An unexpected means

He's back again?

After a few seconds of silence, cheers first erupted from the ordinary people.

"Wait for me to stretch?" Xu Yinluo meant that he hadn't been playing seriously.

"Look, the wound on his chest is gone. He really wasn't taking it seriously, haha. I knew it! If Xu Yinluo only used half of his strength in a fight, how could these two possibly be a match for him?"

Thanks to the phrase "Let me stretch," he successfully misled ordinary people, making them believe that Xu Yinluo had never taken the competition seriously from beginning to end.

The fact that his wounds had healed served as proof that he was "warming up".

This situation is so shocking to top experts that it's unimaginable to ordinary people.

The knife wound on his chest had reached the bone; how could it have healed completely in half an incense stick's time? Even I couldn't do that. Nangong Qianrou narrowed her eyes and couldn't help but take a few steps forward, seemingly wanting to see clearly what had happened to Xu Qi'an's chest wound.

The ability to regenerate flesh and blood is only available to those at the third rank. How did Xu Ningyan manage to do it? Jiang Luzhong was dumbfounded, a vague guess forming in his mind.

It must be the inherent wonder of the Vajra Divine Skill. It must be that the Vajra Divine Skill can give people the ability to regenerate flesh and blood even at a low level. Chu Xianglong's Adam's apple bobbed, he swallowed, and he couldn't hide the drool in his eyes.

In that instant, he felt an urge to return to the border as soon as possible. He wanted to offer the stone Buddha to the Prince of Zhenbei. With the Prince of Zhenbei's peak third-rank strength and his far-sighted vision, even without practicing Buddhism, he could still gain some understanding of it.

If the bronze talisman were added, perhaps the Prince of Zhenbei could master the Vajra Divine Skill.

At that time, I, who made the greatest contribution, will also be able to receive the Vajra Divine Skill from the King of Zhenbei.

The princess heard the sound of the smelly man beside her swallowing, and her heart skipped a beat. Her eyes, hidden under her veil, secretly glanced at Chu Xianglong.

He... he actually swallowed his saliva in front of a man?!

After mentally criticizing him for a moment, the princess's attention returned to Xu Qi'an. She thought to herself, "This guy is quite formidable. I knew it. How could a man who stood out so much in the battle of magic be easily defeated?"

"Father, what... what happened to him?" Butterfly Sword Lan Caiyi turned her head blankly, looking at her father beside her.

Lan Huan shook his head silently.

Xu Xinnian breathed a sigh of relief, his gaze fixed on Xu Qi'an, and said, "My elder brother always acts with certainty. Since he dares to participate in the battle between Celestial Person, he must have something to rely on."

"A wise man plans before he acts; this is a principle I have always taught him."

Wang Simu said with a smile, "Cijiu and Xu Yinluo, one a scholar and the other a warrior, are the envy of countless people."

She could tell that Xu Xinnian was exaggerating, but what did it matter? He was so handsome, talented, and had a pleasant personality. Wang Simu grew increasingly fond of Xu Erlang.

"Your Vajra Divine Skill has improved by leaps and bounds, what's going on?" Li Miaozhen opened her eyes wide, scrutinizing Xu Qi'an, and said:

"You were hiding your strength just now?"

No, no, the real issue isn't whether he's hiding his strength, but how could he possibly have cultivated the Vajra Divine Skill to such a level!

This is unreasonable! This is unreasonable! Chu Yuanzhen roared inwardly.

He remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he was experiencing a tremendous shock, a storm raging within him.

Chu Yuanzhen had met the monk Jingsi before and had some understanding of the Vajra Divine Skill. Compared to Xu Qi'an now, Jingsi back then was simply a novice monk.

However, the former clearly practiced the Vajra Divine Skill from childhood, while the latter obtained this skill during a magical battle.

All told, it had been a month. The well-traveled and knowledgeable top scholar felt a sense of unreality, as if he were in a dream.

"Miaozhen, regardless of whether he's hiding his strength or not, never forget one thing."

Chu Yuanzhen looked at the Holy Maiden of the Heavenly Sect and said, word by word, "He can only cultivate the Vajra Divine Art for a month at most."

Li Miaozhen finally realized what was happening. Her pupils contracted slightly, and she stiffened her neck, twisting it inch by inch as she looked at Xu Qi'an.

The Holy Maiden of the Heavenly Sect was proud, and it was always others who were amazed by her talent, but today, she was truly astonished by Xu Qi'an.

"Thank you both for opening up my eight extraordinary meridians and helping me achieve a minor success in the Vajra Divine Skill." Xu Qi'an cupped his hands in thanks.

Oh, so Lord Xu deliberately got beaten earlier to hone his Vajra Divine Skill. Upon hearing this, the onlookers suddenly understood.

This provides a reasonable explanation for why he was attacked earlier. It wasn't because the outstanding disciples of the Celestial Person and Human Sects were particularly strong, but because Xu Yinluo needed their attacks.

Li Miaozhen and Chu Yuanzhen exchanged a glance, no longer seeing the disdain Xu Qi'an had shown when he arrived by boat.

The two felt the pressure.

"No matter what, let's take him down first. Let's join forces and try to break his Vajra Divine Skill, otherwise it will be difficult to wear down his golden body when we are exhausted. At that time, we may really capsize in a ditch." True Disciple suggested through telepathy.

"That's what I think too." Chu Yuanzhen nodded solemnly.

The two instantly changed positions, standing side by side, facing Xu Qi'an.

"Wow, they're going to team up against Xu Yinluo again."

"See? See? If Xu Yinluo weren't so powerful, how could they have ended up like this?"

Seeing this, the onlookers became increasingly convinced that Xu Yinluo's combat strength far surpassed that of the two protagonists in the battle between Celestial Person and man.

Those martial artists who were initially certain that Xu Qi'an, at the seventh or sixth rank, could not possibly defeat the outstanding disciples of the Celestial Person and Human Sects now showed expressions of surprise and uncertainty.

"Thank you both for helping me reach the Lesser Completion stage. Now, I'm going to fight back." Xu Qi'an grinned.

"Counterattack?"

Li Miaozhen curled her lip and rolled her eyes, saying, "We just plan to team up and beat up this rock in the latrine. What threat can you pose to us?"

Chu Yuanzhen chuckled, "Your Heaven and Earth One Slash may have improved, but after that one strike, you're crippled. And your full-force strike can't possibly defeat a fourth-rank expert."

As the two were talking, Xu Qi'an silently took out a book, put it in his mouth, and chuckled, "It's time to show you the power and terror of Confucian School rhetoric."

Bang!

The ground collapsed, Xu Qi'an, like a cannonball, leaped into the air and rushed straight at Li Miaozhen. During the process, he clenched his right fist and pulled it back sharply.

Li Miaozhen knew the power of hand-to-hand combat, so she did not confront him head-on. Instead, she used her flying sword to rise into the air and avoid Xu Qi'an's fist.

The attack missed, and Xu Qi'an, who couldn't fly, inevitably fell downwards. As expected, Chu Yuanzhen made his move, using his finger as a sword to unleash the Qi Sword Technique of the Human Sect.

In an instant, countless unparalleled sword intents shot out.

With a crackling sound, Xu Qi'an tore off a page of paper, ignited it with his qi, and said leisurely, "I have a pair of invisible wings."

As soon as he finished speaking, a pair of wings, invisible to the naked eye but truly present, appeared. Xu Qi'an flapped his wings and made a beautiful turn, nimbly dodging the Sword Qi attack.

The target remains Li Miaozhen.

Li Miaozhen stared in astonishment as Xu Qi'an transformed into a "swimming fish," dodging Chu Yuanzhen's Sword Qi before gliding sideways and actually appearing right in front of her.

She responded calmly and collectedly, her pupils turning into glass, causing Xu Qi'an's clothes to betray him, his belt tightening recklessly until it finally snapped.

The collar tightened, attempting to strangle its master; the mink hat suddenly dropped down, covering its master's eyes.

The mink hat had done a great job, and Li Miaozhen took the opportunity to elevate her figure. At that moment, she heard Xu Qi'an announce a certain command, "My speed, triple."

The golden body caught up instantly, without even looking, and crashed headfirst into Li Miaozhen.

Bang!

Li Miaozhen was thrown into the air, a metallic taste rising in her throat, and her arm was fractured.

The Confucian School Law Follows Speech of "words becoming law" is truly useful. If the occasion weren't so inappropriate, I'd like to try and find out where Diaochan is. Xu Qi'an thought to himself.

Li Miaozhen, who was knocked away, made a simple hand seal with one hand. A flash of light appeared between her eyebrows, and a miniature version of Li Miaozhen flew out, crashed into Xu Qi'an's brow, disappeared, and then emerged from the back of his head.

Xu Qi'an, who was flying, suddenly froze, as if he had fainted, and fell straight down.

Clang, clang, clang. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Chu Yuanzhen unleashed a series of Sword Qi, striking Xu Qi'an like iron being struck, creating a dense shower of sparks. Unfortunately, they were unable to break through the golden body's defenses.

However, none of that matters. The Sword Qi unleashed by Chu Yuanzhen was infused with the Heart Sword Technique, each strike carrying Primordial Spirit attack.

This was an inspiration they had just gained from Li Miaozhen; they had discovered Xu Qi'an's weakness— his Primordial Spirit was not strong enough.

A normal martial artist wouldn't be this bad, because their Primordial Spirit strength is forged through real hard work. But Xu Qi'an is like a student with a severe imbalance in his studies; his English is terrible. A normal student knows that "nineteen" means nineteen.

When it comes to him, it's milk.

In fact, compared to others at the same level, his foundation is solid enough, but in terms of overall strength, his physical body is far stronger than his Primordial Spirit, indicating a serious imbalance.

"Take him out in one go."

Feeling the pain in her arms, Li Miaozhen became somewhat angry. With a flick of her wrist, she magically produced nine command flags and tossed them out.

Duoduo

Nine command flags were arranged in a nine-palace formation, enveloping Xu Qi'an. Then, she reached down and patted a black sachet on her lower back.

Wisps of black smoke rose up and merged into the Nine Palaces Formation.

In an instant, ghosts wailed and gods howled, black smoke billowed wildly in the sky, and sometimes human faces materialized, roaring or wailing.

The people of the capital who witnessed this scene turned pale with fright.

"So many ghosts?!"

"Oh my god, will these ghosts harm people? This woman is so vicious, using such insidious methods to deal with Xu Yinluo."

The princess was so frightened that she kept backing away. She was terrified of ghosts. When she slept alone at night, she often imagined a disheveled female ghost with a blood-covered face standing by the bed curtains.

Even with a maidservant in the same room, she was still afraid.

Biao Biao, terrified, hid behind Huai Qing. The princess, whose bosom could rest on the table, frowned and said, "You are the princess of the Great Feng, surrounded by auspicious purple qi. Ordinary ghosts and monsters cannot get close to you. Ghosts are afraid of you, so what are you afraid of?"

The woman jumped up and down. "I'm so afraid, what if the dog slave gets eaten by a ghost?"

Lan Caiyi witnessed the people's terror and their worry for Xu Yinluo. She found it very interesting that they were not afraid of fourth-rank masters, but were so afraid of weak ghosts and monsters.

After the appearance of the ghost, even the ordinary people who had full faith in Xu Yinluo began to waver, believing that Xu Yinluo was in danger.

Lan Huan looked at his daughter and advised, "They're not afraid of ghosts; their fear stems from within. Warriors break the law with force, looking down on everyone; the first thing they must overcome is their inner fear."

Overcoming inner fear. Lan Caiyi nodded, then looked at the Hundred Ghosts Formation and said, "Xu Yinluo seems to be trapped in the ghost formation and unable to escape. Does this mean he can't overcome his inner fear?"

"No, he's trapped by the Heavenly Sect's formation. As expected of the Heavenly Sect's Holy Maiden, she has already grasped the opponent's weakness," Lan Huan said.

"I saw a similar formation when I dealt with the evil Daoists of the Earth Sect last year. It was extremely troublesome, targeting the Primordial Spirit of martial artists. If the formation could not be broken, even the most stubborn Primordial Spirit would be slowly worn away."

The usually taciturn Yang Yan spoke at length, which showed how seriously he took the battle and how intently he watched it.

"It's said that the Daoist School is skilled at raising and refining ghosts, and it's true," a nobleman exclaimed.

"Heh, even if Xu Yinluo has an invincible body, he can't withstand the erosion of his Primordial Spirit by a hundred ghosts." Another nobleman surrounded by guards spoke up, his tone quite gloating.

I still remember that during the imperial examination cheating scandal, a man surnamed Xu stood alone at the Meridian Gate with a knife, blocking all the civil and military officials, and wrote poems to humiliate them.

After this incident, many officials submitted memorials impeaching the emperor, but all of them were rejected by the emperor.

Suddenly, the ghost let out a piercing scream, as if it had encountered its natural enemy.

In everyone's sight, streaks of golden light pierced through the gloomy black smoke, hissing and dissolving it.

The thick black smoke instantly dissipated, and countless vengeful spirits vanished in the golden light. Xu Qi'an's figure appeared before the audience, standing proudly with a radiant Golden Core floating above his head.

The Daoist School Golden Core is said to be impervious to all laws and unafraid of the turbidity of the world.

"Smack!"

Xu Qi'an snapped his fingers, and the Golden Core exploded. The sudden burst of power dissolved the remaining black smoke, and the eight command flags were either pulled up or broken.

The formation has been broken.

Just then, Chu Yuanzhen appeared before Xu Qi'an like a ghost, holding a sword made of fine pebbles, and ruthlessly slashed at Xu Qi'an's forehead.

Bang! The stone sword shattered, but Chu Yuanzhen revealed a smile.

This sword strike was a sword of the heart; the blade severed the flesh, but the heart severed the soul.

However, Chu Yuanzhen heard the sound of paper burning, looked down in surprise, and found that Xu Qi'an was holding a piece of paper that was about to burn out.

What was recorded on this piece of paper? The moment the thought crossed Chu Yuanzhen's mind, he knew the answer, for his Primordial Spirit was experiencing excruciating, tearing pain.

A rebound!?

No, it's not just a rebound. Xu Qi'an silently chanted. "I can rebound attacks; my Primordial Spirit is ten times stronger."

Only Chu Yuanzhen suffered a tear in his Primordial Spirit; Xu Qi'an's Primordial Spirit was ten times stronger, so he was completely unaffected.

Seizing the opportunity, Xu Qi'an headbutted Chu Yuanzhen on the forehead, causing him to bleed profusely and nearly causing his Primordial Spirit to leave his body.

With his last vestige of consciousness, Chu Yuanzhen reached out and finally grasped the longsword on his back.

"Oh no, number four has gotten carried away in the fight." Xu Qi'an's expression changed, and he whispered something in his ear.

Chu Yuanzhen's body suddenly stiffened, and then he slowly released his grip on the sword.

You lost.

Xu Qi'an uttered a single sentence, flapped his invisible wings, and charged towards Li Miaozhen.

He was running out of time. The more powerful the Confucian School Law Follows Speech of "words becoming law" was, the more terrifying the backlash would be once the rules were restored. His Primordial Spirit had become ten times stronger, and the subsequent backlash would cause him unbearable pain.

The backlash from Law Follows Speech depends on the effect. For example, if Xu Qi'an only asked for a pair of invisible wings, the backlash after the Law Technique ended would at most be a few days of shoulder pain.

But if he says I'm ten times stronger, then I'll likely become a cripple afterward, having to lie in bed for ten days to half a month.

Xu Qi'an must subdue Li Miaozhen before the backlash occurs, otherwise all his hard work will be in vain.

The power of Law Follows Speech is strong, but the backlash can be terrible; the advantages and disadvantages are both obvious.

Without a word, Li Miaozhen flew away on her sword. As the Holy Maiden of the Heavenly Sect, she was not only well-versed in Confucian School Law Technique, but also knew these basic facts.

She flew close to the river's surface, her pupils becoming glassy, and the entire river seemed to be under her control.

Streams of water erupted, hindering and attacking Xu Qi'an Xu Qi'an. Although they could not harm him despite his golden body protecting him, they achieved the purpose of buying him time.

Sizzle

Another piece of paper was torn off. Just as Xu Qi'an was about to burn the paper, it suddenly rebelled, splitting itself into countless tiny pieces of paper, which drifted into the river with the wind.

"Laugh"

Flames rose from his palm, and hidden in his tightly clenched hand was a piece of paper; the previous one was merely a decoy. He had been anticipating Li Miaozhen's move.

As the paper burned out, Xu Qi'an said in a deep voice, "Put down your butcher's knife and turn back before it's too late."

Uncontrollably, Li Miaozhen veered in mid-air and flew towards Xu Qi'an, deliberately crashing into his arms.

Bang!

The two collided and tumbled into the river.

The entire Wei River boiled, with giant waves rising dozens of meters high, crashing against both banks layer by layer. No one could see the battle taking place at the bottom of the river, but they knew it was fierce enough.

The entire process lasted for fifteen minutes, and the originally clear Wei River turned into a muddy "Yellow River".

The river surface slowly returned to calm, and the onlookers instantly tensed up, their eyes fixed on the water.

Xu Yinluo must have won. He was so powerful. The common people held their breath, searching for figures along the river.

The Nightwatchers watchmen's gongs were fixed on the river.

The leader of the Double Blade Sect, the leader of the Luya Sword Pavilion, the beautiful woman from the Ten Thousand Flowers Pavilion, and many other martial arts masters silently and solemnly stared at the river.

They knew they were likely about to witness the birth of a legend.

A legend of a low-ranking martial artist defeating a high-ranking Daoist Daoist School.

The crowd of onlookers ranged from ordinary people to martial arts practitioners, high-ranking officials, and their guards, totaling nearly a thousand people.

At this moment, they tacitly remained silent, so quiet that you could hear their breathing.

This was an absolutely thrilling battle, full of twists and turns, yet incredibly satisfying.

Biao Biao clutched her chest, hearing her own heart pounding like a drum, one beat after another.

Huaiqing's hands, hidden in his sleeves, quietly clenched.

The princess tiptoed, her bright eyes darting across the river beneath her veil, searching and searching.

If he wins this battle, the momentum that had been gradually cooling after his elder brother's duel will be reignited, and he will return to his peak, becoming the focus of attention for all levels of society in the capital. Xu Xinnian took a deep breath to calm his excited emotions.

Amidst the intense attention, the once calm river surface revealed first a hand, then a head—a head wearing a mink hat.

He seemed to be afraid the fur hat would fall off, so he had to hold it down with his hand.

The figure gradually came ashore, holding a young woman in a Daoist robe in his arms, unconscious.

P. S.: This chapter was originally written a long time ago, but after reviewing it again, I found that some details were not handled well, so I revised it for a long time.