Beneath the old locust tree, a breeze stirred, but the heat lingered.
The Old Celestial Master, Zhang Zhiwei, stood with his hands behind his back. His face was as calm as still water, betraying no emotion, as though he had merely walked down from the mountain and happened to pass by.
But no one actually believed that.
Wang Ai was still standing where he was, his chest rising and falling. His fingers loosened around the ink-black and gold brush.
The Qiantang Tidal Bore Painting immediately dissipated.
Hot sweat still beaded at his temples, leaving him looking thoroughly disheveled. By contrast, Lu You looked perfectly relaxed, without so much as a dirty or rumpled hem.
Wang Ai's gaze was icy. He was getting on in years, after all. Though his qi grew ever more powerful, his stamina was declining.
And then there was that punch Lu You had held back.
It had very nearly frightened his heart into stopping.
He had lived for so many years, and since becoming the head of the Wang Family, he had not felt terror like this in a very long time.
It was the pain of having his dignity trampled into the dirt.
Someone who follows no rules and has nothing holding him back. If Zhang Zhiwei hadn't arrived just now, he really would have beaten me to death on the spot!
People like that were the most terrifying.
Wang Ai's mind raced.
With the Old Celestial Master's arrival, he had two options.
The first was to back down.
His opponent had demonstrated his strength very clearly. It could absolutely be called unfathomable.
Wang Ai considered himself a prominent figure in the Outsider world, but the strength his opponent had displayed was certainly not something he or any of the other Ten Elders could contend