Black Mountain.
"This mountain really has changed."
Zhong Shenxiu slowed his horse and inspected everything one by one.
Come to think of it, Su Daozhi had quite a connection with Black Mountain. After patrolling it for years, he knew every stone and grain of sand by heart.
The entire mountain was barren, with little vegetation and jagged strange rocks. Su Daozhi had once guarded it with bow and arrows for several days, yet had not even managed to shoot a rabbit.
But after just over a month, it had actually undergone some changes.
From between the cracks in the rocks, one black wild grass after another had suddenly sprouted.
The grass was tough, its surface covered in twisted, disorderly patterns that revealed nothing discernible.
Yet after staring at it for a long while, Zhong Shenxiu felt as if he were seeing pairs of eyes that kept opening and closing.
He had done nothing beyond reporting the matter. Feng Xi'er had indeed taken it extremely seriously, saying that the mountain's earth qi was awakening and that a great change was coming. She had consequently increased the daily patrols by quite a bit.
"This mountain... is becoming more and more sinister."
Because of this change, Zhong Shenxiu no longer dared go even to the Grand Canyon. He returned straight to the military camp and practiced the Azure Dragon Probes the Clouds Hand.
After all, his Spiritual Turtle Breathing Technique had already reached the pinnacle. Feng Xi'er was not his own family member, and without earning merits, there would be no new technique passed down to him.
"Although my cultivation hasn't advanced even an inch these past few days, I feel that my Spiritual Turtle True Qi has become livelier and livelier. It seems to have replenished itself..."
After completing a set of Martial Arts, Zhong Shenxiu stood with his hands behind his back and thought to himself.
On the night of the Full Moon that came once every half-month, that Vengeful Spirit indeed emerged to cause trouble again. It devoured a huge amount of Spiritual Turtle True Qi, nearly leaving Zhong Shenxiu completely drained.
Fortunately, relying on the second layer of the Mysterious Yin Soul Control art, he had forcibly held on, though he increasingly felt powerless.
Apart from that, there was another troublesome matter that had been vexing him.
His gaze swept over the area, and he thought, Here they come.
He saw a Black Armored Company Commander, eight feet tall and imposing, with Wang Lun and Ma Jing following behind him. He shouted, "Su Daozhi, why aren't you out patrolling? Slacking off here?"
This man was the commander of the Black Armored Cavalry. His name was Tang Xiuzhen, and he had climbed up from the very bottom, blade and spear in hand. He had never held the slightest fondness for the children of Aristocratic Clans.
In particular, Zhong Shenxiu had watched coldly from the sidelines and noticed that this man seemed to harbor some feelings for Feng Xi'er as well.
Of course, such a thing was fundamentally impossible.
This man also knew his own place. Every day, he was delighted if he could receive a single word of praise from Feng Xi'er.
Of all times, he had noticed that Feng Xi'er seemed to favor Su Daozhi, and that was when the trouble began.
Even because of Feng Xi'er's reputation, Zhong Shenxiu had no way to expose the matter. That made it even more impossible to explain. Even if he did explain, Tang Xiuzhen would certainly refuse to admit it.
"This subordinate has already completed today's patrol area and is practicing Martial Arts here."
Zhong Shenxiu offered an explanation.
Tang Xiuzhen stared at Zhong Shenxiu's face. The boy had been merely average before, but lately his complexion had grown fairer, giving him the air of a delicate, handsome pretty boy. The more Tang Xiuzhen looked at him, the more displeased he became.
He thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled. "How can practicing Martial Arts alone bring any improvement? I'll spar with you."
Tang Xiuzhen did not care whether Zhong Shenxiu was prepared. After saying this, he drifted into the field.
As a Company Commander of the Black Armored Iron Cavalry, he led fifty elite cavalrymen. His actual status was even slightly higher than that of Battalion Commander Xu Wenling. By now, he had cultivated five of the Ten Directions Beast Arts: White Tiger Seven Kill Fist, Mighty Ox Tough Hide Skill, Tiger Leopard Thunder Roar, Sky Toad Swallows Sun Art, and Ape Demon Victorious Method.
He stepped forward. First came a roar, like the thunderous cry of a tiger and leopard, pouring straight into Zhong Shenxiu's ears.
An ordinary Martial Artist would have been left dizzy and addled by this, defeated before the battle even began.
Zhong Shenxiu retreated several steps, his complexion seeming to turn pale.
Tang Xiuzhen drew a deep breath. A surge of Sky Toad True Qi flared from his dantian. He brought his five fingers together and transformed them into a fist, vicious beyond measure—the White Tiger Seven Kill Fist!
"Pardon me."
Seeing that quite a few more spectators had gathered nearby, Zhong Shenxiu was secretly delighted. He called out, extended his left hand, and unleashed the Cloud Dragon Extends Claw. Streams of True Qi emerged from his fingertips.
Smack!
It was like a heavy hammer striking cowhide. After the muffled impact, Zhong Shenxiu felt that he had grabbed an extremely tough and solid hide. His claw force slipped, and he was actually brushed aside.
Seeing this, Tang Xiuzhen roared again and lunged forward, both fists smashing toward Zhong Shenxiu's temples.
No wonder he fought his way up through the military. His combat experience is incredibly rich.
Not only that, he is proficient in several Martial Arts from the Ten Directions Beast Arts, yet there is no obstruction when he employs them. There should be a technique among them resembling a general outline, coordinating everything and linking all the Martial Arts together, creating an effect greater than one plus one.
Zhong Shenxiu lightly tapped the ground with his foot. Like a nimble fish, he leaped beyond the range of the vicious tiger's pounce. A flash of insight crossed his mind. "This must be the work of the Ape Demon Victorious Method! What a pity... I don't know it!"
"Good, again!"
When Tang Xiuzhen saw Zhong Shenxiu evade, he secretly praised him as well and continued his pursuit.
He had also seen that this pretty boy had cultivated only two of the Ten Directions Beast Arts. Although both had reached the stage of mastery, they truly could not compare with his own.
The young lady... hasn't been too partial after all. No, that's not it—she hasn't been deceived by this pretty boy.
The Azure Dragon Emerges from Water movement technique is pretty good, but I am not afraid of it...
At this thought, Tang Xiuzhen roared repeatedly. The aura around him became even more violent. His throat seemed to contain a gigantic Flesh Ball rolling downward into his dantian, and his overall True Qi instantly rose by several tenths.
This was a secret of the Sky Toad Swallows Sun Art. It could briefly stimulate the body and erupt with even stronger True Qi.
With this surge of True Qi assisting him, he immediately forced Zhong Shenxiu into a desperate situation. He raised a fist high, preparing to smash it down.
He intended to force his opponent into a head-on clash.
After all, his opponent's True Qi was inferior to his own, and so was his protective Martial Arts, the Mighty Ox Tough Hide Skill. As long as he forced a direct clash, victory would be his!
At this moment, Zhong Shenxiu also seemed to have nowhere left to dodge. He directly used Dragon and Snake Frenzy to clash head-on with Tang Xiuzhen.
Boom! Boom!
The next moment, a figure flew out of the battle circle and landed heavily on the ground in a sorry state. It was actually Tang Xiuzhen!
"How is this possible?"
The blood drained from his face as he cried out in shock.
"You let me win."
Zhong Shenxiu stood with his hands behind his back, exuding the bearing of a master. He thought to himself, I never said I wouldn't use Daoist arts...
In terms of Martial Arts alone, he was somewhat inferior. But relying on his experience and knowledge, he might perhaps have defeated this man after several hundred exchanges of bitter combat. That was still far less shocking than winning after only a few head-on clashes.
At the very end of the duel, he had merely stirred the aura of that thing within his body ever so slightly. He had effortlessly suppressed his opponent's True Qi, smoothly won the battle, and harvested another wave of Heavenly Show Points.
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