Dou Zhe Strength!!

Boom!

Nalan Chaoge's punch, thrown at high speed, landed squarely on Cheng Zhou.

What surprised Nalan Chaoge was that, with the strength of a One-star Dou Zhe and after opening the Eight Inner Gates, his punch had only blasted Cheng Zhou back three steps!

Nalan Jie and Old Man Mu were both startled!

The Golden Bell Cauldron was not purely a defensive technique; it also incorporated the Thousand-Kilogram Drop.

With the strength of a Three-star Dou Zhe, Cheng Zhou's Golden Bell Cauldron could not be forced back even by a four- or five-star Dou Zhe, let alone Nalan Chaoge.

Yet that little fellow had done it.

Cheng Zhou's expression changed. He knew he had encountered a worthy opponent.

See? That was how the gap between people came about.

Nalan Chaoge was unhappy that his full-force strike had only pushed Cheng Zhou back three steps.

Cheng Zhou, meanwhile, was shocked that Nalan Chaoge had managed to force him back at all.

"Young Master, be careful. This move of mine is called Twin Dragon Arms, a Low-grade Profound Dou Technique!"

Cheng Zhou shouted, then shot toward Su Xiaoxiao like a cannonball, swinging both arms as he charged.

Whoosh!

With the strength of a Dou Zhe and the Eight Inner Gates opened, Nalan Chaoge's speed was far beyond what Cheng Zhou, who possessed only the strength of a Three-star Dou Zhe, could match.

When Nalan Chaoge suddenly vanished from before him, Cheng Zhou did not panic. Using the momentum of his charge, he stepped forward, then suddenly struck hard toward the right side of his body.

Boom!

Nalan Chaoge was forced into view. He had just shifted to Cheng Zhou's right using his speed, only for the man to throw a punch without hesitation.

Nalan Chaoge staggered back three steps and landed on his butt.

His blood and Qi churned violently, and he nearly failed to hold back a mouthful of blood.

"How did you find me?" Nalan Chaoge asked in confusion. That punch did not seem like an impulsive move.

"It's simple. Your speed may be fast, but it leaves a trail!" Cheng Zhou walked over and extended a hand to Nalan Chaoge, who was still sitting on the ground.

Yes, Nalan Chaoge realized it too. Those words—it leaves a trail—shook him. No matter how high one's Battle Skill or rank was, without combat experience, it was all useless.

Even if you possessed the strength of a thousand kilograms, what use was it if you could not hit your opponent?

And if you wanted to hit someone, what you needed was experience!

You had to calculate every possible position your opponent could shift and change into.

"Thank you, Brother Cheng. I think I understand now!" Nalan Chaoge sprang up excitedly. "Again!"

Boom!

An even more powerful aura erupted from Nalan Chaoge.

He was finally going to use his true strength!

"A Dou Zhe!"

"He's actually a Dou Zhe!"

"He became a Dou Zhe?"

All the clan disciples were stunned, and some were outright dumbfounded.

Only two among them had become Dou Zhes, yet this Nalan Chaoge was simply too monstrous!

"Hm?" Nalan Jie froze, his piercing gaze fixed on the aura emanating from Nalan Chaoge.

"He is a Dou Zhe!" Elder Mu confirmed.

"How is that possible? I just came out of his room. He was still at Ten Duan Dou Qi. Though he was only one step away from condensing a Qi Vortex, but..."

"But this is simply too unbelievable!" Elder Mu took over Nalan Jie's words. "Have you ever considered this? Raising Dou Qi to Ten Duan within a single month—even soaking in a Fifth-order Poison Seal Python would not create such a freak! If it could, everyone would have gone looking for Poison Seal Pythons long ago!"

Nalan Jie nodded lightly, but he remained determined not to investigate Nalan Chaoge.

Though Nalan Chaoge had possessed the strength of a Dou Zhe earlier, he had not used it. Now, Nalan Chaoge had decided to use his true strength.

Only through actual combat could he discover his shortcomings.

"Ha, ha, ha..." Nalan Chaoge let out sharp cries as he threw punches and kicks with proper form, only for Cheng Zhou to block them all with ease.

Cheng Zhou did not choose to defeat Nalan Chaoge. Instead, he acted more like a sparring partner.

"Xiao Ge, let me see your Clone Technique too! Twin Dragon Arms!" After sparring with Nalan Chaoge for an hour, sweat had appeared on both their foreheads.

Nalan Chaoge's weakness was his lack of Battle Skills. All his strength was thrown out based purely on instinct, and he had no method whatsoever for coordinating and using the Dou Qi within his body.

Only now did he understand the purpose and power of Battle Skills. It was like having a sharp treasured sword, yet being forced to fight with the scabbard still on because he did not know how to draw it.

A Battle Skill taught you how to open that scabbard and how to wield that sharp sword with dazzling flair.

Hearing Cheng Zhou's shout, Nalan Chaoge suddenly stopped amid his high-speed movement and brought his hands together with a clap.

His hands flew through the air as one hand seal after another formed.

"Ram—Snake—Tiger—"

"Hand seals? It's the Clone Technique!"

"What kind of seals are those? I've never seen them before!"

Boom!

As expected, Cheng Zhou's punch landed squarely on Nalan Chaoge.

Since this was a clone, Cheng Zhou immediately held back part of his strength after throwing the punch. Without any hesitation, he rotated both arms and swept them in a one-hundred-eighty-degree arc.

At the same time, another Nalan Chaoge appeared on Cheng Zhou's right.

That one was the clone just now. This should be the real body, right?

The Clone Technique was nothing special after all!

As long as one saw through the clone, it could be destroyed.

As the saying went, one strength overcame ten techniques. No matter how flashy the moves were, they were worthless before overwhelming force.

Bang!

A fist condensed from Dou Qi struck Nalan Chaoge squarely.

Pop!

He vanished!

This... wasn't the real body? How could he disappear?

Could it be...

In the next instant, every hair on Cheng Zhou's body stood on end. He shuddered and was just about to take a step forward to escape Nalan Chaoge's attack range.

Bang!

Cheng Zhou was blasted into the sky by a powerful force from below.

"Eight Inner Gates, Front Lotus Technique!"

Whoosh!

Su Xiaoxiao's figure had risen into the air as well and was already pressed against Cheng Zhou's back.

"Brother Cheng, you lost!"

Nalan Chaoge whispered into Cheng Zhou's ear, but he did not use the Front Lotus Technique on him.

A layer of fine sweat seeped out across Cheng Zhou's nose. If Nalan Chaoge had been an enemy, he would already be dead.

After landing with a boom, Cheng Zhou gave Nalan Chaoge a deep bow.

"Young Master's talent puts us all to shame. From now on, I will follow Young Master's lead!"

"Ahem, ahem, you don't need to be so polite. I only got lucky!"

"Even luck is a kind of strength. Besides, Young Master won through genuine ability. There is only one thing I do not understand: how did Young Master evade my attack, create a clone, and then send me flying into the air?" Cheng Zhou looked utterly puzzled.

The Clone Technique required hand seals. He had clearly seen Nalan Chaoge form seals only once, so how could he have created two clones?

"It's very simple!" Nalan Chaoge smiled strangely. "The first one you hit was not a clone—it was me! Ow, that hurt like hell!"