhui was knocked to the ground by the slap. After snapping back to his senses, he looked in terror and apprehension at Zhang Zhiwei, who wore an angry expression.

And this slap made the younger generation watching from outside the martial arts arena collectively shudder. Here it comes, here it comes, another slap to the face.

Sure enough, as long as one steps onto the martial arts arena, even a passing dog would have to take a couple of slaps.

Lu Jin, who had previously been arguing with Lü Ci until his face was red, instantly felt comforted at this sight. I am not alone in my path! There was only one tiny regret—why aren't you crying? Hurry up and cry!

And Lü Ci, whose face and neck were red, grinned with schadenfreude, his bristly hair standing up with high spirits.

Of course, some people were also confused.

"What on earth happened inside the formation? Didn't they say they were dueling with warlock methods? Why did they resort to hands without a word?"

"Not sure. We could still hear their conversation earlier, but ever since the Celestial Master's disciple made his move, the grid inside the arena felt a bit different, giving off a sense of looking at flowers through fog, and we couldn't hear what they were saying clearly anymore."

...

This was actually a very normal phenomenon.

Because Zhang Zhiwei's attack disrupted the solar terms within the Qimen formation—meaning the changes in time—the temporal progression inside and outside the martial arts arena became asymmetrical, creating a sense of spacetime disorder.

Looking from the outside in, one could only see the actions of the two in the arena alternately speeding up and slowing down. However, this feeling wasn't very obvious because the two in the arena spent most of their time talking.

As for the sound, traveling from inside the martial arts arena to the outside after undergoing a series of changes within the formation, it had already become distorted, making it difficult to truly know what was being said inside.

They could only guess: did the Dao debate fail, causing them to lose their tempers?

In fact, Zhang Zhiwei was indeed somewhat angry.

"Fool, earlier I was wondering why such a simple logic, which Zhuge Wuhou—who stood at the pinnacle of warlocks and almost single-handedly reversed the grand trend of the world—did not pass down to you descendants."

"Now I finally understand. It's because there are simply too many overconfident fellows like you who want to fly before you've even learned to crawl. You only master two of the four disks, yet you dare to deduce a larger formation."

"Nine out of ten warlocks are mad! Aren't you afraid of getting lost in your own internal grid and never being able to walk out again? If you have a death wish, go back to Zhuge Village and do it, don't mess around at someone else's birthday banquet!"

Having received a hard slap across the face, Zhuge Yunhui's gaze toward Zhang Zhiwei held not a shred of resentment or dissatisfaction, but only deep relief and gratitude as he stammered:

"Thank you, Senior Brother Zhang, for waking me up with the Heart-Clearing Incantation. I was almost walking down a path of no return. Just now, as I quieted my mind and executed the Wuhou Qimen numerology deduction grand technique, starting from my first vertebra and going through a series of complex calculations, a massive pathway with countless branches appeared right before my eyes."

"Standing before this maze-like pathway, I didn't know what to do. I cast a divination for myself, and every single pathway was ominous. When I wanted to retreat, there was no retreat path left. Just as I was trapped in this dilemma, Senior Brother Zhang, you woke me up!"

Zhuge Yunhui wore a lingering look of fear; he had indeed been reckless just then. He had a hunch that had he not been woken up by the slap, he might never have been able to come out for the rest of his life.