The Three Superpowers

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. If I can't hold on, I'll let you know."

Su Ying looked at him for two seconds, seemingly trying to determine if he was just putting on a brave face.

Then she lightly stomped her foot and began to form hand seals.

"Let me make this clear first, this is your own request. If you get struck by my lightning and end up bedridden, don't blame me."

Lu Feng didn't speak again. He steadied himself in a horse stance, crossed his arms in front of his chest, and simultaneously activated the Immeasurable Golden Body Art and the Hundred Beasts Body-Tempering Art.

A very faint golden halo emanated from deep within his skin, like a Vajra statue that had not yet fully manifested.

Su Ying flicked her fingertip. The first ball of purple lightning shot out and struck Lu Feng precisely in the chest.

The power of this ball of lightning was roughly equivalent to a full-force strike from a martial artist at the Early Hua Jin.

After the lightning exploded, Lu Feng remained completely still.

"Make it more powerful," Lu Feng said.

Su Ying raised an eyebrow and made a hand seal again.

The second ball of lightning was more than twice the size, and it hurtled towards Lu Feng, slamming into him.

"Again!"

The lightning balls were unleashed one after another, each more powerful than the last, and the scattered arcs of lightning cleaved the stone wall, leaving cracks of varying depths.

Lu Feng retreated step by step, but remained standing straight. Apart from his robes gradually becoming tattered, there wasn't a single wound on his skin.

It wasn't until Su Ying unleashed the full power of the Early Grandmaster Lightning Control Technique that Lu Feng was blasted away head-on by the lightning ball, which was about half the size of the secret room. His back slammed heavily against the stone wall, creating a spiderweb-like crack on the entire wall.

He slid down, knelt on one knee, coughed twice, his ears ringing, but there was still no blood on his body.

"That's fine, senior sister."

Lu Feng pushed himself up and stood up, patting the dust and rubble off his chest.

Su Ying finished her practice, walked a few steps to him, and stared wide-eyed.

She stretched out her slender fingers and poked Lu Feng's arm, as if to confirm that everything that had just happened was real.

"Lu Feng, what's wrong with your physical body?"

Her tone was three parts surprise and seven parts curiosity.

"You were able to withstand a full-force attack from Early Grandmaster. If word got out, who would believe you're just a Hua Jin?"

Lu Feng flexed his wrists, his tone calm:

"I've cultivated several physical cultivation techniques, and I've reached the pinnacle of them all. Therefore, my physical body is stronger than that of an ordinary Hua Jin at the Transformation Realm."

"Stronger?" Su Ying almost laughed out of anger.

"You call that 'stronger'? You just withstood a direct hit from Early Grandmaster! Any other Grandmaster standing there would have been charred to death without using their True Essence to protect themselves!"

As she spoke, she leaned closer, scrutinizing Lu Feng's face from side to side, as if trying to uncover some secret:

"Your comprehension is simply phenomenal. Your movement techniques are perfected, your swordsmanship is perfected, and your physical cultivation is perfected as well. Lu Feng, just how many more trump cards do you have up your sleeve?"

Lu Feng smiled without saying a word.

Su Ying became more and more excited as she spoke, and suddenly grabbed his wrist.

"Let's go! I'll raise the bet again! One to one hundred, if you win the championship, my allowance will increase a hundredfold! A hundredfold!"

Lu Feng stumbled as she pulled him, and before he could even speak, he was dragged out of the cave.

The smile on Su Ying's face faded as soon as she stepped out of the cave.

She slightly raised her chin, her eyes turned cold, and her aura of unapproachability returned.

Lu Feng followed behind, already used to this kind of change of expression.

The two walked back to the betting area on the east side of the square.

Fatty Jin was still sitting behind the long table, but the smile on his face had lost its previous composure. He was whispering something to the two disciples next to him who were keeping accounts, as if they were urgently discussing countermeasures.

There were even more people gathered around the stall than before, making a lot of noise, and the air felt warmer.

"I'll bet 100,000 Low-Grade Origin Crystal on Lu Feng to come in first."

Su Ying's voice was clear and crisp, and the surrounding noise suddenly fell silent.

She placed a storage bag on the table.

Fatty Jin raised his head, forcing a smile that looked more like a grimace onto his fleshy face.

He glanced quickly at Su Ying, then quickly lowered his gaze, rubbing his hands together.

"Um... I'm really sorry, but Lu Feng's betting has already closed, and we can't place any more bets."

"It's sealed off?" Su Ying frowned.

"Yes, yes!"

Fatty Jin wiped non-existent sweat from his forehead.

"You two just left, and I don't know who started it, but more and more people are following suit."

"Although each bet isn't large, there are a lot of people involved. Lu Feng is an unpopular choice, with a payout of 100. If it really becomes a hit, even if the small shop sells all its assets, it won't be enough to cover the losses."

"There's really no other way; we have to close Lu Feng's bet. If you still want to place a bet, you can look at other popular choices..."

He spoke sincerely and in a humble tone, but his meaning was clear: I dare not accept this money.

Su Ying stared at him expressionlessly for two seconds, then turned and left without saying a word.

The crowd only erupted again after the two had walked away.

"The market has been closed! It's actually closed!"

"When has Fatty Jin ever done something like this? This guy never refuses anyone!"

"She's just scared. You all saw how much Su Ying bet on Lu Feng. If she really throws in another 100,000, and Lu Feng pulls off an upset, Fatty Jin will lose everything."

"Just who is this Lu Feng? Is he worth Su Ying betting so much on?"

"Who knows? I'm definitely not going to follow along."

Su Ying led Lu Feng all the way back to the cave.

"What a pity."

She sat down on the stone bench, propped her elbows on the table, and rested her chin on her hand.

"I was hoping to make another killing, but they even shut down the betting platform. That Fatty Jin, he's as cunning as a devil."

Lu Feng smiled but didn't reply.

His attitude towards betting is that he'll make money if he can, and he won't lose money if he can't.

What truly concerned him was something else entirely.

"Senior sister, I saw your introduction on the list just now. It said you cultivate Dao Arts. Those Dao Arts come from the Sacred Hall. What kind of place is the Sacred Hall?"

Su Ying tilted her head, her regretful expression vanishing, replaced by a more serious one:

"You still care about this? Not bad."

She poured two cups of tea, pushed one towards Lu Feng, took a sip from the other cup herself, and then slowly said:

"As you know, besides the Demon-Slaying Bureau, there are countless sects, cults, and aristocratic families in each state."

"These forces are deeply entrenched; some are ostensibly under the control of the imperial court, but secretly they each have their own agendas."

"But no matter how chaotic things get, behind each state's royal family stands three enormous powers."

"Separately, the Heavenly Inspection Bureau, the Supreme Purity Pavilion, and the Sacred Hall."

"The three major powers support each other, maintaining the balance between the various states and jointly resisting the large-scale invasion of the Demon Race."

Su Ying's tone became more arrogant as she said this:

"I am a disciple of the Sacred Hall. In the entire Northern Demon-Slaying Bureau, you can count the number of people who have cultivated Dao Arts on one hand."

"What exactly is the difference between Dao Arts and ordinary cultivation methods?" Lu Feng asked, puzzled.