Boom!
The punch delivered by Nalan Chaoge during his high-speed movement struck Cheng Zhou solidly.
What surprised Nalan Chaoge somewhat was that a punch executed with the strength of a one-star Dou Zhe, after opening the Eight Inner Gates, merely forced Cheng Zhou to retreat three steps!
Nalan Jie and Elder Mu were taken aback!
The Golden Bell Cauldron was not purely a defensive art; it also integrated the Thousand-Kilogram Drop.
With Cheng Zhou executing the Golden Bell Cauldron at the strength of a three-star Dou Zhe, let alone Nalan Chaoge, even four- or five-star Dou Zhes could not have forced Cheng Zhou back.
Yet that little fellow had actually managed it.
Cheng Zhou's expression shifted slightly as he realized he had encountered an opponent.
See, the gap between people was formed just like this.
Nalan Chaoge felt unhappy that his all-out strike had only forced Cheng Zhou back three steps.
Meanwhile, Cheng Zhou was shocked that he had been forced back by Nalan Chaoge.
"Young master, watch yourself. This move of mine is called the Twin Dragon Arms, a low-grade Profound Dou Technique!"
Cheng Zhou shouted, his entire body turning like a cannonball as he swept his arms and charged straight at Su Xiaoxiao.
Whoosh!
Possessing the strength of a Dou Zhe and having opened the Eight Inner Gates, Nalan Chaoge's speed was simply not something Cheng Zhou, with his three-star Dou Zhe strength, could match.
The figure of Nalan Chaoge suddenly vanished from before him. Cheng Zhou did not panic, taking a step forward by leveraging the momentum of his charge, and then suddenly unleashed a powerful strike toward the right side of his body.
Boom~!
Nalan Chaoge's figure was forced out. He had just used his body's movement speed to transfer to Cheng Zhou's right when that fellow struck without hesitation.
Stumbling back three steps, Nalan Chaoge landed squarely on his bottom.
His internal Qi and blood surged violently, and he almost failed to suppress a mouthful of blood.
"How did you spot me?" Nalan Chaoge asked, deeply puzzled. That punch clearly had not been improvised on the spot.
"Very simple. Your speed is fast, but it leaves a trace!" Cheng Zhou walked over and extended his palm toward Nalan Chaoge, who was still sitting on the ground.
Indeed, Nalan Chaoge understood as well. That remark about leaving a trace gave Nalan Chaoge quite a jolt; no matter how high your Dou Techniques or rank were, without combat experience, everything was useless.
Even if you possessed a thousand catties of strength, what good was it if you could not hit your opponent?
And to hit someone, what you relied on was experience!
You had to calculate every shifting and dodging position of the opponent.
"Many thanks, Brother Cheng. I think I understand a bit!" Nalan Chaoge leaped up from the ground excitedly. "Come again!"
Boom!
An even more powerful aura emanated from Nalan Chaoge's body.
He was finally going to unleash his true strength!
"A Dou Zhe!"
"He is actually a Dou Zhe!"
"He has become a Dou Zhe?"
All the juniors were utterly astounded, and some were simply dumbstruck.
Among them, those who had reached the rank of Dou Zhe were only two, but this Nalan Chaoge was simply too monstrous!
"Hmm?" Nalan Jie froze entirely, his gaze piercing as he fixed directly onto the aura emanating from Nalan Chaoge's body.
"He is a Dou Zhe!" Elder Mu also affirmed.
"How is that possible? I just came out of his room, and he was still at Ten Duan Dou Qi. Although he was only a step away from condensing a Qi vortex, yet..."
"Yet this is simply too incredible!" Elder Mu took over Nalan Jie's words. "Have you ever considered that within a month, raising Dou Qi to the tenth Duan-even soaking the body in a fifth-order Poison Seal Python-could not produce such a mutated result? If that were the case, everyone would have gone looking for Poison Seal Pythons long ago!"
Nalan Jie nodded softly, though he still resolved in his mind not to probe into Nalan Chaoge.
Although Nalan Chaoge had possessed the strength of a Dou Zhe just moments ago,
he had not used it. Now, Nalan Chaoge had decided to employ his actual strength. Only in actual combat could one find one's own shortcomings.
"Ha, ha, ha..." Nalan Chaoge uttered grunts in his throat, executing punches and kicks by the book, yet they were all easily blocked by Cheng Zhou.
Cheng Zhou did not choose to defeat Nalan Chaoge, serving instead in a sparring partner's capacity.
"Xiao Ge, let me witness your clone as well! Twin Dragon Arms!" After battling Nalan Chaoge for an hour, sweat beaded on the brows of both men.
Nalan Chaoge's disadvantage lay in having no Dou Techniques; all his strength was unleashed based on his raw instincts, and the coordination and utilization of the Dou Qi within his body completely lacked method.
Only now did he understand the function and power of Dou Techniques. It was much like possessing a sharp treasured sword, yet every time he fought someone, he was forced to keep it inside the scabbard because he did not know how to draw it.
Dou Techniques were what taught you how to open the scabbard and how to wield the sharp sword brilliantly.
Hearing Cheng Zhou's shout, Nalan Chaoge, moving at high speed, suddenly halted his body and brought his hands together with a slap.
His hands flew as he formed a series of Hand Seals.
"Wei-Si-Yin-"
"Forming seals! It's the Clone Technique!"
"What kind of seals are those? I've never seen them before!"
Boom!
Unsurprisingly, Cheng Zhou struck Nalan Chaoge's body with a punch.
Since this was a clone, Cheng Zhou held back a fraction of his force the moment he threw the punch. Without any hesitation, he rotated his arms in a 180-degree horizontal sweep.
At the same time, another Nalan Chaoge appeared to Cheng Zhou's right.
The previous one was a clone, so this must be the real body!
The Clone Technique amounted to nothing much after all!
As long as the clone was seen through, it could be shattered.
As the saying went, one force subdued ten techniques; no matter how flashy the skill, it was worthless in the face of absolutely overwhelming strength.
Bang!
A fist condensed with Dou Qi struck Nalan Chaoge solidly.
Plop!
It vanished!
This... wasn't the real body? How could it have disappeared?
Could it be...
The next instant, the hairs all over Cheng Zhou's body stood on end, and with a start, he prepared to take a step forward to escape Nalan Chaoge's attack range.
Bang!
Cheng Zhou's entire body was blasted upward into the sky by a powerful force from below.
"Eight Inner Gates, Front Lotus Technique!"
Whoosh!
Su Xiaoxiao's figure had likewise risen into mid-air, pressing right against Cheng Zhou's back.
"Brother Cheng, you've lost!"
Nalan Chaoge spoke softly beside Cheng Zhou's ear, though he did not execute the Lotus Flower upon him.
A fine layer of sweat seeped from the tip of Cheng Zhou's nose. If Nalan Chaoge had been an enemy, he would already be dead.
Landing heavily on the ground, Cheng Zhou bowed deeply toward Nalan Chaoge.
"The young master's talent puts us to shame. From this day on, I shall certainly follow the young master's lead!"
"Cough, cough, you don't need to be so polite. I just got lucky!"
"Even if it's luck, it's a form of strength, not to mention that the young master relied on genuine skill. It's just that I have one thing I don't understand: how did the young master evade my attack, form a clone, and then send me flying into mid-air?" Cheng Zhou wore a look of complete puzzlement.
Clones required forming seals, and he clearly saw Nalan Chaoge form seals only once. How could he have produced two clones?
"Very simple!" Nalan Chaoge smiled with an eerie glint. "The one you struck first wasn't a clone-it was me! Ouch, that hurt like hell!"