It's Not That I Won't Fight Back-You're Hitting Too Lightly

"First Soul Skill, Rock Bear Heavy Strike!"

Li Zhexian did not dodge.

The rock fist struck him in the chest, sending him flying into the courtyard wall. A hollow appeared in the wall, and broken bricks tumbled down past his shoulders.

The shield number in his sea of consciousness began to fall.

Current shield: 999,999,997,627.

Damage taken from a single hit: 1,300 points.

Reward assessment: blue prize pool.

A ball of blue light fell among the broken bricks and rolled to a stop beside his hand. Li Zhexian pressed a hand to his chest, spat the dust out of his mouth, and picked up the ball of light.

"The power of a Soul Skill is more than three times that of ordinary punches and kicks."

A system notification appeared at that moment.

Blue prize pool triggered for the first time.

Obtained Low-Rank Sword Qi Condensation Method.

Obtained one healing pill.

Shi Potian came over to the wall and grabbed him by the collar.

"Have you been scared stupid?"

Li Zhexian spat the dust out of his mouth again.

"Your strength is still a little lacking."

Shi Potian lifted him until his feet left the ground.

"What did you just say?"

"Didn't your Soul Skill eat its fill?"

"You're courting death!"

Shi Potian threw him to the ground, and his First Soul Ring lit up once more.

The rock fist struck Li Zhexian's shoulder. Thirteen hundred points were deducted from the shield, and a ball of blue light fell beside a gray brick.

The second punch landed in his abdomen, deducting another thirteen hundred points from the shield. Another ball of blue light rolled twice across the ground before stopping beside his hand.

Li Zhexian turned over and sat up, then slipped the two balls of light into his sleeve.

"Keep going."

Shi Potian's chest heaved.

"You can't even stand up now. What are you still pretending for?"

"Who said I couldn't stand steady?"

Li Zhexian used the wall to get to his feet, took a step to the right, and put his chest in front of Shi Potian's fist again.

"Hit this spot."

"Have you gone mad?"

"If you don't hit me, you can't prove you have what it takes."

"I'll shut you up right now!"

The rock fist came hurtling toward him.

Li Zhexian raised his shoulder to meet it, and his back struck the wall again. His shield dropped by another thirteen hundred points, and a blue light fell as well.

Shi Potian raised his hand to strike again, but Li Zhexian stepped forward and slammed his chest into the rock fist.

He staggered back three steps, and his heel bumped against a water jar, sending ripples across the water inside.

"That punch was a little better than the last one."

All the disciples in the courtyard had stopped.

"Did he just run into that on purpose?"

"If an ordinary person took that punch, their ribs should have broken already."

"What exactly are those blue lights?"

When Shi Potian heard them, he turned and shouted, "Don't talk nonsense! Those things have nothing to do with me!"

Li Zhexian picked up the blue light from among the broken bricks. The ball of light changed in his palm, finally becoming a thin booklet.

Low-Rank Sword Qi Condensation Method.

Shi Potian stared at the booklet.

"Where did you take that out from?"

"You knocked it out."

"Nonsense!"

His fist came crashing down at the top of Li Zhexian's head.

Li Zhexian tilted his head aside. The fist passed by his ear and left a crack in the wall.

"That punch of yours missed."

"You actually dared to dodge?"

"You missed on your own."

Shi Potian turned and pursued him, throwing three punches in succession. Li Zhexian covered his head, letting one punch land on each of his chest, shoulder, and abdomen.

Three balls of blue light fell from the air.

Obtained one bottle of Soul Power Tempering Liquid.

Obtained one healing pill.

Obtained one copy of the Low-Rank Sword Qi Condensation Method.

Li Zhexian felt the jade bottle in his sleeve, and his mood improved a little.

When the same person attacked repeatedly, the quality of the rewards would gradually decline. Shi Potian's ordinary punches and kicks could only produce drops from the green prize pool, but when he used a Soul Skill, he could still consistently produce drops from the blue prize pool.

There was nothing wrong with this path.

Shi Potian stopped, panting.

"Why haven't you fought back this whole time?"

"Because you're hitting too lightly."

"I already used my Soul Skill!"

"I saw."

"What more do you want?"

"Change the angle and try again."

Shi Potian looked at him.

"What do you take me for?"

"A rock for practicing on."

"You're courting death!"

The First Soul Ring lit up again, and the Rock Armor Bear raised its fist as well. Li Zhexian turned sideways, putting both his chest and shoulder within range of the attack.

The rock fist came down, sending him flying away from the courtyard wall and knocking over the water jar beside it. Water splashed all over him.

The shield dropped by thirteen hundred points, and a blue light fell into the water pooled on the ground.

Li Zhexian braced both hands on the ground and stood, wiping the water from his face.

"That punch was good."

Shi Potian had spent more than half his Soul Power, and his forehead was covered in sweat.

"What exactly are you?"

"I'm the trash whose engagement you broke off."

"Trash can take my Soul Skill?"

"You're right."

"Then why haven't you fallen yet?"

"Because your attacks still aren't heavy enough."

Shi Potian's legs had turned to jelly, but he still sent Soul Power into his First Soul Ring. The Rock Armor Bear raised its fist again, but the light on the Soul Ring had barely brightened before it quickly dimmed, and the Soul Skill failed to activate.

Li Zhexian stood up from the pooled water. His soaked clothes clung to his body, and water still dripped from the sword tassel at his wrist.

"Tired already?"

Shi Potian was panting and did not answer.

"I can teach you how to hit someone."

"You'll teach me?"

"Lower your shoulder. When you punch, don't waste all your strength beneath your feet."

"Shut up!"

Shi Potian charged, swinging his fist. Li Zhexian turned sideways, moving out of the fist's path, and took a step forward.

The Azure Lotus Sword was already out of its sheath.

Sword light skimmed past Shi Potian's arm and deflected the Rock Armor Bear's fist, then thrust forward. The Rock Armor Bear's phantom split open at the chest, and countless shards of light scattered beyond the courtyard gate.

Shi Potian's body went limp, and he fell to his knees. A mouthful of blood landed on the gray bricks.

The four disciples retreated several steps in succession.

Li Zhexian returned the Azure Lotus Sword to its sheath and did not pursue him.

Shi Potian raised his head and looked at him.

"Why didn't you kill me?"

"Because you've already finished giving me all your gifts."

"You..."

"Be better prepared next time."

Shi Potian braced a hand on the ground and tried to stand. His palm had barely left the ground when he dropped back to his knees.

Footsteps sounded outside the courtyard gate.

Chen Xin came to the entrance and glanced at the damaged courtyard wall, the overturned water jar, and Shi Potian kneeling on the ground.

"Zhexian."

"Uncle Jian."

"Are you hurt?"

"I haven't died yet."

Chen Xin walked up to him and placed his fingers on his wrist. Soul Power had just entered his meridians when a golden light appeared at Li Zhexian's chest. Chen Xin's hand stopped in midair.

"You let him attack you again?"

"He came here on his own."

"And you ran into his attacks yourself?"

"His strength was too light."

Chen Xin turned to look at Shi Potian. Shi Potian opened his mouth several times, but could not refute him.

Ning Fengzhi arrived at that moment, followed by two elders.

"What happened here?"

A disciple stepped forward and said, "Senior Brother Shi brought people to block the courtyard gate. He ran into Senior Brother Li first, then used his First Soul Skill. Senior Brother Li didn't fight back the whole time and even asked Senior Brother Shi to keep attacking."

Another disciple said, "Senior Brother Shi knocked out a lot of blue lights, and Senior Brother Li picked up quite a few things."

Ning Fengzhi looked at Li Zhexian's sleeve.

"What were those blue lights?"

Li Zhexian pressed a hand over his sleeve.

"Things Shi Potian gave me."

Shi Potian gritted his teeth and said, "I didn't give them to you!"

"If you didn't, why did they appear?"

"That was some evil art you used!"

"You could have chosen not to hit me."

Shi Potian opened his mouth but said nothing for a long time.

Chen Xin stepped in front of Li Zhexian.

"Shi Potian, I'll get to the bottom of what happened today. If you approach his courtyard again, you'll need to ask my sword first."

Shi Potian used the wall to stand up.

"Uncle Jian, you can't protect him alone."

"What I'm protecting is the sect's rules."

"He's no longer Rongrong's fiancé."

"The engagement has been broken off, but that doesn't mean you can attack people in the sect."

Ning Fengzhi looked at Shi Potian.

"Take him back to have his injuries treated. You'll pay for the courtyard wall and the water jar."

Shi Potian lowered his head and looked at the broken bricks scattered all over the ground.

"Sect Master, I..."

"You broke them yourself, so you'll repair them yourself."

Shi Potian clenched his fists, but in the end, the disciples helped him away.

When the crowd had gone more than ten steps, one disciple looked back.

Li Zhexian was placing the jade bottles that the blue lights had turned into on the table. There were two green jade bottles and four blue jade bottles, along with two copies of the Low-Rank Sword Qi Condensation Method and two healing pills.

The gifts Shi Potian had brought occupied half the table.

Ning Fengzhi stood at the courtyard gate, his gaze resting on the jade bottles.

"Zhexian, do you want to leave the sect?"

Li Zhexian set the last bottle in place.

"I haven't finished eating this month's meals yet."

Ning Fengzhi did not respond.

"As for Rongrong, she didn't mean to hurt you."

"I wasn't hurt."

"She's been crying ever since she went back."

Li Zhexian picked up a healing pill.

"That's her own business."

Chen Xin turned to glance at Ning Fengzhi. Ning Fengzhi swallowed the words he had yet to say.

Li Zhexian picked up the blue jade bottle and unscrewed the cap. The moment it came loose, a notification appeared in his sea of consciousness.

Soul Power Tempering Liquid can temporarily reduce the seal's suppression rate by 5 percent.