Challenge (Seeking Collection)

Black Mountain.

"This mountain... is indeed different now."

Zhong Shenxiu slowed his horse, inspecting each detail one by one.

Speaking of it, Su Daozhi had some connection to this Black Mountain. After years of patrols, every stone and grain of sand was etched in his memory, firmly kept in mind.

The mountain was barren throughout, sparse of vegetation, with jagged rocks jutting out. Su Daozhi had once spent days with a bow and arrow, unable to even bag a rabbit.

But a month or so later, changes had suddenly appeared.

From the crevices between the rocks, black weeds sprouted one after another.

The grass was tough-skinned, its surface marked with twisted, chaotic patterns that revealed nothing discernible.

Yet Zhong Shenxiu stared at them for a long time, feeling as though he saw countless eyes opening and closing.

He did nothing else, merely reported the matter upward. Feng Xi'er indeed took it seriously, saying that the mountain's earth energy was stirring and a great change was coming, and she added more to the daily patrols.

"This mountain... grows more sinister by the day."

With this change, Zhong Shenxiu didn't even dare go to the Grand Canyon anymore. He returned directly to the military camp to cultivate the Azure Dragon Probes the Clouds Hand.

After all, he had already reached the peak of the Spiritual Turtle Breathing Technique, and Feng Xi'er wasn't his personal keeper—without merit, no new techniques would be passed down.

"Though my power hasn't advanced these past days, I feel the Spiritual Turtle True Qi growing more lively. It seems I've recovered..."

After finishing a set of martial arts, Zhong Shenxiu stood with his hands behind his back, thinking to himself.

Every half-month on the night of the Full Moon, that Vengeful Spirit would indeed come out to cause trouble, devouring a massive amount of Spiritual Turtle True Qi, nearly draining Zhong Shenxiu dry.

Fortunately, relying on the second-layer Mysterious Yin Soul Control Dao art, he barely held on, though the feeling of inadequacy grew stronger with each time.

Besides that, another troublesome matter vexed him.

His gaze swept over, and he silently noted, Here it comes.

A Black Armored Company Commander, eight feet tall and imposing, strode forward with Wang Lun and Ma Jing behind him, shouting: "Su Daozhi, why aren't you out on patrol? Slacking off here?"

This man was the commander of the Black Armored Iron Cavalry, named Tang Xiuzhen. He had climbed up from the ranks through blood and steel, and had never had any fondness for aristocratic clan scions.

In particular, Zhong Shenxiu observed coldly, he sensed that this man also harbored some feelings for Feng Xi'er.

Of course, that sort of thing was utterly impossible.

The man knew his place too—a single word of praise from Feng Xi'er each day left him overjoyed.

But lately, seeing Feng Xi'er seem to favor Su Daozhi, trouble had brewed.

Even so, because of Feng Xi'er's face, Zhong Shenxiu had no way to expose this matter, let alone explain it. Even if he did, Tang Xiuzhen would certainly deny it.

"I've already finished patrolling today's area, and am practicing martial arts here."

Zhong Shenxiu offered an explanation.

Tang Xiuzhen stared at Zhong Shenxiu's face. This kid had been average before, but recently his complexion had grown fairer, taking on a somewhat refined and handsome look—and that only made him more irritating to behold.

He thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled: "Practicing martial arts alone—how can you improve? I'll spar with you."

Without waiting to see if Zhong Shenxiu was ready, Tang Xiuzhen said this and glided down into the arena.

As a Company Commander of the Black Armored Iron Cavalry, leading fifty elite riders, his actual status was slightly higher than Battalion Commander Xu Wenling. He had already cultivated five of the Ten Directions Beast Art techniques: White Tiger Seven Kill Fist, Mighty Ox Tough Hide Skill, Tiger Leopard Thunder Roar, Sky Toad Swallows Sun Art, and Ape Demon Victorious Method.

With a single step forward, he first let out a roar, like a tiger-leopard thunderclap, blasting straight into Zhong Shenxiu's ears.

For an ordinary martial artist, this alone would leave them dizzy and defeated before the fight began.

Zhong Shenxiu retreated several steps, his face seeming to pale.

Tang Xiuzhen took a deep breath, a surge of Sky Toad True Qi igniting from his dantian. His five fingers clenched into a fist, vicious and fierce—the White Tiger Seven Kill Fist!

"Forgive me."

Seeing more spectators gathering nearby, Zhong Shenxiu felt a flicker of delight, called out, and extended his left hand in the Cloud Dragon Extends Claw, threads of true qi spilling from his fingertips.

Smack!

Like a heavy hammer striking cowhide, a dull thud rang out. Zhong Shenxiu felt as though he had grabbed onto an extremely tough, extremely solid piece of leather. His claw strength loosened, and it slipped right past.

Seeing this, Tang Xiuzhen roared again, lunged forward, and slammed both fists toward Zhong Shenxiu's temples.

No wonder he fought his way up from the army—his combat experience is incredibly rich.

Not only that, he's mastered multiple Ten Directions Beast Art techniques, but wields them without any hitch. There must be a method akin to a general outline coordinating them all, linking each technique to achieve a one-plus-one-greater-than-two effect.

Zhong Shenxiu lightly tapped his foot, slipping like a nimble fish out of the ferocious tiger's pouncing range, a thought flashing through his mind: "This must be the work of the Ape Demon Victorious Method! Pity... I don't know it!"

"Good! Again!"

Tang Xiuzhen, seeing Zhong Shenxiu evade, silently praised him and continued the pursuit.

He could also tell that this pretty-faced kid had only cultivated two Ten Directions Beast Art techniques, both to a masterful degree, but still no match for him.

Miss... she hasn't been too biased. No, she hasn't been fooled by this pretty face.

'The Azure Dragon Emerges from Water movement is decent, but I'm not afraid of it...'

With that thought, Tang Xiuzhen roared repeatedly, his aura growing more violent. A massive lump seemed to form at his throat, rolling straight down to his dantian, and his overall true qi surged by several tenths.

This was a trick within the Sky Toad Swallows Sun Art, capable of briefly stimulating the body to erupt with stronger True Qi.

With this surge of True Qi aiding him, he immediately forced Zhong Shenxiu into a dead end, raising a heavy fist to strike down.

He was forcing a direct clash.

After all, his opponent's True Qi was inferior to his, and he had also cultivated a protective Martial Art called the Mighty Ox Tough Hide Skill. As long as he forced a head-on confrontation, victory was his!

At this moment, Zhong Shenxiu seemed left with no escape, directly using Dragon and Snake Frenzy to clash head-on with Tang Xiuzhen.

Bam! Bam!

The next moment, a figure flew out from the battle circle, landing awkwardly on the ground—it was actually Tang Xiuzhen!

"How is this possible?"

The blood drained from his face as he cried out in shock.

"You're too kind."

Zhong Shenxiu stood with his hands behind his back, exuding the demeanor of a master, thinking to himself: 'I never said I wouldn't use Dao Arts...'

Purely in terms of Martial Arts, although he was slightly inferior, relying on experience and insight, he might have taken this man down after several hundred exchanges. But that was far less shocking than winning in just a few direct clashes.

At the very end of the duel, he had merely slightly stirred the aura of that thing within his body, easily suppressing his opponent's True Qi, securing a smooth victory, and reaping a batch of Heavenly Show Points.