"It’s possible he was short of breath. Zheng Hong talks too much, and I guess he was still trying to catch his breath when he got ambushed. This ti, he made a fool of himself, got knocked out by a junior from the Golden Jade Class, and will be laughed at forever," Zheng Xia sneered.
"He was too careless." Zheng Ming nodded, accepting this guess, "Don’t be careless later. As soon as you get on stage, take it seriously. Win back the face we lost."
"Okay. Leave it to , Zheng Hong was too careless," Zheng Xia nodded. "I’m not as careless as he is."
Soon, Zheng Hong was sent to the hospital, and Yu Hong stepped up to face the second seed from the Dao Seed Class, Zheng Xia.
"First of all, I’m not as easy to ambush as Zheng Hong. You just got lucky with him. But now, your luck has run out," Zheng Xia said loudly, assuming a fighting stance.
Yu Hong: "...."
*He was already too tired to argue. The strength of the Dao Seed Class really gave him a bit of a headache... It was better to finish this quickly.*
"Let show you, one of the true secret techniques when the Seven Feather Fist is mastered!" At this mont, Zheng Xia’s body began to shake slightly.
This shaking stabilized again after two seconds, as if it hadn’t continued. However, Yu Hong, with his keen eyesight, could see that her shaking hadn’t stopped but had increased in speed and frequency, making it look as if she wasn’t moving at all from a distance.
"See, this is the Feather Robe Realm. Once I start moving, any approaching attack will be evaded first. If it can’t be evaded, most of the force will be disard, making it easily deflectable," Zheng Xia said proudly.
"Zheng Hong was just too careless, allowing you to get close with your speed and knocked out with one punch. But I...."
BAM!
Before she could finish speaking, her right cheek was struck squarely by a punch.
The Feather Robe Realm’s dodge tremor, although desperately trying to lessen the force, still...
The force remaining wasn’t sothing Zheng Xia could withstand.
A dull thud sounded.
Her facial muscles were squeezed and twisted, her whole body trembling violently as she was knocked down to the ground, her head feeling a bit dizzy.
"You... this isn’t even the Seven Feather Fist!!" she scread shrilly.
"....." Yu Hong did not argue. Indeed, while others’ Seven Feather Fist was like fluttering wings, graceful and fairylike, his Seven Feather Fist was like seven dump trucks swinging their doors, looking down on the ground to see who ran fastest. If they were slow, a door would be slamd down.
The style difference was extrely apparent.
"Sigh...." On the main seat, Yu Mo and the other two were stunned again. This ti, they were truly speechless, only able to sigh deeply.
*Before the fight, who could have predicted Ding Rou’s combat strength would be this formidable in power and speed?*
"Was… was that really the Seven Feather Fist he used?" Yu Zhong asked in a low voice.
"Haven’t you seen it after all these years of training?" Yu Fang rolled his eyes at him in disbelief, "It’s the Seven Feather Fist. The moves are correct;
it’s just that his speed is fast, and he’s imnsely strong... Yu Mo, your disciple is sothing. Was he professionally trained in combat before?"
Yu Mo: "...."
*He thought back to when he was patting Yu Hong’s arm, calling it muscle of death… Now, looking at the disciples knocked to the ground one after another, his face felt like it was burning with embarrassnt.*
"Yu Mo, this won’t do if it continues. The Dao Seed Class can’t keep losing. If they lose completely, where will our Qingchen Temple’s face go? If word spreads that our elite disciples, nurtured since childhood, were easily defeated by an outsider who just joined and is apparently good at fighting, it would challenge our ranking and valuation," Yu Fang explained in a low voice to Yu Mo.
"What do you think we should do?" Yu Mo understood this well too.
"Tell Ding Rou to lose the next match," Yu Fang whispered even lower. "Otherwise, look at a few of the important patrons who previously supported Zheng Xia."
Upon hearing this, Yu Mo looked over and saw that those patrons had unpleasant expressions and were still whispering among themselves.
"Got it?" Yu Fang continued, "If this happens among our long-trained Dao Seed Class mbers, no problem, no one would object. But now? Ding Rou, a newcor of only three months without much training, is defeating our elites with just speed and strength. Won’t outsiders think that Qingchen Temple is weak rather than Ding Rou being strong?"
Yu Mo and Yu Zhong nodded slightly, understanding the point.
"So now, there’s only one solution: on one hand, elevate Ding Rou, recognizing him as a genius, while on the other hand, elevate the Dao Seed to make sure they win the next match beautifully to restore face," Yu Fang spoke solemnly.
The other two nodded deeply upon hearing his words.
At this ti, Yu Hong was ready to begin the third challenge. He was offstage resting, drinking water, eating sweets, and sitting on a wooden chair.
"Ding Rou... you actually won again!?" Guo Shangdong approached with a peculiar expression, hands behind his back.
"I find it strange too, didn’t expect to win so easily..." Yu Hong shook his head, showing a confused expression. *He wondered how such weak strength could have dealt with those terrifying and strange resentful marks incidents? Could it be that it was all talk?*
"Indeed, logically, the Dao Seed Class shouldn’t perform this poorly…" Guo Shangdong nodded, agreeing with this.
It wasn’t just them;
everyone else from the Golden Jade Class was getting a bit uneasy.
They initially joined in hopes of protection, believing that Qingchen Temple had strength to offer. Now.... Ding Rou, a new recruit of just under three months, had easily defeated two Dao Seed Class elites...
If the elites were this weak, what protection could they realistically offer them? Was there any point in having the "prestigious" Golden Jade Class status even?
"You see the atmosphere’s a bit off...." Guo Shangdong whispered softly.
Yu Hong nodded, sensing the sa thing.
*But actually, he felt that Zheng Xia still showcased sothing.* Her whole body trembled seemingly for no reason, but in truth, his punches slipped off very slightly.
It was just so minor, he barely noticed.
*But if it were an ordinary person... maybe...*
"I think the Dao Seed Class still has sothing. Just now...." Yu Hong was about to explain when he suddenly saw Xun Yang walking over to him.
The other person moved Guo Shangdong and the others away, then whispered as he got close.
"Ding Rou, Master Yu Mo asked to deliver a ssage: lose the next round for the sake of appearances;
there will be adequate compensation afterward."
"....." Yu Hong was speechless. According to the Cultivation Technique, Qingchen Temple definitely had real skills, but....
*After a mont of silence and under the increasingly tense gazes from Xun Yang and the three from the Yu generation, he finally nodded.*
Xun Yang breathed a sigh of relief, turned back to report.
Leaving Yu Hong and Guo Shangdong standing there with complex expressions.
Dang.
"Third Dao Seed challenge, Ding Rou vs. Zheng Shi! Prepare to enter!" the Taoist announced loudly, catching everyone’s attention.
Yu Hong and Zheng Shi, the second in the Dao Seed Class, entered the large room together.
"Please." Zheng Shi glanced over at Master Yu Mo, exchanged looks, and having received prior advice, felt much more at ease.
*Watching Yu Hong’s continuous performances, especially in his previous fight against Zheng Xia where he broke the Feather Robe Realm with a single punch, really scared him.*
*He was just a bit stronger than Zheng Xia, not much difference, but he too was in the Feather Robe Realm.*
*If they were to really fight... he didn’t think he’d stand a chance.*
But now....
The room doors closed quietly.
Right away, Yu Hong advanced again, quickly throwing punches.
Zheng Shi t the move, countered, but was blocked.
The two exchanged blows at a breathtaking speed, making it look like a fierce, evenly-matched battle.
Zheng Shi only felt this speed was hitting his ultimate limit;
just a bit faster, he wouldn’t have been able to withstand it. Furthermore, his attacks were just right, at the angles and timing most convenient for him to intercept.
It was rather enjoyable to fight like this.
He didn’t have to worry about much, only about making his moves look good, fast, and powerful.
During a minute of intense sparring sounds, Yu Hong, montarily inattentive and gasping for breath, was out of stamina, and got hit on the shoulder, stumbling and admitting defeat.
Zheng Shi extended his hand, helped him up, and together they smiled and saluted the crowd.
Though Yu Hong lost, the attention he received afterward far exceeded what he had before.
Many eyes continuously turned to him, from both Qingchen Temple and the outside audience and patrons.
The last match had Zheng Shi facing the strongest genius, Zheng Ming, and Zheng Shi was effortlessly knocked to the ground by a punch and couldn’t get up.
The two fully demonstrated the strength and deanor of Zheng Ming, the top genius in the Dao Seed.
Through this internal competition, the Dao Seed Class managed to save face to so extent.
When dispersing, everyone was extrely focused on the dark horse Yu Hong who suddenly erged.
As they each left, they whispered and discussed with great interest.
Yu Hong, anwhile, was called to the Quiet Room in the backyard by Xun Yang.
Creaaakk.
The wooden door softly creaked as it closed gently after Yu Hong entered.
Inside the Quiet Room, not only were Yu Mo, Yu Zhong, and Yu Fang present but also the first genius, Zheng Ming, who had just cented his position in the final battle.
The four of them looked over the mont Yu Hong walked in, their gazes fixed on him at the entrance.
"He’s here;
you can discuss what to do among yourselves," Yu Fang said sternly.
*What do they an?*
Yu Hong squinted at them, noticing that Zheng Ming looked a bit unpleasant, while Master Yu Mo and the other two appeared displeased as if a bit angered.
"Master, two Shishu, and Senior Zheng Ming, why was Ding Rou called here? Is there sothing going on?" he asked respectfully.
"Junior Brother Ding Rou, the earlier comparison outdoors doesn’t count. Here, in front of the three masters, you and I will have a solo match. Can we?" Zheng Ming asked earnestly.
"Well...." Yu Hong imdiately looked at Yu Mo.
The latter shook his head.
"re combat and grappling abilities don’t prove anything. When faced with sothing like a resentful mark, relying on fists isn’t effective. Fighting ability is just part of the puzzle, not the whole;
Zheng Ming, there’s no need to be overly concerned about this," Yu Mo explained.
"Exactly, Zheng Ming, you’re too fixated."
"The reason we hold internal competitions is because Daoist Skills can’t prominently display differences through external indicators. If you can pretend, you can claim to be at any level, as the Fear Illusion of the Guanwu Skill is only visible to you. But this practical combat ability is very direct and allows the outside patrons to clearly see our Qingchen Temple’s strength," Yu Zhong explained.
"Yes, indeed. Driving away resentful marks is still reliant on Daoist Skills. I just happen to be a bit good at fighting, but when it cos to resentful marks, I’m far behind you, Senior Brother," Yu Hong also chid in.
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