Falling off the cliff

While Si Ming was lost in thought, the competition proceeded as scheduled. Both sides had finalized their choices: Hongdou for the Heavenly Martial Alliance and Zhou Qian, the "Ape King Staff" from the Zhou Clan Aristocratic Clan.

This choice surprised everyone. It's true that monkeys are good at climbing, but that doesn't mean that Zhou Qian, whose title includes the word "King of Apes," is also good at climbing. In the end, this title describes his staff technique, not his Movement Method.

According to everyone's guess, this round should be sent by the Chen Family, who are famous for their lightness skills. Even though Chen Feiyan, the number one lightness skill master of the Chen Family, has already appeared, they can still send the second best lightness skill master.

After much deliberation, everyone concluded that there must have been an internal agreement among the aristocratic Aristocratic Clan, requiring each of the Six Great Aristocratic Families to send a representative. However, this explanation seemed somewhat far-fetched, as this was a crucial gamble concerning the future of their Lineage. It wouldn't make sense to sacrifice substance for face, especially since this gamble was a best-of-seven series. What if the two sides were evenly matched and the series went all the way to the seventh round? Which family would then send?

However, once the competition began, everyone realized that Zhou Qian's appearance from the Aristocratic Clan was not without reason. In addition to knowing a set of Frenzied Ape Staff Technique, he also seemed to be proficient in Monkey Fist. He was extremely agile when climbing the mountain wall, using all four limbs to leap three or four meters high. He could insert one iron hand directly into the mountain wall without having to specifically look for protrusions. He climbed more than fifty meters in one go, as if he had really become a nimble ape.

"Huh, why hasn't that woman made a move yet? Is the Heavenly Martial Alliance planning to forfeit this round of the match?"

"Impossible. The Heavenly Martial Alliance is full of talented people. Finding someone who knows lightness skills wouldn't be difficult. She must have other methods. Look closely, she seems to be drawing something on the ground. Maybe it's Daoist School talisman, just like that exorcist from the Six Paths Temple before, who used Technique Method to fly into the sky."

"That's a foul, isn't it? Did Wuguo Master Wuguo just say that Levitation Technique are forbidden?"

Just as everyone was discussing, Hongdou finished her painting. She reached out and pressed her hand onto the silk, channeling her True Qi into it. The animal on the canvas actually stood up and transformed into a phantom, lunging at Hongdou.

"What kind of technique is this? Making objects come to life? That's amazing! Is it Technique Method or martial arts?"

"Judging from its appearance, it's likely some kind of Divine Arts, similar to Daoism spirit possession, but what I don't understand is why she drew a goat instead of Monkey?"

"What's so strange about that? Don't you know that mountain goats are the best at climbing? I've seen them back in my hometown, the kind of completely straight mountain walls with almost no slope. If a person went down there, they would die. No matter how good your agility is, it's useless. But mountain goats can move freely up and down them, jumping around without any problem. That's why they're called 'mountain' goats."

"Are you out of your mind? Goats are good at climbing mountains? These animals, which have four hooves and no hands, are obviously suited for running on flat ground, not for moving up and down. Monkey can hang on to something with one hand and not fall, but a goat might fall if it loses its footing on one leg."

Although most people cannot accept the idea that goats are better at climbing than Monkey, Hongdou did indeed possess superhuman climbing abilities after being possessed by the phantom of a goat. She didn't climb by grabbing something with her hands first and then exerting force; instead, she used both feet to propel herself up, hopping and leaping upwards as if she wasn't worried about falling at all. Her speed was faster than riding an elevator, moving upwards at a visible speed and rapidly shortening the distance between them.

When Hongdou started climbing, Zhou Qian had already climbed 100 meters. But when he reached 400 meters, he found his opponent below him, less than 10 meters away. Knowing that if he continued to climb, he would soon be overtaken, he immediately pulled out the wooden stick he was carrying on his back, used one hand to insert into the rock wall to stabilize his body, and swung the stick with the other hand to smash it hard at Hongdou.

Hongdou hurriedly dodged, leaping onto a distant rock like an antelope crossing a ravine, avoiding the blow. She frowned and said, "Shall we make a deal? You won't attack me, and I won't attack you. We can both live in peace and try to climb upwards, okay?"

"I'm sure I'll lose this way, so I can only apologize!"

Zhou Qian kicked off the stone wall and lunged at Hongdou with great force, bringing heavy shadows of his stick as it crashed down on her head.

Chapter 357 Falling off the cliff

After inheriting the Power of Anomalies passed down from her mother, Hongdou's cultivation level approached the threshold of the Spirit Transformation Threshold. By the standards of the Barbarian Continent, she would be considered a top expert. However, she rarely fought with others and lacked the awareness of combat. Even though her five senses became exceptionally sharp with the support of her profound cultivation, her reactions were still a beat slower.

Generally speaking, when martial artists are engaged in fierce combat, they rely more on instinct to react to their opponent's movements. Before their minds have even fully grasped the situation, their bodies naturally make the correct response. Some martial artists with extremely keen sixth senses can even anticipate their opponent's next move, not by thinking about it, but by instinctively anticipating it and reacting in advance.

However, neither of these situations applies to Hongdou. She observes the opponent's actions, thinks for a while, and then takes action. Although this time is very short, in the midst of a fierce battle, it inevitably gives people a feeling similar to a "stuck tape".

This girl is a virgin! Zhou Qian made the judgment instantly, his brows furrowing slightly. Although his staff attack continued, he instinctively reduced the force in his hand by three points—this decision actually saved him.

The next moment, all the stick shadows missed their mark. Hongdou leaped out of the encirclement, while Zhou Qian was caught up in his own attack and fell downwards involuntarily.

"How is that possible!"

Zhou Qian was shocked. To outsiders, it might seem that Hongdou found an opening to dodge as his stick struck down, but as the person involved, he knew perfectly well that his stick strike missed first, and then his opponent calmly dodged.

Not understanding what had happened, Zhou Qian quickly used the remaining three-tenths of his strength, exerted his waist and abdomen, and twisted his body in mid-air, forcefully driving the stick into the mountain wall, thus stopping his fall.

"You can't hit me, stop hitting me or I'll fight back."

Hongdou turned around and made a threatening remark in her own way, then continued climbing upwards.

"... What a naive girl. You are completely unsuitable for fighting. Since you've stepped onto the stage, you should be prepared to risk your life; otherwise, you're just insulting your opponent."

Zhou Qian found a foothold, steadied himself, pulled out the wooden stick, gathered his True Qi, and slammed it hard against the mountain wall. With a loud bang, the rock shattered, and a crack, like a python, quickly rushed towards Hongdou's location. Finally, with a loud crash, the surface of the mountain wall within a three-meter radius of Hongdou was shattered, turning into scattered pebbles. Zhou Qian herself lost her footing and fell downwards.

"Although I don't understand how you managed to make all my attacks miss, don't think that just because you have this strange True Qi, no one can do anything to you. You underestimate the combat wisdom of a martial artist."

Environment, weather, and psychology are all factors that can influence the outcome of a battle. Since the opponent has a protective technique that he cannot see through, he should avoid this and start from other aspects. Zhou Qian succeeded in his attack and quickly climbed upwards.

When Hongdou fell, she didn't scream. Instead, she was stunned for a moment until she had fallen five or six meters before she realized what was happening. Then she began to think about how to save herself. This was Hongdou's strength. Although she was slow to react and gave people a dull feeling, it was precisely because of this slowness that she never panicked. It was as if the external stimuli would be weakened tenfold when they hit her.

Hongdou quickly came up with a solution. She reached down and pressed down, using the secret technique "Boundary Wall Isolation" from the "Scroll of Space". Instantly, a very thin layer of space below was separated from the system, forming an isolated domain. External things could not enter, and things inside could not leave, just like an invisible wall.

Then, the Hongdou crashed into this invisible wall, landing in a daze.

She fell nearly fifteen meters, roughly the height of a four-story building. If it were someone without martial arts skills, landing face down on concrete like that would be fatal, if not dead. Fortunately, Hongdou had received her mother's martial arts training, which activated the Anomalies part of her bloodline. Her body not only became more resilient but also had amazing recovery ability. She recovered completely in just a few breaths.

"Hey, did you see that? That woman's standing in mid-air! Isn't that a foul? The rules don't allow Levitation Technique."

"I don't think so. You said yourself that she's 'standing' in the air, which is different from Levitation Technique or flight techniques. But is this considered martial arts or Technique Method? It's too strange. I don't understand her methods at all."

Hearing the crowd's discussion, Si Shuiyun whispered to Si Ming, "If Hongdou loses this match, that's fine, but if she wins, we'll probably have to deal with the powerful Aristocratic Clan."

"... But the expressions of those from the Aristocratic Clan seemed rather subtle. They didn't seem to feel any joy at having caught someone red-handed. It was more like they had sold off their stored grain when prices were high, only to find that prices hadn't fallen but had actually gone higher, and they were now starving." Si Ming looked at where the aristocratic Aristocratic Clan were standing, observing the expressions of the School of Names heads.

"What kind of nonsensical analogy is that?"

"In short, it's very subtle. It seems they prepared some kind of conspiracy, but encountered an unexpected variable."

Seemingly sensing Si Ming's gaze, the family heads immediately composed themselves, reverting to their serious expressions and staring straight ahead.

On the cliff face, the two racers resumed their chase. Because of that delay, Hongdou had fallen thirty meters behind, but she quickly closed the gap with an even faster pace than before.

From a distance, Hongdou's face was tense, and her lips were pursed into a thin slit. It was rare for her to show such a serious attitude towards anything other than painting. Clearly, her opponent's actions had made her somewhat angry.

Zhou Qian also felt the pressure coming from below. Even though he was at a higher position, he felt like he was being watched by an eagle, as if he could be overtaken by the eagle at any moment.

So he stopped climbing, glanced down to confirm Hongdou's location, and immediately pulled out the wooden stick hanging on his back, smashing it hard against the mountain wall again, unleashing his hidden strength.

A crack immediately appeared and then quickly spread to the side, extending for about ten meters. Then, the hidden force suddenly erupted, blasting away a section of the mountain wall. A large amount of rubble rolled down like an avalanche, crashing down on Hongdou directly below. The area was so wide that there was no way to dodge.

Just when everyone thought that Hongdou would stop to fend off the falling rocks, she did not dodge or avoid them, but continued to climb upwards at the same pace, as if she had not noticed the disaster above her head at all. Then, her figure was swallowed up by the falling rocks.