Pseudo-Transcendent

Li Xiaoxiao and Zhang Guangmu sparred.

Even an outsider could tell their fighting styles were completely different.

Li Xiaoxiao's combat style was flashy and varied, complemented by the Fiery Red flames of the Version 1.1 Flame Artifact.

His style was full of "swag," extremely cool, and mesmerizing to watch.

Zhang Guangmu's style was simple and unadorned. Although he could also produce flame effects, his power was concentrated and not scattered, giving off a feeling of amateur science combined with low-budget special effects.

"The core is the Imperial Body Forging Technique, no doubt, but his personal style is too strong."

Within the first few exchanges, Zhang Guangmu saw through the combat techniques Li Xiaoxiao had integrated into his Instinct and Subconscious, and he marveled in his heart, "Brother Xiaoxiao's main focus probably wasn't on the Imperial Body Forging Technique. This feeling... it should be..."

"Swordplay?"

After all, Li Xiaoxiao hadn't made that many films. In his works so far, the enemies he encountered were basically dealt with using Firearms and bare hands.

The only time he messed up was when he encountered Zhang Guangmu.

It's worth mentioning...

Although Zhang Guangmu lost to Li Xiaoxiao in terms of visual style, combat wasn't about who looked cooler.

"Almost 2.0, what a shame, just a little bit short, only 1.9."

Zhang Guangmu casually batted away an incoming fiery fist and then raised his knee to block a whip kick that trailed streams of red fire, appearing completely at ease.

He even had the leisure to comment, "Nice leg guards, similar to my latest upgrade idea."

"As expected, great minds think alike."

"Furthermore..."

"You might not have noticed, but some of your fighting movements are redundant and unnecessary."

"If you can get rid of this bad habit, you'll quickly reach a new level, become a true 2.0."

Although Li Xiaoxiao didn't understand what Zhang Guangmu meant by "2.0," Zhang Guangmu's condescending attitude of giving pointers was infuriating!

His face turned red, his fists and feet moved like the wind, each move faster than the last.

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

He couldn't speak coherently, only managing to force out three words: "You... shut up!"

As the saying goes: a slight edge in skill translates to a vast advantage in actual combat.

Zhang Guangmu's verbal attacks weren't purely for show.

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

As for exposing the "Book of Acting"... it was simply impossible.

Even if the Audience questioned it, it could be easily explained.

"I, Zhang Guangmu, am a fan of the 'Imperial Duel' game in the Real World. I like cards, and even more, I like digitized and clear numerical values. So, I set up my own combat power evaluation system. My chuunibyou soul perfectly fused with my subconscious. Any problems?"

Anyone who thought this explanation had a problem was the one with the problem.

Because...

Zhang Guangmu himself was a super contrarian. He brought up this kind of reason specifically to bait his own kind.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Inside the great hall, the two continued their battle.

Outside the great hall, the two Flame Wolves were evenly matched, neither able to gain the upper hand. They were currently in a state of confrontation and mutual probing, clearly not yet at the stage of revealing their true intentions and engaging in a decisive, close-quarters fight.

The Little White Balls floating at a low altitude immediately got excited upon seeing the duel.

"Holy Shit! Everyone come out and see the gods!"

"Didn't the Imperial Iron Law state that low-star Subconscious Actors aren't allowed to participate in films with Transcendent elements? Has that changed?"

"It's not about low-star or high-star. Basically, every film with Transcendent elements gets heavily promoted for a while before filming begins, right?"

"What's going on with 'Wolf Fortress'? I remember Director Sun really liked to mobilize his fans... why is it so low-key this time?"

"Pfft... all the Fantasy elements in 'Wolf Fortress' are on the Flame Wolves!"

"Look! These two are clashing with fiery fists. Every move and every stance is packed with special effects, but in reality, they can't even be called Transcendent!"

"They're borrowing the power of technology and equipment... so they can only be considered [Pseudo-Transcendent]."

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

"If you had said that earlier, I would have understood! The class representative is late!"

"A brain is a good thing, but unfortunately, I disdain to have one—the class representative is awesome!"

"So, did Zhang Guangmu mess up this movie too?"

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

"I don't really get it. I never followed actors, only characters. But... this Tian Guang is quite interesting! The 'one,' 'two,' and 'one point nine' he mentioned, no matter how you look at it, refers to personal combat power, right?"

"A man with his own power system? A bit embarrassing, but I like it!"

"Whoa, these two are so damn strong! Compared to them, I feel like a useless piece of trash!"

"Stop the insults! Stop the insults!"

"I've been training with my grandpa since I was seven, and it's been almost twenty years. But if you pick either one of these two, I couldn't even win... I'm so depressed!"

"Li Xiaoxiao is ranked sixth in the Middle Seven Stars this year, a destined young genius on the rise. If he didn't have so few roles, his ranking would probably be even higher. Why are you comparing yourself to him? You're just asking for humiliation?"

"He's indeed fierce. Who is that guy who's dominating Li Xiaoxiao? He's too strong, it's not scientific!"

"Such a peerless new talent must have just debuted, otherwise, I would have heard of him!"

"His name in this film is 'Tian Guang'. The name has some depth to it. I suggest you watch his highlight reel when you have free time."

Zhang Guangmu effortlessly dismantled the attacks, even having the energy to observe the combat situation of the two Flame Wolves.

Li Xiaoxiao, noticing this, became so enraged that his eyes were bloodshot and the veins on his forehead began to bulge.

He was consumed by anger, utterly furious!

Unfortunately, he hadn't mastered the bursting technique. His anger couldn't be converted into actual combat power. Instead, his wildly fluctuating emotions led him to make reckless mistakes.

"Your mind is in disarray."

Zhang Guangmu didn't stop using his verbal weapon: "Right now, you're probably only at about 1.2, much worse than when you first arrived."

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

But the problem was, before the fight, Zhang Guangmu had performed the nourishing chapter of the [Imperial Body Forging Technique 2]. He was currently in a state of abundant qi and blood, with vigorous energy. His reaction speed had clearly increased, and his movement had become a bit more agile. He was relaxed and well-prepared, having gained a temporary "Agility" buff.

The physical attribute disadvantage was thus offset.

The equipment disadvantage was leveled by the Blade of Words.

And so...

Zhang Guangmu's slight advantage in combat technique gradually evolved into a winning position!

Under the barrage of Zhang Guangmu's slightly condescending trash talk, Li Xiaoxiao finally broke.

He couldn't help but shout, "What 1.9! What 1.2! What crazy talk are you spouting!"

The moment he spoke, his fighting spirit deflated, and the strength in his hands weakened. Zhang Guangmu seized the opening.

BOOM!

Flames bloomed like a red lotus.

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

Crack!

Bone fragments scattered!

An elbow pierced the heart!

Zhang Guangmu not only smashed the Wolf Bone Mask Li Xiaoxiao wore on his chest, but also drained all color from his face, nearly causing him to suffocate on the spot.

The next moment, Zhang Guangmu seized the opportunity, immediately moved to capture Li Xiaoxiao, pinned him beneath him, and casually took off the latter's Flame Artifact gloves.

"Hey!"

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

Upon hearing this, a flicker of struggle appeared in Li Xiaoxiao's Flame Wolf's eyes. It then lowered its wolf head, its front body prostrating on the ground, looking like it was submitting in allegiance.

Seeing this, Flame Wolf Bai Yue also stopped its attack, not pursuing victory.

Proud as it was, it disdained to continue attacking a defeated opponent.

At this point, the assassination attempt by the Protagonist Group ended in failure!

Without the Flame Artifacts, Li Xiaoxiao was like a fish on a chopping block, at his mercy.

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

Li Xiaoxiao's teeth gnashed, a stubborn look appearing on his handsome face. "The winner is king, the loser is a bandit."

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

"Kill me!"

He closed his eyes. After a long while, he did not welcome death.

Zhang Guangmu's calm and indifferent voice sounded in his ear. "I found it strange before."

"You said I held the Fortress Lord hostage to command the Wolf Riders, acted perversely, and disrupted the order of the Wolf Fortress..."

"I can understand all of this. 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 be sure that for this pair of Explosive Gloves I'm using, from discovering the reaction principle of the Explosive Stone, to the design blueprints, to the finished product, no one else was involved."

"In terms of time, I was also the first to create the so-called 'Flame Artifact'."

"If I hadn't seen your enraged look before, I would have thought you were a scoundrel who stole my hard work."

Regarding the mastery level of the skill "I Won't Listen, I Won't Listen"...

In the [Endless Food Bucket Group], Chu Fan was first, and Zhang Guangmu considered himself second.

As for Li Xiaoxiao?

He hadn't learned related skills yet.

Therefore, Zhang Guangmu could still reason with him.

Using the script to guide disguises and inner voices, to induce actors' actions...

This was indeed impressive, but the production team couldn't materially interfere with a constructed film world—especially under the Imperial Iron Law!

Zhang Guangmu didn't believe Director Sun was hiding an identity as a master schemer who could have laid similar foreshadowing in advance.

Director Qian of "Endless Food Bag" always loved digging bizarre pits and enjoyed being a riddle-master, getting a kick out of it himself. Director Sun, however, was clearly not such a narcissist or a literary pretender.

According to his resume, Director Sun was a genuine commercial director, with few box-office failures among his films.

Although he often emphasized "realism" externally, Sun Yanwu was not a Creation God. In the end, he was just an ordinary human and couldn't possibly calculate every single situation in meticulous detail.

Hearing Zhang Guangmu's sincere words, Li Xiaoxiao opened his eyes, a hint of confusion appearing in them.

That's right...

What this person said did seem to have some logic.

But the problem was, he was the inventor and creator of the Flame Artifact, and that was beyond doubt!

Could it be a misunderstanding?

However, Zhang Guangmu, who held the absolute advantage, didn't seem like the malicious scoundrel rumored to be. He didn't seem to be taking the opportunity to kill him, but rather acted like a refined gentleman.

Li Xiaoxiao was wavering.

"Before I invented the Flame Artifact, did you ever draw similar sketches?"

Zhang Guangmu calmly posed a fatal question.

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

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

That's right...

Since there were no physical sketches, how could anyone steal them?

Could the other party be a "voice-stealing worm" inside his stomach, capable of eavesdropping on his inner thoughts?

"It's my fault, I was foolish... I have nothing more to say."

Li Xiaoxiao's face was filled with despair, his tone laced with bitterness: "Vice Fortress Lord Tian Guang, do it!"

Proud as he was, with a high opinion of himself, he had, due to a momentary misunderstanding, acted like a petty villain and made a huge blunder.

If the other party wasn't skilled in combat, wouldn't he have become a wronged soul under his hand?

This was not a mistake that could be rectified with a simple "misunderstanding"!

Li Xiaoxiao considered himself a reasonable person.

If he was wrong, he was wrong!

Those who made mistakes should receive appropriate punishment.

He felt that dying at Zhang Guangmu's hands would be his own doing, and he couldn't blame anyone.

Above Wolf Fortress.

Director Sun, transformed into a golden ball of light, stood rooted to the spot like a statue, unmoving.