Pseudo-Transcendent

Li Xiaoxiao and Zhang Guangmu began fighting each other.

Even an outsider could tell that their fighting styles were worlds apart.

Li Xiaoxiao's fighting style was flashy and ever-changing, complemented by the Fiery Red Blazing Flames attached to the 1.1 version of the Flame Artifact.

His Fashion Value was maxed out. He was so cool and dazzling that he left people utterly mesmerized.

Zhang Guangmu's style was plain and unadorned. Although he could also produce flame effects, his power was condensed and did not disperse, giving it the feel of a combination of amateur science and bargain-bin special effects.

"The core is indeed the Imperial Body Forging Technique, but the individual style is far too strong."

Within a few exchanges, Zhang Guangmu saw through Li Xiaoxiao's combat techniques, which had been integrated into instinct and the subconscious. He praised him inwardly: "Xiaoxiao good brother probably didn't devote most of his energy to the Imperial Body Forging Technique. This feeling should be..."

"Swordsmanship?"

After all, Li Xiaoxiao had not acted in many movies. In the works he had appeared in so far, the enemies he encountered had basically been dealt with using firearms, fists, and kicks.

The only time he had ever failed was when he encountered Zhang Guangmu.

It was worth mentioning that...

Although Zhang Guangmu had lost to Li Xiaoxiao in terms of style, fighting was not a matter of whoever looked cooler winning.

"It's almost at 2. What a pity. It's still a little short, only 1.9."

Zhang Guangmu casually slapped aside the flaming fist coming straight at him, then raised his knee to block the opponent's whip kick, which dragged a trail of bright-red flames behind it. He looked completely at ease.

He even had the leisure to comment: "The leg guards are pretty good. They're similar to my latest upgrade concept."

"Great minds really do think alike."

"Besides..."

"You may not have noticed, but some of the movements in your fighting are superfluous and completely unnecessary."

"As long as you get rid of that bad habit, you'll soon rise to a higher level, reach an entirely new stage, and become a true 2."

Although Li Xiaoxiao did not understand what Zhang Guangmu meant by 2, his condescending manner of offering pointers was infuriating!

His face flushed red. His fists and feet moved like the wind, each strike faster than the last.

After more than twenty moves, Li Xiaoxiao was drenched in sweat and panting heavily.

He could not speak coherently and could only force out three words: "You... shut up!"

As the saying went, if one's martial arts were only a hair better, one's practical combat ability would be infinitely superior.

Zhang Guangmu was attacking Li Xiaoxiao's mind with words, but he was not merely showing off.

Li Xiaoxiao's level in the Imperial Body Forging Technique was indeed only a hair away from 2.

As for exposing the Book of Acting or anything like that... that was impossible.

Even if the audience raised doubts, it would be easy to explain.

—I, Zhang Guangmu, was a fan of the Imperial Duel game in the Real World. I liked cards, and I liked quantified, clear-cut values even more, so I set up my own combat evaluation system. My chuuni spirit and subconscious fit together perfectly. Any problem with that?

Anyone who thought there was a problem with that explanation was the one with the real problem.

Because...

Zhang Guangmu himself was a super contrarian. He had given that reason specifically to bait people like himself.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The battle continued inside the great hall.

Outside the great hall, the two Flame Wolves were evenly matched, and it was difficult to determine which was stronger. They were still in the stage of confrontation and mutual probing, clearly far from the decisive moment when all tricks would be revealed and they would fight to the death.

The Little White Balls floating at low altitude immediately became excited when they saw a duel breaking out.

"Holy crap! Everyone, come out and look at the immortals!"

"Doesn't the Imperial Iron Law forbid low-star Subconscious Actors from appearing in movies containing Transcendent elements? Has that changed?"

"It's not about low-star or high-star. Basically every movie with Transcendents promotes itself like crazy for a while before filming begins, doesn't it?"

"What's going on with 'Wolf Fortress'? I remember Director Sun liked mobilizing his fans. Why is he suddenly keeping such a low profile this time?"

"Pfft... All the fantasy elements in 'Wolf Fortress' are on the Flame Wolves, aren't they?"

"Look! These two are trading flame punches! The effects are maxed out with every move, but in reality, they can't be called Transcendents at all!"

"They're borrowing the power of technology and equipment... So they can only be considered Pseudo-Transcendents."

"Flame Artifact = Bionic inferior secondary incomplete version mecha."

"If you'd put it that way earlier, I would've understood! Class representative, you're late!"

"Brains are a good thing. Too bad I don't care for one—class representative, you're awesome!"

"So this show was still ruined by Zhang Guangmu?"

"Shou Mu Ren has been invited to collect data: Mu Zai's current Tear Script rate is 100%."

"I don't really understand. I've never been a fan of actors; I only like characters. But... this Tian Guang is really interesting! His one, two, and one point nine are clearly referring to personal combat power, no matter how you look at it, right?"

"A man with his own power system? It's a little embarrassing, but I like it!"

"Huh? These two are freaking strong! Compared to them, I feel like I'm complete trash!"

"Stop insulting yourselves! Stop!"

"I've been practicing boxing with my grandfather since I was seven. That's been more than twenty years now, but I couldn't beat either of these two if I picked one at random... I'm depressed!"

"Li Xiaoxiao is this year's sixth-ranked member of the Middle Seven Stars. He's a teenage prodigy destined to rise. If he hadn't taken so few roles, he probably could've ranked even higher. Why compare yourself to him? Are you just asking to be humiliated?"

"He really is fierce. Who's that person suppressing Li Xiaoxiao? He's so strong it's almost ridiculous!"

"A Peerless new talent like this must have just debuted. Otherwise, there's no way I wouldn't have heard of him!"

"His name in this movie is 'Tian Guang.' There's some meaning to that name. I recommend watching his highlight reel when you have time."

Zhang Guangmu dismantled each move with ease, even finding the spare attention to observe the battle between the two Flame Wolves.

When Li Xiaoxiao noticed this, his eyes became bloodshot with rage, and the veins on his forehead began to bulge.

He was furious beyond reason!

Unfortunately, he had not mastered the Bursting technique. His anger could not be converted into actual combat power. Instead, his violently fluctuating emotions caused him to make one foolish move after another.

"Your heart is unsettled."

Zhang Guangmu did not stop using his verbal weapon: "Right now, you're probably only around 1.2, much worse than when you first arrived."

In 'Wolf Fortress,' his physical attributes were slightly inferior to Li Xiaoxiao's in strength, stamina, and agility.

The problem was that before the battle, Zhang Guangmu had first performed a round of the Nourishing chapter of Imperial Body Forging Technique 2. His blood and energy were abundant, and his vitality was vigorous. His reaction speed had clearly increased, and his movements had become somewhat more nimble. He was completely prepared and waiting for the rested to fight the tired, effectively gaining a temporary agility-type buff.

This offset his disadvantage in physical attributes.

His disadvantage in equipment was made up for with the Blade of words.

Thus...

The slight advantage Zhang Guangmu had in combat technique gradually evolved into a winning advantage!

Under Zhang Guangmu's continuous verbal bombardment, delivered with a faint air of superiority, Li Xiaoxiao finally broke.

He could not help shouting furiously: "What 1.9! What 1.2! What the hell are you babbling about!"

The moment he opened his mouth, his fighting spirit leaked away. The strength in his hand weakened, and Zhang Guangmu seized the opening.

Bang!

Flames blossomed like a red lotus.

Zhang Guangmu slammed an elbow into Li Xiaoxiao's chest.

Crack!

Bone fragments scattered everywhere!

One elbow pierced his heart!

Zhang Guangmu not only shattered the Wolf Bone Mask worn on Li Xiaoxiao's chest, but also drained the color from his face. He almost stopped breathing on the spot.

The next moment, Zhang Guangmu seized the opportunity, subdued Li Xiaoxiao, pinned him beneath himself, and casually stripped off the other man's Flame Artifact gloves.

"Hey!"

Zhang Guangmu turned around and looked at the two Flame Wolves fighting fiercely at the entrance to the great hall. His tone was calm as he said, "Your partner is in my hands. If you don't want him to die, you know what to do."

Hearing this, a trace of struggle flashed in Li Xiaoxiao's Flame Wolf's eyes. It immediately lowered its head and prostrated its forequarters on the ground, adopting the posture of one submitting to its master.

Seeing this, Flame Wolf Bai Yue also halted its attack and did not pursue its advantage.

Proud by nature, it disdained to continue attacking a defeated opponent.

Thus, the assassination by the Protagonist Group ended in failure!

Without the Flame Artifact, Li Xiaoxiao was a fish on the chopping block, entirely at Zhang Guangmu's mercy.

Zhang Guangmu smiled at Li Xiaoxiao. "You lost."

Li Xiaoxiao ground his teeth together, and a stubborn expression appeared on his handsome face. "The victor becomes king, and the defeated become outlaws."

"I have nothing to say to someone like you."

"Kill me!"

He closed his eyes. After a long while, however, death still did not come.

Zhang Guangmu's calm, indifferent voice sounded beside his ear. "I thought it was strange from the beginning."

"You said I held the Fort Master hostage to command the Wolf Riders, acted against reason, and destroyed the order of Wolf Fortress..."

"I can understand all that. After all, not everyone is willing to accept my ideals."

"But you said I stole the Flame Artifact blueprints..."

"That's very strange."

"I can guarantee that no one else participated in the process of creating these Explosive Gloves I'm using—from discovering the reaction principle of the Explosive Stone, to designing the blueprints, to manufacturing the finished product."

"Judging by the timing, I was also the first to create the so-called Flame Artifact."

"If I hadn't seen how furious you were earlier, I would've thought you were some shameless thief who had stolen my hard work."

When it came to mastering the I won't listen, I won't listen skill...

Within the Endless Food Bucket Group, Chu Fan was considered first, while Zhang Guangmu thought he was second.

As for Li Xiaoxiao?

He had not even learned the relevant skill yet.

Therefore, Zhang Guangmu could still reason with him.

The script's guidance disguised as inner thoughts, inducing actors to act...

That was indeed extremely powerful, but the Production Team could not physically interfere with a fully formed movie world—that was the Imperial Iron Law!

Zhang Guangmu refused to believe that Director Sun was secretly some old schemer who could have planted similar foreshadowing in advance.

Director Qian from 'Endless Food Bag' always liked digging strange and bizarre holes. He found endless amusement in acting mysterious and was extremely self-indulgent, but Director Sun was clearly not that kind of narcissistic literary type.

Judging by his record, Director Sun was a genuine commercial director whose movies rarely flopped.

Although he often emphasized "authenticity" to the public, Sun Yanwu was not the Creation God. Ultimately, he was still an ordinary human being and could not possibly calculate every detail and account for every situation that might arise.

Hearing Zhang Guangmu's sincere words, Li Xiaoxiao opened his eyes, and a trace of confusion appeared in them.

Indeed...

What this man said did seem to make some sense.

But the problem was that he himself was unquestionably the inventor and creator of the Flame Artifact!

Could this really have been a misunderstanding?

Yet Zhang Guangmu, who held an absolute advantage, did not seem like the vicious villain described in the rumors. He showed no intention of taking advantage of the situation to kill him. Instead, he seemed like a refined gentleman.

Li Xiaoxiao began to waver.

"Before I invented the Flame Artifact, had you ever drawn a similar design?"

Zhang Guangmu casually threw out a fatal question.

Hearing this, Li Xiaoxiao felt as if an invisible heavy hammer had struck his chest. His face turned deathly pale, and stars danced before his eyes.

He opened his mouth, but had no idea what he should say.

That was right...

Without a physical design draft, how could anyone steal it?

Could the other party be a mind-reading bug inside his stomach, capable of secretly listening to his thoughts?

"It was my fault. I was stupid... I have nothing to say."

Li Xiaoxiao's face was filled with despair, and his voice was bitter. "Vice Fortress Lord Tian Guang, do it!"

Proud and highly self-regarding, he had acted like a villain because of a momentary misunderstanding and caused a huge farce.

If the other party had not been skilled in combat, would that not have made him an unjustly killed soul at his hands?

That was not a mistake that could be made up for with a single "misunderstanding"!

Li Xiaoxiao considered himself a reasonable person.

A mistake was a mistake!

Anyone who made a mistake should receive the appropriate punishment.

He felt that if he died at Zhang Guangmu's hands, it would be his own fault, and he could blame no one.

Above Wolf Fortress.

Director Sun, transformed into a golden ball of light, stood motionless in place like a statue.