In the distance.

Dong Chuo stood with several of his trusted followers.

A plain-looking female disciple lowered her voice and said,

“Senior Brother, that brat named Chen doesn’t know what’s good for him. He refused to come beg you because it turns out he had the Sea Courtyard as another option!”

“Hah. A dead end,” Dong Chuo sneered.

“The Sea Courtyard’s status is declining by the day. Its resources are gradually being redirected to the Mountain Courtyard, and the share Gu Qianqian gets is shrinking too.”

“With her personality, how could she tolerate another disciple with an Innate Iron Lung taking a bite out of her share?”

Dong Chuo said indifferently,

“I don’t even have to guess. The opponent she found to fight Chen Cheng is bound to be an expert at the Peak of Eight Blood Secret Transmission. Chen Cheng’s defeat is certain!”

“If she were more ruthless, it wouldn’t be out of the question for her to have him crippled directly!”

As they spoke,

a man in his late twenties strode quickly to Gu Qianqian’s side.

“Senior Brother Dong truly thinks of everything!” the plain-looking female disciple said in a low voice.

“The person Gu Qianqian found is actually Han Chou! That guy is just half a step away from Nine Pillars of Blood Qi—no, not half a step, he’s just a final breath away. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he broke through right now!”

“Hah…”

Dong Chuo let out a cold laugh.

“So this is Gu Qianqian, a Core Disciple of the Dragon Pavilion. And this is the state of the Sea Courtyard today… Utterly shameless! If they don’t decline, who will?”

“Indeed…”

The plain-looking female disciple nodded emphatically.

“I heard from Ding Lu that Chen Cheng only just condensed his Eighth Pillar of Blood Qi a short while ago. For Gu Qianqian to have Han Chou fight him, she’s really thrown away all pretense of fairness. She’s not giving Chen Cheng any chance at all!”

“Boring.”

Dong Chuo tossed out the single word and left with his followers.

A short while later.

Steward Sun brought Chen Cheng before Gu Qianqian. Li Wenrou, who had followed along, paid her respects and then retreated to the back.

“Disciple Chen Cheng pays his respects to the Senior Sister of the Sea Courtyard.”

Chen Cheng cupped his fist and bowed. ‘This woman before me isn’t the one I saw underwater that day. Her looks and figure are a far cry, and her aura is completely incomparable.’

“Sun Qian explained why you’re here, didn’t he?”

Gu Qianqian’s tone was indifferent, as if asking about something trivial. Her gaze didn’t even fall on Chen Cheng; instead, she stared at the mist drifting over the distant Sea Marsh.

“Steward Sun only mentioned a fist-fighting match, nothing else,” Chen Cheng replied.

Only then did Gu Qianqian turn to look at him, her brow furrowed. She spoke in a cold, extremely impatient voice,

“It’s a live combat match. Your opponent is stronger than you. You don’t have to win, but you must do your best to display your strengths. If you’re up to standard, I will report to the Pavilion Master.”

“But listen closely—this is not a spar, it’s a real fight! If you know you’re outmatched, concede early. If you insist on acting tough, getting injured or killed will be your own damn fault!”

She enunciated the last few words with great emphasis, her tone laced with a hint of threat.

“This disciple understands.”

Chen Cheng took several steps back, his gaze slowly falling upon Han Chou.

‘Right now, besides Gu Qianqian, everyone else here is either an Elder or a Steward. Han Chou must be my opponent.’

“Go.”

Gu Qianqian stared at Chen Cheng, but her words were directed at Han Chou.

“Yes. This disciple knows what to do.”

Han Chou gave a slight nod, then strode forward. His first two steps were steady, but on the third, he suddenly accelerated.

It wasn’t a sprint, but a strange, sudden lunge, as if he’d been violently shoved from behind. His figure left a blurry afterimage in the air.

The next instant.

Han Chou was already an arm’s length from Chen Cheng, his fist flying like a cannonball, carrying the force to shatter mountains as it shot toward Chen Cheng’s heart.

There was no probing in this punch; he went all-out from the very beginning.

Clearly, Han Chou had some understanding of Chen Cheng’s strength and didn’t want to waste time. He intended to cripple Chen Cheng in a single move and get back to his training.

However,

Chen Cheng didn’t move his feet. With just a slight turn of his waist, he easily dodged the incomparably swift fist.

‘Such a quick reaction!’

‘Such a precise response!’

As his punch missed, the disdain and impatience in Han Chou’s eyes vanished instantly, replaced by surprise and seriousness.

He immediately dropped his right elbow, swinging it toward Chen Cheng’s ribs.

The change in attack was as fast as lightning, and the angle was extremely tricky. A normal opponent of the Same Tier, even if they avoided injury, would be forced into a clumsy defense.

But Chen Cheng’s feet still hadn’t moved an inch. He extended his right palm, which landed on the tip of Han Chou’s elbow as lightly as a willow catkin. A gentle redirect threw off his opponent’s center of gravity, causing the elbow strike to graze past without doing any harm.

“You…”

A cold glint flashed in Han Chou’s eyes. Using the forward momentum of his elbow strike, he whipped his right leg up from behind like an iron whip, his foot pointed straight at Chen Cheng’s knee.

“It’s over.”

Gu Qianqian muttered the two words indifferently, already preparing to stand and leave.

In her eyes, there was no way Chen Cheng could avoid this blow. A shattered knee, a crippled leg—the outcome was certain.

However,

just an instant later, she froze where she stood.

Chen Cheng’s knee joint, enhanced by his dual Traits of Rigid and Soft and Fuyao, twisted at an angle that completely defied common sense.

Han Chou’s kick hit nothing but air, not even brushing Chen Cheng’s pant leg. Instead, his own momentum sent him stumbling back several clumsy steps before he could regain his balance.

“Junior Martial Uncle Gu.”

Li Wenrou couldn’t help but speak up.

“Han Chou has attacked three times in a row without holding back at all! Yet he hasn’t even touched Chen Cheng. And the crucial part is, Chen Cheng’s feet haven’t moved a bit… That’s like he’s giving Han Chou a two-leg handicap! The difference in skill is obvious!”

“…You think I need you to tell me that?”

Gu Qianqian’s face was cold as she replied indifferently,

“Dodging and weaving—what kind of skill is that? You think that’s enough to enter the Sea Courtyard? What a joke.”

Li Wenrou was instantly speechless and didn’t dare say another word.

Two other Stewards had also been about to praise Chen Cheng, but seeing the situation, they quickly shut their mouths.

Zhou Wansen, however, knew which way the wind was blowing. He chimed in with a cold taunt,

“Junior Martial Uncle Gu came in person, so she must be selecting with the utmost care! As they say, in martial arts, courage comes first. How could a spineless coward who only knows how to dodge and defend possibly catch her eye?”

“Kid, don’t blame me.”

Han Chou’s expression turned completely grim. Pushing his Transforming Force to its absolute limit, he unleashed a barrage of fists at Chen Cheng like a raging storm. Each punch carried an extreme, destructive might, the afterimages of his fists weaving into an inescapable net.

“…You too.”

Chen Cheng’s feet finally moved. His body was like a Wandering Dragon in water, weaving effortlessly through the flurry of fists. He would sidestep, glide, and occasionally tap the surface of Han Chou’s fists with the edge of his palm to redirect the force and drift away.

His movements were unhurried, as if he weren’t in a life-or-death battle, but taking a stroll in his own courtyard.

Although Han Chou’s fists were incredibly swift, they always missed by the narrowest of margins, merely grazing Chen Cheng’s robes without causing him any harm.

“Don’t blame me.”

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.